WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- A bill calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq no later than March 31, 2008, has been filed by U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
The freshman senator and candidate for the 2008 presidential election proposes in his Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007 the government begin a troop withdrawal no later than May 1, The Washington Post reported.
"The days of our open-ended commitment must come to a close," Obama said while introducing the measure. "It is time for us to fundamentally change our policy. It is time to give Iraqis their country back."
The bill would leave a limited number of troops in place to conduct counter-terrorism activities and train Iraqi forces and opposes U.S. President George Bush's bid to deploy more than 21,000 new troops to the Baghdad area.
Bush's plan is under debate in both houses of Congress.
