Dahr Jamail

A friend recently asked me to write some about how Iraqis are getting by in regards to feeding themselves amidst 60% unemployment, the fuel crisis, and the already terrible security situation that continues to degrade. The increased number of women and children begging for dinars on the streets of Baghdad shows, more than anything else, … Continue reading “Hospitality and Hunger in Baghdad”

After nearly two months of generating some of the most compelling journalism to come out of Iraq this year, NewStandard correspondent Dahr Jamail has decided to stay on through the June 30 “handover” of partial sovereignty, adding more than a month to his work in Iraq and his witness to a crucial moment in modern … Continue reading “Help Support Dahr Jamail for Another 5 Weeks of Courageous Reporting”

Late night writing due to the sweat alarm that has gone off, shortly after the electricity has cut out yet again. The electricity seems to have gotten worse lately, which is not surprising, in that this coincides with the gas shortage – also growing more severe by the day. So many things leave imprints on … Continue reading “‘It Is Getting Worse by the Day Here’”

Sometimes I forget that burnout applies to me too. After nearly two months straight of chasing stories, it was obviously time for a break. Unlike home though, one can’t go take in a movie, take a jog or even a casual stroll. Walking around anywhere in Baghdad, being a Westerner, is never casual. So I’ve … Continue reading “A Long, Hot Summer Begins”

Seventeen year-old Amir is crying during much of the interview. “We were coming home from work, and were shot so many times,” he says with deep anguish and frustration. “Walid told me to leave the car because he was hurt and needed help.” The man he speaks of, Walid Mohammed Abrahim, was a carpenter. Amir … Continue reading “‘There Are So Many People the Americans Have Shot’”

While U.S. troops continue to damage mosques in heavy fighting against resistance forces they say are holed up in holy sites of Kufa and Kerbala, men in the Sadr City area of Baghdad rushed yesterday to join the Mehdi Army, a militia force loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr. The recruitment surge followed bloody overnight … Continue reading “Sadr’s Militia Grows”

Decades of smiles have left crinkles on his face that belie the sadness deep within his eyes. His hope and love for America has turned to a despair he is unable to express. “I want to talk to an American general or judge,” says Nihad Munir. “I will give them my guarantee that my son … Continue reading “‘I Know Americans Are Very Friendly People’”

“Iraq is sitting atop a volcano,” says a school teacher in Haditha. “The Americans are aggravating people here, trying to get a reaction. Everyone in this province is against them now!” Most Iraqis I speak with nowadays are seething with rage toward the occupiers of their country. With their mosques being raided, damaged or destroyed … Continue reading “The Seeds Have Been Sown”

With the recent court-martial trial of one of the soldiers complicit in the widespread torturing of Iraqis in Abu Ghraib prison having come and gone, Iraqis see the newest promise made by the U.S. – to clean up their act regarding the treatment of detained Iraqis – as being yet more empty words. In the … Continue reading “Outside the Gates of Abu Ghraib”

Doctors from the General Hospital of Fallujah, as well as others involved with clinics throughout the city, are reporting that U.S. Marines obstructed their services during the fighting that engulfed this city in April. They also said U.S. snipers intentionally targeted their clinics and ambulances in the city during the siege. “The Marines have said … Continue reading “Doctors: US Obstructed Care in Fallujah”