Middle East

The USG Open Source Center reports on how Arabic television is reporting on political and security developments in Iraq. ‘Al-Sharqiyah, Al-Iraqiyah Report on Political, Security Developments in IraqIraq — OSC SummarySaturday, November 17, 2007 Dubai Al-Sharqiyah Television in Arabic, independent, private news and entertainment channel focusing on Iraq, run by Sa’d al-Bazzaz, publisher of the […]

An FBI investigation has found that the Blackwater Security guards who killed 17 Iraqis in mid-September had broken laws and regulations on the use of deadly force in 14 of the shootings. Fred McKay argues that Blackwater combines the two constituencies of Bush’s wing of the Republican Party, the privatization of Everything and Christian fundamentalism. […]

The US military has begun to reverse last year’s troop escalation, which brought the number of combat brigades in Iraq up to 20. It is now going back down to 19, and will stand at 15 in July of 2008 if things go according to plan. That is, the number of US troops in Iraq […]

The USG Open Source Center translates Friday prayer sermons from last week in Iraq. Of particular interest is the sermon of Shiite cleric Sadr al-Din al-Qabanji of Najaf, who preaches at the prestigious mosque attached to the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf. Al-Qabanji [al-Qabanchi] represents the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), the de […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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 […]