Senate pushes for speedier handover in Iraq
Showing mounting discontent among Republicans over the Iraq war, the US Senate resolved on Tuesday that Iraqis should start taking the lead in their own security next year to allow a phased withdrawal of US troops.
But the Republican-led Senate rejected Democrats' demand for Republican
President George W. Bush to submit a plan and an estimated timetable to withdraw US forces, a step Bush has vehemently opposed.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The Senate's 79 to 19 vote came days after Bush, facing waning support for the war and the lowest job approval ratings of his presidency, launched an aggressive counteroffensive against Democratic critics who say he misled the country by hyping prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify the 2003 invasion.
The Senate demand, and with it the stirrings of Republican revolt, was another blow to Bush, who is reeling over a string of recent setbacks.
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