Iraq pullout – News Stories About Iraq pullout - Page 3

Oct 21, 2007 6:21 AM CDT

GOP Doves Risk Seats

Lawmakers who backed Iraq troop withdrawals face reelection battles on home front

(Newser) - The handful of Republican lawmakers who have supported a withdrawal of troops from Iraq may soon find themselves out of a job if GOP loyalists have their way. Republicans like Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. of North Carolina, and Maryland's Wayne Gilchrest are facing tough new challenges from pro-war primary...

Ex-General
Calls Iraq War 'Incompetent'

Oct 13, 2007 6:19 AM CDT

Ex-General Calls Iraq War 'Incompetent'

Former commander in Iraq sees 'nightmare with no end in sight'

(Newser) - Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the retied former commander of US forces in Iraq, didn't pull any punches yesterday when he launched a scathing assault on the administration's conduct of the war effort. Speaking to reporters, Sanchez called Bush's plans "unrealistically optimistic" and "catastrophically flawed," and decried the...

Bush Plan Would Bring 5K Troops Back by Holidays

Sep 13, 2007 6:08 PM CDT

Bush Plan Would Bring 5K Troops Back by Holidays

Progress on security allows withdrawal, president to tell nation

(Newser) - In a speech tonight, President Bush will outline a plan to bring 5,700 US troops home from Iraq by Christmas, claiming enough security objectives have been met to allow the withdrawal. The New York Times reports that Bush is following the recommendations of Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker,...

General Walks the Party Line

Sep 11, 2007 4:17 AM CDT

General Walks the Party Line

Petraeus as concerned with selling the war as winning it, say analysts

(Newser) - General Petraeus appeared to be a mouthpiece for the White House in testimony that had no surprises and left many questions unanswered when he recommended no significant troop draw down from Iraq at least until summer, several analysts agree. Though he presented himself as just a soldier presenting facts, Petraeus...

Petraeus Sees Withdrawal to 'Pre-Surge Levels'

Sep 10, 2007 3:53 PM CDT

Petraeus Sees Withdrawal to 'Pre-Surge Levels'

Top US commander says goals are being met

(Newser) - David Petraeus told Congress today that the objectives of the troop surge “are in large measure being met” and said US forces could drop “to pre-surge levels” by mid-July. The top American commander in Iraq said he has recommended that force reductions begin later this month, with redeployments...

Bush to Address Nation on Iraq Strategy

Sep 8, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

Bush to Address Nation on Iraq Strategy

Promises to 'lay out a vision' after Petraeus releases his report

(Newser) - President Bush will take his case for the unpopular Iraq war directly to the American people in a televised address Thursday. Bush vowed to “lay out a vision” following Monday’s report from Gen. David Petraeus, and asked Congress for patience. That virtue is scarce, however, with Senate Majority...

Group Drops $15M on Pro-Surge Campaign

Aug 22, 2007 5:55 PM CDT

Group Drops $15M on Pro-Surge Campaign

TV, Internet, radio ads backed by GOP heavies

(Newser) - Launched today by ex-White House PR man Ari Fleischer and a laundry list of pro-Bush bigwigs, a new group called Freedom's Watch has spent $15 million on ads to support the president's troop surge in Iraq, Politico reports. The group aims to fill a conservative "vacuum" ahead of September's...

Gates Warns
of 'Protracted'
Iraq Stay

Aug 6, 2007 10:01 AM CDT

Gates Warns of 'Protracted' Iraq Stay

Troops will remain to support government, Defense chief says

(Newser) - US troops will likely remain in Iraq for a "protracted period of time," Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned yesterday. Soldiers would remain as a "stabilizing and supporting force" for the government long after combat troop numbers are reduced, he said in a CNN interview. Gates couldn't say...

GOP Senate Bigwigs Push
for Iraq Shift

Jul 14, 2007 11:22 AM CDT

GOP Senate Bigwigs Push for Iraq Shift

Lugar, Warner seek redeployment, want specifics by October

(Newser) - Two of the GOP's most respected foreign policy experts want troop realignment in Iraq, and they proposed Senate legislation yesterday that calls for the White House to have a plan in place by mid-October. The move by Richard Lugar and John Warner was the latest sign of disintegrating Republican support...

House OKs Withdrawal Timetable

Jul 12, 2007 5:20 PM CDT

House OKs Withdrawal Timetable

Mandatory timetable giving Pentagon 120 days to start redeployment and setting April deadline passes 223-201

(Newser) - The House voted late today to require the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to begin within 120 days as part of legislation that sets an April 1 deadline for complete redeployment. The 223-201 vote, a largely symbolic move given that Senate support isn't sufficient to override a filibuster, went...

