Foreign militias threaten
tenuous stability in Basra area
Guardian (UK) May 19, 07 7:13 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The southern Iraqi city of Basra is under the control of an array of private militias, some of which have strong ties to Iran, the Guardian reports. Factions like "God's Revenge" mete out patronage and enforce a fragile order in Iraq's second-largest city at the behest of competing warlords taking their orders—not to mention cash and weapons—from Tehran.
More »
New numbers show soaring increases in civilian casualties, even as the troop presence rises
New York Times May 19, 07 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Private contractors have been killed in Iraq in record numbers this year, the New York Times reports, as the deployment of U.S. forces in outside the Green Zone amps up the danger for both soldiers and civilians. Through March, there were at least 146 killed, compared to 224 troops during the same period.
More »
Repeated the same mistakes at the Pentagon, World Bank
New York Times May 18, 07 11:14 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Paul Wolfowitz clung to his job at the World Bank with characteristic tenacity, but friends and colleagues tell the New York Times that his failure there may have been inevitable. He approached the bank position with the same single-mindedness he displayed at the Pentagon, where he was blind to dissenting views and dismissive of naysayers.
More »
White House yields; speculation on successor already lively
Financial Times (UK) May 17, 07 5:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Paul Wolfowitz will leave the World Bank on June 30, capping a tumultuous two years for the development institution and its beleaguered president. Wolfowitz's tenure was marked by controversy from day one, when he assumed the office under the cloud of the Iraq war, until today, when a drawn-out ethics scandal finally drove him from office.
More »
BBC May 17, 07 7:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The Iraqi government is becoming impotent and irrelevant as the country stumbles toward fragmentation and collapse, a new report by a British think tank concludes. The matter-of-fact name, "Accepting Realities in Iraq," belies the grim verdict that large areas are under the control of local factions rather than any government entity, and Al-Qaeda is gaining traction.
More »
Proposal would
have ended
funding by March
Reuters May 17, 07 6:03 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The Senate yesterday shot down a plan to cut all funding for the war in Iraq by next March. Russ Feingold's proposal, largely a test of anti-war support, was defeated in a 67-29 procedural vote, as Congress moves towards compromise with the White House on a spending measure.
More »
Search for kidnapped soldiers generates $200K offer, thousands of leaflets
CNN May 16, 07 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The US military is offering a $200,000 reward for information regarding the whereabouts of three soldiers who were kidnapped following an ambush Saturday. Helicopters dropped thousands of leaflets over the southern region of Iraq where the attacks took place, beseeching Iraqis to call a hotline with information. Search operations "are ongoing and are by no means complete," one general said.
More »
World Bank board negotiating terms
of president's exit
CNN May 16, 07 3:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Paul Wolfowitz may step down from the World Bank as early as today, CNNMoney reports. Wolfowitz and the World Bank board are still wrangling over the terms of his departure, but early accounts suggest that the beleaguered president would leave voluntarily and the bank would admit some responsibility for the handling of a transfer and hefty raise awarded to Wolfowitz's girlfriend.
More »
Front-runners clash over interrogation techniques, conservative credibility
New York Times May 16, 07 7:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Ten Republican presidential candidates mixed it up in an often boisterous and contentious debate last night at the University of South Carolina. John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, in particular, clashed on the war in Iraq, abortion rights, immigration, each other's conservative credentials and the use of torture in a national emergency.
More »
White House taps active-duty officer to coordinate war effort
Washington Post May 16, 07 5:52 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
After public rejection by at least five prominent former generals, the Bush administration named its war czar, three-star general Douglas Lute. The Washington Post describes Lute as a low-key soldier who expressed skepticism about sending more troops to Iraq. Durning internal discussions, Lute is said to have argued that a short-term surge would have little effect.
More »
Ambassadors to meet in Baghdad; nuclear program won't be on the table
Washington Post May 14, 07 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The US will sit down with Iran to enlist its aid in quelling violence in Iraq as early as next week, reports the Washington Post . US ambassador Ryan Crocker will meet with his Iranian counterparts in Baghdad to encourage the country, frequently accused of sponsoring sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq, to take on a "productive role."
More »
U.S. and Iraqi troops scour area for missing soldiers
CNN May 12, 07 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
A pre-dawn attack on a patrol of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator has left five dead and three missing, CNN reports. U.S. and Iraqi troops have joined together to search the violent and explosive region just south of Baghdad for the missing soldiers.
More »
Brooks: War he co-authored was a disaster, but consistent with his values
New York Times May 11, 07 2:59 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
As Tony Blair prepares his exit from No. 10, the British left is already eulogizing the PM as a good man consigned by circumstance to a bad war. Not so, says David Brooks: The crux of Blair's political philosophy was a radical, religious communitarianism, which sired both his leftist leanings domestically, and a genuinely felt interventionism in Iraq.
More »
Votes for another showdown with President Bush
CNN May 11, 07 6:36 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Congress voted 221-205 last night to pump $40 billion into the war in Iraq—only enough to fund combat operations until July. An additional $56 billion would be released contingent on the Iraqi government's progress. The bill omits any timetable for withdrawal, but sets the scene for another showdown with President Bush, who's promised to veto it.
More »