Iraq

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Army Overseer Ousted After Rejecting Bogus Iraq Bills

Says he was replaced after vowing not to pay dubious bills

(Newser) - Did a top Army official lose his job for trying to save the Army money? Charles Smith was ousted from his job after refusing to pay then-Halliburton subsidiary KBR more than $1 billion in charges deemed bogus by Army auditors. “They had a gigantic amount of costs they couldn’...

Soldier Faces Death Penalty for Killing Comrades

Murder of fellow troops, 'fragging,' is rare in Iraq

(Newser) - A soldier may soon face court-martial in the deaths of two US officers in Iraq, whom army prosecutors say he killed in a rare instance of “fragging”—the murder of a fellow soldier. The New York Times examines the case of Sgt. Alberto Martinez, who prosecutors say detonated...

Iraq Could Win the Election &mdash;for McCain
Iraq Could Win the Election
—for McCain
Opinion

Iraq Could Win the Election —for McCain

GOP candidate should focus on rapidly improving war

(Newser) - Conventional wisdom has it that supporting the Iraq war is a major weakness for John McCain, but conventional wisdom is wrong, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post. In his victory speech, Barack Obama said it was “time for Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future,” but...

Security Talks Hit 'Dead End,' Iraqi PM Says

Maliki: US long-term proposals step on nation's sovereignty

(Newser) - Talks with the US on a longterm security deal have hit an impasse over fears the US will infringe on Iraqi sovereignty, the nation's prime minister said. "The first drafts presented left us at a dead end," said Nouri al-Maliki. "So, we left these first drafts, and...

GOP Lawmakers Holding Out on McCain

At least 14 say they won't endorse candidate

(Newser) - At least 14 GOP lawmakers are refusing to publicly support John McCain’s White House bid, and more than a dozen more are keeping mum about whether they back the senator, the Hill reports. A few say they are supporting their party’s candidate without going so far as endorsing...

Top Ideas of Past Year
 Top Ideas of Past Year 
OPINION

Top Ideas of Past Year

Atlantic Monthly runs down issues steered the national discourse in past year

(Newser) - Which ideas informed the national discourse (or lack thereof) in the past year? Well, the Atlantic Monthly knows, and there are 11 … er, 11½. From the troop surge in Iraq to post-partisan politics to the provocatively titled “mass-market atheism,” a look at some of the most captivating...

Why Obama Might Have a Jones Jones
Why Obama Might Have
a Jones Jones
ANALYSIS

Why Obama Might Have a Jones Jones

Ex-general stood up to Rumsfeld—but he's also a McCain pal

(Newser) - Analysts were surprised to see the name of retired general James Jones on Barack Obama's vice-presidential shortlist yesterday, but Noam Scheiber, in the New Republic thinks he knows what the former NATO commander was doing there. Per Bob Woodward’s most recent book, Scheiber notes Jones was so put off...

Bush Rues Gun-Slinger Image
 Bush Rues Gun-Slinger Image 

Bush Rues Gun-Slinger Image

'I could have used different rhetoric' prez says on farewell swing

(Newser) - Looking back on his years in office, President Bush admitted yesterday he regrets using phrases like "bring 'em on,” and “dead or alive,” which “indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace." In "retrospect I could have used...

Post-Saddam, Bodybuilders Let 'Er Ripple

Pumping iron is hugely popular among Iraqis, despite dangers

(Newser) - Iraqi bodybuilders have long needed nerves of steel to pump iron. Under Saddam, only officially connected Iraqis could join gyms, and the average weightlifter was forced to use makeshift equipment. But after Saddam, a flood of Iraqis seeking lucrative security jobs hit the gyms. The result? Extremists began targeting bulging...

YouTube Vid 'Brutal' to McCain
 YouTube Vid 'Brutal' to McCain 
OPINION

YouTube Vid 'Brutal' to McCain

Montage focused on Republican's Iraq strategy 'brutal,' blogger says

(Newser) - A YouTube video assembled by a Ron Paul supporter is a “devastating” blast at the John McCain campaign, the Jed Report blog contends. The piece focuses on Iraq, playing and re-playing the Republican's suggestion that Baghdad has neighborhoods safe enough for generals to walk around unprotected—and juxtaposing them...

