Iraq official says US troops could leave by 2010
July 21, 2008
Associated Press
- Iraq’s government spokesman is hopeful that U.S. combat forces could be out of the country by 2010.
Ali al-Dabbagh made the comments following a meeting in Baghdad on Monday between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day.
The timeframe is similar to Obama’s proposal to pull back combat troops within 16 months. The Iraqi government has been trying to clarify its position on a possible troop withdrawal since al-Maliki was quoted in a German magazine last week saying he supported Obama’s timetable.
The Iraqi government later said the prime minister’s remarks were misinterpreted.
Senate OKs promotions of Iraq generals
July 10, 2008
ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press
- Notwithstanding months of partisan wrangling in Congress over the Iraq war, the Senate Thursday handily confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the top commander in the Middle East and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno to replace Petraeus as the chief military officer in Iraq.
The Senate voted 95-2 in favor of Petraeus with Democratic Sens. Robert Byrd and Tom Harkin opposing. Harkin, D-Iowa, cast the lone vote opposing Odierno, who was confirmed 96-1.
The Senate action will keep the nation on its present course in Iraq for the remainder of the year. It also will hand the next administration a pair of combat-tested commanders who have relentlessly defended the need to keep troops in Iraq in large numbers, rather than wind down combat operations.
Despite their firm backing of the politically unpopular war, Petraeus and Odierno drew little criticism from congressional Democrats who typically reserve their sharpest critiques for Bush and his political appointees.
“This continuity in U.S. military leadership will be helpful in working with regional and Iraqi political and military leaders,” said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he opposed Petraeus in part because the general should see through operations in Iraq.
With security gains being described as fragile, “it does not seem prudent to remove the mastermind behind the fragile successes that have been thus far achieved,” said Byrd, D-W.Va.
Harkin spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said the senator believes that “Petraeus has been an unapologetic supporter of this misguided war in Iraq, continually toeing the administration’s party line” while Odierno is guilty of “serious flaws in judgment.”
Odierno has “refused to characterize the insurgency that began after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime as anything that was serious and worthy of a shift in U.S. strategy,” Mullin said in a statement.
Last year, Petraeus helped to tame growing opposition to the Iraq war in Congress by providing measured assessments of progress and warning that an exodus of U.S. troops would result in chaos. In the meantime, he advocated a buildup of some 30,000 troops in Baghdad and other hotspots, which eventually proved vital in tamping down violence.
Odierno, as Petraeus’ deputy commander in Iraq, is credited with successfully managing the new strategy.
In their new jobs, Odierno will receive a fourth star and report to Petraeus, whose area of responsibility will broaden to include such countries as Iran and Pakistan.
Petraeus would replace Navy Adm. William J. Fallon as chief of U.S. Central Command. Fallon resigned last month following news reports that he was at odds with the White House over Iran policy.
By mid-July, the Pentagon is on track to withdraw the last of the additional combat brigades sent as part of the build-up, leaving behind roughly 142,000 troops. During his nomination hearing in May, Petraeus told Congress that he is likely to recommend more troop reductions this fall.
Powell Praises Obama, Fears Afghanistan Growing ‘More Difficult’ Than Iraq
April 9, 2008
ED O’KEEFE, ABC News
Retired Gen. Colin Powell insists he hasn’t yet decided who he’ll back in the 2008 presidential election.
“I’m looking at all three candidates,” Powell said in an exclusive interview with Diane Sawyer for Thursday’s “Good Morning America” on ABC, “I know them all very, very well. I consider myself a friend of each and every one of them. And I have not decided who I will vote for yet.”
Powell, who served as President Bush’s first Secretary of State, is a Republican but that apparently is not enough to sway him toward Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the GOP’s presumptive nominee.
AP Rough Cuts: Candidates Grill Petraeus (Video)
April 9, 2008
Five Years After Start of Iraq War, Black Enlistment in the Army, Marines Down by Half
March 23, 2008
Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com
In the five years since the United States launched the Iraq war with a predawn strike on Baghdad on March 20, 2003, black enlistment in the armed services has dropped significantly, according to Department of Defense statistics. That decrease impacts the military and the black community, both observers and veterans say.
“There has been a 50 percent drop in recent years in the number of blacks enlisting in the Army and Marines,” said retired Navy Commander Gregory Black, founder of the website BlackMilitaryWorld.com.
Recent Comments