Middle East

Pace: Independent Iraqi Battalions in Decline Gen. Peter Pace says that the number of Iraqi battalions (about 500 men) who can operate wholly independently of the US forces has fallen in the past year from 10 to only 6. He also says we should not worry about that statistic. He points out that the number […]

House rebuffs Bush on Iraq Iraq Minorities in Extreme Peril The House of Representatives again rebuffed Bush on Iraq, voting by a comfortable majority to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq but to keep some there to fight ‘al-Qaeda terrorists’ in Iraq. This plan of keeping troops in Iraq to fight “al-Qaeda” seems to me naive. […]

30 Bodies found in Baghdad Death Squad killings Spike For a Daily Kos diary on our panel at Yearly Kos in Chicago, Aug. 3-6, this link. Many thanks to Markinsanfran. Reuters reports civil war violence in Iraq on Wednesday. Some 30 bodies were found in the streets of the capital, victims of death squad violence. […]

Sadrists Furious with al-Maliki over “Baathist” Charge The USG Open Source Center reports on the tiff between the Sadrists in parliament and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki occasioned by the latter’s charge that some Mahdi Army commanders are “Baathist” thugs. Iraq: Al-Sadr Trend Criticizes Prime Minister’s Charge of ‘Ba’thist’ InfiltrationIraq — OSC ReportTuesday, July 10, 2007 […]

20 Rockets, Mortar Shells, Hit Green Zone; Kill 3 Petraeus Meets with Presidency Council On Tuesday, guerrillas launched some 20 katyusha rockets and mortar shells into the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad, killing 3 persons, including a US soldier, and wounding 25 persons. The Green Zone was originally supposed to be the safe place in […]

140,000 Turkish Troops Mass at Iraq Border Iraq Benchmarks still Waiting for Godot Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (a Kurd) warned Monday that 140,000 Turkish troops were massed at the border with Iraq. Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of giving safe harbor to PKK terrorists who are blowing up soldiers and others in Turkey’s eastern Anatolia. […]

Al-Maliki to Face No-Confidence Vote? As Many as 150 Dead in “Turkmen Massacre” Readers sometimes ask me if analyzing the news from Iraq every day doesn’t get me down. It got me down today. Sunni Arab guerrillas, unable to operate as effectively in Baghdad because of the US troop surge, had a suicide bomber drive […]

Domenici Calls for Change of Course Shiite Wedding bombed Sadrists Reject Oil Law Republican Senator Pete Domenici has joined the small but expanding ranks of Republicans in Congress who are demanding a change of course in the Iraq War, having lost faith in the surge. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for Iraqi security forces […]

Buyukanit Implies US Soft on Terrorism Major engagement near Baquba kills Dozens Iraqi Parliament fails to Reach Quorum Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament was unable to reach a quorum on Wednesday. As a result, it postponed discussion of pending legislation, including bills on petroleum, on the distribution of petroleum receipts, and on […]