House Passes Iraq Withdrawal Bill
The House has passed a $50 billion Iraq funding bill that sets a "goal" of having all U.S. forces out of the country by Dec. 2008, the latest move in the ongoing political struggle conflict over the war.
The "Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act" was adopted by a vote of 218 to 203, with only four Republicans - Reps. Phil English (Pa.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Christopher Shays (Conn.) and James Walsh (N.Y.) - backing the measure.
Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Md.), who has backed other Democratic withdrawal bills, did not vote.
Fifteen Democrats opposed the bill - Reps. Tom Allen (Maine), Brian Baird (Wash.), John Barrow (Ga.), Dan Boren (Okla.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Dennis Kucinich (Ohio), Nick Lampson (Texas), Jim Marshall (Ga.), Jim Matheson (Utah), Michael McNulty (N.Y.), Michael Michaud (Maine), Vic Snyder (Ark.), Pete Stark (Wash.), Gene Taylor (Miss.), and John Tanner (Tenn.).
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) voted present.
The 'bridge fund" would provide money for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until Feb. 1, 2008, after which additional funds would have to approved by Congress. U.S. troops would begin a pullout 30 days after enactment of the legisaltion.
House and Senate Democratic leaders have threatened to withhold any war funds if President Bush does not agree to some withdrawal timetable or non-binding "goal," such as the Dec. 15, 2008, target included in this legislation.
It also requires Bush to come up with a detailed plan to redeploy U.S. forces from Iraq.
"The fact is we can no longer military sustain the deployment in Iraq," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. "Staying there in the manner that we are there is no longer an option."
Pelosi added that Bush's decision earlier this year to send an additional 30,000 American combat troops to Iraq has failed to bring about political reconciliation within Iraq, meaing the Bush "surge" has failed to achieve that goal.
"The sacrifice of our troops was simply not met by the actions of the Iraqi government," Pelosi said. "How much longer should we expect our young people to risk their lives, their limbs, and their families for an Iraqi government that is not willing to step up to the plate?"
Pelosi also noted that the Democratic legislation would ban all U.S. agencies from using detainee interrogation techniques not included in the U.S. Army Field Manual, which means waterboarding would be illegal. The nomination of now Attorney General Michael Mukasey was almost derailed in the Senate because he would not categorically state that waterboarding was torture and therefore illegal under American law.