White House criticizes passage of Iraq war bill

Hello. It's Friday, April 27, 2007 and I'm Kristin Volk with a UPI headline update. The White House is criticizing a bill both the House and Senate have approved that will withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq next year. A spokeswoman for the president says the Senate is micromanaging the commanders and generals in combat zones 6 thousand miles away. She added the legislation is a date for surrender. The President has promised to veto a bill that sets a withdrawal date, and Democrats are admitting that they're unsure how to handle this matter after the Bush's veto. Meanwhile, the Iraq government is criticizing the U.S. Congress for passing a bill that links war funding to the withdrawal of U.S. troops. The government says the legislation is negative and sends the wrong message to insurgents in Iraq. A member of Rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc responded saying the congressional vote is an admission of defeat from the U.S. in Iraq. Iran and the European Union are reportedly closer to reaching a united view on nuclear talks. Iran's top negotiator says in two straight days, he and the EU's top foreign policy official had mended differences over enrichment which is a potential pathway to nuclear arms. Details of the talks were not disclosed, but a European government official says the two talked about what constituted a suspension of enrichment and related activities. Eight Democratic presidential candidates spent more time talking about President Bush in a debate last night than each other. The event was held at South Carolina University and moderated by NBC News anchor Brian Williams. All of them went after Bush for his threat to veto legislation that includes a troop pullout date. And the two candidates who've attracted the most attention, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both had low-key responses to questions. Thanks for watching today's top news headline. Check out our weekly wrap-up from the White House on upi.com today. And have a nice weekend!

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YouTube | April 27, 2007

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