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WASHINGTON -- Come September, America might slip closer toward a Weimar moment. It would be milder than the original but significantly disagreeable. After the First World War, politics in Germany's new Weimar Republic were poisoned by the belief that the army had been poised for victory in 1918 and that one more surge could have turned the tide. Many Germans bitterly concluded that the political class, having lost its nerve and will to win, capitulated. The fact that fanciful analysis fed this rancor did not diminish its power. The Weimar Republic was fragile; America's domestic tranquility is not. Still, remember...

Today a new organization named Freedom’s Watch announced it is launching a nationwide grassroots campaign aimed at ensuring Congress continues to fully fund the troops with the ultimate goal of victory in the War on Terror. Freedom’s Watch will spend approximately $15 million on radio and television ads as well as grassroots activities from now thru mid-September and has partnered with a host of veteran’s organizations in an effort to ensure terrorism is confronted all over the world. The ads begin running today. “The mission of Freedom’s Watch is to ensure a strong national defense and a powerful effort to...

Thursday, August 23, 2007 Last time I wrote on the Iraq war I used the term "defeatocrats," and some readers and an editor at the almost-highest levels of The Oregonian thought this was name-calling. That certainly wasn't my intent. I was simply describing those Americans who have decided that Gen. David Petraeus' troop surge and counterinsurgency strategy cannot or will not -- or should not -- work. They're intellectually or politically invested in defeat in Iraq. I employed "defeatocrat" as a synonym for defeatist, and I now regret it. I used lower-case "defeatocrat" rather than upper-case "Defeatocrat." But "defeatocrat" is...

Come September, America might slip closer toward a Weimar moment. It would be milder than the original but significantly disagreeable. After the First World War, politics in Germany's new Weimar Republic were poisoned by the belief that the army had been poised for victory in 1918 and that one more surge could have turned the tide. Many Germans bitterly concluded that the political class, having lost its nerve and will to win, capitulated. The fact that fanciful analysis fed this rancor did not diminish its power. The Weimar Republic was fragile; America's domestic tranquility is not. Still, remember the bitterness...

After months of heaping scorn on the very idea that a new military strategy could achieve results in Iraq, a growing number of antiwar critics now acknowledge that the very idea they contemptuously dismissed is achieving results after all. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said Monday after visiting Iraq that he saw "credible and positive results" from the troop reinforcements. He added that visits to bases in Baghdad and Mosul showed that the military aspects of the troop "surge" have made progress in reducing violence and giving Iraqi political leaders time to work for political reconciliation. Mr. Levin...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2007 – Local governance is making progress in Iraq’s Anbar province, and Iraqis are joining the security forces in record numbers, a top Marine operating in the province said today. As a result, improvised explosive device attacks and casualties are down in his region, said Marine Col. Richard Simcock, commander of Regimental Combat Team 6, operating in eastern Anbar province. Simcock answered questions today from Internet reporters and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq. His troops recently launched Operation Alljah, which sectioned off Fallujah into small, manageable areas and established security outposts in the communities....

"For the past few months, Vets for Freedom has been on the front lines of the Iraq war debate in America, with only a few allies. But this morning, in a very real sense, the cavalry appeared on the horizon in the form of a new organization called Freedom's Watch. Freedom's Watch has launched a multi-state advertising campaign featuring powerful stories from veterans and families that every household in America should hear. It's time that the rest of America heard the words of soldiers who have served (and been wounded) in Iraq and the stories of families who have lost...

If you think the White House-penned report on Iraq will be anything other than a validation of "the surge" and the Bush administration's larger strategy, you haven't been paying attention. Just a few weeks from now, the most eagerly anticipated premier of the year will finally be here, complete with fierce disagreement among the critics and relentless hype by the producers, cameras furiously clicking when the starring players emerge in public. That premier is the report coming in mid-September from U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and, more importantly, Gen. David Petraeus, commander of American forces there. If you're expecting...

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As an exercise in counterintuitive reasoning, see if you can identify the authors of these recent quotes: “More American troops have brought more peace to more parts of Iraq. I think that's a fact.” “The military aspects of President Bush's new strategy in Iraq ... appear to have produced some credible and positive results.” “We’ve begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Al Anbar Province, it’s working.” A White House spokesman? General Petraeus? A Fox News talking head or a FrontPageMag.com columnist? None of the above. All three quotes come courtesy of top Democratic senators....

