Bush threatens to veto war funding bill with pullout deadline

U.S. President George W. Bush threatened on Friday that he would veto the war funding bill with a deadline for withdrawing American troops from Iraq next year that the House passed narrowly earlier in the day.

"As I've made clear for weeks, I will veto if it comes to my desk," Bush said at the White House, shortly after the House approved the 124 billion-U.S. dollar bill in a vote of 218-212, which would require the administration to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq by Sept. 1, 2008.

Bush said the purpose of the emergency war spending bill he requested was to provide U.S. troops with funding to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Instead, Democrats in the House, in an act of political theater, voted to substitute their judgment for that of our military commanders on the ground in Iraq," he said.

The president said Democrats "set rigid restrictions ... set an arbitrary date for withdrawal without regard for conditions on the ground."

"They tacked on billions for pet projects that have nothing to do with winning the war on terror," he said.

If Congress did not approve the emergency funding for U.S. troops by April 15, the military would "face significant disruptions, and so will their families," he said.

The House narrowly passed the bill on Friday that would require the Bush administration to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by Sept. 1 next year. All but 14 Democrats voted for it and two Republicans broke with their party leaders to vote in favor of the legislation.

Source: Xinhua