President Bush vowed to veto a Democratic-backed war–spending bill when it hits his desk today because it includes a timetable for withdrawing forces from Iraq.
“I am about to veto a bill that has got artificial timetables for withdrawal,” Bush said at a Rose Garden press conference with European leaders on Monday. “But that’s not the only bad thing about the bill.
“It also imposes the judgment of people in Washington on our military commanders and diplomats,” he said. “It also adds domestic spending that’s unrelated to the war.”
White House aides said the president plans to unceremoniously veto the bill on the fourth anniversary of a controversial speech he delivered on an aircraft carrier under a “Mission Accomplished” banner. Democrats withheld the bill until the anniversary so they could highlight ongoing difficulties in Iraq.
Liberal advocacy groups are also seizing on the anniversary as an opportunity to redouble their criticism of Bush’s decision to “surge” additional troops into Baghdad.
“In the four years since President Bush declared victory on that aircraft carrier, 3,200 American troops were killed, nearly 26,000 more were wounded, and spending on the war ballooned to $448 billion,” said Moira Mack, spokeswoman for Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. “The president’s mismanaged war in Iraq is far from a ‘mission accomplished.’ ”
Moira Whalen of the National Security Network added, “Since the president announced the escalation of the war just a few months ago, American casualties have increased by 33 percent. At this rate, America cannot affordto give the president’s failed strategy any more time.”
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow warned that a pullout would be disastrous for both Iraq and America.
“Think of it this way: The United States walks away, who stands to benefit?” Snow told reporters. “Answer: terrorists, al Qaeda, the people who are fighting democracy.”
Bush said that although he will veto the bill, which provides funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, he will meet with Democrats on Wednesday and urge them to send him a “clean” funding bill with no timetable.
“There’s a lot of Democrats that understand that we need to get the money to the troops as soon as possible,” the president said. “And so I’m optimistic we can get something done in a positive way.”
