AFP - The United States and Iraq are now "very close" to an agreement on the presence of American troops in the country beyond 2008, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Tuesday.

AFP - The US Army released its first field manual on "stability operations" Monday, drawing on lessons learned from the military's failure to prepare for aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq.

Reuters - Top U.S. Army officials on Monday said a $160 billion Future Combat Systems modernization program managed by Boeing Co and SAIC Inc was "on budget, on track," but could see changes over time.

AP - As of Monday, Oct. 6, 2008, at least 539 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.

AFP - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said there was "no reason to be defeatist" in Afghanistan, and refused to rule out the idea of negotiation with insurgents willing to reconcile with the Afghan government.

AFP - US and Iraqi officials are "very close" to an agreement on a controversial security pact that would decide the future of US forces in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said here on Saturday.

AFP - A Tanzanian held at Guantanamo Bay over the August 7, 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Dar es Salaam was referred Friday to trial before a special US military tribunal, the US defense department said.

AP - As of Friday, Oct. 3, 2008, at least 539 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Friday at 10 a.m. EDT.

AFP - A US soldier was sentenced to eight months in prison Thursday for his role in the killings of four blindfolded Iraqi detainees last year, an army spokeswoman said.

AP - As of Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, at least 536 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures Wednesday at 10 a.m. EDT.

Reuters - North and South Korea will hold military talks on Thursday in the first official meeting between the two states since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February, an official said on Wednesday.

AFP - A draft report recommends that the United States build new missile, sea-based and space-based defenses to deal with China's growing nuclear and conventional forces, a newspaper said Tuesday.