Buildup Déjà Vu

U.S. Plans Military Buildup To Warn Iran - 19 Dec 2006 at 9:59am - CBS News reports the Pentagon is considering a military buildup in the Persian Gulf after the first of the year as a warning to the Iranian government. The plan would include adding a second aircraft carrier to the one already in the Gulf.

Recall that after U.S. troop buildups around Iraq in 2003 for "warning" purposes, one of the arguments for invading was that an enormous investment had already been made to move all the troops and equipment there, and it would be a waste of that investment not to proceed with the invasion.

Hicks denied mental health assessment - 18 Dec 2006 at 4:18pm - An Australian forensic psychiatrist has been refused access to Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks to assess his mental health.

Pentagon Report Cites Growing Number of Attacks - 19 Dec 2006 at 9:02am - The Pentagon has released its latest report on security conditions in Iraq, and the assessment is grim. The report says attacks in Iraq have increased 22 percent since the summer. It also says a Shiite militia group has replaced al-Qaida in Iraq as the main cause for concern.

White House, Joint chiefs split on more troops - 19 Dec 2006 at 9:36am - The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intense debate.

White House: No fight with Joint Chiefs - 19 Dec 2006 at 10:33am - WASHINGTON -- The White House said Tuesday that increasing U.S. troops in Iraq is an option under consideration and denied that there are differences with the Joint Chiefs of Staff over that idea.

Iraq on brink of collapse: report - 19 Dec 2006 at 12:24pm - BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq is on the brink of total disintegration and could drag its neighbors into a regional war, a leading think-tank said, after the Pentagon confirmed violence was at an all-time high. The warning from the International Crisis Group came amid lawless chaos in Baghdad, where police were hunting for 16 kidnapped aid workers and a former minister who escaped from jail, allegedly with the help of US hired guns. The ICG's report called on Washington to distance itself from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's beleaguered government, which has failed to tackle sectarian militias, and reach out to the United States' arch-foes Iran and Syria.

Brownback wants to re-question nominee - 19 Dec 2006 at 1:44pm - DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Sen. Sam Brownback, who wants to champion social conservatives in the presidential race, said Tuesday he wants a Senate panel to re-question a judicial nominee who attended a same-sex union ceremony.

U.S. to weed out Iraqi militia loyalists - 19 Dec 2006 at 3:10pm - WASHINGTON -- Efforts are under way to weed out up to a quarter of Iraq's national police who are believed sympathetic to militias involved in sectarian violence, a key U.S. general said.

Defense in CIA leak case to call Cheney to testify - 19 Dec 2006 at 3:02pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The defense will call Vice President Dick Cheney to testify at former top White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby's perjury trial in the CIA leak case, a lawyer said on Tuesday.

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Iraq policy, Iran policy, anti-terrorism policy, Plame leak case