Dahr Jamail

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”

SEATTLE – In a clear change of strategy to energize public antiwar sentiment, Iraq veterans led a determined demonstration of hundreds through the streets of downtown Seattle last Saturday, following regional Winter Soldier hearings at the Seattle Town Hall. A larger Winter Soldier event occurred at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland from … Continue reading “Winter Soldiers Hit the Streets”

SEATTLE – Dozens of veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq converged in this West Coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the Winter Soldier hearings held in Silver Spring, Md., in March. At the Seattle Town Hall, some 800 people gathered to … Continue reading “Iraq Vets: ‘Enough Is Enough. It’s Time to Get Out’”

DAMASCUS – In the struggle now just to stay alive, everyone has forgotten that Iraq has lost, among other things, its tradition in sports. Some of its best sportsmen are now refugees. "No one seems to care about us," 20-year-old footballer Ali Rubai’i told IPS. Ali fled Iraq with his family to Syria like countless … Continue reading “Iraqi Athletes Praying, Not Playing”

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”

DAMASCUS – More than a million Iraqis were lucky enough to flee into Syria. But in this relatively safe haven, there is no getting away from poverty. Mohammad Saleem ran a successful supermarket in Baghdad. “I was leading a comfortable life with my family, despite the 13 years of UN sanctions,” Saleem told IPS in … Continue reading “Iraqi Refugees Flee Danger for Poverty”

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?”

DAMASCUS – More than a million Iraqis in Syria cannot find work. For their idleness, they have come to be called the "pillow drivers." The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says there are at least 1.5 million Iraqi refugees in Syria. If they seek work, they will lose their status as refugees. And … Continue reading “Syria Now Home to a Million Iraqi ‘Pillow Drivers’”