Minnesota senators split over Bush's Iraq veto

Sen. Norm Coleman
U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., supports President Bush's veto of an Iraq war spending bill, because it included a timeline for bringing troops home.
MPR Photo/Tom Scheck

President Bush said he could not agree to the legislation because it contained a requirement that U.S. troops begin leaving Iraq in October.

DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar says it's up to the president to help come up with another plan, but he cannot discount the opposition to the war.

Klobuchar and troops
Sen. Amy Klobuchar is shown with members of the Minnesota National Guard in Iraq. Klobuchar is critical of the president's veto of an Iraq war spending bill, which called for troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq by October 2007.
Office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar

"We have pushed and we will continue to push. We've had 58 oversight hearings in the first 100 days, and I personally asked him to bring the Minnesota National Guard and Reserve home when they're supposed to get home. They were supposed to get home in January, now it's August," says Klobuchar. "

"These troops are doing everything they're supposed to do for us. They deposed an evil dictator and they have guaranteed free elections in Iraq, and now it's time in a thoughtful way to and a careful way to start bringing them home," Klobuchar added.

Republican Norm Coleman released a statement saying he is opposed to arbitrary deadlines for surrender.

Coleman says he hopes his colleagues will stop playing politics with troops' resources, and work together to pass a bill that does not condition critical funding on a timeline for withdrawal.

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