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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The troops "surge" in Iraq is improving the security situation in the country, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Congress on Monday. He said U.S. forces could be reduced to pre-surge levels by next summer. Before Petraeus began to testify, the head of the House Armed Services Committee challenged Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker to convince him that the war effort in Iraq is worth continuing. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, told Petraeus and Crocker that he was particularly curious whether reconciliation among warring Iraqi sects is imminent. "I hope, General Petraeus and Ambassador...

The nation will receive a long-awaited Pentagon report on the war in Iraq today - the day before the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Even though the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission said there was no credible connection between the terrorist attacks and former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the anniversary of the attacks and the debate about what to do next in Iraq are once again blurring together in the media blender. While Congress and the nation hear today from Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, television viewers in four states will see an anti-war ad...

WASHINGTON - Gen. David Petraeus went before Congress on Monday to deliver his long-awaited assessment of Iraq, greeted by Democrats who praised him while sharply criticizing the war he commands. The four-star general sat a few feet away as Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., described him as "almost certainly the right man for the job in Iraq." But, he added, "he's the right person three years too late and 250,000 troops short." Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., hailed Petraeus and a second witness, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, as "two of our nation's most capable public servants." And yet, he quickly said, "military progress...

Mr. Chairman, Thank you for the opportunity to address Congress this week. I have considered it a privilege and an honor to serve in Iraq at a time when so much is at stake for our country and the people of the region – and when so many Americans of the highest caliber in our military and civilian services are doing the same. I know that a heavy responsibility weighs on my shoulders to provide the country with my best, most honest assessment of the situation in Iraq and the implications for the United States. Americans, in this chamber and...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, told the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees today that the surge in Iraq is showing progress, and that he believes troop reductions to pre-surge levels could begin by summer 2008 without jeopardizing gains made. Petraeus joined U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker during the first of two days of hearings on the status of the war and political developments in Iraq. The general told committee members that he recommended a drawdown of surge forces in Iraq to President Bush and defense...

WASHINGTON - Gen. David Petraeus faced lawmakers Monday with glittering stars and the weight of an unpopular war on his shoulders. Much as Gen. William Westmoreland defended another divisive conflict with a steely-jawed optimism four decades ago, the Iraq war commander sat stoicly before his questioners. The first moments weren't without a discordant note indicative of the divisiveness in the air over Iraq war policy. "Tell the truth, general," shouted protesters as the four-star general made his way into the crowded hearing room. Petraeus did not respond, either to them or to the sole heckler who interrupted the session in...

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Gen. Petraeus' report to Congress

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007 – A secure, stable, democratic Iraq at peace with its neighbors is attainable with “substantial U.S. resolve and commitment,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker told the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees today. “It is possible for the United States to see its goals realized in Iraq, and that Iraqis are capable of tackling and addressing the problems confronting them today,” he said. Presenting what he called a “sober assessment,” Crocker joined Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, during the first of two days of hearings on the...

BAQUBAH — 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 recently gathered at the Baqubah Government Center 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. The meeting, hosted by Ra’ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tamimi, Diyala’s governor, allowed the...

The Inquirer: To scan the media, one might think people were starting to believe less and less in the "war on terror." When you hear that, what goes through your mind? Robert D. Kaplan: What goes through my mind is how little our public knows about what the American military does abroad. In Iraq, in general, there isn't enough media coverage about what our troops are actually doing in tactical operations centers, in increasing bonding operations with the Iraqi people and security forces. There's altogether too much media emphasis on the tales told by those either fighting or back home...

WASHINGTON - When Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker give their progress report on Iraq to Congress Monday, much will be said about US military gains since President Bush announced the "surge" of 30,000 additional troops in January. But the main question for US policymakers in judging the surge strategy remains a political one: Did Iraqis use the period of intensified American action to make political gains, especially to further the reconciliation goals for ending sectarian violence? With even General Petraeus saying in a letter to his troops that in this political objective the surge "has not worked out...

