Nouri al-Maliki

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US Presence in Iraq Open-Ended in Secret Pact

US-Iraq deal would remove limit on troops, weapons

(Newser) - US officials and the Iraqi government plan to authorize an open-ended American presence in Iraq, according to a secret draft of an agreement between the two nations. The March 7 draft, leaked to the Guardian, is intended to replace the current UN mandate authorizing operations that expires this year. The...

Split Deepens Between Iraqi Shiites

Intra-sect feuds reign between Sadr loyalists and government bodies

(Newser) - As violence between Sunni and Shiites has subsided in Iraq, animosity between Shiite sects is mounting, with a death toll to match, the Washington Post reports. The government's offensive last week against Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia in Basra exposed the grim reality of a widening political gulf. “...

Iraqi PM: No Elections for Militias

Mahdi Army must disband, Maliki says, or lose political power

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr and his loyalists will be banned from upcoming elections if the Mahdi Army doesn't disband, Nouri al-Maliki said today, in his toughest rhetoric yet against the popular cleric. Sadrists say the Iraqi PM has no constitutional power to make that threat, but even if lawmakers succeed in banning...

Baghdad Rockets Kill 3 US Soldiers, Wound 31

Another killed in roadside bombing; death count now 4,022

(Newser) - Battles erupted in Baghdad today as rocket attacks killed three US soldiers and wounded 31, CNN reports. The first strike killed one and wounded 14 at a military outpost; “a couple of rounds of fire” killed two more and wounded 17 in the Green Zone soon after, a military...

Iraqi Official Calls Blackwater Deal 'Bad News'

PM's adviser warns Baghdad may challenge contract

(Newser) - An Iraqi official called the renewal of Blackwater USA's contract "bad news" today, CNN reports. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis," said the adviser to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. With many in Baghdad upset about it,...

Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength
Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength
analysis
Apr 4, 2008 1:06 PM CDT

Basra Showed Maliki Weakness, al-Sadr Strength

Nouri al-Maliki is now saying the assault wasn't political

(Newser) - The Iraqi-led assault on Basra last week exposed the weaknesses of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the strength of Moqtada al-Sadr, the Washington Post concludes in its post-mortem of the unsuccessful foray. In not engaging parliament, political allies, or the Americans in planning the incursion, Maliki sought to demonstrate decisiveness,...

Iraqi PM Flips, Calls Off Raids on Militias

Maliki extends olive branch to Sadr after Basra battle

(Newser) - Nouri al Maliki reversed course today, ordering a stop to raids against suspected Mahdi Army militants. The move is an apparent olive branch to Shiite rival Muqtada al Sadr, who had complained that raids against his militia fighters were continuing, even after he’d ordered them off the streets. Just...

1,000 Iraqis Deserted Basra Battle

Officers and men fled or balked as government battled militias

(Newser) - Desertions from Iraqi forces during last week's Basra battles have raised fresh doubts about the effectiveness of the country's US-trained security forces, the New York Times reports. Over 1,000 soldiers and policemen—including dozens of officers—either deserted or refused to fight. The US has linked American troop withdrawals...

Iraqi Assault on Basra Was 'Thrown Together'

Americans taken aback by Maliki's hasty, improvised raid

(Newser) - American officials were expecting a gradual, methodical operation when Nouri al-Maliki moved Iraqi troops into Basra to restore order in the city. What they witnessed instead was a rush job: an Iraqi raid that had little forethought and began even before the last of the soldiers had arrived. "He...

Brits Join the Fight in Basra
Brits Join the Fight in Basra
Mar 29, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Brits Join the Fight in Basra

US widens its airstrikes, and Sadr tells followers to keep their weapons

(Newser) - As the Iraqi army struggles to combat militias in Basra, British troops for the first time directly joined the fight, and American forces expanded their bombing beyond the militia stronghold. The Brits, who had previously provided only logistical and air support to the Iraqis, fired on an insurgent mortar team...

