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Like wine turned to vinegar, the “good war” in Afghanistan has gone bad, creating a political minefield through which candidates will need to navigate carefully. Not long ago, the war in Afghanistan, unlike its companion in Iraq, enjoyed wide public support, enabling Democrats to demonstrate toughness in response to terrorism. For reasons substantive and political, many complained that President George W. Bush, and the press, ignored the more important conflict there to focus on an unnecessary war in Iraq. In the “be careful what you wish for” category, as American involvement in Iraq has begun to wind down, the war...

Even as US military commanders seek a troop increase in Afghanistan to check a resurgent Taliban, US voter support is fast eroding. A CNN poll in September showed that 58% of Americans oppose the war while only 39% support it... Obama initially called the war in Afghanistan one of necessity, and proposed a big US troop increase. But with voter support slipping, Obama now says he will not rush the decision. Democratic Congressmen say in private that US withdrawal is a matter of time... ...do not be surprised if the coming year witnesses contacts between the US and Taliban to...

"I’ve got to own up to my mistake. Ultimately, it's important for this administration to send a message that there aren't two sets of rules — you know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes," Obama said on NBC’s "Nightly News with Brian Williams." "I'm frustrated with myself, with our team. ... I'm here on television saying I screwed up," Obama said on NBC. He repeated virtually the same words in interviews with other TV anchors. Worried about 'a distraction' Daschle said in a brief letter to Obama that he refused to...

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, June 30, 2009 – In accordance with Article 5 of the security agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, Iraqi security forces now have full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages. Army Capt. Rich Turvey, commander of 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, signs over Joint Security Station Salaam to Iraqi army 1st Lt. Jassim Abbas at a transfer ceremony near Numaniyah, Iraq, June 20, 2009. In accordance with the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, Iraqi security forces took full ownership of security in their cities, towns and villages on June 30, 2009. U.S....

Today marks the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi urban areas, the result of a deadline contained in the Status of Forces Agreement (SoFA) that the Bush administration negotiated and the Obama administration embraced. It is a milestone on the road to Iraqi sovereignty and a useful moment, I think, to consider three widespread -- and to some extent inter-related -- arguments that were made about Iraq in recent years.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. troops pulled out of Baghdad on Monday, triggering jubilation among Iraqis hopeful that foreign military occupation is ending six years after the invasion to depose Saddam Hussein. Iraqi soldiers paraded through the streets in their American-made vehicles draped with Iraqi flags and flowers, chanting, dancing and calling the pullout a "victory." One drove a motorcycle with party streamers on it; another, a Humvee with a garland of plastic roses on the grill. U.S. combat troops must pull out of Iraq's urban centers by midnight on Tuesday under a bilateral security pact that also requires all troops...

I just received this email via my church choir’s prayer chain. It gives you some perspective on the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. “I try not to talk about everything that’s going on here cause its really hard,even to think about, and as of the 1st of July it’s only going to get worse. The government is pulling all combat troops out of the major cities surrounding us, leaving us “unprotected.” The rocket and motar attacks are getting more frequent, just last night we took small arms fire with insurgants trying to get on base. I’m not telling you this to...

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2009 – Everything is on track for the withdrawal of American troops from the cities of Iraq, Iraqi and coalition officials said this week. Iraqi security forces are set to assume responsibility for the areas, Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said at a June 15 news conference. “The step of withdrawal of American forces from the city will be a main step in this effort,” he said. “And the Iraqi government is committed to receive all the security responsibility and protect security, protect its citizens and all foreigners who are working and living in Iraq.” The security forces...

As the U.S. military continues its slow withdrawal from Iraq, the Iraqi people face a decision that might force those efforts into overdrive. A referendum scheduled for July 30 would give Iraqis the chance to vote for or against the Iraqi-U.S. security agreement that calls for all American troops to leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. If the referendum goes ahead as scheduled and Iraqi voters reject the agreement — a likely outcome, observers say — the United States would be obliged to pull out troops one year after the vote, or nearly 1½ years before the deadline set by...

The United States is in the early stages of a concerted effort to salvage the war in Afghanistan. A new commander has been charged with executing a fresh strategy, the number of U.S. military personnel committed to the fight is set to nearly double, air strikes by unmanned drones have expanded in frequency and scope, the training of Afghan security forces has been accelerated, and the way has been paved for a possible peace deal with the Taliban. Recently, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen declared that the U.S. has two years to turn the deteriorating...

