Sen. Russ Feingold said Thursday he will introduce an amendment to a spending bill requiring that U.S. troops leave Iraq by the end of the year.
Feingold, D-Wis., had proposed last year a target date of Dec. 31, 2006 for the troops to return. His latest amendment takes that concept a step further by requiring the troops to leave by that date.
"Our country desperately needs a new vision for strengthening our national security, and it starts by redeploying U.S. forces from Iraq," Feingold, a potential presidential candidate, said in a statement.
"Our military has performed valiantly in Iraq, but the indefinite presence of large numbers of U.S. forces there tends to weaken our ability to fight the global terrorist networks that threaten us today."
Feingold plans to offer the amendment to a $106.5 billion emergency spending measure for Iraq and further hurricane relief. The amendment might not come to a vote until next week.
