From Naftana (“Our Oil” in Arabic), an independent UK-based committee supporting democratic trade unionism in Iraq, March 28: In a series of telephone calls from Basra over the past 48 hours, Iraqi trade union activists appeal for solidarity and describe… Read moreBasra assault threatens trade unionists
Turkish jets and artillery fired missiles and shells on Kurdish guerilla camps in northern Iraq March 29, killing at least 15 PKK fighters, the General Staff said in a statement on its web site. The statement said guerillas had been… Read moreTurkey bombs Iraq —yet again!
The latest escalation in the ongoing struggle for Basra is affecting global oil prices. As news broke that one of Iraq’s main oil export pipelines from Basra exploded, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city that… Read moreBattle for Basra jacks up global oil prices
Iranian artillery March 23 shelled three border towns in northern Iraq where Iranian Kurdish militants are believed to be operating, Iraqi Kurdish authorities reported. The shelling of the towns of Marado, Razda and Dolakoka started at 7:00 AM and lasted… Read moreIran shells northern Iraq —again
The death toll of US soldiers in Iraq passed 4,000 March 23 as four troops died in a roadside bomb attack on a patrol in southern Baghdad. More than 29,000 US soldiers have been wounded in five years of conflict… Read moreIraq: US death toll hits 4,000
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), March 22: Letter to the Anti-War and -Occupation Forces of the World On the Fifth Anniversary of US Administration and its Allies’ Barbarism The memory of March 19th puts out terror in the world…. Read moreIraq Freedom Congress statement on five years of occupation
The Bay Area group Direct Action to Stop the War marked the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion March 19 by blocking key intersection in downtown San Francisco, staging “die-ins” and halting traffic. The corporate headquarters of Chevron and Bechtel… Read moreMore than 100 arrested in San Francisco anti-war actions
At least 52 are dead following a March 17 bomb blast near the shrine of Imam Hussein, a pilgrimage center for Shi’ites in Karbala. Most reports identified a female suicide bomber as the perpetrator, but the Karbala police chief said… Read moreIraq: 52 dead in Imam Hussein shrine blast
Iraq’s government noted the 20th anniversary of the Halabja massacre March 16 by announcing plans to take legal action against the suppliers of chemicals used in the poison gas attack that killed 5,000 people. “The cabinet decided to take legal… Read moreIraq to sue chemical companies over Halabja massacre
As the Bush administration heads into months of negotiations with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the future of US troops in Iraq, it aims to stretch the bounds of executive power to unprecedented lengths. The administration plans to bypass Congress… Read moreBush to sidestep Congress on Iraq military pact
We’ve noted that CentCom commander Adm. William Fallon is an exponent of the “pragmatist” view on Iran—a point also stressed by this March 11 AP account of his sudden resignation. Does this signal a silent coup by Cheney and the… Read moreFallon “resignation”: neocon coup?
