President Barack Obama signed legislation last Wednesdaythat formally recognizes the U.S. obligation to withdraw from Iraq and requires the Pentagon to provide quarterly reports on the progress of that withdrawal.

This is the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that Congress has passed legislation that affirms that the United States is committed to leaving Iraq by a specific date, two national Quaker organizations, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) said.

"We congratulate Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin and House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton for including this important milestone in the 2010 military authorization bill," said Aura Kanegis, Director of Public Policy for the American Friends Service Committee. "The U.S.-Iraq bilateral agreement is so central to public discourse in Iraq, but too often forgotten in the U.S." The United States and Iraq signed a bilateral agreement in November 2008 that commits the United States to withdraw all military forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011.

Nevada -- At the gates of the Creech Air Force Base, where American soldiers inside use advanced technology to aim and fire pilotless drones at human targets thousands of miles away in Afghanistan or Pakistan, peace activists from several organizations will rallyt next Monday to stop the use of these drones, violations of international law and fuel for Taliban and Al Qaeda.

"These are war crimes being committed from our own backyards," said local rally participant Father Louis Vitale, a Franciscan friar for 49 years and peace activist. "It's unbelievable that from thousands of miles away, we're dropping bombs on people's houses."

Washington DC... Responding to President Barack Obama's announcement of an escalation and expansion of the military conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urged President Barack Obama to instead invest more heavily in regional diplomacy and improved assistance to strengthen civilian rule of law and stimulate development and peacebuilding.

Obama today announced his plans to send 4,000 additional troops to the country, on top of the 17,000 additional combat soldiers he had already committed to the war. He also reframed the Afghanistan war as a regional conflict and encouraged cooperation among neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia, and China.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday upheld a ruling that two protesters should not have been arrested for pitching tents near then-President George W. Bush's Crawford ranch during Cindy Sheehan's anti-war campaign.

The court ruled 5-4 that the 10th Appeals Court was correct last year in tossing out the convictions of Hiram Myers of Edmond, Okla., and Emily Hardy of Austin, saying they were not obstructing a highway during their 2006 arrests.

"I'm really pleased we prevailed," said David Broiles, the Fort Worth attorney who represented the protesters. "The court ruled that you can't use that (statute) to stop a lawful protest."

After Iraq veterans' complaints, commissioners expected to withdraw offer and take bid from another Houston company.

SAN MARCOS — Hays County commissioners appear ready to rescind a contract offer to KBR Inc. after complaints about the company's work in Iraq.

Commissioners had made a preliminary decision several weeks ago to award a contract for up to $1 million for KBR to design a portion of FM 110, also called the San Marcos Loop.

But according to a public notice posted Thursday, commissioners now intend to take the No. 2 bid for the road work. The switch comes after two military veterans shared their concerns about KBR at a meeting last week.

From Courage to Resist

AWOL GI held in county jail, to be transferred to Fort Stewart

U.S. war resister Cliff Cornell surrendered himself to U.S. border police on Wednesday after being ordered to leave Canada. He was promptly arrested for being AWOL from the U.S. Army, and is now being held at the Whatcom County Jail in Bellingham, Washington, twenty miles south of the U.S.-Canada border.

Cornell’s attorney and supporters expressed outrage at the arrest:

Cliff Cornell has been ordered to leave Canada today. An Arkansas native, Cliff left for Toronto, Canada in January 2005 to resist deployment to Iraq.

"In my heart I felt it's wrong," Cliff has said of his decision to resist deployment. "I've been hearing a lot of people talking about all the innocent people who are being killed and the prisons over there where they've been torturing people. I just didn't want to be a part of it."

A local Canadian supporter noted that, "Many supporters on Gabriola Island (in British Columbia) are planning a send-off, and it's our job to raise hell on the phone lines today!”

Cliff is expected to return to his last duty station at Fort Stewart, Georgia to face a military court martial.

By Nadine Elsibai

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards have been charged with voluntary manslaughter and weapons violations in connection with a shooting last year that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

The charges were announced today in Washington by the Justice Department and the FBI. Officials unsealed an indictment in the case that was returned last week. The fatalities included 14 unarmed civilians, and 20 others suffered injuries, the indictment said. A sixth Blackwater guard pleaded guilty last week to voluntary manslaughter and related charges, the government said.

By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist Project Coordinator, for Alternet. October 8, 2008

"I don't feel that it's right to take someone else's life," said 19 year-old Tony Anderson, Private in the U.S. Army, in a quiet voice on the phone. "I felt that if it came down to it, I couldn't kill someone, in Iraq or anywhere."

Anderson was speaking while under the line-of-sight supervision of his commanding officer at Ft. Carson, Colorado where he is stationed. The young soldier, who refused to deploy to Iraq in July of this year, is under close restriction by the military and has been threatened with a prison sentence for refusing to fight. Despite these dire consequences, Anderson has decided to join the growing ranks of troops who are openly resisting service in the Iraq War.