Iraq

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US Goes on Move Against Qaeda
US Goes on Move Against Qaeda
Jun 16, 2007 5:42 PM CDT

US Goes on Move Against Qaeda

New strategy will refocus troops away from Baghdad

(Newser) - In a major tactical shift, the US is set to launch a large-scale offensive against Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, General David Petraeus said today. The new campaign moves attention away from Baghdad's sectarian violence to the outskirts of the capital, where the military will target Al-Qaeda strongholds and aim to destroy...

Surge Fizzles in Iraq
Surge Fizzles in Iraq
Jun 14, 2007 11:45 AM CDT

Surge Fizzles in Iraq

Troop buildup fails to curb violence

(Newser) - A new report shows no overall drop in bloodshed in Iraq despite the three-month-old troop surge. Violence has fallen slightly in Baghdad and Anbar province, where troops are concentrated, but a corresponding rise everywhere else more than compensates. And while sectarian killings have dropped slightly, civilian casualties are up, and...

Iraq Misses Mark on US Demands
Iraq Misses Mark on US Demands
Jun 13, 2007 8:13 AM CDT

Iraq Misses Mark on US Demands

Sectarian political deadlock stymies progress on mandated milestones

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has flubbed virtually all of the legal benchmarks proscribed by the US occupation. Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish blocs in Iraq's legislature have so far failed to agree on watershed issues like distributing oil wealth, debaathification, and curbing sectarian violence; now scorekeepers are saying no major legislation will...

Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine
Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine
Jun 13, 2007 7:49 AM CDT

Minarets Hit at Sacred Shrine

Suspected al-Qaeda strike at Askariya shrine whose bombing last year touched off sectarian violence

(Newser) -  The Askariya mosque, a Shiite shrine whose bombing ignited sectarian violence last year, was attacked again this morning, destroying the minarets left standing after its Golden Dome was shattered earlier. Iraq now braces for a bloody response; US troops rushed to Samarra, and a curfew was called on group...

CIA Uses Spies From Sudan to Infiltrate Iraq

Secret cooperation said to undercut Bush actions against genocide

(Newser) - The CIA is secretly working with the Sudanese government to send spies into Iraq, even as the US condemns the regime's role in the Darfur genocide, the LA Times reports. Sudan's position as a gateway for Islamic militants heading for Iraq and Pakistan makes it ideal for sending spies into...

Military Preps for Iraq Pullout
Military Preps for Iraq Pullout
Jun 10, 2007 12:17 PM CDT

Military Preps for Iraq Pullout

Envisions 40K force to stay for years; big withdrawal by early 2009

(Newser) - Top military officials are quietly setting their post-pullout strategy, reports Thomas Ricks in today's Post, and they're readying to keep in place a long-term, mid-size force. The new plan requires upwards of 40,000 American troops to stay in the country, with half dedicated to security, a quarter to training,...

US Joins Sunni Militants to Smash Qaeda

Officer on alliance: 'We have made a deal with the devil'

(Newser) - American soldiers in Baghdad's violent Amiriyah district of have formed an unlikely alliance in an effort to root out al-Qaeda In Iraq. US troops are giving guns, and even the power of arrest, to a Sunni paramilitary group—and a week into the partnership, they’ve helped kill or capture...

Protesting Vet Faces General Discharge

Marine board acts after antiwar rally; corporal vows to appeal

(Newser) - In a decision that may hold implications for veterans' free-speech rights, a disciplinary panel has recommended that a decorated Marine who appeared at an antiwar protest in desert fatigues receive a general discharge. Adam Kokesh, who had been honorably discharged from active duty, says the military is using "tactics...

Surge Fails to Quell Baghdad
Surge Fails to Quell Baghdad
Jun 4, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

Surge Fails to Quell Baghdad

US forces control only a third of Iraqi capital, new report says

(Newser) - U.S. and Iraqi forces control only a fraction of Baghdad, despite the three-month-old troop surge. An internal assessment leaked to the Times found two thirds of the city's neighborhoods are still in open rebellion, although surge architects planned to have Baghdad under control by July. “We were way...

Attacks on US Troops Get Deadlier
Attacks on
US Troops
Get Deadlier
Jun 4, 2007 5:07 AM CDT

Attacks on US Troops Get Deadlier

Bigger IEDs and more complex ambushes lead to more US deaths in Iraq

(Newser) - Iraqi insurgents are using bigger bombs and more sophisticated tactics to kill US troops, reports the Washington Post. While Iraq civilian deaths have dropped 50 percent since the new counterinsurgency strategy was launched in Baghdad, American fatalities compared to the number of wounded have nearly doubled.

Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM
Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM
Jun 1, 2007 12:23 PM CDT

Blair Looks Back on Tenure as PM

"We will not succeed simply by military or security means. It is a political challenge."

(Newser) - In a wide-ranging essay that offers few apologies, Tony Blair reflects on his decade as prime minister and argues that Britain must stand in the world as “a player not a spectator.” Writing in the Economist, Blair discusses the shifting landscape of his time in office, the challenges...

Times and Post Split on Iraqi Infighting

The tale of two papers and the Sunni insurgency

(Newser) - It definitely is the worst of times in Iraq, the New York Times and the Washington Post seem to agree, but today, the nation's most prestigious dailies differed on the details. One fact is indisputable: Sunni insurgents clashed in Baghdad's Amiriya district this week, but the papers disagree on the...

UK May Seek Iran's Help on Iraqi Captives

Brits suspect kidnappers connected to Iran; search in Sadr City continues

(Newser) - Britain may ask Iran for help in finding the five British hostages kidnapped in Iraq. Senior Iraqi officials think a rogue faction of the Mahdi Army—possibly under the influence of Iranian intelligence —is responsible for the kidnappings. British sources tell the Guardian they believe the kidnapping was not...

Turkey Menaces Kurds
Turkey Menaces Kurds
Jun 1, 2007 6:00 AM CDT

Turkey Menaces Kurds

Buildup along border makes U.S., Iraq nervous

(Newser) - Turkish troops and tanks amassing along the border with Iraq are ready to go after Kurdish separatist guerrillas as soon as they get the order, the country's top general said yesterday. The US, Iraq and the EU are all urging Turkey not to launch the offensive, which could destabilize Northern...

Kurds Forced From Homes in Mosul
Kurds Forced From Homes
in Mosul
May 30, 2007 5:16 AM CDT

Kurds Forced From Homes in Mosul

Sunni Arabs, stymied by the political process, resort to violence

(Newser) - Over 1,000 Kurds have been killed in Mosul recently, victims of a Sunni Arab insurgent drive to force them out of the Ninevah province and into Iraqi Kurdistan. And the attacks are working, reports the International Herald Tribune; as many as 70,000 Kurds have abandoned Iraq's third-largest city.

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad
May 30, 2007 4:41 AM CDT

Five Brits Kidnapped in Baghdad

Gunmen wearing Iraqi uniforms stormed finance ministry

(Newser) - Five Britons—four members of a private security detail and a financial consultant—were kidnapped in Baghdad yesterday by gunmen wearing Iraqi police uniforms. The kidnappers are said to have barged into the finance ministry around noon, demanding, "Where are the foreigners?"  After rounding up the British civilians,...

Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution
Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution
May 29, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Iraqi Refugees Resort to Prostitution

Displaced women turn to sex trade to support families

(Newser) - As Iraqi refugees flood across the border into Syria, more and more women are turning to prostitution to support themselves and their families. The Times visits the Damascus area, where some women approach men on the street, some work at clubs known as "casinos," and some are even...

U.S. Tells Iran to Stop Supporting Iraqi Insurgents

Iran proposes trilateral security group for Iraq

(Newser) - Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Iraq, used the first formal meeting between the two countries in 27 years to tell his counterpart  that the US wants Iran to stop supporting insurgents in Iraq. In a press conference after the meeting in Baghdad, Crocker said the Iranian ambassador did not respond...

G.I.'s Disillusioned About the War
G.I.'s Disillusioned About the War
May 28, 2007 8:45 AM CDT

G.I.'s Disillusioned About the War

Soldiers from 82nd Airborne say they favor withdrawal

(Newser) - More than a dozen soldiers from the elite 82d Airborne division tell the New York Times that they now see the war in Iraq as futile. “In 2003, 2004, 100 percent of the soldiers wanted to be here, to fight this war,” says one platoon sergeant who advocates...

Contractors in Iraq Trigger Two Shootings

Two incidents ignited by Blackwater raise questions about quasi-miliary role

(Newser) - Contractors from private security firm Blackwater USA set off two firefights in Baghdad in as many days last week. On Thursday, a Blackwater guard shot and killed an Iraqi driver who trailed a convoy suspiciously, and Wednesday a Blackwater convoy escorting State Department officials was ambushed—sparking a battle between...

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