In the years since, the U.S. effort in Iraq has veered from the brink of calamity to the threshold of surprising success. With the remaining U.S. troops now packing to leave, possibly for good, casualties and costs will be tallied one last time.
More elusive is a firm judgment on the net benefit of the American sacrifice, the more than 4,400 dead, the tens of thousands injured and the untold numbers suffering unseen psychological wounds for years to come.
In Iraq, youngest US troops bore the heaviest toll
US troops may stay in Afghanistan until 2024
America and Afghanistan are close to signing a strategic pact which would allow thousands of United States troops to remain in the country until at least 2024, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The agreement would allow not only military trainers to stay to build up the Afghan army and police, but also American special forces soldiers and air power to remain. The prospect of such a deal has already been met with anger among Afghanistan’s neighbours including, publicly, Iran and, privately, Pakistan.
Regulators Close Banks In Florida, Georgia, Illinois
U.S. regulators on Friday closed a large bank in Florida and two smaller ones in Georgia and Illinois, with the three total closures pushing this year's tally of failures to 68.
The Florida bank--Lydian Private Bank based in Palm Beach--is the fifth-largest failure this year by assets. The Georgia bank--First Southern National Bank, based in Statesboro--pushes that state's tally to 17 this year, the most in the country.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Is Coming to Network TV: Why It Matters
Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to network television. Calling it the "world's fastest growing sport," which creates the "heroes of a new generation,"
Fox Sports and the UFC announced a seven-year deal Thursday which, starting in November, will put four live UFC fights a year on Fox and 32 live fights on FX, including 24 in conjunction with two seasons of the UFC's reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Before the Fox deal, UFC fights had been aired on basic cable channel Spike.
Weeks of protests planned against Keystone XL pipeline
Thousands of opponents of a $7 billion pipeline that would boost U.S. dependence on Canadian oil sands plan to get arrested in protests over the next two weeks that they hope will help persuade the Obama administration to kill the project.
The State Department is set to issue a final environmental impact report this month on the Keystone XL pipeline project that would bring oil sands petroleum from Alberta to Texas refineries. The department hopes to make a final decision on the TransCanada Corp line by the end of the year.
NASA reports breakthrough in space weather monitoring
Thanks to data collected from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) and advances in modeling, scientists can for the first time watch a coronal mass ejection from its formation on the sun to its impact with the Earth's magnetosphere.
The most powerful CMEs, enormous magnetized clouds of electrified gas emitted from the sun, that hit the Earth's protective magnetic field can disrupt satellites, radio signals and even the electric grid.
US military develops 'bigger bang' explosive material
The US Office of Naval Research says that it has successfully tested a new type of explosive material that can dramatically increase weapons' impacts. Missiles made from the high density substance can explode with up to five times the energy of existing armaments.
The material mixes metals and polymers and is said to be as dense as steel but have the strength of aluminum. US Navy scientists say that projectiles made from the new compound are less likely to kill innocent bystanders.
Farmers speak out: GMOs are a trap that Monsanto is using to take over agriculture
Monsanto's goal is to convert everybody to Roundup Ready crops, buy out all the seed companies, and control the agriculture market
Most Americans have no idea just how pervasive genetically-modified organisms (GMO) have become throughout the food supply. Predatory marketing practices have lured many farmers into converting over to GMOs, and craftily-designed, proprietary growing systems have kept them there. Meanwhile, multinational biotechnology companies like Monsanto effectively seize the reigns of agriculture and dictate how it will proceed from here.
Biotech industry at war over GMOs; millions of dollars funneled to lawmakers
Monsanto's stated agenda of totally monopolizing agricultural seeding started in the late 1980s. That's when the Bush Senior administration granted fast track product approval to the industry, which translates to minimal or no third party oversight and no long term testing.
Monsanto's earlier legacy includes a list of chemical toxins that pollute the environment and food additives that endanger human health. The planetary trail of diseased and dead bodies numbers in the millions. For a complete time line of Monsanto's atrocities see "Monsanto's Dark History: 1901 - 2011."
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