WASHINGTON - House Democrats pushed through a $50 billion bill for the Iraq war Wednesday night that would require President Bush to start bringing troops home in coming weeks with a goal of ending combat by December 2008.
The legislation, passed 218-203, was largely a symbolic jab at Bush, who already has begun reducing force levels but opposes a congressionally mandated timetable on the war. And while the measure was unlikely to pass in the Senate — let alone overcome a presidential veto — Democrats said they wanted voters to know they weren't giving up.
"The fact is, we can no longer sustain the military deployment in Iraq," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Staying there in the manner that we are there is no longer an option."
The White House pledged to veto the bill, and Republicans said they would back the president.
"These votes, like the dozens of previous failed votes, put the interests of radical interest groups ahead of the needs of our military and their mission," an administration statement said.
The bill represents about a quarter of the $196 billion Bush requested for combat operations in the 2008 budget year, which began Oct 1.
It would compel an unspecified number of troops to leave Iraq within 30 days, a requirement Bush is already on track to meet as he begins in coming weeks to reverse the 30,000 troop buildup he ordered earlier this year. It also sets a goal of ending combat by Dec. 15, 2008, and states that money included in the bill should be used to redeploy troops and "not to extend or prolong the war."
The measure also would set government-wide standards on interrogation, effectively barring the CIA from using such harsh techniques as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
So far, we're looking at symbolic politics being played here by the congressional Democrats on sticking another withdrawal timetable in the war funding bill. President Bush vetoes the bill, then the Democrats will cave and give Bush the war funding bill he wants--without timetables, restrictions, or standards on torture. We've seen this little game take place on war funding, telecom immunity, domestic spying--it is endless congressional rubber-stamping for King George The Deciderer! Think about it. The congressional Democrats pass a war funding bill with a withdrawal timetable. Bush vetoes the bill, saying that the Democrats are weak on fighting the Great War on Terror, are not supporting the troops, are unpatriotic Americans who side with the terrorists, and are losing the war in Iraq to the terrorists. The Republican Party and Faux News will jump on the president's bandwagon, reiterating and re-amplifying these stale, distorted arguments. The congressional Democrats will become so worried over the GOP claims that they are "weak on terrorism," and become so worried that they will lose to the GOP in the 2008 elections on this theme, that the Democrats will again cave to President Bush's demands for war funding without restrictions. And again, the congressional Democrats will show to the American people that they really are "weak on terrorism" because they continue to cave to Bush over the Iraq war funding issue. For once, I would love to see the congressional Democrats say no, and not give President Bush the war funding until he agrees to withdrawal the troops from Iraq. But I'm not holding my breath on this latest Iraq war funding bill with the withdrawal timetables, because looking at the Democratic leadership's past experience over the course of this year, they have continually caved to the Bush administration on practically everything. So I expect them to cave on this war funding bill as well.
I wish I could be wrong here.
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