House Passes Pullout Bill

Just hours after Gen. David Petraeus told lawmakers he needed more time to gage the success of the surge in Iraq, the House passed the funding bill requiring troops to begin withdrawing in October. President Bush has promised to veto the bill, which Majority Whip James Clyburn nonetheless called an "exit strategy the president should be pleased to receive."

Republicans condemned it as capitulation; Kentucky's Harold Rogers called it "nothing short of a cut and run in the fight against Al Qaeda.” The bill, which passed 218-208, is expected to pass the Senate today, but Dems are already ruminating on post-veto counter-proposals, including replacing the rigid timetable with benchmarks. (More Iraq pullout stories.)