PUBLIC MARKS with tags Troops & iraq

The Russian News and Information Agency is reporting today that intelligence services are reporting a “flurry” of activity by U.S. Armed Forces near Iran’s borders. “The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran,” the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq acknowledged on Thursday that the U.S. Army was stretched but insisted forces here were capable of accomplishing their mission and any recommendation to reduce troops further would be dictated by the situation on the battlef

The real cost to the United States of the Iraq war is likely to be between $1-trillion and $2-trillion, up to 10 times more than previously thought, according to a report written by a Nobel Prize-winning economist and a Harvard budget expert....