Bush again got his way and I think it is clear Congress will again give Bush his way in Iraq. The next funding bill may contain some non binding language about what the Iraqi Government should do but will have no impact on the outcome of the Iraq war.
In August we will have the final input as to the impact of the Surge. I believe that evaluation will show that the Civil War and the operations of al Qaeda will be at a level that will clearly show the added U.S. Troops has not brought an acceptable level of stability to Iraq. We will see a political atmosphere in Iraq similar to today with no resolve to end the Civil war that has taken hold in Iraq.
All the speculation will be behind us and it will be time to remove our forces from Iraq. If I am correct, Republicans who refuse to acknowledge the failure of the Bush Policy in Iraq will be in real trouble. I believe the funding for FY 2008 will be the time that Congress including enough GOP members will be in place to provide a veto proof bill. If the GOP continues to support Bush even with the clear failure of his policy, the day of change will be November 2008. I pray it will not take until January 2009 when the next President takes office to remove our brave military from a mission they should NEVER have been sent to by their Commander-in-Chief!