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State Department diplomats are taking full advantage of their new rules prohibiting the use of “jihad,” “jihadist,” and “mujahedeen” to describe Islamic extremists and terrorists, which they apparently have taken to mean that there are no jihadists in light of the exchange programs they have recently sponsored for the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT) — an organization currently under active federal grand jury investigation for terrorist support activities. [HT: Global MB Daily Report] The IIIT exchange programs have been conducted under the State Department’s International Visitor’s Program. According to reports published on IIIT’s website, the State Department sponsored a...

Britain has been in charge of four provinces in southern Iraq since Saddam Hussein's downfall. While the divisional command will continue to operate under British leadership at Basra airbase, the orders of the US units will be to "get out front" and resume patrols and combat missions. US hopes of making the whole of Iraq secure before its eventual withdrawal have been raised by what commanders see as a potential southern version of the Sahwa, or tribal awakening, which turned locals against al-Qa'eda. Troops have been shifted from Anbar province to the Tallil airbase, Nasiriya, to assume responsibility from 550...

7-Day Forecast for Baghdad . Iraq Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu 115ºF /89ºF 117ºF /89ºF 120ºF /90ºF 122ºF /91ºF 122ºF /92ºF 121ºF /95ºF 120ºF /95ºF Prayer request ............. According to the weather reports, it is our understanding that it is 122 degrees in Iraq right now -- and the low will be 111! Our troops need our prayers for strength, endurance, and safety.. If it be God's will, give these men and women the strength they need to prevail.

In Lebanon, the Iranian-backed vanguard of terror known as Hezbollah has again drawn its weapons to provoke the worst crisis since it launched a war against Israel in the summer of 2006. The fighting that began last week in Beirut, and then relocated east to the Chouf Mountains and north to Tripoli, is the latest act in the relentless smothering of the Lebanese democratic state. At best, we might next see an uneasy respite in the killing while the usual players haggle, President Bush trolls the region for that oh-so-elusive Middle-East-peace legacy, Hezbollah further stocks its arsenal and from behind...

Middle East: A Hamas leader says Lebanon is the next in a series of Islamofascist takeovers. Is Hezbollah's stranglehold on Beirut the prelude to another war with Israel? Is this 1936 all over again?When asked by President Franklin Roosevelt about what World War II should be called, Winston Churchill suggested it be labeled "The Unnecessary War." "There never was a war more easy to stop than that which has just wrecked what was left of the world from the previous struggle," he wrote in "The Gathering Storm." Well, we may be about to see another one and, as in World...

Young Iraqi Girl Receives Prosthetic Legs May 12, 2008 BY Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Shiad Abas Aziz and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, a squad leader with the 2nd Infantry Division, look on as Shiad is given instructions on how to properly care for her new legs. Photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis BAGHDAD (Army News Service, May 12, 2008) - A 12-year-old Iraqi girl received two new prosthetic legs May 9, as part of an Iraqi Ministry of Defence program at the MOD Prosthetics Clinic located in the International Zone. Shiad Abas Aziz from Baquba...

The U.S. government has quietly withdrawn a $5 million reward it was offering for the killing or capture of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, named by Pentagon officials as the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

5/12/2008 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- A Parwan Police Mentoring Team traveled to Dandar, a small village in the Parwan province of Afghanistan, May 8 to instruct members of the Afghanistan National Police on hand-to-hand combat, community policing, coordination-cell training and criminal investigation. The PMT is a highly-efficient team of Soldiers and Airmen who teach a variety of classes based upon the needs of the police in each district, said Army Capt. Donald Young, an Idaho National Guard member and PMT leader. Joining the team on this mission was Tech. Sgt. Chris Padron, who is responsible for providing...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – Violence in Iraq’s Kirkuk province has dropped by 70 percent, and coalition and Iraqi forces have “virtually destroyed” al-Qaida in Iraq in the region, the commander of the U.S. brigade combat team in the area said today. Video Army Col. David Paschal, commander of 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said that as security improves in the strategic northern province, changes are happening in the economy and in governance that help cement the security progress in place. Four developments have helped the battle against insurgents in the Rhode Island-sized province of 1.5 million, Paschal told...

