Iraq exit strategy

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Appointments Signal Shift From Candidate to Prez

National security team shows transition from candidate to leader

(Newser) - Yesterday's unveiling of Barack Obama's national security team did more than just end the rancor between him and Hillary Clinton; it established Obama as leader of a broad coalition that may transform his own views on American power. As Peter Baker writes for the New York Times, Obama's partnership with...

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views
Gates, Obama:
Different Parties, Similar Views
analysis
Nov 27, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views

Defense secretary wants to close Gitmo, focus on Afghanistan

(Newser) - Assuming he keeps his job, Robert Gates will have a transformed set of instructions come Jan. 20: Once charged with winning the war in Iraq, the defense secretary will now have to end it. But Gates and Barack Obama have substantial agreements about the nation's military strategy, the New ...

Iraq OKs US Troops for 3 More Years

Pact gives Iraqis more oversight over American presence

(Newser) - Iraq's parliament today passed a security pact with the US that lets American troops stay in the country for 3 more years. The ruling coalition's Shiite and Kurdish blocs as well as the largest Sunni Arab bloc backed the "yes" vote, the AP reports. The parliament speaker said an...

Want to Save Detroit? End the Iraq War
Want to Save Detroit?
End the Iraq War
OPINION
Nov 26, 2008 11:30 AM CST

Want to Save Detroit? End the Iraq War

People are dying, and more importantly, money is being lost

(Newser) - You don’t hear much about the Iraq war these days, though the US death toll hit 4,205 on Monday. If human life isn't a convincing enough reason to bow out, writes Roger Simon in Politico, then here's one that "really is upsetting people these days: money."...

Iraq Parliament Delays Vote on US Security Pact

Political bargaining forces postponement to tomorrow

(Newser) - Intense dealmaking among Iraq's political factions has delayed until tomorrow a parliamentary vote on the security pact that would allow American forces to stay in the country through 2011. The Shiite-led government is struggling to meet the demands of political blocs, including a large group of Sunni Arab lawmakers, seeking...

Maliki, US Reach Deal on Troops
Maliki, US
Reach Deal
on Troops
Nov 15, 2008 1:30 PM CST

Maliki, US Reach Deal on Troops

Breakthrough sets stage for vote to have Americans out in 2011

(Newser) - Nouri al-Maliki has thrown his support behind the latest version of a proposed US-Iraqi security pact and will urge his Cabinet members to do the same, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Iraqi prime minister’s support represents a huge step in the contentious negotiations to replace an expiring UN...

Britain Will Resist US Calls for Afghan Buildup

Army stretched too thin, top commander says

(Newser) - Britain should oppose any calls from President Obama to shift troops to Afghanistan as they are pulled out of Iraq, the country's defense chief says, arguing that UK troops need a breather. “I have said for a very long time that the British armed forces are stretched,” Sir...

Al-Sadr Decries US Pact at Rally
 Al-Sadr Decries US Pact at Rally
Oct 18, 2008 10:51 AM CDT

Al-Sadr Decries US Pact at Rally

Tens of thousands gather in protest

(Newser) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today called on Iraq's parliament to reject a US-Iraqi security pact as tens of thousands of his followers rallied in Baghdad against the deal. "The Iraqi government has abandoned its duty before God and its people," Sadr said through a spokesman. "I am...

Dear Iraq: It's Time to Step Up. Sincerely, W
Dear Iraq: It's Time to Step Up. Sincerely, W
OPINION
Sep 24, 2008 8:57 AM CDT

Dear Iraq: It's Time to Step Up. Sincerely, W

'Financial 9/11' calls for nation-building—at home, says Friedman

(Newser) - As America faces "a financial 9/11," what does the $1 trillion bailout mean for the country's other huge expense—the war in Iraq? Thomas L. Friedman plays ventriloquist in the New York Times, imagining President Bush telling Iraqi leaders that "you are now going to have to...

For McCain, Winning Is War's Only Honorable End
For McCain, Winning Is War's Only Honorable End
GLOSSIES
Sep 10, 2008 2:44 PM CDT

For McCain, Winning Is War's Only Honorable End

US must defend honor, even preemptively; Iraq offers chance to make up for Vietnam

(Newser) - John McCain’s views on war and defending the US were shaped by his Navy father and by his own time in Vietnam, Jeffrey Goldberg writes in the Atlantic, with victory as the only honorable outcome. His father believed public sentiment led to defeat in Vietnam even as a winning...

