Democrats not backing down on Iraq

[babylonsister]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070504/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq;_ylt=A0SOwmoobztG9ZkAAR2s0NUE

Democrats not backing down on Iraq

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats have signaled they're not ready to back down in their confrontation withPresident Bush on Iraq, spurring Republicans to accuse them of causing political gridlock.

Bush and Congress have been discussing a possible compromise on a war spending bill needed to finance combat operations through September. The president demands the money without strings attached and so far has found strong Republican support. But Democrats say Bush eventually will have to accept some conditions on the U.S. commitment in Iraq because of the war's unpopularity among voters.

For the first time, Bush dispatched his top aides to Capitol Hill this week to sit down with Democratic leaders to discuss the war.

"It has taken almost four and a half years, but it appears the president finally is willing to consider what most Americans and members of Congress have long known: we must change course in Iraq and move toward a strategy that will make our country more secure," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) in a statement released Friday.

Negotiations are expected to continue early next week. Unclear is whether a compromise could be struck.

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[aquart]

1. "For the first time..." Oh, that bipartisan spirit!

[IDemo]

2. I can definitely recommend this

[Kolesar]

3. I learned at work: figure out to whose advantage it is to "run out the clock"

Then stooge around and force your coworkers to accept bad terms that they don't want.