Iraq

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Petraeus Says al Qaeda Losing Baghdad Grip

But still dangerous enough to abduct 10 opposition sheiks today

(Newser) - Al Qaeda is losing ground in Baghdad, Gen. David Petraeus said today, even as the group showed its fangs by abducting 10 opposition tribal leaders. “Its presence has been significantly reduced,” Petraeus said, but cautioned that al Qaeda was still “dangerous and very lethal.” Gunmen, meanwhile,...

Shiites Foil US Plans for Sunni Cop Shops

Suspicion and 'highly sectarian' hiring thwart key US policy

(Newser) - Shiite officials are thwarting US attempts to train Sunni cops, crippling a key strategy aimed at slashing sectarian violence, the New York Times reports. Iraq has okayed Sunni neighborhood watch groups, but putting their old foes in uniform is another story. One US officer put it bluntly: Iraq officials "...

Kurdish Clashes Deep in Turkey Kill 15

Ankara holds out for diplomacy

(Newser) - Turkish soldiers killed 15 Kurdish guerrillas today in Tunceli province, several hundred miles from the area bordering Iraq where most of the clashes with Kurdish separatists have taken place, the AP reports. Iraqi-Turkish talks aimed at reconciling the escalating conflict collapsed before the weekend, and sources say that PM Recep...

Turkey Masses Troops, Ready to Invade

'We don't need permission' to strike Kurds, PM says

(Newser) - Turkey will invade Northern Iraq “the moment an operation is needed,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan vowed after talks with Baghdad crumbled last night. Ankara has up to 100,000 troops on the Iraqi border, backed by tanks and fighter plans, ready to strike roughly 3,000 Kurdish rebels....

Wounded Anchor Key Advocate for Injured Vets

Woodruff charity concert to net $1M

(Newser) - News anchor Bob Woodruff, severely wounded by a bomb in Iraq last year, is back to work as an ABC correspondent and has launched a new career as an advocate for wounded soldiers, particularly those with head injuries. A charity concert he helped organized, featuring Bruce Springsteen and Robin Williams,...

Brits to Study 'Invisible' Brain Injuries

Shock waves from IED blasts affect 20% of US troops in Iraq

(Newser) - The "invisible" brain injuries that are plaguing as many as 20% of US troops coming home from Iraq are now getting attention in Britain, where the Defence Ministry is launching a major study of returning British troops. The injuries, called "mild traumatic brain injury" (mTBI), are the result...

Diplomats to Be Ordered to Serve in Iraq

Lack of volunteers spurs biggest call-up since Vietnam War

(Newser) - Lacking volunteers for dozens of vacancies at the US Embassy in Baghdad, the State Department is set to order its diplomats to serve one-year postings in Iraq. Those selected for the postings will be notified Monday; if not enough take the bait, assignments will be made mandatory, on pain of ...

US Forces Hunt Down Iraqi Rackets
US Forces
Hunt Down
Iraqi Rackets
Oct 26, 2007 8:32 PM CDT

US Forces Hunt Down Iraqi Rackets

Illegal schemes funnel key money to insurgents

(Newser) - Iraq's mafia-style rackets are funneling big money to insurgents, making them key targets for US commanders. Corruption and kickbacks in real estate, soft drinks, cement—even the extortion of US contractors—are fueling what Maliki calls a “second war” in Iraq. "We have got to attack the insurgency...

Feds Sought to Cover Up '05 Blackwater Killing

'We can't win this one,' wrote one official

(Newser) - State Department officials sought to conceal evidence of a 2005 Blackwater killing from an LA Times reporter, according to emails obtained by ABC News. Referring to a shooting that killed one Iraqi and led to two Blackwater dismissals, one official instructed another to give the Times "what we can...

Qaeda Backers Enraged by Al Jazeera's Osama Excerpts

Critics also seek praise from scolding leader

(Newser) - Supporters of Al Qaeda have attacked Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera for selectively airing critical remarks by Osama bin Laden this week in which he blasts Iraqi insurgent groups for being too splintered. Critics called for the broadcaster to air the entire tape, which also includes praise for the groups.

