Democrats Seek Withdrawal of Troops From Iraq in 2008 (Nicholas Johnston)

  U.S. House Democrats said they will seek to force the withdrawal next year of U.S. combat troops from Iraq in an escalation of their dispute with President George W. Bush over the war.

  By Nicholas Johnston

  March 8 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats said they will seek to force the withdrawal next year of U.S. combat troops from Iraq in an escalation of their dispute with President George W. Bush over the war.

  The requirement will be attached to a war-spending measure and is intended to refocus military attention on the U.S. fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, Democrats said.

  ``The proposal that we are talking about today will essentially redirect more of our resources to the war against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, fighting the right war in the right place against the people who attacked us and who are giving al-Qaeda sanctuary,'' Representative David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters.

  Under the legislation, Bush would have to certify that the Iraqi government is making progress in bringing peace to the nation on July 1 and again on Oct. 1, for U.S. troops to remain in the country. Even if the Iraqis meet those conditions, U.S. troop withdrawals would have to begin by March 1, 2008, and finish during the fall of next year.

``It will set a timeline for bringing U.S. participation in Iraq's civil war to an orderly and responsible close,'' Obey said.

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