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Here is the full interview of Sen. John McCain with reporter John King from Iraq on March 17, 2008, where McCain was visiting as a part of a Congressional Delegation. McCain talks about the remarkable progress of the "Surge" Strategy, and why it is vitally important for the United States to press on to victory in Iraq. . .

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2008 – The United States must continue operations in Iraq until the job is done, Vice President Richard B. Cheney said today in Baghdad. “I think given the enormous effort that's been made and the sacrifices that have been made -- both in terms of lives and national treasure -- to succeeding in Iraq, it's very, very important that we succeed,” he said, “(and) that we not quit before the job is done. “We need to remember that our objective here is victory and that we need to be prepared to do whatever it takes in...

BAGHDAD — Sen. John McCain stressed the importance of a U.S. commitment to Iraq during talks with Iraq's prime minister Monday, and explosions struck Baghdad during twin visits by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and Vice President Dick Cheney. Helicopter gunships circled over central Baghdad and the heavily fortified Green Zone, but no details were immediately available on the cause of the explosions. McCain, who has linked his political future to U.S. military success in Iraq, met Monday with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shortly before the Iraqi leader began separate talks with Cheney. Al-Maliki said he and the vice president...

via translation - BAGHDAD - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney arrived Monday for a surprise visit to Iraq to emphasize improvements in the security situation on the ground and to promote political progress on the eve of the 5th anniversary of the outbreak of war in Iraq, has been a correspondent for the AFP. Cheney was to meet with the head of American troops in Iraq, Major General David Petraeus, and the American ambassador, Ryan Crocker, as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Iraqi officials. The visit was not announced and surrounded by security conditions exceptional happens while Mr....

Hillary Clinton's White House campaign lashed out Sunday after a report said rival Barack Obama was preparing a "full assault" on her after unloading some embarrassments to his own campaign.The feuding over the report in the Democrat's hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune, came as Republican nominee-elect John McCain polished his national security credentials on a surprise trip to Iraq."It is disappointing that a campaign that began by promising a politics of hope has come to this, that it is signalling and revelling in attacks on Senator Clinton's character," her communications director Howard Wolfson said."This is not the campaign they promised...

BAGHDAD (AP) - Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said. Details of McCain's visit, which had been anticipated, were not being released for security reasons, the U.S. Embassy said. It was unclear who he met with; no media opportunities or news conferences were planned. McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, is believed to be staying in the country for about 24 hours. "Senator...

BAGHDAD — Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said. Details of McCain’s visit, which had been anticipated, were not being released for security reasons, the U.S. Embassy said. It was unclear who he met with; no media opportunities or news conferences were planned. McCain, a strong supporter of the U.S. military mission in Iraq, is believed to be staying in the country for about 24 hours. “Senator McCain...

BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. officials say Sen. John McCain has arrived in Baghdad for an unannounced visit.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2008 – The fight in Afghanistan is important for the future of the Afghan people, the NATO countries involved in the fight, the United States, and the rest of the world, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today during a visit to Afghanistan. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaks with a U.S. Army soldier at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 7, 2008. Photo by Lt. Cmdr. Steven Parks, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Rice spoke to NATO troops at Kandahar Airfield with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. She thanked the troops for helping turn Afghanistan...

Excerpt - KABUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband arrived in Kabul on Thursday for an unannounced visit to Afghanistan. ~ snip ~

Spec. Mario Campa gets a crushing hug from his stepdaughter Cheyenne Tripp after surprising her by walking into her fourth-grade class at North Elementary School. Campa's surprise visit came shortly after arriving home on a two-week vacation from his service tour in Iraq. . HOLTS SUMMIT, Missouri. -- The North School classroom was full of electricity. After all, they were talking about electric conductors and insulators, when fourth grader Cheyenne Tripp saw the man in military uniform step through the door. She bolted out of her chair and cried “Poppy!” as she ran to and hugged her stepfather -...

I know Bush has visited Iraq at least twice. When was it that he surprised the troops at a dinner and walked on stage. Whom ever introduced him asked for a senior member of the administration to deliver the message and President Bush walked on stage. I thought it was a great moment and have been looking for it on You Tube. Thanks

Schumer Spends New Year's Eve With Troops in Iraq NEW YORK (AP) ― New Year's Eve saw New York's senior senator, Democrat Charles Schumer, a long way from his usual stomping grounds in Washington and his home turf of Brooklyn: visiting U.S. soldiers in Iraq. In his first visit to Iraq, Schumer said he spent Monday with troops hailing from every corner of New York state -- from Buffalo to Albany, and from the five boroughs of New York City to Long Island. His intent, he said, was to make sure they knew how much their service was appreciated. "I...

<p>In a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said France might increase its troop presence in the country to help defeat the Taliban-led insurgency.</p> <p>“There is a war going on here — a war against terrorism, against fanaticism, that we cannot and will not lose,” he told reporters who accompanied him on the trip.</p>

AUSTRALIA will contribute a further $110 million to rebuilding Afghanistan and is in the country for the long haul, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said. Mr Rudd made an unannounced visit to the strife-torn country, visiting Australian troops serving in the southern province of Oruzgan before flying into Kabul for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander, US General Dan McNeill. Mr Rudd announced more funding for rebuilding the country - taking the total to about $270 million - and urged NATO countries to pledge more troops for the battle against a resurgent Taliban....

via translation - Unannounced visit of President french Nicolas Sarkozy in Kabul The french president Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Kabul for a five-hour visit to Afghanistan. He will meet french soldiers deployed in Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai. The presidential aircraft landed at Kabul international airport at around 10:00 local (06h30 Swiss). The head of state is accompanied by french Defence Minister Herve Morin and the Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade. The former minister Jean-Francois Poncet and the philosopher Andre Glucksman is also the journey. Bernard Kouchner, arrived from India, the president was waiting at the airport...

KIRKUK, Iraq — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit Tuesday to the city that Iraq's Kurds call their Jerusalem, an oil-rich territory claimed by many where the United States says it sees new signs of cooperation and progress. Rice was seeing members of a civilian-military reconstruction unit based in Kirkuk and meeting provincial politicians of all stripes. She was seeing Iraq's central leadership later in Baghdad. Such reconstruction units were expanded along with the escalation of U.S. forces President Bush ordered this year. Sunni Arabs ended a yearlong political boycott earlier this month in Kirkuk — the...

Excerpt - MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Wednesday to assess the progress that has been made in recent months since the buildup of U.S. forces began to take hold and reduce violence in some parts of the country. Making his sixth trip to the battlefront in a year, Gates planned to talk to Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, and also meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. ~ snip ~

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...