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As recently as a month ago, it appeared that Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker would be running into a withering fusillade of rhetorical fire when they appeared on Capitol Hill to report on the progress of the "surge" in Iraq. Now that their testimony is upon us, the political environment has become, in military argot, considerably more "permissive." A sign of how much things have changed: In July, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was pressing for a "date certain" for troop withdrawal; he derided those who wanted to pass a nonbinding drawdown resolution "that has no teeth...

Washington - The world will watch Monday when Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivers a long progress report to Congress. He will appear with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, at a morning hearing on the status of the war and political developments in Iraq. On Thursday, as a warm-up act, the same House lawmakers who will hear from them enlisted the views of retired military experts. The result: a war of words between two former Army generals. One was Gen. Jack Keane, a top architect of the "surge" in U.S. combat forces in Iraq,...

This is one of the updates I promised you all now that I am home and safe and sound. A couple of notes: First of all, I will comment less on news stories or specific statistics, and more on processes and impressions as someone who was there. I do this because the other information is all out there to be had, and the one thing I can enlighten with is my perspective. Second, there are many things which I wish to tell you, and which would greatly enhance your understanding, and likely your support, of the war in Iraq, but...

After leaving a ceremony to reopen the Al Aflaph Elementary School in Salhiyah, Capt. Joseph Guzowski, left, the commander of Troop A, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and Staff Sgt. Justin Miller, stop to play a game of foosball with some of the local children. Photo by Spc. Robert Yde, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — One of the biggest changes that Capt. Joseph Guzowski has seen since his last deployment here three years ago is the dramatic transformation of the relationships between Coalition forces and the local...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – Iraqi security forces in Ninewah province are in the lead and taking the fight to the enemy, the U.S. Army commander in the area said from his headquarters near Mosul, Iraq, today. (Video) Army Col. Stephen Twitty, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, said the 2nd and 3rd Iraqi army divisions are in the lead and taking the fight to terrorists in the province. There are roughly seven to nine attacks per day in the province, which contains Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city. The people of the province are showing they support...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2007 – Iraq’s air force has added unprecedented personnel and aircraft in recent months and undertaken crucial missions, the commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said today in Baghdad. “Six months ago, there was no air force academy for the Iraqi air force, there was no technical training school, there was no basic training school for enlisted people,” Air Force Brig Gen. Bob Allardice told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq. “But in the last six months, we've graduated and commissioned second lieutenants in their air force.” Dozens of basic Iraqi...

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 6, 2007 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Marine veterans here last night that he believes Iraq’s leaders know what it will take for their government to succeed. “It was clear to me that those leaders fully grasped the need for reconciliation,” Marine Gen. Peter Pace told 4th Marine Division Association members here for their 60th reunion. Pace shared with the World War II veterans his impressions of President Bush’s Sept. 3 meeting at Iraq’s Al Asad Air Base with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Tariq al...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2007 – Coalition forces killed six terrorists and detained 25 suspected terrorists during operations targeting al Qaeda in Iraq's operational networks in the Tigris River Valley and Kirkuk today. Coalition forces conducted two raids in and around Tarmiyah targeting senior members of al Qaeda’s network in the northern belts around Baghdad. During one raid, three armed men drew their weapons when the ground forces approached them. Coalition forces engaged the three armed men, killing them. As the ground forces continued to secure the area, they observed two men, one who was carrying a rifle, maneuvering into position...

Washington - Violence in Iraq is down – unless it isn't. The surge of US troops into Baghdad has eliminated havens for outlaws – or not. The Iraqi government has sent three brigades to help curb Baghdad violence – depending on the definition of "brigade." As Washington enters a crucial period of debate about the Iraq war, Democrats in Congress and the Bush administration appear to differ on basic facts and numbers about the situation there, as well as on what policies to pursue. Democrats are seizing upon a new report by the Government Accountability Office to illustrate what they...

With Katie Couric in Iraq, the CBS Evening News on Wednesday allowed viewers to hear directly from U.S. soldiers who regretted how people back home don't hear more about “the good things soldiers do for the Iraqis” and warned that a pullout by the U.S. would lead to “mayhem.” Couric asked a small group of soldiers: “What would you like people to know that you don't think they're hearing back home?”Army Sergeant Jamie Wall answered: “The good things that happen out here, the good things that soldiers do for the Iraqis and how the Iraqis react to us.” Sergeant Brady...

