Iraq is nearly over. BTW we won.

[Undertoad]

The American press can't admit it. The Brit press just did.

Iraqis lead final purge of al-Qaeda

American and Iraqi leaders believe that while it would be premature to write off Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni group has lost control of its last urban base in Mosul and its remnants have been largely driven into the countryside to the south.

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister, who has also led a crackdown on the Shi’ite Mahdi Army in Basra and Baghdad in recent months, claimed yesterday that his government had “defeated” terrorism.

"They were intending to besiege Baghdad and control it," Maliki said. "But thanks to the will of the tribes, security forces, army and all Iraqis, we defeated them."

A companion story details one battle: "Al-Qaeda is driven from Mosul bastion after bloody last stand" and provides one little note that will confuse radar again:

All that the soldiers found otherwise was a solitary Kalashnikov assault rifle.

"We let him keep the gun because every Iraqi family is allowed to have a personal weapon," said Major Awad al-Juburi, 39, standing in the road in full battle gear.

[classicman]

C'mon UT - its supposed to be a secret till after the election.

[Sundae]

Yay! Where's the VI Party? I want to get drunk and kiss a sailor.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I have a feeling this is like the exterminator claiming victory over the cockroaches... they're always lurking in the dark.

[Undertoad]

Secret haul of 550 tons of "yellowcake" from Iraq to Canada

No, this is the stuff the UN knew about. Uranium yellowcake is processed into power stations and nuke bombs. It was kept under UN seal - the inspectors put their own lock on it.

This was the stuff Bush said they were looking to buy more of in Africa?

So they've secretly moved roughly 1,200,000 pounds of the stuff, worth about $20/lb when he bought it, worth about $100/lb today. Nice return on investment.

[regular.joe]

How come it's always the sailors that get all the kissing?????????

[BrianR]

We all look good in our crackerjacks!

[regular.joe]

G.I. beans and G.I. gravey...G.I. wish I'd have joined the Navey....

[DanaC]

I want to get drunk and kiss a sailor.

What, is it weekend already?

[Troubleshooter]

Yeah, we're totally done in Iraq.

[DucksNuts]

Originally Posted by regular.joe

How come it's always the sailors that get all the kissing?????????

Put your camos on and pucker up, baby.

[Radar]

UT, never assume that you know anything that would confuse me. We most certainly haven't "won" in Iraq. You can't win a war that has no stated goals, and which we already lost the moment we started it. The world is a more dangerous place. The war on terror has resulted in more terrorists and more terrorism. If that's victory in your book, we have a very different view of the word.

Originally Posted by Jeanette Rankin

"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

-Jeanette Rankin

[Radar]

Originally Posted by Troubleshooter

Yeah, we're totally done in Iraq.

Yes, let's all hold our breath until the troops come home and Bush admits the war was 100% unconstitutional.

[lookout123]

never gonna happen. even if the war in Iraq is won. If it is won we will certainly set up bases there as we did in Europe after WWII.

[BigV]

Iraqi Official Says Government Wants Timetable for Withdrawal
BAGHDAD, July 8 -- Iraq's national security advisor said Tuesday that his government would not sign an agreement governing the future role of U.S. troops in Iraq unless it includes a timetable for their withdrawal.

The statement was the strongest yet by an Iraqi official regarding the politically controversial negotiations between Iraq and the United States over the U.S. military role in Iraq. A United Nations mandate that sanctions the presence of U.S. troops in the country expires in December.

Speaking to reporters in the holy city of Najaf, National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie declined to provide specific dates, but said his government is "impatiently waiting" for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops.

"There should not be any permanent bases in Iraq unless these bases are under Iraqi control," Rubaie said. "We would not accept any memorandum of understanding with [the U.S.] side that has no obvious and specific dates for the foreign troops' withdrawal from Iraq."

So, "we" "won", great. Why are we still there?

And this confuses me:

The Bush administration has long opposed a firm timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, arguing that the American military should leave only when Iraq's security forces are capable of securing the country and that setting a pullout date would allow insurgents to lay low until after U.S. troops were gone.

What are the alternatives? Stay indefinitely? Sneak out and hope the insurgents don't notice? How in the hell can you square this circle?