Friday, September 14, 2007
Bush plans longterm stay in Iraq
Security
(The Guardian) - George Bush last night called on Americans to support an "enduring relationship" with Iraq, in a speech delivered hours after a key Sunni tribal ally, portrayed as symbolic of a potential turnaround for the US in the war, was killed by a roadside bomb. The president's prime-time address from the Oval Office marked the clearest acknowledgement to date from the White House that it envisages a long-term strategic relationship with the government in Baghdad, requiring the presence of US forces for years to come.
It follows repeated warnings from US officials of a "proxy war" with Iran. Last night's 18-minute address had been designed to unite a war-weary public and a restive Congress behind Mr Bush's plan for maintaining the bulk of US forces in Iraq for the duration of his presidency.
The president attempted to soften his proposal by endorsing the recommendation this week of the commander of US forces, General David Petraeus, for a phased withdrawal of 30,000 troops sent to Iraq this year in the temporary "surge". The first withdrawals of 5,700 soldiers could start by Christmas, the president said last night. However, even those drawdowns were contingent on the situation on the ground.
"The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is 'return on success'," Mr Bush stipulated, in advance excerpts of the speech released by the White House. "The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home." Earlier yesterday, Bush administration officials had said that decisions on any further withdrawals beyond the 5,700 would be deferred to March 2008, when Gen Petraeus is due to deliver another progress report on the war to Congress.
Mr Bush's plan to maintain a permanent military presence in Iraq flies in the face of opinion polls which show a majority of Americans support an exit from the war zone. He acknowledged those frustrations last night, saying: "Some say the gains we are making in Iraq come too late. They are mistaken. It is never too late to deal a blow to al-Qaida. It is never too late to advance freedom. And it is never too late to support our troops in a fight they can win."
However, the fragility of America's claim of the possibility of success in Iraq was dramatically underlined by the killing of a Sunni sheikh in Anbar province. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's turnaround from attacking US forces to an alliance with them against al-Qaida had been held up by the Pentagon and the White House as a beacon of hope for Iraq.
Sheikh Abu Risha was seen as the living embodiment of cooperation between US forces and local clans in Anbar. He was blown up by a car or roadside bomb near his home in Ramadi yesterday morning. Such gains were so crucial to Mr Bush's calculations on selling his war plan to the US public that he did not even go to Baghdad during his lightning trip to Iraq. He spent his entire visit at the US air base in Anbar, meeting Iraqi tribal leaders and members of the Baghdad government. On his seven-hour visit, Mr Bush was photographed shaking hands with the sheikh, and the president hailed him as a hero.
In his current reporting on the state of the war to politicians in Washington, Gen Petraeus had called the rejection of al-Qaida by Sunni tribes "the most significant development of the past eight months". Anbar was the one bright spot in Gen Petraeus's report. Only a year ago, US officials had given Anbar up as politically lost.
Sheikh Abu Risha had been the most visible local advocate of that turnabout, giving interviews to Arabic satellite channels calling for an end to extremism. The general had said that it was the success of America's alliance with Sunni tribes under the sheikh in driving al-Qaida out of Anbar which had persuaded him that it was possible for the US to begin pulling out its forces without compromising security on the ground.
It follows repeated warnings from US officials of a "proxy war" with Iran. Last night's 18-minute address had been designed to unite a war-weary public and a restive Congress behind Mr Bush's plan for maintaining the bulk of US forces in Iraq for the duration of his presidency.
The president attempted to soften his proposal by endorsing the recommendation this week of the commander of US forces, General David Petraeus, for a phased withdrawal of 30,000 troops sent to Iraq this year in the temporary "surge". The first withdrawals of 5,700 soldiers could start by Christmas, the president said last night. However, even those drawdowns were contingent on the situation on the ground.
"The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is 'return on success'," Mr Bush stipulated, in advance excerpts of the speech released by the White House. "The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home." Earlier yesterday, Bush administration officials had said that decisions on any further withdrawals beyond the 5,700 would be deferred to March 2008, when Gen Petraeus is due to deliver another progress report on the war to Congress.
Mr Bush's plan to maintain a permanent military presence in Iraq flies in the face of opinion polls which show a majority of Americans support an exit from the war zone. He acknowledged those frustrations last night, saying: "Some say the gains we are making in Iraq come too late. They are mistaken. It is never too late to deal a blow to al-Qaida. It is never too late to advance freedom. And it is never too late to support our troops in a fight they can win."
