Petraeus Hands Off Iraq Reins Next Week

Related Newser Stories

• Bombings Kill 31 in Baghdad, Mosul

  Dec 1, 08 7:40 AM CST
  Suicide bombers struck today near a Baghdad police academy and in Mosul against a joint US-Iraqi patrol, together killing 31 people, Iraqi officials said. In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded outside the heavily fortified academy. Minutes later, a suicide attacker blew himself up as police rushed to respond to the blast. Sixteen people were killed and 45 were wounded, police said. More »

• 4-Star General Confesses to Post-Traumatic Stress

  Nov 25, 08 10:45 AM CST
  The trauma associated with combat is a hushed topic among troops returned from Iraq—but a four-star general’s fight off the battlefield could help usher in a new attitude, USA Today reports. After witnessing the scene of a suicide bomb in an American mess hall at a base near Mosul, Carter Ham came home a different man, his wife said. But a psychological screening and talks with a chaplain put him on the road to recovery. More »

• Mullen Warns Iraq Exit Will Take More Than 2 Years

  Nov 18, 08 1:44 AM CST
  The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is "comfortable" with the new US-Iraq security pact scheduling the start of an American troop pullout next year, but believes some major hurdles still exist, the Washington Post reports. Admiral Michael Mullen cautioned that the US has huge amounts of equipment and thousands of troops within the country, and it will likely take up to three years to get everything out of the nation safely.
  More »

• Iraqi Cabinet Backs US Pullout Pact

  Nov 16, 08 7:31 AM CST
  Iraq’s cabinet has approved a long-debated plan to allow US troops to stay in the country until 2011—three years beyond their UN mandate, Reuters reports. Consideration of the pact now moves to parliament, where it will likely pass, an official said. American troops are scheduled to leave Iraqi towns and villages during 2009 and quit the country altogether in 2011, according to a draft of the agreement. The pact also puts Iraq in charge of the troops for the first time.
  More »

• Military Launches 'TroopTube'

  Nov 12, 08 3:28 AM CST
  The Pentagon has opened an alternative internet site to YouTube for military personnel who are banned from using the popular video-sharing network, reports the San Francisco Business Times. The new "TroopTube" is an approved site where service men and woman and their families can post and view videos. Strict military standards will be enforced on the site, according to officials.
  More »