WASHINGTON — U.S. forces in Iraq should be reduced significantly, according to a new study on Iraq's security forces that inflamed debate in Congress on how quickly that can happen without hurling the country into chaos.

The report, authored by a 20-member panel comprising mostly retired senior military and police officers, said the massive deployment of U.S. forces and sprawl of U.S.-run facilities in and around Baghdad has given Iraqis the impression that Americans are an occupying, permanent force.

Accordingly, the panel said the Iraqis should assume more control of its security and U.S. forces should step back, emboldening Democrats who want troop withdrawals to start this fall.

"Significant reductions, consolidations and realignments would appear to be possible and prudent," wrote the group, led by retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant.

The recommendation echoed previous independent assessments on the war, including the high-profile Iraq Study Group that said the combat mission could be transferred to the Iraqis by early 2008. But the burning question, left mostly unanswered by the panel, was precisely when Iraqi security units could take control and U.S. troops could leave.

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Craig drops efforts to finish Senate term, aide says

WASHINGTON — Republican senators expressed relief Thursday that embattled Sen. Larry Craig has signaled he is highly likely to surrender his seat within a few weeks rather than fight to complete his term.

Craig's departure, perhaps as early as Oct. 1, would enable Republicans to sidestep one of the several ethics dilemmas they face, and avoid the embarrassment of dealing with a colleague who had been stripped of his committee leadership posts and urged to resign by party leaders. It also would negate the need for a Senate ethics committee investigation, which GOP leaders had requested.

Craig spokesman Dan Whiting told the Associated Press on Thursday that the senator was focused on trying to clear his name and to help Idaho prepare for a replacement.

"The most likely scenario, by far, is that by October there will be a new senator from Idaho," Whiting said.

The only circumstances in which Craig might try to complete his term, Whiting said, would require a prompt overturning of his conviction for disorderly conduct in a men's room at the Minneapolis airport, as well as Senate GOP leaders' agreement to restore the committee leaderships positions they took from him this week.

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Bush delivering speech on trade, global warming

SYDNEY, Australia — President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao, leaders of two of the world's worst polluting nations, called Thursday for greater international cooperation in tackling climate change without stifling economic growth.

Bush also was to push for expanded trade with Pacific Rim nations and appeal for help in getting stalled global trade talks going again. He was laying out his views on the environment, energy security and the economic costs of terrorism in a speech to business leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

Climate change was high on the agenda of the U.S. and Chinese presidents in a 90-minute meeting and aides said it would be an important aspect of Bush's speech. The president also was to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, among heads of state here for the annual meeting of the 21-nation economic gathering.

Bush has been criticized by environmentalists and others for his opposition to the 1997 Kyoto treaty against global warming, and China has long been slammed for the huge amounts of greenhouse gases its power plants and industries pump into the atmosphere. The fact that neither China nor India, another major global polluter, were covered by Kyoto was one reason Bush has opposed it.

But both leaders seemed to be generally in agreement on the subject.

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Rudy Giuliani is subject of critical 9/11 documentary series

NEW YORK — A filmmaker who was behind documentaries that bashed Rupert Murdoch and Wal-Mart is now focusing on Rudy Giuliani, creating an "online viral video campaign" about the presidential candidate timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack.

Robert Greenwald on Thursday launched the first of four short videos about Sept. 11 and the Republican former mayor. The others are planned to launch throughout the month.

The videos attack Giuliani by saying he failed to prepare New York City for a major disaster, he ignored sick ground zero workers after the terrorist attack and he profited financially from his association with the tragedy after leaving office in 2001.

"We want to use this forum to reach people and show and tell and say, 'Look here are some truths that we want you to know,"' Greenwald told The Associated Press. The video blitz has an accompanying Web site, therealrudy.org.

The Giuliani campaign questioned Greenwald's motivation and timing.

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11 public officials arrested in N.J. corruption probe

TRENTON, N.J. — FBI agents arrested 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey Thursday on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Two of those arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are city councilmen, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.

All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints.

"Today we witnessed another example of the disease that affects the state of New Jersey; the disease of public corruption that spread like wildfire from south to north," said the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Christopher J. Christie.

All 12 suspects, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, made initial court appearances on Thursday afternoon. The charges against them were explained, they were advised of their rights and a $200,000 unsecured bond — to be paid only if they miss a court appearance — was set for each.

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Crowd gathers in Pavarotti's hometown to mourn

MODENA, Italy — Admirers massed by the hundreds in Modena's main piazza Thursday night to pay their final respects to Luciano Pavarotti, the tenor cherished by many as "the last, great voice" of Italian opera.

The crowd applauded as pallbearers carried the white casket into the cathedral, where a funeral Saturday will draw dignitaries from opera, politics and culture. The tenor died early Thursday in his hometown at age 71 after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer.

While Pavarotti moved the world with a wondrous voice, his legacy went beyond the opera house. The tenor collaborated with classical singers and pop icons alike to bring opera to the masses, rescuing the art from highbrow obscurity in the process.

In many ways, Pavarotti fulfilled the public's imagination of what an opera star should be. He often wore a colorful scarf and a hat, be it a fedora or a beret, and while he didn't always have a beard, it was hard to imagine him without it. His heft — as well as a restaurant on his property in Modena — underlined his gourmet appetite.