(IsraelNN.com) A 70-year-old woman was killed early Monday evening when Palestinian Authority terrorists fired a rocket into the western Negev community she was visiting. Her name has yet to be released. 13-year-old Israeli boy returns to his destroyed bedroom which suffered a direct hit by a Kassam rocket while he was sleeping in the room. Sderot 10May08 The enemy rocket slammed into the residential area of Moshav Yesha, located 21 miles east of Be'er Sheva in the Negev's Eshkol region, around 6:00 pm. It landed in close proximity to the victim, killing her almost instantly. She was in the community...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces nabbed 20 terrorism suspects in operations yesterday in Baghdad and Mosul. Forces caught 19 suspects in the West Rashid and Kadhamiyah districts of Baghdad. Seven were caught while troops were talking with citizens in Kadhamiyah. Two others were caught during a search there, and four others suspected of planning bombing attacks were caught. Iraqi forces caught two suspects in Kadhamiyah. Four suspects were nabbed as part of Operation Tusker Chamberlain in West Rashid. Iraqi special operations forces advised by U.S. Special Forces soldiers yesterday caught a terrorism suspect wanted for murder...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – U.S. military officials in Iraq expressed optimism yesterday that a truce being worked out between the Iraqi government and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia will help reduce violence in Baghdad’s Sadr City section. “We welcome an end to violence and putting an end to criminal activity, so we are obviously in support of the government of Iraq as they move forward in a dialog with elements of the Sadr Trend,” Navy Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said at a news conference. But Driscoll emphasized that it’s premature to call the...

KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq, May 12, 2008 – Prompted by a few words of command by his handler, military working dog Charlie sprints ahead and attacks a simulated enemy during a training session here. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kevin Nelson, 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron military working dog trainer, practices techniques with his dog Charlie during a recent training event. Air Force dog handlers at Kirkuk are assigned to either 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron or 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. Both squadrons have separate kennels and missions. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Eric Schloeffel  (Click photo...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, May 12, 2008 – Six Kazakhstani soldiers completed a transfer of operations May 8 at Combat Outpost Murray that will provide U.S. soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, with clean, drinkable water. The Kazakhstani Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit team’s equipment pumps water directly from the Tigris River and filters it in large bladders that desalinate and distill it, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. Their equipment can produce 2,500 gallons of drinkable water per hour, enough to provide soldiers with clean water for laundry and shower facilities. The ROWPU team took over water...

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2008 – A key leader in the effort to build Afghanistan’s national army and police force explained the process and marked progress in a conference call with online journalists and “bloggers” May 9. Army Col. Michael J. McMahon, director of force integration and training for Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, said coalition trainers have been building infantry battalions from the ground up since 2002. “It was taking about 12 weeks to produce one battalion,” McMahon said. “Almost immediately, they had a very, very good impact on the public’s confidence and the public’s perception of what was in...

A wreath lays at the base of the Salvadoran Memorial Monument in honor of fallen Salvadoran soldiers during the “Day of the Salvadoran Soldier” ceremony May 7 at FOB Delta, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion, X rotation, celebrated the “Day of the Salvadoran Soldier,� here May 7. The day recognized the contributions of the Salvadoran soldiers for preserving the freedom of their country and the democratization of others. It also served to commemorate the 184th year of the Salvadoran armed forces.“We must remember our history,� said...

