reports seven Senate Republicans broke with the president Wednesday and voted with Democrats to consider an amendment by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., to require that troops returning from Iraq get more rest and training before being sent back.
But with Republican leaders using a filibuster to block any Iraq amendments, it would have taken 60 votes to move forward and they fell four votes short, 56-41. The Senate is expected to vote next week on an amendment by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich.
, that would order troop withdrawals to begin in 120 days and end all combat on April 30, 2008. The House plans to take up a similar measure on Thursday. Levin's amendment is not expected to survive and Mr.
Bush has vowed to veto it if it does. But in a signal of growing unease with the war, it has picked up at least one new vote from Snowe of Maine. Snowe initially opposed setting a firm deadline, contending it would not make any sense to broadcast war plans to the enemy.
But the senator, who is up for re-election next year, said she decided to switch her position because the situation has grown too dire. "Frankly, given the fact that the Iraqi government isn't prepared to change its own political direction, we should be prepared to change course with respect to our strategy," Snowe told reporters Tuesday. Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
, also signed on as co-sponsors of the bill; both voted for a similar measure earlier this year. Hadley's visit to Capitol Hill came as the White House finalized a 23-page progress report on Iraq that concludes the government in Baghdad has made little progress in meeting reform goals laid down by Mr. Bush and Congress.
The administration is likely to argue that some progress has been made in reducing the level of sectarian violence and militia control. Iraq also has established several, but not all, of the needed joint neighborhood security stations in Baghdad and has increased the number of capable Iraqi security units. But the report also is expected to concede that several major goals have not been met, including agreement on new Iraqi laws to allocate oil and gas resources and revenue and to address amnesty for former Baath Party members.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the report will indicate whether there has been "progress at a satisfactory rate, or unsatisfactory rate, and in some cases, maybe mixed results on some of those benchmarks." reports seven Senate Republicans broke with the president Wednesday and voted with Democrats to consider an amendment by Sen.
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