Agencies see good year for Iraq
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The IMF and UN paint a bright picture of economic growth and political stabilisation in Iraq for the near future.
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The top U.S. commander in Iraq expressed optimism Wednesday that Iraqi forces are making enough progress to provide their own security within 18 months. But violence showed no sign of abating, with 66 people killed nationwide, including 24 in a Baghdad market bombing.
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About six in 10 Iraqis say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and slightly more than that want their government to ask U.S. troops to leave within a year, according to a poll in that country.
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Security forces in Iraq are on alert for possible violence, a year after the execution of Saddam Hussein.
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The Bush administration will ask for another $100 billion for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year and seek $145 billion for 2008, a senior administration official said Friday.
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For a while in postwar Iraq, life looked up for Ahlam al-Jibouri, who found a well-paid job working with the U.S. authorities after the 2003 invasion.
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The United States has sought to put a positive angle on its closest ally Britain&#x2019;s plan to pull its 7,100 troops out of Iraq nearly four years after the war&#x2019;s start.Comment
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The US administration seeks to refocus its spending in Iraq on better security and other short-term needs.
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Both Iraqi unity and global engagement may get a boost.
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The White House said today that Iraq has made "satisfactory progress" toward meeting nine of 18 political, economic and security benchmarks and cited "encouraging signs" of conditions that would allow the United States to reduce its forces there.
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The Washington-based World Bank says 2004 has been a very good year for developing countries, with their economies growing at their fastest pace in 30 years.
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Violent civilian deaths in Iraq in December were down 75 percent from a year ago, new figures released on Monday showed as Iraqis partied in the streets of some parts of the capital Baghdad to bring in the New Year.
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The Army is ending its best recruiting year since 1997 and expecting similar success in 2007, despite the weight of grim war news from Iraq, Army Secretary Francis Harvey said Thursday.
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The Iraqi government has made mixed progress in meeting political and security goals, a U.S. official said on Thursday, citing a report that may add to rising calls for a change of course in the unpopular war.
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The Sunni Arab heart of the Iraqi insurgency seems likely to hold its strength the rest of the year, and some of its leaders are now collaborating with al-Qaida terrorists, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
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The top U.S. commander in Iraq said on Sunday he will have a good idea in September how well the troop increase has worked and will be able to provide a forthright report to the policy makers in Washington.
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Iraq's Jan. 30 elections are likely  to be "less than perfect" due to violence but the United States  is working with Iraq to encourage the broadest possible  participation, the White House said on Wednesday.