It's Going To Take Me Into Next Spring And Summer To Generate This Sustained Security Presence

General pleads for time to secure Iraq - 20 Jul 2007 at 11:11am - 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. Maj. Gen. Richard Lynch, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, mentioned none of the proposals in Congress for beginning to withdraw U.S. troops as soon as this fall. But he made clear in an interview that in his area of responsibility south of Baghdad, it will take many more months to consolidate recent gains. "It's going to take through (this) summer, into the fall, to defeat the extremists in my battle space, and it's going to take me into next spring and summer to generate this sustained security presence," he said, referring to an Iraqi capability to hold gains made by U.S. forces. Lynch said he had projected in March, when he arrived as part of the troop buildup, that it would take him about 15 months to accomplish his mission, which would be summer 2008. He expressed concern at the growing pressure in Washington to decide by September whether the troop buildup is working and to plan for an early start to withdrawing all combat troops.

Early??? "Early" may have come and gone several years ago.

Court: Judges need all detainee evidence - 20 Jul 2007 at 11:40am - WASHINGTON -- When Guantanamo Bay detainees challenge their status as "enemy combatants," judges must review all the evidence, not just what the military chooses, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Marine spared jail time in Iraqi death - 20 Jul 2007 at 1:05pm - A military jury on Friday spared a Marine prison time for kidnapping and conspiring to murder an Iraqi man who was killed as troops hunted for a suspected insurgent.

Bush order ensures CIA complies with Geneva conventions - 20 Jul 2007 at 2:26pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has issued new rules to ensure that the CIA detention and interrogation program is in full compliance with the Geneva Conventions' ban on torture, the U.S. spy agency said on Friday.

Lawmaker seeks probe of CIA agents - 20 Jul 2007 at 2:57pm - WASHINGTON -- The government should investigate whether CIA agents divulged information to a European investigator about secret prisons for terrorism suspects, a high-ranking Republican said Friday.

Thought for the day:
"I repeat...that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people, and for the people all springs, and all must exist." -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881)