Iraq – News Stories About Iraq - Page 68

Feb 10, 2008 6:56 PM CST

Iraqi Suicide Bomber Kills at Least 33

Blast occurs as US defense secretary surveys troop surge

(Newser) - A suicide bomber killed at least 33 people and injured 45 in Iraq today just hours before US Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a surprise visit to Baghdad, the BBC reports. The car blast, sparked by six barrels of explosives, toppled buildings, and officials say more bodies may be dug...

Diary of a Bitter al-Qaeda Leader

Feb 10, 2008 12:49 PM CST

Diary of a Bitter al-Qaeda Leader

Insurgent slams Sunnis who've deserted group to join American forces

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda’s once indomitable force in Iraq is suffering from diminished ranks and low resources: That’s the word not from US generals but from one of the insurgent group’s leaders. In a bitter 16-page diary, Abu Tariq blasts former members who deserted al-Qaeda to join American forces. “...

Al-Qaeda Trains Boys to Fight

Feb 6, 2008 4:34 PM CST

Al-Qaeda Trains Boys to Fight

New video shows 'the next generation of mujahedeen"

(Newser) - Al-Qaeda is training young Iraqi boys to become gunmen and kidnappers, the US military alleges. The military released a video that shows boys in face masks brandishing grenade launchers and guns and harassing Iraqi citizens, CNN reports. In one scene, a boy wears a suicide vest. "Al-Qaeda wants to...

Prince Andrew: Bush Botched Iraq War

Feb 5, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Prince Andrew: Bush Botched Iraq War

America should have left colonialism to the experts, royal says

(Newser) - The latest attack on the Iraq war comes from an unlikely source: Prince Andrew, fourth in line for the British throne, is lambasting the US for ignoring British advice and botching the Iraq war. “We've won some, lost some, drawn some," the Royal Navy veteran said. "The...

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Feb 5, 2008 3:47 AM CST

US to Admit More Iraqi Refugees

Speeds up glacial pace of resettlement

(Newser) - The State Department plans to admit 12,000 Iraqi refugees into the US by September, despite resettling only 375 so far this year, CNN reports. Ambassador James Foley, charged with the task of accelerating resettlement, vowed to reporters that the pace will pick up in the coming months. The US...

Rising Iraq Costs Refuel Debate

Feb 4, 2008 2:59 PM CST

Rising Iraq Costs Refuel Debate

As price to wage war in Iraq climbs, US political opposition may re-emerge

(Newser) - The skyrocketing cost of the war in Iraq—where spending per month has doubled in the last 3 years—could re-energize anti-war sentiment in the next few months, the Wall Street Journal reports. It's likely to be a focus in debate over President Bush’s proposed $3 trillion budget, which...

US Troops Kill
9 Iraqi Civilians

Feb 4, 2008 5:40 AM CST

US Troops Kill 9 Iraqi Civilians

Houses bombed during hunt for al-Qaeda suspects: Iraqi police

(Newser) - American military forces accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians and injured three during raids south of Baghdad Saturday, US officials revealed today. The incident occurred near Iskandariyah, when a helicopter air strike was ordered on a checkpoint after a convoy of US troops in pursuit of Al Qaeda in Iraq came...

Dems May Block Record $3T Bush Budget 'Til Next Prez

Feb 4, 2008 4:32 AM CST

Dems May Block Record $3T Bush Budget 'Til Next Prez

Mammoth budget combines tax cuts with huge security spending hikes

(Newser) - President Bush today introduces a record $3 trillion budget into opposition from congressional Democrats so fierce that they could hold up the spending plan until the next president takes office, reports AP. Bush's plan envisions at least $400 billion in deficits this year and next, twice 2007's $163 billion debt....

98 Dead in Baghdad Bombings

UPDATED

Feb 1, 2008 1:00 PM CST

98 Dead in Baghdad Bombings

'Suicide bombers' revealed as mentally disabled women wearing remote-controlled explosive belts

(Newser) - Twin bombs ripped apart two busy pet markets in Baghdad this morning, killing at least 98 people and injuring more than 200. Two women initially identified as suicide bombers were actually mentally disabled women wearing explosive belts that were blown up by remote control, CNN reports. "By targeting innocent...

Soldier Suicides at Record High

Feb 1, 2008 4:26 AM CST

Soldier Suicides at Record High

Long deployments are raising stress levels, experts warn

(Newser) - A record number of US soldiers may have killed themselves last year and it's likely linked to the stresses of war, according to the latest figures from the military. The survey found 121 soldiers died in confirmed or suspected suicides last year, a 20% increase over the previous year and...

