Democrats' efforts to challenge President Bush's Iraq policies were dealt a demoralizing blow Wednesday in the Senate after they failed to scrape together enough support to guarantee troops more time at home.
Recent incidents in Iraq have revealed large gaps in the laws applying to armed contractors.
Since the Iraq war began, at least five Americans two soldiers, two Marines and a Navy SEAL are believed to have thrown themselves on a grenade to save comrades. Each time, the servicemember died from massive wounds.
A proposal that Senate Democrats put forward as their best chance of changing course in Iraq died on Wednesday, as Republicans stood firmly behind President George W. Bush.
A measure that would have forced the Pentagon to give troops sent to Iraq stateside leave equal to their time in the battle zone was defeated Wednesday evening in the Senate after failing to draw enough Republican votes.
The Senate on Wednesday refused to require the Pentagon to give U.S. troops more time at home between combat deployments, signaling that opponents of the Iraq war still do not have the votes they need to alter President Bush's policy.
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson on Wednesday called for the U.S. to end the war in Iraq, arguing that the troops exacerbate the sectarian violence and the billions spent could be used for health care and other needs.
Senate Republicans blocked a plan on Wednesday to give U.S. troops in Iraq more home leave, defeating a proposal widely seen as the Democrats' best near-term chance to change President George W. Bush's Iraq strategy.
The United States and Iraq will form a joint commission to look into allegations that private guards protecting American diplomats killed Iraqi civilians and to review the U.S. Embassy's security practices, the State Department said Wednesday.
WASHINGTON - The first combat squadron of tilt-rotor V-22 Ospreys has been quietly deployed to Iraq, ushering a new form of aerial technology into 21st Century warfare.