The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved a resolution that rejects any timetable for pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq.

The bill was passed on a 256-153 vote after nearly 14 hours of impassioned debate.

During the debate, Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert accused Democrats of "supporting the troops but not the mission."

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi then accused the Bush administration and the Republicans of misleading Americans at various stages, and asserts Democrats are united on Iraq.

Democratic Congressman John Murtha, who called last year for U. S. forces to begin pulling out of Iraq, led the opposition.

"Rhetoric does not answer the problem...Only the Iraqis can solve the problem in Iraq. They're fighting with each other, and our troops are caught in between, and I say it's time to redeploy, " he said.

Republicans responded by citing threats to U.S. security since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, as well as successes such as the killing of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, and national elections in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the end, the resolution was passed due to the Republican dominance in the House.

The debate came at a time when Republicans are moving quickly to capitalize on good news and trying to force Democrats on the defensive in the wake of Zarqawi's death and U.S. President George W. Bush's surprise trip to Baghdad.

It also took place four months before the midterm elections that will decide the control of Congress, and at a time when Bush is trying to rebuild faded public support for the war.

Source: Xinhua