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WASHINGTON, July 2, 2010 – One year after U.S. forces withdrew from Iraqi cities, the chief of staff for the 3rd Infantry Division and Task Force Marne said yesterday that Iraqi security forces have proven themselves capable of conducting independent operations. During a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable, Army Col. Thomas S. James said that in his estimation, Iraqi security forces are well prepared for the withdrawal of the final U.S. combat troops and the completion of the U.S. transition from combat to stability operations on Sept. 1. “What we have seen across the board in the five Iraqi army divisions...

Reuters) - The Justice Department will "vigorously defend" the new healthcare reform law against any lawsuits brought, a spokesman for the department said, after 14 state attorneys general filed challenges to the overhaul signed into law by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's counterterrorism adviser says he's not aware of any credible terrorist threats against the Super Bowl. John Brennan says officials are "very comfortable" with the security measures in place for Sunday night's game in Miami between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. Fans aren't going to be allowed to bring large bags into the Super Bowl stadium. Also, there will be 100 magnetometers—like those in use at airports—to detect metal objects.

WASHINGTON – In one of the economy's darkest hours in decades, it looks as if people are taking Barack Obama up on his exhortations for hope and change. Seven in 10, or 72 percent, voice confidence the president-elect will make the changes needed to revive the stalling economy, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll released Tuesday. Underscoring how widely the public is counting on its new leader, 44 percent of Republicans joined nearly all Democrats and most independents in expressing that belief. The poll shows trust in Obama's ability to succeed is even broader, at least for now. Sixty-eight percent...

Barack Obama has vowed that he will "change the world" ...the supremely confident demeanour and exalted rhetoric...in pursuit of a landslide victory...We all love you Obama"...was devoted to the kind of quasi-religious sentiments...was described as "preternaturally confident"...both Democrats and Republicans in New Hampshire appear convinced that Mr Obama will win. "We feel we're on the brink of a whole new life in this country,"...A lone McCain supporter at the rally said she too was convinced that the Republican nominee was finished. "McCain has lost," ..."He's lost because the Messiah has spoken and we're going to change the world.

After Sen. Barack Obama’s third major primary loss and endless media coverage dedicated to dissecting the apparent weaknesses of his candidacy, one of the most striking elements of his campaign this week was what’s missing: any hint of internal upheaval. At Obama headquarters in Chicago, hundreds of miles removed from the Beltway bubble, advisers held steadfast in their adherence to The Plan, a blueprint devised 15 months ago by the same inner circle that runs the campaign today, supported by the candidate and carried out by a tight-knit staff. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s operation could not be more dissimilar. Her...

DES MOINES, Iowa - If Bill Clinton is worried that his wife will lose tonight's Iowa caucuses, he's not showing it. The former U.S. president, who has been crisscrossing Iowa on campaign stops for Hillary Clinton, made an impromptu java stop visit Thursday morning at the local Starbucks on Locust Street in downtown Des Moines. He was immediately surrounded by reporters from a handful of media outlets, including CanWest News Service, who were also getting their morning caffeine fix. The former president dismissed the suggestion it was a mistake for Hillary Clinton to contest the Iowa caucuses, where she has...

WASHINGTON - The public has little faith the government is adequately screening visitors to the country or could cope with an outbreak of an infectious disease, according to an AP-Ipsos poll. Only one in five surveyed said the government is doing enough to scrutinize people crossing the border into the U.S., the poll found. Just two in five expressed confidence the government is ready for an epidemic. The poll was taken while the Senate debated an immigration bill, supported by President Bush, that ultimately collapsed. The questioning also coincided with widespread news coverage of the government's clumsy efforts to track...

WASHINGTON - Better the devil they know than the Democrats. Critical to the Republican base, conservatives expressed confidence Friday that their rank-and-file will vote Nov. 7 even though the GOP-controlled Congress hasn't delivered this year on their core issues. "We're disgusted somewhat with some of the Republicans, but we'd be in a whole lot worse shape with the Democrats," said the Rev. Don Wildmon of Tupelo, Miss., chairman of the conservative American Family Association. "So, if you can't get the whole loaf, take a half a loaf." Together, fiscal and social conservatives make up a significant segment of the GOP...

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2006 – Iranian support for insurgents in Iraq has become a major factor in a "quite complex" security environment, the commander of ground forces in Iraq told Pentagon reporters today. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, pointed to Iranian support for Shiia insurgents as a problem in what he said has become a constantly changing security environment. The environment hasn't necessarily worsened, but has increased in complexity since Iraq's December elections and the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra in February, he said. "We are quite confident that the Iranians, through...

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2006 – Americans should rest assured there will be a victorious outcome to the war on terror, President Bush said today during his weekly radio address. "I have confidence in the outcome of this struggle because I know the character of the people who wear our nation's uniform," he said. America has already taken great strides toward a successful outcome, Bush said. "Since Sept. 11, 2001, the men and women of our military have overthrown a cruel regime in Afghanistan, captured or killed many al Qaeda terrorists, liberated Iraq, and made America more secure from terrorist dangers."...

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's hardline leadership branded the United States a "decaying power," brushing off Washington's call for strong UN Security Council action to stop the Islamic regime's controversial nuclear drive. The tough rhetoric came after the regime also dismissed a personal appeal from UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei to freeze uranium enrichment and calm suspicions it is seeking the atomic bomb. "The enemy should know Iran is not comparable to any country in the world. Now we are much more powerful than before," senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Janati told worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran. "The United States...

