Dems Ditch Iraq Timeline Demand

New war spending bill won't include much-ballyhooed provision
By J. Kelman,  Newser User
Posted May 22, 2007 9:51 AM CDT
Dems Ditch Iraq Timeline Demand
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., second from right, makes a statement to the press at the top of her meeting to discuss Iraq, Friday, May 18, 2007, on Capitol Hill in Washington. From left are, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. Pelosi, White...   (Associated Press)

Democratic leaders have quietly abandoned a cornerstone of their Iraq war platform: a timeline for withdrawal. Racing to pass a spending bill before the Memorial Day recess, they don't have the votes to pass a timeline, the LA Times reports, and they risk fallout for failing to fund troops in the field if they can’t reach an agreement this week.

Democrats had pushed nonbinding timelines as recently as Friday. The late-stage change signals a win for the White House, which had promised to veto any bill that pushed timelines, and is a sharp blow to the party’s anti-war wing. If it passes, a proposal being developed will continue war funding through the end of the fiscal year, September 30. (More Democratic Congress stories.)

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