Ali al-Fadhily

FALLUJAH, Jul 31 (IPS) – A tense security situation in this volatile city has worsened after some policemen found bombs planted on the roofs of their houses. Astonishing attacks have been launched against police leaders during the past weeks in Fallujah, 69 km west of Baghdad, after reports of the US and Iraqi government’s plans … Continue reading “Police Bombings Raise New Fears”

BAGHDAD – Welcomed at first after the US-led invasion in 2003, most NGOs have run into skepticism and mistrust. Few remain to help. Hundreds of local and foreign NGOs became active in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003, after decades of restrictions under the regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein. "The former Iraqi regime … Continue reading “Most NGOs in Iraq Losing Face”

FALLUJAH – U.S. and Iraqi forces are preparing another siege of Fallujah under the pretext of combating "terror," residents and officials say. Located 40 mi. west of Baghdad, the city that suffered two devastating U.S. attacks in 2004 has watched security degrade over recent months. "Ruling powers in the city fighting to gain full control … Continue reading “Fallujah Braces for Another Assault”

FALLUJAH – Security has collapsed again in Fallujah, despite US military claims. Local militias supported by US forces claim to have "cleansed" the city, 70 km to the west of Baghdad, of all insurgency. But the sudden resignation of the city’s chief of police, Colonel Fayssal al-Zoba’i, has appeared as one recent sign of growing … Continue reading “Unrest Surfaces in Fallujah Again”

As statistics go, at least 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the occupation, now in its fifth year. Every one of them has left behind once loved ones to mourn the loss and to think of what might have been. This is the land of the Arabian Nights, and of love stories that … Continue reading “Iraq: The Love Stories Are Gone”

FALLUJAH – Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say. The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after "special weaponry" was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004. After denying it at first, the Pentagon … Continue reading “‘Special Weapons’ Have a Fallout on Babies in Fallujah”

FALLUJAH – Amidst unemployment and impoverishment, Iraqis now face a cutting down of their monthly food ration – much of it already eaten away by official corruption. Iraqis survived the sanctions after the first Gulf War (1990) with the support of rations through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The aid was set up in 1995 … Continue reading “Corruption Eats Into Iraqis’ Food Rations”

FALLUJAH – Fallujah remains a crippled city more than three years after the November 2004 U.S.-led assault. Unemployment and lack of medical care and safe drinking water in the city 35 mi. west of Baghdad remain a continuous problem. Freedom of movement is still curtailed. The city suffered two devastating U.S. military attacks during 2004. … Continue reading “Five Years On, Fallujah in Tatters”

BAGHDAD – Many Iraqis have come to believe that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is just as much a dictator as Saddam Hussein was. "Al-Maliki is a dictator who must be removed by all means," 35-year-old Abdul-Riza Hussein, a Mahdi Army member from Sadr City in Baghdad, told IPS. "He is a worse dictator than … Continue reading “Iraq: From One Dictator to Another?”

BAGHDAD – What the US has been calling the success of a "surge," many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where US forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence. And when US forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about. … Continue reading “Iraqis: ‘Surge’ Is a Catastrophe”