Iraq

(AP) "Turkey's government and military have agreed on detailed plans for a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, the foreign minister said Friday....."We know what to do and when to do it," he said without providing details."

(DangerRoom) "War costs are up for American operations in Iraq -- way up, more than a third higher than last year. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Defense Department's "average monthly obligations for contracts and pay is running about $12 billion per month, well above the $8.7 billion in FY2006."

(AP) Another tale of Iraqi forces not showing up. "In Tuesday's pre-dawn raid, the lack of Iraqi backup meant a frustrating outcome for U.S. forces. When suspects fled, there was no Iraqi cordon to catch them."

(Reuters) Maliki wants a handover of Basra to Iraqi forces in 3 months. (So, is Maliki's goal to grant Basra to the SIIC? There's been a yearlong hot conflict between SIIC, Mahdi, and Fadhila.)

(McClatchy) The Iraqis will be digging a trench around Karbala.

(Examiner) The US killed the al Qaeda in Iraq military emir of Mosul... AGAIN. The military featured his death last year in a report titled "Tearing Down al Qaeda."