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Iraq's vice president has asked President Bush for a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq, the Iraqi president's office said. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, made the request during his meeting with Bush on Tuesday, when the U.S. president made a surprise visit to Iraq. "I supported him in this," President Jalal Talabani said in a statement released Wednesday. Al-Hashimi's representatives could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. Bush made it clear during his visit that the U.S. military presence — now at about 132,000 troops — would continue, though he stressed the fate of...

Under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who came to power in 1941, Iran was a close ally of the United States. Since the shah was toppled in the 1979 Iranian revolution, the two countries have been bitter enemies. Following is a chronology of their relations: - April 1951: Mohammed Mossadegh is elected prime minister and nationalizes oil interests. In June 1953, the Eisenhower administration approves a British proposal for a joint Anglo-American operation, code-named Operation Ajax, to overthrow Mossadegh. His toppling becomes a long-standing source of resentment among Iranians toward the U.S. - 1970: Iran signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. -...

By TERENCE HUNT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush said Tuesday that American forces will remain in Iraq for years and it will be up to a future president to decide when to bring them all home. But defying critics and plunging polls, he declared, "I'm optimistic we'll succeed. If not, I'd pull our troops out."

BUSH:IRAQ UP TO THE NEXT GUY (Rocky Mountain News Headline) ---------------------------- Bush: Iraq pullout a choice for a later President (MSNBC HEADLINE for same AP Story by Terrence Hunt) Amid public unease, president suggests U.S. troops will stay through 2008 Updated: 9:59 p.m. ET March 21, 2006 WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday the decision about when to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq will fall to future presidents and Iraqi leaders, suggesting that U.S. involvement will continue at least through 2008. Acknowledging the public’s growing unease with the war — and election-year skittishness among fellow Republicans — the president...

Baghdad -- Om Hussein, wrapped in her black abaya, lists the contents of the family's walk-in storage closet: three 175-pound cases of rice, two 33-pound cases of cooking fat, six cases of canned tomatoes, three crates of assorted legumes, a one-month supply of drinking water, frozen chicken livers in the freezer. And in the garage, jerry cans filled with fuel are piled floor to ceiling. Om Hussein, who was reluctant to give her full name, and her Shiite family are preparing for war. They've stocked up on food. They bought a Kalashnikov rifle and a second car -- so that...

The Secret Service, which put the time of the shooting at 5:50 p.m., said it had notified Sheriff Ramon Salinas III of Kenedy County by 7 p.m. Sheriff Salinas said he had dispatched a deputy, and he later issued a news release suggesting that the officer had been turned away at the ranch... Sheriff Salinas did not return repeated calls, and a reporter seeking to resolve the discrepancies was turned away Wednesday by the sheriff's office in Sarita, which said he was "unavailable." Ms. Armstrong said she knew nothing of any attempted visit by a deputy on Saturday night. Between...

A report commissioned in mid-1999 by Rep. Curt Weldon (R) looks into possible Chinese front companies in the US seeking technology for the Chinese military. Dr. Eileen Preisser and Michael Maloof are commissioned to make the report. Dr. Preisser, who runs the Information Dominance Center at the US Army's Land Information Warfare Activity (LIWA) and will later become closely tied to Able Danger, uses LIWA's data mining capabilities to search unclassified information. According to Maloof, their results show Chinese front companies in the US posing as US corporations that acquire technology from US defense contractors. When the study is completed...

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Saturday that it may be possible to reach an agreement by the end of 2006 on the withdrawal of foreign troops from his country. Speaking to reporters in Rome at the end of a week-long visit to Italy, Talabani said the Iraqis were training their police and soldiers to try to create the conditions for foreign troops to be able to leave. "We are looking forward to the day we can say goodbye to the forces of the coalition," he said. "If things continue as they are I think by the end of 2006...

KIEV, November 10 (RIA Novosti, Taras Burnos) - Ukraine will withdraw most of its military contingent from Iraq, leaving about 50 troops, the country's defense minister said Thursday. "In view of a proposal from the Iraqi government and coalition leaders, a presidential draft resolution is being prepared. If it is passed, in 2006 there will be a limited number of military personnel in Iraq," Anatoliy Hrytsenko said following his visit to Iraq. The remaining Ukrainian troops will stay in the country for six months. Ukraine currently has about 1,000 soldiers posted in Iraq. The authorities previously announced that the...

The indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, on Friday is the result of a 22-month investigation that had its roots in the buildup to the war in Iraq. Here is a listing of the events that led to the five charges being filed against Libby. Feb. 2002: The CIA sends retired diplomat Joseph Wilson to Africa to investigate possible Iraqi purchases of uranium. Wilson reports back that purchase of yellowcake from Niger by Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein was "highly unlikely."

