Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Bush vetoes legislation to withdraw from Iraq this year
U.S.
(Reuters, AP) - U.S. President George W. Bush has vetoed legislation that would have required him to begin withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq this year.
"It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing," Bush said in a nationally televised statement. "All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq. I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments."
Bush's veto of a bill that included $100 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was a rejection of attempts by the Democrats who control the U.S. Congress to force him to shift strategy in the unpopular Iraq conflict.
"I hoped that the president would have treated it with the respect that bipartisan legislation, supported overwhelmingly by the American people, deserved," Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California), the speaker of the House of Representatives, said. "Instead, the president vetoed the bill outright, and frankly misrepresented what this legislation does." Democrats in Congress appear not to have enough votes to override Bush's veto, which was only the second of his term. Bush will meet with key legislators today to try to find common ground.
"It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing," Bush said in a nationally televised statement. "All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq. I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments."
Bush's veto of a bill that included $100 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was a rejection of attempts by the Democrats who control the U.S. Congress to force him to shift strategy in the unpopular Iraq conflict.
"I hoped that the president would have treated it with the respect that bipartisan legislation, supported overwhelmingly by the American people, deserved," Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California), the speaker of the House of Representatives, said. "Instead, the president vetoed the bill outright, and frankly misrepresented what this legislation does." Democrats in Congress appear not to have enough votes to override Bush's veto, which was only the second of his term. Bush will meet with key legislators today to try to find common ground.
Labels: George Bush, Iraq, U.S. troop withdrawal, veto
