WASHINGTON, July 18: President George Bush escaped a Senate showdown over Iraq on Tuesday with his war policy intact after Republicans blocked a bid by Democrats to force most US troops home by the end of April.

After an ill-tempered and rare all-night debate, Bush's party frustrated the latest drive by majority Democrats to mandate troop withdrawal timetables, despite growing unease among Republicans over US strategy.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a personal appearance on Capitol Hill as the vote approached, shuttling between meetings with lawmakers, in an apparent bid to bolster the Republican vote.

Senators voted by 52 to 47 to move to a final vote on the measure, well short of the 60-vote supermajority needed for the bill to proceed.

Only four Republicans deserted Bush and voted with the Democrats, meaning a bigger revolt, which had seemed possible last week, did not materialize.

The measure would have required a troop withdrawal to start within 120 days, and for most combat soldiers to be out of Iraq by April 30, 2008.

Remaining US troops in Iraq would have had a limited role: battling terrorists, protecting US personnel and installations and training Iraqi troops.

A similar bill has already passed in the House of Representatives, and Bush has vowed to veto it.

Democratic leader Senator Harry Reid chastised Republicans for insisting on the 60-vote barrier, as Democrats justified the overnight debate as an attempt to shine a spotlight on Republican obstruction tactics.—AFP