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraq's government Monday ruled out allowing U.S. combat troops to remain in Iraqi cities after the June 30 deadline for their withdrawal, despite concern that Iraqi forces cannot cope with the security challenge following a resurgence of bombings in recent weeks. Asking U.S. forces to stay in the cities, including volatile Mosul in the north, would be embarrassing for Iraq's prime minister, who has staked his political future on claims that the country has turned the corner in the war against Sunni and Shiite extremists. The departure of heavily armed combat troops from bases inside the cities...

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2009 – The U.S. is on track to meet the terms of a timeline of withdrawal from Iraq, the top American commander in Iraq said today. Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said he believes the U.S. is prepared to fulfill a deal requiring U.S. forces to leave major Iraqi cities by June 30 and all combat troops to depart the country by the end of 2011. “We continue to work with the government of Iraq so they can meet that timeline so that they are able to maintain stability after...

BAGHDAD — Six years after the U.S. overthrew Saddam Hussein's government, tens of thousands of Iraqis gathered in the rain in Iraq's capital Thursday to mark the anniversary and renew calls for an American withdrawal. The demonstrators came in response to calls by Muqtada al Sadr, the influential Shiite cleric who's long decried the U.S. military's occupation, but there were also Sunni Muslims in the crowd. Draped in Iraqi flags and chanting, protesters packed Baghdad's Firdous Square, where six years ago a crowd cheered the destruction of a statue of Saddam. "No, no to America," demonstrators repeated Thursday. "No, no...

Fears of record hedge fund withdrawals By James Mackintosh in London Published: March 23 2009 23:32 | Last updated: March 23 2009 23:32 Hedge fund investors believe the industry will see even bigger withdrawals this year than last, when record levels of cash were pulled from the sector. A survey of investors by Deutsche Bank found a third expect more than $200bn to be withdrawn, after a net $155bn was taken out last year, according to calculations by Chicago consultancy Hedge Fund Research. Only a quarter of investors expect net inflows into the industry, and 82 per cent of the...

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2009 – Military leaders in Iraq have begun working toward achieving President Barack Obama’s goal of a complete troop withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2010, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said during a briefing from Iraq yesterday. “Between now and September … we’ll be reducing by two brigade combat teams here on the ground in Iraq,” Army Maj. Gen. David Perkins, the command’s director for strategic effects, said. “We’ll also be reducing the number of various enablers.” Enablers are the units that make it possible for the brigade combat teams to carry out their missions,...

Now that President Obama and his aides have announced their plan for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq by August 31, 2010, they must consider what the forces engaged against the Coalition and Iraqi Government plan to do in this time. For the Iranian and Syrian regimes, as well as al Qaeda and other Jihadist groups, can affect the U.S. withdrawal plan. Per senior U.S. officials, the Iraq war will unilaterally come to an end on August 31, 2010 unless dramatic developments force another strategy. As President Bush declared “mission accomplished” after the removal of Saddam in 2003, President Obama has now...

Here is video of President Barack Obama today announcing his plan to withdraw all combat mission U.S. Troops from Iraq by August of 2010. He made the announcement in a speech before U.S. Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Obama's plan will leave 50,000 U.S. Troops in Iraq after the August 2010 deadline, but they will not be classified as "combat" troops. He said he wanted all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. But Obama left wiggle room to alter these plans based on what happens in Iraq between now and then. Obama clearly wanted to leave...

The fix is in as AP covers for Obama: Bam-bam's plan for a 16-month withdrawal is being worked by the Pentagon. They fail to discuss the moving baseline of Bam-bam's words - but do take the time to mention that it accelerates W's plan ... the one negotiated with the Iraqis. I get a whiff of cut and run.

After our visit to Iraq this month, it is clear that what was once unthinkable there is now taking place: A stable, safe and free Iraq is emerging. Violence has fallen to the lowest level since the first months of the war. The Sunni Arabs who once formed the core of the insurgency are today among our most steadfast allies in the fight against al-Qaeda. A status-of-forces agreement between Iraq and America will take effect next month, providing for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and a commensurate increase in Iraqi self-defense. And Iraqi politics is increasingly taking on the messy...

Full text of the final, ratified Status Of Forces Agreement between the United States and Iraq.

Today, Obama, in an attempt to burnish his foreign policy credentials, held a conference on foreign policy issues. In his speech he stressed the need for "a new direction" and "multilateralism". McCain, on the other hand, wants to continue in the same direction and to continue with the present multilateralism without rejecting unilteralism when necessary. Bush chose unilateralism when the international community was resisting joint action in the path Bush had decided upon. Bush didn't want to have the international community determine what was in America's best interest. He wanted to act independently when necessary. To favour multilateralism is to...

