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George W. Bush appealed to Congress on Tuesday to give the military more time to help stabilise Iraq before judging the success of this year's US troop build-up. The president's comments were made amid a fresh push by Democrats to end the war and renewed bloodshed in Baghdad, where one of the biggest barrages against the heavily fortified Green Zone claimed the lives of three people and injured 18 others. Five of the injured were US citizens, including two military service members and three contract employees. Rising numbers of Republicans have also added their voices to calls for a troop...

WASHINGTON As the Senate debates taking a new course in Iraq, President Bush's national security adviser scheduled a meeting with more than a dozen Republican senators in a bid to shore up eroding support for the war. Stephen Hadley was to visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday one of many such forays in recent days as the White House finalized a 23-page progress report on Iraq that concludes the government in Baghdad has made little progress in meeting reform goals laid down by Bush and Congress. Iraq's inability to pass laws considered key to national cohesion and economic recovery or achieve...

A great frustration of mine is the army of right-wing pundits, like Ann Coulter and Cal Thomas, who act like fair weather fans in their support of President Bush. They can be found giving blind praise one day, and blind criticism the next. I’m no fair weather pundit, so treat yourself to this factual argument — President Bush is winning the war on terror. The Muslim world is organized under the Organized Islamic Conferences, a United Nations-like group of Muslim countries. Of the 57 countries that claim membership, around 53 are actively involved, diplomatically and/or militarily, in combating terrorism as...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 10, 2007 President Bush Visits Cleveland, Ohio Intercontinental Hotel Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio   White House News       Fact Sheet: A Day in Cleveland: President Bush Calls on Congress to Act to Fund Vital Priorities 1:42 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Fred. Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me. It's a smart marketing tool -- you know, all the cameras. (Laughter.) I thought for sure the largest Chamber of Commerce was in Texas, but I guess not. (Laughter.) I'm thrilled to be back in Cleveland. I've had a fascinating day. I...

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 – More time is needed to gauge the effectiveness of the ongoing military offensive against insurgents in and around Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, the top U.S. general there said. “I can think of few commanders in history who wouldn’t have wanted more troops, more time or more unity among their partners. However, if I could only have one (item) at this point in Iraq, it would be more time,” Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said during a question-and-answer session published in the New York Post today. Petraeus is overseeing several...

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 – President Bush today said he will wait until the top commander in Iraq issues his assessment of progress there before deciding the way ahead for the region. “I believe that it’s in this nation’s interest to give the commander the chance to fully implement his operations,” Bush said, speaking to about 400 people in a town-hall-style meeting in Cleveland. Bush said he believes the United States eventually can reduce its troop presence in Iraq to the number necessary to preserve the country’s territorial integrity, ensure al Qaeda doesn’t gain safe haven from which to launch...

WASHINGTON — Senior military sources in Iraq said Tuesday they have no intention of moving up an assessment on progress in Iraq from September nor will an interim report due this week suggest that the Iraqi government has failed to reach any benchmarks for success. A spokesman to Gen. David Petraeus, the head of Multinational Forces in Iraq, told FOX News that the report that is due in September will be delivered in September. The remark was made following reports that Petraeus may deliver the report early in the face of growing impatience for the war on Capitol Hill. "There...

"America good! Al-Qaida bad!" -- A trader in the Qatana bazaar, Ramadi, Iraq This is a sentiment that the Iraqi trader felt safe to utter as a visiting U.S. general passed by, according to John Burns of The New York Times, only after a furtive glance "up and down the narrow refuse-strewn street to check who might be listening." In a microcosm, this is the reason why we are finally making progress against al-Qaida in Iraq. The protection afforded by American combat power has made it possible for Iraqis in Sunni areas to turn against the terror group. In a...

U.S. intelligence officers in Iraq believe 2007 will be looked on someday as “the beginning of the defeat of al Qaeda,” an adviser to the command in Baghdad said Monday. Retired Army Gen. John Keane offered the assessment after being briefed by a senior intelligence official who is an expert on the insurgency. The upbeat view marked a shift from 2006 intelligence reports that al Qaeda in Iraq was growing stronger. Keane also said he expects a U.S. troop drawdown next spring, when forces should be able to turn over security in some Baghdad neighborhoods to Iraqis. Keane, who has...

progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reform, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next, a U.S. official said Monday. One likely result of the report will be a vastly accelerated debate among President Bush's top aides on withdrawing troops and scaling back the U.S. presence in Iraq.

