US House backs Iraq exit

Washington: US troops look set to leave Iraq by April after the US House of Representatives passed a bill calling for Pentagon to begin withdrawing troops within four months.

The vote on Thursday came hours after a White House report that that found some military progress in Iraq, but little improvement in the country's political development.

President George W. Bush has threatened to veto any timetable, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi argued that it is time for US troops to return home.

"President Bush continues to urge patience, but what is needed—and what the American people are demanding—is a new direction," Pelosi said.

Earlier Thursday, Bush said a report on US-set benchmarks for Iraq shows "satisfactory progress" in eight areas. He admitted that there is "more work to be done."

However, the 223 out of 201 lawmakers who voted for the measure said it was time for American troops to come home.

"We are wasting the time and trying the patience of the American people for no useful purpose," said Oklahoma Representative Tom Cole, who voted for the measure.

Democrat Jay Inslee said the United States has given Iraqi leaders "a reasonable chance" to work out their differences, and it was time for American troops to return.