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Iraq news wires here WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 — Three retired four-star American generals said today that attacking Iraq without a United Nations resolution supporting military action could limit aid from allies, energize recruiting for Al Qaeda and undermine America's long-term diplomatic and economic interests. "We must continue to persuade the other members of the Security Council of the correctness of our position, and we must not be too quick to take no for an answer," Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The officers' testimony came on...

<p>WASHINGTON — Speeches by President Bush in recent weeks before military audiences about the Iraq war debate have raised questions about partisan issues being brought up in front of U.S. Armed Forces.</p> <p>While polls may show Bush lagging in popular approval, the U.S. military views the commander in chief warmly, and he shows a likewise appreciation.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democrats have enlisted a retired Marine general to attack the Bush administration on Veterans Day over its care for the nation's vets. Retired Marine General Joseph Hoar used the Democrats' weekly radio address to say President Bush consistently refuses to provide enough money for veterans' health care. The former U-S military commander in the Middle East also says the White House isn't taking steps to provide adequate mental health care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He says thousands will need it. The AP's David Melendy explains further in this audio clip.

<p>WASHINGTON — A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November.</p>

News Advisory: Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, a group of retired ambassadors and senior military officers, will hold a Morning Newsmaker news conference Wednesday, June 16, at 8 a.m. EDT at the National Press Club (Zenger Room), 13th floor, 529 14th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. The topic will be "The Need for Change in U.S. Foreign and Defense Policy." The group includes former ambassadors Jeffrey Davidow, William DePree, Charles Freeman Jr., William Harrop, Arthur Hartman, H. Allen Holmes, Samuel Lewis, Princeton Lyman, Jack Matlock Jr., Donald McHenry, Richard Murphy, David Newsom, Phyllis Oakley, John Reinhardt, Ronald Spiers, Nicholas Veliotes...

January 16, 2004 DISPATCHES The General in Dean's Corner By MICHAEL R. GORDON WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 — Joseph P. Hoar fought in Vietnam. He served as the Marine Corps' top operations officer during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Rising in the ranks, he succeeded General H. Norman Schwarzkopf as the four-star head of the United States Central Command, which has responsibility for the Middle East. These days, however, General Hoar has assumed a new and unfamiliar role: adviser to Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor in hot pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination. One of General Hoar's most important military...