However, the fragility of America's claim of the possibility of success in Iraq was dramatically underlined by the killing of a Sunni sheikh in Anbar province. Abdul Sattar Abu Risha's turnaround from attacking US forces to an alliance with them against al-Qaida had been held up by the Pentagon and the White House as a beacon of hope for Iraq.
Sheikh Abu Risha was seen as the living embodiment of cooperation between US forces and local clans in Anbar. He was blown up by a car or roadside bomb near his home in Ramadi yesterday morning. Such gains were so crucial to Mr Bush's calculations on selling his war plan to the US public that he did not even go to Baghdad during his lightning trip to Iraq. He spent his entire visit at the US air base in Anbar, meeting Iraqi tribal leaders and members of the Baghdad government. On his seven-hour visit, Mr Bush was photographed shaking hands with the sheikh, and the president hailed him as a hero.
In his current reporting on the state of the war to politicians in Washington, Gen Petraeus had called the rejection of al-Qaida by Sunni tribes "the most significant development of the past eight months". Anbar was the one bright spot in Gen Petraeus's report. Only a year ago, US officials had given Anbar up as politically lost.
Sheikh Abu Risha had been the most visible local advocate of that turnabout, giving interviews to Arabic satellite channels calling for an end to extremism. The general had said that it was the success of America's alliance with Sunni tribes under the sheikh in driving al-Qaida out of Anbar which had persuaded him that it was possible for the US to begin pulling out its forces without compromising security on the ground.
Labels: Anbar Salvation Council, assassination, General David Petraeus, George Bush, Iraq, Sheikh Abu Risha, U.S. troops
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Bush in attempt to highlight Al Anbar 'success' story
Security
(Al Jazeera) - US military tactics in Iraq's al-Anbar province are working and troop levels could be cut if similar "successes" are repeated across the country, the US president has insisted. George Bush spoke during a surprise Iraq visit on Monday before a key military report is presented to the US congress on the increase in American troop levels.
Amid a rising death toll among US soldiers, currently estimated at 3,700, and growing calls from the Democratic party and some fellow Republicans for a troop withdrawal, Bush is under increasing pressure to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The US president told marines at al-Asad air base: "Anbar is a huge province. It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq."
However, David Isenberg, a national security expert based in Washington, said: "Any place can be saved temporarily if you pump enough troops into it. "Anbar province has had a reduction in violence but that has very little to do with the 'surge'." Bush said any troop reduction would be based on "a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground" and "made from a position of strength".
At the air base, Bush also held what he called "good, frank" talks with leaders of Iraq's Shia Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, including Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and Jalal Talabani, the president. Bush's trip to Iraq coincided with the withdrawal of British troops from their last base in the southern city of Basra amid tensions between Washington and its main ally over their policy in Iraq.
Isenberg said: "Factions still run the city [Basra] - there is no rule of law. "People feel compelled to join factions for their own safety. The region is still essentially a Wild West." The US president departed from Iraq shortly before 20:00 GMT on Monday, Cynthia Bergman, a White House spokeswoman, said.
Bush made the trip primarily to hold a "war council" with senior US and Iraqi officials before a report by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, on the effect of the "surge" in US troop levels. "You are denying al-Qaeda a safe haven from which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against the United States of America," he told US soldiers who roared their approval.
He landed in al-Anbar province, once a Sunni Arab fighter stronghold now seen by the US military as a success story. The drop in violence in al-Anbar has been attributed to Sunni Arab leaders joining forces with the US military to combat al-Qaeda fighters. But security officials said that shortly before Bush's arrival, two car bombs went off in Ramadi, the provincial capital, killing four people and wounding 10. In Baghdad, police found 15 corpses of men shot dead.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said it would be political suicide for Bush to begin a real troop withdrawal in Iraq. "The US cannot withdraw from the Iraq because it will be humiliating for the American empire."
Amid a rising death toll among US soldiers, currently estimated at 3,700, and growing calls from the Democratic party and some fellow Republicans for a troop withdrawal, Bush is under increasing pressure to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The US president told marines at al-Asad air base: "Anbar is a huge province. It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq."
However, David Isenberg, a national security expert based in Washington, said: "Any place can be saved temporarily if you pump enough troops into it. "Anbar province has had a reduction in violence but that has very little to do with the 'surge'." Bush said any troop reduction would be based on "a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground" and "made from a position of strength".
