US House Democrats predicted today they will win passage of a hotly contested bill that aims to bring US combat troops out of Iraq early next year and which US President George Bush has said he will veto.
"Yes, it'll pass," Rep. Steny Hoyer, the leader of the Democratic majority, said as he entered an 11th-hour session set up by the White House for the US commander in Iraq to persuade lawmakers to give Mr Bush's war strategy another chance.
Gen. David Petraeus briefed lawmakers behind closed doors just hours before the full House of Representatives was to vote on the bill, which would continue funding the unpopular war but also include an exit timeline which Mr Bush rejects.
Voting could be close on the House bill, which would set a non-binding March 31st goal for bringing US combat troops out of Iraq.
The Senate is expected to pass the bill on Thursday. It provides an additional $100 billion this year for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Bush has railed for weeks against the withdrawal plan attached by Democrats.
Republicans said they hoped Democrats would listen to Petraeus, who is leading a strategy in which tens of thousands of extra US and Iraqi troops have been deployed in Baghdad since February to try to staunch the sectarian killing and insurgent attacks.
Many doubted Petraeus could change minds after a week in which verbal clashes hardened attitudes.
Spokeswoman for Mr Bush Dana Perino repeated the president's charge that Democrats want to set a "surrender date" in Iraq.
"The tension is high because the stakes are high. We feel very strongly that leaving before the job is done is turning over the victory to the enemy," Perino said.
At least 85 American troops have been killed in Iraq this month, making April the deadliest since December, when 112 were killed. More than 3,300 US soldiers have been killed since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
But Republicans said the continuing violence should not determine the US approach.
"Are we going to let suicide bombers and car bombers define the foreign policy of the United States?" asked Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican.
Several House members said they would go along with the bill negotiated with the Senate in a bid for party unity despite their desire for an earlier, binding withdrawal date.
Troops could remain in Iraq after the 2008 date but only for limited non-combat missions, including counterterrorism operations and training Iraqi forces.
Democrats view the November elections that allowed them to take control of the House and the Senate as a referendum on Mr Bush's conduct of the war. Mr Bush, however, says he stands firm on his latest strategy for winning the war and dismisses as counterproductive the Democratic call for withdrawal.
Whether Democratic leaders had enough votes to pass the bill in the House has been in question. The original House bill included a binding timeline, demanding combat ends by September 2008. Several of the 218 members who approved the bill said they reluctantly agreed to back the binding timeline even though they wanted troops home sooner.