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Senate Rejects Fixed Date To Pull Iraq Troops

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By SHAILAGH MURRAY, The Washington Post

Published: September 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Senate on Friday rejected a nine-month timetable for bringing most troops home from Iraq, yet another legislative defeat for Democrats in what is shaping up as a losing battle to force President Bush to end the war.

The proposal, offered by Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., fell on a 47 to 47 vote, with 60 votes needed for passage. Three Democrats refused to back the plan, and three Republicans supported it, but the result showed little movement from a similar vote in July.

Levin said he and Reed would explore ways to alter their proposal to attract more support in time to schedule another vote next week, before the Senate completes debate on an annual defense policy bill and moves on to other matters.

'We didn't make it today, but we're going to keep trying,' Levin said.

The major sticking point for opponents was the June 2008 deadline that Levin and Reed established for withdrawing most combat troops. In the next version, that fixed date may become a more flexible goal to allow the military more leeway.

'We have enough votes here to be confident that we can build on this number, providing we can find the formula which will attract those additional votes,' Levin said.

But the weaker the language becomes, the less appeal it will hold for antiwar Democrats, who oppose yielding any ground to Republicans.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democratic presidential candidate from Conneticut, voted no Friday because he thought that even a firm withdrawal date was not aggressive enough and that Congress must go further and cut off funding. 'The only way to achieve real change in Iraq is to insist on a firm and enforceable deadline for redeploying U.S. combat troops that is tied to funding, which is the only way we can end this war,' he said.

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