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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ten years have passed since the United States and its allies invaded Iraq, and it appears the majority of Americans consider this a regrettable anniversary. Fifty-three percent of Americans believe their country "made a mistake sending troops to fight in Iraq" and 42% say it was not a mistake. The March 7-10 results mark the first time Gallup has asked this question since the full withdrawal of American troops in December 2011. Although majorities or near-majorities have viewed the conflict as a mistake continuously since August 2005, the current 53% is down from the high point of...

In his final report, released this month, on how $63 billion of American taxpayers’ money was spent in reconstructing Iraq after the end of the Iraq war, Special Inspector General Stuart Bowen asked two questions: “What happened to the money?” and “What effect did it have?” The next 185 pages of his report reviews where it went, how much was wasted, and what effect it had in restoring Iraq’s infrastructure so that life there could return to some sort of normal. The answer to the first question, “what happened to the money?” is that much of it was wasted. He...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Days after the last U.S. troops left Iraq, a federal appeals court ended a lawsuit over an episode that produced one of the more disturbing images of the war: the grisly killings of four Blackwater security contractors and the hanging of a pair of their bodies from a bridge in Fallujah. Families of the victims reached a confidential settlement with the company's corporate successor, Arlington, Va.-based Academi, and the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit last week. The settlement was first reported Friday by The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va. The deal ends the...

BAGHDAD -- A roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers Thursday outside the main American military base in Baghdad in what U.S. officials said appeared to be another attack by Shiite militias hoping to drive U.S. troops out of Iraq. The attack follows the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in two years. Fifteen U.S. soldiers died in June, nearly all in attacks by Shiite militias. ----- Thursday's bomb, which was detonated near a checkpoint outside Victory Base Camp, was a powerful armor-piercing explosive known as an EFP, according to two military officials with knowledge of the attack. EFPs typically...

List – Killed in Action, Global War on Terror, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, Puerto Rico born or Puerto Rico HOR SGT Louie Ramos-Velázquez, USA, KIA May 26, 2011, Kandahar, Afghanistan SGT José M. Caraballo-Pietri, USA, KIA April 10, 2011, Badghis, Afghanistan SGT José M. Cintrón-Rosado, USA, KIA January 2, 2011, Taji, Iraq SPC José A. Delgado-Arroyo, USA, KIA January 2, 2011, Taji, Iraq PVT Francheska Velez, USA, KIA, November 5, 2009, Fort Hood, Texas SPC Israel Candelaria Mejías, USA, KIA April 5, 2009, Near Baghdad, Iraq SrA Jonathan Vega Yelner, USAF, KIA...

The death penalty will be sought against Earl Ellis Green, the 44-year-old Rubidoux parolee charged with slaying Riverside Police officer Ryan Bonaminio, Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco announced today. "It was not a close call for us," Pacheco said. Police believe Bonaminio, 27, was slain with his own gun the night of Nov. 7 in Riverside's Fairmount Park. He was attacked while running after a man who had fled from a semi-truck suspected in a hit-and-run accident. Bonaminio slipped while running after a suspect, who then hit him on the head with a metal bar several times, shot him...

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Sunday hailed reductions in violence in Iraq and said he believed Iraqis would resolve the impasse in their attempts to form a coalition government. "The trend lines have been steadily declining violence. Even after we left the cities, what you've seen is lower and lower levels of violence," Obama said in an interview with NBC News. "The Iraqi security forces are functioning, at least as well, if not better, than any of us had anticipated." Obama will deliver a nationally televised speech on Tuesday that will highlight what administration officials say is his fulfillment...

Obama says Iraq war is ending, his promise is kept Photo 6:07am EDT By Jeff Mason VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachusetts (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Saturday Iraq could "chart its own course" and told Americans the drawdown of U.S. troops helped fulfill a promise he made during the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama, who is vacationing on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard, declared in his weekly radio and Internet address that "the war is ending" and pledged to take care of troops who are returning home. The U.S. military recently cut its strength to under 50,000 troops in Iraq,...

Today’s headlines announce the final withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq. So, I’m wondering: when will we see a victory parade? The US has a tradition of celebrating victories in war by parading troops in major US cities. Certainly, US service members deserve to be recognized and thanked for their sacrifice and victory. Will the President organize such a parade? Will he be on the reviewing stand to receive the salute? If this parade never happens, what does this say about our President? If this parade does happen, how will the anti-war left and MSM react? I think the...

