House Demands Iraq Exit Plan in 60 Days

Bipartisan vote for Iraqi withdrawal plan

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 3, 2007 3:30 AM CDT

Copied

House Demands Iraq Exit Plan in 60 Days — A U.S. soldier holds his sniper position on a rooftop in a Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, in this April file photo. Army snipers hunting insurgents in Iraq were under orders to "bait" their targets with suspicious materials, such as detonation cords, and then kill whoever picked up the... (Associated Press)

The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to give the White House 60 days to come up with an exit plan for withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq. The 377-46 vote is the first salvo of a new Democratic strategy but does not require a withdrawal timeline or a commitment from the White House to implement the exit plan.

One the bill's Republican authors said a "center" is building around the issue that "can now help drive this debate." The bill was backed by 196 Democrats and 181 Republicans. Almost twice as many Democrats as Republicans voted against the bill. They were largely from the party's antiwar wing and didn't believe the measure went far enough. (More Iraq stories.)

Report an error