Defying a veto threat from President Bush, Congress gave final approval Thursday to a war spending bill that contains timetables for withdrawal from Iraq.
By a vote of 51–46, the Senate agreed to continue funding the war on condition that Bush begin withdrawing troops Oct. 1. The legislation set a nonbinding deadline of March 31, 2008, for withdrawal of all troops from Iraq. The only U.S. troops remaining in the country would be those training Iraqi soldiers or those involved in targeted anti–terrorist raids.
Two Republicans, Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon, joined all Democrats to support the pullout. In 2002, Hagel, Smith and 29 other Democrats voted in favor of going to war.
The House approved an identical bill on Wednesday. The lower chamber approved the measure on a mostly party–line vote of 218–208.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., whose presidential campaign is fueled by anti-war sentiment among Democrats, said after the Senate vote that “we are one signature away from ending this war.”
Bush, however, vowed to veto the bill because it contains “artificial” timetables. He also has sharply criticized Congress for bulking up the bill with more than $20 billion in additional spending, much of which is unrelated to the war effort.
Bush’s veto is expected early next week, after which Congress will go back to the drawing board and begin writing new legislation to pay for continuing military operations. Democrats don’t have the two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override a veto and are divided on how to deal with Bush’s refusal to approve any timetables for withdrawal.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., who opposed the bill passed Thursday, said the soldiers in hishome state “do not agree with the Democrats who want to tuck tail and run.”
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a Vietnam veteran, supported the measure but said he is “very disappointed” by parts of the bill.
“At the same time, I believe very strongly that the reservations that I have pale in comparison with my disappointment in the failure of leadership in Iraq that brought us there in the first place,” he said.
