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Doug Krizner: The debate on the war in Iraq is intensifying. The Senate is expected to begin debate today on the defense authorization bill for the next fiscal year. It includes $130 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And as Jeremy Hobson reports from Washington, the debate will give opponents of the war a chance to try and stop it.

Jeremy Hobson: Many here had been expecting a September showdown, but it could come this month says Larry Korb of the Center for American Progress.

Larry Korb: You’ve had mainstream Republicans basically saying ‘we can’t wait any longer because the longer we wait the closer we’re going to be to the Presidential election season.’

One amendment Senators will vote on is expected to include a requirement that troops start leaving Iraq within months.

A similar amendment has been defeated three times before, but has gained more support each time.

Still, Tom Donnelly at the American Enterprise Institute says there isn’t yet a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Tom Donnelly: So I think there’s a long political road to travel before we get to a real withdrawal.

There will be a bump in that road this weekend, when the Bush administration issues a progress report on the troop surge.

In Washington, I’m Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.