U.S. military strategy

Senate Democrats fail to limit combat time

Their proposal challenging Bush's war policy falls four votes short of the 60 needed to avoid a Republican filibuster.

By Noam N. Levey
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 20, 2007

WASHINGTON -- -- For the eighth time this year, Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a Democratic move to challenge U.S. policy in Iraq, turning aside a plan to give troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan more rest between deployments.

The vote marked another victory for the Bush administration, which had lobbied hard against the proposal by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) and continued to command the allegiance of congressional Republicans despite persistent public unhappiness with the war.