White House Iraq Report:
Mixed Progress

Jul 12, 2007 5:57 AM CDT

White House Iraq Report: Mixed Progress

Cites gains on military benchmarks, lack of progress on political goals

(Newser) - The White House's interim report on its progress in Iraq, to be released today, will cite "satisfactory" work on eight of 18 benchmarks set by Congress, insufficient improvement on eight more, and mixed results on the final two. Most of the positive movement has been on the military front,...

Senate Nixes Limits on Iraq Deployments

Jul 11, 2007 4:23 PM CDT

Senate Nixes Limits on Iraq Deployments

Webb's proposal tests congress's support for pullout plans

(Newser) - The Senate failed to push through an amendment to a military appropriations bill that would have drastically cut troop deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, effectively slicing the number of troops on the ground. The measure, cosponsored by Virginia Democrat Jim Webb and increasingly fractious Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, fell...

Bush Appeals
for Patience

Jul 10, 2007 4:59 PM CDT

Bush Appeals for Patience

President reaffirms support for surge timetable as Congress readies for a fight

(Newser) - George Bush didn't want to be a "war president," he said today, but now that he is, he'll wait for a scheduled September update from the US commander in Iraq before planning "a way forward." Even as calls for policy change multiply, the Times reports, the...

Envoy Warns of Pullout Horrors

Jul 10, 2007 5:27 AM CDT

Envoy Warns of Pullout Horrors

Crocker promises honest assessment of war progress but says effects of withdrawal "way, way worse" than anything we've seen

(Newser) - US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker tells the Times that a post-withdrawal scenario in Iraq "exceeds his imagination" —and then goes on to imagine a nearly unmitigated catastrophe. Crocker predicts sectarian murders “by the thousands," a resurgence of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and the “complete...

White House Escalates Pullout Talk

Jul 9, 2007 1:12 PM CDT

White House Escalates Pullout Talk

Right-wing defectors speed ‘post-surge’ mindset

(Newser) - The White House is worried that Republican support for its Iraq strategy is collapsing faster than Bush can offer an alternative, the Times reports. The inside plan has been to await a mid-September report on the troop surge’s success, but rapid-fire defections may mean Bush will have to offer...

Sheehan to Pelosi: Impeach or I'll Run

Jul 9, 2007 4:46 AM CDT

Sheehan to Pelosi: Impeach or I'll Run

Anti-war mom threatens to challenge Speaker's House seat

(Newser) - Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan declared her intention to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her congressional seat yesterday unless the top-ranking Democrat draws up articles of impeachment against President Bush. "Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership," said Sheehan. "We hired them to bring an...

Military Preps for Iraq Pullout

Jun 10, 2007 12:17 PM CDT

Military Preps for Iraq Pullout

Envisions 40K force to stay for years; big withdrawal by early 2009

(Newser) - Top military officials are quietly setting their post-pullout strategy, reports Thomas Ricks in today's Post, and they're readying to keep in place a long-term, mid-size force. The new plan requires upwards of 40,000 American troops to stay in the country, with half dedicated to security, a quarter to training,...

Sheehan Quits the Peace Movement

May 29, 2007 6:13 AM CDT

Sheehan Quits the Peace Movement

Activist mom slams Dems, uncaring nation, leaves Camp Casey

(Newser) - Cindy Sheehan is retiring from the anti-war movement. In a long, bitter online letter posted yesterday on Daily Kos, the iconic "peace mom" expressed frustration over the Democrats' failure to end the war, and characterized the US as "a country which cares more about who will be the...

Congress OKs New Iraq Bill

May 25, 2007 5:30 AM CDT

Congress OKs New Iraq Bill

Sans timetable, Bush expected to sign; Clinton and Obama say nay

(Newser) - Congress approved $95 billion to pay for the war in Iraq—without a timetable for troop withdrawal. The bill, which Bush says he'll sign, passed both houses last night, ending a long and bitter struggle between Democrats and a veto-ready White House over bringing the troops home. Aspiring presidents Clinton...

Support for War Drops
to Record Low

May 24, 2007 3:51 PM CDT

Support for War Drops to Record Low

CBS/NY Times poll suggests that fewer Americans than ever back the war in Iraq

(Newser) - Six out of 10 Americans say the US should have stayed out of Iraq, a new CBS News/New York Times poll reports. And an all-time high of 76%—including a majority of Republicans—say the war is going badly. Americans support get-tough measures tying funding to progress, including a timetable...