US democrats pass bill to end Iraq war early

Democrats in the US house of Representatives have pushed through a bill today, requiring President George Bush to start bringing troops home from Iraq with a goal of ending combat by next December.

The legislation, passed 218-203, was largely a symbolic jab at Mr Bush, who has already begun reducing force levels but opposes a congressionally-mandated timetable on the war.

While the measure was unlikely to pass in the Senate, let alone overcome a presidential veto, Democrats said they wanted voters to know they were not giving up.

“The fact is, we can no longer sustain the military deployment in Iraq,” said House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“Staying there in the manner that we are there is no longer an option.”

The White House pledged to veto the bill and Republicans said they would back the president.

“In addition to infringing upon the president’s constitutional authority as commander in chief, the bill would mandate a precipitous withdrawal of troops that could increase the probability that American troops would have to one day return to Iraq to confront an even more dangerous enemy,” a Bush administration statement said.

The bill represents about a quarter of the $190bn (€130bn) Mr Bush requested for combat operations in the 2008 budget year, which began on October 1.

It would compel an unspecified number of troops to leave Iraq within 30 days, a requirement Mr Bush is already on track to meet as he begins in coming weeks to reverse the 30,000 troop build-up he ordered earlier this year.

It also sets a goal of ending combat by December 15, 2008 and states that money included in the bill should be used to redeploy troops and “not to extend or prolong the war”.

The measure also would set government-wide standards on interrogation, effectively barring the CIA from using harsh techniques such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.

The Bill was on shaky ground this week, after some liberal Democrats said it was too soft and would not force Mr Bush to end the war. Conservative Democrats said they thought it went too far and would tie the hands of military commanders.

Uncertain the bill would pass, Ms Pelosi delayed a vote by several hours yesterday while she met supporters and asked them to help her round up votes.

Hours before the scheduled vote, the White House dispatched defence secretary Robert Gates and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to Capitol Hill to brief politicians on Iraq.

In one closed-door meeting, Mr Gates urged a group of senators not to support the bill, saying the same politicians who criticised Pentagon civilians for previously ignoring the advice of its uniformed generals were asking him to ignore them now, according to an official who attended the meeting.

Similar legislation has passed repeatedly along party lines in the House, only to sink in the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority and 60 votes are needed to overcome procedural hurdles.