US Senate to open debate on war spending bill

The Senate plans to begin debate Monday on a war spending bill that would set a nonbinding goal of March 31, 2008, for the removal of combat troops. One of the Senate's Republican leaders said he believes his party has enough votes to block the measure. The House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill Friday that would pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would require that combat troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 - or earlier if the Iraqi government did not meet certain requirements.