US lawmakers approve bill seeking Iraq withdrawal by Sept ’08
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 23: The US House of Representatives voted on Friday to require the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by September next year, putting the House on a collision course with President George W. Bush who is augmenting his forces in the Arab country for an ultimate victory.
President Bush has already indicated that he would veto any vote setting a deadline for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. But the lawmakers ignored the veto threat, and approved the bill 218-212, mostly along party lines, to set a deadline.
Earlier this week, Mr Bush told Americans that Iraq war was “difficult, but it can be won,” though he warned the nation there would still be “bad days” ahead. Success with the new US-led security plan for Baghdad “will take months, not days or weeks,” but military commanders already see “some hopeful signs,” he said.
The opposition Democrats interpret their victory in November’s congressional election as a vote for ending US presence in Iraq, and have pledged to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.
The requirement to pull most of the 141,000 US troops out of Iraq by September 2008 is part of $124 billion emergency spending measure that would also fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, called the war a ‘grotesque mistake.’
“The American people have lost faith in the president's conduct of this war. Rather than sending more troops into the chaos that is the Iraqi civil war, we must focus on bringing the war to an end,” she said.
Ms Pelosi worked tirelessly to get the bill adopted. The Democratic Party is divided on this issue. Some liberal members voted against the bill because they said it would not end the war immediately while more conservative Democrats were against setting a deadline.
Republican leaders, however, accused the Democrats of setting the stage for America’s retreat from Iraq.
“Its prevailing tone is one of defeat and its abiding premise is America's mission in Iraq is over,” said Republican Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Republicans also have vowed to resist the measure in Senate where the Democrats have only a one-vote majority, which gives the Republican the room to mount an effective campaign against it.
On March 15, a similar measure in the Senate fell 12 votes short of the 60 needed for passage.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the effort was pointless; indicating that the administration would not allow the Congress to set a deadline and President Bush may use his veto to block the move.
Under the House legislation, Mr Bush would have to certify that the Iraqi government is making progress in bringing peace to the nation on July 1 and again on October 1, for US troops to remain in the country. Even if the Iraqis meet those conditions, US troop withdrawals would have to begin by March 1, 2008, and be completed within six months.
More than 3,100 US military personnel have died in the war since President Bush ordered an invasion in March 2003.
