BEIJING, June 17 -- A bipartisan group of Congressmen have joined to push the Bush administration to start bringing home US troops from Iraq by October 1, 2006. The call was immediately rejected by the U.S. Defence Department.

    The small bipartisan group of House of Representatives lawmakers proposed a resolution on Thursday that would require the US president to announce a plan for withdrawing troops.

    It was the first such resolution put forth by lawmakers from both parties, although an overwhelming number of Democrats and six House Republicans voted in 2002 against sending troops to Iraq.

    Among the resolution's sponsors is Walter Jones who voted for the Iraq war but now says the United States has done what it can in Iraq and the reason for going to war has been proven false.

    "What we all agree on is that it is time for a public discussion of our goals and the future of our military involvement in Iraq. This resolution does no more than to call on the President to set a plan for a date to begin reducing the numbers of troops we have in Iraq", Jones said. 

    Defence Department officials rejected the call for a timetable to bring American troops home from Iraq saying: "Deadlines don't work."

    Car bombings and attacks by insurgents killed 80 US troops and more than 700 Iraqis last month alone. Pentagon officials acknowledge the level of violence is about the same as a year ago.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)