As President Bush prepares for a news conference this AM — he will reportedly have a statement on War Funding — our timing couldn't be better. Dumb luck — we'd scheduled Gen. Keane for last week, but he had another appointment and we had to postpone. In any case, the President can be expected to hammer the Democrats again to "support the troops" and threaten to veto any funding bill that contains deadlines. He can also be expected to follow up on the visit to the Baghdad market over the weekend by Sen. McCain (R-AZ) and others — Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) remarked that it was like a summer stroll through a market in Indiana — and argue that the Democrats want to hamstring the commanders in the field just as their plan to secure Baghdad is showing signs of progress. A story in today's New York Times cites merchants in that market as saying that the area is far from safe, pointing out that the congressional delegation was accompanied by 100 US troops, rooftop snipers, and attack helicopters hovering overhead. Worse, one pointed out that whenever any one thing is touted as a sign of progress, it immediately attracts an attack.

After considerable thought, we decided to have Gen. Keane on by himself to take your questions about the troop build-up in Baghdad and Anbar ... Is it working? Can it work? If the goal is to provide a breathing space for politics, is the Iraqi government taking advantage of it? Aren't attacks just shifting elsewhere? Are the Shia militias, the Mehdi Army in particular, just lying low, waiting, and letting the US loose against its internal (renegade Shias) and external (Sunni insurgents, Al Qaida elements) rivals? And what's all this doing to the Army and Marine Corps? Post your questions here, if you'd like, or call in or email during the show.