Bush veto prevents troops withdrawal from Iraq

In a latest showdown with the US Congress, President George W Bush has vetoed the Bill on troops withdrawal from Iraq.

The historic showdown came last evening with Bush casting the second veto of his Presidency on an issue he is totally on the opposite side of not only the Congress, but also of the American public.

Bush said "NO" to the Bill that would have required the first American combat soldiers to be withdrawn from Iraq by October 1, 2007, with an eventual goal of total pullout six months later.

"This is a prescription for chaos and confusion and we must not impose it on our troops," Bush said in a nationally broadcast statement from the White House.

The legislation, said Bush, would "mandate a rigid and artificial deadline" for troops pullout, and "it makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing."

But Democrats, who have long criticised the President for leading the country into a "collossal mistake" that has left some 3,350 military personnel dead, were quick once again to take Bush to task for continuing the stalemate. "The President wants a blank cheque," quipped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, shortly after Bush's appearance.