FALAHAT, Iraq, July 9, 2007 — The sounds of laughing girls and boys could be heard as soldiers from Troop D, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment brought the children here for a day of fun, through painting, as well as other activities, July 7, 2007. "I feel really good about it, because you can actually see the results. Before it didn’t feel like anything was happening and there was no proof that anything would ever change." Spc. Matthew Dixon The soldiers handed out paint brushes and paint and watched as the children painted pictures and their names on concrete...

BAQUBAH, Iraq, July 9, 2007 – Iraqi army and coalition soldiers from Task Force Lightning continued offensive operations in and around the capital of Iraq’s Diyala province today, as Operation Arrowhead Ripper continues to deny resources to al Qaeda terrorists during its 20th day in the area. Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, and 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, discovered and disabled five vehicles being prepared as car bombs and caches containing pipe bombs, sniper rifles, and other explosives and bomb-making materials. During another joint operation in western Baqubah, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment,...

<p>The head of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades.</p> <p>Speaking to the BBC's John Simpson in Baquba, Gen Petraeus said there was evidence that the recent troops surge was producing gains on the ground.</p>

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq is on target to meet by September key political benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress, Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said Sunday. Iraqi lawmakers have cut their planned two-month recess in half and will be working six-day weeks for the rest of this month to try to pass the provisions by September, he said. Al-Rubaie disputed a report in Sunday's Washington Post that cited senior U.S. officials as saying the Iraqi government "is unlikely to meet any of the political and security goals or timelines President Bush set for it in January when he...

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2007 – Iraqi security forces and coalition troops have killed four terrorists, detained 21 suspected terrorists and uncovered bomb-making materials and weapons caches during the past three days, military officials reported. During two coordinated raids on Baghdad’s west side today, coalition forces targeted a senior al Qaeda in Iraq operative believed to facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists for suicide-bombing operations by providing fake documents, officials said. The ground forces detained seven suspected terrorists during the operation. Meanwhile, in southwestern Baghdad, coalition forces targeted a terrorist cell leader allegedly involved in car bomb attacks against the Iraqi...

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2007 – Operation Phantom Thunder enters its third week with coalition forces operating in and around Baghdad, Diyala province and Anbar province, in Iraq, a Joint Staff spokesman said here today. Army Brig. Gen. Perry Wiggins also said that the Taliban has not been able to launch a serious challenge to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Wiggins said U.S. servicemembers are experiencing a tough fight against a fanatical enemy, but they are making progress against the terrorists. The fighting against al Qaeda and Shiia militias in Iraq is in areas where such groups long have...

WASHINGTON - In the face of stiffening insurgent resistance, U.S. and Iraqi security forces now control about half of Baghdad, the American commander overseeing operations said Friday. Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commander of Multi-National Division Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that progress in securing the capital has been steady and that while he could use more U.S. troops he believes he has enough — with the recent arrival of reinforcements — to complete his mission. “Some wonder: Are we progressing fast enough? Are we ahead? Are we on track?” he said in a video teleconference from his...

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2007 – Americans still face a tough fight inside Baghdad, but the trend lines are improving, the commander of Multinational Division Baghdad said today. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., speaking from Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that the overall trend lines in the city are positive. “The number of attacks, first of all, has come down,” he said. “The effect of those attacks has come down significantly.” One example is in car bombs. While the number of car bomb attacks has remained relatively constant since November 2006, the effects of those attacks have dropped. “That's...

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2007 – A new Iraq strategy that targets multiple terrorist outposts and capitalizes on Iraqis’ growing dislike of al Qaeda are combining to degrade insurgent operations in the country, a counter-insurgency expert said today in Baghdad. “The intention behind the counter-operations that we’re doing is to try to knock over several insurgent safe havens simultaneously,” David Kilcullen, the senior counter-insurgency adviser to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said during a conference call with military analysts. Operations Phantom Thunder, Arrowhead Ripper and other ongoing, surge-affiliated actions in Iraq are being conducted simultaneously across...

WASHINGTON - In the face of stiffening insurgent resistance, U.S. and Iraqi security forces now control about half of Baghdad, the American commander overseeing operations said Friday. Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., commander of Multi-National Division Baghdad, told reporters at the Pentagon that progress in securing the capital has been steady and that while he could use more U.S. troops he believes he has enough — with the recent arrival of reinforcements — to complete his mission. “Some wonder: Are we progressing fast enough? Are we ahead? Are we on track?” he said in a video teleconference from his...