But with reports that the enemy will try to influence the debate in the fall (see this post), the President tried to brace us for a bloody fall:
Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, has pledged to report to the administration and Congress in September on the progress made in the war, and Bush conceded that al-Qaida terrorists and illegal militias will make sure there is heavy fighting in the interim to try and sap the will of the United States.
"And so, yes, it could be a bloody — it could be a very difficult August," he said.
It is telling that the enemy will time their offensive to coincide with our domestic debates. The enemy knows where our weak point is.
This, of course, is the wholly predictable result of the vigorous dissent over the war that our Left exercises.
Our Left usually leaves a bloody trail of victims behind them.
UPDATE: Congress passed the funding legislation without timetables but will continue to try and lose the war:
Democrats looked to the upcoming votes after losing a bruising battle with Bush on an emergency war spending bill. Lacking the two-thirds majority needed to overcome another presidential veto, Democrats dropped from the legislation a provision ordering troops home from Iraq beginning this fall.
Congress passed the revised $120 billion spending bill on Thursday, providing $95 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. The House voted 280-142 to pass the bill, followed by a 80-14 vote in the Senate.
Funny enough, there will be synergy between these votes and enemy actions in Iraq.
Actually, this isnt that funny. It is part of the enemy plan (tip to Instapundit):
Until the media start reporting the war in more complete context, it will be impossible for the public to accurately gauge the success or failure of “the surge” or any other aspect of the war in Iraq.
News of even significant progress in any region of Iraq can be silenced with one strategically placed bomb or beheading. Unfortunately, media manipulation is one aspect of the war the terrorists appear to have mastered.
Our press cynically questions everything our government or military says about the war, but just rolls along as an effective partner in our enemy's war effort.
But hey, as long as somebody gets a Pulitzer out of it, this will be well worth it, right?
UPDATE: Actually, all those votes and IEDs are probably fairly pointless since the press and the Left won't believe any progress report from Iraq.
Remember, it isn't enough for us to be winning--we must be winning so obviously that even the dolts who report on the war must be able to understand it.
