AFGHANISTAN
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16 April 2007
Bush Urges Congressional Support for Iraq, Afghanistan Missions
By David McKeeby
USINFO Staff Writer
Washington – President Bush says he looks forward to an upcoming meeting with congressional Democrats to find a way to pass a crucial $100 billion defense spending package for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[Jump to: transcript of Bush’s remarks]
Bush said he considers it “healthy” and “normal” that Congress would disagree with the president over the best course of action in Iraq. However, “Congress needs to pass an emergency war spending bill, without strings and without further delay,” Bush told White House reporters April 16. His press appearance followed a meeting with military families, who are in Washington to ask their elected representatives in Congress to support the president's funding request.
Bush praised the military families, whose sacrifices, he said, show that they share his belief that the United States must prevail against terrorism by remaining on the offensive and by supporting fledgling democracies.
“If we do not defeat the terrorists and extremists in Iraq, they won't leave us alone,” Bush said, adding that “the consequences of failure in Iraq would be death and destruction in the Middle East and here in America.”
For the past two months, Bush has faced an impasse with congressional leaders of the Democratic Party, which won a majority in both houses of Congress in the November 2006 elections in part due to popular dissatisfaction with the progress of the war in Iraq.
Since the elections, the Bush administration has conducted a comprehensive review of operations in Iraq, resulting in a new strategy to help the democratically elected Iraqi government bring violence under control, as well as a new coalition commander, U.S. Army General David Petraeus, to implement the plan. (See related article.)
But the Democratic-controlled Congress has responded to the White House’s request for funding for Iraq and Afghanistan with two separate proposals that include timetables for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces. The House version calls for the removal of troops by August 2008, while the Senate version would require redeployment of U.S. forces out of Iraq by March 2008.
The purpose of mandating withdrawal dates, Democratic Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said April 15, is to send the new Iraqi government a message that “the open-ended commitment is over,” and that it must step up efforts to stabilize the country through political reconciliation and economic reforms. (See related article.)
The two chambers will negotiate a final bill to send to the White House, but Democrats say that they will not remove their demand for a timetable for redeployment out of Iraq.
Bush said he would reject the funding bill as long as it sets what he called “an arbitrary date for withdrawal,” which he said would allow Iraq’s enemies to wait for coalition troops to leave, and then seize power from a government elected by 12 million free Iraqis. (See related article.)
Bush plans to meet at the White House with the Democratic congressional leadership on April 18 in an effort to find a compromise to continue funding missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I understand Republicans and Democrats in Washington have differences over the best course in Iraq,” Bush said. “That's healthy. That's normal. And we should debate those differences. But our troops should not be caught in the middle.
“I am willing to discuss any way forward that does not hamstring our troops, set an artificial timetable for withdrawal, and spend billions on projects not related to the war,” Bush said.
“The American people expect their leaders in Washington to find common ground; but they also expect the Congress and the White House to work together to make sure our troops get funded quickly.”
For more information, see Iraq Update and Rebuilding Afghanistan.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) | 
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