Iraq Funding Bill Vetoed by Bush (1/2)

President Bush says opposition demands to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq by October would embolden the enemy.

In a nation-wide address moments after vetoing the spending bill, the president called it a prescription for chaos and confusion.

"I believe setting a deadline for a withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments. Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure. And that would be irresponsible."

Because the measure passed the House and Senate by close votes, it is highly unlikely opposition Democrats can find the two-thirds majority to over-ride this veto.
Still, Democratic leaders sent the doomed legislation to the White House Tuesday to show their opposition to what Senate majority leader Harry Reid says are U.S. troops mired in the middle of an open-ended civil war.

Reid says the president now has the obligation to explain how he will responsibly end the war, and Democrats will work with him.

A public opinion poll by CBS News and the New York Times says more than 70 percent of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling the war. Two-thirds of those surveyed support setting a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.