Congress calls for troop withdraw by October

And President Bush will smack it down. Tragically. the Democrats don’t have the two thirds majority it needs to override Bush’s promised veto.

Speaker of the House Hoyer summed up the obvious: “Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success.”

The key conditions of the bill, H.R. 1591: A non-binding goal of completing the troop pull out by April 1, 2008, and allowing for forces conducting certain noncombat missions, such as attacking terrorist networks or training Iraqi forces, to remain. if the Iraqi government does not meet certain “standards”. In other words, showing progress which is utterly impossible given the violent, horrific nature of the occupation. According to the AP, the Senate will be sending the President a similar measure tomorrow, also demanding a withdrawal begin in October.

Update: The Senate narrowly passed the $124 billion war spending bill. It should get to Bush next week. Unfortunately, the final vote came down to 51-46, not even close to the 2/3 needed.

Update: TPM Election Central points out that this is Bush’s war now. And Juan Cole lays out a strategy for ending the occupation.