A new Harris Poll conducted in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, and the US last month indicates large majorities in five of the six countries believe the coalition should withdraw military forces from Iraq within the next few months. More than 80 percent of respondents in France (90 percent), Spain (84 percent), Britain (83 percent), and Germany (82 percent) favor a timetable of a few months. The survey also asked what were the three most significant events of 2006, which Harris lists as: the Israel/Hezbollah war in Lebanon; the first nuclear test in North Korea; and the defeat of George Bush and the Republican Party in the US Congressional Elections.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.