General pleads for time to secure Iraq
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If the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq is reversed before the summer of 2008, the military will risk giving up the security gains it has achieved at a cost of hundreds of American lives over the past six months, the commander of U.S. forces south of Baghdad said Friday.
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KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- President Bush, who faces mounting congressional pressure to end the war, yesterday called for patience as US forces conduct stepped-up operations in Iraq.
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Cuts in U.S. troop levels in Iraq will not derail recent security gains, but the Iraqi government must move quicker to take advantage of the falls in violence, a senior U.S. general said on Sunday.
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The outgoing secretary of defense said American troops should stay in Iraq until the insurgents were defeated.
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The Army's top general warned on Thursday that his force "will break" without thousands more active duty troops and greater use of the reserves. He issued the warning as President Bush considers new strategies for Iraq.
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An audio tape purportedly from al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has urged militants to prepare for a lengthy holy war against U.S.-led forces in Iraq, saying victory could take months and years.
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The United States is unlikely to   begin cutting its troops in Iraq until at least mid-2007 as   they try to stop sectarian violence from degenerating into   civil war, a senior general said on Tuesday.
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The White House appealed Tuesday for more patience on the war in Iraq as Democrats warned that time was running out and a prominent Republican declared that President Bush's strategy was not working.
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U.S. military commanders said Friday the troop buildup in Iraq must be maintained until at least next summer and they may need as long as two years to assure parts of the country are stable.
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President Bush, who faces mounting congressional pressure to end the war, called Saturday for patience as U.S. forces conduct stepped-up operations in Iraq.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio  - President George W. Bush, facing crumbling Republican support for the Iraq war, demanded on Tuesday that the U.S. Congress allow his troop buildup more time to work.
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President Bush is asking embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at their summit in Jordan how best to train Iraqi forces faster so they can shoulder more responsibility for securing the nation torn ...Comment
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BAGHDAD, Dec. 12 -- The outgoing top U.S.  operational commander in Iraq said on Tuesday that military might alone would not win the war  and that the withdrawal of U.S. troops would not happen quickly.
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BAGHDAD -- The top American military commander for the Middle East has warned Iraq's prime minister that the Iraqi government needs to make tangible political progress by next month to counter the growing tide of opposition to the war in Congress.
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The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said on Monday that U.S. troop levels in the country would decline further after a drawdown next summer but it was too soon to say how quickly.
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Iraqi security forces should be in a position to take control of 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces by year's end, although they will not be ready to fight on their own for some time, a top U.S. general said on Sunday.
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The senior U.S. commander in Iraq is preparing a plan for military operations that sets summer 2009 as the goal for achieving a sustainable level of security throughout the country, his spokesman said on Tuesday.