Dahr Jamail

Devastation on the ground and widely held Iraqi opinion contradicts claims by U.S. officials that the situation in Iraq has improved toward the fifth anniversary of the invasion March 20. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney during a surprise visit to Iraq on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavor." According to … Continue reading “Five Years, No End in Sight”

Garret Reppenhagen received integral training about the Geneva Conventions and the rules of engagement during his deployment in Kosovo. But in Iraq, "much of this was thrown out the window," he says. "The men I served with are professionals," Reppenhagen told the audience at a panel of U.S. veterans speaking of their experiences in Iraq … Continue reading “Iraq Vet: Rules of Engagement ‘Thrown Out the Window’”

Iraq, where women once had more rights and freedom than most others in the Arab world, has turned deadly for women who dream of education and a professional career. Former dictator Saddam Hussein maintained a relatively secular society, where it was common for women to take up jobs as professors, doctors and government officials. In … Continue reading “Iraqi Women More Oppressed Than Ever”

DAMASCUS – More Iraqis continue to flee their country than the numbers returning, despite official claims to the contrary. Thousands fleeing say security is as bad as ever and that to return would be to accept death. "Return to Iraq?" asks 35-year-old Ahmed Alwan, an Iraqi engineer now working at a restaurant in Damascus. "There … Continue reading “Iraqi Refugees: ‘Not Our Country to Return To’”

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”

BAGHDAD – Now that the smoke has cleared and the rubble settled, residents of a group of bombed Iraqi villages see the raid as really a US loss. Many Iraqis view the attack Jan. 10 by bombers and F-16 jets on a cluster of villages in the Latifiya district south of Baghdad as overkill. "The … Continue reading “More Bombing Creates New Enemies”

BAQUBA – New military operations in Diyala province north of Baghdad have exacerbated a growing conflict between U.S.-backed Sunni fighters on the one hand and Iraqi army and police forces on the other. The U.S. military commenced a large military operation Jan. 8 in the volatile Diyala province. Seven U.S. battalions led an offensive to … Continue reading “Iraqi Police and Army Sidelined by Sunni Fighters”

BAGHDAD – The newly formed "Awakening" forces set up by the U.S. military are bringing new conflict. For months now the U.S. military has been actively building what it calls Awakening forces and "concerned local citizens" in an effort to reduce attacks on occupation forces. Members of the forces, which comprise primarily former resistance fighters … Continue reading “Iraqis ‘Awake’ to a New Danger”

FALLUJAH – US and Iraqi officials claim that security is improving across al-Anbar province and much of Iraq. Security during the last half of 2007 was indeed better than in the period between February 2006 and mid-2007. But this has brought little solace to many Iraqis, because violence is still worse than in 2005 and … Continue reading “Iraq Less Violent and Hellish Only in Numbers”

BAGHDAD – The recent killing of two U.S. soldiers by their Iraqi colleague has raised disturbing questions about U.S. military relations with Iraqi forces. On Dec. 26, an Iraqi soldier opened fire on U.S. soldiers accompanying him during a joint military patrol in the northern Iraqi city Mosul. He killed the U.S. captain and another … Continue reading “Killer of US Soldiers Becomes Hero for Iraqis”