Free Republic

The US commander of multinational forces in Iraq, General David Petraeus, said Wednesday that efforts to quell unrest in the western Sunni province of Anbar have made almost “breathtaking” progress. Speaking to reporters about the new US strategy to curb sectarian violence in Iraq launched two months ago, based on a US troop increase, Petraeus said: “We are ahead, I think, with respect ... to the reduction of sectarian murders in Baghdad. “Progress in Anbar is almost something that’s breathtaking,” he added. The general illustrated his positive evaluation by citing the killing Friday of an Al Qaeda kingpin, identified by...

As Democrats push to withdraw troops, they seek to undermine Republicans by creating repeated chances to side with an unpopular president. WASHINGTON — As congressional Democrats move to force President Bush to veto a war spending bill that would start a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, they are simultaneously pursuing a carefully crafted offensive aimed at another target: Republican lawmakers. In the charged debate over the war, the strategy aims to achieve Democratic objectives on both policy and political fronts, according to party leaders and aides. Convinced that Bush will never listen to their calls to bring troops home,...