Washington – President Bush said Tuesday that he wants to talk with Democrats about the standoff over war funding but made it clear he will not embrace any timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
Democrats questioned the point of a meeting if the president won’t negotiate.
“We can discuss the way forward on a bill that is a clean bill – a bill that funds our troops without artificial timetables for withdrawal and without handcuffing our generals on the ground,” Bush said in a speech to an American Legion audience in nearby Fairfax, Va.
On one hand, Bush extended an offer to meet with lawmakers. On the other, the White House bluntly said it would not be a negotiating session.
The president said that if lawmakers don’t send him a bill he will sign – one that does not include timetables or money for pet projects in their home districts – it would be Congress, not the White House, that will have to answer to the troops.
“The bottom line is this: Congress’ failure to fund our troops will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines,” Bush said at American Legion Post 177, where some veterans sported black caps trimmed in gold. “Others could see their loved ones headed back to war sooner than anticipated. This is unacceptable.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacted coolly to Bush’s offer.
“Congressional Democrats are willing to meet with the president at any time, but we believe that any discussion of an issue as critical as Iraq must be accomplished by conducting serious negotiations without any preconditions,” they said in a joint statement.
“With his threat to veto such a plan for change in Iraq, President Bush is ignoring the clear message of the American people: We must protect our troops, hold the Iraqi government accountable, rebuild our military, provide for our veterans and bring our troops home. The president is demanding that we renew his blank check for a war without end.”
