By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
May 25, 2007
WASHINGTON - Republican and Democratic congressional leaders
both forecast a change in President Bush's Iraq war policy
as the president prepared to sign legislation Friday providing
funds for military operations through Sept. 30.
"I think the president's policy is going to begin to
unravel now," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who described
the just-passed measure as a disappointment because it did
not force an end to U.S. participation in the conflict.
At a separate news conference, Senate Republican Leader Mitch
McConnell predicted a change, and said Bush would show the
way.
"I think the handwriting is on the wall that we are going
in a different direction in the fall and I think the president
is going to lead it," he said.
McConnell said he expects Bush announce his intentions on
his own timetable.
The legislation that cleared Congress late Thursday night
marked the end of a struggle in which Bush rejected an earlier
bill because it contained a troop withdrawal timetable.
The White House said it expected to receive the replacement
measure Friday afternoon and that Bush would sign it privately,
with no fanfare other than a written announcement as soon as
it arrived from Capitol Hill.
"This effort shows what can happen when people work together," Bush
said after a visit to wounded troops at the National Naval
Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. "We've got a good bill
that didn't have timetables or tell the military how to do
its job, but also sent a clear signal to the Iraqis that there's
expectations here in America ... about how to move forward."
McConnell also emphasized that the Iraqis need to make progress. "We've
given the Iraqi government an opportunity here to have a normal
country. And so far, they've been a great disappointment to
members of the Senate on both sides," he said.
Democrats say the drive to bring U.S. troops home is far from
over.
"We're going to keep coming back and coming back," said
Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic caucus.
The war spending bill provides some $95 billion for the wars
in Iraq and Afghanistan and billions in domestic projects,
including more than $6 billion for hurricane relief. The House
voted 280-142 to pass the bill, followed by a 80-14 vote in
the Senate.
Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Barack Obama both voted against the bill.
"I fully support our troops" but the measure "fails
to compel the president to give our troops a new strategy in
Iraq," said Clinton, D-N.Y.
"Enough is enough," Obama, an Illinois senator,
declared, adding that Bush should not get "a blank check
to continue down this same, disastrous path."
Their votes continued a shift in position for the two presidential
hopefuls, both of whom began the year shunning a deadline for
a troop withdrawal.
Sen. John McCain, a GOP presidential contender, said the two
Democrats were embracing a "policy of surrender."
"This vote may win favor with MoveOn and liberal primary
voters, but it's the equivalent of waving a white flag to al-Qaida," said
McCain, R-Ariz. MoveOn.org is a grass-roots anti-war group
that rose to prominence in last year's elections.
Thursday's legislative action capped weeks of negotiations
with the White House, which agreed to accept some $17 billion
more than Bush had requested as long as there were no restrictions
on the military campaign.
"If all funding bills are going to be this partisan and
contentious, it will be a very long year," said McConnell.
In the months ahead, lawmakers will vote repeatedly on whether
U.S. troops should stay and whether Bush has the authority
to continue the war. The Democratic strategy is intended to
ratchet up pressure on the president, as well as on moderate
Republicans who have grown tired of defending Bush administration
policy in a deeply unpopular war.
The Senate will go first when it considers a defense policy
bill authorizing $649 billion in military spending in 2008.
The proposed bill, approved this week by the Senate Armed Services
Committee, cut $12 billion from the administration's $142 billion
war-related request to fund other programs, including an increase
in the size of the Army and the Marine Corps.
The most critical votes on the war are likely to be cast in
September when the House and Senate debate war funding for
2008. The September votes likely will come after Iraq war commander
Gen. David Petraeus tells Congress whether Bush's troop buildup
plan is working. Also due by September is an independent assessment
of progress made by the Iraqi government.
The U.S. has spent more than $300 billion on Iraq military
operations so far, according to the congressional Government
Accountability Office
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