Iraq

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European Militants Find Training in Pakistan

Fighters wary of Iraq are groomed for terror ops on Afghan border

(Newser) - Renewed Al-Qaeda strength on the Pakistan-Afghan border is wooing European militants to train in Pakistan, the Los Angeles Times reports. Fighters who are wary of Iraq—where they may have to strap on a bomb on short notice—can enjoy being groomed for missions in Pakistan. “Pakistan worries me...

Cats of Iraq Bring Solace in War
Cats of Iraq Bring Solace
in War
Oct 14, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

Cats of Iraq Bring Solace in War

Stray felines find place in the heart (and home) of Times bureau chief

(Newser) - As bombs rocked the outside world, New York Times correspondent John Burns found one hopeful symbol within the newspaper’s Baghdad compound—the growing cat population. Keen survival instincts brought the cats over the blast walls to adoring humans who fed and counted the feline population. It was “one...

Aussie Chief Calls New Elections
Aussie Chief Calls New Elections
Oct 14, 2007 11:14 AM CDT

Aussie Chief Calls New Elections

(Newser) - Prime Minister John Howard, trailing in national polls after 11 years in office, set national elections today for Nov. 24. Howard will run on the nation’s current economic boom, Reuters reports. His opponent, Labor leader Kevin Rudd, says he'll pull Australian troops out of Iraq, though domestic issues are...

US Halts Hanging of Convicted Saddam Chief

Official says his work 'saved American lives'

(Newser) - The US stopped Saddam's defense chief from hanging last month, claiming Iraqi outrage inspired the pardon — but insiders say that Sultan Hashem earned his reprieve by thwarting Iraqi attacks during the 2003 US-led invasion. Officials tell Time that Hashem’s execution would be a “gross miscarriage of justice”...

Baghdad Shiites Turn Away From Mahdi Army

As al-Sadr's militia degenerates, locals seek out US military

(Newser) - In Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, a substantial shift in allegiances is under way, the  Times reports: locals are beginning to turn from the Mahdi Army, the militia that once represented their best defense against Sunni insurgents. A lack of coherent ideology has turned a militia into a gang, and local...

Blackwater Shot Fleeing Iraqis, US Soldiers Say

First on scene found no evidence private guards were in danger

(Newser) - Some of the Iraqis killed by Blackwater guards in the Baghdad shootings last month were "fleeing the scene when they were engaged," say the first US soldiers on the scene in an Army report obtained by the Washington Post. Worse, says one commander, there was no indication that...

US Attack Kills 15 Iraqi Civilians
US Attack Kills 15 Iraqi Civilians
Oct 12, 2007 7:08 AM CDT

US Attack Kills 15 Iraqi Civilians

Nineteen insurgents also believed dead in strike

(Newser) - In one of the war's largest losses of civilian life in a US operation, a raid north of Baghdad yesterday killed 9 Iraqi children and 6 women. Nineteen suspected insurgents also died in the air and ground strike, which targeted a meeting of senior al-Qaeda leaders, BBC reports. The US...

Britain Coordinated Troop Cuts With the US

Defense heads say they agreed southern Iraq was secure enough

(Newser) - The British and American defense secretaries say the US was consulted before Britain halved its troops in Iraq, the Los Angeles Times reports, and they agreed southern Iraq was secure enough for the withdrawal. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the withdrawal was coordinated with US commander Gen. David Petraeus,...

Army Pulls Out Checkbook to Keep Officers

Defense Dept. offers up to $35K to retain young specialist officers

(Newser) - An acute shortage of young officers trained in aviation, intelligence, and other key specialties has prompted the Army to offer cash bonuses—up to $35,000—to persuade more to re-enlist, the Washington Post reports. The move is an effort to combat  a shortage of 3,000 captains and majors...

US Marines Want Out of Iraq
US Marines Want Out of Iraq
Oct 11, 2007 3:15 AM CDT

US Marines Want Out of Iraq

Commander calls for lead Afghan role instead

(Newser) - The US Marine Corps is lobbying to be withdrawn from Iraq and instead be given the lead role in Afghanistan, reports the New York Times. The move would leave the Army with primary responsibility for the increasingly unpopular war in Iraq. Supporters believe it would allow the branches to operate...

