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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: troop surge

troop surge stories: 127 news summaries

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Bush Ordered Troop Surge Over Internal Opposition

State Dept., Pentagon, military leaders were split over plan

Aug 31, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush’s 2007 addition of 20,000 troops in Iraq helped stabilize the country —but advisers didn’t support the idea until the situation there looked like “civil war,” in the CIA’s words. Instead, the Pentagon wanted to shift responsibilities to Iraqi troops; the State... More »

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Pentagon • troop surge • State Department • US military • Iraq war • George W. Bush

ANALYSIS

Iraq Barbs Get Sharper; Bitter Road Ahead

Candidates have flaws to exploit—if attacks don't get personal first

Aug 19, 08 3:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Appearances by the presidential contenders at a veterans convention highlight not only substantive differences on the Iraq war, Dan Balz observes in the Washington Post, but a growing undertone of personal enmity. After McCain yesterday questioned Obama’s judgment on the troop surge as politically motivated, Obama’s “indignation... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • troop surge • Election 2008 • Iraq war • Veterans of Foreign Wars

 US Death Toll in Iraq Plummets  

Iraqi deaths down 75% from this time last year

Jul 31, 08 5:36 PM CDT
(AP) - The monthly US toll in Iraq fell to its lowest point since the war began, with 10 American deaths recorded as July drew to a close today. Iraqis also are dying at dramatically lower numbers in the sixth year of the war. July saw the lowest civilian toll since December... More »

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Iraq • troop surge • US military • Iraq death toll • troop withdrawal • Iraqi militias • casualties

OPINION

5 Things We Learned
From Obama's Trip

Among them: Obama is a bit like Bush, and he needs to strike back harder at Mac

Jul 31, 08 6:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Here are five things we learned in the wake of Barack Obama’s overseas trip, via John Heilemann in New York:
  • Obama's got guts: The trip was “risky business, fraught with peril”—but we know now that he's willing to gamble if the potential payout is right.
... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • Germany • troop surge • negative campaigning • George W. Bush

OPINION

Obama's Antiwar Stance:
That Was Then, This Is Now

2002 state vote not enough to hang a campaign on

Jul 25, 08 2:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - There's no reason to assume that Barack Obama would have voted against the war if he’d been in the Senate in 2002, James Kirchick writes for Politico. As a state senator, Obama was aligned with his liberal constituency in opposing the Iraq invasion; as a thoroughly briefed US senator... More »

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Iraq • Barack Obama • John McCain • troop surge • war authorization • state legislature

OPINION

McCain Jab on War Most 'Scurrilous' in Memory: Klein

Time's Klein can't believe he said Obama would rather lose war than election

Jul 23, 08 3:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain’s latest jab at Barack Obama—“It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign”–stuns Joe Klein, who writes in Time that the Republican’s Iraq claim is the most “scurrilous statement by a major... More »

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Barack Obama • John McCain • troop surge • negative campaigning • Iraq exit strategy • media bias

 US Surge Brigades Leave Iraq 

147K troops now in country, down from about 170K at height of effort

Jul 22, 08 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - The American troop surge in Iraq has ended, Reuters reports, with the departure of the last of five brigades deployed last year in an effort to curb sectarian violence. There are now just under 147,000 US troops left in the country, according to a military spokesman, down from a... More »

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Iraq • military • troop surge

Senate Confirms Iraq Generals
in New Jobs

Petraeus now Middle East chief; Odierno takes over in Baghdad

Jul 10, 08 2:43 PM CDT
(AP) - The Senate today confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the top commander in the Middle East and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno to replace Petraeus as the chief military officer in Iraq. Last year, Petraeus helped to tame growing opposition to the Iraq war in Congress by providing measured assessments of progress... More »

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Iraq • Congress • troop surge • David Petraeus • confirmation hearings • Gen. Ray Odierno

ANALYSIS

 Iraqis Losing Love for al-Qaeda 

Insurgents reeling from citizen backlash, troop surge

Jul 6, 08 6:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Outsmarted and overwhelmed by allied forces in Iraq, al-Qaeda is getting desperate, Marie Colvin writes for the London Times. The insurgents, masters of organized resistance, are now resorting to small-scale hit-and-run attacks amidst waning support from Iraqis. “Al-Qaeda in Mosul is pretty much not able to do... More »

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Iraq • insurgents • troop surge • David Petraeus • US military • Mosul • al-Qaeda in Iraq

ANALYSIS

 Obama Needs
 to Shift Iraq Strategy 

Surge has made total withdrawal impractical; Dem's advisers have plan

Jun 30, 08 1:17 PM CDT
(Newser) - “There will be no such thing as victory in Iraq,” George Packer writes in the New Yorker, “but the next President, if he remains nimble, may be able to keep the damage under control.” Packer argues that the dramatic improvement since the surge poses a problem... More »

