You win this round

The new Iraq spending bill will not include a time table for withdrawl of U.S. troops or any notion of an exit from the war. Despite my original belief that the democrats would stand strong and refuse to fund this mockery of a war without contentions for an end, the presidential veto of the last proposed bill (and threat to veto any further bills similar) has cracked them. Though I take comfort that Pelosi shares in my dissapointment alluding to the idea that she will most likely not vote for the bill, which she helped create. The new bill will dish out around $120 billion and establish 18 political and legislative benchmarks for the Iraqi government. Starting in late July Bush will be required to report on their success in reaching these benchmarks and if the Iraqis fall short, they could forfeit U.S. reconstruction aid. You can read the full story here.