Turkey Demands US Action on Kurdish Rebels

PM reminds DC of help in Afghanistan; Iraqis urge nonmilitary action

(Newser) - As top Iraqis urged his country to quell Kurdish rebels with nonmilitary action, Turkish PM Recep Erdogan demanded that the US act to stop those rebels from threatening his country from northern Iraq, the New York Times reports. “We have a disturbance," Erdogan said. "What kind of...

Push to Put Private Guards Under Military

Congress wants military in charge, despite resistance from Condi

(Newser) - Despite reluctance from Condoleezza Rice, Congress is pushing to bring all private security guards operating in Iraq under US military control. The Senate included military oversight of private contractors in its 2008 defense bill, and the House is likely to follow, the AP reports. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Carl Levin,...

Blackwater Shield of Silence Crumbling Amid Probe

Deadly force went 'horribly' wrong: guard

(Newser) - A flood of federal investigators are beginning to pierce the armor of silence surrounding Blackwater guards at their Baghdad encampment, with some seriously questioning the justification of last month's shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis. “Some guys are thinking it was not a good shoot," one guard told the...

Turkish Sorties Into Iraq Kill 34 Kurdish Fighters

But army holds off, for now, on any large-scale invasion

(Newser) - Turkish incursions into northern Iraq have killed 34 Kurdish fighters over the past few days, and the Turks today targeted positions along the border with airstrikes, Reuters reports. Some 300 troops have crossed into Iraq by 6 miles, and planes have struck as far as 13 miles. So far, though,...

California Rep Sorry for White House War Jibe

Stark apologizes for saying Bush 'amused' by 'heads blown off'

(Newser) - Democratic Rep. Pete Stark apologized on the floor of the House yesterday for accusing Republicans of sending soldiers to Iraq "to get their heads blown off for the president's amusement." The 75-year-old lawmaker issued his regrets in a somber statement "to my colleagues, the president, his family,...

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Rice Sets New Rules for Guards
Oct 24, 2007 3:11 AM CDT

Rice Sets New Rules for Guards

But Blackwater may still get the ax

(Newser) - Private security contractors in Iraq will operate under tougher controls and tighter supervision, according to new State Department rules approved by Condoleezza Rice today, but they won't be supervised by the military, as Defense's Robert Gates had proposed. Measures include investigative "go teams"' that will respond quickly to...

Iraq Promises to Help Turkey Quell Kurd Militants

Foreign minister vows to limit PKK movements, cut funding

(Newser) - Urging diplomacy, Iraq today pledged to help Turkey resolve border violence by Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq. Turkey kept the diplomatic wheels turning but wouldn't rule out military action to quell the PKK and rejected its offer of a ceasefire. Iraq’s foreign minister vowed to “actively help...

Audits Rip Fed Oversight of Security Firms, Costs

Lax controls, slopping accounting

(Newser) - A State Department internal review of its own security practices in Iraq is sharply critical of the lack of oversight of private contractors Blackwater, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy. A second report due today says officials can't say what the government got for $1.2B paid to DynCorp since 2004,...

Bin Laden to Insurgents: Become 'One' With Al Qaeda

Taped plea emerges amid US military gains

(Newser) - Terror mastermind Osama bin Laden has issued a taped plea calling on his "brother fighters" in Iraq to unite with Al Qaeda—on the heels of US military reports of major gains against the network in Iraq, the Telegraph writes. Some Sunnis have even formed coalitions against  Al Qaeda....

'Antiquated' VA Ill Equipped to Care for Vets

Bush pledges massive overhaul, which requires major funding

(Newser) - Some 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are eligible for VA benefits, and overhauling the overburdened system is firmly in the sights of  President Bush and a bipartisan commission. Citing "fundamental system weaknesses," a GAO report last week outlined a huge bureaucracy rife with staffing and training shortfalls,...

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