Bush veto of Iraq bill could come 4 years after 'victory' speech aboard aircraft carrier

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans promised Thursday to uphold President Bush's veto on a bill that would order troops home from Iraq. Democrats said they would pass it anyway.

"The president has failed in his mission to bring peace and stability to the people of Iraq," said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He later added: "It's time to bring our troops home from Iraq."

The Senate vote comes a day after the House passed the measure by a 218-208 vote. The $124.2 billion bill requires troop withdrawals to begin Oct. 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks.

The debate came as the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, told reporters at the Pentagon that that the war effort likely will "get harder before it gets easier."

The bill sets a nonbinding goal of completing the troop pullout by April 1, 2008, allowing for forces conducting certain noncombat missions, such as attacking terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain.

The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to President Bush since they taking control of both houses of Congress in January.

The withdrawal dates in the bill "would be the day that al-Qaida would declare victory . . . and much the world would agree," said Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.

Democrats said the bill was on track to arrive on the president's desk on Tuesday, the anniversary of Bush's announcement aboard the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln that major combat operations in Iraq had ended.

"The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on Sept. 11, 2001, and still goes on," Bush said on May 1, 2003, in front of a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino called it a "ridiculous P.R. stunt" if Democratic lawmakers timed the sending of the bill to the anniversary of Bush's speech. "That is the height of cynicism, and absolutely so unfortunate for the men and women in uniform and their families who are watching the debate," she said Thursday morning.

Bush since has acknowledged that the war campaign has not progressed as he had hoped. After the November elections in which Democrats swept up enough seats to take the majority, Bush announced a new strategy that involved sending additional forces to Iraq.