Bush Advised to Delay Troop Cuts in Iraq

He may also leave any Afghan buildup to his successor

(Newser) - President Bush's top defense advisers have recommended he maintain 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year—contrary to expectations that the improved security in Iraq would allow for quicker cuts, the AP has learned. If Bush follows the recommendations, he would delay any additional buildup in...

Pentagon May Prevent Petraeus From Testifying

General's views may not gel with brass' assessment

(Newser) - When David Petraeus next comes to Washington, he won’t be speaking on Capitol Hill, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Pentagon officials have denied requests for more hearings with the Iraq commander because they’re not sure they’ll agree with his recommendations. Petraeus has been criticized for being too...

Maturing Iraqi Army Enabled US Troop Deal
Maturing Iraqi Army Enabled US Troop Deal
ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2008 10:40 AM CDT

Maturing Iraqi Army Enabled US Troop Deal

2011 withdrawal probable thanks to tougher local forces

(Newser) - The US's preliminary agreement with Iraq to withdraw most combat troops by 2011 would have been unthinkable even a few months ago. Declining levels of violence, a ceasefire with the Mahdi Army, and the about-face of Sunni leaders have all helped, the Wall Street Journal reports, but for the administration,...

Rice Arrives in Baghdad for Troop Deal Talks

In surprise visit, secretary seeks new mandate for US military

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Iraq on an unannounced trip, where she will meet with PM Nouri al-Maliki and other top officials to continue talks to keep American troops in the country after their UN mandate expires. While sources in both the US and Iraq have said that an agreement...

Sadr Offers to Trade Militia for Set Timetable

Already disbanding Mahdi Army, cleric wants firm US deal

(Newser) - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his Mahdi Army to disband today, and offered to completely dismantle it once the US agrees to a withdrawal timetable, Time reports. “The main reason for the armed resistance is the American military presence,” said a Sadr spokesman. “If the...

Kissinger Outlines Endgame for Iraq—Without Deadlines

Foes may lie low to re-emerge, he says

(Newser) - Henry Kissinger outlines his vision for the endgame in Iraq in a piece in the Washington Post, arguing that recent progress makes redeployment of US troops feasible, but "establishing a deadline is the surest way to undermine the hopeful prospects." A fixed deadline would encourage both al-Qaeda and...

US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact
 US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact
Jul 30, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact

'Time horizon' greases wheels in negotiation

(Newser) - The Bush administration has made serious strides in its efforts to forge a security pact with Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just a month ago Nouri al-Maliki said talks had hit a “dead end,” but now that Bush has agreed to set up a flexible withdrawal timetable,...

Mac: Maliki's 'Pretty Good Timetable' Beats Obama's

Blogosphere up in arms at candidate's parsing of Iraq plans—both for 16 months

(Newser) - In an interview with CNN today, John McCain called Nouri al-Maliki’s troop withdrawal plan a “pretty good timetable”—leading Josh Marshall, on Talking Points Memo, to call foul. So “Barack Obama's 16 month timetable is a catastrophe,” Marshall says, the difference being that the Iraqi...

Bush Hand: Maliki Nod 'Incredibly Damaging' to Mac

Iraqi PM's virtual endorsement of Obama plan may be 'game-changing event'

(Newser) - President Bush’s former communications director is decidedly off GOP message in a new interview, Politico reports, with Dan Bartlett, now in the private sector, saying, “Time will tell, but the al-Maliki comments about a timetable is very close to a game-changing event. That was incredibly damaging [to McCain],...

Maliki Pegs Obama as the Most Pliant: Krauthammer

Iraq PM thinks Dem can be manipulated, writes Krauthammer

(Newser) - Nouri al-Maliki's endorsement of Barack Obama's timetable for withdrawal from Iraq this week was "the earliest and most ostentatious absentee ballot of this presidential election," writes Charles Krauthammer. The Washington Post columnist thinks that the Iraqi PM gave Obama an electorial assist for a clear reason: between him...

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