BREAKING: House Votes For Withdrawal From Iraq By Spring!!!!

[FourScore]

WASHINGTON — The Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the Bush administration conceded Thursday in an assessment that war critics quickly seized on as confirmation of their dire warnings. Within hours, the House voted to withdraw U.S. troops by spring.

The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.

"The security situation in Iraq remains complex and extremely challenging," the administration report concluded. The economic picture is uneven, it added, and the government has not yet enacted vital political reconciliation legislation.

As many as 80 suicide bombers per month cross into the country from Syria, said the interim assessment, which is to be followed by a fuller accounting in September from Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in the region...

SNIP

...Describing a document produced by his administration at Congress' insistence, he said there was satisfactory progress by the Iraqi government toward meeting eight of 18 so-called benchmarks, unsatisfactory progress on eight more and mixed results on the rest.

To his critics _ including an increasing number of Republicans _ he said bluntly, "I don't think Congress ought to be running the war. I think they ought to be funding the troops."

Democrats saw it differently.

A few hours after Bush's remarks, Democratic leaders engineered passage of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops to begin within 120 days, and to be completed by April 1, 2008. The measure envisions a limited residual force to train Iraqis, protect U.S. assets and fight al-Qaida and other terrorists.

The vote generally followed party lines: 219 Democrats and four Republicans in favor, and 191 Republicans and 10 Democrats opposed...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070712/us-iraq/

[papau]

1. 10 Dems voted no and 4 GOP voted yes - bill is same as earlier bill that was vetoed n/t

n/t

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. But Democrats do nothing!

:rofl:

Time for a third party! (sarcasm)

:rofl:

[Blashyrkh]

3. You know Joe will be along to save the day

:sarcasm:

[saracat]

4. But even if it passes the Senate, Bush will veto it. Game Point.

[tsuki]

6. He can veto it, but he cannot fund the war. nt

[KharmaTrain]

14. Bring On The Veto...Cafferty Nailed It

Keep the votes and force boooshie to veto...then the bill goes back to conference and the Democrats ram the same bill back at him again. Without passage, the funding comes to a complete halt. If boooshie refuses to compromise...do something he hasn't...he, himself, will lose ALL funding and the pressure will get more intense on getting the troops out.

The issue now is to force for the 5 Repugnicans to allow up or down Senate votes that will wedge the Repugnicans and put even greater pressure to achive true troop withdrawls sooner rather than January '09.

[tsuki]

18. Well said! nt

[HughMoran]

10. Every time Bush vetos a pullout, the Republicans look like idiots again

It is not a bad thing to have Republicans look like they are supporting an idiot who has a 26% approval rating.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. They do not give a rats ass about that.

They vote their freaking party line every damn time and we still sit around thinking that any day now they are going to see the light.

[HughMoran]

17. They can keep voting the party line until they are out of power completely

They were resoundingly defeated in 2006 using this same idiotic thinking. I am hoping they dont' smarten up any time soon and we have a veto-proof majority - never mind the Presidency...

[msongs]

5. does sit have teeth in it, like a funding cutoff for anything or just more hot air? nt

[Warren Stupidity]

7. Meaningless gesture, not even a Freidman Unit.

They know perfectly well that this will go nowhere.

[HughMoran]

8. Should they not have passed a bill then?

I'm curious why you seem to have distain in your voice - is there a way without Republican support to actually pass a bill that will withstand a veto from the hateful moron in charge?

[Warren Stupidity]

11. The only path they have is the one they have ruled out.

That is to not pass any more funding bills for this war. A bill that is not passed cannot be vetoed. They've known this all along and all they have done is fucked with us, played one of their clever little inside the beltway stunts, a little puppet show to keep us off balance. They take us for complete idiots and they very well may be right.

End the war: stop the funding.

[HughMoran]

16. I agree, but this is Vietnam II

The Democrats tried de-funding the first time (Vietnam I) and it was partially responsible for the "Republican revolution". I think they are trying a more incremental strategy that will earn them a veto-proof majority in 2008 (and likely the Presidency) if things keep going as they are going. In the long run, this is what the Dems think is a better strategy. I am heartbroken that the troops have to suffer while the politics is being played out. OTOH, thousands of kids keep signing up for this stupidity knowing what they are getting into. The Iraqi's would surely get things together faster if we left - so that is just plain bad.

[Warren Stupidity]

20. Sorry I don't buy that explanation.

A much simpler explanation is Nader's analysis that the 'War Party' spans the leadership of both de facto institutionalized political parties and has no intention of ending the war, which is actually an occupation, and which is part of their neocon great game to dominate the world as world civilization enters the peak oil resource crisis. I reject Nader's perscription of a third party movement, but his analysis is correct.

[HughMoran]

21. Hah, then passing a pullout with only 10 defections defines them as a "War Party"

I will have to cease discussing this with you as your mind is made up already and there appears to be no points for discussion.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. They know full well this is going nowhere.

The critical vote was the refunding of the occupation, and that is now ancient history. This is just for show, it is a game to keep you in line.

[HughMoran]

23. Could they have passed a veto-proof defunding bill?

Hah! I didn't think so.

Your theory is full of shit.

[Warren Stupidity]

27. You don't pass a defunding bill you vote no on funding.

This simple point has been explained here over and over again.
End the war: don't fund it. Vote NO on war appropriations.

[Cleita]

9. What is wrong with fall?n/t

[militaryspouse]

13. ..

sounds too good to be true. i'm sick of feeling helpless. time for change!

[Cleita]

19. I mean this Fall not a year from now. Tomorrow would work for

me as well. Why can't they just say we are done and start withdrawing? Does there have to be a rigid railroad time schedule?

[walldude]

26. It is too good to be true.. Bush will veto

if it gets as far as his desk..

[chknltl]

15. And bush will veto

It will likely pass the Senate as well but after the bush veto, this will be dead...again.
Evenso, this gives something to the Dem supporters and it will likely find use in spin come the next elections, most importantly against the Republicans who voted to stay the course. Americans are WAY beyond disenchanted with this war, including Republican supporters. Next election those politicians who supported "Stay The Course" will find an eroded base from which to draw votes.
(edited to add "from which")

[EVDebs]

24. Best news I've heard all day ! On to the Senate ! nt

[defendandprotect]

25. That's Spring 2008 -- !!!!??????????????????

That will be a year and a quarter AFTER the Democrats took control of the House and Senate --

what . . . ???

[Forkboy]

28. I'm glad they did it even it doesn't go anywhere.

It's one more point of pressure on those who keep the war going.I'm not looking for any one way to end the damn thing.I want multiple fronts opened up on these bastards with the morals of a praying mantis.

[malta blue]

29. Who are the 10 Dems who opposed troop withdrawal?

I can't find a list of votes.