Iraq

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Iraqis Wrap Up Voting Amid Relative Calm

That this is worth reporting is deeply sad and also deeply funny

(Newser) - Iraq’s first provincial election went off more or less smoothly today. Though three mortar shells landed near one polling place, no one was injured or killed, Reuters reports, and polls closed without any other major incidents. Turnout appeared strong, even in places like Anbar province, a Sunni-dominated area that...

US Flushes Blackwater Contract
US Flushes Blackwater Contract
Jan 31, 2009 2:58 AM CST

US Flushes Blackwater Contract

State Dept. calls renewal 'moot' after Iraq denies operating license

(Newser) - The State Department said Friday it will not renew Blackwater's contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May. A department spokeswoman said the contract will lapse because of the Iraqi government's decision to deny Blackwater a license to operate, amid lingering outrage over a 2007 shooting...

Iraq Takes Down Shoe Sculpture

Government rejects monument's 'political motives'

(Newser) - The large, shoe-shaped sculpture made to honor an Iraqi journalist’s gesture of defiance against former President Bush was removed from the garden of a Tikrit orphanage just a day after it was put up, CNN reports. The government requested the removal, and sent police to supervise. “We will...

Polls Open in Watershed Iraqi Election

Thousands vie for seats in biggest vote since fall of Saddam

(Newser) - The polls are already open for this weekend's provincial elections in Iraq, the nation's first since it became a fully sovereign nation after the fall of Saddam. The Sunni minority is participating, reports the Christian Science Monitor, and Iraqis can vote for more than 14,000 candidates vying for 440...

Iraq Artist With Sole Honors Bush Shoe Hurler

Incident 'source of pride,' says sculptor

(Newser) - A copper sculpture of a shoe with a bush growing from it has been unveiled in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit to honor the journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush. TV reporter Muntadar al-Zeidi missed, but his action hit it off with some Iraqis. Artist Laith al-Amari insists...

No Regrets for US Iraq Deserter as Asylum Ruling Looms

German case tests EU 'unlawful war' directive

(Newser) - German authorities will take up the case next week of Spec. André L. Shepherd, who deserted the US Army and sought asylum rather than face a second tour of duty in Iraq. “I’m having the time of my life,” Shepherd tells the Wall Street Journal from a...

Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract
 Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract 
Jan 29, 2009 7:00 AM CST

Iraq Denies Blackwater Contract

Official: 'They have a bad history'

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has refused to grant Blackwater a license to continue its security work in the country, the New York Times reports. The controversial firm probably won’t exit the country at least until spring, as the US and Iraq work on rules for private contractors. “There are...

Army Suicides Hit Record High
 Army Suicides Hit Record High 
Jan 29, 2009 2:07 AM CST

Army Suicides Hit Record High

Army expected to announce new study of post-combat stress

(Newser) - A record 128 US soldiers committed suicide last year, and an additional 15 are suspected of taking their own lives, CNN reports. The previous record was set in 2007. In response to the latest figures, the Army is expected to announce new studies of post-combat stress and why its suicide-prevention...

Raising Saddam's Specter, Maliki Aims to Solidify Power

Maliki looks to increase party's power even as some see Saddam-like authority grabs

(Newser) - Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is looking to extend his reach with party gains on the provincial level in elections Saturday, the New York Times reports. But despite his assurances that “the iron centralization has ended,” many Iraqis fear a return to rule by a single leader with power...

2 US Choppers Crash in Iraq, Killing 4 Troops

Disaster 'does not appear to be by enemy action'

(Newser) - Two US helicopters crashed today in northern Iraq, killing four American troops, the military said. The military said the crash happened at about 2:15am local time and it "does not appear to be by enemy action." Iraqi officials said the crash site was located about 180 miles...

