Today's Headlines from Stars and Stripes

Stars and Stripes, the U.S. Military's Independent News Source: Sunday, January 03, 2010
Top headlines from Stars and Stripes. See the rest of today's news at www.stripes.com Looming U.S. exit to complicate Iraqi training BESMAYA TRAINING CENTER, Iraq — In many ways, this collection of dusty ranges and well-tended barracks south of Baghdad represents the culmination of the U.S. military's years-long effort to tr... McChrystal sees victory ahead in Afghanistan U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan "are not winning yet, but we are going to win," Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Friday. But the general said it was not possible to say how long it will take to achieve victory. DOD considers expanding sexual assault tracking The Defense Department could start tracking sexual assault cases among civilians and contractors downrange if the Pentagon follows the recommendation of an inspector general's report due out early this year. Suicide bomb kills 75 at volleyball site in Pakistan A suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed vehicle in a crowd of people watching a volleyball tournament Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing 75 people in the deadliest attack in the country in more than two months. In Iraq, 'Coalition of the willing' becomes an army of one As of Friday, former president George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" formally ceases to exist, leaving only the U.S. military's 130,000 or so forces to shepherd their Iraqi counterparts through a volatile election season before a full American troop withdrawal that's expected by the end of 2011. Note to readers of Stripes' digital editions Due to technical problems, some editions of Stripes'"e-paper" digital edition may not be available at estripes.osd.mil. For now, they may be accessed at epaper.stripes.com. We are working to fix the problem. Mixed bag for AAFES: Holiday sales soar in Pacific but slump in Europe Neither the economic downturn in the U.S. nor the nasty winter weather could put a damper on holiday season sales at Army and Air Force Exchange Service exchanges in the Pacific. But the news wasn't as good in Europe. 'Sons of Iraq' face weakened power The killing of several members of the U.S.-allied Sunni militias known as "Sons of Iraq" has underscored the increasing weakness of groups widely credited with helping turn the tide of the Iraq war. The attacks come amid growing signs that the Sunni insurgency is seeking to reassert itself ahead of March elections. Former POW uses her past experiences to help soldiers returning from war zones One of the two female soldiers held as a prisoner in the Persian Gulf War, Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum is in charge of an effort to teach soldiers how to be more emotionally resilient and so, it's hoped, less prone to depression, post-traumatic stress and suicide. How to be, in essence, more like her. 'Coalition of willing' is an Army of one now The British said cheerio back in July, around the same time the Romanians cleared out "Camp Dracula," their compound on a U.S. base in southern Iraq. Tonga and Kazakhstan left ages ago, and no one seems to remember if any Icelandic forces ever made it to Iraq.
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