U.S. House of Representatives voted to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. House of Representatives last night voted to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1, acting hours after President Bush urged Congress not to interfere in war strategy and to maintain funding for the military.



The 223-to-201 vote, which is not enough to override Bush's threatened veto, came after the president delivered a report to Congress that said Iraq is making satisfactory progress on only eight of 18 benchmarks the United States has set for it.



Earlier yesterday, Bush defended his handling of the war and sought to minimize the role of an increasingly restless Congress in the conflict. He said the House and Senate should provide money for the troops but leave the war strategy to him and U.S. military commanders.



"Congress has all the right in the world to fund. That's their main involvement in this war, which is to provide funds for our troops," Bush said at a White House press conference.



Mindful that Democrats, and some Republicans, on Capitol Hill may try to force a change in strategy, the president said lawmakers should not be "determining how troops are positioned, or troop strength. . . . I don't think that would be good for the country."



While the House Democrats could not attract enough Republican support to override a veto, last night's vote signaled continued discontent with Bush's war strategy, and could be followed by a similar effort in the Senate.



House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president's progress report "makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress." But House Republican leader John A. Boehner said the House vote was meaningless, adding, "There is only one way to end the war on radical jihadists, and that is to win."



The House bill calls for the withdrawal of combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1. It allows for a small force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets, and fight terrorists.



The vote was mostly along party lines, with 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed.



Bush had urged Congress to wait for a more complete Iraq progress report in September, but the Democratic-led Congress pushed forward yesterday with their effort to mandate a pullback or pullout of troops within months. Lawmakers pointed to a provision included in a war-budget bill earlier this year that required significant progress in Iraq to justify continued funding, The Boston Globe reports.