Iraq

(NYTimes) Six infantrymen blast holes in the claims of progress in Iraq on the NYTimes Sunday editorial page. (Now it's time to watch the war supporters try to attack soldiers who are finishing their deployments.)

(Telegraph) A "must read" about the tensions between the US command and the British commanders in Basra.

"It's insufferable for Christ's sake," said one senior figure closely involved in US military planning. "He comes on and he lectures everybody in the room about how to do a counter-insurgency. The guys were just rolling their eyeballs.....

A senior US officer familiar with Gen Petraeus's thinking said: "The short version is that the Brits have lost Basra, if indeed they ever had it. Britain is in a difficult spot because of the lack of political support at home, but for a long time - more than a year - they have not been engaged in Basra and have tried to avoid casualties.

(Independent) "Senior military commanders have told the Government that Britain can achieve "nothing more" in south-east Iraq, and that the 5,500 British troops still deployed there should move towards withdrawal without further delay."

(WaPo) Iraq's "crisis talks" between the factional leaders have yielded "scant results."

The NYTimes looks at Maliki's failures and other possible governments.

(AP) Sunni parliamentarian Hashemi during his visit to Sunni prisoners, many of whom he admits are innocent, "Those who are outside are not much better off than you. It is true that you are in prison, but at least you live in safety here, believe me you are more secure than those outside," he added.

(AP) A story on the increasing Mahdi influence in Hurriyah. ("The U.S. Army still runs regular patrols.... And Iraqi police, on the streets, are nominally in charge. But underneath the calm, an armed group hostile to the United States holds a firm grip on power.")

And, don't miss President Bush trying to talk his way away from "the benchmarks" in the Saturday Radio Address. It's the first wave in the September report prespin.