Senator: Iraq money hinges on troop pullout

[unhappycamper]

Senator: Iraq money hinges on troop pullout
By Anne Flaherty - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 13, 2007 16:28:59 EST

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats will not approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President George Bush agrees to begin bringing U.S. troops home.

By the end of the week, the House of Representatives and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately, with the goal of ending combat by December 2008.

If Bush vetoes the bill, “then the president won’t get his $50 billion,” Reid told reporters at a news conference.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, made a similar statement last week in a closed-door caucus meeting.

The tough rhetoric does not necessarily foretell another veto showdown with Bush on the war. Similar legislation routinely has fallen short of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate. It is possible the coming bill will sink, in which case Democrats probably would wait until next year to return to the issue.

Their remarks reflect a new Democratic strategy on the war: force Bush to accept a timetable for troop withdrawals, or turn Pentagon accounting processes into a bureaucratic nightmare.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_iraqfunding_071112/