At the air base, Bush also held what he called "good, frank" talks with leaders of Iraq's Shia Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, including Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and Jalal Talabani, the president. Bush's trip to Iraq coincided with the withdrawal of British troops from their last base in the southern city of Basra amid tensions between Washington and its main ally over their policy in Iraq.
Isenberg said: "Factions still run the city [Basra] - there is no rule of law. "People feel compelled to join factions for their own safety. The region is still essentially a Wild West." The US president departed from Iraq shortly before 20:00 GMT on Monday, Cynthia Bergman, a White House spokeswoman, said.
Bush made the trip primarily to hold a "war council" with senior US and Iraqi officials before a report by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, on the effect of the "surge" in US troop levels. "You are denying al-Qaeda a safe haven from which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against the United States of America," he told US soldiers who roared their approval.
He landed in al-Anbar province, once a Sunni Arab fighter stronghold now seen by the US military as a success story. The drop in violence in al-Anbar has been attributed to Sunni Arab leaders joining forces with the US military to combat al-Qaeda fighters. But security officials said that shortly before Bush's arrival, two car bombs went off in Ramadi, the provincial capital, killing four people and wounding 10. In Baghdad, police found 15 corpses of men shot dead.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said it would be political suicide for Bush to begin a real troop withdrawal in Iraq. "The US cannot withdraw from the Iraq because it will be humiliating for the American empire."
Bush was accompanied by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, his national security adviser. Waiting for them at the air base were Robert Gates, the defence secretary, and General Peter Pace, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "This is the last big gathering of the president's military advisers and the Iraqi leadership before the president decides on the way forward."
Next week, Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, are to testify before congress. They will focus on the impact of Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Iraq, a so-called "surge" that increased force numbers to 160,000.Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must hand legislators by September 15, is expected to determine the next phase of US military involvement in Iraq.
Next week, Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, are to testify before congress. They will focus on the impact of Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Iraq, a so-called "surge" that increased force numbers to 160,000.Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must hand legislators by September 15, is expected to determine the next phase of US military involvement in Iraq.
Labels: Al Anbar, car bombs, General David Petraeus, George Bush, Jalal Talabani, Nouri Al-Maliki, Ryan Crocker
Monday, September 03, 2007
Bush arrives on surprise visit to Iraq
(Reuters) - President George W. Bush arrived in Iraq on Monday for a surprise visit along with his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the White House said in a call from Air Force One.
Bush landed at al-Asad Air Force base, west of Baghdad in Anbar province, the White House said as the president's plane touched down.
The White House said Bush's national security adviser Steven Hadley was on the plane also. The president had left early Monday for a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney, Australia, with the leaders of Australia, China, Japan, Russia and other members of APEC. He was due to arrive in Australia on Tuesday.
Bush was to leave the APEC forum early to return to Washington to prepare for a crucial progress report on Iraq from U.S. commander General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The report is a focal point of an intensifying debate over whether the United States should withdraw its forces from Iraq.
Bush landed at al-Asad Air Force base, west of Baghdad in Anbar province, the White House said as the president's plane touched down.
The White House said Bush's national security adviser Steven Hadley was on the plane also. The president had left early Monday for a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Sydney, Australia, with the leaders of Australia, China, Japan, Russia and other members of APEC. He was due to arrive in Australia on Tuesday.
Bush was to leave the APEC forum early to return to Washington to prepare for a crucial progress report on Iraq from U.S. commander General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The report is a focal point of an intensifying debate over whether the United States should withdraw its forces from Iraq.
Labels: al-Asad Air Force base, Condoleezza Rice, George Bush, Iraq, Robert Gates, Steven Hadley
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
U.S. troops release Iranians held in Iraq
Region
(The Guardian) - US troops today released a group of Iranians to Iraqi officials after detaining them at a central Baghdad hotel overnight. "They were detained yesterday by American forces and were released this morning," Yasin Majid, a media adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, told Reuters.
American troops raided Baghdad's Sheraton Ishtar hotel and took away a group of about 10 people late yesterday. The seven Iranians included an embassy official and six members of a delegation from Iran's electricity ministry. Videotape shot last night by Associated Press Television News showed US troops leading about 10 blindfolded and handcuffed men out of the hotel. Other soldiers carried out what appeared to be luggage and at least one briefcase and a laptop computer bag.
