US:Senators were yesterday preparing for an all-night session on Iraq as Democrats sought to embarrass Republicans with repeated votes on withdrawing American troops. Anti-war groups planned vigils throughout the country to coincide with the debate, which Republicans dismissed as a stunt.
Folding beds were brought into a room off the Senate floor and Democratic leaders said senators could be summoned from their homes during the night if they tried to ignore the debate.
To maintain senators' participation, Senate majority leader Harry Reid said there would be votes during the night. "We're not going to let everybody go home and have a good night's rest," he said.
Mr Reid can require senators' presence with quorum calls. If the Senate falls short of a 51-vote quorum, it may vote on a motion that directs the sergeant-at-arms to require the attendance of all senators. If that motion gets the majority vote of the senators present, the sergeant-at-arms can arrest members and bring them to the chamber.
Democrats have been unable to muster the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster on a Bill that would order the start of a troop withdrawal within three months. By keeping the Senate in session throughout the night, Mr Reid hopes to focus attention on the Republicans' support for President George Bush's war strategy, which has sent 30,000 additional troops to Iraq.
"The American people deserve an up-or-down vote on this amendment, which we believe will lead to a responsible end to this intractable war," Mr Reid said.
Two opinion polls this week show nearly two out of three Americans disapprove of Mr Bush's strategy and three in 10 Republicans believe the surge has failed, while less than half think it has succeeded. With up to 21 Republican senators seeking re-election next year, moderates within the party are nervous about the war's unpopularity.
Three Republican senators are supporting the Democrats' withdrawal amendment, which is attached to a defence spending Bill. However, lobbying from the White House has persuaded most Republicans to wait until after a progress report from Iraq in September before deciding if a change of course is necessary.
A report endorsed by all 16 US intelligence agencies yesterday said al-Qaeda could use its recently established contacts and capabilities in Iraq to launch another attack within the US. Declassified excerpts from the National Intelligence Estimate, the most authoritative official intelligence assessment, said al-Qaeda's association with an Iraqi affiliate helps to energise extremists throughout the broader Sunni Muslim community, raise resources and recruit and educate operatives.
The analysts concluded worldwide counter-terrorism efforts since 2001 have constrained al-Qaeda's ability to attack the US but warned international co-operation could diminish as memory of the 9/11 attacks fades.
They believe al-Qaeda is likely to continue to focus on high-profile political, economic and infrastructural targets to cause mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, economic aftershocks and fear.
"The group is proficient with conventional small arms and improvised explosive devices and is innovative in creating new capabilities and overcoming security obstacles," the report says.
Mr Bush's supporters seized on the report as evidence the US must remain on the offensive against Islamist terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, but critics said it demonstrated that invading Iraq had not made the US safer from terrorist attacks.
The administration said yesterday it is ready to hold new talks with Iran on deteriorating security in Iraq, despite US claims that Tehran is supporting Shia insurgents inside Iraq.
"We think that given the situation in Iraq and given Iran's continued behaviour that is leading to further instability in Iraq, it would be appropriate to have another face-to-face meeting to directly convey to the Iranian authorities that, if they wish to see a more stable, secure, peaceful Iraq, which is what they have said they would like to see, they need to change their behaviour," said state department spokesman Sean McCormack.
A bipartisan group of senators is backing a proposal to implement the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, which called for a phased redeployment of US troops out of Iraq and direct talks with the country's neighbours, including Iran and Syria.