The world will be closely watching for signs that international envoys gathered in Baghdad might help ease the crisis in Iraq.

Georgia says it is planning to raise the number of Georgian troops serving with U.S.-led forces in Iraq to more than 2,000, up from the current 850.

Delegates at a three-day forum aimed at promoting U.S.-Islamic dialogue have voiced pessimism about the situation in Iraq.

A new U.S. intelligence estimate says that the chaotic situation in Iraq could deteriorate further unless the warring sectarian parties compromise. But it says that the current political climate makes such reconciliation difficult.

A new U.S. intelligence report presented to President George W. Bush says that "key elements" of the violence in Iraq can be described as a "civil war."

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says 2006 was the deadliest year for journalists in more than decade. The death toll was the highest since 1994, a year of conflicts in Rwanda, Algeria, and the former Yugoslavia.

US House lawmakers who have just returned from Iraq and Afghanistan have delivered sobering assessments of the situations there. VOA's Dan Robinson reports on remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others who met with U.S. troops and commanders, and government leaders.

Army Lieutenant General David Petraeus, U.S. President George W. Bush's nominee to become the top commander in Iraq, has outlined his strategy to crush the insurgency.

New U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he is preparing to give President Bush an assessment of the situation in Iraq based on his meetings with U.S. military and Iraqi leaders in Baghdad. Gates wrapped up a three-day trip to Iraq on Friday, but did not say whether he would recommend a short-term increase in U.S. troop levels to help stem growing sectarian violence.