The US Congress sent President George W. Bush a multibillion dollar Iraq war budget on Thursday, after bowing to his demands to rip out troop withdrawal timelines that prompted a previous veto.
After a day of anguished debate reflecting sharp divisions over the unpopular war, the House of Representatives voted 280-142 to fund the war through September, and the Senate concurred by 80 votes to 14.
The votes left many anti-war Democrats with a sour taste but acknowledging they lack the power to thwart Bush's war strategy, despite controlling Congress, and Republicans crowing they had beaten Democratic "surrender dates."
When Bush signs the bill, he will end, temporarily at least, a bitter constitutional tug-of-war between Congress and the White House.
Democrats nevertheless vowed to renew efforts to handcuff him over a war which has dragged on for four years and killed 3,438 US troops and untold thousands of Iraqis.
"The days of blank checks and green lights for his failed policy are over," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who reluctantly backed the bill.
"Senate Democrats will never give in, never, never, never, never," Reid said, paraphrasing former wartime British prime minister Winston Churchill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and several other top Democrats, were in the unusual position of voting against a deal they had spent days negotiating with the White House.
"This is like a fig leaf, this is a token, this is a small step forward, instead we should have a giant step forward into a new direction," she said.
Top Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both voted no, reflecting anti-war fervor they face on the campaign trail.
"With my vote today, I am saying to the President that enough is enough," Obama said later in a written statement.
Clinton said in a statement: "I believe that the President should begin a phased redeployment of our troops out of Iraq and abandon this escalation."
Another Democratic presidential hope, Senator Joseph Biden grudgingly voted to pass the bill.
The White House expressed satisfaction at the passage of what it described as a roadmap for security in Iraq.
"Congress is to be congratulated for successfully providing our troops with the funding and flexibility they need to protect our country, rather than mandating arbitrary timetables for military operations," said Alex Conant, a White House spokesman.
Several times, raw angst over the war erupted onto the floor of the House.
Republican leader John Boehner dissolved in tears, as he warned the US needed to take the battle to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Democrat John Murtha, could barely contain his fury as he shouted hoarsely across the chamber: "I feel a direction change in the air."
Thursday's votes came hours after Bush forecast a bloody and difficult few months in Iraq.
"We're going to expect heavy fighting in the weeks and months" to come, Bush told a White House news conference.
"We can expect more American and Iraqi casualties," he said.
Democrats had demanded troop withdrawal timetables for months, and included them in a US$124 billion budget vetoed by Bush earlier this month.
But they finally conceded to political logic, unwilling to be seen as unsupportive of troops stuck in battle, knowing that they lack the two-thirds majority needed to block a presidential veto.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS