Reid Promises More Votes On Iraq, Admits Mistake On Supplemental Fight

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other top Senate Democrats promised to force more votes on the Iraq War in coming weeks, including a proposal to set a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Reid also acknowledged that Democrats had let down voters and party activists who supported them in the November elections based on the promise that Democrats would end the war by bringing about a pullout of American combat forces, even if President Bush objected.

But with effectively only 50 Democratic votes in the Senate due to the illness of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), and a united Senate Republican Conference continuing to back Bush, at least for the time being, Democrats have fallen far short of that goal, much to the displeasure of anti-war factions within the Democratic party.

''I completely understand how they feel,'' Reid told reporters on Tuesday afternoon ''We raised expectations."

But after listing a string of Democratic-backed legislative proposals that he has been able to push through the chamber, Reid added that Democrats "feel comfortable about the things we've been able to accomplish."