Bush vetoes Iraq spending bill over timelines

President Bush used his veto pen for only the second time Tuesday after Congress sent him a war spending bill that would impose timelines to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, which he called a “prescription for chaos.”

The bill is unacceptable because it “substitutes the opinions of politicians for the judgments of our military commanders,” the president said in a nationally televised address to explain why he was vetoing a bill that would also provide more than $100 billion in emergency spending for the war.

“This is a prescription for chaos and confusion, and we must not impose it on our troops,” Bush said. “... It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing.”

Bush blamed Democrats for trying to send an empty political statement and added: “They’ve sent their message, and now it’s time to put politics behind us and support our troops with the funds.”

Bush’s dramatic statement came only a few hours after Democratic leaders of Congress staged a festive ceremony at the Capitol to celebrate sending the bill to the president. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Bush of putting U.S. troops “in the middle of a civil war” in Iraq.

Override bid likely to fail
The House scheduled a vote to try to override the veto for Wednesday, but Democratic leaders were not expected to have enough Republican support to succeed. Congressional leaders will meet with Bush at the White House on Wednesday to discuss follow-up legislation.

Democrats are considering a bill that would fund the troops but still restrict the president’s leeway in Iraq. Democratic leaders told NBC News they expected such a proposal to drive away some Democrats who have come under intense pressure from liberal activist groups to accept nothing less than a troop withdrawal.

The officials acknowledged that such a strategy would force them to seek Republican support for any alternative, and Senate Republican leaders told NBC News that they might be open to legislation that would set benchmarks of progress for the Iraqi government to meet.

“There are some types of benchmarks that might well achieve bipartisan support and might actually even conceivably be helpful to the efforts in Iraq,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

But Republicans were reluctant to say whether they supported benchmarks with real consequences. Some said they would support tying benchmarks to foreign aid to Iraq totaling more than $5 billion but nothing that would tie the hands of military commanders.

“It depends on what the benchmarks are and what the consequences are,” said Trent Lott of Mississippi, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate.

Democrats go on the offensive
Democratic leaders accused Bush of disregarding the wishes of Congress and the public by refusing to consider ending the U.S. involvement in Iraq.

“The president wants a blank check. The Congress is not going to give it to him,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after Bush’s speech. “If the president thinks by vetoing this bill he’ll stop us from working to change the course of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken.”

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