Iraq

Stories 1601 - 1620 | << Prev   Next >>

Blackwater Shooters Were Not Provoked, Iraq Says

Hired guards guilty in massacre: Baghdad

(Newser) - A man who failed to stop for a traffic policeman and a screaming woman with a baby in her arms were shot dead as they crossed a busy Baghdad intersection guarded by private US security guards, according to a harrowing Iraqi account of the incident Sunday that left eight civilians...

Arrested Iranian Trained Iraq Terrorists: US

Tehran's trade delegate also accused of smuggling weapons

(Newser) - The US military said today it arrested an Iranian who allegedly smuggled bombs for use against US and Iraqi forces, the Los Angeles Times reports. Aghawi Farhadi is also accused of training terrorists for Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Soldiers captured Farhadi in a pre-dawn raid in the northern city of Sulaymaniyah,...

Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules
Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules
Sep 20, 2007 9:54 AM CDT

Blackwater Played by Its Own Rules

State Dept exempted security firm from Iraqi and US military oversight

(Newser) - Blackwater, the private security firm involved in the shooting of 10 civilians in Baghdad Sunday, has operated outside US military regulations governing other security contractors in Iraq, the Washington Post reports. Deployed and protected by the State Department, they were exempted from oversight by the Iraqi Interior Ministry, and not...

US-Iraqi Panel to Probe Private Contractors

Private military contractors get second look following the Blackwater USA incident

(Newser) - In the wake of the shooting deaths of 10 Iraqi civilians at the hands of private security firm Blackwater last weekend, the US and Iraq are forming a joint panel to probe the war's private security contractors. Rather than conduct forensic field studies of the incident, officials say, the committee...

Gates Sketches the Military's Long Haul

Defense sec rules out permanent bases but prepares for decades

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal meets with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, whose vision for a postwar Iraq includes a long-term American military presence—but no permanent bases à la Germany or Korea. Gates also proposes the maintenance of air- and sea-based forces throughout the Persian Gulf. It's a vision similar to...

US Bars Travel for Officials After Iraqi Shootings

Iraqi officials blast killings by private security operation

(Newser) - Tensions are so high in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of 11 Iraqis by a private American security operation that the US has barred civilian officials from road travel outside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone for their own safety. The Iraqis were killed when contractors with security outfit Blackwater opened...

Blackwater Ban Puts US Military in a Bind

With a rep for brutality, the security firm has enjoyed 'carte blanche'

(Newser) - The Iraqi crackdown on Blackwater, the private security firm implicated in Sunday’s killing of 8 civilians in Baghdad, draws attention to the lack of control the US military exerts over the 20,000 contractors who work for them in the country.  Blackwater guards are the most feared of...

Iraq Considers Expelling Security Firms

Blackwater incident sparks outrage at Western contractors

(Newser) - Private security firms have never been popular in Iraq, but after Blackwater USA’s fatal shooting of civilians Sunday, national rage may be strong enough to drive them from the country. The Iraqi government announced today that it would review the status of all private security companies, and explore rescinding...

Crocker: Speed Up Iraqi Refugee Policy

Ambassador says 10,000 expats could take 2 years to admit

(Newser) - Ambassador Ryan Crocker says the US needs to get moving on admitting Iraqi refugees. In a State Department memo titled "Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?", Crocker writes that thousands of desperate Iraqis are facing bottlenecks to their resettlement, and that at the present rate it would...

US Nabs Sunni Sheik's Assassin
US Nabs Sunni Sheik's Assassin
Sep 17, 2007 2:58 AM CDT

US Nabs Sunni Sheik's Assassin

Al-Qaeda operative linked to murder of key American ally

(Newser) - An al-Qaeda operative suspected of murdering a key American ally in Iraq was captured yesterday by the US military. The suspect organized car and suicide bombings targeting tribal leaders in Anbar province, including the blast last that killed Sheik Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, a Sunni leader and major enemy of...

