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TALLIL, Iraq, Jan. 19, 2007 – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government is delivering on its commitments for the new way forward in Iraq, the commander of coalition forces said here today. "So far, so good" is the way Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr. characterized Iraqi efforts to bring security to Baghdad. At a news conference with visiting Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Casey said Maliki has delivered on what he promised in a recent speech in which he laid out a range of commitments Iraqi security forces will have to follow. In the speech, Maliki said the...

BAGHDAD/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iraq's interim authority has submitted a timetable for self-rule and asked the U.N. Security Council for a new resolution that would end the U.S.-led occupation in June. Security on the ground in Iraq was intense as troops went on alert for attacks marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan after the grisly weekend killings of U.S. soldiers. In a letter to the Security Council on Monday, Jalal Talabani, president of the Iraqi Governing Council, promised to establish the "principle of civilian control over the Iraqi armed and security forces." The U.S.-appointed council said...

Swift fall of Baghdad forecast Western professor Salim Mansur's view is against predictions for a bloody battle. By ELAINE SMITH, Free Press Reporter Given reports of the surrender of 2,500 Republican Guard troops at the Baghdad airport, Salim Mansuris in predicting the swift fall of the city. "People are making predictions of a bloody battle for Baghdad and my view is completely contrary," said Mansur, a political science professor and Middle East specialist at the University of Western Ontario. "Baghdad will rapidly fall and the common people will come out eventually. Right now, they're scared." Mansur called Saddam Hussein's regime...

WASHINGTON--The First Gulf War took six weeks. Afghanistan took nine. Kosovo, eleven. We are now just past two weeks in the Second Gulf War. It's time for a bit of perspective. This campaign has already been honored with a ``quagmire'' piece by The New York Times' Johnny Apple, seer and author of a similar and justly famous quagmire piece on Afghanistan published just days before the fall of Mazar-e Sharif and the swift collapse of the Taliban. The drumbeat of complaint for the first two weeks from the media, retired generals and anonymous administration malcontents has been twofold: the ``flawed...

The first gulf war took six weeks. Afghanistan took nine. Kosovo, 11. We are now just past two weeks in the second gulf war. It's time for a bit of perspective. This campaign has already been honored with a "quagmire" piece by the New York Times' Johnny Apple, seer and author of a similar and justly famous quagmire piece on Afghanistan published just days before the fall of Mazar-e Sharif and the swift collapse of the Taliban. The drumbeat of complaint for the first two weeks from the media, retired generals and anonymous administration malcontents has been twofold: the "flawed...

After just 14 days of combat in Iraq, at least one member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has begun grumbling that the war is lasting too long. "We had one of the leading Senators here on the Armed Services Committee say, 'Gee, this could last a month,'" an exasperated Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, revealed Wednesday morning. "I mean, give me a break," the Utah Republican told radioman Don Imus. "These armchair generals who are complaining that the war is taking too long and that we should have won this already - we're only two weeks into this." After...

<p>CENTRAL IRAQ (CNN) -- U.S. forces engaged members of Iraq's elite Republican Guard on Wednesday, part of a fresh coalition push toward Baghdad.</p> <p>CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is embedded with the U.S. Army's V Corps, 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, talked with anchor Daryn Kagan about the U.S.-led assault.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON – The Pentagon might send some reinforcements to Iraq sooner than scheduled, and the number of U.S. and allied forces in the Persian Gulf region now exceeds 290,000, officials said Saturday.</p> <p>Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal told a news conference that part of the Army's 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, from Fort Polk, La., might go earlier than originally planned, but he did not know when.</p>

Bush and Blair differ subtly on roadmap timetable Mar. 28, 2003 President Bush and Prime Minister Blair held a joint press conference Thursday after their meetings at Camp David. Towards the end of their respective opening statements, both leaders briefly mentioned the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Whereas Blair said their roadmap would be published "as soon as the confirmation of the new Palestinian Prime Minister is properly administered," Bush said it would be released "soon". Bush: "History requires more of our coalition than a defeat of a terrible danger. I see an opportunity, as does Prime Minister Blair, to bring renewed...

