Senate 'undeterred' by all-night Iraq debate

Senate Democrats refused to flinch today as the chamber moved towards a rare, all-night session of debate on legislation to bring US troops home later this year.

They called for beds to be rolled into a room off the Senate floor and told members to prepare for repeated votes throughout the evening.

Senators even left open the possibility of dispatching the sergeant at arms to summon colleagues from their homes to the floor if politicians ignored the debate.

The threat was reminiscent of a 1988 debate on campaign finance reform in which Capitol police carried Oregon Republican Senator Robert Packwood into the Senate feet first shortly after 1am.

The goal of the planned marathon debate was to test the patience of Republicans, who have threatened to delay the Bill.

So far, the Republican leadership has been successful at blocking anti-war legislation because Democrats do not have the 60 votes to cut off what would become an endless debate on the war.

After months of threatened delaying tactics, Richard Durbin, the No 2 Democrat, said it was “time for a taste of the real thing”.

Republicans dismissed the manoeuvre as political theatre and said the Senate should vote to forgo the debate and vote immediately on whether to advance the measure.

Whether the vote comes today or tomorrow, the proposal is expected to gain a majority of senators, but not reach the 60-vote threshold.

“If we leave Iraq prematurely, jihadists around the world will interpret the withdrawal as their great victory against our great power,” said Senator John McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee.

The legislation, proposed by Senators Carl Levin and Jack Reed, both Democrats, would order troops to start leaving in 120 days and complete the pullout by April 30, 2008.

Under the Bill, an unspecified number of troops could remain behind to fight terrorists, protect US assets and train Iraqi security forces.

Republicans have mostly been united against setting a timetable for troop withdrawals, but Republican leaders have told the White House their job of retaining support for the war will become exponentially harder after September.

Many Republicans say they want to see substantial progress by then.

That message was relayed yesterday in a private gathering at the White House of Republican congressional staff and aides of President George Bush trying to determine an effective strategy for communications about war policies.

Bush made a surprise appearance at the meeting, telling the staff he would not rethink his Iraq policies until after a critical military assessment in September, one participant said.

Bush also said he had no confidence in the ability of international institutions – a reference to the United Nations – to salvage Iraq if the US were to withdraw, according to the participant, who spoke anonymously because the meeting was intended to be private.

Also on Monday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Peter Pace, said the service chiefs were developing their own assessment of Iraq to present to Bush in September.

Options include another troop build-up or maintaining current troop levels beyond September, Pace said.

Bush yesterday told Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and other officials that continued US support depends on political progress in Baghdad, White House spokesman Tony Snow said.