Senate rejects U.S. troop pullout in Iraq (93-6 vote subverts will of the people...

Edited by JamBoi on Thu Jun-15-06 06:06 PM
Senate rejects U.S. troop pullout in Iraq

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Congress plunged into divisive election-year debate on the Iraq war Thursday as the U.S. military death toll reached 2,500. The Senate soundly rejected a call to withdraw combat troops by year's end, and House Republicans laid the groundwork for their own vote.

In a move Democrats criticized as gamesmanship, Senate Republicans brought up the withdrawal measure and quickly dispatched it — for now — on a 93-6 vote.

The proposal would have allowed "only forces that are critical to completing the mission of standing up Iraqi security forces" to remain in Iraq in 2007.

Across Capitol Hill in a daylong House debate, Republicans defended the Iraq war as a key part of the global fight against terrorism while Democrats assailed
President Bush's war policies and called for a new direction in the conflict.

"When our freedom is challenged, Americans do not run," House Speaker
Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said in remarks laden with references to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"This is a war that is a grotesque mistake," countered House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. She called for a fresh strategy — "one that will make us safer, strengthen our military, and restore our reputation in the world."

Republicans moved toward a vote on a resolution to reject any timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.

Congress roared into debate on the three-year conflict four months before midterm elections that will decide the control of both the House and Senate — and as Bush was trying to rebuild waning public support for the conflict.

The administration was so determined to get its message out that the
Pentagon distributed a highly unusual 74-page "debate prep book" filled with ready-made answers for criticism of the war.

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