Iraq

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Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket
Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket
Oct 7, 2007 4:13 PM CDT

Iraq Embassy Costs Skyrocket

Project delayed for months due to shoddy workmanship, planning

(Newser) - Shoddy workmanship and poor planning have left construction of the new US embassy in Iraq—the biggest in the world—months behind schedule, and tacked $144 million onto what was originally a $592-million project. Scheduled to open last month, it won't be fully habitable until 2009. The State Department, already...

Gen. Petraeus Blasts Iran for Stoking Iraq War

Al-Qaeda is primary 'wolf,' but Iran poses long-term threat

(Newser) - Iran's continued activity helping to supply battling factions in Iraq could be the biggest long-term challenge to peace in the war-torn nation, General David Petraeus tells CNN. The head of allied forces in Iraq emphasized that al-Qaeda is the No. 1 enemy to beat. "Al-Qaeda remains the wolf closest...

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce
Iraqi Shiite Leaders
Call Truce
Oct 6, 2007 3:02 PM CDT

Iraqi Shiite Leaders Call Truce

Sides that clashed in Karbala seek to curb bloodshed

(Newser) - Two Shiite leaders made peace in Iraq today in hope of ending their bitter feud and curbing bloodshed, Reuters reports. Moqtada Al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, leaders of parliament's main Shiite blocs, agreed to form committees and solve problems together around the country. Fighting between the factions has intensified this...

Britain Opens Doors to Iraqi Interpreters

In danger if they stay in Iraq, British supporters may settle in the UK

(Newser) - Britain will allow and aid hundreds of Iraqi interpreters and their families to relocate to the UK when British forces withdraw, reports the Times of London. Interpreters and other support staff who helped coalition forces in Iraq are often targeted by death squads; dozens have been kidnapped, tortured or killed....

Iraqis Dispute Identity of 25 Killed by US

Military says they fired first; civilians say militia defended town from al-Qaeda

(Newser) - American troops killed 25 Iraqis north of Baghdad today, the New York Times reports, but accounts differ over why the Iraqis were armed. The US military said soldiers were fired upon by "criminals " involved in transporting arms from Iran; civilians in the mainly Shiite district of Khalis said...

Snipers Felt Pressured to Deliver Kills

Soldiers on trial: Army encouraged 'baiting' to increase body counts

(Newser) - Army commanders pressured their elite “Painted Demons” sniper unit to up the body count, say members standing trial for murder, leading them to plant evidence and “bait” Iraqis. “It felt like, ‘What are you guys doing wrong out there?’” one sniper told the LA Times....

Blackwater at Fault, US Military Finds

Military version of events differs radically from Prince scenario

(Newser) - The US MIlitary isn't backing security contractor Blackwater's version of the events that lead to the Nisour Square shooting spree that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead and 24 injured last month, the Washington Post reports. The Post compares a military report which finds no evidence that the Blackwater guards were...

Marines May Drop Massacre Murder Charges

Negligence charge eyed for sarge who led fatal attack on 24 Iraqis

(Newser) - A Marine whose squad killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children in the so-called Haditha Massacre may not face murder charges. An investigating officer has recommended that Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich should be tried instead for negligent homicide, which carries a maximum three-year penalty. The Iraqis were killed when Marines...

Iraq To Buy Arms From China
Iraq To Buy Arms From China
Oct 4, 2007 10:53 AM CDT

Iraq To Buy Arms From China

Deal disturbs US officials

(Newser) - The Iraqi government has ordered $100 million worth of weaponry from China, saying that US shipments have been too slow to supply Iraqi army and police forces, the Washington Post reports. Given that Iraq has already “lost” over 190,000 weapons, US officials aren’t happy about the deal,...

Maliki Again Takes Aim at Blackwater

Security firm no longer ‘valid’ in Iraq in wake of incidents, PM says

(Newser) - Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki has stepped back into the Blackwater fray today, saying the influx of accusations against the security contractor “do not make it valid to stay in Iraq.” One day after Blackwater's CEO appeared before a Congressional committee, Maliki signaled he wouldn't sitting on his hands...

