Free Republic

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates appealed Monday for calm amid intense administration debate over the flagging war in Afghanistan, asking for time and privacy for the president to come to a decision — an apparent message to the commanding U.S. general there who has pressed publicly for more American troops. Gates' careful remarks appeared to stand as an implicit rebuke of the man he helped install as the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for his lobbying as President Barack Obama faced a critical week of decision over whether to escalate the Afghan war. In two separate appearances...

PRIME Minister John Howard said today the Federal Government had no plan to start withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq by February or within any other specific time frame. The Sunday Telegraph today quoted an anonymous senior military source as saying that such a plan was in place in the event the war in Iraq worsens for US-led forces. The rumoured plan would reportedly be announced before the federal election later this year to ambush Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, who has committed to pulling out Australian troops from Iraq if Labor wins government. Mr Howard gave a stern reply to reporters...

MIDI - COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (when pop-up appears, just hit cancel) Stretch Pelosi, once more, by the GOP's outmaneuvered She was starting to scream...oh, my goodness, is her face louvered? She thought she'd been getting her way...they were bashing George Bush every day From a cloakroom I thought that I heard the voice of DeLay Man, we really did hose 'er...that liberal slime and al Qaeda dupe Man, we really did hose 'er...word will go forth in support of our troops San Francisco is where her constituents love their Nancy Where a man sees a man and...