USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier returns to home museum today after two-year refurbishment project.

A group of American doctors that promotes human rights says it has examined 11 former detainees who were held by the U.S. military, and determined they were systematically tortured with the complicity of medical personnel. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said sending a second aircraft carrier to thePersian Gulf could serve as a "reminder' to Iran, but he said it is not an escalation of force.

The day after President Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War, some of his top defense officials met to work on planning for the war's next phase. Defense Secretary Robert Gates brought together some of his top civilian and military advisers at the Pentagon, with the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq participating from Baghdad.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates will hold talks with Turkish leaders on Thursday to press for withdrawal of troops from Iraq despite the Turks refusal to withdraw its troops.

For more a year, the U.S. military in Iraq, with its reinforcements, has been on the offensive in an effort to wipe out insurgents from their strongholds.

Two top U.S. Defense Department officials have testified before a Congressional committee in charge of military spending. The committee grilled the officials about progress in Iraq and the status of America's military jets. VOA's Carolyn Presutti reports.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that United States has no interest in setting up permanent bases in Iraq and insisted that discussions had just barely started on the on the still-to-be-negotiated Status of Forces Agreement.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says American troops are likely to remain in Iraq for the long term, although their numbers will decline and their mission will change. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports, Gates defended President Bush's war strategy during a series of interviews on American television.

The President of United States of America George W. Bush is due to give a televised address from the White House today in which he is expected to endorse the recommendation by his top military commander in Iraq to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer, if conditions allow.

The most senior US commander in Iraq has hinted that he may recommend a reduction in US troop numbers to avoid placing a strain on the army.

The military is more sensitive to problems concerning stress and mental exhaustion than ever before, but more needs to be done, the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq told Pentagon reporters today.