Middle East

Al-Safi: Al-Maliki Must be PM for All Iraqis The USG Open Source Center summarizes broadcasts of Friday prayers sermons in Iraq last Friday. Note that a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani upbraided Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of the Da’wa Party for his tendency to speak mainly of the welfare of the Shiites, urging himm […]

9 US Troops Killed; 60 Killed, 170 Wounded in Karbala; Over 60 Bodies Found; Sadr Admonishes Bush Iraqi guerrillas killed 9 US GIs on Friday and Saturday. Five of them died in active fighting in al-Anbar Province, which doesn’t actually seem to have been turned around yet, unlike what is alleged in some quarters. A […]

Iraq Criticizes Senate Vote; 72 Killed in Violence An Iraq government spokesman has criticized the Senate vote for a withdrawal of troops from Iraq. (I was going to complain about Iraqi interference in US domestic politics. Then I thought, well, it is only fair that they return the favor.) All 8 Democratic presidential contenders support […]

Riverbend join Ranks of Refugees from Iraq Prominent Iraqi blogger Riverbend and her family are at last leaving Iraq. The discussions she reports have happened thousands of times a month among Iraqi families: Since last summer, we had been discussing it more and more. It was only a matter of time before what began as […]

Iraq Casualty Numbers Doctored Attacks Near Mosul, Khalis Sadr Condemns Wall Since the Bush administration doesn’t actually have any good news on Iraq, they are just making it up. It confirms your worst suspicions. They haven’t been counting victims of car bombings when they say that violence is down in Iraq! Bush administration spokesmen and […]

McCaffrey: Iraq Gov’t Dysfunctional Support for al-Maliki Eroding Now that Senator John McCain has retired the Straight Talk Express, retired general Barry McCaffrey, a veteran of the Gulf War, has taken up the mantle. McCaffrey has recently carried out a study of the situation in Iraq. Highlights (not in original order): “We’re in trouble.” “The […]

Iraqi Press on Baghdad Wall The USG Open Source Center paraphrases Iraqi press stories on the plan to build a wall around the district of Adhamiya (A’zamiyah) in Baghdad: Iraqi Media Highlights Al-A’zamiyah Wall Construction Story, Cites Reactions Iraq — OSC Report Tuesday, April 24, 2007 T14:13:33Z Iraqi media has increasinlgy highlighted reaction to the […]

10 Coalition Troops Killed Dems set Withdrawal deadline Iraqi crowds Reject Security Wall It was with a heavy heart that I read that 10 Coalition troops were killed on Monday, 9 of them Americans. The guerrillas who attacked the US outpost also wounded 20 other soldiers, 5 of them seriously. Militiamen in Basra killed a […]

69 Dead in Bombings, Shootings; Al-Maliki Stops Wall-building at Adhamiya Reuters reports that a lot of wounded vets from the Iraq War are having to turn to private care. A chilling passage: “Of the nearly 24,000 wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, about a third suffer from some degree of traumatic brain injury, or […]