the world at the other end rather than just the United States." Levin was one of 23 Senators who voted against the Iraq Resolution, saying that "If we are going to take on Saddam at some point, it is critical that we have the world with us, that there be a U.N. resolve that authorizes war, because the consequences are very, very severe. If we go without a declaration from the U.N. it is far better to have one, and that means that we've got to bring the world along here." Levin has strongly argued that the War in Iraq was a diversion from the War on Terror. On CNN on November 14, 2005, Levin said that "before the war, the President was saying that you cannot distinguish between Saddam Hussein and Iraq. As a matter of fact, he said that so often that he tried to connect Saddam Hussein with the attackers on us, on 9/11, so often, so frequently and so successfully, even though it was wrong, that the American people overwhelmingly thought, because of the President's misstatements that as a matter of fact, Saddam Hussein had participated in the attack on us on 9/11. That was a deception. That was clearly misinformation. It had a huge effect on the American people." Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hit back at senior U.S. politicians who have called for al-Maliki to be removed from office. He singled out Levin and Hillary Clinton, saying the Democratic senators were acting as if Iraq was "their property" and that they should "come to their senses" and "respect democracy". After the 2006 midterm elections, with the Democratic Party taking control of the Senate and Levin being reappointed Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he was seen to have gained an influential position to oppose the Bush administration's Iraq policy, initially proposing efforts for "phased withdrawals". Though on January 10, 2007, after Bush announced intentions to send an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq, Levin said that he would support the plan if it were tied to a broader strategy of reducing the overall amount of U.S. troops; receiving opposition from his own party. In late January 2007, amid what was seen as the fiercest political battle over the Iraq strategy during the Iraq War, Levin joined a bipartisan group of senators, including then Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), and