House Democrats Challenge President Bush on Iraq War Funding

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 23 March 2007

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In a direct challenge to President Bush, the House of Representatives has, on a roughly party line vote of 218 to 212, called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq no later than the end of August 2008. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, the president has condemned the House action, and reiterated a veto threat.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, right, accompanied by Rahm Emanuel, center, and David Obey, walk to the Speaker's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Mar 23, 2007

Democrats succeeded in passing a measure that ties funding needed to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with requirements to limit the duration of deployments, and force President Bush to certify the readiness of military units.

The beginning of a withdrawal period would be triggered, if the president cannot certify to Congress at two key points this year, that the Iraqi government is satisfactorily reaching political, economic and security benchmarks.

During the debate, the Democratic appropriations chairman, David Obey, asserted that, wording, timelines and benchmarks aside, the primary significance is Congress' determination to exert some control over the president's Iraq policy.

"What is important is that, for the first time, this Congress will be exercising its constitutional responsibilities to provide real oversight on the executive branch of government, and we will be trying to set this country on a new direction," he said.

Congressman John Murtha, a Vietnam War veteran, referred to U.S. troops killed and wounded in Iraq, and money in the bill for military health care, saying Iraqi leaders must be held to commitments to shoulder more of the burden.

"When you see 3,000 [U.S. troops] that have been killed, or 25,000 that have been wounded, it is individuals that have been wounded, individuals that have been killed, and those families are suffering. They [Iraqis] have a civil war. We have to put benchmarks in this bill, so the Iraqis start to do it themselves, and the Americans aren't forced to make up the difference and do it themselves."

Democratic leaders were generally successful in persuading most outspoken anti-war Democrats to support the bill, even though it gives a longer timetable for withdrawal than they wanted.

Only 14 crossed party lines to oppose their leadership, while only two Republicans voted for the bill.

Republican minority leader John Boehner made a final appeal against the measure:

"Who doesn't believe that if we go down this path, we are going to leave chaos and genocide in Iraq, and we are going to tell our enemies all around the world that you can take on the United States, you can push them to the edge, and, at the end of the day, they will just go home?" he asked.

Both sides also turned to war veterans to make their case.

"Internationally announcing our timelines for withdrawal literally hands the enemy our war plan, and gives them hope that they will win, if they just wait it out," said Sam Johnson is a Texas Republican. "What world superpower would do such a thing?"

Pennsylvania Congressman and Iraq war veteran Patrick Murphy delivered emotional remarks for Democrats:

"In the last four years the Republican Congress followed this president, as thousands of brave American soldiers returned home in coffins with our American flag," he said. "Nineteen of those coffins had American soldiers I served with in Iraq, 19 paratroopers."

After the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to reporters.

"It [Congress] voted 'no' to giving a blank check to an open-ended commitment to war without end to the President of the United States, and 'yes' to begin the end of the war and the redeployment of our troops," she said.

The Senate, which Democrats narrowly control, may begin debate next week on a measure containing about $3 billion less than the House version, with a non-binding call for a U.S. withdrawal by March 2008.

But any legislation containing a timetable or other conditions faces a veto threat from President Bush, who condemned the House action as, in his words, "an act of political theater."

President Bush makes statement on US House of Representatives approval of bill on Iraq troop withdrawal at White House, 23 Mar 2007

"Amid the real challenges in Iraq, we're beginning to see some signs of progress," said Mr. Bush. "Yet, to score political points, the Democratic majority in the House has shown it is willing to undermine the gains our troops are making on the ground."

House Speaker Pelosi declines to say what strategy House Democrats will take in negotiations with the Senate, should a bill pass there, to reconcile differences to avert a veto.

House Republicans assert Democrats will ultimately be forced to accept a clean bill, without troop readiness requirements or withdrawal timetables that the president will accept.

Mozambique Arms Depot Explosion Kills Dozens, Injures More

By Delia Robertson Johannesburg 23 March 2007

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At least 83 people are dead, and about 300 have been injured in a series of explosions at an arms depot on the outskirts of the Mozambique capital, Maputo. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern Africa bureau in Johannesburg.

Maputo resident reacts after blast at arms depot, 23 Mar 2007

The explosions at Mozambique's largest military arms depot near the international airport late Thursday afternoon is thought to have been caused by the high temperatures of around 38 degrees [centigrade] in the capital in recent days.

Mozambique Red Cross director, Fernanda Teixeira, said that one explosion led to another as ammunition of various types was ignited, sending incendiary projectiles into the neighboring suburb of Magoanine.

"But what we know is that the explosion was very big and some of these projectiles went to houses of people, damage the houses and killed people around," explained Teixeira.

Teixeira also said that the explosions occurred at one of the busiest times of the day.

"And this happened in a moment when normally people is going back from the office to the house, some children still in school, so it was a busy time, let's say," said Teixeira.

Thousands of people in the area are leaving their homes following the explosions which were heard up to the distance of 10 kilometers.

Mozambique has experienced a series of disasters recently. At least 140,000 people were displaced last month following flooding in Zambezi province; and unusual spring tides this week caused further damage. Teixeira says such events divert resources and attention from important development work.

"[The] main problem that I see is that the efforts of Mozambicans that should be directed to development work, we are now concentrating on responding to these emergencies and we are not giving the necessary attention to the normal development work that we need to do," said Teixeira.

South Africa has sent a team of experts to assist in assessing the damage caused by the explosions. President Thabo Mbeki said in a statement that South Africa would respond positively to any further requests for assistance from Mozambique.

VOASE0323_In the News

23 March 2007

Fighting in Mogadishu Leads to Appeal for Countries to Keep Their Promise to Help Somalia
A support plane for the African peacekeeping force in Somalia crashes near Mogadishu; officials say it was shot down.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

A plane carrying eleven people aiding the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia crashed Friday near the capital, Mogadishu. Officials say it was shot down by a missile shortly after takeoff from the airport.

Smoke from heavy fighting in Mogadishu

The apparent attack followed two days of intense fighting in Mogadishu between resistance fighters and Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies. The fighting eased on Friday after one group of fighters said it had reached a ceasefire with Ethiopian forces.

Earlier this week, the commander of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia urged several African countries to speed up their promised deployment of troops to help secure Mogadishu.

On Wednesday, resistance fighters pulled the bodies of two pro-government soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu and burned them. At least twenty-five people have been killed in the fighting. Hundreds of people have been injured. Hundreds of others have fled their homes to escape the violence.

The spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping force says the violence in Mogadishu is becoming more deadly and better organized. However, he also said the violence should not stop other nations from honoring their promise to send troops.

The African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia currently includes fewer than two thousand Ugandan soldiers. Resistance fighters have attacked the Ugandan troops daily since their arrival in Mogadishu earlier this month.

Burundi has offered to send one thousand seven hundred troops. However, the nation says it does not have enough equipment for the force. Nigeria, Malawi and Ghana have also said they would send troops, but they have not yet provided a plan for deployment.

Even if all four countries sent peacekeepers, the force would still be far from reaching its goal of deploying eight thousand African troops in Somalia. The troops are needed to protect the country's temporary government. They are also needed to train Somali security forces and bring back order to the area.

Civil war in Somalia began in nineteen ninety-one. Since then, militias loyal to different groups have controlled parts of the country. There has been no central government to provide law and order or even basic services to the population.

Somalia's temporary government was formed in Kenya more than two years ago after an internationally led peace process. Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia in December to help the temporary government push an opposition Islamist movement from power. The Somali government has since struggled to control resistance violence in the capital.

The Somali government recently announced that it will hold a conference next month to bring warring groups together for peace talks.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. You can download transcripts and audio from our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.