Democrats Defeated in Iraq Timetable Vote

Democratic party hopes of tying George Bush to a timetable for US troop withdrawal from Iraq suffered a setback yesterday when they were defeated in the Senate.

The Democrats are proposing legislation that would force Mr Bush to take most of the 150,000-plus US troops out of Iraq next year. The Democrats, who have a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, comfortably secured a majority in the House appropriations committee - 36-28 - and the measure will go before the full House for a vote next week.

But the Senate rejected a similar measure by 50 to 48 when two Democrats voted against their own party. The Democratic party would have needed 60 votes to push the measure through.

Although up to 10 Republican senators have expressed either unease or outright hostility over the war, the vote confirmed they are not yet ready defy their own party or Mr Bush.

The Democrats will keep up the pressure in the hope that the anti-war mood among the public will seep through to Republican senators worried about losing their seats in next year's elections.

In the unlikely event that the legislation was passed, Mr Bush said he would veto it.