Iraq – News Stories About Iraq - Page 42

Apr 7, 2009 11:50 AM CDT

Shoe-Chucker Gets Reduced Sentence

Iraqi journalist faces only 1 year in prison on lesser charge

(Newser) - Muntadar al-Zaidi, famous for throwing his shoes at former President Bush, has been granted an appeal that cuts his prison time from 3 years to 1, the BBC reports. A court of appeals agreed with Zaidi’s lawyers that the Iraqi journalist deserves a charge of insulting—rather than assaulting—...

Obama Makes
Surprise Detour to Iraq

UPDATED

Apr 7, 2009 11:05 AM CDT

Obama Makes Surprise Detour to Iraq

(Newser) - President Obama made an unannounced stop today in Baghdad, where he told some 600 US troops at Camp Victory that it's time for Iraqis to "take responsibility for their country" after America's commitment of six years and thousands of lives. "You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand...

6 Car Bombs Kill 34 in Baghdad

Apr 6, 2009 7:03 AM CDT

6 Car Bombs Kill 34 in Baghdad

US records first combat death in weeks

(Newser) - Six car bombs exploded across Baghdad today, killing at least 34 and injuring scores more, Reuters reports. Four early blasts occurred within two hours, with the last two hitting within just minutes of each other. One of those, an attack on Sadr City, wounded 65 and killed at least 10,...

6 Iraqi Gays Slain Amid
Religious Clampdown

Apr 4, 2009 6:57 PM CDT

6 Iraqi Gays Slain Amid Religious Clampdown

(Newser) - Iraqi authorities have recovered the bodies of six gay men slain since sermons condemned homosexuality at prayer meetings in Sadr City, Reuters reports. "They were sexual deviants," said a Sadr City official. "Their tribes killed them to restore their family honor." Homosexuality is more common...

Blackwater Guards
Keeping Iraq Jobs

Apr 4, 2009 5:17 AM CDT

Blackwater Guards Keeping Iraq Jobs

Loss of contract means many guards will just change uniforms

(Newser) - Blackwater is getting kicked out of Iraq but not all of its workers will be leaving with the shamed company, the New York Times reports. The Iraq government refused to renew the security firm's license after its guards were repeatedly accused of using excessive force but many, if not most,...

Smaller, Fiercer Insurgency
Has Iraq Worried

Apr 1, 2009 5:52 AM CDT

Smaller, Fiercer Insurgency Has Iraq Worried

(Newser) - As the US military prepares to withdraw from Iraq's cities, security officials in both countries have observed that a smaller but more lethal insurgency seems to be gaining ground. Several recent bombings, believed to be orchestrated by al-Qaeda in Iraq, have killed 123 people in Baghdad and elsewhere, while members...

US Soldier Pleads Guilty to Iraqi Murders

Mar 30, 2009 2:47 PM CDT

US Soldier Pleads Guilty to Iraqi Murders

Sergeant gets 35 years for his role in the killing of 4 prisoners

(Newser) - US Army Sgt. Joseph Mayo pleaded guilty today to the murder of four Iraqi prisoners, the Washington Post reports. The 27-year-old was sentenced to 35 years for participating in the execution-style slaying of four men his infantry unit thought had attacked US military patrols in Baghdad. The prisoners had been...

In Iraq, Hummer's
the Hottest Ride

Mar 30, 2009 10:42 AM CDT

In Iraq, Hummer's the Hottest Ride

While 20,000 patrol the streets, 20 civilian Hummers are setting a trend

(Newser) - An American military icon has become all the rage in war-weary Baghdad: the Hummer. With at least 20,000 military Humvees on the road, the civilian version seems an unlikely symbol for auto-elitism, but a dealership run by two brothers indicates otherwise. They estimate they've sold 20 H3s in the...

In Iraq, US Allies
Fight Each Other for Control

Mar 30, 2009 9:50 AM CDT

In Iraq, US Allies Fight Each Other for Control

Arrest of Sunni leader fuels tension

(Newser) - A showdown this weekend between Iraqi security forces and Sunni fighters known as the Awakening, both US allies, could signal challenges facing Iraq as the US prepares to leave, the Washington Post reports. After Iraqi and US forces arrested an Awakening leader Saturday, Sunni fighters swarmed a Baghdad neighborhood. "...

Navy Award for Murtha Sparks Marine Furor

Mar 27, 2009 5:20 PM CDT

Navy Award for Murtha Sparks Marine Furor

40K sign petition against rep who cried murder in Haditha

(Newser) - Sailors and Marines are up in arms over a Navy commendation to Rep. John Murtha, who has accused servicemen of murdering Iraqi civilians, the Navy Times reports. Outgoing Navy Secretary Donald Winter awarded Murtha the Distinguished Public Service Award earlier this month for his work on a House subcommittee. The...

