The Senate on Friday shot down the latest Democratic attempt to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, leaving the administration’s strategy unscathed.

By 47-47, the Senate defeated a proposal by Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., a member of the committee and West Point graduate, that would have started a redeployment of troops from Iraq in 90 days and brought most troops home in nine months. Under a unanimous consent agreement, the measure needed 60 votes to prevail.

The vote was the third defeat this week for Democrats seeking to force President Bush to accelerate a drawdown of U.S. combat forces and revise the missions of the remaining troops. With six senators absent Friday, the Levin-Reed amendment fared worse than their last such effort in mid-July, when the Senate voted 52-47 to limit debate on a similar amendment, eight short of the 60 needed.

Despite the political risks of backing an unpopular war, Republicans for the most part refused to buck the view of Gen. David H. Petraeus, U.S. military commander in Iraq, that more time is needed to stabilize the security situation in Iraq and allow political reconciliation there.