Iraq

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Council Gives Iraq Security Deal Final Approval

Two bombings claim lives of Iraqi civilians, US troops

(Newser) - Iraq's presidential council today approved the security pact that lays out a 3-year timeframe for US troops to leave— the final step for the agreement to replace a UN mandate that expires Dec. 31, the AP reports. As the final legal hurdle to the deal was cleared, American soldiers and...

Halliburton, KBR Sued for Sickening Iraq Troops

Suit charges contractors supplied spoiled food, contaminated water

(Newser) - A lawsuit filed against Halliburton and KBR accuses the military contractors of exposing troops and civilian workers on a US base in Iraq to spoiled food, contaminated water, and toxic fumes from a burn pit, the Military Times reports. The lead plaintiff in the suit said he still has nightmares...

Foreign Workers Held in Iraq
Foreign
Workers
Held in Iraq
Dec 3, 2008 7:34 PM CST

Foreign Workers Held in Iraq

Contractor kept 1,000 Asian laborers 3 months in warehouses

(Newser) - About 1,000 foreign workers brought to Iraq with the promise of lucrative jobs have been living for 3 months in Baghdad warehouses under poor sanitary conditions and in possible violation of US military rules, McClatchy reports. A Kuwaiti company that subcontracts with KBR, formerly Haliburton, brought the men from...

Army Deserter Seeks Asylum in Germany

AWOL soldier says Iraqi war violates international law

(Newser) - Specialist André Shepherd has become the first US military deserter to apply for political asylum in Germany, Der Spiegel reports. Shepherd, who disobeyed orders to redeploy to Iraq from Germany in the spring of 2007, argues in his petition that the Iraq war violates international law. "If I carried...

US Moves to Boost Cases Against Key Iraqi Detainees

Accord will shift jurisdiction to Baghdad, and officials want evidence to stand up in trial

(Newser) - The US military has begun assembling evidence against 5,000 Iraqi detainees it deems most dangerous, USA Today reports, hoping to file charges that will stand up in court once Baghdad gains legal jurisdiction. Some 15,800 detainees remain in military custody, but when the Status of Forces Agreement kicks...

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'
 Afghanistan Is a
'Theme Park of Problems'
Analysis
Dec 2, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'

Obama has his work cut out for him

(Newser) - Winning in Afghanistan won’t be nearly as easy as Barack Obama hopes, military experts tell the New York Times. The president-elect has staked his national security reputation on Afghanistan, but the rural nature of the insurgency there will make it difficult to stamp out. “Afghanistan may be the...

'Chemical Ali' Gets 2nd Death Sentence

Saddam cousin convicted of massacre of Shia Muslims

(Newser) - Ali Hassan al-Majid, the cousin of Saddam Hussein dubbed "Chemical Ali," has again been sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, reports the Guardian. The former defense chief was convicted today of orchestrating a mass killing of Shia Muslims during a revolt after the first Gulf War...

Bombings Kill 31 in Baghdad, Mosul

Suicide attacks rock police academy, US-Iraqi patrol

(Newser) - Suicide bombers struck today near a Baghdad police academy and in Mosul against a joint US-Iraqi patrol, together killing 31 people, Iraqi officials said. In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded outside the heavily fortified academy. Minutes later, a suicide attacker blew himself up as police rushed to respond to the...

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views
Gates, Obama:
Different Parties, Similar Views
analysis
Nov 27, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Gates, Obama: Different Parties, Similar Views

Defense secretary wants to close Gitmo, focus on Afghanistan

(Newser) - Assuming he keeps his job, Robert Gates will have a transformed set of instructions come Jan. 20: Once charged with winning the war in Iraq, the defense secretary will now have to end it. But Gates and Barack Obama have substantial agreements about the nation's military strategy, the New ...

Iraq OKs US Troops for 3 More Years

Pact gives Iraqis more oversight over American presence

(Newser) - Iraq's parliament today passed a security pact with the US that lets American troops stay in the country for 3 more years. The ruling coalition's Shiite and Kurdish blocs as well as the largest Sunni Arab bloc backed the "yes" vote, the AP reports. The parliament speaker said an...

