Iraq news stories on Newser

To Keep Eye on Its Oil, Iraq Buys US Drones

Matt Cantor — Mon, 21 May 2012 09:57:09 CDT

Iraq is looking to America to help it monitor its oil interests—sort of. The country is buying unarmed surveillance drones from the US that will scour Iraq's Persian Gulf waters, which Iran has spoken of blockading in the past and which the majority of Iraq's oil exports flow through,...

US: We Won't Scrap Iraqi Police Training

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:40:00 CDT

The US embassy in Baghdad today denied a New York Times report that Washington may scrap its Iraqi police training program, AFP reports. "The Police Development Program is a vital part of the US-Iraqi relationship and an effective means of standing by our Iraqi friends," an embassy rep said. But...

Iraq Hit by First Major Attacks in Month

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 08:02:10 CDT

Bombings struck several areas in Baghdad and five other cities today, killing at least 30 people in the first major attacks in Iraq in nearly a month. Nearly 100 people were wounded in the rapid-fire explosions that unfolded over an hour and 15 minutes. Half of the bombs struck at...

US Diplomat: 'We Lost the War' in Iraq

Kevin Spak — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:41:32 CDT

Don't let anyone tell you the US "won" the Iraq war. During his stint in Iraq, State Department officer Peter Van Buren was so shocked by "the eye-watering waste and mismanagement" he saw that he wrote a blistering book about it. Nothing that's happened since has changed his conclusion that...

Iraq's 'King of Clubs' Appears Online

Mark Russell — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:58:25 CDT

He was the king of clubs. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, the highest-ranking member of Saddam Hussein's government still at large, appears to have turned up in an online video posted yesterday, railing against Iraq's government, reports the AP . In the hour-long video, which appears on a website linked to the Baath...

Hate Crime Doubted in Iraqi Woman's Killing

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:55:33 CDT

The brutal beating death of an Iraqi woman in California last month may not have been a hate crime at all, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune in a detailed look at search warrant records. Shaima Alawadi, 32, was planning to divorce husband Kassim Alhimidi and move to Texas, where her...

US World's No. 5 Executioner: Amnesty

Kevin Spak — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:11:02 CDT

Fewer countries than ever are executing people, but those countries are doing so with gusto, according to a new report from Amnesty International. Just 20 nations still use the death penalty. The US executed 43 people last year, making it 5th globally, and the only Western democracy on the list,...

Bombings Sweep Iraq on Anniversary of US Invasion

Kevin Spak — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:35:19 CDT

Car bombs exploded in cities across Iraq today, including Baghdad, Fallujah, and Kirkuk, in a spate of violence that both marks the ninth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, and presages the Arab League's summit in Baghdad next week. The attacks struck eight cities in all, killing at least...

Abu Ghraib Ex-Soldier: Prisoners Got Better End of Deal

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:01:18 CDT

Poor Lynndie England. The female soldier linked to shocking abuse at the infamous Abu Ghraib military prison remains steadfastly unremorseful about what happened, and apparently believes the prisoners ended up faring better than she has. Prisoners' "lives are better. They got the better end of the deal,” Lynndie England tells...