Updated at 7:10 p.m. EDT, Sept. 7, 2009
At least 39 Iraqis were killed and 70 more were wounded in the latest violence. The uptick in attacks included significant bombings in Ramadi and Baquba, and a series of attacks in Baghdad. Details from a Karbala bombing are still sketchy, but it could turn out to be the bloodiest bombing of the day. No Coalition deaths were reported.
Joe Galloway says the excuses are gone
Political violence in Iraq killed 456 Iraqis in August, the highest monthly death toll since July 2008. And with the U.S. showing no sign it plans to reverse the troop withdrawal that is now well underway, numerous struggles for power are shaping up inside Iraq. They involve both competing factions within the country and also, …
Continue reading “Stormy Times in Iraq as US Withdraws”
Especially now that she has the power, asks Jeremy Scahill
Updated at 7:37 p.m .EDT, Sept. 2, 2009
At least four Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded on a day marked by significant political and security news concerning a British hostage, U.S. contractors, Iraq’s death row and political squabbles in northern Iraq.
A presidential candidate opposed to the Iraq War is elected and enters the Oval Office. Yet six months later, there are still essentially the same number of troops in Iraq as were there when his predecessor left, the same number, in fact, used in the original invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Moreover, the new …
Continue reading “The More Things Change”
Nearly seven years ago this month a lion roared, attempting, however unavailingly, to compete with the Iraq war drums that had begun immediately after 9/11. Sen. Edward Kennedy said the following on Sept. 27, 2002, at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies: "Let me say it plainly: I not only concede, but …
Continue reading “Kennedy Was a Lion,
but War Remains King”
Updated at 5:55 p.m EDT, Aug. 25, 2009
At least six Iraqis were killed and 22 more were wounded in a number of small incidents across the country. The fallout from last week’s Baghdad bombings continues with Iraq and Syria both recalling their diplomats over a spat concerning a pair of suspected Saddam loyalists who are accused of ordering the blasts. Meanwhile, a U.S. officer spoke about having less work to do since handing over security to the Iraqis.
Updated at 8:42 p.m. EDT, Aug. 24, 2009
A major political development is shaking Iraq almost as much as today’s multiple blasts in Wassit province. Shi’ite political parties are realigning themselves against the Prime Minister’s party ahead of January elections. Meanwhile, at least 15 Iraqis were killed and 25 were wounded. Most were injured in a pair of bus bombings in Wassit province, where security measures were immediately tightened. Also, a U.S. family has learned that their soldier son’s death in Iraq may have been triggered by abuse from fellow soldiers.
Updated at 9:14 p.m. EDT, Aug. 22, 2009
Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims together began Ramadan fasting today, for the first time since the fall of the Saddam regime. The holiday did not stop the violence. At least 12 Iraqis were killed and 11 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari suspects this week’s deadly bombings in the capital might have been an inside job.
