A Democratic plan calling for withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008, failed to pass the US Senate on Thursday.
WASHINGTON: The US Senate on Thursday rejected a plan by the Democratic majority to set a timetable to withdraw US troops from Iraq by late March 2008, but agreed a separate resolution voicing support for the forces.
The Senate rejected the measure formulated by the Democratic leadership by 50 votes to 48, in the latest showdown between Congress's Democratic leaders and Republican backers of President George W. Bush.
The bill fell short of a simple majority and the 60-vote supermajority needed to overcome Republican procedural hurdles and pass out of the Senate. Even had it become law, Bush had threatened to veto the legislation, warning it would handcuff his ability to conduct war policy as commander in chief.
By bringing the measure up however, Democrats were hoping to critically up the pressure on Bush's Republican backers, and on the president himself over the unpopular war.
Earlier, the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives succeeded in forcing their bid to demand withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by September 2008 at the latest though a key congressional committee.
The Appropriations Committee voted to retain the deadline in a provision in President George W. Bush's 120 billion dollar budget request for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Republican minority in the House had opposed the move, which also threatened to compel withdrawal even before September next year, if Bush cannot certify benchmarks for progress are being met in Iraq. The full House was expected to debate the measure next week. Bush has threatened to veto that legislation.
Democratic leaders, while trying to curtail Bush's ability to continue to wage war in Iraq, have stopped short of wielding their power to cut funding for the conflict -- wary of being seen as deserting US troops.
And in a separate move the US Senate voted 96-2 to pass a resolution expressing support for troops in Iraq.
That resolution, offered by Democratic Senator Patty Murray, states that Congress and the president have shared responsibility for troops in wartime and for their medical care when they are wounded.
The largely symbolic measure states that supporting the troops also means giving them proper training before they are deployed.
Some Democrats have accused the Bush administration of sending soldiers into harms way before they are ready to enter combat, or are properly equipped.
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