Iranian Official Hits US for Scapegoating

Ambassador to Iraq says US is trying 'to cover up failed plans'

(Newser) - The US is hyping an Iranian threat to Iraq to deflect attention away from its mistakes, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq told CNN, again denying allegations Tehran is attacking American troops trying to stabilize the country. “US security plans for Iraq have not succeeded,” Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said. The...

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest
189 Busted in Anti-War Protest
Sep 16, 2007 6:19 AM CDT

189 Busted in Anti-War Protest

Police move In after Capitol Hill 'die-in'

(Newser) - Police arrested 189 demonstrators yesterday as thousands converged on Capitol Hill to protest the war in Iraq. Hundreds staged a "die-in" in what was generally a trouble-free protest until police used chemical spray on some demonstrators attempting to scale fences in front of the Capitol, reports the Washington Post....

Sadr Group Leaves Iraq's Ruling Alliance

Popular anti-American cleric says government ignores his demands

(Newser) - A key faction pulled out of Iraq’s ruling Shia alliance today, leaving Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with only half of parliament’s seats. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says he withdrew because his bloc’s demands were being ignored. He wants a timetable for US troop withdrawal and opposes former...

Iraqi al-Qaeda Group to Track Down 'Traitors'

Islamic State of Iraq vows to kill those who align with US

(Newser) - Thursday's assassination of a Sunni tribal leader was the first in what an al-Qaeda front group warns will be the fate of all who cooperate with the US, reports the AP. The Islamic State of Iraq announced on Islamist websites that "special security committees" will track down "traitors"...

Dems Shift Strategy to Speed Troop Pullout

Plan would require troops to stay at home as long as last tour before redeploying.

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress are pinning their hopes on what they believe is the most politically palatable way to speed the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in the wake of Gen. Petraeus’ report last week. A bill mandating that troops be allowed to spend the same amount of time at home...

Gates Eyes Deeper Troop Cuts
Gates Eyes Deeper Troop Cuts
Sep 15, 2007 7:06 AM CDT

Gates Eyes Deeper Troop Cuts

Defense Sec hopes to have US Iraq forces down to 100,000 by end of 2008

(Newser) - On the heels of President Bush's announcement of limited drawbacks in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed confidence yesterday that a bigger pullout would be possible. Gates said yesterday that he hopes for more cuts than Bush and Gen. David Petraeus were willing to commit to, bringing troop levels down...

Iraq Civilian Deaths Hit 1.2M
Iraq Civilian Deaths Hit 1.2M
Sep 14, 2007 5:24 PM CDT

Iraq Civilian Deaths Hit 1.2M

New poll is highest-ever estimate of non-military casualties

(Newser) - A UK polling firm has put the Iraqi civilian death toll at an alarming 1.2 million. Though the US claims sectarian violence casualties have halved since June, neither they nor the Iraqi government maintains a tally of civilian losses, the Los Angeles Times reports. But both call the study’...

Bush Vows Modest Pullback in Wake of 'Success'

'Endless military presence' slammed by Dems

(Newser) - President Bush announced that 24,000 troops will return home by July 2008 in an address to the nation in which he touted advancements in Iraq. He termed the reduction "a return on success" that could be squandered by larger withdrawals. Troops could still be added, however, so the...

US Freeing Iraqi Detainees for Ramadan

50-80 Sunnis and Shiites will be released each day of holy month

(Newser) - As Ramadan began, the US military today began freeing some of its 23,000 Iraqi detainees—between 50 and 80 will be released each day of Islam's holy month, Reuters reports. Military brass stress that Sunnis and Shiites alike will be considered for release. "This will be a completely...

Agreement on Key Iraq Oil Law Hits the Skids

Sectarian schism again undermines top political objective

(Newser) - Agreements forged in February over a law regulating the distribution of revenue from Iraq's oil fields are dissolving, the New York Times reports. Hussain al-Shahristani, oil minister for the Shiite-controlled federal government, held meetings yesterday to try to save the compromise, but the northern Kurdish areas have already made deals...

Stories 1601 - 1620 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser