General David Petraeus, the new commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, called for unity today in the civilian and military effort to turn back the Taliban and stabilise the troubled country.

David Petraeus, the American general who presided over Iraq’s pull back from the brink of all-out civil war, relinquished his command today to General Ray Odierno under a cascade of official thank-yous.

The top US commander in Iraq will ask President George Bush to wait until as late as September to decide when to bring home more troops than already scheduled.

Iraq’s political leaders are showing promising new signs of progress towards reconciliation, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today.

The US Senate blocked legislation on Friday that would have ordered most American troops home from Iraq within nine months, bringing to a close a losing week for Democrats who failed to push through any anti-war proposal.

Gunmen ambushed an Iraqi police checkpoint in northern Iraq before dawn today, killing six officers in a sophisticated attack on fledgling Iraqi security installations, police said.

US President George Bush will tomorrow announce plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by the middle of next year, subject to continued progress.

The US President is expected to make a speech in the next few days, following plans outlined by the top US general in Iraq for the withdrawal of as many as 30,000 troops by next summer.

Democrats and moderate Republicans in Congress have tough questions for a top military commander in Iraq who is warning against major changes to US president George Bush’s war strategy.

US President George Bush’s stance on a Democratic agreement to set a timetable on the Iraq war has not changed: he will not accept it.

Breaking a parliamentary roadblock, the US Senate today voted to begin its first formal debate on the Iraq war since Democrats took control of US Congress in January.

Admiral William Fallon, who is poised to become the top American commander in the Middle East, says the United States miscalculated the ability of Iraqi forces to take control and underestimated the enemy’s persistence.