www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

   

US House OKs Iraq troop pullout bill

(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-26 10:01

WASHINGTON - A sharply divided House brushed aside a veto threat Wednesday and passed legislation that would order President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq by Oct. 1.


In this video framegrab taken from C-SPAN television, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, Wednesday April 25, 2007, prior to a vote on the Iraq spe
nding bill. [AP]
The 218-208 vote came as the top UScommander in Iraq told lawmakers the country remained gripped by violence but was showing some signs of improvement.

Passage puts the bill on track to clear Congress by week's end and arrive on the president's desk in coming days as the first binding congressional challenge to Bush's handling of the conflict now in its fifth year.

"Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Republicans promised to stand squarely behind the president in rejecting what they called a "surrender date" handed to the enemy.

"Al-Qaida will view this as the day the House of Representatives threw in the towel," said Rep. Jerry Lewis of California, ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee.

The $124.2 billion bill would fund the war, among other things, but demand troop withdrawals begin on Oct. 1 or sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain standards. The bill sets a nonbinding goal of completing the troop pull out by April 1, 2008, allowing for forces conducting certain noncombat missions, such as attacking terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.

House and Senate appropriators agreed to the legislation earlier this week. The Senate was expected to clear the measure Thursday, sending it to the president.

While Bush was confident the bill would ultimately fail because Democrats lacked the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, he kept up pressure on lawmakers. On the same day as the House vote, the president dispatched his Iraq commander, Gen. David Petraeus, and other senior defense officials to Capitol Hill to make his case: Additional forces recently sent to Iraq are yielding mixed results and the strategy needs more time to work.

Petraeus told reporters sectarian killings in Baghdad were only a third of what they were in January, before Bush began sending in additional USforces. He added that progress in the troubled western Anbar province was "breathtaking," and that he thought Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was "doing his best" at leading the country.

But "the ability of al-Qaida to conduct horrific, sensational attacks obviously has represented a setback and is an area in which we're focusing considerable attention," Petraeus said.

Petraeus said he would not touch on the "minefield of discussions about various legislative proposals," but he noted that the new strategy in Iraq was just beginning. He said he planned to provide more details in early September.

Petraeus briefed his findings to lawmakers in a private room, where protesters outside chanted "Troops home now!" Republicans and Democrats alike emerged to say Petraeus had only confirmed their positions.

"This briefing reinforced our view that the solution in Iraq is a political solution," Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters. Also confirmed, he said, was "our belief that we must hold the Iraqis accountable for achieving real progress."

Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, said Petraeus acknowledged there were challenges. "But considering where we are, I think the general feels good about the progress thus far," Boehner said.

Bush said he stands firm on his latest strategy for winning the war and dismisses as counterproductive the Democratic call for withdrawal.

"That means our commanders in the middle of a combat zone would have to take fighting directions from legislators 6,000 miles away on Capitol Hill," Bush said this week. "The result would be a marked advantage for our enemies and a greater danger for our troops."

Petraeus' comments Wednesday put a finer point on when the much-awaited decision about the length of the UStroop buildup may come, saying he will make an assessment of the conditions in Iraq in early September, and report back to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other military leaders.

Gates has said he expects the assessment this summer, but this is the first time military leaders said it would not be until September.



Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
主站蜘蛛池模板: 色偷偷88欧美精品久久久 | 亚洲综合精品成人 | 男人的亚洲天堂 | 日韩欧美精品一区二区三区 | 精品一区二区三区在线观看l | 日本一级做人免费视频 | 亚洲第一成年网站大全亚洲 | 女人张开腿让男人桶个爽 | 毛片日韩 | 92看片淫黄大片看国产片 | 精品国产精品久久一区免费式 | 亚洲欧美自拍偷拍 | 欧美日韩精品在线播放 | 久久久毛片免费全部播放 | 免费a级在线观看播放 | 萌白酱喷水福利视频在线 | 女让张开腿让男人桶视频 | 欧美另类性视频 | 亚洲成人网页 | 欧美在线a级高清 | 日韩精品一区二区在线观看 | 一级片免费在线播放 | 99国产精品高清一区二区二区 | 北岛玲亚洲一区在线观看 | 国产精品亚洲精品不卡 | 亚洲精品手机在线 | 韩国毛片一级 | 亚洲国产二区三区 | 9191精品国产免费不久久 | 久久久久久久国产精品毛片 | 一级毛片视频在线 | 国产成人91精品 | 国产精品久久久久免费视频 | 91免费网站在线看入口黄 | 亚洲性久久久影院 | 美女mm131爽爽爽免费视色 | 自拍 欧美 在线 综合 另类 | 日韩欧美一区二区三区免费观看 | 毛片免费永久不卡视频观看 | 91免费高清视频 | 中文字幕一区二区小泽玛利亚 |