Senate blocks anti-war bill, condemns ad

[Soldier4Christ]

Senate blocks anti-war bill, condemns ad 
Hillary, Reid, 23 others refuse to condemn Petraeus slam

The Senate blocked legislation Thursday that would have cut off money for combat in Iraq by June. It was a predictable defeat for Democrats struggling to pass less divisive anti-war measures.

The 28-70 vote was 32 short of the 60 needed to cut off a GOP filibuster. The legislation, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Russ Feingold, was indicative of the Democratic leadership's new hardline strategy.

Unable to attract enough Republican support on milder proposals, Reid has sought votes on strong anti-war measures intended to force a withdrawal of troops.

The outcome was not a surprise. In May, the Senate rejected a similar proposal by Reid and Feingold by a 29-67 vote, with most Democrats saying they did not support using money to force an end to the war because that approach could hurt the troops.

Voting for the measure were Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. A fourth candidate, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., did not vote.

Eighteen Democrats joined 51 Republicans and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, in voting to block the bill.

Democrats now have united behind a proposal that would order an end to combat within nine months. But that measure, by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., also was expected to fail because Republicans said they opposed setting a timetable.

"They want this war more than they want to protect our soldiers," Reid, D-Nev., told reporters. "When I say they want the war, they want to protect their president more than they want to protect our troops."

Earlier, the Senate voted 72-25 to condemn an advertisement by the liberal anti-war group MoveOn.org that accused the top U.S. military commander in Iraq of betrayal.

A full-page ad appeared last week in The New York Times as Gen. David Petraeus testified before Congress about his assessment of the situation in Iraq. The ad's headline was: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us? Cooking the books for the White House."

With several Republicans opposed to President Bush's war strategy, GOP lawmakers could put aside their differences and rally around their disapproval of the ad.

Sen. Gordon Smith, one of the few Republican senators who supports legislation ordering troop withdrawals, said he thought Petraeus' testimony and the ad were the two biggest factors in keeping Republicans from breaking ranks with the president.

He said Petraeus' testimony was persuasive and the ad went too far by attacking a popular uniformed officer.

"It was stupid on their part and disgraceful," said Smith, R-Ore.

The resolution, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, drew opposition from Clinton and Dodd.

Obama did not vote on that measure. But minutes earlier, he did support an alternative, by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that condemned the ad as well as previous attack ads that questioned the patriotism of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., both Vietnam veterans.

Bush said the MoveOn.org ad was "disgusting" and he criticized Democrats for not immediately condemning it.

"And that leads me to come to this conclusion: that most Democrats are afraid of irritating a left-wing group like MoveOn.org, or more afraid of irritating them, then they are of irritating the United States military," Bush said at a news conference.

Eli Pariser, executive director of the liberal group, responded: "What's disgusting is that the president has more interest in political attacks than developing an exit strategy to get our troops out of Iraq and end this awful war."

On Wednesday, majority Democrats failed to pass legislation that would have required active-duty troops to spend as much time at home as they do in combat. That measure was seen as Democrats' best shot at challenging Bush this year because of its pro-military premise.

Its failure essentially means that Democrats will not be able to get the support for tougher bills ordering troops home by next summer.

The Senate plans a vote in the coming days on Levin's proposal. He said it would allow some troops to remain behind to conduct such missions as counterterrorism and training the Iraqis. He estimated the legislation, if enacted, would cut troop levels in Iraq by more than half.

The firm deadlines reflect a shift in strategy for Democrats, who had pursued a bipartisan compromise on war legislation. But after last week's testimony by Petraeus, Democrats calculated not enough Republicans were willing to break party ranks and support more tempered legislation calling for combat to end next summer.