Crocker Cautions Against Abrupt Iraq Withdrawal

Ambassador cautions that al-Qaeda will take advantage of power vacuum

(Newser) - The US ambassador to Iraq warned today against an abrupt troop withdrawal, saying it would invite foreign fighters, CNN reports. If we “decide suddenly we’re done, they would certainly work to use space that opened up,” Ryan Crocker said of al-Qaeda. Crocker, who will step down shortly,...

This Time, Iraq Gets Politics With Its Elections

Stability gives candidates chance to compete more in Western democratic style

(Newser) - If Iraq’s tumultuous 2005 elections were a trial run at democracy, the current provincial race has main-event flavor, the Washington Post reports. Greater stability has allowed town-hall gatherings, where voters grill some 14,000 candidates running for 440 seats on everything from housing to militarization. And campaign posters, T-shirts...

Shoe-Hurler Wants Swiss Asylum

Lawyer says al-Zaidi is in danger if he remains in Iraq

(Newser) - A Swiss lawyer working on behalf of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at President Bush said today his client will seek political asylum in Switzerland. The Geneva-based lawyer said Muntadhar al-Zaidi's life is in danger if he stays in Iraq. Al-Zaidi has been detained in an Iraqi jail awaiting...

Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once)
 Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once) 
OPINION
Jan 17, 2009 3:32 PM CST

Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once)

(Newser) - The surge worked, writes Peter Beinart in the Washington Post, and liberals need to admit it—for their own good. Some 500 Iraqis died in Iraq in November, down from 3,475 in November 2006, a major success by any standard. American deaths fell from 69 to 12. But Democrats...

Bush Can Teach Obama What Not to Do: Woodward

Woodward has seen all the mistakes and lived to tell about it

(Newser) - George W. Bush’s presidency could teach Barack Obama many lessons—about what not to do. Bob Woodward lays out 10 of them in today’s Washington Post:
  • "Presidents need to draw people out and make sure bad news makes it to the Oval Office": Bush went into Iraq
...

Fed-Up Photog Ready to Sue Moore

Filmmaker used iconic pic without permission

(Newser) - Michael Moore may have gone too far this time: Prize-winning photographer Michael Yon is readying a lawsuit against the filmmaker for using one of his iconic photos from Iraq without permission, the New York Post reports. The image of an American soldier carrying the bloody body of an Iraqi child...

Iraqi Women Pressured to Run for Office, Fill Quota

Many candidates in Anbar are wives of tribal leaders

(Newser) - Iraq has new rules to boost women's rights, but it may take a while for the nation's culture to get up to speed, Time reports. In this month's provincial elections, for instance, 25% of newly elected council members must be female. But in provinces such as Anbar, the idea of...

Bush's Top 10 Successes
 Bush's Top 10 Successes 
Jan 13, 2009 1:06 PM CST

Bush's Top 10 Successes

From rejecting the Kyoto Protocol to the surge

(Newser) - Forget what you’ve heard about W’s presidency, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. His decisive courage gave his term many successes:
  • Rejecting the Kyoto Protocol: The treaty was broken—it exempted India and China from carbon emissions responsibility—but only Bush had the courage to say so.
...

Cleric Journeys From al-Qaeda to US Ally
 Cleric Journeys From 
 al-Qaeda to US Ally 
analysis
Jan 13, 2009 11:10 AM CST

Cleric Journeys From al-Qaeda to US Ally

Sunni leader gives up on 'bankrupt' insurgency

(Newser) - A young man who holds sway over one Iraqi town embodies the country’s transition from dictatorship through insurgency to today’s “murkier contest,” the Washington Post reports. Sunni cleric Nadhim Khalil often slammed Saddam Hussein’s government when it was in power. But when it fell, he...

Skirting Laws, Iran Buys Bomb Parts From US Firms

Materials used to make top weapon against US troops

(Newser) - Through front firms and complex maneuvering, Iran skirts trading laws to buy bomb parts from US companies, the Washington Post reports. The equipment allows production of improvised explosive devices, or IEDS, bombs that are the leading killer of US troops in Iraq, according to Justice Department documents and a new...

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