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House Votes to Withdraw U.S. Troops From Iraq by Fall 2008
WASHINGTON House Democrats called for a new direction in Iraq on Friday, passing a measure that would order President Bush to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by September 2008.Democrats picked up enough votes to win passage by 218-212 on the $124 billion war spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Bush promises to veto the measure. Today, this Congress faces a historic vote. A vote to truly change the direction of the Iraqi conflict, said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., just before the vote on the House floor. Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, also called the vote "historic," urging collegues to vote against the measure. "Our troops are on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, doing their duty to protect freedom and to end tyranny," House Minority Leader Boehner said. "They're there watching this debate we're having in the House today and wondering, 'Will Congress do its duty? Will Congress stand up and support he mission that I'm in?' The vote puts Congress closer to a showdown with the White House over Bush's Iraq policy. Bush will veto the bill, White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters at Friday's briefing. "Look, the president's going to veto this bill, and he's going to veto it because even though it provides some funding, it also puts handcuffs on generals, colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, privates, and everybody else," Snow said. Most Republicans opposed the Democrats' plan, which also included budget requests not related to war spending. "What we got instead was a poorly assembled wish list of non-emergency spending requests, wrapped in a date-certain declaration of defeat a confirmation to our enemies that, if they hang on just a bit longer, we'll be out of their way soon," said Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., told fellow lawmakers a vote against the bill would be a vote against funding for the troops, health care and military families. Youre voting against supporting the troops if youre voting against the money that goes to the troops, Murtha said. Bush urged Congress to approve the bill without a timeline during a meeting Thursday with his Iraqi civilian reconstruction team. "The Congress owes you the money you need to do the job, without any strings attached," he said. "Congress needs to get their business done quickly, get the monies we've requested funded and let our folks on the ground do the job." Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that if Congress fails to pass a measure funding the war efforts by April 15, it will slow down training of troops scheduled for future deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates says it would also delay repair of equipment. Meanwhile, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a $121 billion version of Bush's emergency war spending request, but bucked the White House by putting in language that sets a date-specific timeframe for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The Senate bill sets a March 31, 2008, goal for withdrawing all combat troops out of Iraq. The legislation, which also gobs on billions in special projects at home, now heads to the Senate floor for a vote by the full chamber. "I think the only way we can succeed in Iraq is by fundamentally changing the dynamic," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees military funding. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's measure to set a timeline for the withdrawal of troops failed last week by a 50-48 vote. The House measure is unlikely to get through the Senate unchanged, where many Democrats oppose a timetable on the war. Posted by: Glenmore 2007-03-23 |
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