Democrat candidates urge Bush to back troop withdrawal
Updated on 27 April 2007
Democratic candidates for the US presidency have urged George Bush not to veto a bill approved by the Senate for a staged troop withdrawal from Iraq.
Speaking at a televised debate, hosted by MSNBC, the rivals - keen to display their anti-war credentials - put aside political differences to criticise the president's Iraq strategy.
New York Senator Hillary Clinton said: "He is stubbornly refusing to listen to the will of the American people... If this president does not get us out of Iraq, when I'm president, I will."
"We are one signature away from ending this war," said Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
Just hours earlier, the Senate approved a bill making $100bn (£50bn) in further funding for the war conditional on a withdrawal timetable.
The Senate voted 51 to 46 in favour of the bill, which says the pull-out must start by 1 October this year. It also sets a target of completion by 31 March 2008.
Taking the Michael
And then there were eight. Yes - eight Democratic contenders in the running for the 2008 White House race.
Bet you can't name them all - I ran out at five. But after last night's South Carolina University debate (the earliest presidential debate ever) perhaps the real star of the show has emerged.
Step forward Mike Gravel - one-time New York cabbie, former Alaska senator - best known for getting the Pentagon papers placed on public record back in 1971.
- Read Felicity Spector's blog
The Iraqi government has called the bill "negative", saying it sends out the wrong signal to insurgents and undermines the work done by troops in Iraq in the four years since the invasion.
Meanwhile, the US President remains committed to his "surge strategy" and is still pouring more troops into Baghdad. He is expected to veto the bill, which may be presented to him next Tuesday.
Obama added that if Bush won't change his mind about vetoing the bill, Democrats need to gain Republican votes to override him. Democrats need 16 more votes to reach a veto-proof margin.
