I've said it before and I will no doubt have to say it again: McCain has irrevocably tied his candidacy to the Surge. If it fails, so too will he. The key question, I suppose, is will it happen before or after he has been officially nominated at the convention?
Violence is increasing in Iraq, raising questions about whether the security improvements credited to the increase in U.S. troops may be short-lived.
Car bombs in Baghdad on Monday killed at least 11 people and injured a prominent leader of one of the country's most influential American-allied tribal militias.The Ministry of Electricity announced that power to much of the nation, already anemic, is likely to lag in coming days because insurgents had blown up transmission facilities and natural gas pipelines that fuel generators.
CBS News confirmed that two of its journalists are missing in Basra, in Iraq's south...
After months of declining violence, February is certain to be the third straight month to see increases in the numbers of Baghdad residents killed in car bombings and suicide attacks.
According to statistics kept by McClatchy, the low point in such killings came in November, when 76 people died. Thanks to a pair of pet market bombings that killed 99 people Feb. 1, February's tally already is 131.
Petraeus' counsel on troop withdrawals after some surge troops have departed will play a big role in determining what Gates recommends to the president, Pentagon officials said.
Monday marked the second day in a row of suicide attacks. Blasts in Salah ad Din, Anbar and Ninevah provinces killed at least 30 people Sunday.
Monday, a suicide car bomber drove his car into the Baghdad residence of a prominent leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, a U.S.-allied militia that's credited with helping to drive al Qaida in Iraq from that province. Five minutes later, another car bomb exploded at a busy intersection a short distance away.
The blasts killed at least 11 people and injured 30.
Later, Sheik Ali Hathem al Suleiman al Duleimy, who was injured in the attack, went on Iraqi TV and declared war against his enemies. He said that his militia, many of whose members are paid by the United States, no longer would allow the U.S. or Iraqi government to interfere with its work.
His comments came as similar U.S.-allied groups in nearby Diyala province continued to refuse to work with American or Iraqi government forces until the provincial police chief is removed. On Monday, hundreds protested in Diyala to demand the chief's removal.
In an e-mailed statement, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, acknowledged the "frustration on the part of some awakening councils," but said that most remained on the job and committed to defending their neighborhoods.
Iraqi government spokesmen declined comment or couldn't be reached.
In another sign that benefits from the surge could be waning, the Ministry of Electricity said that a car bomb at a power station near Mosul in Ninevah province and attacks on natural gas lines connected to four power stations north of Baghdad had damaged the national power network. While repairs have been started, Iraqis can expect even less electricity in coming days, the ministry said in a statement.
CBS News said little about the two missing journalists in Basra, refusing to identify them or to say what had happened.
Meanwhile, parliament Speaker Mahmoud al Mishhadani said that the legislature was paralyzed over budget disputes involving the Kurdish region and warned that other key pieces of legislation, such as an amnesty for prisoners and more power for provincial governments, could fail in the bickering.
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