It's always been clear to me that the White House invaded and occupied Iraq for political and financial purposes. Remember the president's comments to his ghost writer about war presidents? So this comes as no surprise:
The White House confirmed Wednesday that its new budget next month will not request a full year’s funding for the war in Iraq, leaving the next president and Congress to confront major cost questions soon after taking office in 2009.
If it wasn't political, the president would've requested a full year. You know, because he really cares about the troops and blah blah blah.