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As the congressional session lurches toward a close, Democrats are confronting some demoralizing arithmetic on Iraq. The numbers tell a story of political and substantive paralysis more starkly than most members are willing to acknowledge publicly, or perhaps even to themselves. Since taking the majority, they have forced 40 votes on bills limiting President Bush’s war policy. Only one of those has passed both chambers, even though both are run by Democrats. That one was vetoed by Bush. Indeed, the only war legislation enacted during this Congress has been to give the president exactly what he wants, and exactly what...

AGHDAD -- Rocket and mortar attacks in Iraq have decreased to their lowest levels in more than 21 months, the U.S. military said Monday. Last month saw 369 "indirect fire" attacks _ the lowest number since February 2006. October's total was half of what it was in the same month a year ago. And it marked the third month in a row of sharply reduced insurgent activity, the military said. The U.S. command issued the tallies a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said suicide attacks and other bombings in Baghdad also have dropped dramatically, calling it an end...

Tripoli, 7 Nov. (AKI) - A former leader of an armed Islamic group in Libya, Numan Bin Uthman, has written a letter to al-Qaeda second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri telling him that Jihadi groups in Arab countries have failed. "Dear Doctor Ayman, as I told you during a meeting in Kandahar [in Afghanistan] in 2000, the experience of the Jihadi groups in Arab countries is failed and despite our appeals, the armed groups are divided and will not unite," he said in the letter, a copy of which was published in the London based pan-Arab daily al-Hayat. The letter by...

BAGHDAD - Police found the bodies of six victims of sectarian violence dumped in three Iraqi cities Friday. There were no reported shootings or bombings, and it was only the second day this year that the sectarian death toll fell below 10, according to an Associated Press count.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERELEASE No. 20071103-04November 3, 2007Tip leads Iraqi National Police to cacheMulti-National Division – BaghdadFORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq – Based off a tip from a concerned citizen, officers with the 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi National Police Division recovered a cache in the courtyard and surrounding areas of the al Mustafa mosque in the Mualameen neighborhood of eastern Baghdad Nov. 1.  The cache included two explosively-formed penetrators, eight rocket-propelled grenades, three rocket-propelled grenade launchers, seven rocket-propelled grenade motors, three rockets, 14 mortars, one sniper rifle with a scope and a 10-round magazine. A spool of wire, body...

FORT HOOD – They are brothers – twins actually. Same rank. Same company. Same deployment. Same future assignment. It was a "blessing" that Staff Sgts. Baron and Braulio Fulp both ended up in the 89th Military Police Brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Baron said soon after they returned Thursday from a 15-month deployment to Iraq. More than 100 soldiers of the brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Company returned to Fort Hood on Thursday. They were joined by about 15 from the 13th Sustainment Command's 4th Sustainment Brigade. Soldiers from the military police brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 720th Military Police Battalion...

The Longest Morning By Jeff Emanuel Published 11/1/2007 12:08:23 AM This article is the cover story of The American Spectator's new, November 2007 issue. To subscribe to our monthly print edition, click here. Samarra, Iraq THE DAY OF AUGUST 26, 2007, began like any other for the soldiers of Charlie Company, 2-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment (from the 82nd Airborne Division) -- with a mission in the city. Over a year into its deployment to Samarra, Iraq, and now working on the three-month extension announced by Secretary of Defense Gates in the spring, the company knew the city like the back...

BAGHDAD — The monthly toll of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq is on track to being the lowest in nearly two years, with at least 34 troop deaths recorded as of Tuesday, but the military cautioned it's too early to declare a long-term trend. Iraqi civilians, meanwhile, faced more attacks on Tuesday. At least four mortar rounds slammed into a village near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, killing a woman and wounding five other civilians, police said. In Baghdad, gunmen in a speeding car tossed a hand grenade into a crowd of shoppers in eastern Baghdad, killing...

Hunting al Qaeda, I of III Witches Sink, Insurgents Float Writing these words from downtown Baqubah at a place called Combat Outpost White Castle, I am surrounded by soldiers from Alpha Company 1-12 Cav who are preparing for combat. Tomorrow, [15 July] they will clear a dangerous palm grove that abuts the Diyala River, a place where just last night approximately 7 suspected enemy were killed by American forces. Among the dead apparently were several members of Tonto’s family. But before tomorrow’s mission, there is today’s mission, which includes linking up with 1920 Revolution Brigades [1920s] to swap information. Open...

A few months ago, the national media coverage of the war in Iraq was downright depressing for military families and their supporters. News media coverage of Iraq was showcasing acts of violence on a nightly basis. Television commentators solemnly assured us that Iraq was a hopeless cause and was already consumed by a full-blown civil war. Anti-military protesters were waging constant protests here on the home front, throwing red paint at veterans' memorials and military recruitment centers. But now things are changing in a big way.

Iraq Warns Against Early U.S. Withdrawal   Jul 20 08:59 PM US/Eastern By NAHAL TOOSI Associated Press Writer       UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Iraq's deputy prime minister on Friday defended his government's progress in establishing security and ending political infighting, and warned that an early U.S. troop pullout would be disastrous for his country. Barham Salih told a U.N. forum that the time had come to "define more clearly" the status of U.S.-led troops in Iraq, though he emphasized that Iraqi forces needed more time to take over security on their own. Salih spoke during a U.N....

June 29, 2007, 5:00 a.m. Soldier's Voices Listen to what the armed forces have to say about Iraq. By Buzz Patterson Operation Arrowhead Ripper, as the latest American offensive is called, has successfully swept into al Qaeda-infested Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province northeast of Baghdad, killing and capturing hundreds of terrorists. The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan time and time again have resulted in significant, but often untold military successes. Realities on the ground often go unnoticed or under-appreciated. The American soldier has often lacked a voice to articulate his mission and his successes amidst the cacophony of defeat...

Muslim Americans upset over new 9/11-related film By Jonathan Jones, STAFF WRITER FREMONT — At the United Muslim American symposium in Newark, Muslim-American leaders discussed the rhetoric regarding Iran, the war in Iraq, and the image of the United States in Islamic countries. But some also expressed concern that "United 93," a new film about the last moments of the last hijacked plane to crash on Sept. 11, 2001, could stir up anti-Islamic sentiments. Safaa Ibrahim, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, took her staff of four women wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim head scarves, to...