CNN) — Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden is cancelling his campaign events for Saturday and Sunday as his mother-in-law battles a serious illness. The Senator from Delaware's campaign spokesman, David Wade, put out a statement saying "the campaign has cancelled Sen. Biden's schedule today and tomorrow because of a serious illness in Jill Biden's family. Hospice has advised the Bidens to remain close by, and we appreciate everyone's respect for the family's privacy." Biden was scheduled to speak in Washington D.C. and then attend a fund-raiser in the nation's capitol Saturday night. Sunday he was expected to campaign in...

There is nothing wrong with setting broad goals for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. The U.S. wants to leave as soon as this is feasible, and Iraqis have long wanted us to leave. At least since 2004, Iraq’s Kurds have been the only group in Iraq that showed a consistent desire for the U.S. to stay. It also is impossible to be certain that the risks of early withdrawal will really be greater from the risks of staying. It is at least possible that acting on early timelines will force Iraqis to move towards political accommodation, to take hard decisions,...

At the "make-or-break" stage of talks with the U.S. on the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has swept aside his negotiating team and replaced it with three of his closest aides, a reshuffle that some Iraqi officials warn risks sabotaging the agreement. The decision on the team negotiating the pact, which the Americans have described as the basis of a long-term strategic alliance between the United States and Iraq, remains so sensitive that it has not been announced. In disclosing the switch to the Los Angeles Times this weekend, a senior Iraqi official close to...

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Prime Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday that an agreement had been reached in negotiations on a security pact with the United States to end any foreign military presence in Iraq by the end of 2011. "There is an agreement actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date which is the end of 2011 to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil," Maliki said in a speech to tribal leaders in the Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. "Yes, there is major progress on the issue of the negotiations on the security deal,"...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2008 – Unofficial reports indicate that Russian troops began to withdraw from the Georgian town of Gori last evening, a senior Defense Department spokesman said here today. “We’re going to have to see whether or not that is the beginning of a true withdrawal,” Bryan Whitman said, or “some sort of token effort.” Meanwhile, deliveries of U.S. humanitarian supplies to Georgia continue, Whitman said. About 264 tons of supplies have been air-delivered to Georgia so far, he said. Whitman also told reporters that Russian troops in Georgia took some U.S. military Humvee vehicles. He said he didn’t...

GORI, Georgia (Reuters) - Russia announced to the West it would begin withdrawing forces from Georgia on Monday after a war that dealt a humiliating blow to the Black Sea state and raised fears for energy supplies to Europe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had told him by telephone that forces would begin leaving around midday on Monday. Sarkozy, representing the European Union, said failure to pull out under a ceasefire deal would have "serious consequences" for ties with the EU. Sunday saw no evidence of fighting, but Russian troops continued to man...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2008 – A cease-fire agreement signed today by the president of the former Soviet republic of Georgia calls for Russian troops to immediately leave his country, America’s senior diplomat said in the Georgian capital today. “And now, with the signature of the Georgian president on this cease-fire accord, all Russian troops and any irregular and paramilitary forces that entered with them must leave immediately,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a news conference in Tbilisi with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili at her side. President Bush dispatched Rice to Europe to assist in resolving a now...

Obama and the democrats told us the Iraq war wasn't working and wouldn't work because of intransigence by the Iraqi government. Even when the surge worked, Obama said it didn't matter because the Iraqi government failed to meet political and economic benchmarks needed for national unity and to end the (nonexistent) civil war.Now Obama goes to Iraq and supports the supposed withdrawal position of the Iraqi government. Am I the only who sees the incredible inconsistency here? According to Obama the Iraqi goverenment couldn't deliver, it couldn't be trusted when it reported progress, its military moves were destined for failure.But...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s vocal support for Barack Obama’s 16-month withdrawal timetable goes to show how distorted the Iraq drawdown argument has become in light of the election narrative. Of course a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq becomes less preposterous as security increases in that country — because during that transition the idea of timetables stops being purely artificial and becomes more reality-based. To think otherwise is a logical absurdity, and that’s what the popular state of this discussion has become. As a war draws to a close, individual soldiers don’t start calling travel agents and packing bags...

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki supports US presidential candidate Barack Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Iraq within 16 months. When asked in and interview with SPIEGEL when he thinks US troops should leave Iraq, Maliki responded "as soon as possible, as far as we are concerned." He then continued: "US presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes." Maliki was careful to back away from outright support for Obama. "Of course, this is by no means an election endorsement. Who they...

