I scanned the comments and I'm surprised nobody's mentioned that this story was held back for a full week. Was this an attempt to withold war information to the public til after the Iowa caucases? Is this a case of the Pentagon meddling in domestic politics? Makes you wonder what else they're hold back/keeping secret for craven political purposes.

Where is the campus GOP? They should be joining up to go fight. Maybe they want to stay home and fight the culture war.

War is sweet to those who have no experience of it. But the experienced man trembles exceedingly in his heart at its approach.
Greek poet Pindar, 518-438 BC

NO, THIS IS REALLY SERIOUS.
WATCH YOUR WORDS SENATOR MCCAIN.
YOU SOUND SENILE. OUR SOLDIERS WILL PAY THE PRICE FOR THIS CARELESS UTTERANCE.

Here's me fave Dick Cheney video. One minute and nineteen seconds of pure wonderment:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-I

It's not really fragging. Close, but worse.

Its about time.
I would kill illegal invaders of my land.
I would kill criminal intruders and rapists.
I would kill arrogant exploiters that thought they had the right to invade and murder by virtue of birthright.
The WHITE ARYAN BUSH CLAN thinks they control the world. These racist jerks are the blue-blood SUPREMACICISTS that inherited the Hitler regime. The retarded, alcohol addled bush really thinks he is better than everyone else. All the while he is murdering more than Pol Pot.

WHAT A COUNTRY!

Three events in Iraq are noteworthy.
- U.S. arming of 70,000 Arab Sunnis, called "Awakening" units, to stop attacking U.S. soldiers and fight Al-Qaeda.
- The cease-fire in September that Muqtada Al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi militia to observe. U.S. military officials began noticing a decrease Iran"s help to insurgents.
- The November NIE report, which stated with "high confidence" that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and has not restarted it; contradicting a 2005 NIE report.
How is one to read these events?
Today, Washington is happy; U.S. casualties dropped. Tehran is happy; the threat of a U.S. attack receded. Iraq"s Arab Sunnis are hopeful to regain lost influence.
Al-Maliki government is uneasy. Its defense minister stated that Iraq would disallow "Awakening" units to become a "third force" alongside police and the army.
If Al-Maliki grants Sunni demands, reconciliation could follow. If he rejects them, the violence would return.
Long-term calm, however, is unlikely. Tehran and Washington want to control GCC oil.
Iran superseded the U.S. as the most influential power in Iraq (Chatham House, August 2006). America destroyed Iran"s enemies: the Talibans and Saddam.
Tehran"s friends control Iraq. Ayatollah Al-Sistani is obeyed by millions in Iraq and Iran. Born in Iran, he does not accept Iraqi citizenship.
Abdulaziz Al-Hakeem, leader of the largest Parliamentary bloc, is SCIRI"s chief and the Badr Brigade, a militia sustained by Iran. When his brother was killed in 2003, Tehran declared three days of mourning.
The Islamic Daawa Party received big support from Iran. Its leaders, Al-Jaafari and Al-Maliki, became transitional PM and full-term PM, respectively. Both lived in Iran for years.
That Iran might encourage GCC Shiis to demand their human rights sends shivers in GCC circles. President Mubarak declared: Shiis in Arab states are more loyal to Iran than to their own countries.
The recent lull is temporary.

Elie Elhadj; Author: The Islamic Shield
http://www.universal-publishers.com/book.php?method=ISBN&book=1599424118
Blog:
http://journals.aol.com/eeh100/daring-opinion/

That we arming the Sunnis in their "Great Awakening" is going to come back and bite us in the arse.

We can't kill em all. We have no partners... no allies in Iraq...just slaves to the corruption.
The Entire Region is about to plunge into conflict. Civil War is an UNDERSTATEMENT.

Pandora's Box is an appropriate analogy.

I thought the surge was working, if so why are soldiers still dying. Oh, I forgot only 23 died in December. Why don't you ask their families if the surge is working.

What troubles me most is how I no longer feel resentment or sympathy over tragic war news like this. I suppose Bushco's war machine is working on me. Given the lack of protest or any significant action toward resolving the Iraq issue it appears many others feel similarly. Or more correctly, "don't feel" ignited or incensed at all. Scary.

And why is this the lead article on the politics page? Slow news day ...in the primaries?

Declare victory and get the hell out. This will only get worse.

I guess he just got tired of the murder and rape by the foreign invaders. War is hell for the enlisted ranks.

It's kinda hard to fight a war, if you don't kmow who the enemy is! Is the "surge" working? just more targets for the shooting gallery
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: IMPEACH BABY BU$H & FUCK-YOU CHENEY!