CBS) With President Bush's top military and diplomatic advisers on Iraq due to deliver a major progress report on the president's "surge" strategy, a new CBS News/New York Times poll finds that an increasing number of Americans believe the troop buildup in Iraq is having a positive impact. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus are expected to warn Congress on Monday that making any significant changes to the current war strategy will jeopardize the limited security and political progress made so far. Later in the week, Mr. Bush plans a national address. The poll finds 35 percent say...

FOUR months ago the scene would have been unthinkable. Captain Henry Moltz of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment led a small group of men up the deserted street to a single-storey municipal building of mellow ochre brick that had been cracked by mortar blasts during months of ruinous fighting with Sunni insurgents. At the entrance he was greeted with a kiss by Sheikh Sabah al-Janabi, a leading member of the tribe that had spearheaded many of the pitiless Sunni attacks on American forces in and around the little town of Jurf as Sakhr, 25 miles south of Baghdad. As Moltz,...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday his government had made progress on all fronts and urged neighboring countries to work together to stop what he called "evil" from destabilizing the region. Maliki was speaking a day before top U.S. officials in Iraq deliver a long-awaited assessment to the Democrat-controlled Congress on President George W. Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra soldiers to Iraq. The reports by the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker could influence any decision Bush takes on troop numbers amid demands from Democrats and some Republicans...

The Tide Is Turning in Iraq The tribal movement against al Qaeda in Anbar province has spread to other parts of the country. BY KIMBERLY KAGAN Sunday, September 9, 2007 12:01 a.m. The initial concept of the "surge" strategy in Iraq was to secure Baghdad and its immediate environs, which is why its proper name was the "Baghdad Security Plan." But as President Bush pointed out during his surprise trip to Iraq, operations and events on the ground are already showing successes well beyond Baghdad in Anbar, Diyala and Salahaddin provinces--formerly al Qaeda strongholds and hotbeds of the Sunni insurgency....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces have reduced violence and driven al Qaeda out of strongholds in Iraq’s Anbar province, President Bush said today during his first radio address since his surprise visit there earlier this week to visit troops and assess progress. “Success in Anbar is critical to the democratic future of Iraq and to the war on terror,” Bush said, as he described the significance of the province that spans nearly a third of the country and until recently served as al Qaeda’s main headquarters for operations throughout Iraq. The president commended the local...

U.S. officials say the battle to clean up Iraq's government has suffered a "serious blow" with the resignation of the nation's top corruption fighter. The former watchdog, Judge Radhi Al Radhi, tells NBC News that Iraq's current government, headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is riddled with so much corruption that the U.S. must stop supporting it. Rahdi is now in the United States, and his departure from the Iraqi government comes just as the U.S. prepares for a key report from Gen. David Petraeus about the military "surge" in Iraq. Until last week, Rahdi headed the Iraqi government department...

You can clearly tell exactly when upstate Democratic Congressman Mike Arcuri became frustrated. Just back from a 23-hour whirlwind tour of Iraq, the freshman congressman recounts a story of his meeting with Salam al-Zuwba’i, deputy prime minister of Iraq. Arcuri asked al-Zawba’i to tell him exactly how he should convince his constituents that American troops should stay in Iraq. “The problem was, he didn’t answer the question,” said Arcuri, noting that al-Zawba’i instead spoke of the numerous other issues and the sectarian strife that faces his country. “My concern there is that if he doesn’t know why we need to...

BAGHDAD - A small Sunni Arab bloc ended its parliamentary boycott Saturday, returning to the legislature as it considers key benchmark legislation demanded by Washington amid increasing pressure to end the political deadlock. The return of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue ends the last boycott of parliament, which had contributed to the political paralysis. Elsewhere, the U.S. military said it had brought a new weapon into the fight in Iraq, announcing the Army's first-ever use of a drone aircraft to kill enemy fighters in the country. The Hunter unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, dropped a precision bomb on two...