Iraq

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Gates to USAF: Straighten Up and Fly Right

Defense sec criticizes service for being slow to adapt to change

(Newser) - Robert Gates chided the Air Force today for being slow to change and for not providing enough help in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Addressing American and international student officers in Alabama, the defense secretary said getting the USAF to adapt, particularly in the use of drone aircraft, has...

Rice Visits Iraq, Looks to Bolster PM Maliki

Sec says assault on Basra pushed fractious country toward unity

(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad today to highlight recent political gains brought about by PM Nouri al-Maliki's government. While the Maliki-ordered assault on Basra last month exposed some weaknesses in the Iraqi army, it also brought different groups in Iraq together, she said. "This is, I...

Al-Sadr Threatens 'Open War'
Al-Sadr Threatens
'Open War'
Apr 19, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Al-Sadr Threatens 'Open War'

Radical cleric urges Baghdad to take 'road of peace'

(Newser) - Moqtada al-Sadr today threatened today to “declare a war” against Iraq unless it curbs attacks on his Mahdi Army, CNN reports. “I’m giving the last warning to the Iraqi government,” he said. “If the government does not stop the militias infiltrated with them, then we...

US Builds Giant Wall in Sadr City

Partition aims to keep insurgents from neighborhood

(Newser) - American forces have begun construction of an enormous concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhood. The structure is intended to make the southern section of Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold that borders the Green Zone, into a protected enclave, reports the New York Times....

49 Killed in Suicide Attack on Iraqi Funeral

Bomber blows self up amid dozens of mourners

(Newser) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of a funeral in northern Iraq today, killing 49 mourners. The bomber detonated a vest stuffed with explosives in a village along the border of Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, not far from the site of Tuesday's bomb attack that killed 40....

Iraqis Buck US, Flee Front Line in Sadr City Fight

'We don’t see any progress being made at all,' American soldier says

(Newser) - An Iraqi Army unit fled its position in Sadr City last night, despite American protestations, the New York Times reports, breeding further doubt among US commanders. A captain begged the Iraqi in charge to reconsider. “If you turn around … those soldiers will follow you,” he said. “...

Turkey Launches New Airstrike in Iraq

Military reports 'neutralizing' Kurdish rebels

(Newser) - Turkey's air force flew into northern Iraq this morning, firing on a group of Kurdish guerrillas who officials said were attempting to cross the border, Reuters reports. The strikes "neutralized" several members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, said Turkish military authorities. The Kurdish separatist group confirmed the Turkish attack...

Diplomat Corps May Be Forced Into Iraq Service

Yanks face orders to fill understaffed Bagdad embassy

(Newser) - American diplomats may be forced to serve in Iraq if enough qualified candidates don't come forward voluntarily, reports CNN. The US embassy in Baghdad is chronically short-staffed, and the State Department has threatened that no other diplomatic jobs will be filled until the Baghdad bureau is up to speed. A...

Huge Car Bomb Kills 40 In Eastern Iraq

Dozens of casualties still without medical attention

(Newser) - A car bomb ripped through the Iraqi city of Baquba today, leaving at least 40 people dead and more than 70 injured, Reuters reports. The bomb went off near midday outside a restaurant that faces the city's main courthouse. Only a short while later a second bomb went off in...

Brits Will Pay $4M to Iraqi Boy Paralyzed by Bullet

Record compensation for teen shot by dropped rifle

(Newser) - Britain's Ministry of Defense has agreed to pay $4 million in compensation to an Iraqi boy accidentally shot by a British soldier, the Guardian reports. The boy, now 17, is paralyzed from severe spinal injuries inflicted when the soldier dropped his rifle at a Basra base in 2003. He is...

Iraqi Army Rescues British Journalist

Photographer had been held in Basra for two months

(Newser) - Iraqi troops rescued British photojournalist Richard Butler during a raid in Basra today, the Daily Telegraph reports. Storming a suburban house, soldiers found Butler with a hood over his head, but apparently unharmed. Butler had been working in Basra for CBS when he was abducted—by what were thought to...

Iraq's Secret $833M Arms Buy Raises Concern

Purchase from Serbia reveals Baghdad's military woes

(Newser) - A secret arms deal highlights Baghdad's trouble arming its troops and securing Iraq, the New York Times reports. Officials signed the $833 million deal with Serbia last month, without approval in Baghdad—and procured faulty or useless planes, tanks, and other arms. Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir defended the move,...

19 Yanks Die in Worst Week of Year for US

Baghdad battles against Shiite militia take heavy toll

(Newser) - The death of a US soldier in a roadside blast in Baghdad yesterday brought the death toll for US troops to 19 in a single week—the highest so far this year. Almost all of the deaths have been in the Iraqi capital, where US and Iraqi forces are battling...

War Killing Economy, Democrat Says

Lawmaker calls war a 'leading cause' of economic woes

(Newser) - While President Bush touted a "turnaround" in Iraq today, one lawmaker called the war "a leading cause" of America's economic woes, the Swamp blog reports. Test-driving the Democrat’s new anti-war argument, Kentucky Representative John Yarmuth blasted General Petraeus for advocating “more of the same, with U....

Iran Is Now a Bigger Threat in Iraq Than al-Qaeda: US Officials

(Newser) - Recent battles in Basra prove that Iran is crippling Iraqi stability while al-Qaeda's influence there wanes, US officials say. David Petraeus pointed to Iran's influence in testimony this week, and now Shiite militias are said to have benefited from Iranian weapons, training, and guidance in Basra fighting—prompting a Washington...

Sadr City Fight Kills 13; Insurgents Vow to Fight On

Authorities ease blockade in Iraqi slum

(Newser) - US and Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite insurgents in fierce fighting overnight near Baghdad’s Sadr City, Reuters reports, as authorities lifted a blockade in some areas that had been stifling the region. At least 13 militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were killed in the clashes in the Iraqi...

Death of Sadr Aide Sparks Battles in Baghdad

Iraqi prez condemns attacks but meets al-Sadr MPs

(Newser) - The murder of a Moqtada al-Sadr aide triggered heavy fighting in Baghdad today after al-Sadr’s men attacked US and Iraqi forces, Reuters reports. The cleric blamed “the hand of the occupier” for the death of Riyadh al-Nuri, a close relative, and vowed not to forget “this precious...

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause
 Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause 
Apr 10, 2008 12:22 PM CDT

Bush Backs Petraeus' Pause

President warns Iran against arming Iraqi militants

(Newser) - Vowing that Gen. David Petraeus will have “all the time he needs” in Iraq, President Bush today announced a pause, from August until at least mid-September, in withdrawal of troops from Iraq, CNN reports. Citing the post-surge security gains, Bush said, “we have renewed and revived the prospect...

Petraeus Sees No New Troop Buildup in Iraq

General wraps up two days of testimony before Congress

(Newser) - Gen. David H. Petraeus told the House Armed Forces Committee today that he does not foresee another buildup of US armed forces in Iraq, calling the possibility of a new surge "a pretty remote thought in my mind." If violences escalates again, the Army will make do with...

Petraeus Grilling Moves to House

Dems lay into lack of progress in Iraq; he gives few details on plans

(Newser) - Gen. David Petraeus' visit to Capitol Hill continues today, with House members getting their chance to grill the top US commander in Iraq and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Democrats on the Armed Service Committee were vocal in their frustration about the war’s progress, even as Petraeus and Crocker were unyielding...

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