$100 billion war chest is approved

27/05/2007| IslamWeb

US President George W Bush yesterday scored a key victory against Democrats in Congress over funding US troops in Iraq, but with no end in sight, the four-year-old war continues to encumber his administration.

But soon after Bush signed into law a long-sought bill committing $100 billion to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but stripped of a Democrat-advocated timeline for withdrawal, eight US soldiers were killed in continuing Iraq violence.

"Congress voted yesterday to provide our troops with the funding and flexibility they need to protect our country," Bush said in a statement.

"Rather than mandate arbitrary timetables for troop withdrawals or micromanage our military commanders, this legislation enables our servicemen and women to follow the judgement of commanders on the ground," he added.

After battling for weeks, the president's Democratic foes in Congress had ceded to his demands to strip timelines for troop withdrawals out of the war funding bill.

Bush reiterated that the measure sets the stage for pressing the fragile government in Baghdad to make progress on national reconciliation.

PHOTO CAPTION

A US marine patrols in the southern part of Fallujah, 25 May 2007.

GDN