From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Pulling out of Iraq, the politics, and the logistics.

Hello again, I'm Orman Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The House today passed a binding deadline, U.S. troops home from Iraq by the end of August next year.

Some liberals who want to end the war now went along, even though the deadline's part of a spending bill to support the troops in the meantime.

On to the point, is it political posturing, or the start of something big?

In addition to soldiers, there's a staggering quantity of arms and equipment. Would a pull-out

be a logistical nightmare? Is it all moot anyway because the army's running out of deployable

troops? On reporter's notebook later on, British sailors captured at gunpoint by Iran. First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

Foundation. Hello, again. Women, I'm only back with To the Point. The House has passed a bill

funding troops in Iraq with a binding deadline, pulled them out by the end of August next year.

On To the Poet, is it political posturing, or something more? Would a pull-out be a logistical

nightmare? Will the Army run out of troops in the

meantime? On reporter's notebook, 15 British sailors have been captured by Iranian forces in the

Persian Gulf. We'll hear from Tehran and from London. First is news update. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

scored a political victory today in Iran's spending bill setting the end of August next year as the

deadline to bring the troops home. The American people want a new direction in Iraq. Today, the

Congress will provide it. The American people do not support a war without end, and neither should

this Congress. I urge an either. Okay.

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