Insurgents launched a deadly coordinated attack on an American combat patrol, detonating a roadside bomb, then firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades at the soldiers, the U.S. military said Friday. Five troops were killed.
As the death toll continues to grow, George Bush went to the Naval College yesterday seeking a friendly audience to spin his view of progress in Iraq. In fact, Bush is desperate to keep Republicans, who have enabled the Iraq disaster, on his side. Also, in typical fashion, the Bush administration is pushing back its own September deadline for progress:
White House officials had been hoping that they could hold together their party coalition on the war through that debate. The increasing concern from Republicans has caused them new anxiety.
Mr. Warner said that July 15, when a Congressionally mandated, preliminary report on the progress in Iraq is due, would be pivotal. The White House has been hoping for far more time, even backing away from its earlier statements that September would be a fair deadline to start judging the results of the new war plan.
The fair deadline for judging Bush's war is long past. Congress is going to have to act because Bush is never going to relent or accept his failure.
