Bush ready to veto Democrat bill that calls for Iraq pull-out

President George Bush is poised to veto a bill that would require the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by next spring, after the powerfully symbolic measure was passed yesterday by the Democrat-controlled Congress.

The move came as the US commander in Iraq, referring to the war, said: "This effort may get harder before it gets easier".

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The Senate voted 51-46 to pass a funding bill that came with an attachment demanding the start of a troop withdrawal in October. The House of Representatives passed a similar measure the previous day.

A spokeswoman for the White House, Dana Perino, said Mr Bush would "make good on his promise to veto the bill". She added: "The President is the commander-in-chief. He is a man of principle. He is not going to put the troops in the position of having a surrender date ..."

The passing of the measure would have been unthinkable a year ago when both houses of Congress were controlled by the Republicans. But, following last November's mid-term elections when Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate, the resurgent Democrats have been limbering up for a head-on collision with Mr Bush.

The bill also reflects growing unhappiness within the country about the war in Iraq and the huge toll it has taken on US and UK troops and Iraqi civilians. No more than a third of the US public now believes the war was worth fighting.

"The President has failed in his mission to bring peace and stability to the people of Iraq," said Senator Robert Byrd, Democratic chairman of the Appropriations Committee. "It's time to bring our troops home from Iraq."

The $124.2bn (£62bn) bill calls for the withdrawal to start on 1 October or even sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks set by the US, which is pushing it to take control of security operations. A non-binding goal calls for its completion by 1 April next year, though it would allow for troops conducting certain non-combat missions to stay longer.

With no small measure of irony, the bill is due to arrive on Mr Bush's desk next Tuesday, four years to the day that the President stood on board the USS Abraham Lincoln in front of a banner that read "Mission Accomplished" and declared that major combat operations were over. In all, at least 3,334 US and 145 UK troops have been killed, along with an estimated 655,000 Iraqi civilians.

Ms Perino said that sending the bill to the President on such a day would be a ridiculous public relations stunt. She added: "That is the height of cynicism, and absolutely so unfortunate for the men and women in uniform and their families watching the debate."

Republicans vowed that they would ensure the Democrats did not have enough support to overturn Mr Bush's veto - something that would require a two-thirds majority. Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican, said the withdrawal dates in the bill will "be the day that al-Qa'ida would declare victory".

Meanwhile, briefing reporters at the Pentagon, General David Petraeus, who is leading the US military effort in Iraq, said the situation was the "most complex and challenging I have ever seen". He added: "There is vastly more work to be done across the board ... We are just getting started with the new effort."

Asked how many troops he thought would have to remain in Iraq, General Petraeus declined to be drawn into the political debate. He said: "I wouldn't try to truly anticipate what level might be some years down the road ... It is an endeavour that clearly is going to require enormous commitment."