Want to Save Detroit? End the Iraq War
Want to Save Detroit?
End the Iraq War
OPINION
Nov 26, 2008 11:30 AM CST

Want to Save Detroit? End the Iraq War

People are dying, and more importantly, money is being lost

(Newser) - You don’t hear much about the Iraq war these days, though the US death toll hit 4,205 on Monday. If human life isn't a convincing enough reason to bow out, writes Roger Simon in Politico, then here's one that "really is upsetting people these days: money."...

Iraq Parliament Delays Vote on US Security Pact

Political bargaining forces postponement to tomorrow

(Newser) - Intense dealmaking among Iraq's political factions has delayed until tomorrow a parliamentary vote on the security pact that would allow American forces to stay in the country through 2011. The Shiite-led government is struggling to meet the demands of political blocs, including a large group of Sunni Arab lawmakers, seeking...

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum
 Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum 
Nov 25, 2008 2:03 PM CST

Sewage Soaks Baghdad Slum

Infrastructure remains sub-standard in much of Iraq

(Newser) - Residents of the Sadr City slum of Baghdad have come to accept raw sewage, bubbling to the surface from broken pipes, as a part of daily life, Bloomberg reports. And Sadr City is hardly an oddity—despite 6 years and billions of American dollars, much of Iraq still lacks reliable...

Maliki's Power Grabs Stir Fears of 'Shiite Saddam'

US security deal may strengthen central government; some see 'benevolent Shiite Saddam'

(Newser) - Ratification this week of a deal that would put an expiration date on the US deployment in Iraq stands to boost the prestige of PM Nouri al-Maliki, who in recent months has consolidated his power in moves that echo previous authoritarian regimes. As one Western observer tells the Los Angeles ...

18 Killed in Baghdad Blasts
 18 Killed in Baghdad Blasts 
Nov 24, 2008 4:47 AM CST

18 Killed in Baghdad Blasts

Green Zone entrance, bus carrying female government workers both hit

(Newser) - A female suicide bomber killed at least five people at the entrance of Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, and a second bomb killed 13 women traveling on a bus to their government jobs, reports Al Jazeera. The attacks came as Iraqi legislators prepare to vote this week on a security...

10,000 Iraqis Protest Troop Deal

Hang Bush in effigy

(Newser) - More than 10,000 Muqtada al-Sadr supporters gathered in Baghdad today to protest the US-Iraqi security pact that would keep troops in the country for another 3 years. The protesters hanged an effigy of President Bush from the same plinth Saddam Hussein’s statue was once toppled from by US...

Fisticuffs Over Security Deal End Session of Iraqi Parliament

Sadr ally allegedly shoves speaker

(Newser) - Discussion of the security deal between the US and Iraq deteriorated into a shouting match between members of the Iraqi parliament today, the New York Times reports. Parliament is scheduled to vote on the measure next week, but could not get through a reading of the agreement today before an...

Beau Biden Declines Dad's Job
 Beau Biden Declines Dad's Job 
Nov 19, 2008 2:21 PM CST

Beau Biden Declines Dad's Job

With state's AG saying he plans to keep that job, dance continues over filling Senate seat

(Newser) - Joe Biden’s son put an end to speculation he’ll replace his father in the Senate yesterday, saying he won’t accept any offer and looks forward to returning from Iraq to his position as Delaware’s attorney general, the Wilmington News Journal reports. The vice president-elect has yet...

Military Recruitment Up Amid Job Crisis

Pending Iraq withdrawal also increasing appeal

(Newser) - More young people are considering joining the military as civilian jobs dry up and the US begins to prepare plans to withdraw from Iraq, reports USA Today. After years of difficulty finding recruits, a Pentagon survey shows a jump from 9% to 11% in the number of 16- to 20-year-old ...

Public Transit Returns to Baghdad

Commuter train has run for a month, mayor proposes subway system

(Newser) - After years of destabilizing violence, Baghdad has a commuter train again, the LA Times reports. For about a month, the “Baghdad Metro,” as employees call it, has made two complete trips around the city in the morning and afternoon for the benefit of working Iraqis who have to...

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