Iraq Re-Arms Female Cops

Jan 31, 2008 4:28 PM CST

Iraq Re-Arms Female Cops

International criticism and objection within ministry overturn Nov. 14 order

(Newser) - Iraq's female police officers can carry weapons again. The government has overturned an order requiring them to hand in their guns after much criticism from women's activists and the US, the Los Angeles Times reports. An Interior Ministry spokesman said few had complied with the 2-month-old order anyway, but those...

Bush May Stall Iraq Troop Cuts

Jan 30, 2008 4:49 AM CST

Bush May Stall Iraq Troop Cuts

Levels could be at least as high as last year when president leaves office

(Newser) - President Bush is signaling that troop reductions in Iraq may slow or stop after this summer, reports the New York Times. Insiders say Bush is preparing Americans for the possibility that troop levels may be at least as large as they were a year ago when he leaves office. Troop...

Bush Urges Economic Boost

UPDATED

Jan 28, 2008 8:52 PM CST

Bush Urges Economic Boost

In Union speech, prez also backs climate change accord and troop funding

(Newser) - In his final State of the Union speech, an upbeat President Bush plugged his $150 billion stimulus plan today and urged lawmakers not to "load up the bill," CNN reports. He also advised cutting $18 billion in "bloated" programs, promised to veto pork-barrel funding, and asked policymakers...

Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Español

Jan 28, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Iraq Hired Guns Fight en Español

Contractors offer hard-to-refuse deal

(Newser) - Not every security contractor in Iraq is a hotshot American making $500 a day. Many of the private security personnel roaming Iraq are poor Latin Americans, for whom the promise of $1,000 a month and full benefits is nearly irresistible, reports the LA Times. “I’d rather die...

Is This Man
Unfit to Print?

Jan 25, 2008 2:30 PM CST

Is This Man Unfit to Print?

Times op-ed page's new conservative voice isn't putting staffers' worries to rest

(Newser) - The criticism that rained down on the New York Times following the hiring of William Kristol as the op-ed page's second conservative voice not only hasn't died down, the New Republic reports, but is mounting—and the call is coming from inside the house. Multiple mostly anonymous current and former...

US Seeks Iraqi Authority
to Continue War

Jan 25, 2008 7:10 AM CST

US Seeks Iraqi Authority to Continue War

Agreement would not need ratification

(Newser) - The White House is negotiating with Iraq what critics say is a treaty in all but name and could tie the hands of a future administration, reports the New York Times. The US is insisting on being granted continued authority to conduct the war and calling for legal protection for...

Saddam Faked Nukes to
Scare Iran, Not US: Agent

Jan 25, 2008 5:18 AM CST

Saddam Faked Nukes to Scare Iran, Not US: Agent

Did not believe US would invade over weapons of mass destruction

(Newser) - Saddam Hussein revealed in FBI interrogations that he had no nuclear or biological weapons of mass destruction, but hid that fact to avoid invasion by Iran—and was stunned when the US invaded. "For him, it was critical that he was seen as the strong, defiant Saddam to prevent...

Huge Blast Kills 15, Wounds 132 in Northern Iraq

Jan 23, 2008 3:50 PM CST

Huge Blast Kills 15, Wounds 132 in Northern Iraq

Roadside bomb triggers explosion at arms dump in Mosul

(Newser) - A blast in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul claimed at least 15 lives and left 132 wounded today, Reuters reports. The explosion came after Iraqi troops detonated a roadside bomb near a building used as a munitions dump by militants, a US general said. At least 15 tons of...

Ahmadinejad Plans First Iraq Trip

Jan 23, 2008 12:52 PM CST

Ahmadinejad Plans First Iraq Trip

First Iranian leader to visit since '80s war; highlights new relations

(Newser) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will visit Baghdad, the Iraqi foreign ministry announced today, a historic trip that highlights the new relationship between the neighbors, who fought a bloody war in the 1980s. No Iranian president has ever visited Iraq, but with a Shiite government in power after the ouster of...

Group Counts 932 Falsehoods in Runup to War

Jan 23, 2008 9:09 AM CST

Group Counts 932 Falsehoods in Runup to War

False statements by Bush, top officials were 'orchestrated campaign'

(Newser) - President Bush and top administration officials made hundreds of false statements—932, to be exact—about the national security threat from Iraq following 9/11, report two nonprofit journalism organizations. In the two years after the attacks, Bush and top officials stated at least 532 times that Iraq had weapons of...