WASHINGTON, June 22: The US House of Representatives has passed a bill barring the military from establishing permanent bases in Iraq.

The 2007 Defence Authorization Act, approved by the House on Wednesday, includes language sponsored by Democratic war critic John Murtha of Pennsylvania, banning the US from negotiating for permanent bases with the government of Iraq. Language to that effect was included in both versions of the Senate and House emergency war supplemental but was stripped out during conference earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, introduced an amendment deleting the permanent basing language. It was defeated by a vote of 50-376.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young, a Florida Republican, spoke against the King amendment, saying it played into Al Qaeda’s propaganda that the United States is trying to establish a permanent foothold in the Middle East.

“If we strike this prohibition from this bill that was well thought out, what we are saying to the Iraqi people and what I am satisfied the propaganda machine of Al Qaeda in Iraq are going to do is use this and say: see there, we told you so. The Americans plan to occupy us for the rest of our lives,” Congressman Young said.