Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Senate today called on President George W. Bush to explain his strategy for ending the war in Iraq and report every three months on progress until all U.S. troops stationed there are redeployed.

The measure, passed 79-19, is one of several attached to a major defense bill that reflect unease within the president's own party as polls show increasing public impatience with the conflict and Democrats step up criticism.

The measure calls on the administration to make 2006 a year of significant political and military transition in Iraq that will allow a phased reduction of U.S. forces.

The Senate ``needs to send the strongest possible message to the Iraqi people and the government formed there'' that ``we mean business, we have done our share, now the challenge is up to you,'' said John Warner of Virginia, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The amendment was to the defense authorization bill that the chamber later passed 98-0. The bill sets military policy and became a vehicle for lawmakers to weigh in on Bush's handling of the Iraq conflict.

One provision would set legal rights and procedures for suspected terrorists held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Others bar abuse of enemy combatants in U.S. custody and seek details on any secret U.S. prisons overseas.

The provision aimed at withdrawing American troops, who now number 160,000 in the Mideast nation, urges but does not require Bush to report progress. It was sponsored by Warner and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee.

Democrats Wanted Timetable

None of these measures is in the House version of the defense authorization bill, which means they'll be the subject of negotiation when the two chambers hammer out compromise legislation.

Passage of the withdrawal provision followed the defeat, 58-40, of a nearly identical measure pushed by Democrats and introduced by Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Carl Levin of Michigan, ranking Democrat on the armed services panel. The main difference is that Democrats wanted Bush to set a timetable for withdrawal, a notion he's flatly resisted.

Frist dubbed that a ``cut-and-run strategy'' that would play ``right into the hands'' of terrorists who would wait to attack until after U.S. forces departed. Warner said the provision ``sends the wrong message'' and would ``completely destabilize'' the national elections Iraq plans Dec. 15.

`Strong Repudiation'

Dan Bartlett, the White House communications director, said the Senate action ``was a strong repudiation of Democratic efforts to pass legislation calling for immediate, premature withdrawal from Iraq.''

The resolution ``reaffirms what the administration is putting forward as a strategy, which is to train Iraqi security forces as quickly as possible,'' Bartlett told reporters in Kyoto, Japan, Bush's first stop first stop on a weeklong trip across Asia.

The Republican amendment requires a White House report within three months of the bill's passage and every three months thereafter outlining the current military situation, the status of Iraqi troop training and status of efforts to forge a compromise among Iraq's rival political factions.

`Clarify, Recommend Changes'

Twenty-five of the Senate's 44 Democrats, including both Reid and Levin, voted with Republicans. Levin called the Republican measure ``second-best'' but said ``both amendments propose to clarify and recommend changes to United States policy in Iraq.''

Reid said Democrats ``forced the Republicans to admit that staying the course in Iraq is not an option.'' The measure is ``a vote of no confidence in the Bush administration's policy in Iraq,'' he said. Warner told reporters that Reid's comments didn't merit a response.

Bush's approval rating is at a record low in recent polls. A survey released yesterday by CNN, USA Today and the Gallup Organization showed 37 percent approve of the job he's doing and 60 percent disapprove. A Newsweek magazine poll released Nov. 12 found an approval rating of 36 percent and a disapproval rate of 58 percent.

The war in Iraq is a main factor driving down the president's ratings, according to Gallup poll data. The poll conducted Nov. 11-13 found 54 percent of the public now think sending troops to Iraq was a mistake.

Iraq Casualties

At least 2,056 U.S. service members and five civilian Department of Defense workers have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, according to a tally on the Pentagon's Web site yesterday.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost $361 billion since Sept. 11, 2001, for military operations, reconstruction and other expenses, the Congressional Research Service said in an Oct. 3 report.

There is political progress in Iraq. After two decades of dictatorship, the war-ravaged nation moved toward establishing a federal government after voters approved a new constitution Oct. 15 by a 4-to-1 margin. The next step is the vote on a new parliament Dec. 15.

The overall bill the Senate passed today includes $50 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of $491 billion authorized for military spending in fiscal 2006.

One controversial amendment, a compromise measure sponsored by Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Levin, would give detainees at Guantanamo the right to have verdicts reached by military tribunals reviewed in U.S. appeals courts. The amendment also bars detainees from challenging their confinement in U.S. courts.

Military Trials

The measure would formalize a military-based system of hearings and trials the administration set up to deal with suspected foreign terrorists held at the U.S. Navy prison at Guantanamo Bay, most of them captured almost four years ago in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Graham, in an interview, said the intent is ``to streamline the legal procedures'' and ``the White House is generally very pleased'' the amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week said it will decide whether such military panels can be used to try the roughly 500 terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo. The justices will hear arguments and rule by July.

`Affront to Judiciary'

Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania called the amendment ``an affront to the Judiciary Committee'' that he heads. The measure ``hasn't been the subject of any hearings'' and is ``blatant court-stripping in the most confusing way,'' Specter said.

Levin said in an interview that Specter was mistaken because, unlike an earlier version, the amendment doesn't apply to pending legal actions and provides for Supreme Court review of any appeals court decisions.

The authorization bill also has a provision sponsored by Republican John McCain of Arizona that aims to ensure U.S. interrogation techniques don't violate the Geneva Convention.

McCain's amendment is also on the defense appropriations bill that the Senate passed Oct. 7. It's not on the House version of the bill that passed in July and the two chambers still haven't met to seek compromise legislation.

Bush threatened to veto the entire defense appropriations bill over McCain's amendment. Later, the White House offered to go along if Central Intelligence Agency agents working overseas were exempt from any restrictions.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff St.Onge in Washington at jstonge@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 15, 2005 20:30 EST