Senate didn't vote on objection to troop buildup

Senate Democrats failed to garner the 60 votes they needed to consider a nonbinding resolution opposing President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq.

The vote was 56-34, with seven Republicans crossing the aisle to vote with senators who oppose the troop surge in Iraq.

The Democrats have a razor thin 51-49 majority in the Senate so mustering 60 votes will require at least 9 Republicans to cross the floor, that is if all the Democrats turn up to vote.

Some quotes from the debate (CNN)

"We are policing a civil war in Iraq," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said before the vote. "American troops should not be in the middle of that war.

"This nonbinding resolution, as a practical matter, doesn't do anything, but was designed to try to disapprove of the new mission," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said after the vote. "Our view is you cannot discuss the new mission in Iraq without discussing funding for the troops."