The latest incident between the US and Iran came as the US president, George Bush, made a tough speech against Iran. In an address to the American Legion convention in Reno, Nevada, Mr Bush said: "I have authorised our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities." Relations between the US and Iran are already strained by the detention of each other's citizens, as well as US accusations of Iranian involvement in Iraq's violence and alleged Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs.
The US is still holding five Iranians who were seized in January. American officials say the five include the operations chief and other members of Iran's elite Quds Force, which is accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. For its part, Iran is holding several Iranian-Americans on spying charges, although it freed an American-Iranian academic last week.
American troops raided Baghdad's Sheraton Ishtar hotel and took away a group of about 10 people late yesterday. The seven Iranians included an embassy official and six members of a delegation from Iran's electricity ministry. Videotape shot last night by Associated Press Television News showed US troops leading about 10 blindfolded and handcuffed men out of the hotel. Other soldiers carried out what appeared to be luggage and at least one briefcase and a laptop computer bag.
The latest incident between the US and Iran came as the US president, George Bush, made a tough speech against Iran. In an address to the American Legion convention in Reno, Nevada, Mr Bush said: "I have authorised our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities." Relations between the US and Iran are already strained by the detention of each other's citizens, as well as US accusations of Iranian involvement in Iraq's violence and alleged Iranian efforts to develop nuclear bombs.
The US is still holding five Iranians who were seized in January. American officials say the five include the operations chief and other members of Iran's elite Quds Force, which is accused of arming and training Iraqi militants. For its part, Iran is holding several Iranian-Americans on spying charges, although it freed an American-Iranian academic last week.
Labels: George Bush, Iranian detainees, Quds Force, Sheraton Ishtar hotel, U.S. troops, Yasin Majid
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Talabani optimistic that political parties can agree on developing national unity govt
Politics
(RFE/RL) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told reporters at an August 5 press briefing in Baghdad that he is optimistic that Iraq's fractious political parties can reach agreement on developing the national-unity government, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reported the same day. He said that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has agreed with Talabani and Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi to work according to four previously agreed-upon principles: strengthening and developing the national-unity government; adhering to the previously agreed-upon political program and implementing outstanding provisions; constitutional reform, including a redistribution of executive power between the prime ministry and the Presidency Council; and studying the Iraq Accordance Front's demands and committing to meeting those demands deemed legitimate.
Talabani also discussed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's announcement that he refused to accept the resignations of the Accordance Front's ministers in his cabinet. Talabani said the Presidency Council hopes the front's cabinet members will reconsider their boycott and return to work. For his part, al-Maliki discussed his conversation with U.S. President George W. Bush, telling reporters that Bush also called Talabani and Abd al-Mahdi because he recognized Iraq's executive branch was in dire need of consultation, communication, and integration. Abd al-Mahdi also attended the press briefing.
Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi told Al-Sharqiyah television in an August 4 interview that he conveyed the Sunni Arab position to President Bush during a telephone call the same day. He said Bush stressed the need for collective leadership in Iraq. "For my part, I have reassured the U.S. president that the Accordance Front has withdrawn from Nuri al-Maliki's government but it has not withdrawn from the political process, and that it will remain active in the interest of Iraq from its position at the Presidency Council and the positions of its representatives at the Council of Representatives," al-Hashimi said.
Labels: Adil Abdul Mahdi, Council of Representatives, George Bush, Iraqi Accordance Front, Jalal Talabani, national unity, Presidency Council, Tariq Al Hashemi
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Al Qaeda number two taunts Bush in internet video
Insurgency
(Al Jazeera) - Al-Qaeda's number two has taunted George Bush, the US president, in a new video posted on the internet. According to the US-based Site Institute, which said on Saturday it had seen the video, Ayman al-Zawahri sarcastically referred to a congressional bill that ties funding for the US effort in Iraq to a timetable for troops to withdraw
"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," al-Zawahri said, adding the bill was evidence of American "failure and frustration". He did not mention the vetoing of the bill last Thursday by Bush. Al-Zawahri also congratulated Bush "on the success of his security plan" in Iraq and invited him to celebrate with "a glass of juice, but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament in the middle of the Green Zone", referring to the site of a recent suicide bombing.
The Site Institute said al-Zawahri also claimed al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq were getting "closer to victory over their enemy" despite continuing sectarian violence. Al-Zawahri also spoke on a number of other topics in the video, including fighting in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Algeria, and Somalia.