Students stand in front of the newly renovated Omah Moktar School for Girls in the Qadisiyah Apartment Complex in Mahmudiyah May 8. U.S. Army courtesy photo. CAMP STRIKER — Iraqi citizens celebrated the completion of construction at the Omah Moktar School for Girls in the Qadisiyah Apartment Complex in Mahmudiyah, about 20 kilometers south of Baghdad, May 8. After nearly three months of construction, the Moktar School’s approximately 600 students can now enjoy new windows, gates and doors, as well as new auditorium furniture. Exterior improvements included raising the outer wall as an added security measure.“The educational environment was greatly...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU — More than 15 judges and court administrators from Babil, Najaf and Diwaniyah Provinces received new laptops and a judicial software program here May 7 from Soldiers in the Judge Advocate Section, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The 4th BCT computer distribution is a continuation of efforts begun by Multi-National Division – Center's Rule of Law team to distribute state-of-the-art laptops to Iraqi judges. "We provided laptops to … judges from different provinces south of here in order to help them with the administration of their particular court,” said Maj. Thomas Hurley, 4th BCT...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — Iraqi Police in Wasit Province have made significant capacity gains in recent months to improve security for the citizens of Iraq. Their planning ability has greatly improved and their effectiveness increases daily, said Col. Peter Baker, commander of the 214th Fires Brigade. Much of the improvement is due to the actions of Maj. Gen. Hannin al-Ameer, the provincial director of police, appointed in September. “He is very competent,” Baker said. “He has taken a large force and made immediate and long-term improvements – not an easy task for a unit of that size.” One significant...

Shahad Abbas, 11, lost her legs to a roadside bomb blast Staff Sgt. Luis Falcon, 38, was patrolling the streets of Baqouba, north of Baghdad, when he saw Shahad Abbas. The 11-year-old girl was in a large decrepit wheelchair Falcon stopped to talk. He came back the next day and the day after that, then every day for six months, bringing her toys, gauze for her legs, a new wheelchair. Anything she asked for, he would bring. Shahad became his mission. So when she asked for legs, that became his mission, too. On Friday, his dream and hers came...

HIZBOLLAH VICTIMS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL SUIT AGAINST MEGA-BANK May 12, 2008 For Immediate Release VICTIMS OF HIZBOLLAH MISSILE ATTACKS BRING HISTORIC CIVIL ACTION AGAINST UBS IN NEW YORK FEDERAL COURT A group of American victims of Iranian sponsored terror have filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the Southern District against the Swiss mega-bank, UBS AG. The plaintiffs, all of whom had family members injured or killed in Iranian-backed terror attacks, allege that UBS' unlawful eight year-long provision of financial services to the Islamic Republic at the time Iran was providing material support to terrorist organizations...

The other enemy Impossible standards for victory promote failure BY RALPH PETERS Can we win in Afghanistan? It’s an odd question, considering that we’ve already won, by historical standards. Yet unrealistic metrics of success continue to pile up, fabricated in ignorance — often willful and even spiteful — of Afghan reality. Political partisans intent on scoring points and media figures desperate for headlines demand the impossible (and not only in Afghanistan.) Increasingly, the greatest obstacle to success in trouble spots where our troops are engaged is our own unwillingness to accept that wars never yield perfect results and rarely yield...

Almost everywhere I went last week — TV, radio, speeches — I was asked about the 60th anniversary of the Israeli state. I don't recall being asked about Israel quite so much on its 50th anniversary, which, as a general rule, is a much bigger deal than the 60th. But these days friends and enemies alike smell weakness at the heart of the Zionist Entity. Assuming Iranian President Ahmadinejad's apocalyptic fancies don't come to pass, Israel will surely make it to its 70th birthday. But a lot of folks don't fancy its prospects for its 80th and beyond. See the...

The Army hit a milestone in its continuing efforts to provide a capability to counter the indirect fire threat with the 100th successful intercept of a rocket or mortar round fired at high value Multi-National Corps-Iraq assets in late March. Achieving its first intercept in March 2006 by disabling an inbound mortar round and precluding damage on the ground, the Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar capability has also provided over 1,500 localized warnings of incoming attacks allowing troops time to take protective cover - all since it initial operational capability was declared in July 2005, according to C-RAM Program director,...

McGinnis was no stranger to combat. The Middle East edition of Stars and Stripes for Nov. 30, 2006, has a picture of McGinnis on its cover. His unit had been involved in a fierce firefight on Nov. 5 and had killed 38 attackers. His superiors were quick to recognize the special nature of McGinnis’ actions. He was awarded a posthumous Silver Star, America’s third-highest award for valor in combat, and nominated for the Medal of Honor. Eighteen months later, McGinnis will receive his medal. Speaking anonymously, sources at the Department of Defense have confirmed this with reporters from the Army...

