Iraq pullout news stories on Newser

US Will Halve Vast Iraq Embassy

Polly Davis Doig — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:03:24 CST

The United States' hulking $750 million Baghdad embassy is home to 16,000 staff and carries a $6 billion price tag annually—and it's about to get slashed in half in the wake of US troops' departure, reports the New York Times . It's quite the about-face for the State Department,...

With US Gone, Iraq Explodes

Kevin Spak — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:15:34 CST

Iraq has experienced a surge in violence since US troops left the country last month, with 327 people dying in explosions or assassinations by the Iraqi Ministry's official count. Bombings have hit Baghdad neighborhoods , Shiite pilgrims , and Sunni police, among other targets. "They are not arbitrary attacks. They are sending...

Iraq Detaining US Contractors

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:50:43 CST

Many foreign contractors—possibly hundreds, and including Americans who work for the US Embassy—have been detained in Iraq in recent weeks, for periods ranging from a few hours to almost three weeks. Iraqi authorities are cracking down on these contractors in the wake of last month's American troop withdrawal...

The Last American Killed in Iraq

Matt Cantor — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:21:32 CST

On Nov. 14, just a month before the final US troops left Iraq, a 23-year-old soldier lost his life to an improvised explosive device. David Emanuel Hickman was the last American to be killed in a war that cost some 4,500 Americans their lives, the AP reports. With the...

Last Troops Have Left Iraq

Mark Russell — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 06:16:23 CST

Early this morning, 110 armored trucks and vehicles carrying 500 soldiers set off on the five-hour drive from Iraq to Kuwait, down the highway once called Main Supply Route Tampa, pulling the last US troops out of Iraq, reports CNN . They hailed from Camp Adder, which just one month ago...

Obama: 'Our War in Iraq Ends This Month'

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:47:36 CST

As the last 6,000 American troops prepare to leave Iraq by Dec. 31, President Obama today heralded the end of the divisive war—but issued a warning to the country's neighbors: The US will continue to have a "strong presence in the Middle East." He added, in a speech...

As US Leaves Iraq, It Eyes a Beefier Gulf Presence

Mark Russell — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:30:35 CDT

The United States may be pulling out of Iraq by the end of 2011 , but that doesn't mean it's getting out of the Persian Gulf—in fact, the US military is looking to boost its combat presence in Kuwait and increase its military ties to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar,...

US Bars Audit of Vast Mercenary Army in Iraq

Matt Cantor — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:21:29 CDT

The US is laying the groundwork for what amounts to a mercenary army in Iraq of unprecedented size—but the State Department is withholding information about it from a top watchdog, Wired reports. “Our audit of the program is making no progress,” says Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for...

US Left 30K Iraqi Detainees to Be Tortured

Nick McMaster — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:41:00 CDT

The US is turning a blind eye to the systematic abuse of detainees in Iraq's prisons, a report by Amnesty International claims. The transfer of prisoners from US-run detention centers to Iraqi facilities is a less-discussed aspect of the American pullout, but has flooded a system that remains rife with...