Former US ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke has an essay in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, “Defying Orders, Saving Lives: Heroic Diplomats of the Holocaust,” which draws an unsettlingly valid analogy to contemporary Iraq. Holbrooke outlines the… Read moreIraq’s refugee crisis: echoes of the Holocaust
Two minarets at Shia Islam’s revered Golden Mosque in the Iraqi city of Samarra were blown up June 13. The government has imposed a total curfew on the city until further notice. Shi’ite officials blamed al-Qaeda for the attack, but… Read moreIraq: Samarra’s Golden Mosque hit again —reprisals target Sunni mosques
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerillas have declared a unilateral cease-fire, while still maintaining the right to “self-defense” against Turkish forces. “We are renewing our declaration to halt attacks against the Turkish army,” said PKK official Abdul Rahman Chaderchi, speaking… Read morePKK declares unilateral ceasefire
In the west and central regions of Iraq, heart of the supposed “Sunni insurgency”, US forces are equipping and training former Sunni insurgents to fight al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in a bid to turn local and tribal groups against the presence of… Read moreIraq: US arms Sunni militants
The headquarters of the Iraq Freedom Congress, a civil anti-occupation coalition, were raided by US troops June 7. The premises were damaged when the soldiers forced down the door, and five of the office’s guards were arrested and their weapons… Read moreUS forces raid Iraq Freedom Congress offices in Baghdad
The Associated Press reported June 6 that hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of PKK guerrillas. The reports were denied by Ankara. The following day, Reuters reported that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said parliament’s approval… Read moreIs Turkey invading Iraq?
Iraqi legislators passed a resolution June 5 requiring the government to seek parliamentary approval before asking the UN to extend the mandate for US-led forces in Iraq. The Sadrist-drafted resolution passed by a vote of 85 to 59. The members… Read moreIraq: parliament demands approval to extend occupation
From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), June 3: Cindy: Do not say good-bye The U.S. needs you, not the criminals and thieves Dear Sister Cindy Sheehan, Greetings… I have read your article (“Good-bye America… you are not the country that… Read moreIraq civil resistance responds to Cindy Sheehan
From the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions (ICEM), June 4: At 6:30 AM this morning, 4 June 2007, oil workers struck the pipeline company in Basra, Iraq, bringing an immediate stop to the free flow… Read moreIraq: southern oil strike is on
Assyrian Christian leaders in Iraq say the future existence of the country’s dwindling Christian population hangs in the balance as violence continues unabated. According to a report by the Assyrian International News Agency, direct blame has been leveled at Iraqi… Read moreIraq: Assyrian Christians fear genocide
David Phinney writes for Iraq Slogger, May 31: Rumors of labor trafficking and abuse have plagued building contractor now completing the $592 million Baghdad embassy building project, but a State Department Inspector General investigation reported finding nothing untoward. Now an… Read moreForced labor building US Baghdad embassy?
The “Awakening in Anbar” movement, which was started in the conflicted province by local tribes and Sunni insurgents opposed to al-Qaeda’s attempts to impose its leadership, has now spread to all of the provinces bordering Baghdad and been officially renamed… Read moreIraq: “Awakening” movement resists al-Qaeda
