Today's Fresh Blogs...

• The Season of Reports

  Published: September 6, 2007, 5:28 am

  Tags: Tony Snow, Geoff Morrell, George W Bush, David Petraeus, Ryan Crocker, Iraq, Gao Report, Jones Report

  from the Pentagon: MR. MORRELL: Let me first start off by saying that, you know, there are a number of reports...coming out. It seems to be the season of reports. We believe that the American people are most interested in the assessment of the commanders on the ground, so that very shortly they will hear from General Petraeus and Ambassador

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• Gates Seeks Changes On Iraq Contractors

  Published: October 19, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Gates, Seeks, Changes, Iraq, Contractors, Robert Gates, United States, U S Armed Forces, Condoleezza Rice, Geoff Morrell, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, U S Department Of State, Baghdad, Blackwater Usa, Abdul Rahim Wardak, Karen Deyoung, Michael G Mullen, The Pentagon, Center

  Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that the mission of private security contractors guarding individuals in Iraq is fundamentally at odds with the broader U.S. military objective of stabilizing Iraq, and that changes would be required to reconcile them.

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• Combat Brigade To Leave Iraq

  Published: October 18, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Combat, Brigade, Leave, Iraq, Diyala Province, Robert Gates, United States, Geoff Morrell, Baghdad, Condoleezza Rice, David Petraeus, Jon Lehr, U S Armed Forces, Najaf, The Washington Post Company, Al Diwaniyah, Ann Scott Tyson, Benjamin Mixon, Kirkuk, Mohammad Abdul Azi

  BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- The U.S. military intends to reduce the number of combat brigades in Iraq from 20 to 19 by the end of this year, the first part of a plan to withdraw thousands of American troops from the war zone by next summer, military officials said Wednesday.

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• Gates Prods NATO States on Deployments to Afghanistan

  Published: October 23, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Gates, Prods, Nato, States, Deployments, Afghanistan, Robert Gates, Geoff Morrell, Uruzgan Province, Kabul, The Balkans, Afghan National Army, Iraq, Netherlands, Slovakia

  KIEV, Ukraine, Oct. 22 -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates criticized European members of NATO on Monday for failing to provide the extra troops that their governments promised last year for security duties in Afghanistan.

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• Senior Democrats Want Blackwater Case Details

  Published: October 31, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Senior, Democrats, Want, Blackwater, Case, Details, Condoleezza Rice, United States, Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Iraq, Baghdad, Geoff Morrell, Robert Gates, U S Department Of State, U S Department Of Justice, Blackwater Usa, Patrick Leahy, U S Armed Forces, Ann Scott

  The State Department said yesterday that it had provided "limited protections" to Blackwater Worldwide security guards under investigation in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians but insisted that its actions would not preclude successful prosecution of the contractors.

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• Senior Democrats Want Blackwater Case Details

  Published: October 31, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Senior, Democrats, Want, Blackwater, Case, Details, Condoleezza Rice, United States, Federal Bureau Of Investigation, Iraq, Baghdad, Geoff Morrell, Robert Gates, U S Department Of State, U S Department Of Justice, Blackwater Usa, Patrick Leahy, U S Armed Forces, Ann Scott

  The State Department said yesterday that it had provided "limited protections" to Blackwater Worldwide security guards under investigation in the deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians but insisted that its actions would not preclude successful prosecution of the contractors.

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• WORLD IN BRIEF

  Published: November 20, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: World, Brief, Bilal Hussein, United States, Aung San Suu Kyi, Sergei Storchak, Khmer Rouge, Poland, Nimruz Province, Interregional Investment Bank, The Associated Press, Amazon River, Donald Tusk, Geoff Morrell, Ghulam Dastagir Azad, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Khieu Samphan

  Poland's new defense minister said the country should consider whether allowing the United States to base part of a missile defense system there serves its interests.

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• Pentagon Warns of Civilian Layoffs If Congress Delays War Funding

  Published: November 21, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Pentagon, Warns, Civilian, Layoffs, Congress, Delays, War, Funding, Geoff Morrell, The Pentagon, Iraq, George W Bush, The White House, U S Marine Corps, John Murtha, U S Department Of Defense, U S Republican Party, Cindy Williams, Dana Perino, Dave Obey, Harry Reid, Mit

  The Defense Department warned yesterday that as many as 200,000 contractors and civilian employees will begin receiving layoff warnings by Christmas unless Congress acts on President Bush's $196 billion war request, but senior Democrats said no war funds will be approved until Bush accepts a shift...

