Iraq

A female suicide bomber injured 34 soccer fans and police in the town of Qara Tappah in Diyala Province, 75 miles northeast of Baghdad. The fans had poured into the street after watching Iraq beat China in a sports cafe. Likely this was an attack by a radical Sunni Arab cell on a largely Kurdish […]

First, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that negotiations between Iraq and the Bush administration over a status of forces agreement were at an impasse. He said that the US was asking Iraq to give up too much sovereignty. Earlier this week he had met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, who warned him against giving […]

If you liked the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of Habeas Corpus, vote Obama. McCain did not like it and will be in a position to appoint a justice who will vote with the four dissenters. Bush dismissed the ruling as that of only 5 against 4. (Wasn’t that the margin that made him president in 2000?) […]

John McCain says that it isn’t too important when American troops leave Iraq, that the main thing is to ensure there aren’t troop deaths. He said that the US has troops in a lot of places, including South Korea. (Via via Veracifier). Contrast the Arizona senator’s glib comment with reporting about the real Iraq: ‘ […]

The narrative of the American Right about Iraq is that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is finally in control, that the Iraqi armed forces are performing well, and that in short things are now going swimmingly. This narrative is a variation on the “Good News” story that the Bush administration has used all along to propagandize […]

A BBC investigation concludes that as much as $24 billion has gone missing in Iraq, and much of it may have been embezzled by private companies and corporations brought there by Bush: ‘ For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by […]

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met Monday with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to Farsnews writing in Persian, Khamenei told al-Maliki that the most important and fundamental problem for Iraq at present is the presence of Occupation forces. He affirmed, “We are certain that the people of Iraq, through their intrinsic unity and […]

The guerrilla movement in Iraq struck with three strategic attacks and several lesser ones on Sunday. A suicide bomber targeted US troops at a patrol base in Rashad near the oil city of Kirkuk on Sunday, killing one US soldier and wounding 19 others. Two Iraqis were also wounded in the blast. On Saturday, guerrillas […]

The USG Open Source Center translates an Iranian radio broadcast that alleges the US is trying to bribe members of the Iraqi parliament to pass the proposed security agreement with the US, with the alleged bribes totaling $3 bn. No source is given for the allegation, and the price tag seems high. At 275 MPs, […]