Mortars Rock Baghdad During Biden's Visit

VP urges Maliki to strengthen coalition with Kurds, Sunnis

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden called Iraqi officials today, urging them to calm rising sectarian tensions after a bombing killed at least 63 people there earlier this week, the AP reports. Biden and other US officials have been phoning Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as well as Sunni and Kurdish leaders all week, asking them to "stop hurling accusations at each other through the media and actually sit together and work through your competing concerns,” a White House official tells the New York Times . More»

Maliki crackdown may herald return to authoritarian rule

(NEWSER) - As the US prepares to depart Iraq, some in the West see worrying signs that the country may be sliding back toward authoritarian rule. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who met with President Obama in Washington yesterday, has been moving swiftly to consolidate power as the Americans head for the door. Western companies have been evicted from the Green Zone and hundreds of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party have been arrested in recent raids, raising fears that Maliki plans to crush political foes in the name of national security. More»

Concerns persist despite Nouri Maliki's promises of reform

(NEWSER) - Beatings, sexual violence, cells that stink of human waste, prisoners jammed six to a cell and suffering from skin rashes: These are the stories coming out of an Iraqi detention center where detainees are said to be held for months without a trial—despite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s promises of reform. The Green Zone jail, known as Camp Honor, is run by a unit that Maliki’s office oversees, and sources say the unit restricts prisoners’ access to lawyers and family—and some have been held for as long as two years. More»

Sadr faction wants them out on schedule in December

(NEWSER) - Joe Biden arrived in Iraq for a one-day visit today, and the top topic for discussion, behind closed doors anyway, was expected to be the US’ December troop withdrawal deadline, an official tells the AP . In front of closed doors, Biden merely reiterated the US' friendship with Iraq. “The best thing that could happen to the United States, literally, is for you to be a free, prosperous democracy,” he said, before meeting with Jalal Talabani, Nouri al-Maliki, and Massoud Barzani. More»

(NEWSER) - High-level officials of Joe Biden's caliber usually stay in places like Iraq for a few hours, max. Biden, however, is now gearing up for the second day of his surprise visit. No wonder: In his new role as a sort of unofficial envoy to the nation, Biden has no small task as he tries to prod Iraqi officials to resolve internal fights over how to share power and oil revenues, the New York Times reports. More»