Iraq exit strategy will be expensive

One of the many large U.S. military bases in Iraq, Forward Operating Base Remagen is seen in a photo relased by the U.S. military in March 2006.

Measured in blood, the price tag in Iraq is absolute: 4,238 Americans have died during America’s six-year war. For Iraqis, the toll is far greater. Icasualties.org, which tracks body counts reported by the media, notes nearly 45,000 civilians have been killed since Iraq’s Shiite-led government was formed in April 2005; another Web site puts the tally since 2003 close to 100,000.

Yet as the Pentagon prepares its exit strategy in line with President Barack Obama’s announced plans to end the war by 2012, a wholly different calculus is emerging. With the end of combat rhetorically on the horizon, the cost of leaving is now measured in financial, logistical and, above all, political terms.

Obama told Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., that while the United States would leave Iraq “sovereign, stable and self-reliant,” the price of staying had become too great. “What we will not do is let the pursuit of the perfect stand in the way of achievable goals,” the president said. “We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars.”        Breaking News

U.S. raids in afghanistan a tactical success, but a strategical failure

U.S. soldiers search villages and farms in the area of Baraki Barak in Logar province.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE ALTIMUR, Afghanistan – The U.S. soldiers entered the sleeping village in Logar province in the dead of night on Feb. 20, sure of their target and heavily armed. They surrounded a mud-walled compound, shouting commands, and then kicked down the gate as cries of protest erupted within.

Exactly what happened next is disputed, but shots were fired and a man inside fell dead. Four other men were grabbed and arrested. Then the soldiers departed, leaving the women to calm the frightened children and the rumors to spread in the dark.

By midmorning, hundreds of angry people were blocking the nearby highway, burning tires and shouting “Death to America!” By mid-evening, millions of Afghan TV news viewers were convinced that foreign troops had killed an unarmed man trying to answer his door.        Breaking News

Canadians intercept the Russians in the Arctic

Canadian jets intercepted Russian TU-95 Bear bomber aircraft last week similar to this one.

TORONTO – Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian bomber in the Arctic as it approached Canadian airspace on the eve of President Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa last week, Canada’s defense minister said Friday.

Peter MacKay said the bomber never entered Canadian airspace. But he said two Canadian CF-18 jets met the bomber in international airspace and sent a “strong signal that they should back off.”

“They met a Russian aircraft that was approaching Canadian airspace, and as they have done in previous occasions they sent very clear signals that are understood, that the aircraft was to turnaround, turn tail, and head back to their airspace, which it did,” MacKay said.  “I’m not going to stand here and accuse the Russians of having deliberately done this during the presidential visit, but it was a strong coincidence,” he said of the Feb. 18 incident.        Breaking News

Obama: All combat troups out of Iraq by 2010

President Obama says he plans to keep up to 50,000 support troops in Iraq after combat troops leave in 2010.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Obama told congressional leaders Thursday he’s planning to pull all combat troops out of Iraq by August 2010, according to three congressional officials.

Under this scenario, all combat troops will be withdrawn within 19 months of Obama’s January inauguration, three months longer than his promise on the campaign trail.

In a meeting at the White House Thursday evening, Obama also told lawmakers that he plans to keep a range of 35,000 to 50,000 support troops on the ground in Iraq after combat troops are out, the officials said.

All U.S. troops have to be out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, under an agreement the Bush administration signed with the Iraqi government last year.  White House officials confirmed the president will deliver a speech about Iraq to troops at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, his first visit to a military base since being sworn into office.        Breaking News

Obama announces Iraq withdrawal

President to announce most U.S. troops will be out in under 19 months

Obama plans to withdraw most of troops from Iraq by August 2010

WASHINGTON – The United States plans to withdraw most of its troops from Iraq by August 2010, 19 months after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, according to administration officials.

The withdrawal plan would fulfill one of Obama’s central campaign pledges, albeit a little more slowly than he promised. He said he would withdraw troops within 16 months, roughly one brigade a month from the time of his Jan. 20 inauguration.

The officials said they expect Obama to make the announcement this week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.        Breaking News

Mexican police chief resigns amid threats

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – This border town’s police chief stepped down Friday after criminal gangs made a chilling demand: Resign or we will kill more local officials.

Public Safety Secretary Roberto Orduna announced he was leaving his post only hours after gunmen killed a police officer and a jail guard and left signs on their bodies saying they had fulfilled a promise made Wednesday to slay at least one officer every 48 hours until Orduna quits.

The slayings were a grim sign that criminal gangs are determined to control the police force of the biggest Mexican border city, with a population of 1.3 million people across from El Paso, Texas.        Breaking News

U.S. soldier charged in Iraqi murder

A US soldier has been convicted of murder for his involvement in the killing of four Iraqis who were shot and dumped in a Baghdad canal in 2007.

Sgt Michael Leahy Jr had confessed to investigators that he shot an Iraqi in the back of the head from close range.

His lawyers argued that the stress of being in a conflict zone for so long meant he was unable to reason properly.        Breaking News

Beating up bernie takes on a new meaning

An Australian toy designer has created a surprise hit with a doll of the US financier, Bernard Madoff, who is accused of a $50bn (£35bn) fraud.

The Smash-Me Bernie figurine wears a devil’s red suit, carries a pitchfork and comes with a golden hammer for smashing the doll into pieces.

Creator Graeme Warring said he came up with the idea after a friend of his lost money in the scandal.        Breaking News

Terrorist threats and strain put U.S. Military at risk

Washington – For the third consecutive year, a classified Defense Department assessment has concluded there is a significant risk that the U.S. military could not respond quickly and fully to any new crisis, The Associated Press has learned.

The latest risk assessment, drawn up by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, comes despite recent security gains in Iraq and plans for troop cuts there.

The assessment finds that the U.S. continues to face persistent terrorist threats, and the military is still stretched and strained from long and repeated tours to the warfront.        Breaking News

Banks taking another big risk with obamas aid to homeowners

The rollout of the Obama administration’s efforts to help U.S. homeowners set off a new round of hand-wringing about the battered banking sector.

Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. issued statements praising the plan, but banking analysts said the housing initiatives are likely to result in banks suffering a fresh round of painful write-downs, which will further depress their earnings this year.

“It accelerates some of the losses, at the very least,” said Tanya Azarchs, a banking analyst with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. She said the ultimate magnitude of those losses will remain murky until the government hammers out the final details of the plan.        Breaking News