Long Journey Home From Iraq
 Long Journey Home From Iraq 

Long Journey Home From Iraq

A soldier's remains touches many

(Newser) - One soldier's death reveals more of America's pain more starkly than Iraqi war statistics ever could. So one reporter discovered as he followed the remains of Indiana native son Sgt. Robert Joe Montgomery from a pass near the Tigris to a funeral in Scottsburg, meeting all who suffered along the...

Bush, Advisers Misled US on Iraq: Senate Report

Dem-led committee blasts administration; Republicans dismiss 'partisan exercise'

(Newser) - The Bush administration distorted facts in justifying the invasion of Iraq and overstated Saddam Hussein’s links to al-Qaeda, a long-delayed report from the Senate intelligence committee concludes. Bush and his advisers also ignored doubts about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction in constructing their case for military...

Hero Soldier's Parents Accept Medal of Honor

Teen killed smothering grenade, saving comrades' lives

(Newser) - Ross McGinnis, a 19-year-old private who sacrificed his life in Iraq, was awarded the Medal of Honor today in a White House ceremony. Rather than fleeing a grenade an insurgent threw at his Humvee, McGinnis dived on it, saving four other soldiers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. His son "had...

Iraqi 'Honor Killing' Mother Gunned Down

She had left husband after he murdered their daughter

(Newser) - The ex-wife of an Iraqi man who beat, choked, and stabbed their 17-year-old daughter to death over an innocent crush on a British soldier has been gunned down, the Guardian reports. Leila Hussein had been staying in a series of safe houses while arrangements were being made to flee the...

May Iraq Death Toll Lowest in 4 Years

(Newser) - The death toll in Iraq plunged in May, with 21 US military dead the lowest monthly figure in more than 4 years. Iraqi civilians and troopers also saw a decline, with 532 deaths in May, compared with 1,080 the month before. But in the absence of lasting political agreements,...

Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke
Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke
commentary

Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke

Hopeful flubbed on troop math and 'quiet' Mosul—but keeps pleading his case

(Newser) - John McCain has been dabbling in truthiness this week, Michael Dobbs blogs in the Washington Post. McCain said US troops were “drawn down to pre-surge levels" in Iraq, and cities like Mosul were "quiet"—but in fact, troop levels remain higher than before the surge, and Mosul's...

CIA Chief: Tide Turning Against Al-Qaeda

Hayden says terrorists are all but defeated in Iraq, Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda is "near strategic defeat" in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and the tide is turning against it elsewhere, CIA chief Michael Hayden says in a surprisingly upbeat Washington Post interview today. In contrast to a  reports of an al-Qaeda resurgence a year ago, Hayden now cites “significant setbacks...

Marine In Iraq Suspended Over Bible-Quoting Coins

He reportedly handed them out to Iraqis

(Newser) - A US Marine has been suspended after he reportedly distributed coins with Bible verses at an entry point in Falluja, CNN reports. One coin reportedly asked, in Arabic, “Where will you spend eternity?” Military rules forbid troops from proselytizing. A US spokesman apologized to angry Muslims and said “...

Obama Weighs McCain-Free Trip to Iraq

He may travel after nomination—but not as campaign 'stunt'

(Newser) - Barack Obama is considering visiting Iraq after clinching the Democratic nomination, the New York Times reports. The candidate, slammed by John McCain for not having traveled to Iraq since 2006, has turned down the offer of a joint visit with McCain, referring to such a trip as a "stunt....

Sadr Cultivates Respect, Image to Reflect Power

Militia chief moves toward mainstream, hones clerical chops

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr aims to shed his reputation as a dim-witted thug and become a respected Iraqi cleric like his father, the Washington Post reports, and has even spent the past year studying in Iran. Sadr, then nicknamed "Muqtada Atari" for his love of video games, was 25 when the...

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