Iraq Exit Strategy

McCain Blasts Dems on Iraq

Los Angeles Times  |  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 week's visit to Capitol Hill by Gen. David Petraeus, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

On Iraq, Petraeus Has Bush's Ear

Washington Post  |  Apr 6, 08 1:10 PM CDT

(Newser) - George Bush and top Iraq commander David Petraeus have a close relationship unusual for wartime presidencies, the Washington Post reports. The president skips over several middlemen, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, to speak directly and regularly with Petraeus, and has fully deferred to the general on controversial Iraq decisions. But some top officials worry that the views of one man are trumping their own. More »

Combat Tours to Be Cut

Associated Press  |  Apr 5, 08 5:20 AM CDT

(Newser) - American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are to have their combat tours cut from 15 months to 12 beginning late this summer. The White House plans a formal announcement next week, an insider told the AP. Tours were lengthened last year to boost troop levels in Iraq, and the Army has warned that the "unsustainable" extended deployments are wearing down its soldiers. More »

Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Diplomacy

Slate  |  Apr 3, 08 4:10 PM CDT

(Newser) - Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes? Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year." More »

Army's Role in Iraq Turning Personal

Bitterlemons  |  Apr 1, 08 11:21 PM CDT

(Newser) - After five years of war, the US military is enmeshed in virtually all aspects of Iraqi life—a common development in such engagements but one that can prove to be a double-edged sword for military efficiency, writes Lawrence Kaplan in the policy forum Bitter Lemons. "American units slowly melt into the landscape, becoming in effect the most powerful of their area's tribes," Kaplan writes.  More »

Foreign-Policy Bigwigs Duel on Wisdom of Ending War

Washington Post  |  Mar 31, 08 11:36 AM CDT

(Newser) - Advisors to Barack Obama and John McCain spar over ending the Iraq war in Washington Post editorials, with Zbigniew Brzezinski saying rapid departure will likely bring stability, and Max Boot arguing it would spell disaster. The former national-security adviser says much jihadism is product of anti-American fervor, a charge Boot dismisses—adding it’s sunny optimism to expect relief at US departure. More »

Stop-Loss Earnest But Flawed

Metacritic  |  Mar 28, 08 7:24 AM CDT

(Newser) - While some critics are calling Stop-Loss , Kimberly Peirce’s long-awaited Boys Don’t Cry follow-up, earnest and, at times, riveting, none of them seem to see it as the definitive Iraq war film. But the picture, about some GIs who’ve completed their tours of duty only to be told they’re being sent back to the front, still “strikes a universal chord that transcends politics,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone . More »

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive

Associated Press  |  Mar 27, 08 4:47 PM CDT

(Newser) - President Bush praised the government of Iraq today for the offensive launched three days ago against militias in Basra, painting it as a sign of progress toward the goals of the US war, the AP reports. Bush also criticized Congress for calling for troop withdrawals so the military’s attention could be turned to anti-terrorism efforts elsewhere, such as Afghanistan. More »

Petraeus to Bush: Hold Troop Levels Steady

New York Times  |  Mar 25, 08 10:00 AM CDT

(Newser) - Troop levels should remain steady in Iraq once they return to pre-surge levels in July, Gen. David Petraeus told President Bush today. Petraeus urged a period of “consolidation and evaluation,” with monthly reviews of ground conditions—meaning Bush would likely leave major troop reductions to his successor, the New York Times reports. More »

Security Comes to Fallujah With Saddam-Like Iron Fist

Washington Post  |  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 harsh, Saddam Hussein-style tactics, the Washington Post reports. More »

Easter Bombings in Iraq Kill at Least 57

Associated Press  |  Mar 23, 08 6:49 PM CDT

(Newser) - Despite a yearlong decline in violence in Iraq, a series of attacks on Easter Sunday killed at least 57, reports the AP. In the most severe, a suicide car bomber killed at least 13 Iraqi soldiers and wounded 42 people at a military base in Mosul, an al-Qaeda holdout. A second suicide car bombing killed 7 and wounded 14 in Baghdad, while a series of explosions rattled the Green Zone. More »

Cops Arrest 160 at Iraq Protests

Reuters  |  Mar 19, 08 11:40 PM CDT

(Newser) - Police arrested more than 160 protesters today at demonstrations across the US to  mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Iraq war, Reuters reports. More than 100 were arrested in San Francisco alone, where demonstrators staged a "die-in" and disrupted busy Market Street. About 30 were arrested in Washington, where activists tried to shut down the IRS building to highlight the war's cost. More »

Americans Blame War for Economic Woes: Poll

CNN  |  Mar 19, 08 1:31 PM CDT

(Newser) - The Iraq war and the current economic crisis aren’t unrelated issues in the minds of most Americans, a CNN poll finds. 71% said the war, which began five years ago today, helped cause the economic storm. Just 32% support the mission, with 61% saying the new president should withdraw most troops “within a few months of taking office.” More »

Bush: 'Noble' Iraq War Must Go On

CNN  |  Mar 19, 08 9:40 AM CDT

(Newser) - President Bush argued for continuing the Iraq war today on the fifth anniversary of its start, saying the "battle in Iraq is noble, it is necessary, and it is just." Outlining the horrors of Sadam’s regime, Bush thundered, “Because we acted, the world is better,” and called the initial campaign a “remarkable display of military effectiveness.” More »

Bush Sees Success as Iraq War Turns 5

CNN  |  Mar 19, 08 7:00 AM CDT

(Newser) - On the fifth anniversary of launching the shock-and-awe assault that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, President Bush will make a major speech at the Pentagon today, CNN reports. In excerpts from the speech he acknowledges that "the fight in Iraq was faltering," but praises the progress in the last year. "The surge has done more than turn the situation in Iraq around; it has opened the door to a major strategic victory in the broader war on terror." More »

Iraq Pullout Would Spur Genocide: Mac

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Mar 14, 08 2:45 AM CDT

(Newser) - John McCain charged yesterday that early withdrawal from Iraq proposed by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would  trigger "genocide" across the region. He launched his latest attack on his Democratic rivals on the eve of his planned international tour to Britain, France, Israel, Jordan and possibly Iraq to pitch his war strategy to America's allies, reports the Daily Telegraph . More »

Baghdad Blast Kills 5 US Troops

BBC  |  Mar 10, 08 1:55 PM CDT

(Newser) - Five American troops are dead after a suicide bomber struck today in the Mansour district of Baghdad, the BBC reports. The soldiers were patrolling a busy shopping center when a young man wearing an explosive vest engaged them in conversation shortly before detonating, said a military spokesman. Three other service members and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded in the blast. More »

New Iraq NIE Likely to Remain Secret