Iraq Posturing (take 1...)

By a vote of 255-171, the House just failed to pass a strongly-worded bill to get U.S. troops out of Iraq in nine months. The vote is no surprise, really, since Speaker Nancy Pelosi only offered the vote to toss some red meat to the more virulent anti-war House Democrats. Next up for the House: a vote on the "let's split it in two" idea for only funding the war until July, then requiring Bush to ask for more money. This effort should also be seen as dead in the water, since even if it passes the House there's just no way it will make it intact through the Senate.

Iraq Posturing (take 2...)

President Bush, while tossing Republicans some red meat of his own by threatening a veto of the "split it in two" plan, also appeared to be backing down on the subject of benchmarks, although it remains to be seen how far he really will back down:

"One message I have heard from people from both parties is that the idea of benchmarks makes sense. And I agree. It makes sense to have benchmarks as a part of our discussion on how to go forward. And so I've empowered Josh Bolten to find common ground on benchmarks. And he will continue to have dialogue with both Republicans and Democrats."

Bursting Bush's Bubble:

In the first of what one can only hope will be many visits, 11 House Republicans apparantly gave Bush some unvarnished truth Tuesday. They sat Bush down for an hour and a half and attempted to get through to him the idea that continuing the Iraq war into next year's election season is going to be disastrous for Republicans. Some are seeing shades of Congressional Republicans telling Nixon "It's over," but I wouldn't go that far yet.

There was one honest quote that did remind me of the Nixonian past, though, from Representative Thomas Davis III (R-VA):

"The key for everybody is to try to find a way to declare victory and get out of there."

The entire article is heartening for Democrats, or anyone who wants to see the war end, really. And isn't it coincidental that the meeting happened when Cheney was out of town?

The Careful What You Wish For Department:

One thing Cheney was doing while he was in Iraq was trying to strongarm the Iraqi Parliament into foregoing their two month vacation this summer, to try and get some work out of them. But in a new development:

A majority of Iraqi lawmakers endorsed a draft bill calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops and demanding a freeze on the number already in the country, lawmakers said Thursday.

Habeas Corpus News:

Hopefully this isn't the end of the Habeas Corpus subject (in other words, repealing the Military Commissions Act of last year). Tom Toles sums the situation up nicely.

David Broder Agrees Again:

For the second time in a week, Broder agrees with me. Now, I seriously doubt he's reading my articles, it's probably just coincidence. You decide.

Common Sense On Iraq:

Rend Al-Rahim's got the best idea I've heard in a long time for some sort of acceptible solution to the whole problem of Iraq: convene a Dayton-type meeting with all the factions, and hammer out an agreement they can all live with. Who knows what the chances of success would be, but like I said, this is the first truly original idea I've heard in a long time, so it deserves to be debated, at the very least.