Catching up on holiday news from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(Washington Post) GOP Lawmakers Divided About ‘Surge’ in Troops: Republican lawmakers appear uneasy about — and in some cases outright dismissive of — the idea of sending many more troops to Iraq, as President Bush contemplates such a “surge” as part of his new strategy for stabilizing the country. … Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), another possible presidential contender, said in an interview Saturday that he could favor more troops if they were a “precursor” to political stability. But he added: “A short-term buildup in troops, if it simply is to impose military order without the possibility of political equilibrium, that doesn’t seem to me to be too farsighted.” “We have got to get to some acceptable balance between the Sunnis and Shiites,” Brownback said. “We cannot impose a military solution.”Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(AP) Senate finds congressman’s 9/11 claims unfounded: A lengthy Senate investigation has debunked charges by a Republican congressman that military analysts identified Mohamed Atta and other Sept. 11 hijackers before the attacks, according to a committee aide familiar with the report. In a letter to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sens. Pat Roberts and John Rockefeller dismissed suggestions by Rep. Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican, that defense analysts ignored information that could have prevented the attacks. … They concluded “there was no evidence Mohamed Atta or any hijackers were identified prior to 9/11,” said the committee aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Rep. Jerry Moran (R)!(Wichita Business Journal) Moran wants talks about Korean beef trade: U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., says he wants key players in the beef trade to develop a strategy to reopen the South Korea market to U.S. beef. Moran, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture, has asked for the panel’s incoming chairman, U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., to initiate talks with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative about the trade situation with South Korea, which closed its borders to U.S. beef in 2003 following a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, found in this country. Korea had been one of the largest importers of U.S. beef. Kansas, meanwhile, is a top beef producer in the United States. “Kansans are anxious to know what steps we are taking to reopen the Korean market to U.S. beef products,” Moran said in a statement. “This has gone on for far too long. We have to close the loopholes that are allowing the Korean government to find ways to keep our products out.”