Meanwhile in Iraq

U.S. Commander Says Withdrawal Won't Be Soon: 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.

Army, Marine Corps To Ask for More Troops: The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources.

Buildup in Iraq gaining support : Strong support has coalesced in the Pentagon behind a military plan to "double down" in the country with a substantial buildup in U.S. troops, an increase in industrial aid and a major combat offensive against Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite leader impeding development of the Iraqi government.

Bomb Blasts in occupied Iraq Kill at Least 23: Bomb blasts killed at least 23 people in Iraq on Wednesday, including seven Iraqi soldiers.

At least 40 kiled in another bloody day in Iraq: A car bomb exploded in a crowded area of Kamaliya in eastern Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding 25, an Interior Ministry source and police said.

Australia: Downer warns against 'disastrous' Iraq withdrawal : Mr Downer and Defence Minister Brendan Nelson have spent a day talking to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, as part of annual Australia-US ministerial talks.

US staying the course for Big Oil in Iraq : Washington at large and President George W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney in particular may apply every contortionist trick in the geopolitical book to save their skins in Iraq - and the reasons are not entirely political.

Operation Hollywood: "You must glorify war in order to get the public to accept the fact that your going to send their sons and daughters to die." Never let the absurdities of history get in the way of a box-office blockbuster. The inside story of the cozy relationship between big box office American war movies and the Pentagon .

Ex-CNN chief starting all Iraq news site : NEW YORK For the past four years there has been no shortage of news and views on Iraq and the long-running war there. What's been missing: a one-stop-shopping clearinghouse for nonpartisan information, including material coming out of Iraq itself from natives of that country, not from foreign correspondents.

Rumsfeld hasn't read ISG report: Outgoing In an interview with columnist Cal Thomas, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld admitted that he hasn't read the Iraq Study Group report, only excerpts, and critiqued the Bush Administration's "war on terror" phrase, even though he made frequent use of it.

U.S. senator, Syrian President meet in Damascus for talks: Syrian officials say Damascus is encouraged by the report by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which urged President George W. Bush to abandon his policy of trying to isolate Syria and Iran and resume attempts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.