What if someone gave a war & Nobody came? Life would ring the bells of Ecstasy and Forever be Itself again. -- from"Graffiti," poem by Allen Ginsberg [1972]. Maybe so. But what of the converse? What if someone sued for peace but the enemy didn't go along? That was General David Petraeus's observation today on the Obama withdrawal plan, in a line that could well become my favorite of the year. Petraeus made his comment in the course of an interview with Andrea Mitchell, in Baghdad. A clip of the interview was aired on this evening's Hardball, with Mike Barnicle...

US election: Barack Obama wobbles on withdrawing Iraq troops By Tim Shipman in Washington Last Updated: 12:20AM BST 04/07/2008 Senator Barack Obama has rushed to clarify his position on the Iraq War after he appeared to wobble on a commitment to withdraw US ground troops within 16 months, a central plank of his candidacy. Barack Obama speaks on his Iraq policy during a news conference in Fargo, North Dakota The Democratic presidential nominee used a press conference to say that the timetable was not set in stone and that he would adjust his plans based on conditions on the ground...

Below is the survey question at Senator Ben Cardin's website. If you are a Maryland Freeper, I invite you to visit the website - http://cardin.senate.gov/ - and participate in the survey. If you are not a Maryland Freeper, vist anyway.

Hedge Funds Make It Hard To Say Goodbye Thursday April 10, 2:58 am ET By Gregory Zuckerman If you thought getting into a hedge fund was tough, try getting out of one. With the markets sputtering, some high-profile hedge funds are rejecting withdrawal requests, with some telling investors that it could be years before they will see all their cash again. And it isn't just big institutions and the wealthy that are getting rebuffed. Some smaller investors who took advantage of lower minimum investments by putting their cash into so-called funds of funds, which invest in numerous hedge funds, are...

...With all-too-rare exceptions, our politicians, right or left, really don't give a damn about our troops... they really only value our troops as tools of partisan policies or for photo ops. Between the incumbent president and his would-be replacements, only one has served in uniform or had a son or daughter serve in uniform?... We've seen President Bush dressed up in a flight suit, grinning like Alfred E. Neuman among troops who desperately want to believe in their commander-in-chief. We've seen Sen. Hillary Clinton do drive-bys in Iraq- just long enough to make political statements, pose with the troops, then...

How badly would an American pullout affect Iraq?  According to the nation’s foreign minister, all of the security gains would evaporate and bring the country back to the brink of civil war.  Hoshyar Zebari spoke to the Associated Press to make sure Americans know exactly what is at stake: Iraq’s foreign minister said Tuesday that he believes his country has averted a civil war after five years of “tears and blood,” and warned that an abrupt U.S. troop withdrawal would be disastrous.Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told The Associated Press that mistakes had been made by all sides but Iraq has...

The Los Angeles Times editorial board not only contradicts its previous editorials on Iraq, today's editorial contradicts itself. After pushing for withdrawal from Iraq on the basis that the US and Iraqis had made no real political progress, today they argue that we should withdraw because political progress has undeniably begun. And in conclusion, they wind up arguing for exactly the opposite: It has taken nine bloody and difficult months, but the deployment of 30,000 additional U.S. troops appears at last to have brought not just a lull in the sectarian fighting in Iraq, but the first tangible steps toward...

UNCOMMITTED 2008. Fred Thompson should not drop out. He should, instead, campaign for an Open Convention, allowing every voter a choice. America’s Primary System needs to be challenged. Since Fred Thompson’s address to his supporters early Saturday evening, his campaign has been silent, a silence becoming louder by the hour. Precious time on the ground in Florida is being wasted as Senator Thompson ponders his next step. The pressure and crocodile tears from competitors follows his sharing of a weak third place with Mitt Romney in South Carolina. The networks have already removed him from their lists, though it was...

BAGHDAD (AP) — Attacks against British and Iraqi forces have plunged by 90 percent in southern Iraq since London withdrew its troops from the main city of Basra, the commander of British forces there said. The presence of British forces in downtown Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, was the single largest instigator of violence, Maj. Gen. Graham Binns told reporters Thursday on a visit to Baghdad's Green Zone. "We thought, 'If 90 percent of the violence is directed at us, what would happen if we stepped back?'" Binns said. Britain's 5,000 troops moved out of a former Saddam Hussein palace at...

