troops in iraq

Iraq's parliament could vote as early as this week on a security pact with the United States that would allow American forces to remain for three more years.

The Iraqi Cabinet overwhelmingly approved the deal Sunday.

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AP - With the economy in a downward spiral, U.S.

General David Petraeus, who once led U.S. troops in Iraq, becomes head of the U.S. Central Command Friday. That position includes responsibility for the war in Afghanistan.

Petraeus already has endorsed reaching out to less-extreme Taliban elements. He also is expected to send more troops and air power to support the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is in Iraq Tuesday on an unannounced visit. U.S. and Iraqi officials have been negotiating a deal governing the operation of U.S. troops in Iraq, which expires this year.

Iraq's foreign minister says it will take "bold political decisions" to overcome the final hurdles.

Balancing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is difficult militarily and politically. The question is how many troops are needed to fight each war.

Do defense officials have an answer to that question?

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End the war, save money that can be used for other purposes. That's effectively how both John McCain and Barack Obama frame the fiscal outcome of drawing down troops in Iraq.

Multiple vaccinations probably did not cause illness among British troops in Iraq, a UK study finds.