US occupation of Iraq

Video: Is the U.S. occupation of Iraq really over?

by News Sources 02.14.2012

Alternate Focus: With the departure of the last American soldier from Iraq, a bloody and expensive adventure ends—not with a bang, but with a whimper. As the Iraq War passes into history, Raed Jarrar, Tom Hayden, Nadia Keilani, and Johan Galtung comment on the lessons learned from this nine-year event, and debate whether the war [...]

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For U.S. marines, killing civilians was ‘a cost of doing business’ in Iraq

by News Sources 12.14.2011

The New York Times reports: One by one, the Marines sat down, swore to tell the truth and began to give secret interviews discussing one of the most horrific episodes of America’s time in Iraq: the 2005 massacre by Marines of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha. “I mean, whether it’s a result of [...]

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U.S. pullout from Iraq continues

by News Sources 12.09.2011
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Maliki confirms US troops must leave Iraq by end of 2011

by News Sources 11.28.2010

The Associated Press reports: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saturday that an agreement requiring U.S. troops to leave by the end of 2011 will stand because Iraqi forces are capable of taking care of the country’s security. The comments are his first on the subject since being tasked with forming a new government after nearly [...]

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Torture and terrorism

by Paul Woodward 10.23.2010

One of the strange aspects relating to conspiracy theories concerning 9/11 is that they unwittingly obscure something even worse: that the US government foments terrorism not by design but by neglect; that its policies have had a direct and instrumental role in creating terrorists not simply by providing individuals and groups with an ideological pretext [...]

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Iraqis say they were forced to take Blackwater settlement

by Paul Woodward 01.11.2010

Iraqis say they were forced to take Blackwater settlement By Liz Sly, Los Angeles Times, January 11, 2010 Several victims of a 2007 shooting involving American private security guards employed by the firm formerly known as Blackwater alleged Sunday that they were coerced into reaching settlements, and they demanded that the Iraqi government intervene to [...]

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Iraqis express dismay over Blackwater ruling

by Paul Woodward 01.02.2010

Iraqis express dismay over Blackwater ruling By Raheem Salman and Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times, January 2, 2010 Cars breezed by the trimmed green hedges and flowers of Baghdad’s Nisoor Square on Friday, while pedestrians strolled past billboards of smiling men and women promoting national elections. Little trace was left of the September 2007 day [...]

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‘People woke up, and they were gone’

by Paul Woodward 12.05.2009

‘People woke up, and they were gone’ By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, December 4, 2009 The U.S. military called it shock and awe, and it began on March 21, 2003 — 8:09 p.m., to be exact. It concluded here with a sigh. No one quite remembers when the Americans withdrew from Forward Operating Base Summers. [...]

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General says Iraq troop reductions may quicken

by Paul Woodward 09.30.2009

General says Iraq troop reductions may quicken By Thom Shanker, New York Times, September 29, 2009 The senior American commander in Iraq said Tuesday that he could reduce American forces to 50,000 troops even before the end of next summer if the expected January elections in Iraq went smoothly. That could ease the strain across [...]

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Why I threw the shoe

by Paul Woodward 09.18.2009

Why I threw the shoe By Muntazer al-Zaidi, The Guardian, September 17, 2009 I am free. But my country is still a prisoner of war. There has been a lot of talk about the action and about the person who took it, and about the hero and the heroic act, and the symbol and the [...]

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Murder, torture, sexual orientation and gender in Iraq

by Paul Woodward 08.18.2009

Murder, torture, sexual orientation and gender in Iraq Human Rights Watch, August 17, 2009 Iraqi militias are carrying out a spreading campaign of torture and murder against men suspected of homosexual conduct, or of not being “manly” enough, and Iraq authorities have done nothing to stop the killing, Human Rights Watch said in a report [...]

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The case for leaving Iraq – now

by Paul Woodward 08.09.2009

The case for leaving Iraq – now By Tim McGirk, Time, August 8, 2009 Although every day in Iraq repeats the endless spiral of bombs in crowded bazaars and mosques — each fueling demands for retribution — things are slowly getting better. Last month, the number of violent deaths in Iraq fell to 275, down [...]

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Blackwater founder implicated in murder

by Paul Woodward 08.05.2009

Blackwater founder implicated in murder By Jeremy Scahill, The Nation, August 4, 2009 A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that [...]

