Word: troop
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...Pentagon announced that 35,000 more soldiers are likely to head to Iraq before year's end to maintain the troop surge. Meanwhile, those most responsible for launching the war continue to retreat from public life. Unlike soldiers, who can be barred from shedding their uniforms when their enlistment ends if they are bound for or in a war zone, civilians get no such "stop loss" orders...
...Defense chief Robert Gates represents the more Realpolitik team now taking over. He has warned Iraqi leaders that the U.S. military is not on indefinite loan to the Iraqi government and has lauded Democratic efforts to impose a timetable for troop withdrawal. Although Gates has won plaudits from Congress for his candor, he and President George W. Bush clearly need help crafting Iraq policy. That's why the White House is hunting for a "war czar." So far, half a dozen former military officers have declined the offer. Most retired officers under 62 can be ordered back to active duty...
What might this bipartisan bill look like? Both sides say it is all but certain that the Democrats will have to drop their deadlines for troop withdrawal. But there is likely to be significant Republican support for another idea that Bush opposes: imposing "benchmarks" on the Iraq government. Those benchmarks in the vetoed bill covered everything from disarming militias to sharing oil revenues across ethnic groups. "If they come to us with that," says a senior G.O.P. congressional aide, "we'll take it." Republicans are also likely to insist that Democrats jettison some of the extraneous spending in the bill...
...Democrats have yet to decide precisely what they plan to do, considering they are well short of the votes they need to override the veto. It looks all but certain that they will have to jettison the bill's deadlines for troop withdrawal - a move that is certain to lose some of their more liberal members, but that could attract support from Republicans, who are facing increasing impatience for progress in Iraq from their voters at home. And while there is still some discussion of a "short leash" strategy - passing a small funding bill, and continuing to fight - that idea...
...move to punish the Iraqis if they do not meet those targets, but some congressional Republicans say they might be willing to consider reducing non-military aid, including reconstruction funds. What they will not support, says one G.O.P. leadership aide, is anything that ties the benchmarks to a troop withdrawal - "creating a benchmark that's a surrender date by another name." Republicans are also likely to insist that Democrats strip the bill of some of the $20 billion included for extraneous spending on items that range from peanut storage to aid to spinach farmers...