Bush defied again as Iraq deaths mount
Bush defied again as Iraq deaths mount
By Guy Dinmore in Washington and agencies
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 30 2007 01:05 | Last updated: March 30 2007 01:05
Suicide bombers killed more than 110 people in mainly Shia areas of Iraq on Thursday while President George W. Bush and Congress slid deeper into a political stand-off over his requests for extra war spending and Democrats’ demands for a date for withdrawal.
Most of the estimated 62 victims of a bombing in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad were women and children shopping before the nightly curfew, Reuters news agency reported. As evening fell more than 50 people were killed north of the capital in three suicide car bombings.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, called for restraint, fearing reprisal attacks. On Tuesday Shia gunmen shot dead up to 70 Sunni Arab men in revenge for the 85 people killed by two truck bombs in a Shia area of the town.
“We’re still trying to get the exact details of what happened but it appears that there clearly were some kind of retribution killings by police,” General David Petraeus, the top US commander, said, confirming reports of police involvement. However he said the security plan remained “generally on track”, Associated Press reported.
The White House said there needed to be a “purge” of Iraq’s police forces.
A growing sense of an administration under siege was reinforced by the confused rejection by officials of the declaration a day earlier by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that the US “occupation” of Iraq was “illegitimate”. One US official said clarification would be sought. The White House said US troops were in Iraq at the invitation of its sovereign government.
Despite the new spike in violence, supporters of the president insisted his “surge” strategy was working.
Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, said sectarian killings in Baghdad were down. He said the alternative, as proposed by his own party, would “turn Iraq over to fanatics”.
Two Republican senators – Chuck Hagel and Gordon Smith – ignored Mr Bush’s repeated veto threats and crossed the aisle to vote with the Democrats who won a 51-47 vote to approve a $123bn (£62.6bn) emergency spending bill for the war that set a goal of withdrawing US troops within one year.
The Senate’s challenge to Mr Bush – which he has denounced as political theatre despite opinion polls showing strong support for Congress – followed a similar vote last week in the House which requires most troops to be withdrawn by September 2008.
Officials have said the armed forces would start feeling the monetary pinch by mid-April to mid-May. The White House on Thursday said the Pentagon had already started switching funds in order to pay for 300 “mini-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles”.
While it is not clear how long the stand-off will last, analysts say what amounts to a political game of chicken in Washington could end in a negotiated compromise between the White House and Congress.
By Guy Dinmore in Washington and agencies
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 30 2007 01:05 | Last updated: March 30 2007 01:05
Suicide bombers killed more than 110 people in mainly Shia areas of Iraq on Thursday while President George W. Bush and Congress slid deeper into a political stand-off over his requests for extra war spending and Democrats’ demands for a date for withdrawal.
Most of the estimated 62 victims of a bombing in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad were women and children shopping before the nightly curfew, Reuters news agency reported. As evening fell more than 50 people were killed north of the capital in three suicide car bombings.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, called for restraint, fearing reprisal attacks. On Tuesday Shia gunmen shot dead up to 70 Sunni Arab men in revenge for the 85 people killed by two truck bombs in a Shia area of the town.
“We’re still trying to get the exact details of what happened but it appears that there clearly were some kind of retribution killings by police,” General David Petraeus, the top US commander, said, confirming reports of police involvement. However he said the security plan remained “generally on track”, Associated Press reported.
The White House said there needed to be a “purge” of Iraq’s police forces.
A growing sense of an administration under siege was reinforced by the confused rejection by officials of the declaration a day earlier by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that the US “occupation” of Iraq was “illegitimate”. One US official said clarification would be sought. The White House said US troops were in Iraq at the invitation of its sovereign government.
Despite the new spike in violence, supporters of the president insisted his “surge” strategy was working.
Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, said sectarian killings in Baghdad were down. He said the alternative, as proposed by his own party, would “turn Iraq over to fanatics”.
Two Republican senators – Chuck Hagel and Gordon Smith – ignored Mr Bush’s repeated veto threats and crossed the aisle to vote with the Democrats who won a 51-47 vote to approve a $123bn (£62.6bn) emergency spending bill for the war that set a goal of withdrawing US troops within one year.
The Senate’s challenge to Mr Bush – which he has denounced as political theatre despite opinion polls showing strong support for Congress – followed a similar vote last week in the House which requires most troops to be withdrawn by September 2008.
Officials have said the armed forces would start feeling the monetary pinch by mid-April to mid-May. The White House on Thursday said the Pentagon had already started switching funds in order to pay for 300 “mini-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles”.
While it is not clear how long the stand-off will last, analysts say what amounts to a political game of chicken in Washington could end in a negotiated compromise between the White House and Congress.
posted by Carlos T Mock @ 9:05 AM
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