President George Bush hailed the Iraqi parliament’s approval of a landmark accord for US troops to remain in the country in three years—but a popular referendum on the deal was included in the legislation. As part of political bargaining before… Read moreIraq: SOFA will have to pass referendum
From the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Nov. 3: To the Kurdish Parliament and the Kurdistan Regional Government: We demand the repeal of polygamous marriages and all other discriminatory laws against women in Kurdistan. On October 27, 2008,… Read moreCampaign to stop polygamy in Iraqi Kurdistan
Much has been made of the fact that the bomber was a woman, but note that the victims were overwhelmingly women as well. From The Guardian, Nov. 25: Woman in suicide attack as 19 die in Baghdad bombings A volley… Read moreIraq: insurgent femicide
Shi’te followers of Moqtada al-Sadr protested Nov. 21 in Baghdad, defacing and burning an effigy of President George Bush in a display of contempt for a deal struck between the departing US administration and the Iraqi government to keep US… Read moreIraq: SOFA sparks protests, oil struggle continues
Iraq’s cabinet Nov. 16 approved a security pact with the US that will allow American forces to stay for three years after their UN mandate expires at the end of the year. The decision follows months of negotiations and, pending… Read moreIraqi cabinet approves security pact with US
Headlines from Iraq Nov. 12 were dominated by the re-opening of Baghdad’s Two Imams Bridge, which links the Sunni district of Adhamiya and the Shi’ite area of Kadhimiya, and had been closed due to sectarian violence since 2005. (E.g. LAT)… Read moreIraq: spate of attacks leave 23 dead as Two Imams Bridge re-opens
At least 28 people were killed—including women and schoolgirls—and dozens wounded in a triple bombing in a Baghdad market on Nov. 10, the deadliest attack to rock the Iraqi capital in months. The attackers first detonated a car bomb, blowing… Read moreIraq: media garble sectarian slaughter
Via the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), Nov. 4: The Iraqi parliament voted on Monday, November 3rd on the issue of reserved seats for the Assyrians, Yezidies, Shabaks and Mandeans. The final vote of the Iraqi parliament is a huge… Read moreIraq: minorities denounce new election law quotas
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), Nov. 6: A letter to Mr. Barack Obama on his election as President of the United States of America Greetings… On behalf of the Iraq Freedom Congress, I would like to congratulate you on… Read moreIraq’s civil resistance to Obama: end the occupation
Two Iraqi insurgent groups called on president-elect Barack Obama to withdraw US forces from Iraq, an Internet monitoring service reported Nov. 7. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi of the Islamic State of Iraq said it would be better “for you and us”… Read moreIraq: al-Qaeda offers Obama truce?
A statement from the General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI), Oct. 27: In Basra Thousands of Workers Take to the Street Against the Government Anti-Workers Policy In a coordination effort with the Labor Unifying Bureau, thousands… Read moreIraq: Basra workers march against austerity
A statement from the Iraq Freedom Congress, Oct. 19: Thousands of Workers Took To the Street against the Minister of Finance US Troops and National Guards Surround the Event While the Labor Leaders Deliver Their Speeches In a series of… Read moreIraq: workers protest IMF policies