Guards Kill 2 Iraqi Women
Guards Kill 2 Iraqi Women
Oct 9, 2007 10:57 AM CDT

Guards Kill 2 Iraqi Women

Shot in car at Baghdad intersection; Blackwater denies involvement

(Newser) - Two Christian women were shot dead in their car at a Baghdad intersection today by security guards escorting a four-vehicle convoy. Which firm was involved has not been released, Reuters reports. A policeman who witnessed the shooting said the men fired a smoke bomb, apparently to warn the car, 100...

UK to Slash Iraq Force by More Than Half

PM sees 'overwatch' role after cut from 5,500 to 2,500 troops

(Newser) - British troops will number only 2,500 in Iraq by next spring, Gordon Brown said today. In “two distinct stages,” the PM said, the UK will shrink its presence to 4,000 troops from the current 5,500 and then to 2,500, the Guardian reports. Three of...

Iraqis Vow to Prosecute Blackwater
Iraqis Vow
to Prosecute Blackwater
Oct 8, 2007 1:19 AM CDT

Iraqis Vow to Prosecute Blackwater

Blackwater deaths called 'deliberate killings'

(Newser) - A spokesman for the Iraqi government continued to escalate the rhetoric on the Blackwater shootings yesterday, charging that security guards "deliberately killed" 17 Iraqi civilians in last month's massacre in Baghdad. Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqis intend to take legal action, despite a US ruling in 2004 that the...

US Ignored Blackwater Warnings
US Ignored Blackwater Warnings
Oct 7, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

US Ignored Blackwater Warnings

Immunity for guards was 'a bomb that could go off at any time'

(Newser) - The White House ignored signals about Blackwater and other private mercs for years, rejecting the idea that they were "a bomb that could go off at any time," the Los Angeles Times reports. One official says that contract guards blatantly smashed property and scared Iraqis, then argued that...

Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket
Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket
Oct 7, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket

Project delayed for months due to shoddy workmanship, planning

(Newser) - Shoddy workmanship and poor planning have left construction of the new US embassy in Iraq—the biggest in the world—months behind schedule, and tacked $144 million onto what was originally a $592-million project. Scheduled to open last month, it won't be fully habitable until 2009. The State Department, already...

Gen. Petraeus Blasts Iran for Stoking Iraq War

Al-Qaeda is primary 'wolf,' but Iran poses long-term threat

(Newser) - Iran's continued activity helping to supply battling factions in Iraq could be the biggest long-term challenge to peace in the war-torn nation, General David Petraeus tells CNN. The head of allied forces in Iraq emphasized that al-Qaeda is the No. 1 enemy to beat. "Al-Qaeda remains the wolf closest...

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce
Iraqi Shiite Leaders
Call Truce
Oct 6, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce

Sides that clashed in Karbala seek to curb bloodshed

(Newser) - Two Shiite leaders made peace in Iraq today in hope of ending their bitter feud and curbing bloodshed, Reuters reports. Moqtada Al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, leaders of parliament's main Shiite blocs, agreed to form committees and solve problems together around the country. Fighting between the factions has intensified this...

Britain Opens Doors to Iraqi Interpreters

In danger if they stay in Iraq, British supporters may settle in the UK

(Newser) - Britain will allow and aid hundreds of Iraqi interpreters and their families to relocate to the UK when British forces withdraw, reports the Times of London. Interpreters and other support staff who helped coalition forces in Iraq are often targeted by death squads; dozens have been kidnapped, tortured or killed....

Iraqis Dispute Identity of 25 Killed by US

Military says they fired first; civilians say militia defended town from al-Qaeda

(Newser) - American troops killed 25 Iraqis north of Baghdad today, the New York Times reports, but accounts differ over why the Iraqis were armed. The US military said soldiers were fired upon by "criminals " involved in transporting arms from Iran; civilians in the mainly Shiite district of Khalis said...

Snipers Felt Pressured to Deliver Kills

Soldiers on trial: Army encouraged 'baiting' to increase body counts

(Newser) - Army commanders pressured their elite “Painted Demons” sniper unit to up the body count, say members standing trial for murder, leading them to plant evidence and “bait” Iraqis. “It felt like, ‘What are you guys doing wrong out there?’” one sniper told the LA Times....

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