Blackwater Death Toll Up to 17
Blackwater Death Toll Up to 17
Oct 3, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

Blackwater Death Toll Up to 17

Investigators, witnesses, say attack was unprovoked

(Newser) - As details continue to emerge on the Blackwater shooting in a busy Baghdad square earlier this month, the death toll is up to 17 and the wounded to 24. Piecing together more eye-witness accounts, the New York Times reports that the first shots fired killed a man driving his mother...

Bomb Injures Polish Ambassador in Baghdad

3 others injured, 1 Iraqi civilian killed

(Newser) - A car bomb aimed at a convoy  carrying the Polish ambassador to Iraq injured the ambassador and at least 3 private security guards  and killed an Iraqi civilian in Baghdad today. The ambassador, Gen. Edward Pietrzyk, is in stable condition at a US hospital. Poland has supported the US in...

House Demands Iraq Exit Plan in 60 Days

Bipartisan vote for Iraqi withdrawal plan

(Newser) - The House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to give the White House 60 days to come up with an exit plan for withdrawing significant numbers of troops from Iraq. The 377-46 vote is the first salvo of a new Democratic strategy but does not require a withdrawal timeline or  a...

White House Switches Plans on Iran
White House Switches
Plans on Iran
Oct 2, 2007 7:53 PM CDT

White House Switches Plans on Iran

Seymour Hersh on the 'reconceived' campaign to provoke Tehran

(Newser) - Having failed to convince Americans of an imminent nuclear threat from Iran, the White House “has reconceived” its campaign, writes the New Yorker’s Seymour Hersh, targeting Tehran instead as an exporter of terrorism, especially of weapons and insurgents to Iraq. By recasting Iran as an aggressor in Iraq,...

Brown Cuts 1,000 Iraq Troops
Brown Cuts 1,000 Iraq Troops
Oct 2, 2007 7:18 AM CDT

Brown Cuts 1,000 Iraq Troops

Brown announces 1,000 troop cut in surprise first visit

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise first visit to Iraq today and announced that he'll withdraw 1,000 troops by the end of the year. He spent an hour with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, and was expected to meet with Gen. David Petraeus in advance of addressing...

195 Blackwater Shootings Bared
195 Blackwater Shootings Bared
Oct 2, 2007 6:44 AM CDT

195 Blackwater Shootings Bared

Guards fired first in 80% of incidents since 2005

(Newser) - Private security firm Blackwater USA has been involved in shooting incidents nearly every week since 2005, according to an investigation by the Democratic congressional staff. While Blackwater is contracted to use force only defensively, company guards used force at least 195 times, firing first 80% of the time, the report...

Democrats Vote $150B For War
Democrats Vote $150B For War
Oct 2, 2007 3:06 AM CDT

Democrats Vote $150B For War

Will continue to pressure administration to end conflict

(Newser) - After failing to force the White House to bring significant numbers of troops home, Senate Democrats helped authorize another $150 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 92-3 funding approval came as the House planned legislation that will require President Bush to produce a coherent exit...

US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet
US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet
Oct 1, 2007 3:11 PM CDT

US, Iraqi Death Tolls Plummet

September stats are lowest since summer of 2006

(Newser) - The death tolls among US soldiers and Iraqi civilians both fell significantly in September, hitting their lowest levels since the summer of 2006. Civilian deaths dropped 50% to 988, compared to 1,975 in August. The American death toll in September was 64, the fewest casualties since July 2006, the...

Iraqis Irate Over Senate Partition Vote

Resolution pushing autonomous regions prompts backlash

(Newser) - The Iraqi government is reacting angrily to a Senate resolution passed Thursday that the US push to divide the country into three autonomous regions—Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish—to reduce ethnic bloodshed. "No Iraqi is for dividing their country or for splitting it into three weak states, unable to...

Iran Pledges to Help Keep Arms Out of Iraq

Small dip in militant attacks could reflect successful deal

(Newser) - Iraqi officials claim they've secured a pledge from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to curb the flow of weapons and insurgent support across the Iraq-Iran border. Although Iran has not confirmed this pledge, Gen. David Petraeus said that attacks may have fallen slightly since the agreement last month. Petraeus said it's...

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