The Senate majority leader, Democratic Senator
Harry Reid (File Photo) Photo Gallery
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WASHINGTON,
April 2 (Xinhua) -- Democratic Senator Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader,
proposed on Monday cutting off funds for the Iraq war if the proposal to set a
timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq was rejected by President George
W. Bush.
Reid said if Bush rejects the legislation with a
pullout deadline, he would join forces with Democratic Senator Russ Feingold,
who has called to end the war by denying funding for it.
"Congress has a responsibility to end a war that is
opposed by the American people and is undermining our national security," said
Feingold.
Both the House and the Senate have passed emergency
war funding legislation that included timetables for pulling American forces out
of Iraq, and Bush has threatened to veto any bill with such a deadline.
The bill approved by the Senate last week requires
Bush to start withdrawal within 120 days after its becomes law, and aims to pull
out all combat forces by March 31, 2008. The House measure asks the president to
bring most combat troops home by Aug. 31 next year.
The House and Senate are working on a final proposal
so Congress can send a final version of the bill to the president.
WASHINGTON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Defense Department said Monday that the American military "surge" in Iraq to help quell sectarian violence in the war-torn country would maintain until August this year.
The U.S. military was maintaining a troop level of 20 combat brigades in Iraq, and with additional troops rotating into Iraq, the buildup would continue at that level through August 2007, said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman.
Whitman said the Pentagon had decided to deploy 7,000 troops to replace units on their way out of Iraq, which would help the reinforcements to remain in Iraq until August. Meanwhile, about 2,000 military police would be deployed to Iraq to guard prisoners. Full story
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon can fund
military operations in Iraq through July even under a possible protracted
standoff between Democrats and the Bush administration, according to a study
released here Friday.
The study by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said the U.S. army has enough money in its existing budget to
fund operations and maintenance through the end of May -- about 52.6 billion
U.S. dollars.
If additional transfer authority is tapped, subject
to Congress approving a reprogramming request, the army will have enough funds
to make it through nearly two additional months, or toward the end of
July. Full story
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