Iraq

By Andrea Mazzarino | – ( Tomdispatch.com ) – As each of my husband’s Navy submarine deployments came to an end, local spouses would e-mail me about the ship’s uncertain date of return. They were attempting to sell tickets to a raffle in which the winner would be the first to kiss her returning sailor. […]

Donald Trump

As US Pulls Military Trainers from Iraq, will the Coronavirus Finally End America’s Forever Wars?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Will the coronavirus result in the second withdrawal of US troops from Iraq? There is an increasing question of whether the some 5,000 US military personnel there can be protected from the outbreak if they remain in that country. In any case, many of those servicemen are involved in training […]

Bush

17 Years and $2 Trillion Ago, Bush and Neocons thought it would be a Good Idea to Attack Iraq

Middle East Monitor

By Nasim Ahmed | @Nasimbythedocks | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Seventeen years ago, on 19 March 2003, the US led the western invasion of Iraq in a war many consider to be the worst foreign policy disaster in modern history. Justified under the pretext of destroying weapons of mass destruction (WMD) allegedly […]

Donald Trump

Trump Admin. in “Historic” withdrawal of Troops from 3 Iraq Bases amid Ongoing Rocket Attacks

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – AFP is reporting that the US military is withdrawing US troops from 3 Iraqi bases. They are al-Qa’im in the far north on the Syrian border, Qayyarah near Mosul, and Kirkuk. AFP quotes Coalition Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Myles B. Caggins III as saying “A transfer ceremony is taking […]

Iraq

Is Covid-19 Iraq’s Next Desert Storm? The American-Built State was already a Violent Shambles with Little Healthcare

Tareq A. Ramadan

Detroit (Special to Informed Comment) – Iraq has endured decades of destabilizing political and military turbulence that has threatened its survivability as a nation-state. Its political infrastructure has been coopted by sectarianism and horrendous levels of corruption, its military is weak and disoriented, the country has endured years of war, occupation, terrorism, and civil strife, […]

Donald Trump

With 3 more US Soldiers Wounded, Iraqi Joint Command urges Swift Departure of US Troops, Fearing Instability

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Three US servicemen were wounded, along with two Iraqi soldiers, during daylight hours on Saturday when some 33 katyusha rockets slammed into al-Taji Base north of Baghdad. Two of the US soldiers were seriously wounded and are in hospital in Baghdad. The rocket attacks were likely revenge for US air […]

Donald Trump

As Trump stumbles in war on Coronavirus at Home, He Bombs Shiites in Shiite-Ruled Iraq

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – US fighter jets bombed bases of the Kata’ib Hizbullah (“Brigades of the Party of God”) militia in Iraq on Thursday in retaliation for a deadly attack on US troops that left two dead and killed a British soldier as well. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said that Trump had greenlighted […]

Donald Trump

Ghost of Soleimani: All Hell Breaks lose in Iraq, with 2 Americans, 1 Briton, Killed, as al-Sadr Blames Trump for Coronavirus

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tom O’Connor at Newsweek reports that 18 katyusha rockets slammed into al-Taji Air Base in Iraq on Wednesday, killing two Americans and one Briton, and leaving 12 other Coalition personnel injured. In response, US fighter jets conducted air strikes against the Haydariyun brigades of the Kata’ib Hizbullah, a Shiite Iraqi […]

Iraq

The Iraqi Youth Uprising is a New Kind of Politics, but the Elites, US, don’t Get It

Middle East Monitor

By Haifa Zangana | – ( Middle East Monitor) – Muhammad Allawi has recently been appointed as Prime Minister of the Iraqi transitional government, since when the auction for government positions has quickened; in this it is no different to previous governments. They are the same governments that the youth rose up against in October […]