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2006 – Iraqi politicians need to move forward, choose senior parliamentary leaders, and form a permanent government, America's top diplomat said in Baghdad today. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw talk to reporters during a press conference in Baghdad April 3. Defense Department photo   "The Iraqi people are rightly demanding that they have a government after they braved the threats of terrorists to go to the polls and vote," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw accompanied Rice, who arrived in Iraq yesterday. The...

Iran 'confident and ready to hit back at US' By Alec Russell in Washington and Anton La Guardia (Filed: 03/02/2006) Iran's clerical regime is supremely confident, has a firm grip on power and is ready to retaliate against attacks by America or Israel with missiles or by activating terrorist allies, according to the latest US intelligence assessment. In his first public address on the threats facing the US, John Negroponte, its national intelligence director, delivered an implied rebuke to those in Washington hoping the West can engineer regime change in Teheran. John Negroponte: 'Concern' But as the International Atomic Energy...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Jan. 19, 2006) -- Twenty-five-year-old Iraqi Army 1st Lt. Hussin, who’s been a soldier for five years, smiled at the thought of a promising future for Iraq and the hopes of defeating terrorists which plague his country. When asked if he thinks whether the country will divide or remain together he responded, “Together, but not just Iraq…all of the world.” Despite the presence of insurgents throughout the country, Iraqi soldiers are hopeful their training will help rebuild a peaceful Iraq. With assistance from coalition forces the growing Iraqi Army continues to recruit and train men. The army...

Governor Daniels says cost-cutting steps will have Indiana poised to eliminate a $600 million deficit by June. During his Wednesday night State of the State Address, Daniels said, "The first steps of any race are critical. Our first steps have been fast ones." Governor Daniels' first year in office brought dramatic change and this year is shaping up to be the same. As expected, Daniels sought support for his plan to raise money for highway construction by selling or leasing the Indiana Toll Road. “If big private firms are willing to offer Indiana a very large sum of money today,...

SELLAFIELD (Reuters) - The nuclear power industry is quietly confident that the world is about to beat a path to its door in an increasingly desperate search for "clean" energy that doesn't heat up the planet. Soaring oil prices and new data on global warming -- brought into sharp focus by devastating hurricanes in the United States -- have heated up the nuclear debate and outraged the environmental lobby, which says nuclear power is not the answer. China plans to invest some $50 billion to build around 30 new nuclear reactors by 2020, there are investment incentives in the United...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2005 – Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers started his last day on the job today reflecting on the war on terror that's dominated his term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and affirming his belief that the United States "will be successful in Iraq." Myers, who retires today as the top military officer and with four decades of service, said during CBS's "The Early Show" that he's always been "very realistic" about the situation in Iraq and has never viewed it through rose-colored glasses. "It's a huge undertaking," he said, noting that the coalition...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s father expressed confidence that his son would win this year's presidential election, even with a weak economy. "American elections are decided on the economy," the one-term former president told NBC television, adding that he believes the economy is strong this year and will be stronger by the November 2 election. "But even without that, I think the country is looking for a strong leader, and it's got one, and they're going to want (him) to serve more," said Bush, who went to war with Iraq (news - web sites)...

Striking an upbeat tone on the prospects of hunting down the head of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Mr Mueller insisted "we are safer today than we were on September 11". He acknowledged that scouring territories along the Afghanistan (news - web sites)-Pakistan frontier for Mr bin Laden had sometimes been like "looking for a needle in a haystack", but, speaking at a lunch hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, he said: "I am confident we will find him." Mr Mueller added he was also confident of finding Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor seen as al-Qaeda's second in command. In election...

Bomb blast at Baghdad police station shows US opponents more confident By Justin Huggler and Seb Walker in Baghdad 03 September 2003 In an ominous sign of the American occupation's inability to stop the spate of bombings in Iraq, a car bomb went off yesterday in the Iraqi police's headquarters near American soldiers guarding a building next door. At least 15 people were injured in the bombing, and there were unconfirmed reports that one Iraqi police officer was killed. The car packed with explosives would have to have passed right under heavily sandbagged American positions on the wall of the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 — Five days after the power failure that blacked out all or part of eight states and two Canadian provinces, President Bush said today that Congressional Republicans had assured him that a conference committee would begin work within 20 days on a final package of energy legislation. Speaking near his vacation ranch in Crawford, Tex., Mr. Bush told reporters that he spoke by telephone Monday night with two crucial Republican lawmakers on energy issues — Sen. Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico and Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana — and that they had assured him they could...

Excerpts from President George W. Bush's prime-time news conference Fri Mar 7, 4:56 AM ET By The Associated PressWASHINGTON - Excerpts from President George W. Bush (news - web sites)'s prime-time news conference Thursday evening. __ "These are not the actions of a regime that is disarming. These are the actions of a regime engaged in a willful charade. These are the actions of a regime that systematically and deliberately is defying the world." __ "Inspection teams do not need more time or more personnel. All they need is what they have never received — the full cooperation of the...

<p>CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, declaring that Saddam Hussein has not disarmed and does not intend to, said Saturday the United States will submit a new resolution to the U.N. Security Council early this week to set the stage for war against Iraq.</p>