Clinton defends Iraq war funding vote - Yahoo! News

Clinton defends Iraq war funding vote - Yahoo! News: "Clinton defends Iraq war funding vote" By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press Writer 25 minutes ago LAS VEGAS - White House hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday defended her vote against an Iraq' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> Iraq war funding bill, saying she believes President Bush' name=c1> SEARCHNews News Photos Images Web' name=c3> President Bush will begin withdrawing troops from Iraq soon. The New York senator said she came to the conclusion while watching the president's news conference last week in which he referred to the bipartisan Iraq Study Group report and its recommendations for the administration. "He talked about it favorably for the first time I've ever heard him talk about it," Clinton told The Associated Press in an interview during a campaign stop in Las Vegas. "That was to me a big signal that starting in the fall and toward the end of the year we're going to start seeing troops withdrawn from Iraq. "My argument is, why wait?" Among other things, the Iraq Study Group warned against sending more troops for long stints in the war zone and initially called for withdrawal by early 2008. Clinton and her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), voted against the funding bill last week in the face of strong pressure from liberal groups who wanted Democrats to use the bill to force a change of course. Clinton earlier supported a bill calling for a withdrawal timeline, which was vetoed by the president. Clinton initially opposed cutting off funds for the troops, but said Wednesday that she believed last week's vote was cast in support of soldiers abroad. "The best thing I can do to continue my very vigorous support of the troops is to begin to bring them home," she told the AP.