Today's Iraq related news:
+ It looks like the Iraqi governing coalition may not even make it to its scheduled two month summer vacation. Both the major Sunni and Shiite factions are threatening to withdraw from al-Maliki's governing coalition over a power-sharing dispute.
+ A majority of the members of Iraq's parliament have joined a formal call for the US to set a timetable for withdrawal from their country. Not surprisingly, this development has been largely ignored both by the US media and by the Bush administration. Remember when the whole point of this exercise was freedom and democracy?
+ There seems to be a growing consensus that September is some sort of magical month for Iraq. By then, apparently, we will know whether or not the surge is working. But if that's the case, why did the Pentagon just announce that 35,000 soldiers will deploy to Iraq in August to sustain the surge through at least the beginning of next year? And why is Lt. Gen. Odierno now saying that April is the magical month? I realize, of course, that the Pentagon needs to plan for the mission it has already been given, but still, once in motion these plans begin to take on a life of their own.
+ In response to the president's war funding veto, the congress is considering a new measure that would combine a shorter funding window with political benchmarks that the Iraqi government must meet. The president, naturally, has indicated that he will veto this measure as well. As you follow this story, keep this in mind: 64% of Americans now oppose this war, 54% disapprove of Bush's previous veto, and 61% are in favor of holding the Iraqis to political benchmarks.
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