Iraq war

(Newser) - David Petraeus is leaving Iraq after 18 months, and by all measures the country is far safer than when he arrived. The "surge" of 30,000 extra American soldiers was bolstered by major domestic developments, from the Muqtada al-Sadr ceasefire to the rise of Sunni awakening councils. But in an interview with the New York Times , the departing general warned that "It’s not durable yet. It’s not self-sustaining." More »

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors are close to seeing indictments against some of the Blackwater security guards linked to the shooting in Baghdad last September that left 17 civilians dead, the Washington Post reports. Target letters have gone out to six Blackwater contractors, sources tell the Post , indicating a high likelihood that the Justice Department will pursue charges. An Iraqi investigation found that the contractors had fired without provocation; Blackwater claims the shooting was a response to insurgent fire. More »

(Newser) - The US Navy will court-martial six sailors who are charged with abusing detainees at a US prison camp in Iraq, Reuters reports. The sailors are accused of beating prisoners and confining them in an unventilated room with pepper spray, a Navy statement says. More »

(Newser) - By the end of the year, the US will have spent $100 billion on private defense contractors in Iraq, a congressional report finds, showing more private-sector reliance than any previous wartime. Some 20% of funds spent on the war have gone to contractors, whose numbers are now greater than the US military, the New York Times reports. More »

(Newser) - In a key sign of returning stability in Iraq, King Abdullah of Jordan paid a surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday, becoming the first Arab head of state to travel to the nation since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein by the US military. The trip, postponed from last month after a security leak, holds tremendous symbolic significance in the Arab world, reports the BBC.  More »

(Newser) - With private business slow to take root in post-invasion Iraq, the government is picking up the slack by hiring a vast army of employees, the New York Times reports, creating an economy far different from what the US had foreseen. Government jobs will account for about 35% of employment this year, a source of concern for analysts who argue that a flourishing free market is what the country needs. More »

(AP) - The Iraqi government could end this year with as much as a $79 billion cumulative budget surplus, based largely on ever-increasing oil revenues, US congressional auditors say. A report by the Government Accountability Office made public today prompted renewed calls from senators that Baghdad pay more of the bill for its own reconstruction, which has been heavily supported with US funds. More »

(Newser) - Anti-American Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is shifting his political clout away from militancy, and will disarm his Shiite Mahdi Army in favor of non-violent civic and social endeavors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hoping to increase stability in Iraq, the organization will take on projects involving education, religion, and social justice. More »

(Newser) - Bombs ripped through a minibus this morning in Baghdad, reports CNN, killing 12 and injuring 22 after a string of similar bombings in the region. Two more roadside bombs injured nine near a hospital and two near a convoy of SUVs. Elsewhere, a soldier was killed in an unrelated accident, marking August's first US casualty. More »

(Newser) - Violence in Iraq is hitting unprecedented lows, and Iraqi forces are gradually assuming command over parts of the country previously controlled by American troops. But with the summer break and Ramadan looming, politicians aren’t taking advantage of the lull in violence to pass much-needed legislation, and PM Nouri al-Maliki is consolidating his own power, the Economist reports. More »

(Newser) - Henry Kissinger outlines his vision for the endgame in Iraq in a piece in the Washington Post, arguing that recent progress makes redeployment of US troops feasible, but "establishing a deadline is the surest way to undermine the hopeful prospects." A fixed deadline would encourage both al-Qaeda and Iran to plan a resurgence, writes the former secretary of state, and it would undermine the necessary diplomacy, which he sees including a regional peace conference. More »

(Newser) - The Jewish right-wing "extremists" at Commentary can call Joe Klein anti-Semitic and intellectually unstable all they want, the columnist writes, and they can even call for Time to fire him, but he’s not going stop telling what he calls the “palpable” truth that's "unspoken in polite society": that a group of Jewish neoconservatives provided Bush with the rationale he needed for the Iraq war—and now they’re agitating for a strike on Iran. More »

(Newser) - US and Iraqi forces have launched a major operation in Diyala province, which they consider the last major refuge for insurgents near Baghdad, the AP reports. Authorities have set up new checkpoints and banned all but official traffic as troops zero in on the capital city of Baquba, hoping to replicate their successes in Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra. More »

(Newser) - American soldiers rained gunfire on a carload of innocent civilians in Baghdad, killing three, and the military falsely told news media that the victims were aggressors, the US military admitted last night. Top Iraqi officials had previously denounced the June 25 incident as murder, and used it to call for an end to the US occupation, writes the New York Times . More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama won’t pick a veep based on trying to win a specific region, he said today on Meet the Press . Instead, he’ll focus on “somebody who can help me govern,” Politico reports. The Dem also complimented both Clintons, saying the former first lady “would be on anybody’s short list.” Meanwhile, on This Week John McCain attacked as “political” his opponent’s timeline for withdrawing from Iraq, AP notes. More »

(Newser) - Over 4,000 US troops have died in Iraq but only a handful of photographs of dead Americans have reached the media, the New York Times reports. Military regulations do not forbid taking photographs of casualties, but access to death sites is often denied. Photographers who do publish grim images often find their access to military units swiftly terminated. More »