Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that PM al-Maliki has taken the controversial decision to recruit 18,000 members of Shiite militias into the Iraqi government security forces. (In fact, the Iraqi military has de facto been recruiting a lot of Shiite militiamen anyway). You have to wonder if this step is intended to offset the American military’s […]
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Middle East
A Sad Veterans Day; 1/4 of Homeless are Vets Bombings in Baghdad, Mosul, Diyala Showdown at Samarra
On Veterans Day, think about the thousands of US dead and wounded in Iraq (for what purpose, exactly?), and think about Iraqi Veterans against the War as Star Tribune columnist Nick Coleman suggests. Typically this group and others like it are being denied a voice in public commemorations of the veterans (who apparently should be […]
Iraqi Kurd Op-Ed: Turkey must Recognize Kurds for there to be Dialogue
The USG Open Source Center translates an article by an Iraqi Kurd writer, “Diyar Gharib,” calling on Turkey to recognize the Kurdish people as a first step toward productive political dialogue. ‘Iraq Kurd writer says dialogue impossible without Turkey recognizing KurdsHawlatiSaturday, November 10, 2007 . . . Document Type: OSC Translated Text Iraq Kurd writer […]
Awakening Council in Diyala Bombed; Rumors of US Contacts with Sunni Resistance; Iran: Nukes forbidden in Islamic Law
A suicide bomber blew up a meeting of the Diyala Awakening Council of Sunni tribal shaikhs, killing five tribal chiefs who had been cooperating with the Americans against radical Sunni Salafi extremists. Other violence in Iraq on Friday was concentrated in Baghdad, Diyala Province and Kirkuk, according to Reuters, and included roadside bombs and mortar […]
The Kirkuk Crisis
The USG Open Source Center summarizes controversies over the prospect of the incorporation of Kirkuk into Iraqi Kurdistan in October and so far in November. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) comprises 3 provinces of the old Iraq, and wishes to incorporate 3 more. One of the provinces it wants to swallow whole is Kirkuk, an […]
Shiite on Shiite Conflict in Karbala, South; US Soldier Killed; Kurdish Party Bombed
That’s all we need– Iraqi troops raiding American mercenary units in Iraq. That will really settle things down. Khalaf al-Ulyan, a Sunni fundamentalist member of parliament, condemned PM Nuri al-Maliki as a “dictator” because he unilaterally fired six Sunni Arab cabinet members. The six had tendered their resignations. According to the Iraqi constitution, the Prime […]
Major Bombing of KDP HQ in Kirkuk 12 Dead; 14% of Iraqis Displaced
14 percent of Iraqis are now displaced from their homes. That would be the equivalent of 42 million Americans forced from their places of residence. I mean, it is a Stephen King-style futuristic apocalypse for Iraq. Only it has just happened, during the past 4 1/2 years. And the American government is responsible for kicking […]
2007 Deadliest Year Yet for US Troops 30 Bodies found in Tharthar Shiite on Shiite Tensions in South
2007 will be the deadliest year yet for US troops in Iraq. Seven American soldiers were killed on Monday alone, bringing this year’s total to 853, more than at any time since 2004 (the year of the Mahdi Army uprising among Shiites and the Salafi Jihadi push on Baghdad). As Michael Munk writes, ‘ US […]
Erdogan Unswayed by Bush calls for Patience Wave of Bombings, Assassinations in Iraq
Bush attempted to mollify Turkish Prime Minister Rejep Tayyip Erdogan at a White House meeting on Monday, but given Erdogan’s belligerent comments afterwards, I’d say he did not succeed. As I’ve noted before, Washington would never have asked Israel to stand by and wring its hands after Hamas blew up dozens of civilians and soldiers […]