One Year

Study: Withdrawal possible over a year - 29 Aug 2007 at 12:30pm - WASHINGTON -- Most U.S. troops can be withdrawn safely from Iraq in roughly one year and the Bush administration should begin planning the pullout immediately, according to a study released Wednesday.

One year -- does that constitute "precipitous withdrawal"? It's worth noting that this study was undertaken by a liberal think-tank -- maybe a conservative think-tank's study would say it may be safe to withdraw in 30 years.

Bush doesn't appear to be contemplating any sort of draw-down:

Bush wants $50 billion more for Iraq - 29 Aug 2007 at 8:38am - President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday, a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces.

While Muqtada al-Sadr, if not drawing down, seems to be cooling off:

Iraq Shiite militia activities frozen - 29 Aug 2007 at 8:12am - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganize the force, an aide said Wednesday.

And people on the street seem to be warming up to a general cooling-down.

Limit troops abroad, 8-nation poll says - 29 Aug 2007 at 11:02am - WASHINGTON -- People in the U.S., Britain and six other countries showed little taste for stepping up the role their nations' troops play in overseas crises, but seemed more open to other types of involvement abroad, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

U.S. forces say free eight Iranians held in Iraq - 29 Aug 2007 at 8:42am - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces said on Wednesday they had detained eight Iranians overnight and seized a suitcase full of money from their central Baghdad hotel but later freed them after consultations with the Iraqi government.

Oops.

Five top contenders for attorney general - 29 Aug 2007 at 9:48am - Moving quickly to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, White House officials are considering five names that "have kind of emerged" as possible candidates to take over the beleaguered Justice Department, according to a senior Bush administration official.

And the Headline Of the Day:
Republicans Backing Away From Craig

Thought for the day:
The dead might as well try to speak to the living as the old to the young. -Willa Cather (1873 - 1947)