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Iraq • Barack Obama • John McCain • troop surge • Election 2008 • Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - The death toll in Iraq plunged in May, with 21 US military dead the lowest monthly figure in more than 4 years. Iraqi civilians and troopers also saw a decline, with 532 deaths in May, compared with 1,080 the month before. But in the absence of lasting political agreements,... More »

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Iraq • military • troop surge • Iraq death toll • death toll • Iraq violence • Iraq exit strategy • al-Qaeda in Iraq • military presence

commentary

Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke

Hopeful flubbed on troop math and 'quiet' Mosul—but keeps pleading his case

May 30, 08 7:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain has been dabbling in truthiness this week, Michael Dobbs blogs in the Washington Post. McCain said US troops were “drawn down to pre-surge levels" in Iraq, and cities like Mosul were "quiet"—but in fact, troop levels remain higher than before the surge, and... More »

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Iraq • John McCain • troop surge • George Orwell • Iraq war • doublespeak

 McCain: Obama
 Should Tour Iraq 

Illinois senator hasn't been since '06; McCain proposes joint trip to 'educate' him

May 27, 08 7:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain hammered at Barack Obama's Iraq credentials yesterday, knocking the Democrat in an AP interview for not having set foot in the country since 2006—and proposing a joint trip so that he could "educate Senator Obama." Obama hasn't witnessed firsthand the benefits of the troop surge,... More »

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Iraq • Barack Obama • John McCain • troop surge • troop withdrawal

 US Sent 43,000
 'Unfit' Troops to War 

Soldiers deemed medically unfit deployed anyway

May 8, 08 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US has sent more than 43,000 troops deemed medically unfit for combat to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, USA Today reports. Since 2003 soldiers deemed non-deployable by medical officers have shipped anyway, according to Pentagon documents, with unit commanders overruling doctors. “It is a consequence of... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • troop surge • veterans' health care • Department of Veterans Affairs

Petraeus Sees No New Troop Buildup in Iraq

General wraps up
two days of testimony before Congress

Apr 9, 08 8:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Gen. David H. Petraeus told the House Armed Forces Committee today that he does not foresee another buildup of US armed forces in Iraq, calling the possibility of a new surge "a pretty remote thought in my mind." If violences escalates again, the Army will make do with... More »

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Iraq • troop surge • David Petraeus • US troops • troop withdrawal • House Armed Services Committee • troop levels • Iraq war • Iraq war spending • war cost • troop drawdown

 McCain Blasts Dems on Iraq 

Presumptive GOP nominee says departure calls are 'imprudent and dangerous'

Apr 7, 08 3:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain slammed his Democratic presidential rivals today over their calls for an Iraq troop withdrawal, calling the notion “the height of irresponsibility.” Speaking to veterans in Kansas City, McCain said a quick departure would be “imprudent and dangerous." The remarks foreshadowed political heat over this... More »

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Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • John McCain • troop surge • Iraq pullout • David Petraeus • Election 2008 • Iraq war

Security Comes to Fallujah With Saddam-Like Iron Fist

US hails progress, but top cop relies on brutal tactics, says democracy not for Iraq

Mar 24, 08 2:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Fallujah, a hotbed of violence that has shown signs of stability, is trumpeted by the US as a success story of the Iraq war effort. But the security achieved there, largely the work of Faial Ismail al-Zobaie, the city’s police chief and a former insurgent, is the result of... More »

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Iraq • Saddam Hussein • troop surge • democracy • US military • Fallujah • Iraq war • security forces • al-Qaeda in Iraq • Faisal Ismail al-Zobaie

 'Petraeus Generation' Is 
 Making Muslim Allies  

CO's learn that gun-blazing ways only sparked insurgency in Iraq

Mar 17, 08 7:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - US officers in Iraq and Afghanistan are learning to talk first and shoot later—a sea change for CO's trained to win by force, Newsweek reports. But their early gun battles only sparked insurgency and mired them in baffling street battles. Now, says David Petraeus, “You can’t kill... More »

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Afghanistan • troop surge • David Petraeus • human intelligence • Iraq war

Violence Up in Iraq: Pentagon

More recent attacks,
but deaths still
down 90%
since June

Mar 12, 08 5:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Violent incidents in Iraq are up since January, according to a new Pentagon report. The rise is said to be a response in part to US-led operations against militants launched at the beginning of the year, and it includes more "high-profile" suicide bombings aimed at maximizing the number of... More »

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Iraq • troop surge • violence

Repeat Combat Tours Zap Troops' Mental Health

Survey finds steep rise in mental problems among soldiers on third, fourth tours

Mar 7, 08 3:30 AM CST
(Newser) - Cutting the time soldiers have between tours of duty helped the Pentagon boost troop numbers in Iraq—but has taken a heavy toll on soldiers' mental health, Reuters reports. An Army survey found a steep rise in mental health problems among soldiers returning for their third or fourth combat tour,... More »

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Iraq • Afghanistan • Pentagon • troop surge • mental health • US military • US troops • tour of duty • US Army • troop rotations

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