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Al ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – President Bush has assembled his “war council” here in a surprise holiday weekend-meeting, at this remote airbase, in what is probably the group’s last meeting before the president makes his decision on next steps for U.S. involvement in the war. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. William Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker are all slated to meet with...

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2007 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he is very optimistic about the future of Afghanistan, and the young Americans who are serving there, along with those who served before them, have much to be proud of. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, left, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with servicmembers on a forward operating base in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan, Sept. 2, 2007. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace came to...

Bush holds 'war council' in Iraq Mr Bush is facing intense debate over his troop surge strategy US President George W Bush has met senior US and Iraqi officials at a US air base in Anbar province in Iraq.The talks at al-Asad air base were attended by the US secretary of state, defence secretary, the US ambassador to Iraq and the head of US forces there. They were joined by Iraq's PM Nouri Maliki and other senior Iraqis. Mr Bush is facing pressure at home for a US withdrawal, but he insisted any pull out will only result from...

BAQOUBA, Iraq, Sept. 2, 2007 – In an effort to build upon the recent success of the Aug. 19 reconciliation agreement between more than 80 leaders from the Diyala River Valley, approximately 40 tribal leaders gathered at the Baqouba Government Center, Sept. 1, to continue their discussions about the importance of reconciliation. The leaders, both Sunni and Shia, represented multiple tribes throughout the Diyala River Valley, with emphasis placed on tribes from Abu Sayda and Mukiesha - two villages that have not worked together in over a year due to tribal infighting. Ra'ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tamimi, Diyala's governor, hosted...

Inhabitants awake to a new dawn, with some hailing departure of ‘occupiers’ and others fearful of rival militias battling for control Basra was a city divided yesterday after the withdrawal of British troops left some residents hailing the departure of “the occupiers” and others fearing for their safety if Iraqi security forces were unable to control rival militias. The withdrawal was the top story on all the Iraqi television stations until it was superseded by President Bush’s arrival in Anbar province in the afternoon. Pictures showed Iraqi soldiers hoisting the black, white and red national flag above the palace complex,...

He who frames the issue tends to determine the outcome of the vote. That's a basic rule of political consultants that applies to elections and to the legislative process, as well. In July, when Congress was considering legislation limiting American military involvement in Iraq, the issue was framed -- by Democratic leaders and the mainstream media -- as whether Americans should continue to sacrifice life and treasure in a futile attempt to carry on a war that was already lost. It took some considerable shrewdness and steadfastness by Republican congressional leaders to prevent a stinging repudiation of the Bush administration....

Britain pulls out of downtown Basra base By DAVID RISING Associated Press Writer Iraqi soldiers hoisted the nation's flag over the Basra palace compound Monday after British troops withdrew from their last garrison in the city, leaving the country's second biggest city largely in the hands in the hands of Iranian-backed Shiite militias. At al-Asad Air Base west of Baghdad, meanwhile, President Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq, hoping to bolster his case that the buildup of U.S. troops is helping stabilizing the country. British vehicles rumbled out of the gates of the sprawling Basra Palace compound after dark...

Katie Couric Says Gen. Petraeus Will Report Surge is Working Photo of Noel Sheppard. By Noel Sheppard | September 2, 2007 - 19:04 ET If CBS's Katie Couric is beginning to believe the surge is working, it seems that even the most liberal media member could be convinced. With that in mind, Couric was Bob Schieffer's guest on Sunday's "Face the Nation," and after spending some time touring Iraq with Gen. David Petraeus, felt the General will be quite optimistic when he reports to Congress next week. In fact, after Schieffer asked what Petraeus would say to lawmakers upon his...

Muqtada al-Sadr's surprise decision to stand down his Mahdi Army for up to six months was designed to stop a Shiite-Shiite rift from spiraling out of control and to weed out infiltrators in his militia's ranks, according to aides of the radical Shiite cleric. Al-Sadr issued his surprise declaration last Wednesday following two days of deadly clashes in the holy city of Karbala between his Mahdi Army and the rival Badr militia of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the country's largest Shiite party and a U.S. partner. Involvement in inter-Shiite fighting has hurt the image of al-Sadr and his Mahdi...

The Surge is Working and Victory is at Hand. Al Queda and their Spokesmen at the DNC have been defeated. This is America’s biggest and most complete victory since WWII. The military has shown itself to be the strongest and smartest force to have walked the planet. The American soldier is now the fiercest fighting force and most creatively flexible army in histoir. President George W Bush deserves all the credit for doing what has never been done in DC which is to listen to his Generals and stand beside them through thick and thin. Since the Surge is now...

