US planning crucial votes on Iraq

US Democratic presidential contenders in Congress will cast a critical vote on the Iraq war this week, when politicians decide on a $120bn (€88bn) bill to keep military operations afloat.

The House of Representatives plans to vote today with the Senate to follow suit by the end of the week.

The legislation does not set the deadline for US troop withdrawals many Democrats wanted.

Unable to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to override another presidential veto, Democratic leaders announced on Tuesday they would proceed to fund the war anyway because they wanted to support the troops.

“I believe as long as we have troops in the front line, we’re going to have to protect them,” said Sen Joseph Biden, a Democrat. “We’re going to have to fund them.”

Biden was alone among the potential Democratic candidates in immediately vowing his support for the bill.

Front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama declined to say how they intended to vote on the measure.

Both have voted against binding timetables for troop withdrawals in the past, before public sentiment against the war hardened or they became presidential contenders.

Last week, the two voted to advance legislation that would have cut off money for US combat operations by March 31, 2008 cutoff.

Challengers Sen Christopher Dodd and Rep Dennis Kucinich said they would oppose the measure because it issued President George Bush a blank cheque on war.

“Half-measures and equivocations are not going to change our course in Iraq,” Dodd said in a statement. “If we are serious about ending the war, Congress must stand up to this president’s failed policy now – with clarity and conviction.”

The hefty spending bill has become a lightning rod for political attacks on Bush and his handling of the deeply unpopular war, which has killed more than 3,400 US troops and cost more than $300bn (€221bn). But it has also exposed a sharp divide among Democrats on how far Congress should go to end the war.

Democratic candidates are vying for the anti-war vote, but at the same time do not want to appear as though they are turning their backs on the military.

The bill includes about $100bn (€74bn) for military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as $8bn (€6bn) in domestic projects such as farm aid and hurricane relief and $9bn (€6.7bn) in military-related spending such as improved health care for service members.

While the measure does not include a timetable on the war, it does threaten to withhold US aid dollars for Iraq if Baghdad fails to make progress on political and security reforms.

However, the president could waive that restriction.

Biden said that while he would vote for the measure, he disagreed with the approach because it could hamper the Iraqi government’s ability to take on more responsibility.

The legislation resulted after weeks of negotiations with the White House, which agreed to accept $17bn (€13bn) in funding not requested by Bush so long as there were not restrictions on the military campaign.

Democratic leaders planned multiple votes in the House today to ensure the measure would ultimately pass because of disagreements among members on elements of the bill.

One vote will be on war funding, while another will be to approve the extra money for domestic and military-related projects.

While many Democrats were expected to vote against the amendment on war funds, Republican members were expected to make up for the losses. On the added spending, Democrats were likely to be unified in their support for the measure, overcoming Republican objections.