Criticism Dogs Basra Battle
Criticism Dogs Basra Battle
Mar 29, 2008 5:33 AM CDT

Criticism Dogs Basra Battle

US influence limited in potential quagmire, fight likely to drag on: military officials

(Newser) - As US troops are drawn deeper into the four-day-old Iraqi crackdown on militants in Basra,  critics see a long and difficult road ahead. While President Bush praised the operation as a "defining moment in the history of a free Iraq," military officials murmured that the battle "...

US Joins Basra Battle; Maliki Extends Deadline

Maliki extends deadline as fighting continues

(Newser) - Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki today gave Shia militants in Basra 10 more days to turn over their weapons, as fighting continued in Iraq’s third largest city. The US, meanwhile, made its first moves in the fight, bombing Mahdi Army positions, the BBC reports. Muqtada al Sadr, the radical...

Iraqi Lawmakers to Meet as Violence Escalates

Baghdad under curfew as militants in Basra hold their ground

(Newser) - Iraqi lawmakers will hold an emergency session in Baghdad tomorrow to try to find a way to resolve the escalating violence in Basra and the capital, Reuters reports. Baghdad, its Green Zone rocked by steady rocket and mortar fire, is now under a three-day curfew, and the State Department ordered...

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive
 Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive 
Mar 27, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive

President scolds Congress' calls for withdrawal

(Newser) - President Bush praised the government of Iraq today for the offensive launched three days ago against militias in Basra, painting it as a sign of progress toward the goals of the US war, the AP reports. Bush also criticized Congress for calling for troop withdrawals so the military’s attention...

Sadrists Resist Crackdown, Demand Maliki's Ouster

Intra-Shiite battle pounds on in Basra

(Newser) - Followers of Muqtada al-Sadr marched in Baghdad today, denouncing Nouri al-Maliki's US-backed government as non-representative, while the onslaught in Basra continued for a third day. Explosions were heard in the city every 10 to 15 minutes and more than 100 are already dead, Reuters reports. Residents of Iraq's second-largest city,...

Iraq PM Threatens Sadrists as Basra Explodes

'Moment of truth' as government battles Shiite militias

(Newser) - As Iraqi government forces battle Shia militants for a second day in Basra, the Iraqi prime minister has issued a 72-hour deadline for insurgents to lay down their arms. In a television broadcast, Nouri al-Maliki warned militants, many of them loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to stand down...

Iraqi Forces Battle Mahdi Army in Basra

Sadr promises 'civil revolt'

(Newser) - Iraqi security forces fought pitched gun battles through the streets of Basra today, trying to wrest control of the oil-rich city from Mahdi Army militants. An enraged Muqtada al Sadr promised a “civil revolt” if the attacks on his faction didn’t stop and ordered police cleared from the...

Cheney Makes Surprise Visit to Baghdad

Promises 'unwavering commitment' of US as war begins 6th year

(Newser) - Leading Iraq war architect Dick Cheney made an unannounced visit to Baghdad today, beginning a nine-day Middle East tour by promising Iraq the "unwavering commitment of the United States in finishing the difficult work that lies ahead." John McCain, traveling as a member of the Senate Armed Services...

McCain Makes Surprise Visit to Baghdad

He begins Mideast tour to shore up foreign policy image

(Newser) - John McCain made a surprise visit to Baghdad this morning, where he will meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Gen. David Petraeus, and US troops. Details were sketchy for security reasons. McCain, who has linked his political hopes to success in Iraq, has begun a tour of the Mideast and...

Ahmadinejad Calls on US to Quit Iraq

'No one likes them,' Iranian prez says of coalition forces

(Newser) - As he headed home after his historic visit to Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the American occupation, CNN reports. “No one likes them," the provocative Iranian president said of the US-led coalition. "We believe that the forces which crossed oceans and thousands of kilometers to come to this...

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