It was more an embarrassment than a ship. Nearly 20 years old, its single tall funnel poked out above dilapidated decks and scarred paintwork. It was heading for the breaker’s yard until the Haganah, the Jewish underground, bought it. Now, loaded with more than 4,500 Jewish refugees, many of them Holocaust survivors, it was approaching the Palestinian port of Haifa and its moment of destiny. Its commander that July day in 1947 was Yossi Harel, who has died at 90. The ship was the USS President Warfield but Harel had renamed it Exodus 1947. Nearing Haifa it was pursued by...

Tyler Hurd, a 23-year-old junior at SCSU, hopes to be a special education teacher. Hurd spent the past month at Technical High School in St. Cloud, working toward completing the 50 hours of secondary field placement required to earn his teaching license. But student teaching, along with many other aspects of daily life, is not always simple for Hurd. When Hurd was 14, he sustained a head injury while playing hockey. The injury resulted in epilepsy, a neurological disorder causing chronic seizures. Because a seizure can take place at any moment, Hurd was matched with Emmitt, a 2 and a...

You are a infidel if you:Freedom of thought discussedToward the end an elderly gentlemen is arguing for Freedom of Though and says Democracy is a good thing...according to the translation....

The other day the Obama campaign distanced itself from Robert Malley for his dealings with Hamas. Never mind the disingenuousness of a campaign that up until the day before yesterday when he was fired from the campaign said Malley was not with the campaign, even though a New York Times defense in his behalf said he was with the campaign. What is manifestly clear however is that Obama and his banished adviser/non-adviser share the same worldview. Consider this passage from a press release expressing his “support” for Lebanon. "It's time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new...

The healing in Iraq and the deterioration in Lebanon are not unrelated. In fact, Iraq will serve as both cause and effect to Lebanon’s misfortunes. Iran, eclipsed in Sadr City, had decided to allow its sectarian acolytes to put on a show of strength in Beirut. And the jihadists of Al Qaeda’s ilk, soon to be eclipsed in Mosul, will migrate to Beirut to meet Iran’s challenge. Five years ago, there was a hope that held Iraq as a would-be beacon for democracy throughout the Middle East, but that vision had too many determined enemies both inside and outside Iraq....

BAGHDAD, (AP) -- Iraq's main Shiite political bloc and supporters of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr signed a fragile cease-fire in Baghdad's Sadr City on Monday, hoping to end seven weeks of fighting that has left hundreds dead. But the U.S. military has alleged that most Shiite extremists fighting Iraqi and U.S. forces in the teeming slum have splintered away from al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, and that the cleric's level of influence on those rogue groups is unclear. Many are thought to be trained and armed by Iranian forces. Iran denies the allegations. Al-Sadr's representatives and the rival United Iraqi Alliance agreed...

While the West is busy living its daily life, a beast is busy killing the freedom of a small community on the East Mediterranean: Lebanon. Indeed, as of last week, the mighty Hezbollah, armed to the teeth with 30,000 rockets and missiles and aligning thousands of self described “Divine soldiers” has been marching across the capital, terrorizing its population, shutting down media, taking its politicians and the Prime Minister as hostages, and looting at will. The hordes of Lebanon’s “Khomeinist Janjaweeds” have conquered already half of the Middle East’s cultural capital, Beirut. As I have reported before, Hezbollah has occupied...

Like everything in life the surrender of the Mahdi Army to the Iraq rule of law, as defined and imposed by the duly elected government under Prime Minister Maliki, is not cut and dry - or instant. It seems the final form of the agreement was just signed by representatives from each Shiite camp - which means any side that violates the agreement will be shown to be inept, at best. The deal was officially signed Monday between five representatives of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and four member of the main Shiite political bloc.Khalid al-Attiyah, the deputy parliamentary speaker, says...

