The White House consulted with Pakistani leaders leading up to the announcement of its new strategy, and the initial response has been positive.

VOA: standard.2009.03.29

Initial results show Mr.Maliki's State of Law bloc with a slim overall lead over former prime minister Iyad Allawi and his secular Iraqiya faction.

VOA: standard.2010.03.12

Initial expectations for Copenhagen have been scaled back to try to reach political agreement on a framework, with a detailed, binding treaty to follow.

VOA: standard.2009.12.06

"It was a failure with regards to its initial mission, a success to the triumph of the people that suddenly were thrust upon a problem that they never anticipated, they never planned for, they never trained for, and were able to pull off successfully a successful recovery."

VOA: standard.2010.04.04