almotamar.net google - WASHINGTON - In a direct challenge to President Bush , House Democrats are advancing legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year.
The conditions, described as tentative until presented to the Democratic rank and file Thursday, would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan .
Underscoring the debate among Democrats, several opponents of the war issued a statement late Wednesday saying they "have had a constructive dialogue with members of our party�s leadership. ... However, at this time, we have not reached any final agreement."
Even so, House Spe, , )�s office , , ), D-Pa., and other key lawmakers. Murtha is chairman of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon �s budget and is among the House�s most outspoken opponents of the war.
The decision to impose conditions on the war risks a major confrontation with the Bush administration and its Republican allies in Congress.
To make the overall measure more attractive politically, Democrats also intend to add money to Bush�s request for military operations in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is expected to mount a spring offensive.
Democrats also are including funds for a health care program for low-income children. The program is popular among governors of both political parties, but the Bush administration has not signaled its acquiescence to the additional money.
The New York Times reported on its Web site Wednesday night that the day-to-day commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, has recommended that the higher troop level be maintained until February 2008 to support a sustained effort to win over the Iraqi populace.
They said if Bush certified the Iraqis were meeting these so-called benchmarks, U.S. combat troops could remain until September of next year. Otherwise, the deadline would move up to the end of 2007.
Yet it also permits Bush to issue waivers of these standards. Democrats described the waiver provision as an attempt to embarrass the president into adhering to the standards. But they concede the overall effect will be to permit the administration to proceed with plans to deploy five additional combat brigades to the Baghdad area over the next few months.
The measure emerged from days of private talks among Democrats following the collapse of Murtha�s original proposal, which would have required the Pentagon to meet readiness and training standards without the possibility of a waiver.
Murtha said its implementation would have starved the war effort of troops because the Pentagon would not be able to find enough fully rested, trained and equipped units to meet its needs.
Several moderate Democrats spoke out against it, though. And Republicans sharply attacked it as the abandonment of troops already in the war zone.