“Iraq War” on The Daily Caller

Dear Michael Moore, (more)

In the largest document leak in US history, WikiLeaks has released more than 400,000 secret US documents about the Iraq war. As with the second-largest leak in US history – the 92,000 Afghan war documents released in July – much of the substance of the leaks has been reported already, but details are new. (more)

On Dec. 22, 2006, American military officials in Baghdad issued a secret warning: The Shiite militia commander who had orchestrated the kidnapping of officials from Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education was now hatching plans to take American soldiers hostage. (more)

Is America fighting a permanent war, or at least a war that will span generations? From the First Gulf War to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, to the military operations to enforce sanctions on Iraq, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and all our covert military operations in response to terrorist attacks on us in between, we’ve been at war for 20 years, and there is no end in sight. Is this our new reality? (more)

I recently received a letter from my Ohio National Guard command asking me if I would volunteer to go to Afghanistan for a “historic combat operation” next year. The letter encouraged me to volunteer for the mission; it was not an order to deploy. Contrary to what you may have heard about an overstressed military, my unit had been requesting to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan for years before we finally were. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we wanted to contribute to the war effort and were pleased when we received our orders to go to Iraq in 2006. (more)

In the wake of last week’s 9/11 remembrances and looking to the upcoming Mideast talks, it is a good time to reflect on what we have learned — and lost — since we took that sucker punch from a small group of al-Qaeda cowards. (more)

A candid former British Prime Minister Tony Blair stands by his and the Bush administration’s decision to pursue the Iraq war, even as he expresses regret for the lives lost in the conflict. (more)

As President Barack Obama formally declared an end to combat operations in Iraq this week, the anti-war movement that helped sweep him into office — and that worked for seven years to bring U.S. troops home — finds itself struggling for survival. (more)

This was supposed to be a victory speech. But President Obama had little to celebrate and it showed. Paraphrasing Churchill, this was an ambivalent speech with much to be ambivalent about. The president spoke of transition, rather than victory or peace. He said an important “milestone” had been reached with the end of America’s combat mission in Iraq. It was time “to turn the page,” he said, barely suppressing his relief at being able to do so. (more)

After seven long years of war, tens of thousands of American casualties, and hundreds of billions of dollars, President Obama last night announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. The president had promised to end combat operations in Iraq by August 31 and he kept his word. (more)

In his prime-time address last night, President Obama wisely avoided many of the pitfalls that tripped up his predecessor. He did not declare victory under a “mission accomplished” banner or claim that a fully-flowered democracy had been created in Iraq. Rather, he expressed his hope that violence comes down, that Iraqi politicians will reconcile their differences, and that Iraq may someday be capable of defending itself. (more)

Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
Oval Office Address on Iraq
Washington, D.C.
August 31, 2010 (more)

Top Republican officials are charging President Obama with giving a revisionist account of his actions regarding the Iraq war “surge” in the hours before the president is scheduled to give a major address on the subject. (more)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, President Barack Obama’s controversial former pastor, accused people who wrongly believe Obama is Muslim of catering to political enemies during a fiery speech Sunday in Arkansas. (more)

Sunni fighter Abu Mujahid lost a leg battling U.S. Marines in the Iraqi city of Falluja, scene of some of the fiercest battles of the Iraq war. (more)

President Obama has been reminding the American public lately that he has kept his own promise to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by the end of August. (more)

Expect to hear a lot about how much the Iraq war cost in the days ahead from Democrats worried about voter wrath against their unprecedented spending excesses. (more)

There was a sigh of relief at the Pentagon Wednesday as the U.S. Army’s final combat brigade crossed from Iraq into Kuwait. Generals and their staffs have spent nearly a decade juggling soldiers to meet the needs of two wars, bruising many of the units and stretching the Army nearly to the breaking point in the process. Military experts agree that reducing troop strength in Iraq will ease the strain on the force, although it could allow tensions inside Iraq to flare. But the campaign’s sunk costs — more than 4,400 U.S. troops dead, 30,000 wounded (and far higher Iraqi casualties), along with a price tag that amounts to $2,500 for every person in America — is far higher than anyone expected when Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 20, 2003. (more)

WASHINGTON — As the United States military prepares to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void. (more)