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Iranian dissidents’ fate in Iraq shows limits of U.S. sway

by Paul Woodward 08.02.2009

Iranian dissidents’ fate in Iraq shows limits of U.S. sway By Mark Mazzetti and Mark Landler, New York Times, August 2, 2009 Last September, Gen. David H. Petraeus told reporters in Baghdad that the United States had been assured by the Iraqi government that the 3,400 Iranian dissidents in a camp in eastern Iraq would [...]

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It’s time for the US to declare victory and go home

by Paul Woodward 07.30.2009

It’s time for the US to declare victory and go home By Col. Timothy R. Reese, New York Times, July 30, 2009 As the old saying goes, “guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” Since the signing of the 2009 Security Agreement, we are guests in Iraq, and after six years in Iraq, [...]

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After Kurdish vote, Talabani pledges to rebuild party

by Paul Woodward 07.29.2009

After Kurdish vote, Talabani pledges to rebuild party By Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, July 29, 2009 Facing what could prove a turning point in tumultuous Kurdish politics, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani vowed Tuesday that he would lead the revival of his party after a surprisingly successful challenge by opponents in last week’s election led some [...]

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Deadly clash underscores rift over interpretation of U.S.-Iraq deal

by Paul Woodward 07.25.2009

Deadly clash underscores rift over interpretation of U.S.-Iraq deal By Ernesto Londono, Washington Post, July 25, 2009 When insurgents attacked an American convoy with AK-47 rounds and a couple of grenades on a dusty highway in a Baghdad suburb this week, U.S. soldiers returned fire, chased the suspects through narrow alleyways and raided houses. Tuesday’s [...]

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NEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENT: Muntader al-Zaidi

by Paul Woodward 12.16.2008

When the shoe fits By Paul Woodward, The National, December 16, 2008 In a war that has been punctuated by iconic moments, the shoe will be the symbol that most likely endures longest in connecting George Bush to Iraq. In 2003, the sight of a statue of Saddam Hussein being assaulted with footwear highlighted the [...]

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NEWS & OPINION: Iraq’s illusive political solution

by Paul Woodward 01.19.2008

Federalism, not partition By Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Washington Post, January 19, 2008 Overall, Shiites see their future based on two fundamental “rights”: Power must be exercised by the political majority through control of governmental institutions, and institutional sectarian discrimination must be eliminated. Kurds see their future bound to their “rights” of linguistic, cultural, financial and resource [...]

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NEWS & ANALYSIS: Iraq’s shifting alliances; diminishing authority; imperiled culture

by Paul Woodward 12.22.2007

Ruthless, shadowy — and a U.S. ally By Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times, December 22, 2007 “Abu Abed, you’re a hero,” the retired Shiite teacher shouted from the home she had fled last winter, when the bodies of Shiites were being dumped daily in the streets of her Amiriya neighborhood. The fighter, wearing green camouflage [...]

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NEWS & EDITOR’S COMMENT: In Iraq, division will undermine reconciliation

by Paul Woodward 12.20.2007

Editor’s Comment — The good news coming out of Iraq is that most Iraqis see an end to the U.S. occupation as being the key to national reconciliation. The bad news is that the damage done to Iraq’s social frabric over the last five years is going to be extremely difficult to repair. The problem [...]

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NEWS: Murder and chaos in Basra; U.S. concentrates forces in Baghdad

by Paul Woodward 12.17.2007

UK has left behind murder and chaos, says Basra police chief By Mona Mahmoud, Maggie O’Kane and Ian Black, The Guardian, December 17, 2007 The full scale of the chaos left behind by British forces in Basra was revealed yesterday as the city’s police chief described a province in the grip of well-armed militias strong [...]

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NEWS: Gang-rape cover-up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR

by Paul Woodward 12.11.2007

Gang-rape cover-up by U.S., Halliburton/KBR By Brian Ross, Maddy Sauer and Justin Rood, ABC News, December 10, 2007 A Houston, Texas woman says she was gang-raped by Halliburton/KBR coworkers in Baghdad, and the company and the U.S. government are covering up the incident. Jamie Leigh Jones, now 22, says that after she was raped by [...]

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NEWS: Mosul “center of gravity for the insurgency”; Gates cautiously optimistic; Cheney irrationally exuberant

by Paul Woodward 12.06.2007

Pushed out of Baghdad, insurgents move north By Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, December 6, 2007 Sunni insurgents pushed out of Baghdad and Anbar Provinces have migrated to this northern Iraqi city and have been trying to turn it into a major hub for their operations, according to American commanders. A growing number of [...]

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