Senate backs Iraq withdrawal date

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6507801.stm

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The US Senate has passed a bill calling for all US combat troops to leave Iraq within a year, defying a veto threat.

The Senate vote came only an hour after George W Bush made his third vow in less than a week to veto such a law.

"I'll veto a bill that restricts our commanders on the ground... a bill that doesn't fund our troops," he said.

The vote of 51 to 47 links funding for the war to a goal of getting US combat troops out of Iraq by March 2008. The House has passed a similar bill.

The Senate bill approves $122bn (£62bn) in funds - mostly for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - but also orders the president to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 120 days of passage of the bill.

It sets a goal of pulling all combat troops out of Iraq by the end of March of next year, but does not explicitly demand their removal.

The House and Senate must now reconcile their two versions of the bill and send the result to President Bush.

If he refuses to sign it, the bill will not become law.

The votes in both the House and Senate were close enough to suggest Congress will not be able to override his threatened veto.