Iraq

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Why Iraq Bombs Aren't Sparking Civil War

(Newser) - Iraq was rocked by two deadly, possibly destabilizing bombings this weekend, but the proof is in the reprisals, Larry Kaplow writes in Newsweek—and there were none. “Iraq today is a different place than it was when ethnic conflict threatened to engulf the country in 2006,” Kaplow continues....

August Is a Snooze— Unless These Crises Hit

Iran, Afghanistan won't spend summer snoozing

(Newser) - August is a snooze—except when it isn't, writes Anne Applebaum for the Washington Post, who points out that World War I and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait began in the eighth month. For the benefit of "the interns who are manning the shop while everyone is out of...

Dozens Killed in New Wave of Iraq Bombings

(Newser) - A series of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Mosul killed at least 41 people today and raised fears of a new upsurge in sectarian violence, the BBC reports. In Mosul, where an attack on a Shia mosque killed 40 people Friday, a double truck bomb killed 25 people in a...

Iraqi Tempers Ablaze Over Smoking Ban

(Newser) - Smoking is rampant across the Middle East, and in Iraq nicotine fuels everything from high-level government meetings to weddings and funerals. That's why a new anti-tobacco law making its way through parliament is causing huge public outcry, reports the Washington Post. "We all have to deal with anger issues...

Quietly, Censorship Takes Hold in Iraq

(Newser) - When Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, his draconian censorship laws fell with him, and Iraq was flooded with American news, Egyptian soap operas, and Turkish music videos—not to mention pornography and jihadist videos. But now, reports the New York Times, censorship is quietly making a comeback in Iraq,...

Iranian TV: Captured US Hikers Are CIA Spies

(Newser) - The three American hikers nabbed by Iranian authorities after allegedly crossing the border from Iraq were actually spies, an Iranian TV report claims. The Tehran-based station quotes an Iraqi policeman as saying the three were “working with the CIA.” Hillary Clinton meanwhile asked the Iranian government today for...

Family Doesn't Believe Speicher Died in Crash

Grateful for return of body, but official line doesn't jibe with beliefs

(Newser) - Scott Speicher’s family is thankful for the return of the missing pilot's remains, but isn't buying the military's conclusion that he died in a plane crash in Iraq on the opening night of the Gulf War, the Florida Times-Union reports. “We’re discrediting the rumor that he died...

Iraqi Officers Behind $4.8M Bank Heist

(Newser) - The Iraqi robbers who killed eight security guards and stole $4.8 million from a Baghdad bank this week were army officers, not insurgents, the Los Angeles Times reports. Iraqi police revealed today the arrest of four elite officers assigned to guard Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi. "It was...

Pilot's Remains Found in Iraq After 18 Years

Speicher was first casualty of 1991 Persian Gulf War

(Newser) - The remains of the first American lost in the 1991 Persian Gulf War have been found in Iraq, the military said today. The disappearance of Navy Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher has bedeviled investigators since his fighter jet was shot down on the first night of the war. He was...

Family Confirms US Hiker's Arrest in Iran

(Newser) - The mother of one of the three Americans detained while hiking near the Iran-Iraq border confirmed that her son has been arrested by Iranian security forces, reports CNN. Joshua Fattal of Pennsylvania and two friends, who were warned by Iraqi police not to hike in the border region, were seized...

Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists
 Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists 
Aug 1, 2009 5:51 AM CDT

Iran Seizes 3 US Tourists

(Newser) - Iran has arrested three American tourists who were hiking near the border in Iraq's Kurdistan region, the BBC reports. Kurdish officials believe the hikers were seized after accidentally straying into Iranian territory. State Department officials say they are investigating and taking the matter very seriously. "It looks like the...

Brit Kidnappings Linked to Iraqi Officials

(Newser) - The kidnapping of five British men in Baghdad two years ago appears to have been masterminded by Iraqi officials instead of insurgents, a Guardian investigation finds. Technology specialist Peter Moore and his bodyguards were seized from Iraq's Finance Ministry by 40 men in police uniforms. Interviews with Iraqi and British...

Top US Commander Wants Troops Out of Iraq Pronto

(Newser) - The US should get out of Iraq sooner rather than later, a top Army officer wrote in a recent memo obtained by the Washington Independent. Col. Timothy Reese, the chief of the Baghdad Operations Command Advisory Team, says American forces “smell bad to the Iraqi nose,” and their...

Gates: Troops May Leave Iraq Early

(Newser) - The United States is considering speeding up its withdrawal from Iraq because of the sustained drop in violence there, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, following discussions with his top commanders in the war. "I think there's at least some chance of a modest acceleration," this year, Gates...

Kurd-Arab Conflict Now Biggest Threat to Iraq

(Newser) - Tension between Arabs and Kurds, rather than the usual friction between Sunnis and Shia, has become the greatest threat to Iraqi security, says the top US general in the country. The oil-rich Kurdish region has become "the No. 1 driver of instability," Ray Odierno told reporters yesterday, and...

Baghdad Gunmen Kill 8, Grab $7M in Bank Heist

Theft may be to back insurgency: official

(Newser) - Gunmen killed eight security guards and made off with nearly $7 million today during an early morning robbery at a bank in central Baghdad that police say is the work of insurgents attempting to finance their operations. It’s the second deadly robbery in a week in Baghdad's commercial Karradah...

Gates Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq
Gates Makes
Surprise Visit to Iraq
Jul 28, 2009 3:17 AM CDT

Gates Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has landed in Iraq for a surprise visit, the AP reports. He'll meet with troops stationed at a command post in southern Iraq who are largely serving as advisers. He's also expected to see Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and visit the restive Kurdish region....

US Brands Refugees 'Terrorists', Denies Asylum

All armed groups considered "terrorists"

(Newser) - Refugees hoping to stay in America are SOL if they backed armed movements back home—even if they fought dictators or have since worked for the United States, McClatchy reports. Following a Patriot Act provision, officials have denied more than 7,000 requests for green cards, refugee status, and asylum...

Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy
 Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy 
Jul 26, 2009 4:52 AM CDT

Taliban Scarier Than Iraq Enemy

(Newser) - Taliban forces in Afghanistan are bolder, better organized, and more tenacious than the deadliest Iraqi insurgents, a war-hardened Marine told the New York Times. “In Iraq, they’d hit you and run,” said Sgt. Jacob Tambunga, who spent three tours fighting in Anbar Province. “But these guys...

Torture Photos Should Be Secret—for Detainees' Sake

(Newser) - Human rights groups may be upset that President Obama is classifying photos of detainee abuse, but former Army staff sergeant William Quinn thinks it’s a good thing—for the detainees’ sake. When Quinn was assigned as an interrogator at Abu Ghraib, he discovered that the detainees took a very...

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