US Democrats to back down on Iraq war conditions
Democrats in the US Congress, who came to power last year on a call to end the combat in Iraq, will soon give President George W. Bush the last war-funding bill of his presidency without any of the conditions they sought for withdrawing U.S. troops, congressional aides said on Monday.
Lawmakers are arranging to send Bush $165 billion in new money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, enough to last for about a year and well beyond when Bush leaves office on Jan. 20. "It'll be the lump sum of money, veterans (funding) and that's it," said one House aide familiar with the negotiations on the legislation. (Reuters)
