Troops See 'Endgame' in Iraq

(NEWSER) - President Obama plans to withdraw most US troops from Iraq by August 2010, the AP reports. Insiders say a training force of 30,000 to 50,000 will remain but will be largely evacuated by December 2011, when the security pact between the US and Iraq expires. The US has about 142,000 troops in Iraq now, and Obama the candidate pledged to bring them home in 16 months. He'll miss that deadline by 3 months. More»

New prez is doing fine in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, but no one notices

(NEWSER) - Despite the howls of protest over President Obama's Nobel Prize and the administration’s "dithering" on Afghanistan , the fact is that the new president’s foreign endeavors deserve good marks, says Juan Cole. Cole gives Obama an A for his Iranian statesmanship, a B for pulling out of Iraq as promised—albeit coordinating poorly with the Iraqis—and a B for making Pakistan own “the problem of the Pakistani Taliban.” Not bad for eight months. More»

Army sergeant perished in Afghanistan saving an injured comrade

(NEWSER) - Army Sgt. Jared Monti, who died in 2006 while trying to save the life of a wounded comrade in Afghanistan, was awarded the Medal of Honor this afternoon at the White House. "Jared Monti saw the danger before him and went out to meet it," said President Obama. He presented the citation to Monti's parents, Paul and Janet, describing their son as "one in a million," the Boston Globe reports. More»

Obama plays down Iraqi limits on US forces as 'differences in strategy'

(NEWSER) - President Obama met with Nouri al-Maliki today and vowed to keep to his timetable that has all US forces out of Iraq by 2011, the Washington Post reports. The Iraqi prime minister said that his country’s security forces are now “highly capable” of handling the threat posed by insurgents—what Iraq needs now, Maliki said, is economic aid and foreign investment. More»

Afghanistan casualty's return first to be covered since end of 18-year-old ban

(NEWSER) - The press was allowed to cover the return of a fallen US soldier last night for the first time since President Obama lifted an 18-year-old ban, the Washington Post reports. The family of Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers, who was killed by a bomb in Afghanistan Saturday, gave permission for the media to be there as required under the new policy. More»