President Bush has offered to meet with Democratic leaders to talk about Iraq, but has made it clear that he won’t change his mind about vetoing a defense spending bill that includes timetables for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. One way out of the stalemate is to look beyond the immediate problem to what will happen in the next fiscal year, when the White House will again ask for money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House and Senate have passed different versions of the bill that include provisions for the withdrawal of U.S. troops beginning next year. The two bills must be reconciled before being sent to the president, who says he will veto any bill that contains timetables for withdrawal.

The president warned this week that the Pentagon would have to transfer $1.6 billion from other accounts to pay for the Iraq mission if a spending bill isn’t approved soon. However, the bipartisan Congressional Research Service last week concluded that the military will have funds for operations in Iraq through July without additional appropriations. The roughly $122 billion now being debated will fund the wars through the end of September, when the fiscal year ends.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Patraeus, has said it will be possible to tell whether the surge is working late this summer. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said roughly the same thing. Knowing whether the troop increase is making a difference would help lawmakers and the president make better decisions about the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq.

Michael O’Hanlon, a foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution, suggests a second Iraq Study Group to assess whether the surge is working. Something that formal may not be necessary and time may not permit months of review. A key measure is whether there is a significant decrease in violent attacks, especially in Baghdad, where U.S. reinforcements will be concentrated. Another, more subjective, measure is whether life has improved for Iraqis. Are fewer of them fleeing the country? Do more have jobs? Is water and electricity available to more people more of the time?

Instead of debating funds for the next six months, Mr. O’Hanlon suggests that lawmakers look at the funding for 2008, when they know whether the surge is showing signs of success.

Either way, the current debate highlights that troop numbers are only part of the solution. Putting more resources into economic development while increasing pressure on Iraq to meet political benchmarks such as the creation of local governments should be part of long-term plans for Iraq.