The number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan has surpassed the number in Iraq for the first time since 2003. As of Monday, there were 94,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and 92,000 in Iraq, according to the Defense Department. The move occurred slightly ahead of schedule; it had been expected to take place in June. U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan is expected to reach 98,000 by August, up from about 30,000 when President Barack Obama took office. Once all the troops are in place, NATO and Afghan security forces are expected to concentrate on 121 key districts in Afghanistan, according to...

Results from the GOP state preprimary convention By Heath Haussamen • 3/13/10, 12:49 pm KOKESH GETS SMOKED BY MULLINS! TREASON LOSES FIRST ROUND IN NEW MEXICO!!

I am not naive. I understand that there are individuals who opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning and I believe their passion, although misguided at times, is rooted in a deep desire for peace. What always baffled me was the reaction they had to pro-victory veterans when we came home. As if we were some robotic arm of the Bush White House. It was foreign for them to understand why winning in Iraq was so important. Our friends died in this cause. There is no honor in their death unless we complete the mission they died fighting.

According to the report, Secretary Gates sent a memo to General David Patraeus on February 17 informing the commander of the name change. In reporting this news, however, the Washington Examiner wondered if there would be some sort of official proclamation by the Obama Administration that we had won.

RICHMOND, Va. - Two Navy SEALs accused in the mistreatment of an Iraqi detainee will be tried in a U.S. military court in Iraq. A military judge at Naval Station Norfolk on Monday moved the courts-martial of Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 1st Class Julio Huertas to Camp Victory, site of the alleged abuse. The trials are set for April. Keefe and Huertas are accused of trying to cover up after a third SEAL allegedly punched an Iraqi suspected in a 2004 ambush that killed four U.S. security contractors. Prosecutors said they would not bring the...

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq — December was the first month since the Iraq war began in which there were no American combat deaths, a milestone hailed by military officials Friday as they inaugurated a new name for the U.S. force at the start of the year that will see the war wind down in earnest. Henceforth, the Multinational Force-Iraq will officially be called the United States Force-Iraq, in belated recognition of the fact that for some time there have been no other nations serving alongside U.S. troops in the nearly 7-year-old conflict. British, Australian and Romanian soldiers pulled out in July,...

Press Release 20100101-01 January 1, 2010 BAGHDAD – December passed without any servicemembers being killed in action. This was the first month in the history of Operation Iraqi Freedom without any U.S. military being killed in combat. Three USF-I troops did die from non-combat related incidents. “We enter the new year with mixed emotions. While we are thankful that no troops were killed in action in December, we are equally mindful of those who have lost their lives while serving our nation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families, and all that have lost a loved one in...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 11, 2009 – I'm frequently asked for my assessment of the situation in Iraq, especially after an incident like the heinous terrorist attacks that killed innocent civilians Dec. 8. Our deepest condolences go to the families and friends of the people killed or injured. The attacks against the people of Iraq are clear indications of an enemy threatened by Iraq's progress in representative government and strengthening national unity. They stand in stark contrast to the compromise and consensus reached on the election law less than a week ago. Iraqis' choice to move forward to a bright future created...

Fifteen-month-old Briana N. Porter, daughter of Maj. Dustin M. Porter stares in awe at five-year-old Nubs during his visit to Camp Pendleton’s Country Store, Dec. 5. The wild Iraqi dog is famous for making a 70-mile journey through the Iraqi desert to reunite with Maj. Brian P. Dennis, aircraft maintenance officer, Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314, 3rd Marine Air Wing, after the two bonded during Dennis’s 2007 deployment. The recently published story, “Nubs: The True Story of a Marine, a Mutt and a Miracle,” has already made the New York Times’ children’s best seller list and is expected hit...

The Department of Defense announced today the alert for mobilization of a replacement unit scheduled to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Approximately 2,600 soldiers from the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade, headquartered at Edgewood, Md., will begin deploying in the summer of 2011.

Even as the U.S. military scrambles to support a troop surge in Afghanistan, it is donating passenger vehicles, generators and other equipment worth tens of millions of dollars to the Iraqi government. Under new authority granted by the Pentagon, U.S. commanders in Iraq may now donate to the Iraqis up to $30 million worth of equipment from each facility they leave, up from the $2 million cap established when the guidelines were first set in 2005. The new cap applies at scores of posts that the U.S. military is expected to leave in coming months as it scales back its...