Free Republic

EXCLUSIVE: The Army’s top officer told Fox News Tuesday it’s “frustrating” to watch the gains he helped achieve in Iraq disintegrate at the hands of the Islamic State, saying in an exit interview that the chaos now unfolding “might have been prevented” had the U.S. stayed more engaged. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno, weeks away from retirement after 39 years in uniform, spent more time in Iraq than any other U.S. Army general -- more than four years, the last two as top commander. He is widely viewed as a key architect of the Iraq surge. In an...

FORT RILEY, Kan, Feb. 5, 2007 — Iraqi Army Chief of Staff General Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari visited Fort Riley training areas Jan. 26 to observe transition team training, meet with post leaders and conduct a press conference for local and national reporters. "We hope and we envision that by March '08, the vast majority of the American troops will be able to leave the country and be withdrawn, save for some bases - American bases outside the city limits - which can be used and relied upon when need be," Gen. Babaker Shawkat B. Zebari Zebari, who was selected...

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Major General Gabi Ashkenazi is awaiting final confirmation as Israel's new army chief of staff after his predecessor quit over the handling of last summer's war in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office announced the appointment of the 52-year-old Ashkenazi, currently director general of the defence ministry, late on Monday night. "After consultations between the prime minister and Defence Minister Amir Peretz, it was decided that... General Gabi Ashkenazi be named the 19th chief of staff of the Israeli army," the premier's office said in a statement. The nomination must be confirmed by the cabinet and...

Ousted Army Chief Blasts Bush Iraq Policy Tue Sep 2, 4:49 PM ET By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer WASHINGTON - Thomas E. White, forced to resign as Army secretary in May, has fired back in a book that describes the Bush administration's postwar effort in Iraq (news - web sites) as "anemic" and "totally inadequate." The book, which presents a blueprint for revitalizing Iraq, asserts that the administration underestimated the difficulty of putting that country back on its feet after the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). "Clearly the view that the war to `liberate' Iraq would...