Archives for 2008

Some 5,000 protesters rallied in downtown Basra to protest the horrible security situation on Saturday. AP notes, ‘Many carried banners, decrying the killing of women, workers, academics and scientists. Dozens of women were slain in Basra by religious extremists last year because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against “violating […]

Police in Baghdad raised the death toll for the two bombings in Karrada on Thursday to 68, with 120 wounded. Meanwhile, on Friday two bombings in Mosul killed 6 persons and wounded 35. Iraqi president and Kurdish leader, Jalal Talabani, met in Turkey with high Turkish officials and pledged to them that he would rein […]

Sunni Arab guerrillas carried out two bombings in the Shiite Karrada district of Baghdad on Thursday. First a bomb went off in a dumpster near a market, killing 3 persons and attracting a dense crowd. Then a suicide bomber waded into their midst and detonated his belt bomb. The death toll early Friday morning had […]

Turkish war planes attacked targets inside Iraq again on Wednesday, only days after the Turkish military withdrew ground troops after a major incursion. Reuters says: ‘n Iraqi border guard official said Turkish aircraft struck a village in the Amadiya area close to the Turkish border on Tuesday evening. There were no reports of casualties. At […]

A three-judge panel in Iraq acquitted Hakim al-Zamili, a former deputy health minister, and Brigadier General Hamid al-Shammari, the chief of the health ministry’s security forces, of the charges of murder, kidnapping, and embezzlement. The judges ruled that no compelling evidence had been presented of the charges against al-Zamili. Critics of the process complained that […]

The USG Open Source Center translates an Iranian op-ed on the significance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Iraq. Daily sees ties consolidating between Iran, Iraq, urges unityResalat (Internet Version-WWW)Monday, March 3, 2008 . . .Document Type: OSC Translated Text Daily sees ties consolidating between Iran, Iraq, urges unity Iran press: Daily sees ties consolidating […]

Som 92 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of independents are opposed to the Iraq War, which cannot be good news for John McCain, who has tied his campaign to staying in Iraq. Peter Slevin of WaPo argues that the public is now understanding the Iraq War in terms of other issues, especially the economy. […]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad began the second day of his state visit to Iraq on Monday. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called Iran’s stance toward Iraq “helpful,” contradicting his American allies. The entire love fest of Ahmadinejad’s visit underscores how George W. Bush has inadvertently opened the Iranian sluice gates. Iran is the regional victor in […]