President Bush and Prime Minister Blair held a joint press conference Thursday after their meetings at Camp David. Towards the end of their respective opening statements, both leaders briefly mentioned the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Whereas Blair said their roadmap would be published "as soon as the confirmation of the new Palestinian Prime Minister is properly administered," Bush said it would be released "soon". Bush: "History requires more of our coalition than a defeat of a terrible danger. I see an opportunity, as does Prime Minister Blair, to bring renewed hope and progress to the entire Middle East. Last June 24th, I...

Please post what time you believe Operation iraqi Freedom will officially begin.

From my extensive contacts in the middle east I believe the war will start at 18Mar03 1103hrs EST . Can somone do better?

TOKYO, Mar 11, 2003 (Kyodo via COMTEX) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell informed Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi last month that U.S.-led military action against Iraq could take place any time after March 10, sources familiar with their Feb. 22 talks in Tokyo said Tuesday. Powell told Kawaguchi that war would be a last resort, according to the sources, but stressed that the United States is determined to disarm Iraq, and would do so with other countries sharing the same view as Washington, if necessary. Powell then told Kawaguchi a military action could take place any time...

Israeli monitor intercepts order: War starting on March 18 SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Tuesday, March 11, 2003 TEL AVIV — The U.S. military has been ordered to launch a war against Iraq on March 18, an Israeli official said in a televised report. Israeli government monitor, Michael Gurdus, reported on late Tuesday that the order was relayed by U.S. Central Command to all American forces in the Persian Gulf. Gurdus told Israel's Channel 2 television that he heard the order being relayed to U.S. fighter-jet pilots and others over U.S. military radio communications he intercepted. Gurdus is regarded as the...

Israeli monitor intercepts order: War starting on March 18 SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Tuesday, March 11, 2003 TEL AVIV — The U.S. military has been ordered to launch a war against Iraq on March 18, an Israeli official said in a televised report. Israeli government monitor, Michael Gurdus, reported on late Tuesday that the order was relayed by U.S. Central Command to all American forces in the Persian Gulf. Gurdus told Israel's Channel 2 television that he heard the order being relayed to U.S. fighter-jet pilots and others over U.S. military radio communications he intercepted. Gurdus is regarded as the...

WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that the United States had no plans to extend a March 17 deadline and would use "military force" if Iraq did not disarm by then. In interviews with various television networks, Powell also that a French U.N. Security Council veto of the second resolution on Iraq would have "very serious" impact on Washington's relations with Paris. Last week, the United States, Britain and Spain presented a resolution in the Security Council seeking its endorsement for the use of force to disarm Iraq and its leader Saddam Hussein. France,...

2003 Phases of the Moon Universal Time NEW MOON MAR. 3 2:35 AM GMT FIRST QUARTER MAR. 11 7:15 AM GMT FULL MOON MAR. 18 10:34 AM GMT LAST QUARTER MAR. 25 1:51 AM GMT NEW MOON APR. 1 7:19 PM GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British troops based in the Gulf had been told to prepare for an invasion of Iraq on March 17, the Daily Express has reported. The newspaper, quoting unnamed Westminster sources, said British officers based in Kuwait had been told to expect an invasion on that date, preceded by a massive "short and sharp" air blitz on Iraq from March 13. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said she had no comment on the story. The U.S. and Britain have committed more than 300,000 troops to the Gulf region along with dozens of warships and more than 500 attack...

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States and Britain have more than doubled the number of air patrols in the "no fly" zone over southern Iraq this week to keep Iraqi air defenders off guard and mask the start of any war, a senior defense official said Wednesday.</p>

Troop Deployments Raise Questions on War Timing and StrategyMar 04, 2003 Summary While equipment for the U.S. 4th Infantry Division languishes off the coast of Turkey, the Pentagon has announced the deployment of the 1st Armored Division, 1st Cavalry Division and 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Other units already have been ordered to the region and are backed up in an increasingly congested pipeline. Though the White House and Pentagon have suggested that the failure to win Turkish approval for U.S. deployments could delay the war by a month or more -- corresponding with the arrival of the new deployments...