Iraq mess

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Iraq's Biggest Problem: Its Corrupt Banks

Bloated state banks feed corrupt economic system: critics

(Newser) - Eight years after the US invasion, Iraq still lacks reliable electricity, postal service, public transport, you name it. But many of these problems are fueled by a corrupt banking system that rejects market economics and funnels money to scams and greedy government officials, McClatchy reports. The worst offenders, critics say,...

Tony Blair: Iraq Regrets, but Not Many

Dowd: You should have more, Bush poodle

(Newser) - Tony Blair is still hawking his book, and he's still not sorry about his role in taking down Saddam Hussein, he tells ABC's This Week. While "You can't not have regrets about the lives lost," the former PM says, "If we hadn't taken out Saddam, there would...

America to Double Civilian Force in Iraq

Security contractors to swell to 7K

(Newser) - The US military may be rolling out of Iraq , but American civilians are not. To protect its outposts, the State Department plans to double the number of private security guards on the ground, finds the New York Times . As many as 7,000 guards will search for roadside bombs, fly...

Iraq WMD Mistakes Haunt Debate Over Iran Nukes

(Newser) - As the US confronts Iran over its nuclear program, many Americans can’t help but flash back to 2003, when Colin Powell made a compelling case before the UN that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Is the uproar over Iran’s Qom facility the same kind of smoke and...

Candidates Talk Leadership, Race, on 60 Minutes

Mac goes bipartisan, Obama talks leadership, plays down race

(Newser) - John McCain tried to strike a bipartisan tone during his 60 Minutes interview last night, and Barack Obama played down the race issue while highlighting his leadership experience. Both presidential candidates sat for prime-time interviews on the show, during which McCain floated the name of prominent Democrat Andrew Cuomo to...

Forget Iraq, US Is in Need of Nation-Building

Healing country is top priority in November, Friedman writes

(Newser) - The key issue in the presidential election won’t be national security or Iraq, as many once believed—it will be how to fix our ailing nation at home, writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times. “We are a country in debt and in decline—not terminal, not...

Car Bomb Kills 51 at Baghdad Market
Car Bomb Kills 51
at Baghdad Market
Jun 17, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Car Bomb Kills 51 at Baghdad Market

It's the deadliest attack in 3 months

(Newser) - A car bomb tore through a market area in a mainly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad today, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens, officials said. It was the deadliest such attack in more than three months. Nobody claimed responsibility, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which...

Ex-US Commander in Iraq Bashes Bush in Memoir

President once proclaimed, 'Kick ass!'

(Newser) - Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who led US forces in Iraq for a year after Saddam’s ouster, says George W. Bush “led America into a strategic blunder of historic proportions” in a memoir the Washington Post deems “lost in the media furor” over Scott McClellan's. Sanchez recounts...

Dead Soldiers Beef Up Iraqis' Troop Count

US audit says many in special forces aren't actually serving

(Newser) - The number of men in Iraq's security forces is estimated to be a healthy 530,000. Trouble is, a "substantial number" of them are injured, dead, or AWOL, a new government audit says. The review casts doubt on Pentagon reports about Iraqi capabilities and questions Baghdad's ability to train...

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive
 Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive 
Mar 27, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Bush Praises Iraqi Offensive

President scolds Congress' calls for withdrawal

(Newser) - President Bush praised the government of Iraq today for the offensive launched three days ago against militias in Basra, painting it as a sign of progress toward the goals of the US war, the AP reports. Bush also criticized Congress for calling for troop withdrawals so the military’s attention...

War Architect Blasts CIA, State Dept. for Iraq Fumbles

Ex-defense official says his advice was ignored

(Newser) - A top Iraq war architect slams the CIA and State Department for flawed handling of the build-up and eventual invasion in a new book, the Washington Post reports. Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense, takes shots at Colin Powell, Tommy Franks, and ex-occupation chief Paul Bremer, among others, for brushing...

US Troops Kill 9 Iraqi Civilians
US Troops Kill
9 Iraqi Civilians
Feb 4, 2008 5:40 AM CST

US Troops Kill 9 Iraqi Civilians

Houses bombed during hunt for al-Qaeda suspects: Iraqi police

(Newser) - American military forces accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians and injured three during raids south of Baghdad Saturday, US officials revealed today. The incident occurred near Iskandariyah, when a helicopter air strike was ordered on a checkpoint after a convoy of US troops in pursuit of Al Qaeda in Iraq came...

12 Stories