Never say Never
mudvillegazette.com 7/23/2009 — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki opened the door for the first time Thursday to the prospect of a U.S. military presence in Iraq after the December 2011 deadline for troop withdrawal set by last year's bilateral accord -- something President Obama appeared to rule out during a joint ...

Anbar Rising
mudvillegazette.com 3/12/2009 — Continuing our sixth anniversary review - this post from early October, 2006 was a compilation and examination of events largely ignored (or simply reported as discrete acts of more or less random violence) at the time in Western media. Many would ultimately come to regard the "Awakening" ...

12/17/2008
daybydaycartoon.com 12/17/2008 —

The Beginning of the End? Obama, Gates Outline Iraq Drawdown
attackerman.firedoglake.com 2/27/2009 — Update : In a conference call with reporters immediately after President Obama's Iraq-withdrawal speech , Defense Secretary Bob Gates said that the withdrawal plan has the support of key military leaders. "I'm obviously very supportive of ...

The Anniversary Party
attackerman.firedoglake.com 3/19/2009 — photo by jamesdale10 It's eerie and uncomfortable and inappropriate that there isn't much notice that six years ago today the U.S. invaded Iraq. Maybe that's natural now that the Obama administration is ending the war. Maybe it's an indication ...

The Next Steps To Get Out Of Iraq
wonkroom.thinkprogress.org 2/27/2009 — Our guest blogger is Peter Juul , Research Associate at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Today, the New York Times reports that President Obama plans to withdraw only two combat brigades from Iraq prior to that country’s next national ...

We Are Not at War with Nouri al-Maliki
michaeltotten.com 7/13/2009 — Robert Spencer, founder and lead writer for Jihad Watch , has a bit of trouble telling the difference between friend and foe in Iraq and still thinks, despite everything, that "the United States is losing the ...

While America Slept (Part four)
mudvillegazette.com 5/25/2009 — From July, 2008... ***** (Previous entry in series here .) ***** "I’m reluctant to say “the war has ended,” as he did, but everything else he wrote is undoubtedly true." - Michael Totten , on Michael Yon. He was expanding on a brief post he'd done at his own site , in which ...

Jon Soltz: Has There Really Been a Policy Change in Iraq?
huffingtonpost.com 6/29/2009 — Tomorrow, under an agreement with the Iraqi government, American troops are slated to completely pull back from major cities. The Iraqi security forces don't seem ready for it. And, while it seems counter-intuitive, if they aren't getting their act ...

US out, Iraq collapsing into chaos
jihadwatch.org 7/14/2009 — As predicted here, many times. But hey, it's a victory, as far as Maliki is concerned! "Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has taken to calling the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq's cities by next Tuesday a 'great victory,' a ...

US intel: Al-Qaida activity plunges in Iraq (AP) — Yahoo! News: Politics News 6/25/2009
AP - The number of al-Qaida extremists in Iraq has plummeted and their ability to maintain a high-level of attacks has been eroded, U.S. intelligence suggests.

The Iraq Drawdown Is Proof of Success — WSJ.com: Politics And Policy 6/26/2009
U.S. forces will remain to assist the Iraqi army.

No OK Yet on Kerry-Produced Film — TIME.com Top Politics Stories 6/26/2009
The Federal Election Commission failed to reach a decision Thursday on the Massachusetts Democrat's request to use $300,000 from his campaign funds to invest in a documentary about injured Iraq war veterans

First Read's Week Ahead — First Read 6/26/2009
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Week Ahead: Troops leaving Iraq, free trade, Supreme Court & Ricci & Sotomayor, Jill Biden overseas, Happy July 4th, and hiking the Appalachian Trail. For our mailbox, submit your questions for next week in the ...

Top U.S. commander to discuss withdrawal deadline — CNN Political Ticker 6/26/2009
General Raymond Odierno will be on State of the Union with John King this Sunday at 9 a.m. Eastern. (CNN) — Two days before the U.S. military's scheduled pull-out from Iraqi cities, the top U.S. commander in Iraq will provide details of the ...