Sen. Barack Obama’s foreign policy team includes former State Department veterans and newcomers from academia who seek to reinvigorate U.S. diplomacy.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi security personnel have received U.S.-led counterinsurgency training. But big questions remain over their readiness to replace U.S. forces.

Some U.S. analysts recommend a national ID database with biometric cards to identify insurgents in Iraq, but the proposal faces resistance from the U.S. military.

With U.S. forces mired in Iraq, the cost of war has escalated. But some critics decry the manner in which the war is being funded more than the price tag itself.