Don't Hold Your Breath

In the middle of headlines like this:
U.S. military: 14 troops killed in Iraq

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military announced the deaths of 14 American troops, including five killed Thursday in a single roadside bombing that also killed four Iraqis in Baghdad.

And this:
Top Iraqi Officials Growing Restless

BAGHDAD, June 20 -- Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi, a senior Shiite politician often mentioned as a potential prime minister, tendered his resignation last week in a move that reflects deepening frustration inside the Iraqi government with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Other senior Iraqi officials have considered resigning in recent weeks over the failures of their government to make progress after more than a year in power, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials.

We have this interview with General David H. Petraeus which would seem to indicate that the Bush/Cheney cabal has no intention of changing anything in Iraq. Forget about September and expect to see an attack on Iran in the foreseeable future. Petraeus does not talk about the civil war or the Iraqi death squads but only about al-Qaeda and Iran.

I think Andrew Sullivan probably gets it right.

If the Times interview is what Petraeus is telling Bush and Cheney, then they have only begun to ramp up this war in Iraq. My bet is they will try to extend the war into Iran if they can, and are obviously looking for a trigger to do so. But until then, they have no intention of changing a thing, except perhaps putting even more troops on the line. From everything we know about Bush, he will continue on, even if a majority of both Houses oppose war-funding. He doesn't need his party any more. Only a veto-proof margin will suffice, and if that happens, expect a massive Rudy-driven, Romney-approved "stab-in-the-back" campaign, accusing all critics of being supporters of Iran or al Qaeda. Or Bush will force the Congress to cut off all funds, and then declare the troops abandoned and betrayed by the "enemy within".

While a few Republicans may defect in September there won't be enough to override a veto.