After serving two weeks of reserve duty in Iraq, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) yesterday called for continuation of the "surge" of U.S. troops in Iraq and warned that any decision to mandate a withdrawal this year would undercut critical gains made in recent months.
British troops in Iraq have an important job to do and there is no fixed timetable for their withdrawal, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday, despite speculation that Britain will soon announce a major pullout.
US President George W. Bush on Tuesday will describe Iraq as the front-line against Shiite extremism championed by Iran and the Sunni extremism of Al-Qaeda, an aide said Monday.
As of Monday, Aug. 27, 2007, at least 3,731 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 3,055 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
In an Aug. 17 story about U.S. military deaths in Iraq, The Associated Press, relying on information from the Department of Defense, erroneously reported the name and rank of a slain soldier. His name was legally changed from Willard M. Kerchief III to Willard M. Powell, and he is a corporal, not a private first class.
A translator working for US television network CBS has been found dead in Iraq just days after being abducted by a group of armed men, the company said Monday.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the involvement of British troops in Iraq on Monday, insisting that they had an "important job to do" in the war-torn country.
In an Aug. 25 story about war-related deaths in Iraq, The Associated Press misstated the average number of daily fatalities in 2006 for Iraqi civilians. The correct daily average is 37, not 33. The AP reported the average daily death toll so far in 2007 is "nearly double" compared with last year. The figure is a nearly 68 percent increase.
The White House on Monday shrugged off French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for a clear timetable for the pullout of international forces from Iraq.
Sunni Arab politicians refused to end their boycott of Iraq's Shiite-led government on Monday despite a broadbrush deal aimed at bridging the country's bitter sectarian divide.