Promising Troops Where They Aren't Really Wanted  —  As President Bush challenges public opinion at home by committing more American troops, he is confronted by a paradox: an Iraqi government that does not really want them.  —  The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki …

The President's New Iraq Strategy Is Rooted In Six Fundamental Elements:  — Create space for political progress;  — Diversify political and economic efforts; and  — Iraq Could Not Be Graver - The War On Terror Cannot Be Won If We Fail In Iraq.  Our enemies throughout the Middle East are trying to defeat us in Iraq.

Bush's Strategy for Iraq Risks Confrontations  —  By stepping up the American military presence in Iraq, President Bush is not only inviting an epic clash with the Democrats who run Capitol Hill.  He is ignoring the results of the November elections, rejecting the central thrust …

Bush Adds Troops in Bid to Secure Iraq  —  President Bush embraced a major tactical shift on Wednesday evening in the war in Iraq when he declared that the only way to quell sectarian violence there was to send more than 20,000 additional American troops into combat.

A Crisis of Confidence  —  Bush's way forward may be sensible.  But his face showed fear—and that's no way to rally a war-weary nation.  —  George W. Bush spoke with all the confidence of a perp in a police lineup.  I first interviewed the guy in 1987 and began covering his political rise in 1993 …

Intensified Combat on Streets Likely  —  President Bush's plan to send tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi reinforcements to Baghdad to jointly confront Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias is likely to touch off a more dangerous phase of the war, featuring months of fighting in the streets …

On Patrol in Baghdad; Update: Photos posted at Michelle's site  —  Michelle and I are embedded with a unit in Baghdad that's responsible for the "standing up" part of the US plan to get Iraq ready to become master of its own destiny.  This unit trains Iraqi army and police …