Reuters: Dems to Fund Iraq War with No Pullout Date; Pledge to fight with new legislation in July

[flpoljunkie]

Democrats to fund Iraq war with no pullout date
By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell
Reuters

Tuesday, May 22, 2007; 2:06 PM


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush won a battle over funding the Iraq war as congressional Democrats on Tuesday abandoned troop withdrawal efforts for now but pledged to fight with new legislation in July.

Senior congressional aides said a $100 billion war funding bill the U.S. Congress is trying to finish this week will not contain timetables for withdrawing most of the 147,000 U.S. troops from Iraq, as anti-war Democrats had hoped.

On May 1, Bush vetoed Congress' first version of this year's emergency war funds bill because it set an October 1 deadline for starting to pull out soldiers.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said that finishing touches on a new bill were still being worked on with the White House.

But acknowledging the political realities of the Democrats' narrow control of Congress and a White House occupied by a Republican, Hoyer told reporters, "The president has made it very clear he's not going to sign timelines (for withdrawing troops). We can't pass timelines over his veto."

That will be a disappointment for many Democrats who think they won control of Congress in last November's elections largely because voters wanted to see an end to the four-year-old war in Iraq.

Hoyer said Democrats will continue pushing for a "change in direction" in Iraq, where at least 3,420 U.S. soldiers have been killed and more than 34,000 wounded.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052200814.html

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. At this point, for those Democrats who are looking a "political reality"

I'd say a whole bunch just lost their seats. :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

They should have stayed firm. If the money ran out, there was only ONE person responsible. They have him all the money he asked for PLUS money to take of the troops when they came home. Bush should have taken the high road and signed it. It could have pulled his ass out of the fire in a big way. But, as typical of Bush, he chose to pick a fight.

At least for today...I'm done. It's going to take a few days to square this one. :nuke:

[DemDem07]

2. NEXT TIME we really mean it!

What a joke.

[Bullet1987]

4. Such a bloody waste of time the whole lot of them...

[jaxx]

5. Depressing isn't it?

All the promises and they cave in to the madman. July........July is just another date on the calendar.

[DemDem07]

7. As I posted yesterday. This ain't not rubber stamp!

We scribbled in the memo area! Ana And And We misspelled his name on purpose. tee hee We're so tough.

[eagler]

3. There's no excuse for not holding firm - they caved

[MH1]

6. This bill only funds through September 2007.

Right?

Not saying I like it. Just saying it may be less bad than we think.

It's going to be difficult for a lot of our congress critters to vote for it though.

[jaxx]

8. I hope it's too tough to give in to and vote yes.

I've called my senators and said my piece.

[flpoljunkie]

12. Yes, through September.

[frylock]

9. the check is in the mail

[TwilightGardener]

10. What happened to the Webb proposal of limiting length of military deployments

and allowing adequate troop rest between deployments (Murtha Lite)? Now that Chimpy is planning the "second surge", it would seem even more important. Why doesn't Harry allow it to be attached to the funding bill as an amendment, and just SEE if the Repug Senators and Chimpy want to go on the record for ruining our military?

[marlakay]

11. Its like a very sick play

and they knew the end during the first act. I believe Pelosi and others knew from the beginning they didn't have the votes to take us out of Iraq but had to make it look like they tried.

Even if they passed no bill and money stopped...they should have done that...I think Bush just won the game of chicken...and dems just proved yet again how weak they are to the US and the world.

Shit...is all I can say.

[Connie_Corleone]

13. Just keeping that powder dry.