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- Former White House aides are joining Republican fundraisers in bankrolling a $15 million, five-week advertising campaign putting pressure on lawmakers whose backing of President Bush's Iraq war strategy may be wavering. The group, Freedom's Watch, launched the ads Wednesday, even as Bush delivered a renewed call for keeping U.S. forces in Iraq. The money will pay for ad placements on national cable and local television stations as well as on radio and the Internet. The ads will run in 20 states and will urge viewers to ask their member of Congress to stand by Bush's plan. Organizers...

George Bush hints Iraqi PM must go By Alex Spillius in Washington Last Updated: 10:27pm BST 21/08/2007 President George W Bush yesterday signalled that his patience with the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki had run out, suggesting that he should be voted from office before the country's security deteriorates further. Speaking at a trade summit in Canada, Mr Bush said: "There's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general. "The fundamental question is, will the government respond to the demands of the people? And if the government doesn't respond to the demands of the people, they will replace...

Democrats are warily anticipating a September report on the Iraq war, realizing that opponents will use any upbeat assessment to portray them as defeatists just as glimmers of hope appear. While many of their party colleagues find the notion fanciful, they acknowledge that top Republicans hope the report will show just enough progress in Iraq to persuade millions of Americans to be patient about troop withdrawals and less critical of how the war is being run. Democratic candidates for president and Congress, the GOP argument goes, would then be stuck with their Iraq-is-lost stance, appearing irresolute and beholden to liberal...

For Democratic congressional leaders, the dog days of August are looking anything but quiet. Having failed twice to crack GOP opposition and force a major change in war policy, Democrats risk further alienating their restive supporters if the September showdown again ends in stalemate. House Democratic leaders held an early morning conference call yesterday with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), honing a new message: Of course an influx of U.S. troops has improved security in Iraq, but without any progress on political reconciliation, the sweat and blood of American forces has been for naught. House Democratic Caucus...

And now the Democrats, along with wavering Republicans, will face an advertising blitz from Bush supporters determined to remain on offense. A new pressure group, Freedom's Watch, will unveil a month-long, $15 million television, radio and grass-roots campaign today designed to shore up support for Bush's policies before the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, lays out a White House assessment of the war's progress.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government's progress towards meeting targets set by Washington to reduce violence by reconciling warring Shi'ite and Sunni Arab sects has been "extremely disappointing," the U.S. ambassador said on Tuesday. "Progress on national level issues has been extremely disappointing and frustrating to all concerned, to us, to Iraqis, to the Iraqi leadership itself," Ryan Crocker told reporters, just three weeks before he delivers a key report to Congress.

KALSU — As concerned citizens stand up and secure their homes and communities against terrorists and militias all across North Babil, they are also standing up and leading the push for legitimate security forces in the area. Iraqi Army recruiting has reached a near record in the city of Iskandariyah and the surrounding areas thanks, in large part, to concerned citizens wanting to do more to help their families, friends and neighbors in the fight against militants. “More than 1,400 people have made the decision to join the Iraqi Army during the five-day recruiting drive,” said 1st Lt. Tyler Mitchell,...

BAGHDAD - After five months, we are seeing the benefits of the surge. Our Division Headquarters, our Second Brigade Combat Team, our Third Brigade Combat Team, and our Combat Aviation Brigade were all brought to Iraq for the that purpose. The last of the units arrived in May, and, as the summer winds down, we see the tremendous success these soldiers are contributing to securing Iraq. Successive and successful combat operations followed our arrival and now the Iraqis are gaining confidence to take a stand on their own. They are showing that they want to remove the extremists and they...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi and Coalition forces are pursuing extremist leaders in Iraq’s remote areas in coordinated “quick strikes” launched this week, the commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq told Pentagon reporters Saturday. Operation Phantom Strike is a series of joint operations that extend from Operation Phantom Thunder, a corps-level offensive that began in June targeting al-Qaeda, Sunni insurgents and Shiia extremists in, near and around Baghdad, said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno. “With the elimination of safe havens and support zones due to Phantom Thunder, al-Qaeda and Shiite extremists have been forced into ever-shrinking areas. It is my intent to...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2007 – Iraqi government development at the community level is progressing even as American and Iraqi forces launch a new offensive targeting terrorists fleeing the major cities for refuge, President Bush said today in his weekly radio address. Bush said that as the surge in combat operations continues, so does a surge by provincial reconstruction teams that have helped rebuild many local governments in areas that once were considered lost to terrorist control. The number of the reconstruction teams has doubled in the country, he said. “They bring together military, civilian, and diplomatic personnel to help...