The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50 billion to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq.

 

The 53-45 vote was 15 votes short of the 60 needed to advance.

 

Earlier on the day, Senate Democrats also terminated a Republican proposal to authorize US$70 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan wars but without a withdrawal timetable attached.

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks during a news conference in the Capitol in Washington Nov.13, 2007. The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50 billion to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said that the only way to get troops the money was to approve the restrictions outlined by Democrats.

 

"Our troops continue to fight and die valiantly. And our Treasury continues to be depleted rapidly, for a peace that we seem far more interested in achieving than Iraq's own political leaders," he said.

 

Republicans accused Democrats of being irresponsible by downsizing President George W. Bush's request for 196 billion dollars for wars and attach unacceptable requirement.

 

"We need to get our troops everything they need," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. "We need to get it to them right now."

 

The 50-billion-dollar bill, passed at the House of Representatives on Wednesday by voting 218-203, requires the government to start troop withdrawal from Iraq in 30 days to reach a goal of ending combat by mid-December 2008, and also demand interrogations standards to bar harsh tactics such as waterboarding.

 

US soldiers are seen during a patrol in the Muhalla 832 Mechanik neighbourhood in Baghdad November 12, 2007. The US Senate on Friday blocked a bill to allocate US$50 billion to the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with a requirement for troop withdrawal from Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

 

One reason cited by Senate Democrats on Friday to justify the bill was that Iraqi government has not taken advantage of the security provided by US forces.

 

"We have done our part. The Iraqi government has done its part," said Senator Patty Murray. "And in the meantime, while more than150,000 of our troops have been policing a civil war in Iraq, we have become more vulnerable overseas."

 

However, although slightly outnumbering Republicans in both floors of Congress, Democrats have failed repeatedly this year to win enough votes to change Bush's war policy.

 

Foreseeing failure in the latest round of war spending bill showdown, Democrats warned earlier this week that if Congress cannot pass legislation that ties war money to troop withdrawals, they would not send Bush a bill this year, which will drag the Pentagon to the brink of a financial nightmare and deepen conflicts between Congress and the White House on the war.

 

"The president, refusing to be held accountable for his disastrous war policy, is threatening to reject both our reasonable approach and that money, leaving our military empty-handed," Reid said in a statement on Thursday.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2007)