The bill - backed by among others, Sen. Barack Obama - wasn't going anywhere in the Senate, just like almost every binding attempt by Democrats to force a major change in Iraq.

Republicans had surprised Democratic leaders earlier this week by allowing debate to begin on the bill sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI.)

The GOP reasoning was that they believe the US military surge in Iraq has worked and that Democrats are still living in the past, still arguing that Iraq is a failure.

So, Republican Senators gleefully hustled to the Senate floor to talk about successes in Iraq, while Democrats repeated their party's mantra about tough times, casualties and why Iraq is a grand waste of money.

Basically, each side remains in their partisan corner on the war.

Don't worry - this debate will return later this year, when the Congress has to approve more money for the war.

Democrats will again try at that time to limit money for the operation - and unless there is a cataclysmic change inside Iraq - much of the money will get approved after a lot of hand wringing on Capitol Hill.

President Bush got his own shots in on Iraq at his news conference on Thursday.

"Many of the same people who once accused me of once refusing to acknowledge setbacks in Iraq are now the same people who are refusing to acknowledge progress in Iraq.