Al-Qaeda in retreat?

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has said al-Qaeda is essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and on the defensive elsewhere.

Michael Hayden's remarks, which correspondents describe as strikingly upbeat, come less than a year after the CIA warned of a resurgent al-Qaeda. He told the Washington Post that US counter-terrorism successes extended to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is thought to be hiding out in the area. "On balance, we are doing pretty well," said the CIA director. "Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Near strategic defeat of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. Significant setbacks for al-Qaeda globally."

Strange retreat because Bin Laden is still alive organizing and acting and Taliban returning strong as ever in Afghanistan! Perhaps the head of the CIA should tell us what fiction films is he watching!

Rice in Iraq for surprise visit

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Baghdad on a surprise visit to Iraq.

She said she hoped to see further reconciliation of the various sectarian groups in Iraq. Ms Rice arrived in the city a day after Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr threatened to wage "open war" on Iraq's government.

He urged them to halt operations against his supporters. On Saturday, Iraqi and US troops clashed with his forces in Baghdad and the south.

A cleric declares open war and Condoleezza Rice is going for a surprise visit to verify?

Iraqi cleric threatens war

Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has threatened to wage "open war" on the Baghdad government if it does not halt operations against his supporters.

Moqtada Sadr said he was giving the government a "last warning", and urged it to take "the path of peace". His statement came as Iraqi troops, with US and UK support, clashed with his forces in Baghdad and the south.

In August the cleric's militia declared a ceasefire, pledging not to attack government or foreign soldiers. "I'm giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government," Moqtada Sadr said. "Either it comes to its senses and takes the path of peace... or it will be (seen as) the same as the previous government," he added, referring to former President Saddam Hussein's fallen regime.

"If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare an open war until liberation," he added.

He threatens with open war, and what are they doing now? Playing war? Practicing war?

Unlikely to call for more troops

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Wednesday that he is unlikely to call for another troop buildup in Iraq, even if security deteriorates after the extra American soldiers return home this summer.

Gen. David Petraeus told a House panel that such a move would be considered the last resort, in part because of the strain it would place on the Army. First, the military could try to reallocate existing troops to respond to any hotspots. It also would rely more on Iraqi forces, which are improving in capability, he said.

"That would be a pretty remote thought in my mind," he said of reinstating last year's influx of troops. Petraeus has recommended to President Bush that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 troops that were sent to Iraq last year to calm the violence there. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day evaluation period, to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.

If the general says so imagine how things …really are! But there is a catch here as well, fine no more troops but what about the number of troops already there?