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Ministers in Britain were secretly told that the United States were set on "regime change" in Iraq...

Most Americans, looking at a globe, would be hard pressed to find Afghanistan. Americans on the whole know very little about the land or its people — and care even less. They know we’re at war over there, wherever it is, but if you were to ask what a Pashtun is or mention the name Abdullah Abdullah you would most likely get a blank stare. Americans’ minds are on other things, like trying to figure out why, if the Great Recession is over...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic leaders in Congress urged the Obama administration Thursday to quickly produce a plan for winning the war in Afghanistan or risk widespread opposition within the president's own party to a new troop buildup. Simmering congressional frustration could lead to tighter scrutiny and more limited resources, even if Capitol Hill ultimately does approve sending more U.S. troops to the war-torn nation, aides said. "I don't think there's a great deal of support for sending more troops to Afghanistan in the country or in the Congress," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking Democrat to signal that a push...

Violence has been on the rise across much of Afghanistan since President Obama ordered 21,000 U.S. troops to the country, shifting the focus of the U.S.-led war on Islamic extremism from Iraq. Now some are calling Afghanistan "Obama's war." Do you agree? Is Afghanistan 'Obama's war'? Yes. No. I'm not sure.

Fifty-seven Percent (57%) now oppose the war in Afghanistan. The biggest change has come from Democrats. Almost three quarters of Democrats now oppose the war. Perhaps Americans sense a lack of commitment from President Obama. Shadow Government had this to say, "There are few things more toxic for effective civil-military relations in wartime than the military believing that their political commanders are not serious about seeing the conflict through to a successful conclusion."

Poll: Americans Have Come Full Circle On Iraq Americans Feel More Positive About Iraq, Less So About Afghanistan Six years after the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, American optimism about the situation in Iraq has returned to levels last seen in 2003, according to a new CBS News poll. Still, most Americans continue to believe the U.S. should have stayed out of Iraq in the first place. And Americans are now far more pessimistic about the situation in Afghanistan than they are the war in Iraq. Sixty-four percent of Americans now say U.S. efforts to bring stability and...

President-elect Barack Obama, on "60 Minutes," defended the financial bailout package. Yes, said Obama, the economy continues to suffer, but "I think the part of the way to think about it is things could be worse. … So part of what we have to measure against is what didn't happen and not just what has happened." Interesting. Why not apply the "what didn't happen" standard to the unpopular Iraq war? Obama calls the Iraq invasion a "dumb war." Never mind that all of his Democratic presidential nomination Senate opponents -- Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen./VP-elect Joe Biden, Sen. Hillary Clinton and...

Voter confidence about the situation in Iraq has hit an all time high. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 51% of voters now expect the situation in Iraq to improve over the next six months.

Granted the focus of today's news is overwhelmingly on the bailout and the presidential race, but there is also big news on how Americans are now seeing the war effort. The pendulum has swung from despair to hopeful belief and this is important news that impinges on the elections. Rasmussen released new data on September 30 that shows that more Americans are now viewing the war as a success and a growing number think that things will get even better in the near future. This is the highest support that Rasmussen has seen since they began to report on this...

One-third (32%) of Americans believe the situation in Iraq is getting better, two in five (41%) say things are staying the same and 16 percent say things are getting worse. This is better than in May when only one in five (22%) said things were getting better; and,

The number of Americans who believe getting the troops home from Iraq is more important than winning the war there has fallen below 50% for the first time since Rasmussen Reports began polling on the question in May.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the country split down the middle between those backing Sen. Barack Obama's 16-month timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and those agreeing with Sen. John McCain's position that events, not timetables, should dictate when forces come home. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, will deliver what his campaign is billing as a "major address" on Iraq today in Washington, part of an effort to convince voters that he could serve effectively as commander in chief. The public is also evenly divided on that question, with 48 percent saying he would be...

The number of Americans who believe it is possible for the U.S. to win the War in Iraq has increased over the past year. Forty percent (40%) of American voters now say victory in Iraq is possible. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that a slightly larger percentage—44%--disagree and say victory is not possible. Republicans, by a 3-to-1 margin, say victory is possible. Democrats, by a similar margin, say it is not. Unaffiliated voters are evenly divided. A plurality of men say victory is possible while a plurality of women say it is not. Those figures reflect more...

Simple mistake, or wish fulfillment? Appearing on MSNBC this afternoon, a Washington Post reporter claimed the paper's latest poll results showed Barack Obama with a "big lead" over John McCain on the issue of handling Iraq. The only problem: the poll actually shows McCain with a small lead. David Shuster interviewed Ed O'Keefe of WashingtonPost.com at 3:03 PM EDT. DAVID SHUSTER: Ed, when asked who do you trust on the economy Barack Obama is ahead by 16 points. On women's issues he's ahead by 32 points. So where's John McCain making up the difference. ED O'KEEFE: Terrorism. He's ahead of...

Sky news poll on Afghanistan http://news.sky.com/skynews/home The Brits’ support in Afghanistan is a good thing. Help support our troops by supporting the Brits’ presence there. Please copy this link to a doc, and vote from your own computer. Often the polls close as soon as they see a Free Republic response. . .

BAGHDAD - Signs are emerging that Iraq has reached a turning point. Violence is down, armed extremists are in disarray, government confidence is rising and sectarian communities are gearing up for a battle at the polls rather than slaughter in the streets. Those positive signs are attracting little attention in the United States, where the war-weary public is focused on the American presidential contest and skeptical of talk of success after so many years of unfounded optimism by the war's supporters. Unquestionably, the security and political situation in Iraq is fragile. U.S. commanders warn repeatedly that security gains are reversible....

The "surge" of American troops in Iraq last year winds to a close next month when the last two surge brigades redeploy home. Security conditions in the Iraq they are leaving are much improved over those the extra troops encountered when they arrived, say analysts and defense officials, many of whom are confident that trend will continue even without the extra US troops. The departure of the two brigades comes as the number of American casualties is at a new low. Of the heavy fighting that continues in Iraq, in places like Basra and the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City,...

When it comes to the economy, 47% of voters trust John McCain more than Barack Obama. Obama is trusted more by 41%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey also found that, when it comes to the War in Iraq, McCain is trusted more by 49% of voters. Obama is preferred by 37%. McCain has an even larger edge—53% to 31%--on the broader topic of National Security. These results are little changed from a month ago.

Unsolved mysteries of the universe: Where did matter come from? Why did all those ships vanish in the Bermuda Triangle? Is there really a Loch Ness Monster? And here's a new one to add to your list. In poll after poll, about two-thirds of Americans say they oppose the war in Iraq, believe things in Iraq are going badly for the United States, disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the war, consider even the initial decision to go to war to have been wrong and want the next president to end the war quickly. Yet -- and here...

Gordon Brown, uncontested as Labour leader, was supposed to bring calm, restore stability and optimism, and unite his party and the country. Instead this week we've have stormy weather over post offices, embryology and Iraq. It's disappointing but not surprising that a Tory attempt to force the government to hold an Iraq inquiry sooner rather than later was voted down in the Commons last night. Backbench Labour MPs may talk up their regrets about the war, but they show the same misguided loyalty to the government that led us into the war in the first place. Five years ago I...