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Bush: Will veto war deadline
President Bush, pledging to veto the bill that the House approved today attaching a deadline for troop withdrawals from Iraq to war-spending, accused the Democrats of jeopardizing American troops in the field in an attempt to score political points against the administration.Today, a narrow majority in the House of Representatives abdicated its resposbility by passing a war spending bill that has no chance of becoming law and brings us no closer to bringing our troops the resources necessary to do their job, the president said at the White House. Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq. The House was sharply divided: 218-212, with the vote split mainly along party lines, on a $124-billion war-spending bill padded with domestic spending as well. It requires combat operations in Iraq to cease before September 2008, or earlier if the Iraqi government does not meet certain requirements. Democrats, calling it time to heed the mandate of the electoral mandate that handed them control of Congress in November, have handed the president the sharpest rebuke to date for his Iraq war policy. The American people have lost faith in the presidents conduct of this war, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) ``The American people see the reality of the war. The president does not. Bush sees it another way: They set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground, Bush said, criticizing Congress also for adding pork-barrel spending for domestic concerns such as peanut farming. This bill has too much pork, too many conditions, and an artificial timetable for withdrawal as I have made clear for weeks, I will veto it if it comes to my desk, Bush said. And judging by the vote cast today, he said, the House would not be able to override his veto. A narrow majority has decided to take this course, he complained, just as Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is executing a new strategy aimed at securing Baghdad and western Iraq with nearly 30,000 additional U.S. troops. The move, he complained, was made to score political points, without regard for the needs of troops in Iraq. Our men and women in uniform need these emergency war funds, said Bush, who has sought about $100 billion to get the Defense Department through September in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is seeking another $145 billion for the next budget year, starting in October. The Democrats have sent their message, Bush said. Now its time to send their money. Posted by: Steve 2007-03-23 |
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