At least according to one senior U.S. military officer in Iraq, the end is in sight. This week, we are getting word that the United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on a time line for the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces from Iraq.

Although the tentative agreement would still require approval from President Bush and the Iraqi Parliament and government, there does seem to be more clarity to an end date than we have seen previously. Clearly, the situation on the ground will always have an impact, but we are now seeing a sense that the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Army will soon be able to provide their own security for much of the country and will rely less and less on the coalition forces.

The tentative agreement as reported by the media would have Iraqis responsible for security in all of the major cities by the summer of 2009. It also calls for the withdrawal of nearly all U.S. forces by the end of 2011. This clearly indicates some significant improvements

Could it happen again? A brief review of history and the origins of World War I, as well as the Soviet incursions into East European countries in the 1950s and '60s, contains some ominous signs in the 21st century. As I write this column, Russia is “offensively” –with a couple of meanings here – engaged in an attack, looting, destruction and occupation of the small, neighboring, democratic country of Georgia.

For the past five years, Georgia has been a growing democratic nation fully aligned with the West and seeking membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As one of the former 15 republics which made up the Soviet Union, Georgia lies geographically adjacent to the large Russian Bear to the west and north. One of Georgia’s provinces, South Ossetia, is more inclined to Russian than Georgian rule. South Ossetia has a large Russian ethnic population and has been basically self-governing for the past decade and has refused to accept Georgia’s

Want a job? Want an education? Want a career? Want exceptional benefits and a potentially excellent retirement package? If you answered yes to any, many, or all of these questions, please read on.

Your U.S. Army and Marines especially, and the other services, reserves and National Guard as well, are looking for bright, healthy, young men and women to join their ranks. Please note up front that I am not making an urgent appeal because of any recruiting troubles. In fact, all of the active duty services and reserve elements are doing quite well.

In June, the latest available statistics, all of the active duty components – Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force – met or exceeded their monthly goals by recruiting over 20,300 young men and women. The reserve components – Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force Reserves, along with the Army and Air Force National Guard – recruited another nearly 12,000 members. While the Army Reserve recruiters fell short by a

Much has been said, written and reported on the many successes of the “surge” of forces in Iraq initiated in 2007. The additional ground forces have made a significant difference, and as reported, the surge forces have been and are returning stateside from the conflict in Iraq. We are now hearing of the potential of an even greater drawdown of ground forces later this year and into 2009. All of this is great news!

What hasn’t been reported on is something akin to a “top-down look” at the surge. Maybe we should call it an aerial view – and even more specifically, an Air Force view. While clearly there was a dramatic increase in ground forces and the concomitant ground successes, there has also been a significant surge in aerial activity.

In fact, there has been an incredible surge in air power activity. For example, the number of aerial sorties (flights) is up by 85 percent. Air strikes are up over 400 percent, with an increase in ordnance

It is simply too tough as an American citizen – and as a retired military officer – to sit idly by in this wild and wacky political season. So I won’t. I am gravely concerned that politics is forcing our candidates for high office to make some alarming statements without fully appreciating their impact on our citizenry and our friends and enemies abroad.

Consider this: Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for the presidency, says it would be OK with him for us to remain in Iraq for 100 years. He clarified this statement by adding “as long as there were no American casualties.” And frankly, that may be the case – 100 years. After all, we have been in Germany and Japan for over 60 years already following World War II, and there is no likelihood that will change anytime soon. Imagine the impact of this statement abroad if not carrying the qualifying phrase. Here at home, McCain’s comments fired up his liberal opponents and