The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50 billion
to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a
requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq.
The 53-45 vote was 15 votes short of the 60 needed to
advance.
Earlier on the day, Senate Democrats also terminated a
Republican proposal to authorize US$70 billion for Iraq and
Afghanistan wars but without a withdrawal timetable attached.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks
during a news conference in the Capitol in Washington Nov.13, 2007.
The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50
billion to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a
requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said that the
only way to get troops the money was to approve the restrictions
outlined by Democrats.
"Our troops continue to fight and die valiantly. And our
Treasury continues to be depleted rapidly, for a peace that we seem
far more interested in achieving than Iraq's own political
leaders," he said.
Republicans accused Democrats of being irresponsible by
downsizing President George W. Bush's request for 196 billion
dollars for wars and attach unacceptable requirement.
"We need to get our troops everything they need," said Senate
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "We need to get it to them right
now."
The 50-billion-dollar bill, passed at the House of
Representatives on Wednesday by voting 218-203, requires the
government to start troop withdrawal from Iraq in 30 days to reach
a goal of ending combat by mid-December 2008, and also demand
interrogations standards to bar harsh tactics such as
waterboarding.
US soldiers are seen during a patrol in the
Muhalla 832 Mechanik neighbourhood in Baghdad November 12, 2007.
The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50
billion to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a
requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
One reason cited by Senate Democrats on Friday to justify the
bill was that Iraqi government has not taken advantage of the
security provided by US forces.
"We have done our part. The Iraqi government has done its part,"
said Senator Patty Murray. "And in the meantime, while more
than150,000 of our troops have been policing a civil war in Iraq,
we have become more vulnerable overseas."
However, although slightly outnumbering Republicans in both
floors of Congress, Democrats have failed repeatedly this year to
win enough votes to change Bush's war policy.
Foreseeing failure in the latest round of war spending bill
showdown, Democrats warned earlier this week that if Congress
cannot pass legislation that ties war money to troop withdrawals,
they would not send Bush a bill this year, which will drag the
Pentagon to the brink of a financial nightmare and deepen conflicts
between Congress and the White House on the war.
"The president, refusing to be held accountable for his
disastrous war policy, is threatening to reject both our reasonable
approach and that money, leaving our military empty-handed," Reid
said in a statement on Thursday.
(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2007)
