Iraq: al-Qaeda plot to spark Kurdish conflict?

Kuwait’s Arab Times speculates that with the deadly suicide blast in the contested city of Jalawla, al-Qaeda in Iraq is trying to spark an Arab-Kurdish war.

Military court upholds dismissal of charges against Haditha killings defendant

The US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals upheld a military judge’s dismissal of charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani in the killing of 24 Iraqis in at Haditha.

Iraqi unions announce new confederation at Irbil international labor conference

At the first International Labor Conference ever held in Iraq, three of the country’s major labor organizations signed a pact in Irbil, announcing formation of a new labor confederation.

Iraq: shoe-throwing journalist gets three years

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court sentenced Muntadar al-Zaidi, the journalist accused of throwing his shoes at George W. Bush, to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader.

Iraq: more terror as Obama begins draw-down

President Obama will not replace two US brigades now departing Iraq—leaving 128,000 US troops there. But nine bombings over the weekend demonstrate the survival of a Sunni insurgency.

Iraqi civil resistance statement on International Women’s Day

The Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq writes: “After seven years of occupation, women in Iraq still suffer from outrageous misogynist practices of the Islamist and nationalist ruling militias.”

US Army officer gets 25 years for murder of Iraqi detainee

A military jury at Kentucky’s Fort Campbell sentenced US Army First Lt. Michael Behenna to 25 years in prison after convicting him of the murder and assault of an Iraqi detainee.

First Iraqi insurgent tried in US federal court pleads guilty

Iraqi-born Dutch citizen Wesam al-Delaema pleaded guilty in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to murder US nationals outside the United States.

50,000 combat troops to remain in Iraq after “withdrawal”

Some 50,000 US troops likely to remain in Iraq after President Obama fulfills his pledge to “withdraw combat troops” would still have a combat role, unnamed Pentagon officials told the New York Times.

US Army sergeant convicted in murder of Iraq detainees

US Army Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was convicted on charges stemming from the 2007 deaths of four Iraqi detainees, and was given a life sentence at a court-martial at a US military base in Germany.

Iraq reopens Abu Ghraib, promises to follow international standards

The Iraqi government has reopened the prison formerly called Abu Ghraib, promising to operate the facility by international standards and allow inspections by humanitarian groups.

Trial of Iraq’s shoe-throwing journalist postponed

The trial of Muntadar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoes at George Bush, has been postponed so the court can determine if Bush’s visit was “official” and respond to the defense.