For months, President George W. Bush harangued Democrats in Congress for not moving quickly enough to support U.S. troops and for bogging down military bills with unrelated issues.

And then on Friday, with no warning, a vacationing Bush announced that he would veto a sweeping military policy bill because of an obscure provision that could expose the new Iraqi government to billions of dollars in legal claims dating to Saddam Hussein's rule.

The decision left the Bush administration scrambling to promise that it would work with Congress quickly in January to restore dozens of new military and veterans' programs. Those included an added pay raise for service members, which would have taken effect on Tuesday, and improvements in veterans' health benefits, which few elected officials on either side want to be seen opposing.

Bush's veto surprised and infuriated Democratic lawmakers and even some Republicans, who complained that the White House had failed to raise its concerns earlier.