President George W. Bush, faced with growing calls to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, pleaded with Americans on Saturday for patience and cited progress in the past two months.
CHICAGO When Rep. Jan Schakowsky made her first trip to Iraq this month, the outspoken antiwar liberal resolved to keep her opinions to herself. "I would listen and learn," she decided.
US President George W. Bush insisted Saturday his new war strategy in Iraq showed promise but needed more time to bear fruit as the White House fought to rebuff calls for a withdrawal of US troops.
As of Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007, at least 3,728 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 3,047 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
New calls from lawmakers to begin withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq may trouble the White House but are not too out of step with scenarios envisioned by war commanders.
A conference between warring Iraqi factions is the only way to end the chaos in Iraq and should be organized by the international community, the Arab League's former envoy to Baghdad believes.
US President George W. Bush signaled Saturday his unwillingness to consider early US troop reductions in Iraq, saying new offensive operations there were just in their "early stages."
Some 50 lawmakers have been to Iraq this summer, and their impressions are having a profound effect on the policy debate.
American forces in Iraq are working with a Sunni former insurgent group to root out Al-Qaeda cells fighting north of Baghdad, a commander said on Saturday, branding his new allies "patriots."
U.S. forces have rebranded one of the main insurgent groups in Iraq and now use the term "concerned local nationals" to refer to a group that once claimed responsibility for killing scores of Americans.