Look at this timetable(*): Prior to 2001 - From various sources, the CIA has intelligence that Iraq made attempts to purchase weapons grade uranium in Africa (not just Niger). October 15, 2001 - The CIA receives a report from a foreign government service that the Iraqi regime had struck a deal with the government of Niger to purchase several tons of partially processed uranium, known as "yellowcake." (This was not the later "source" often referred to as "forged documents".) On October 18, 2001 - The CIA publishes a Senior Executive Intelligence Bulletin that discusses the finding. "According to a foreign...

MISUNDERESTIMATED: 1993, Summer - Mocked for trying to unseat Governor Ann Richards. 1994, Nov. – Defeats Governor Ann Richards to become Governor of Texas. 1998, Nov. – Becomes first Texas Governor to win re-election. 1999, Fall – Mocked for announcing a run for the Presidency. 2000, Winter – The media nominates John McCain for the Republican Party. 2000, Oct. – Mocked by media before three debates with Al Gore. 2000, Oct. – Wins all three debates against Al Gore. 2000, Nov. – Dirty trick unleashed by Gore Campaign and media. 2000, Nov. – Dan Rather calls Florida for Gore one...

Sorry for the long post, but I just want to add my timeline. Let me briefly explain the purpose of this. I tried to focus only on a couple of narrow issues. In particular, the now widely-accepted “truth” that the Federal response was “slow” and that people at the Convention Center and Superdome were somehow ignored or abandoned. In fact, as the timeline shows, those at the Superdome were actually well-fed (I say this as one who has eaten many MRE’s in his life.) They also began evacuating within two days of the hurricane, despite the added complication of the...

FEMA Pilot: Rescue Began Just Hours After Flood Helicopters from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were conducting rescue operations in New Orleans less than a day after breaks in local levees began flooding the city. But the lightning-quick fly-out mission had to be abandoned that same night because local marauders were shooting at the FEMA choppers. "We first got in on Tuesday night," a FEMA pilot, who identified himself only as "Randy," told Fox News Radio's Tony Snow this morning. The 17th Street levee had begun to give way late in the evening Monday. Well into Tuesday, city officials were...

It occurs to me that we need a Katrina timeline in spreadsheet form to track who said/did what when. As I visualize it, it would have the first column with the date and subsequent column headings of something like White House, Nagin, Blanco, LA Nat Guard, US Nat Guard, FEMA and so on. I think this would be useful in pointing out to everyone what actions were taken when and by whose authority. Perhaps even quote the LA disaster plan at the head of the chart to point it out to anyone who is not aware of it. Unfortunately, I've...

Even so, he said relief crews delivered seven trailers filled with water and ready-to-eat meals to the Superdome before the storm hit on Aug. 29, along with another seven trailers on Aug. 30. you can click if you want to read the rest of the drivel...

This site has photos of the Army Response. This photo and caption on the bottom right (last photo). National Guard multi-purpose utility truck brings supplies to the Super Dome in downtown New Orleans, La., on Aug 31, 2005. Tens of thousands of displaced citizens sought shelter at the dome, before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, but have been forced to evacuate as floodwaters continue to rise throughout the area. Department of Defense photo.

MSM smear job FEMA positioned rescue crews and communication before the storm. Brown had the coast guard put into the proper positions and they responded immediately. The media keeps talking about how Brown delayed in asking for 1,000 fema employees. Those employees were for helping with housing, schooling, they wouldn't have been needed until after the evacuation. Blanco refused to open up local shelters and barricks and they blame fema for moving people out of state. Blanco refused to drop food and fema gets the blame. The MSM has gone into hysteria for their rat friends. MSM talking about incompetence...

The near total evacuation of the major American port city of New Orleans, Louisiana was accomplished between Tuesday afternoon, August 30 and Friday afternoon, September 2, 2005. This evacuation occurred while other search, rescue, relief and evacuation operations were simultaneously being conducted throughout the Gulf Coast between approximately Lafayette, Louisiana, on the west and the Florida panhandle on the east -– an area of about 90,000 sq. miles, or the size of the entire nation of Great Britain. I'd say this amazing achievement is the opposite of slow. I'd say that it's a stunning accomplishment and one that demonstrates superb...

DoD's response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina began even before the storm made landfall, Defense leaders said during a news conference today. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Katrina destroyed "untold dreams," but the military will help the region get back together. National Guardsmen from more than 40 states and active-duty personnel have converged on Louisiana and Mississippi since the catastrophe, just over a week ago. "The greatest disaster-recovery effort in America's history is well under way," Rumsfeld said. The secretary had just returned from a trip to the area to view the effort. He said he saw...