He also referred to Saudi Arabia, the recent constitutional reforms in Egypt and the US Pentagon's release of the confessions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and is said to be al-Qaeda's number three and who was allegedly behind the September 11 attack on the US World Trade Centre.
In it al-Zawahri called on minorities around the world to join the struggle against "oppression", saying: "We aren't waging jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be." The internet video is one hour seven minutes long, dated May and subtitled in English.
"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," al-Zawahri said, adding the bill was evidence of American "failure and frustration". He did not mention the vetoing of the bill last Thursday by Bush. Al-Zawahri also congratulated Bush "on the success of his security plan" in Iraq and invited him to celebrate with "a glass of juice, but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament in the middle of the Green Zone", referring to the site of a recent suicide bombing.
The Site Institute said al-Zawahri also claimed al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq were getting "closer to victory over their enemy" despite continuing sectarian violence. Al-Zawahri also spoke on a number of other topics in the video, including fighting in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Algeria, and Somalia.
He also referred to Saudi Arabia, the recent constitutional reforms in Egypt and the US Pentagon's release of the confessions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and is said to be al-Qaeda's number three and who was allegedly behind the September 11 attack on the US World Trade Centre.
In it al-Zawahri called on minorities around the world to join the struggle against "oppression", saying: "We aren't waging jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be." The internet video is one hour seven minutes long, dated May and subtitled in English.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahri, George Bush, internet video, Iraq, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Al-Sadr sends letter to Bush
Politics, International
(RFE/RL) - Iraqi parliamentarian Liqa al-Yasin read a letter from Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to U.S. President Bush during the April 28 session of parliament. Al-Sadr began by saying that Iraqis and people from around the world, including Democrats and Republicans in the United States, have called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, adding: "Your occupation is not far from the injustice done by Saddam [Hussein] or the fate of dictatorships, which you know. You ignored your friends and partners, let alone world opinion and Iraqi public opinion."
Al-Sadr denied that any worse chaos could come to Iraq should U.S. forces withdraw. Addressing Bush, he asked: "What terrorism have you repulsed when you have replaced the dictatorship with the Takfiris [nonbelievers]? What Ba'ath Party have you uprooted when you are calling for their return to our government? What weapons have you disarmed...? What sectarianism have you eliminated...? Is this the democracy you want?"
Muqtada al-Sadr also commented on the 2001 World Trade Center bombing in his letter to President Bush, claiming the United States diverted the war on terror to Iraq. Al-Sadr said: "If a tower was destroyed in the United States, what sin have we Iraqis committed? If Saddam destroyed it, he is now burning in hell. If you claim that it was destroyed by the terrorists, you are the one who opened wide the doors of Iraq for them so as to kill while you [in America] enjoy peace." Al-Sadr said a U.S. withdrawal would be a victory for "honorable Iraqis" who defended their independence, adding, "It is not a victory for terrorism."
Labels: George Bush, Moqtada Al-Sadr
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
Thursday, April 26, 2007
U.S. House passes legislation to set withdrawal date
Security, U.S.
(The Guardian) - A sharply divided House of Representatives ignored the threat of a presidential veto last night and passed legislation that would order George Bush to begin withdrawing US troops from Iraq in October. The 218-208 vote came as the top US commander in Iraq said that the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
The bill is now on track to clear Congress by the weekend and arrive on the president's desk as the first binding congressional challenge to Mr Bush's handling of the conflict, which is now in its fifth year. "Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said the House majority leader, Democrat Steny Hoyer.
Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date".
The legislation approves a further $124.2bn (£61.9bn) to fund the war but demands troop withdrawals begin on October 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government fails to fulfil certain conditions. It sets a non-binding goal of completing the pullout by April 1 2008, while allowing for forces conducting certain missions, such as pursuing terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.
The Senate is expected to clear the measure today, sending it to the president. While Mr Bush remains confident the bill will ultimately fail because the Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on Congress. To coincide with the vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, General David Petraeus, and other senior defence officials to make his case.
Republicans and Democrats alike emerged from their private briefing with Gen Petraeus further entrenched in their positions. Speaking to the BBC while on a visit to Iran, Hoshyar Zebari said the effort to set a date of October for US troops to start leaving his country would not help his country's security or political development.
Labels: General David Petraeus, George Bush, House of Representatives, U.S., U.S. troop withdrawal
