The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a non-binding
resolution that opposes US President George W. Bush's decision to
send more troops to Iraq.
The resolution was passed on a 246-182 vote, with more than a
dozen Republicans joining the Democratic majority to endorse
it.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said the
vote signals "a change in direction in Iraq that will end the
fighting and bring our troops home."
"The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have
little prospect for success," she said.
The vote marks the first time that the House openly rejected
Bush's war policy.
The resolution declares that "the Congress disapprove of the
decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007"
to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.
But it also states that "the Congress and the American people
will continue to support and protect the members of the United
States armed forces who are serving or who have served bravely and
honorably in Iraq."
The resolution is non-binding, but it will add pressure to the
Bush administration and its Iraq policy.
The US Senate Democratic majority said they plan to hold a test
vote in the Senate Saturday on whether to start a debate on the
House resolution.
It is not clear whether the Democrats will get the 60 votes
needed for the Senate to proceed with the resolution.
Opinion polls indicate a solid majority of the US public opposes
Bush's plan, and Democrats said the November election victories
that put them in control of Congress show Americans want to wind
down the nearly four-year-old war.
But Bush has said repeatedly that he won't bow to the growing
pressure on the Iraq issue from the Democrat-controlled
Congress.
In a speech on Wednesday, the president shrugged off the
non-binding resolution opposing his Iraq policy.
"They (US lawmakers) have every right to express their opinion,"
he said, adding that it is "only a non-binding resolution."
(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2007)
