February 11, 2009 5:07 PM
- Text
Senate Passes Iraq Pullout Bill
(CBS/AP)
Senate Democrats pushed through a bill Thursday requiring President Bush to start withdrawing troops from "the civil war in Iraq," dealing a rare, sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief.
In a mostly party-line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $123 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Mr. Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008.
The president says he can't accept those terms and has promised a veto, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. The troops' money hangs in limbo — with each side saying it's the other who's not supporting the boots on the ground. The outstanding question now is: Which side will blink first?
"We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we've got a troop in harm's way, we expect that troop to be fully funded," Mr. Bush said, surrounded by Republicans on the North Portico, "and we got commanders making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings on our commanders."
"We expect the Congress to be wise about how they spend the people's money," he said.
The Senate vote marked its boldest challenge yet to the administration's handling of a war, now in its fifth year, that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops and more than $350 billion.
"We have fulfilled our constitutional responsibilities," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters shortly after the vote.
If Mr. Bush "doesn't sign the bill, it's his responsibility," Reid added.
In a show of support for the president, most Republicans opposed the measure, unwilling to back a troop withdrawal schedule despite the conflict's widespread unpopularity.
"Surely this will embolden the enemy and it will not help our troops in any way," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
While Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that setting timelines for withdrawal would hamper U.S. commanders in Iraq, he said Thursday that the debate on Capitol Hill has "been helpful in bringing pressure to bear" on the Iraqi government. He said it has made it clear to the Iraqis that "there is a very real limit to Americans' patience."
Gates also said he was disturbed to hear one of his military officers say it will be fall before they have a good idea how well the latest Baghdad campaign is going. He said he hopes that Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, will be able to make that evaluation by summer.
Forty-eight Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont were joined by two Republicans, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon, in voting for the measure. Opposed were 46 Republicans and Connecticut independent Joseph Lieberman.
Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., did not vote.
The House, also run by Democrats, narrowly passed similar legislation last week. The next step, CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports, is for a conference to meld the two bills together. That will not happen until after an upcoming two-week recess.
In a mostly party-line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $123 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Mr. Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008.
The president says he can't accept those terms and has promised a veto, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. The troops' money hangs in limbo — with each side saying it's the other who's not supporting the boots on the ground. The outstanding question now is: Which side will blink first?
"We stand united in saying loud and clear that when we've got a troop in harm's way, we expect that troop to be fully funded," Mr. Bush said, surrounded by Republicans on the North Portico, "and we got commanders making tough decisions on the ground, we expect there to be no strings on our commanders."
"We expect the Congress to be wise about how they spend the people's money," he said.
The Senate vote marked its boldest challenge yet to the administration's handling of a war, now in its fifth year, that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 American troops and more than $350 billion.
"We have fulfilled our constitutional responsibilities," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters shortly after the vote.
If Mr. Bush "doesn't sign the bill, it's his responsibility," Reid added.
In a show of support for the president, most Republicans opposed the measure, unwilling to back a troop withdrawal schedule despite the conflict's widespread unpopularity.
"Surely this will embolden the enemy and it will not help our troops in any way," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.
While Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that setting timelines for withdrawal would hamper U.S. commanders in Iraq, he said Thursday that the debate on Capitol Hill has "been helpful in bringing pressure to bear" on the Iraqi government. He said it has made it clear to the Iraqis that "there is a very real limit to Americans' patience."
Gates also said he was disturbed to hear one of his military officers say it will be fall before they have a good idea how well the latest Baghdad campaign is going. He said he hopes that Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, will be able to make that evaluation by summer.
Forty-eight Democrats and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont were joined by two Republicans, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon, in voting for the measure. Opposed were 46 Republicans and Connecticut independent Joseph Lieberman.
Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wy., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., did not vote.
The House, also run by Democrats, narrowly passed similar legislation last week. The next step, CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports, is for a conference to meld the two bills together. That will not happen until after an upcoming two-week recess.
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