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George W. Bush Vetoes Iraq Bill, Democrats Defiant |
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Wednesday, 2 May 2007WASHINGTON ÔÇö Embattled President George W. Bush vetoed late on Tuesday, May 1, a war funding bill setting an Iraq withdrawal timeline, setting the stage for a new battle with the new landlords of the Congress who immediately sounded a defiant note.
"A few minutes ago, I vetoed the bill," Bush said as protesters outside his White House chanted "Stop the war now," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Members of the House and Senate passed a bill that substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgment of our military commanders," he argued.
"Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure, and that would be irresponsible."
The House and Senate had approved the legislation by mostly party-line votes, with Democrats urging Bush to "listen to the American people" as polls showed a majority want the war to end.
Bush had long pledged to defy the Congress with a veto of the bill, which was to allocate 124 billion dollars in emergency funding for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The measure linked the funds to a call for US combat troops to start coming home by October 1, and for most of them to be withdrawn by March 2008.
The veto coincided with the fourth anniversary of Bush's memorable speech from the deck of the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in which he declared victory in Iraq.
Standing under a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner, Bush confidently declared the end of the war.
"In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
When he spoke, just 139 US soldiers had been killed in the war. Now more than 3,350 have died in Iraq, with April proving the bloodiest month of 2007 with 104 killed.
Defiant
"We look forward to working with the president, to find common ground, but there is great distance between us right now," Pelosi said.
Top Democrats quickly accused the Republican leader of trapping US soldiers "in the middle of an open-ended civil war."
"The president wants a blank check. The Congress is not going to give it to him," a defiant House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned during a joint public appearance with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
"If the president thinks that by vetoing this bill, he will stop us from working to change the direction of this war, he is mistaken," Reid grimed.
"Now he has an obligation to explain his plan to responsibly end this war."
Democrats in Congress do not have sufficient votes to override a presidential veto.
While both sides pledged to work together on new legislation that would ensure US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan get needed funding, there was no evident compromise in the works.
Some Democrats have raised the prospect of linking funding to specific and rigorous benchmarks for political progress that Iraqi leaders would be required to meet.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that setting less strict "benchmarks" could be a point of compromise.
"There are a number of Republicans who do think that some kind of benchmarks, properly crafted, would actually be helpful," he said.
"So I think that is an area that we can talk about, beginning tomorrow (Wednesday)."
Pelosi warned that compromise would be difficult to reach.
"If the president thinks that what is happening on the ground in Iraq now is progress, as he said in his comments tonight, then it's clear to see why we have a disagreement on policy with him," she said.
"We look forward to working with the president, to find common ground, but there is great distance between us right now."
May 2, 2007
Islam Online |
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
US
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