WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney took sharp aim on Monday at new Democratic proposals to set a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq.

Equating timetables and benchmarks with handing victory to terrorists, Cheney said, "Time after time, (the terrorists) have predicted that the American people do not have the stomach for a long-term fight."

A military withdrawal from Iraq would place the United States in greater jeopardy because the terrorists would conclude they could attack America again and again, Cheney said.

He made his remarks in a speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel advocacy group.

Speaking of al-Qaida and other radical Islamic groups, Cheney said, "The leaders of this movement speak openly and specifically of building a totalitarian empire covering the Middle East, extending into Europe and reaching across to the islands of Indonesia, one that would impose a narrow, radical vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, suppresses dissent, brutalizes women and has one of its foremost objectives the destruction of Israel."

"Obviously, the terrorists have no illusion about the importance of the struggle in Iraq," Cheney said. "They have not called it a distraction or a diversion from their war against the United States. They know it is the central front in that war, and it's where they've chosen to make a stand."

His remarks came as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scheduled a Wednesday test vote on a resolution that calls for combat troops to leave Iraq by March 2008.

Also this week, a House committee will consider legislation that would fully fund the administration's $100 billion request for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan yet demand that troops leave Iraq by the end of August 2008 and possibly the end of 2007.

With those showdowns nearing, Cheney tried to put Democrats on the defensive.

"When members speak not of victory but of time limits, deadlines and other arbitrary measures, they are telling the enemy simply to watch the clock and wait us out," Cheney said.

"Anyone can say they support the troops and we should take them at their word. But the proof will come when it's time to provide the money. We expect the House and Senate to meet the needs of our military and the generals leading the troops in battle on time and in full measure," Cheney said.

Democratic leaders have public opinion on their side when it comes to their opposition of the war. More than six in 10 Americans think Iraq was a mistake - the largest number yet found in AP-Ipsos polling.

But congressional leaders have struggled to get party members to agree how far to go to end the war. Some anti-war Democrats prefer limiting the funds so the administration would essentially be forced to remove U.S. forces, a strategy that party leaders have abandoned. Others say they do not want to do anything that could hurt the troops.

Either way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Cheney's remarks prove "the administration's answer to continuing violence in Iraq is more troops and more treasure from the American people."

Caldwell Urges Patience

Meantime, Americans must be patient in expecting progress, a senior coalition spokesman said on Monday in Baghdad.

It will take several months before all additional coalition forces arrive in the Iraqi capital, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said.

President George W. Bush requested more 8,000 more troops for Iraq over the weekend, in addition to the more than 21,000 troops as part of the surge for Operation Enforcing the Law.

"Two of the five additional United States brigades have arrived and are currently operating inside Baghdad," Caldwell said. "The third is beginning to arrive in Kuwait."

He added that it will be late May before all the additional forces arrive and begin operating in Baghdad and Anbar province.