Given our success with the counterinsurgency operations and the stakes involved in the outcome of the war in Iraq, President Bush and other Republicans have a window to restate their case for the importance of Iraq in the War on Terror. They should seize the opportunity before war opponents have another chance to discourage the war effort. Let's agree to disagree right now on whether we should have attacked Iraq in the first place. Let Democrats savor the prospect of using that issue for the 2008 elections -- if things turn back around for them and against our progress in...

WASHINGTON - Iraq's security forces will be unable to take control of the country in the next 18 months, and Baghdad's national police force is so rife with corruption it should be scrapped entirely, according to a new independent assessment. The study, led by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, is a sweeping and detailed look at Iraq's security forces that will factor heavily into Congress' upcoming debate on the war. Republicans see success by the Iraqi forces as critical to bringing U.S. troops home, while an increasing number of Democrats say the U.S. should stop training and equipping such...

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2007 – In Afghanistan’s “strategic province” of Khowst, enhanced cooperation between coalition and Afghan forces, increased funding from Congress, and improved governance are “mutually reinforcing each other,” the commander of the Khowst Provincial Reconstruction Team said today. Khowst, home to some 1 million Afghans, is strategic due to its long political and military history, Navy Cmdr. Kevin Adams told reporters during a briefing at the Pentagon. The province, located roughly 100 miles southeast of the Afghan capital of Kabul, shares an eastern border with Pakistan and holds former links to al Qaeda. In 1998, then-President Clinton bombed...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2007 – The surge of U.S. forces has contributed to a marked decrease in sectarian attacks and other violence across Iraq, while a bevy of programs is breathing life into the country’s battered infrastructure and economy, U.S. officials told reporters today. “Together with our Iraqi partners, we are making progress in securing the people of Iraq,” coalition spokesman Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters in Baghdad. “In the coming months, coalition and Iraqi forces will keep the pressure on the enemy, while also supporting important economic and reconstruction efforts in areas where we have already secured...

One week before Gen. David Petraeus is expected to give his report on U.S. progress in Iraq, CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric says she has already seen dramatic improvements in the country. "We hear so much about things going bad, but real progress has been made there in terms of security and stability," Couric said Tuesday. "I mean, obviously, infrastructure problems abound, but Sunnis and U.S. forces are working together. They banded together because they had a common enemy: al Qaeda." Couric traveled to the city of Fallujah in Anbar province, which U.S. forces entered in April 2003 and...

By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer Tue Sep 4, 4:47 AM ET PATROL BASE MURRAY, Iraq - From this base in insurgent country south of Baghdad, there are no doubts that the U.S. decision to pour 30,000 additional troops into the fight has had an effect. ADVERTISEMENT Before the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade arrived in mid-June, the area around Patrol Base Murray was known as the Triangle of Death — a safe haven for al-Qaida in Iraq to ambush Shiites, launch mortar and rocket attacks into the Green Zone and rig car bombs, suicide vests and other weapons for...

President Bush's decision to go to Anbar province, at the front of the Battle of Iraq, represents a bold stroke in advance of the war for the war that is about to open in Congress. This will commence today, when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hears testimony from the head of the Government Accounting Office on a report that will be released on the progress in the Battle. That hearing will be followed next week by the testimony from General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. If the Democrats keep their promises, a series of votes will then be called to...

WASHINGTON - Baghdad has not met 11 of its 18 political and security goals, according to a new independent report on Iraq that challenges President Bush's assessment on the war, The Associated Press has learned. The study, conducted by the Government Accountability Office, was slightly more upbeat than initially planned. After receiving substantial pushback from the White House, the GAO determined that four benchmarks — instead of two — had been partially met. But GAO stuck with its original contention that only three goals out of the 18 had been achieved. The goals met include establishing joint security stations in...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – President Bush said here today that if reported successes continue in Iraq it will eventually be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer troops. Flanked by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the president spoke to reporters for a few minutes following meetings with top military and political leaders in the country. He stopped short of stating when troop sizes could be drawn down in the region. “General (David H.) Petraeus and Ambassador (Ryan C.) Crocker tell me if the kind of success...