Iraq Funding Bill Vetoed by Bush (2/2)

President Bush says he wants U.S. troops out of Iraq as well, but only when the government there is better able to handle its own security.

Mr. Bush vetoed the legislation on the fourth anniversary of his much-publicized appearance on the deck of the carrier " class="hjdict" word="aircraft carrier " target=_blank>aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln under a banner which read: Mission Accomplished. At the time, he told sailors that they had freed Iraq and made America more secure.

"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Fewer than 200 Americans had been killed in Iraq when the president spoke four years ago. The death toll now is over 3,000.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino says the United States and its allies did prevail in terms of toppling the Iraqi army and Saddam Hussein. She accused Democrats of a trumped-up political stunt that is the height of cynicism for delaying the bill until this fourth anniversary of what has come to be known as the Mission Accomplished speech.

The president meets Wednesday with Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate to talk about how to move forward on new legislation to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.