House Minority Leader John A. Boehner on Tuesday launched the Republican version of the message war over Iraq, saying Democrats were seeking to gain politically from the United States’ struggles there.

“This is an election year, and that means promises are being made to win votes,” the Ohio Republican told a Washington conference of the American Legion, characterizing calls for withdrawal as “surrender.”

A memo outlining the strategy House Republicans intend to pursue between now and next week, when Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker, give Congress a progress report on the war, stresses three points: The U.S. troop surge is working; political progress, though insufficient, is under way; and Congress should fully fund the troops for victory, not withdrawal.

The plan calls for coordination with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain , R-Ariz., and Republican campaign organizations. It includes a coordinated media campaign, including op-eds and outreach to TV, radio and bloggers.

Petraeus is expected to call for a halt in troop withdrawals, once the surge forces have come home, to assess the security situation. That would still leave approximately 140,000 troops in Iraq.

President Bush is expected to follow his recommendation.

Democrats, meanwhile, are staging their own hearings this week to rebut evidence of the surge’s success and make the case for legislation setting goals for withdrawals, mandates for training and equipping troops, and longer rest time between deployments.

They are likely to try to use legislation to block a long-term security and economic agreement with Iraq unless it has Senate approval.

For the full version of this story and the latest coverage, please visit CQ Politics.