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US generals see hope for troop reductions in Iraq
The American military commanders in Iraq offered a cautiously optimistic picture of the situation there on Thursday, seeing the possibility of troop reductions this fall and no need for the United States to take extra security steps for provincial elections a half-year from now.
“I do believe that there will be certain assets that, as we are already looking at the picture right now, we’ll be able to recommend can be either redeployed or not deployed to the theater in the fall,” Gen. David H. Petraeus told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
And Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who will soon succeed General Petraeus as commander in Iraq, said he did not foresee a need for extra troops to guard against violence around the time of the Iraqi elections.
But the generals’ favorable predictions were tempered by General Petraeus’s acknowledgment that Iraqi security forces will probably not be able to take the lead role in all provinces of the country this year, as the Pentagon had predicted earlier. He also said that the provincial elections may be held in November rather than October because of the recent violence in Basra. The American military commanders in Iraq offered a cautiously optimistic picture of the situation there on Thursday, seeing the possib... more -
The real 'Mission Accomplished'
Chevron Corp. and other international oil companies are negotiating with the Iraq Ministry of Oil to begin tapping into some of the country's largest oil fields
Iraq has the world's third-largest oil reserves with an estimated 115 billion barrels, and it also sits on an estimated 112 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. It could produce up to 50 million cubic feet a day as a first stage. That could be increased to 500 million cubic feet a day, which could be pumped through Syria to consumers in Europe.
Plans are underway to issue initial tenders to develop "super giant" oil fields in the second quarter where 115 oil companies filed their registration documentations for qualification. Chevron Corp. and other international oil companies are negotiating with the Iraq Ministry of Oil to begin tapping into some of the co... more -
McCain's Four-Star General Election
...the wounded veteran and a decorated warrior design the winning strategy.
These are salad days for John McCain, touring world capitals with his buddies Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, meeting foreign leaders and returning to Washington with his nomination secure and polls confirming that he is well positioned to challenge either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
In the public mind, McCain is closely bound to Bush's most consequential gamble, because he has been a consistent supporter of the decision to invade Iraq, and because he has been perhaps the most outspoken defender of the troop surge
But as much as McCain is linked to Bush on Iraq, he is even more closely tied to Gen. David Petraeus, the commander who devised and executed the counterinsurgency strategy
Following his eighth Iraq visit, Sen. John McCain declared that "we are succeeding" and said he wouldn't change course — even as the U.S. death toll rose to 4,000 and the war entered its sixth year. To underscore his view of the stakes in Iraq, the certain Republican presidential nominee twice referenced a recent audio tape from Osama bin Laden in which the al-Qaida leader urged followers to join the al-Qaida fight in Iraq and called the country "the greatest opportunity and the biggest task." ...the wounded veteran and a decorated warrior design the winning strategy. ... more -
Live video from the Petraeus hearings
Leave it open on your desktop! Fascinating! I can't believe this has been the object of such fascination and anticipation for weeks. I don't think it will really mark a turning point for anything. Leave it open on your desktop! Fascinating! I can't believe this has been the object of such fascination and anticipation for wee... more
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Top General: Decrease Troops in Iraq
Marine General Peter Pace is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which means he is the country's highest ranking military officer. Pace has announced that he will be stepping down at the end of next month, and on his way out, apparently, he's going to tell President Bush that he thinks the number of U.S. troops in Iraq should be cut by about half. Pace, the Joint Chiefs, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates all feel that having so many troops in Iraq inhibits the country's ability to respond to other threats. The Joint Chiefs privately expressed concerns about the buildup before supporting the plan publicly.
But the White House and the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army General David Petraeus say it's necessary to maintain the buildup levels until further political gains can be made by the Iraqi government.
Although Pace is not filing a formal report and will be expressing his views to the President privately, his opinion will certainly add to the pressure on the administration for things like John Warner's proposal to start bringing troops at the end of the year. Marine General Peter Pace is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which means he is the country's highest ranking military ... more
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David Petraeus