President Bush has endorsed General David Petraeus's recommendation to begin withdrawing 30,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer. Yet the drawdown would only restore troop levels to where they were before the surge began in January 2007. In the final months of 2006, debate in Washington centered on how fast a reduction from pre-surge levels could occur. The Iraq Study Group recommended that approximately half of the 130,000 troops then in Iraq be withdrawn by early 2008. In marked contrast to that and similar proposals, President Bush is now endorsing a step that would mean a return to the...

...might it be just plausible then, that - at least some of these legislators and their allies - in their heart of hearts and their private moments regard the "...brave American service men and women" fighting in Iraq in terms similar to those expressed by the progressive-liberal-Democratic-leaning journalist Seymour Hersh, when he commented that - "If Americans knew the full extent of U.S. criminal conduct, they would receive returning Iraqi veterans as they did Vietnam veterans..."

During the 1961 Berlin Crisis, when the Free World and the Soviet Empire teetered on the nuclear tightrope of mutual annihilation, President Kennedy explained why Berliners’ freedom mattered to Americans: “The solemn vow which each of us gave to West Berlin in time of peace will not be broken in time of danger. If we do not meet our commitment to Berlin, where will we later stand? “Today, the endangered frontier of freedom runs through divided Berlin.” For this latest generation of Americans entrusted with defending freedom in an hour of maximum danger, and compelled to do so during an...

"This is John Smith, reporting live from the beaches of Normandy, where Allied troops have launched a massive invasion aiming to defeat the Axis." "John, this is Bob Brown back in the studio. Can you tell us when General Eisenhower thinks the first Allied troops can start to come home?" "What the . . ?" OK, the surge isn't D-Day. But surely an important part of what we are looking for in General Petraeus's report today is his assessment of the prospects for success in Iraq, right? Wrong -- if by "we" you include CNN. According to it's 9 A.M....

Investors withdraw $55bn from hedge funds By James Quinn,Wall Street Correspondent Last Updated: 12:30am BST 05/09/2007 Hedge funds suffered their worst month of redemptions in seven years in July after some $55bn (£27.4bn) was withdrawn by jittery investors concerned by lowered returns amid the global credit crunch. The sector, until recently seen as one of the most invincible within the financial community, took a heavy battering as investors redeemed funds when the markets began to fall. advertisement In total, withdrawals for all hedge funds totalled $55bn in July, based on data from the TrimTabs and BarclayHedge reports, with inflows in...

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said that after reviewing a draft of the Government Accountability Office report — which has not yet been made public — policy officials "made some factual corrections" and "offered some suggestions on a few of the actual grades" assigned by the GAO. We have provided the GAO with information which we believe will lead them to conclude that a few of the benchmark grades should be upgraded from `not met' to `met,'" Morrell said. He declined to elaborate or to spell out which of the benchmark grades the Pentagon was disputing. A bar was set...

Last Updated: Monday, 27 August 2007, 11:10 GMT 12:10 UK France ready to apologise to Iraq Mr Kouchner said there was strong support for Mr Maliki to quit French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has offered to apologise to Iraq if he had meddled in its affairs. The statement comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Maliki demanded an official apology because Mr Kouchner had suggested he resign. Meanwhile President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a clear timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq. He was making what was described as his first major foreign policy speech since...

No matter how or why you think we got into Iraq, the point now is, we have troops in Iraq. We have a responsibility to them. We owe it to them to make decisions with their best interests in mind, no matter what we might like to do if we had a magic wand. While many have made a profession of wringing their hands over the non-essential points surrounding the topic of Iraq, only three choices exist. I’ll lay them out for you in no uncertain terms, so that even the lamest leftist numbskull can understand. Then you can pick...

Those who think the United States can withdraw from Iraq with no risk to our troops aren't living in the real world. On a playground someone who doesn't want to play any more can use his hands to make the letter "T", call "time out" and say he wants to go home. Iraq isn't a playground. It's a combat zone and withdrawing from a combat zone is difficult to do without getting killed. The first to leave might get out safely, but the last ones would have little hope. General Douglas MacArthur was able to withdraw only a portion of...

And it is under the weight of the aforementioned circumstances that the currant administration, or any that follow, will have to fight and prevail in wars very similar to that now being waged in Iraq. They may be able to do many things worse or better than the ways in which they are being done now, or have been done in the recent past, but, it is unlikely that they will be able - or willing - to change the culture sufficiently - and/or quickly - enough for our nation and its liberties to survive the currant conflict with the...