Republican Senators on Wednesday capped an all-night debate session by foiling a Democratic proposal that would have ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq. The Senate voted 52-47 in favor of ending debate over the measure and moving to passage, but Democrats fell short of the 60 votes required by Senate rules to end debate. The measure was proposed by Democratic Senators Carl Levin of Michigan, and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, and would have required President George W. Bush to start withdrawing troops from Iraq within 120 days, and complete the withdrawal by April 30, 2008. The bill would have also allowed an unspecified number of troops to remain in Iraq to conduct counterterrorism missions, protect U.S. assets, and train Iraqi security forces.
