Senate Votes 50-48 in Favor of Withdrawal Timeline

Let's just make sure we give an exact date so Al Qaeda and the Iranians can properly prepare.

The Senate today narrowly endorsed a Democratic-led effort to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq a year from now, voting down a Republican amendment that would have stripped the provision from a $122 emergency spending bill.

Senators voted 50 to 48 to reject the amendment, which was introduced by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The vote came after the White House reiterated President Bush's threat to veto any bill that sets deadlines for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

In intensive floor debate before the vote, supporters of the amendment argued that including a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq -- even though it is put forth in the Senate bill as a nonbinding "goal" -- would hand victory to America's enemies, while opponents of it said it was time to stop giving President Bush a "blank check" to continue a failed war policy.

The $122 billion bill would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this fiscal year and would provide about $20 billion in domestic spending.