Soaring Iraq Stock Market
Gets Electronic Trading

Mar 27, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

Soaring Iraq Stock Market Gets Electronic Trading

Booming exchange will do away with writing prices on whiteboards

(Newser) - Stock traders in Baghdad are preparing for a bonanza: the introduction of electronic trading, which will replace the current system of writing prices on whiteboards, reports the Times of London. Iraq's market has risen 30% this year as improved security and dirt-cheap prices—the most expensive stock costs about 9...

Post 9/11, Highest Military Honor Grows Scarce

Mar 26, 2009 12:40 PM CDT

Post 9/11, Highest Military Honor Grows Scarce

The highest military award has gone to only five—and all posthumously

(Newser) - The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced only five recipients of the Medal of Honor, all of whom died as a result of their heroism, the Military Times reports. Pentagon stinginess with the highest military honor in the post-9/11 era frustrates service members who say a politicized, stringent, and...

Car Bomb Kills 20 in Baghdad

Mar 26, 2009 9:14 AM CDT

Car Bomb Kills 20 in Baghdad

Explosion comes day after US says attacks have plummeted

(Newser) - A car bomb exploded near a crowded market in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad today, killing as many as 20 people, Iraqi officials said, in the sixth major attack in Iraq this month. The blast occurred a day after the US military said overall attacks nationwide have fallen to...

'Wait Until She's Sober': Pentagon Rep on Sex Crimes

Mar 25, 2009 1:55 PM CDT

'Wait Until She's Sober': Pentagon Rep on Sex Crimes

(Newser) - A House member is incensed that a Pentagon official, reporting a 25% increase in combat-zone sexual assault against women, said servicemen should “wait until she's sober,” the New York Daily News reports. “This woman is not in the right line of work,” Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY,...

Iraq Victory Vindicates Bush

OPINION

Mar 25, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

Iraq Victory Vindicates Bush

(Newser) - They called it Bush’s folly, a lost cause, even the worst foreign policy mistake in US history. “Even now, there are those who cannot bring themselves to utter the words ‘victory’ and ‘Iraq’ in the same sentence,” writes Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe. “...

Kerry Leaps
to Defense of
Hill as Iraq
Ambassador

OPINION

Mar 25, 2009 8:34 AM CDT

Kerry Leaps to Defense of Hill as Iraq Ambassador

Republican objections only slow down important work

(Newser) - Anticipating GOP resistance, John Kerry goes to bat for Iraq ambassador nominee Chris Hill, arguing in a Politico piece that he should be confirmed immediately. Kerry's committee is considering the veteran diplomat's nomination today. Despite Hill’s lack of Middle East experience, he’s cut out for peacemaking...

Sunni Fighters Say Iraq
Will Never Hire Them

Mar 23, 2009 7:45 PM CDT

Sunni Fighters Say Iraq Will Never Hire Them

(Newser) - The US turned over tens of thousands of Sunni fighters to Baghdad this weekend to take government jobs and mend fences with ruling Shiites, but many Sunnis are skeptical, the New York Times reports. After helping tame al-Qaeda in Iraq, the militiamen say few jobs are being offered in return....

US Gives Iraq Control
of Sunni Guards

Mar 21, 2009 5:23 PM CDT

US Gives Iraq Control of Sunni Guards

Former insurgents will be given jobs in government

(Newser) - Baghdad took control today of 90% of the former insurgents employed by the US military to combat al-Qaeda, Reuters reports. Turnover of the roughly 84,000 “Awakening Council" Sunnis, who were paid about $300 a month to patrol neighborhoods, will test Iraqi reconciliation as the US prepares to...

Tourists Return to Iraq

Mar 21, 2009 3:18 AM CDT

Tourists Return to Iraq

First group of Western tourists since invasion arrive in Baghdad

(Newser) - The first package tourists since the days of Saddam Hussein have arrived in Baghdad, the Guardian reports. The group—four Brits, two Americans, a Russian, and a Canadian—are on a 17-day tour of the country, taking in the sights of ancient Mesopotamia in a journey that would have been...

Maliki Charts Post-Sectarian Politics in Iraq

analysis

Mar 20, 2009 7:04 AM CDT

Maliki Charts Post-Sectarian Politics in Iraq

Shiite PM teams with secular Sunnis and even militant cleric

(Newser) - The Shiite party of PM Nouri al-Maliki has allied itself with Sunni political figures and even Moqtada al-Sadr, a major departure from earlier politics that followed ethnic and sectarian lines. writes Anthony Shadid in the Washington Post. All support a strong central government and advocate a united Iraq over a...