Iraq war spending showdown looms

President George W. Bush and Congress are headed toward another showdown on war spending, this time sparring over nearly $190bn (€134bn) the Pentagon says is needed to keep combat in Iraq afloat for another year.

Senator Robert Byrd, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, vowed on Wednesday not to “rubber stamp” the request and said it was time to put Bush’s policies in check.

“We cannot create a democracy at the point of a gun,” said Byrd, a Democrat whose speech during a Senate hearing on the spending request was interrupted several times by cheers of anti-war protesters.

“Sending more guns does not change that reality,” Byrd said.

The tough rhetoric was reminiscent of last spring, when Congress passed and Bush vetoed a bill funding the war through September but ordering troop withdrawals to begin by October 1. Democrats still lack the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.