Updated at 11:34 p.m. EST, Dec. 21, 2009 At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 21 were wounded across Iraq. A bomber struck a heavy blow to the Tal Afar city council, while several small bombings kept Baghdad on edge. In the south, Shi’ite pilgrims are making their way to the holy city of Karbala …
Continue reading “Monday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded”
The oilfield standoff ended peacefully today after talks between the Iraqi and Iranian foreign ministers went well. Elsewhere, the country has been relatively quiet due to the Islamic New Year and upcoming Ashura observances. The upcoming Western holidays are also adding to the lack of news reports. At least two Iraqis were killed and five …
Continue reading “Sunday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 5 Wounded”
There was little violence to greet the Islamic New Year, but the oilfield standoff at the Iranian border in Missan province continues. At least five Iraqis were killed and one more was wounded across the country in northern Iraq.
Updated at 10:15 p.m. EST, Dec. 18, 2009
Iranian troops briefly entered a disputed border area of Iraq and seized an oil well. No fighting was reported there, but two Iraqis were killed and four others were wounded elsewhere in Iraq. Iraqi investigators have finished excavating a mass grave containing 185 Kurds that dates to the Saddam era. Meanwhile, Admiral Michael Mullen visited troops near Nasariya, and Iraq war vets are finding organic farming to be great therapy in California. In the United Kingdom, the families of two men who were kidnapped in Iraq two years ago asked for their safe return; the bodies of three colleagues were returned earlier this year.
Updated at 7:19 p.m. EST, Dec. 17, 2009
At least six Iraqis were killed and 14 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, Iraq politicians are asking candidates in next year’s national elections to avoid politicizing recent security lapses. Also, Iraqi militants have apparently used an inexpensive computer program to hack into U.S. military drone feeds.
Updated at 8:35 p.m. EST, Dec. 16, 2009
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 27 more were wounded in the latest violence. Prime Minister Maliki came out against Ba’athists again as he spoke about new security implementations. Also, the U.S. House passed a defense bill that will fund the war in Iraq.
Updated at 9:59 p.m. EST, Dec. 15, 2009
Bombs targeted Baghdad governmental institutions today, exactly a week after “Bloody Tuesday” left hundreds dead or wounded. Mosul was equally affected, but those attacks were directed at Christian targets instead. At least 15 Iraqis were killed and 63 more were wounded across the country. The attacks also indirectly affected Camp Ashraf as a number of journalists heading to the immigrant camp were awaiting transport together near a blast site. Also, the ongoing PKK difficulties claimed two more lives in Turkey. Meanwhile, an epidemic of veteran suicides is plaguing soldiers who have returned home only to battle emotional enemies.
[This report appears in the winter 2009/10 issue of World Policy Journal and is posted here with the kind permission of the editors of that magazine.] BAGHDAD – From his mud brick home on the edge of the Garden of Eden, Awda Khasaf has twice seen his country’s lifeblood seep away. The waters that once …
Continue reading “The Dust Bowl of Babylon”
Over on the other side of the pond, the British are doing something we would never ever do – aside, that is, from spreading Marmite on a tea biscuit and actually consuming it. They are investigating the origins of the Iraq war. They want to know how did they get lured into an operation that …
Continue reading “The Taxi Driver Who Drove Us to War”
Updated at 8:30 p.m. EST, Dec. 13, 2009
At least eight Iraqis were killed and 43 more were wounded as fallout from Bloody Tuesday continues to vex security officials and perhaps perpetrators in Baghdad. In the United Kingdom, sources revealed that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will give his Chilcot Inquiry testimony in secret, perhaps undermining the authority of the inquiry. A separate investigation, this one in the United States, ended in favor of the military defendant. Also, one U.S. soldier died from non-combat injuries.
