WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Congress on Thursday approved $100 billion to keep fighting the war in Iraq, as Democrats pledged to resurrect failed attempts to force President George W. Bush to withdraw troops.
Passage of the legislation capped a four-month struggle between Bush and the new Democratic-led Congress over the increasingly unpopular Iraq war, now in its fifth year.
Underscoring Democratic division, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California voted against it and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada voted for it.
Three Democratic senators running for president -- Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut -- opposed providing money with no withdrawal deadlines. But Joseph Biden of Delaware, also a presidential hopeful, voted yes.
With this latest installment, the United States will have allocated more than $565 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, according to the Congressional Research Service. Most of the money has gone to fight in Iraq.
Bush pleaded for patience but warned of more tough times ahead. "It could be a bloody -- it could be a very difficult August," he told reporters at the White House.
But he also made clear September will be an important period, when the U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, will report on the impact of the troop buildup and make a recommendation on how to proceed.
The House voted 280-142 for the emergency funding bill, while the Senate passed it 80-14.
On May 1, Bush vetoed a Democratic bill that would have begun withdrawing U.S. soldiers from Iraq by Oct. 1 and Democrats did not have the votes to reverse him.
Lawmakers approved the revamped bill just before leaving for a long Memorial Day recess as war funds were running out.
The Republican president is expected to promptly sign into law the bill, which for the first time would set a series of "benchmarks" to measure progress in Iraq and ties a small amount of non-military U.S. aid to that progress.
"This is a token. This is a small step forward. Instead we should have a giant step forward into a new direction," Pelosi said.
U.S. anti-war groups slammed Democrats for allowing the bill to pass.
Pelosi said Democrats will quickly resume their drive to impose deadlines for pulling U.S. combat troops out of Iraq.
She said she will put on the House agenda a bill to repeal Congress' 2002 authorization of the Iraq war and said Democrats will use next year's military spending bills to try to end the war that has killed at least 3,420 U.S. soldiers and wounded more than 34,000. Iraqis have suffered far worse casualties.
According to a CBS News/New York Times poll, 76 percent of Americans believe the war is going somewhat or very badly for the United States and only 20 percent said Bush's recent troop increase is making a positive difference.
Congressional Republicans are beginning to talk about the possible need for a change in direction within a few months.
One influential Republican senator, John Warner of Virginia, said a new U.S. strategy might be needed by July if problems in Iraq do not improve.
House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio, his voice cracking with emotion, denounced the insurgents in Iraq and said the United States must prevail.
"When are we going to stand up and take them on? When are we going to defeat them? If we don't do it now, if we don't have the courage to defeat this enemy, we will long long regret it," Boehner said.
Besides buying more ammunition, armored vehicles and aircraft for the wars, the spending bill provides more aid for countries ranging from Lebanon to Liberia and gives $185.5 million to help refugees and others displaced in Iraq, Afghanistan and African countries.
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