As soon as I heard last night that Hillary Clinton had (sort of) stated the obvious truth that the surge is WORKING, I knew the leftwing blogosphere would go into an uproar as a result as you can see in this KOmmie THREAD titled, "HRC sez surge working." The Democrats went way out on the limb by claiming defeat in Iraq was inevitable only to see that defeatist limb sawed off by the success of the surge. Right now Hillary is trying to triangulate her way back to the tree but it seems not to be working this time....

Cracks have appeared in the Democrats' once-unified opposition to the Iraq war, dimming their chances of using the issue to their advantage in the 2008 elections, Republicans say. Four months before the first primaries, Republican leaders say positive reports — including some from Democrats — about President Bush's troop surge are convincing voters that the strategy should be given more time to succeed. Security gains in Iraq not only divided the Democrats, but also put them on the defensive about an issue they thought would help them win back the White House, Republican leaders and party strategists say. "Left-wing activists...

The White House is growing more confident that it can beat back efforts by Congressional Democrats to shift course in Iraq, a significant turnabout from two months ago, when a string of Republican defections had administration officials worried that President Bush's troop buildup was in serious danger on Capitol Hill. Current and former administration officials say they realize that the September battle over the troop buildup will be difficult. But they also say the president's hand is stronger now than it was in early July, when Republican senators like Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico and Richard G. Lugar of...

BAGHDAD - Iraq's beleaguered prime minister accused his American critics on Sunday of underestimating how hard it is to rebuild his country and failing to appreciate his government's achievements "such as stopping the civil and sectarian war." Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said told reporters that some of the criticism from Washington sends "signals to terrorists luring them into thinking that the security situation in the country is not good." He offered no specific examples. He also said U.S. critics may not know "the size of the destruction that Iraq passed through" and do not appreciate "the big role of the...

There comes a time in politics, as in war, when the momentum shifts noticeably. When events reach "a tipping point." The discussion amongst politicians in Washington and media figures in New York about the Iraqi battlefield in the War Against Islamofacism has reached such a point. Again. *** The Times of London, not known for its support of any recent American initiative and certainly not counted as a cheerleader for Western efforts in Iraq, this week published a breathlessly positive report on progress in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. *** The conquest of al Qaeda in Anbar, and make...

President Bush, appearing confident about sustaining support for his Iraq strategy, met at the Pentagon on Friday with the uniformed leaders of the nation’s armed services and then pointedly accused the war’s opponents of politicizing the debate over what to do next. “The stakes in Iraq are too high and the consequences too grave for our security here at home to allow politics to harm the mission of our men and women in uniform,” Mr. Bush said in a statement after his meeting with the chiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines in a briefing room known as...

The season now ending with school bells and the return of Congress was supposed to be the "Iraq Summer." A coalition of antiwar groups promised 10 weeks of phone banks, billboards, petitions and protests targeted at 40 Republican members of Congress who support the war. "It's going to be like laying asphalt in August -- hot," boasted one organizer. By this standard, August has been remarkably mild. It brings to mind a couplet by the poet Richard Wilbur: "What is the opposite of riot? It's lots of people keeping quiet." During their summer vacation, Americans discovered that Gen. David Petraeus...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2007 – Iraqi citizens are steadily rebuilding their lives with help from U.S. provincial reconstruction teams, a team leader said from Mosul, Iraq, yesterday. “Mosul is very well known as sort of a merchant city with a very active retail and wholesale sector,” Jason Hyland told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq’s Ninewah province, about 250 miles north of Baghdad. “I think that the natural drive to do business already exists here.” Hyland’s provincial reconstruction team, or PRT, was the first to be established in Iraq. Each team is tasked with establishing ties...

Immediately following September 11, many liberals reflexively and preemptively accused those on the right of questioning their patriotism, before anyone had even had a chance to do so. For a honeymoon period of about six months, as President Bush’s poll numbers skyrocketed in response to his successful handling of the aftermath of the attacks, most liberals held their tongues. As those poll numbers eroded as a result of difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions on Afghanistan and particularly Iraq, opponents of the President became more vocal in their criticism.  When public opinion turned against the President and the mission in Iraq,...

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The U.S. troop surge in Iraq has thrown al Qaeda off balance and led to a reduction in sectarian violence and bombings, the U.S. commander in Iraq was quoted on Friday by an Australian newspaper as saying. "We say we have achieved progress, and we are obviously going to do everything we can to build on that progress and we believe al Qaeda is off balance at the very least," General David Petraeus told the Australian in an interview after briefing Australia's defense minister, Brendan Nelson, in Baghdad. Petraeus and U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker will testify before...