Twelve Thousand U.S. Troops To Leave Iraq
Posted By: Raul Rivero 13 hrs ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. military has announced that 12,000 American and 4,000 British troops will leave Iraq by September.
Maj. Gen. David Perkins says that will reduce U.S. combat power from 14 brigades to 12 brigades. He also said [...]

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WASHINGTON – The North American Aerospace Defense Command will be conducting an exercise in the Washington D.C. region Thursday.

The one-day exercise, Falcon Virgo 09-05, will be a series of training flights held in coordination with the FAA, National Capital Region Command Center, the Joint Air Defense Operations Center, the Continental U.S. NORAD Region, Civil Air [...]

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By Christian Davenport, Washington Post Staff Writer

The bill, its sponsor admits, has little chance of passing, and could be on uncertain legal ground if adopted. But Maryland Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr.’s intent wasn’t so much to create a law as to spark a debate on how the National Guard should be used in time [...]

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I think this is saying a lot about what people have to do in combat and what sort of mental health support they have when they get back.
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Army official: Suicides in January ‘terrifying’
From Barbara Starr and Mike Mount
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) — One week after the U.S. Army announced record suicide rates among its soldiers last [...]

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Obama to limit CIA, order Guantanamo closed
Jeff Mason and Randall Mikkelsen | Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is ready to issue orders on Thursday to close Guantanamo prison and overhaul the treatment of terrorism suspects, in a swift move to restore a U.S. image hurt by charges of torture.
A draft executive order obtained by [...]

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Normally, we talk about how terrible this event was, how many died, etc.
Talk is cheap.  Look at the photos.

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Associated Press, Nov. 17, 2008
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays so they can serve openly, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
The move by the military veterans confronts the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama [...]

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — An Army lieutenant general has become the first woman in U.S. military history to get four stars.
The military on Friday promoted Lt. Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody, who has served in several command positions in her 33-year Army career.
She will command Army Materiel Command, responsible for equipping, arming and outfitting soldiers.
“There is no [...]

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By Wayne Drash, Thelma Gutierrez and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN
LOMA LINDA, California (CNN) — Anthony Acevedo thumbs through the worn, yellowed pages of his diary emblazoned with the words “A Wartime Log” on its cover. It’s a catalog of deaths and atrocities he says were carried out on U.S. soldiers held by Nazis at a [...]

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WASHINGTON — Don’t get freaked out if you see military aircraft overhead Monday.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command is planning a one-day flight exercise in the Washington area.
The training flights are slated to begin early Monday.
Officials say the exercise, named Falcon Virgo, refines the command’s interception and identification operations. It also helps with testing visual [...]

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On a recent visit to my parent’s house, I was loaded down for the trip home with some tangible memories.  My mother’s wedding dress (a mini-dress!) a bunch of my dad’s old uniform pieces (some of which Jade laid claim to right away, including a very nice brass belt buckle with a Marine Corps emblem [...]

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Satellite images show ethnic cleanout in Iraq
Reuters.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Satellite images taken at night show heavily Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad began emptying before a U.S. troop surge in 2007, graphic evidence of ethnic cleansing that preceded a drop in violence, according to a report published on Friday.
The images support the view of international refugee [...]

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I disagree with the author of this editorial saying, “I’m sorry” to those who chose to enlist.  I don’t think that’s a very respectful way to react to someone’s decision.  However, I can understand a bit of what the author is saying.  I surprised myself by crying when my nephew told me that he joined [...]

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“Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.”
- Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)

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Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan
NewYorkTimes.com
WASHINGTON — President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.
The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush [...]

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