WASHINGTON — Republicans in both chambers on Capitol Hill have scheduled events and votes on Iraq all week — the Senate as it debates a defense spending bill, and the House as it holds a full day of debate today on a war resolution.

Officially, the House debate will be the first time the chamber has actually argued the pros and cons of the Iraq invasion and occupation since the war began three years ago. But Democrats, who have repeatedly called for debate on the war, have denounced this week's events as little more than a political "trap" designed to embarrass them and force them to acquiesce with the administration's policy.

The resolution expresses support for U.S. troops and commitment to combat terrorism.

But it also unequivocally asserts that the conflict in Iraq is part of a "global war on terror" — an assertion that Democrats and some Republicans dispute but that Bush hammered home yesterday.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said yesterday that House leaders were not going to permit Democrats to offer amendments to the resolution, forcing them into a position of either voting against supporting the troops or for the Republican formulation of the war.

"Our hands are tied — literally — on the floor of the people's House," Abercrombie said at a news conference, his hands tied together with yellow rope to symbolize his frustration.

"Do not put us through the farce and the fraud of a pseudo-debate."

For his part, House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, was unsympathetic.

"That is not a 'gotcha.' They have a decision to make. That is what we get elected to do," Boehner said.