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• Pentagon Warns of Civilian Layoffs If Congress Delays War Funding

  Published: November 21, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Pentagon, Warns, Civilian, Layoffs, Congress, Delays, War, Funding, Geoff Morrell, The Pentagon, Iraq, George W Bush, The White House, U S Marine Corps, John Murtha, U S Department Of Defense, U S Republican Party, Cindy Williams, Dana Perino, Dave Obey, Harry Reid, Mit

  The Defense Department warned yesterday that as many as 200,000 contractors and civilian employees will begin receiving layoff warnings by Christmas unless Congress acts on President Bush's $196 billion war request, but senior Democrats said no war funds will be approved until Bush accepts a shift...

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• Pentagon Warns of Civilian Layoffs If Congress Delays War Funding

  Published: November 21, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Pentagon, Warns, Civilian, Layoffs, Congress, Delays, War, Funding, Geoff Morrell, The Pentagon, Iraq, George W Bush, The White House, U S Marine Corps, John Murtha, U S Department Of Defense, U S Republican Party, Cindy Williams, Dana Perino, Dave Obey, Harry Reid, Mit

  The Defense Department warned yesterday that as many as 200,000 contractors and civilian employees will begin receiving layoff warnings by Christmas unless Congress acts on President Bush's $196 billion war request, but senior Democrats said no war funds will be approved until Bush accepts a shift...

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• U.S. Protests China's Denial of Navy Ship

  Published: November 29, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: U S, Protests, China S, Denial, Navy, Ship, Hong Kong, Beijing, Geoff Morrell, Robert Gates, China, United States, The Pentagon, Belgrade, David Sedney, East Asia, Uss Guardian, Uss Kitty Hawk, Uss Patriot, Zhao Ning, Chinese Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan, U S Navy

  The Pentagon issued a formal protest to China yesterday over Beijing's refusal to allow the USS Kitty Hawk or any of the aircraft carrier's accompanying ships into the port of Hong Kong last week.

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• Objects From Iranian Boats Posed No Threat, Navy Says

  Published: January 12, 2008, 12:00 am

  Tags: Objects, From, Iranian, Boats, Posed, Threat, Navy, Says, United States, Afghanistan, Iran, The Pentagon, Uss Port Royal, Al Qaeda, Iranian Armed Forces, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Pakistan, U S Joint Chiefs Of Staff, Dan Mcneill, Geoff Morrell, Josh White, Karim S

  The small, boxlike objects dropped in the water by Iranian boats as they approached U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf on Sunday posed no threat to the American vessels, U.S. officials said yesterday, even as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff charged that the incident reflects Iran's new...

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• 3,200 Marines to Deploy To Afghanistan in Spring

  Published: January 16, 2008, 12:00 am

  Tags: 3 200, Marines, Deploy, Afghanistan, Spring, U S Marine Corps, United States, Geoff Morrell, Iraq, Nato, The Taliban, Robert Gates, California, North Carolina, Camp Lejeune, Dave Lapan, George W Bush, Middle East, The Pentagon, Twentynine Palms, William Fallon, Canad

  President Bush has approved an "extraordinary, one-time" deployment of about 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan for seven months starting this spring, the Pentagon announced yesterday, while defense officials continued to urge NATO allies to supply more forces to fill a long-standing shortfall of 7,500...

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• NATO Allies Bristle at Criticisms From Gates

  Published: January 17, 2008, 12:00 am

  Tags: Nato, Allies, Bristle, Criticisms, From, Gates, Robert Gates, Afghanistan, United States, The Taliban, Geoff Morrell, Uruzgan Province, Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Peter Mackay, The Pentagon, Canada, United Kingdom, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Glenn K

  PARIS, Jan. 16 -- Some of the United States' closest NATO allies expressed anger and astonishment Wednesday at published statements by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates describing their forces as poorly trained for fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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• Bush's Budget Projects Deficits

  Published: February 5, 2008, 12:00 am

  Tags: Bush S, Budget, Projects, Deficits, George W Bush, The White House, Jim Nussle, Judd Gregg, Afghanistan, Iraq, Medicare, U S Department Of Defense, Barack Obama, G William Hoagland, Geoff Morrell, Kent Conrad, Lawrence B Lindsey, Tom Kahn, U S Congressional Budget Office

  President Bush yesterday unveiled a $3.1 trillion budget plan for fiscal 2009 that will leave deficits of more than $400 billion this year and next, forcing his successor to grapple with a range of unpalatable choices to close the gap, according to lawmakers and budget experts.

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