Democrats in the House got their way and passed a $50 billion troop funding bill that would force the President to begin withdrawing troops immediately and have all troops out of Iraq by December, 2008:

"We want a plan in Iraq. . . . We want stability in the Middle East," Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee, said minutes before the vote. "We want to put a plan in place that holds the president accountable."

The bill stands virtually no chance of being enacted. Amid recent reports of progress in Iraq, Bush, who is determined not to let Congress restrict how he conducts the war, has threatened a veto. Democrats know that but say that their efforts to limit the war since taking control of Congress in January are a political -- and, some say, moral -- necessity.

"The American people voted for change," House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday. "We ought to extricate American men and women . . . from refereeing a civil war." The measure angered the Bush administration.

"This is for political posturing and to appease radical groups," chiefly MoveOn.org and Code Pink, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.