April 04, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1428

WASHINGTON, April 3: US President George W. Bush on Tuesday blamed the opposition Democrats for causing American troops to stay in Iraq and Afghanistan longer than expected. The White House also says that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria is a “bad idea.”

Ms Pelosi, a Democrat, is going to the Arab country with a congressional delegation for talks aimed at defusing tensions in the Middle East.

At a news conference at the White House Rose Garden, President Bush said Congress’s failure to pass a no-strings-attached funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan may mean some troops have to stay on the front lines longer than expected.

Mr Bush said it has been 57 days since he asked Congress to pass an emergency funding bill for the military but they have not done so yet. Instead, the lawmakers have added deadlines for withdrawal from Iraq to proposed bills, he added.

The House of Representatives and the Senate have passed separate versions of a bill that allocates funds for the military, but also includes domestic spending measures and a timetable for removing troops from Iraq.

President Bush vowed again on Tuesday to veto any bill containing a withdrawal timetable.

Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said if the president vetoes the measure with a withdrawal deadline, lawmakers will craft a bill that cuts off funding for Iraq after next March.

The U Defence Department said on Monday it is cutting short the year-long home leave of about 7,000 troops, sending them back to Iraq earlier than planned to support the American military buildup.

The Pentagon says the 30,000 soldiers being sent to Iraq as part of a ‘troop surge’ will remain in the country until at least the end of August.

The Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, recommended last December that the US engage both Syria and Iran.

Dana Perino, acting White House press secretary, called Ms Pelosi's trip a “really bad idea.”