Is the Iraq war already winding down? One of the virtues of following the news from foreign sources is that they often have less bias in some areas than the American press which is currently following the presidential candidates around and mostly repeating the rhetoric designed to polarize American voters. This story by the Times is instructive. It doesn't read much like the 'positions' articulated by the candidates, but does seem to have some factual underpinning. The acknowledged stress on our military and the increasing problems in Afghanistan make the story all the more credible.