AP - Gen. George Casey, the top American commander in Iraq, said Friday that some of the extra troops that President Bush ordered to Baghdad could begin leaving by late summer if conditions allow. "I think it's probably going to be the summer, late summer, before you get to the point where people in Baghdad feel safe in their neighborhoods," Casey told reporters at a news conference with visiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

AP - Secretary of Defense Robert Gates traveled to Iraq Friday for his second visit in a less than a month, plunging into talks with U.S. and other allied commanders amid a burgeoning war policy debate at home.

AP - Democrats, still riding high from their election sweep, were also celebrating successes with House completion of their "100 Hour" legislative blitz and Senate passage of major ethics and lobbying reform.