The sniper never knew what hit him. The Marines patrolling the street below were taking fire, but did not have a clear shot at the third-story window that the sniper was shooting from. They were pinned down and called for reinforcements. Help came from a Predator drone circling the skies 20 miles away. As the unmanned plane closed in, the infrared camera underneath its nose picked up the muzzle flashes from the window. The sniper was still firing when the Predator's 100-pound Hellfire missile came through the window and eliminated the threat. The airman who fired that missile was 8,000...

“We don’t mind–actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance,� Yousef said in response to a question about the group’s willingness to meet with either of the Democratic presidential candidates. [http://cameron.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/04/16/a-hamas-problem-for-obama/]

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen and militiamen loyal to Lebanon's Iranian-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah battled with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in the northern city of Tripoli on Monday. The violence, which broke out when Hezbollah gunmen fought pro-government forces in Beirut last week, is the worst since the end of the 1975-90 civil war in 1990. Security sources said six people were wounded when Sunni government supporters in Tripoli's Bab Tebbaneh district exchanged machine gun and grenade fire with Alawite militiamen allied to Hezbollah in the nearby Jebel Mohsen area. The fighting later gave way to the occasional...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Heavy fighting broke out Monday between government supporters and opponents in Lebanon's second-largest city, where the two sides battled with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and mortars, security officials and residents said. Residents said they heard strong explosions reverberating through Tripoli. At least six people were wounded, security officials said. The fighting had stopped Sunday morning after Lebanese troops deployed between the two sides, then flared again Monday after soldiers pulled back when the situation calmed. The fresh clashes erupted when pro-government forces thought opponents gathering for a funeral in a nearby neighborhood were preparing a new...

The recent ongoing bloody terrorist riots that Hezbollah has been inflicted on Lebanon and its peaceful people since last Wednesday, tragically show that this country today is confronting challenges of a magnitude unseen since the end of its civil war in 1990.

Some readers resented The Washington Post for publishing an Associated Press photograph of a critically wounded Iraqi child being lifted from the rubble of his home in Baghdad’s Sadr City “after a U.S. airstrike.” Two-year-old Ali Hussein later died in a hospital. As the saying goes, the picture was worth a thousand words because it showed the true horrors of this war. Neither side is immune from the killing of Iraqi civilians. But Americans should be aware of their own responsibility for inflicting death and pain on the innocent. The Post’s ombudsman, Deborah Howell, said about 20 readers complained about...

Would you take an offer if you knew that by refusing it you'd get a better one? Tehran's answer to the latest "generous package" offered to end its uranium-enrichment program is an emphatic "No." The offer comes from the Six Powers, the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany; it was shaped in London in days of hard bargaining between the United States and the European Union on one side and Russia and China on the other. Yet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is already ignoring three Security Council resolutions and swallowing the bitter medicine of sanctions. And he has reason...

While America's secretary of state devotes her time to doomed Israel-Palestinian talks and America goes ga-ga over a candidate whose entire foreign policy strategy is to talk to dictators, yet another crisis is empowering radical Islamists and undercutting Western friends and interests. The Lebanese logjam has broken at last as Hizbullah seized Beirut and inflicted a major defeat on the government. Hizbullah is pulling a more limited version of Hamas's Gaza strategy in Lebanon as the world stands by. Iran and Syria back their friends with weapons and help; the West responds with words backed by nothing. Who can blame...

Jihad and U.S. Intelligence Resources By Jeffrey Imm How could the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence authorize "the largest funding increase in the base Intelligence Budget in history", but refuse to include an amendment that calls for identifying the Jihadist enemy we fight? But that is precisely what happened on May 8. On May 8, Congressman Peter Hoekstra attempted to strike a blow for reason and sanity in the war against global jihadism, by making the rational and consistent definition of our enemy a priority in allocating budget resources for U.S. intelligence programs. Specifically, Congressman Hoekstra was seeking an...

