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General William Odom Tells Senate Rapid Withdrawal Is Only Solution
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 22:47

TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE ON IRAQ
By William E. Odom, LT General, USA, Ret.

2 April 2008

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. It is an honor 
to appear before you again. The last occasion was in January 2007, when 
the topic was the troop surge. Today you are asking if it has worked. 
Last year I rejected the claim that it was a new strategy. Rather, I 
said, it is a new tactic used to achieve the same old strategic aim, 
political stability. And I foresaw no serious prospects for success.

I see no reason to change my judgment now. The surge is prolonging 
instability, not creating the conditions for unity as the president claims.

Last year, General Petraeus wisely declined to promise a military 
solution to this political problem, saying that he could lower the level 
of violence, allowing a limited time for the Iraqi leaders to strike a 
political deal. Violence has been temporarily reduced but today there is 
credible evidence that the political situation is far more fragmented. 
And currently we see violence surge in Baghdad and Basra. In fact, it 
has also remained sporadic and significant in
several other parts of Iraq over the past year, notwithstanding the 
notable drop in Baghdad and Anbar Province.

More disturbing, Prime Minister Maliki has initiated military action and 
then dragged in US forces to help his own troops destroy his Shiite 
competitors. This is a political setback, not a political
solution. Such is the result of the surge tactic.

More...

NATO Allies Turn Down Bush Request
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 22:34

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic 
setback Wednesday when NATO allies rebuffed his passionate pleas to put 
former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward 
membership in the Western military alliance.

The decision, to be made final on Thursday, was sure to be cheered by 
Moscow, which heatedly opposes NATO's eastward expansion.

In another sign of discord, Greece blocked Macedonia's request to join 
the 26-nation alliance because of a dispute over its name. Only Croatia 
and Albania will be invited as new members.

It was a sour outcome for Bush at his final NATO summit as he sought to 
polish his foreign policy legacy. Instead, he wound up sidetracked by 
opposition and splits among European allies.

More...

Body armor questioned
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 22:13

WASHINGTON - The Army can't be sure some of its body armor met safety 
standards, partly because it didn't do proper paperwork on initial 
testing of the protective vests, a Defense Department audit said.

Democratic Rep. Louise M. Slaughter of New York, who requested the 
department inspector general's report, on Wednesday demanded the firing 
of officials responsible. But the Army said the gear is safe and the 
issue is a disagreement over when and what type of testing is required.

More...

Military Feels Fuel-Cost Gouge in Iraq
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 21:53

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Think you're being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in 
Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning 
fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its 
oil reserves.

Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, diesel and 
jet fuel, some $88 a day per service member in Iraq, according to an 
Associated Press review and interviews with defense officials. A penny 
or two increase in the price of fuel can add millions of dollars to U.S. 
costs.

Critics in Congress are fuming. The U.S., they say, is getting suckered 
as the cost of the war exceeds half a trillion dollars - $10.3 billion a 
month, according to the Congressional Research Service.

More...

'US allies' killed in Iraq ambush
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 19:37

Gunmen have killed four people and kidnapped four more at a fake 
checkpoint in Salahuddin province, north of Baghdad, Iraqi police say.

Reports say those killed were members of an Awakening Council, a 
US-allied Sunni militia movement fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq.

More...

  Bush official fails to show for polar bear hearing
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 18:29

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barbara Boxer held a hearing Wednesday to find out why 
the Bush administration has put off deciding whether to list Alaska's 
polar bears as a threatened species. But her star witness, Interior 
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, didn't show.

"This listing is months overdue, in violation of the Endangered Species 
Act," the California Democrat said at the hearing of the Senate 
Environmental and Public Works Committee.

More...

Belarus Wants US Mission Cut
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 17:20

MINSK, Belarus (AP) - Belarus called on the United States Wednesday to 
cut its embassy staff in Minsk to a skeleton crew of seven people.

It was the latest demand in a diplomatic dispute between the former 
Soviet republic's authoritarian government and the United States, one of 
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's fiercest critics.

The U.S. ambassador left Belarus last month and the U.S. Embassy cut its 
staff from 35 to 17 under pressure from Lukashenko's government, which 
made similar cuts at its embassy in Washington.

Lukashenko wants the U.S. to lift sanctions imposed against its 
state-controlled oil-processing and chemicals company, Belneftekhim.

More...

Ecuador plans foreign bases ban
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 16:53

Ecuadorian lawmakers have approved a constitutional change that would 
outlaw foreign military bases on its soil.

The approval throws into doubt the future of a key US base in the South 
American country.

The US has its only South American base in the town of Manta but its 
10-year lease is up for renewal next year.

More.

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