Bush predicts bloody summer in Iraq; House OK's funding

Before the House approved a measure to continue funding for the war, the president warned that insurgent forces in Iraq would deliberately step up attacks against US troops and Iraqi civilians in advance of September, when administration officials are scheduled to deliver progress reports on the war to Congress .

"It could be a bloody, it could be a very difficult August," the president said in a Rose Garden news conference. "We can expect more American and Iraqi casualties."

Despite growing public discontent with the war, Bush won a key victory on Capitol Hill, where the House voted 280 to 142 for a measure that would continue funding for the war without imposing any schedule for troop withdrawals. Many Democrats voted against it -- including the entire Massachusetts delegation -- but strong GOP support ensured passage of the bill, which would provide $120 billion for the war and some domestic programs unrelated to the conflict.