WASHINGTON - A new Gallup survey found that 61% of Jewish voters prefer Obama to McCain, who got 32% of the Jewish support. That number is far greater than the rate found for the general population, who only preferred Obama to McCain 45-43, according to the poll. Obama also still trails Clinton in Jewish support, according to the survey, with Clinton winning against Obama in the Jewish community 50%-43%. Though the results showed Obama is favored by the Jewish community, the Republican Jewish Coalition pounced on them to attack Obama.

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Israel was born not only into war, carnage and controversy but also into shortage. Shorn of cash and goods, it had to ration meat, eggs and cooking oil through a coupon system that soon generated undernourishment, bread lines and a thriving black market. Worse, lacking allies, trade partners and natural resources while swamped by poor immigrants, the Israeli economy was also burdened by its leaders' rigorous socialism. Central planning initially generated growth, but Israel's protectionist duties, sclerotic financial system, high labor costs, bloated public sector and exorbitant defense spending soon proved untenable. By the 1980s the...

BEIRUT: Hezbollah on Saturday began withdrawing gunmen from Beirut and handed control of the streets to the Lebanese army, after days of gunbattles with supporters of the US-backed government. Hezbollah, a political group backed by Iran and Syria with a guerrilla army, said it was ending its armed presence in Beirut after the army overturned government measures against the group. Hezbollah seized control of much of the city on Friday after fighters loyal to the group routed gunmen loyal to the anti-Damascus governing coalition. The Hezbollah-led opposition said it would maintain a "civil disobedience" campaign until its demands were met,...

Israeli left-wing activists and Arabs commemorate 60 years since 'catastrophe' of Israel's inception with march in central Jerusalem Aviram Zino Published: 05.11.08, 23:28 / Israel News Two hundred left-wing activists and Israeli Arabs marched on Sunday from the Jerusalem Theater square to the Nature Museum on Emek Refaim Street in the capital marking 60 years since “Nakba Day", or “catastrophe” of Israel's inception in 1948. During the procession, protestors stood near houses they claimed once belonged to Palestinians, telling the proclaimed history of each house. Amongst the protestors was an elderly Palestinian woman accompanied by her family members who shared...

The Iranian sister organization of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has accused the United States of indirectly supporting the Teheran regime’s war against the rebels. Head of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), Haji Ahmedi, declared that the U.S. provided aerial reconnaissance intelligence to Turkey which was then passed through Ankara to Teheran. On May first, Turkish warplanes bombarded PKK positions in the Kandil Mountains. According to Turkish military sources, 150 PKK rebels were killed in that action. Turkish media speculated that the attacks also killed PKK military chief Murat Karayilan. The PJAK, however, denied these reports claiming only...

Heavy clashes erupted south of Beirut yesterday between mainly Shia and Druze militants, breaking a tense calm that had taken hold after feuding factions reached a tentative agreement to end four days of fighting. The crackle of machinegun fire and thump of exploding mortar rounds echoed through the town of Shwayfat on the lower slopes of the Chouf mountains overlooking southern Beirut as fighters from the Shia group Hezbollah and its allies fought Druze gunmen loyal to Walid Jumblatt, a key government ally.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - While John McCain is practically assured the Republican presidential nomination, many party members are having a hard time accepting him -- and showing it with symbolic votes against him in primary contests. The Republican nomination battle has been all but decided for over two months. Still, some Republicans used the April 22 Pennsylvania primary and last week's votes in Indiana and North Carolina to register their unhappiness with the de facto victor. Some vote for libertarian Texan Ron Paul, who has refused to quit the race and has racked up more than one million votes, according to...

Map of the disposition of Iraqi and US forces in and around Sadr City, and the progress on the barrier. The red portion has yet to be completed. Map courtesy of Multinational Forces Iraq. US and Iraqi forces continue to strike at the Mahdi Army in Baghdad despite the agreement reached between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army late Friday. Seventeen Mahdi Army fighters were killed in northeastern Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Nine of the Mahdi Army fighters killed were killed in Sadr City: four Mahdi fighters were killed by an air weapons team as they planted...