Senate Rejects Democratic Iraq Troop Withdrawal Plan

By William Roberts
March 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate rejected Democratic- backed legislation that calls for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq just hours after a House panel approved a plan to bring the troops home.
In the Senate, a measure sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada fell 12 votes short of the 60 needed for passage. It would have revised the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq to say it is no longer valid, and U.S. troops shouldn't be policing an Iraqi civil war.
Even the defeat of the measure was a step toward forcing President George W. Bush to change course in Iraq, said Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
``We ratchet up the pressure on the president, and we ratchet up the pressure on Republican senators,'' Schumer said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the legislation would ``pull the rug out from under the Iraqi people by trying to set artificial deadlines when it comes to U.S. military commitments. If that bill comes before the president, he will veto it.''
Meanwhile In the Senate, after weeks of skirmishing, Republicans easily turned back Democratic legislation requiring a troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days. The measure set no fixed deadline for completion of the redeployment, but set a goal of March 31, 2008. The vote was 50-48 against the measure, 12 short of the 60 needed for passage.
It appears that Bush has won this first round, while Blair still plans on taking his Troops out. British Prime Minister Tony Blair's announcement that British troops will begin withdrawing from Iraq would appear to be bad news for the Bush administration. Ever the propogandist, Cheney says, said the move was actually good news and a sign of progress in Iraq.
"Well, I look at it and see it is actually an affirmation that there are parts of Iraq where things are going pretty well," Cheney told ABC News' Jonathan Karl.

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