The Senate’s effort to wind down the war in Iraq on Democratic terms stalled Wednesday after Republicans blocked the first in a series of proposals aimed at hastening the drawdown of troops.
Proponents of legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., failed to secure the support of 60 senators needed to survive a critical test vote. The tally was 56-44.
Webb’s amendment would have required troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to be given rest time at home equal to the length of their deployments overseas.
Webb said the amendment was needed to allow troops to recuperate after exhausting tours in combat zones and “to bring a sense of responsibility among the leadership of our country in terms of how we are using our people.”
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the amendment “common-sense” legislation for a military “stretched to the breaking point.”
But neither Webb nor Reid was able to persuade enough Republicans to back the amendment, even after inserting language that would have delayed its implementation for 120 days.
Among the defectors was retiring Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who not only reversed his earlier support of the Webb measure but also helped dissuade several undecided GOP senators from voting for it, including Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Just hours before the vote, Warner invited several Republican senators and top military officials to a meeting in his office.
Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Lt. Gen. James Lovelace, Army deputy chief of staff for operations, worked to convince Warner and the other lawmakers that the proposal would jeopardize operations in Iraq.
“It is their professional judgment that if this amendment was adopted and became law, they are absolutely convinced and now convincing me that they cannot effectively put it into force without causing severe problems within the existing forces serving there,” Warner said.
The loss of Warner’s support was a fatal blow to the amendment, which also fell four votes short of 60 when it was taken up for the first time earlier this year.
Just a few weeks ago, Warner returned from a trip to Iraq and called on President Bush to send 5,000 troops home by December.
Warner said Wednesday he has been convinced by the military that the Bush plan to reduce troop levels to the pre-surge level “might not be achievable” if the military loses the ability to control redeployment schedules.
The Senate is expected to take up several other proposals this week aimed at ending the war, but none is expected to have enough Republican support to pass.
