SPB News for Saturday.

Bush pledges more troops to Afghanistan, despite focus on Iraq --Fighting in Basra reveals fragility of Maliki regime George Bush yesterday promised to send more troops to Afghanistan after his departure from the White House next year, whatever the status of troop withdrawals from Iraq. The pledge, delivered at a Nato summit in Bucharest, would add a "significant" number of troops in Afghanistan in 2009, the Pentagon chief, Robert Gates, told reporters.

Obama Adviser Calls for Troops to Stay in Iraq Through 2010 A key adviser to Senator Obama’s campaign [Colin Kahl] is recommending in a confidential paper that America keep between 60,000 and 80,000 troops in Iraq as of late 2010, a plan at odds with the public pledge of the Illinois senator to withdraw combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office.

Now What About McCain's Tax Returns? The Democratic National Committee releases this statement: "While both Democratic candidates for president have released several years worth of full federal tax returns, John McCain has not. As a self-professed champion of disclosure and ethics, John McCain should explain why for the past 26 years he has not seen fit to provide this important financial information to voters..." A McCain spokesman tells MSNBC that the Arizona senator will release his tax returns after they're filed, the week of April 15.

U.S. Extends Blackwater Contract While Shooting Probe Continues Amid investigations into fatal shootings of civilians and allegations of tax violations, Blackwater USA's multimillion-dollar contract to protect diplomats in Baghdad has been renewed, the State Department said Friday. A final decision about whether the private security company will keep the job is pending, the department said. Moyock, N.C.-based Blackwater is one of the largest private military contractors, receiving nearly $1.25 billion in federal business since 2000, according to a House committee estimate.

Iraq's Sadr calls for million-strong march against U.S. occupation Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on Thursday for a million-strong demonstration against U.S. occupation. "The time has come to express your rejections and raise your voices loud against the unjust occupier and enemy of nations and humanity, and against the horrible massacres committed by the occupier against our honorable people," said a statement released by Sadr's office in the holy city of Najaf. The demonstration would take place next Wednesday April 9, the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, when the U.S. commander in Iraq is also scheduled to brief Congress in Washington about "progress" in the war

US lawmakers have as much as $196 million invested in defense companies: Study Members of the U.S.Congress have as much as $196 million (€126.2 million) collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the start of the Iraq war, according to a new study

Pentagon's Debt Collectors Accused of Ripping Off Soldiers --Suit: Military Deducted Money From Service Members' Gov't Benefits or Tax Refunds U.S. soldiers and veterans have been illegally hit up by Pentagon debt collectors for millions of dollars in payments over military credit card debt, according to the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Public Citizen and consumer lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), which issues credit cards to U.S. service members to buy goods at military stores.

Cargo Container Labeled 'Anthrax From Osama' Prompts Scare in California A hazardous materials team was called to the Port of Long Beach in California when a cargo container was found Wednesday spray-painted with the words "Anthrax a gift from Osama," but nothing was found in the container.