The House of Representatives voted 246 to 182 today to pass a nonbinding resolution supporting U.S. soldiers in Iraq but opposing the president's plan to send more combat troops to the war zone.The vote caps a historic week of debate in which Democrats and some Republicans inveighed against the cost in lives and dollars of the war in Iraq, and the Republican leadership warned about the dangers of walking away from a fight with Islamic terrorists. Today, 17 Republicans, going against the wishes of President Bush, joined Democrats in supporting the resolution; two Democrats took the president's side and voted against it.
The vote could also mark a turning point in the war.
| Only for Democrats. |
"The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who rode to power when the anti-war sentiments in last fall's elections helped overturn the Republican majority on Capitol Hill. "The passage of this legislation will signal a change in direction in Iraq that will end the fighting and bring our troops home."
Republican leaders warned that passage of the resolution could embolden Democrats to cut off funding for the war. "Their so-called slow bleed approach is the bite that will surely hurt those fighting under America's flag overseas," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking Republican. "This nonbinding resolution is the first step in an all-too-binding spiral toward defeat in a fight that we cannot afford to lose," he said.
| Republicans voting 'yes': Mike Castle (DE), Howard Coble (NC), Tom Davis (VA), John J. Duncan Jr. (TN), Phil English (PA), Wayne Gilchrest (MD), Bob Inglis (SC); Timothy V. Johnson (IL), Walter B. Jones Jr. (NC), Ric Keller (FL), Mark Kirk (IL), Steven C. LaTourette (OH), Ron Paul (TX), Tom Petri (WI); Jim Ramstad (MN), Fred Upton (MI), Jim Walsh (NY). Democrats voting 'no': Jim Marshall (GA), Gene Taylor (MS). |