June 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives ended an acrimonious debate on Iraq and voted to adopt a symbolic statement of support for President George W. Bush's strategy and the broader war on terror.

The non-binding resolution contains a statement of support for U.S. troops, says the war in Iraq is vital to the global struggle against terrorism and rejects any attempt to set a timetable for withdrawal. It passed 256-153, with 214 Republicans voting for it and 3 against. It was opposed by 149 Democrats and one independent; 42 Democrats supported it.

Democrats said the resolution was an election-year ploy that would allow Republicans to cast lawmakers who opposed a blanket statement of approval of the war as weak on national security and unwilling to support the military.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who voted against the measure, said the resolution was an ``affirmation of the president's failed policy in Iraq.''

Republicans said the resolution was designed to reinforce their contention that Iraq was a vital front in the war on terror and that a withdrawal would be a defeat.

``Retreat is not an option in Iraq,'' said House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican. ``We have no choice but to confront these terrorists, win the war on terror and spread freedom and democracy around the world.''

Death Toll

The vote followed a day of sometimes bitter debate in both chambers of Congress and the announcement by the Pentagon that 2,500 military personnel had died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.

In the Senate yesterday, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, offered an amendment that he said was modeled on a proposal by Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, calling for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of the year. The measure was abandoned by a vote of 93-6, though not before Republicans said the proposal was a recipe for defeat in Iraq from Democrats.

McConnell and Texas Republican John Cornyn called the vote an ``overwhelming'' rejection by the Senate of a ``cut-and-run strategy.'' Kerry said McConnell overstepped his ``prerogative'' in purporting to offer his amendment and called the vote ``fictitious.''

While it passed with an overwhelming majority, the House vote marks an erosion of support for the war in Congress. In 2003, the House voted 296-133 in October 2002 to give Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. It voted 403-3 in November 2005 in to reject a call for immediate withdrawal.

`Dramatic Change'

``I see a dramatic change,'' said Representative John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Vietnam veteran who has called for a redeployment of U.S. troops. ``People are coming around and I think it will influence the Bush administration.''

Of the 81 Democrats who voted for the war in 2002, only 32 voted against the broadly worded resolution today. Two others voted `present' and two didn't vote.

Some Democrats, such as Senator Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, have said they oppose a withdrawal before Iraq has been stabilized.

``We made a strategic error'' in invading Iraq, Obama said in an interview to be broadcast tomorrow on Bloomberg television. ``Having made that error, we now have a genuine interest in ensuring there is some at least a semblance of stability in Iraq.''

He said the U.S. has both ``both strategic interests and moral obligations to make sure that Iraq doesn't collapse into all out civil war and that remains the best way for us to bring our troops home.''

Republican Dissent

The three House Republicans who bucked their party to vote against the resolution were Representatives Jim Leach of Iowa, Ron Paul of Texas and John Duncan of Tennessee, who all voted against the war in 2002. Republican Representatives Walter B. Jones Jr. of North Carolina and Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan voted present.

``The underlying intent of the resolution was a prolongation of the war,'' Leach said, explaining his decision to oppose the resolution.

Lawmakers split into two broad camps during the 11-hour debate that preceded the vote: those who said the training of Iraqi forces is progressing well and more time is needed to secure a victory and those who said Iraq is falling into a civil war with U.S. troops caught in the crossfire.

``Today, the Iraqis are handling more and more of their own security,'' said Representative Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Democrat. ``That's what should determine when our troops come home.''

Representative John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat, said the war was `` unnecessary'' from the beginning. ``We are deeply involved in a misguided conflict,'' Lewis said. ``The American people want us today to bring our children home.''

To contact the reporter on this story: William Roberts in Washington wroberts@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 16, 2006 16:16 EDT