Home >> Middle East Iraq Iraqi forces prevent entry of two fuel tankers to Camp Ashraf
Shahriar Kia - 11/17/2009
Iraqi forces, in their continued cruel and inhumane siege of Camp Ashraf, prevented entry of two fuel tankers into the Camp on Wednesday. They arrested their drivers and transferred them to a detention center in the city of Khalis near Ashraf and seized their tankers. Iraqi forces said that no fuel should be allowed into the Camp any more. Intensification of Ashraf siege by Iraqi rapid deployment force and anti-riot police
Nasser Razy - 6/11/2009
Since 5:30 am (local time - Iraq ) on Friday, June 5, rapid deployment forces of the Iraqi police at the entrance of Ashraf, blocked the road and entrance to Ashraf. They blocked entry of goods and people to the Camp and intensified the suppressive siege of Ashraf. Eight members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran who were at the entry point of the Camp were threatened by arrest and death. Iraq Elections: The Displaced Story
Maggie Murphy - 2/23/2009
The 2005 provincial elections in Iraq kindled months of sectarian violence and bloodshed. On election day alone, forty‐four people lost their lives in tumultuous circumstances. In sharp contrast, the 2009 provincial elections, which mark just the third time that Iraqis have gone to the polls since the fall of Saddam Hussein, passed off without major incident. Almost 6500 polling centres across 14 of the 18 Iraqi provinces hosted the voting, each provided with exceptional security. The BBC reported polling day as “strangely quiet”, unfolding in an “almost festive” atmosphere. 1 Relatives prevented from entering Camp Ashraf to visit loved ones
Shahriar Kia - 2/23/2009
Following the removal of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran from the EU’s terrorist list and an end to seven years of investment by the religious fascism ruling Iran in this regard and the defeat this regime has sustained during recent elections in Iraq, the mullahs are carrying out new plots against the PMOI and in particular the residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. In the midst of the blow it has suffered, the regime thinks by imposing pressure on Ashraf it can compensate this great blow and return to the previous balance of power which is now unattainable. Hussain, Iraq, Bush and shoes
Tanveer Jafri - 12/29/2008
American president George Bush's last Iraq visit as a president was some what different. During this visit, an Iraqi journalist attacked him by throwing the shoes on him. Undoubtedly, it was condemnable, bad and unnecessary activity done as a journalist. It does not behave a journalist to be a reactionary. But the incident took place and cannot be checked now. Now the common talk in the world is that why that 28 years old young journalist of Shia Saiyed community attacked President Bush with the shoes and with what words. What type of shoes that journalist purchased for this deed and the price... Women in the New Iraq
Judith Colp Rubin - 9/29/2008
Iraqi women once enjoyed more civil and social rights than many of their sisters in other Islamic nations. Ironically, that was thanks in part to the dictator Saddam Hussein, although in the last years of his rule women were among those groups whose rights were eroded. Now that Hussein has been overthrown, Iraqi women are among Iraqi special interest groups seeking rights. Yet women here are not a united force as Islamist women have emerged as a political entity. Meanwhile, women remain disproportionately victims of the violence that has gripped the country. Iraq's Future: The War and Beyond
Panel Discussion - 7/7/2008
On March 27, 2008, the U.S. Department of State's International Information Programs in Washington D.C., the Public Affairs Office at the U.S. Embassy in Israel, and the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center jointly held an international videoconference seminar focusing on Iraq. Brief biographies of the participants can be found at the end of the article. This seminar is part of the GLORIA Center's Experts Forum series. The Idiocy of the Iraq War
Kyle Bristow - 7/3/2008
As of June 16, 2008, 4,101 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war began on March 19, 2003, and at least 30,000 have been wounded—arguably for a cause that was not, is not, and will not ever be in America’s interest to have undertaken. Iraq: Battleground Between Islamists and Secularists
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 6/19/2008
Monica Duffy Toft, professor of public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, recently published an article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled, “Why Islam lies at the heart of Iraq’s civil war”[1]. In her article, Toft, a recognized scholar on civil war, especially in the modern Arab world, suggests that it is the Sunni-Shiite divide that fuels the war in Iraq—that the war essentially is a religion-centered civil war. I am not an expert in civil wars, but my contacts in the Middle East and amongst Iraqis, both Sunni and Shiite, cause me to see things differently, although I a... The Situation on the Ground in Basra and Mosul
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 6/10/2008
Violence in Iraq has reached a four-year low. The U.S. casualty rate is now 0.72 deaths per day, constituting the eighth month in a row of dramatic improvements as compared to the 4.2 deaths per day from this time last year. Iraqi civilian deaths, too, are down. For some perspective, the monthly murder tolls in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City were 48.7, 51.9, and 49.3 a few years ago. Today, less than 400 Iraqi citizens –– throughout the whole country, not just a few cities –– perish on a monthly basis. And this is a war zone. Will the US Withdraw From Iraq And What Would Be The Consequences?
David Storobin, Esq. - 4/22/2008
The US policy in Iraq is not going to change significantly in the short-term simply because it cannot change. For the US to continue to be a superpower, it must constantly prove itself as a military superpower. Losing Iraq to the Mullahs in Tehran would be a disaster. Iraq War: Al Qaeda Crumbled or Iraq
Tanveer Jafri - 4/19/2008
Five years have past when the American army entered Iraq. The unverified sources claim that during this period about lacs of Iraqis have been killed in terrorist activities, combats or raids by the American army. The fresh informations reveal that by now four thousand and thirty American, too, have lost their lives. Perhaps not knowing about this information, American president Bush is feeling that the Iraq government is improving its economic condition. George bush is also hopeful that soon, Iraq will be in a position to bear the expenditure of current 'War', and its reconstruction. How to Win in Iraq Without Losing to Iran
Dilip Hiro - 4/12/2008
The testimonies of General David Petraeus, commander of the American forces in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, to the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees earlier this week have thrust the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq to the center of the presidential campaign. Impediments to Stability in Iraq: Th Illusive Economic Dimention
Prof. Robert E. Looney - 3/16/2008
Of the major contributors to stability in Iraq--military, political, and economic, the economic dimension has received the least attention from both the United States and the Iraqi authorities. In turn, the country's failed economy has undermined efforts in the other two key areas. While many mistakes have been made in trying to jump-start the economy, a number of lessons emerge from these efforts. Rather than piece-meal programs, economic recovery must be part of a comprehensive strategy oriented toward creating a virtuous circle whereby improved security leads to economic gains which in turn facilitate improvements in governance and market reforms. Sunnis and the Contemporary Political Process in Iraq
Prof. Ronen Zeidel - 3/13/2008
This article is the first in-depth analysis of the situation of the Sunni Arabs in Iraq after April 2003. Beginning with the Sunni predicament before 2003, it goes on to show how the threat to Sunni identity contributed to the construction of a distinctive identity after 2003. Although Sunni Arab cohesion is challenged by the debate over the political process and internal strife, the article delineates the Sunni Arab vision for a future Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom Enslaved Iraqi Women
Weam Namou - 2/4/2008
My twenty-year-old cousin Renda is currently a student at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad, Iraq. Established in 1227, Mustansiriyah is one of the oldest university in the world. Extremists have targeted this university since the 2003 U.S. and British-led invasion, the most brutal act having taken place on January 16, 2007 when a double bomb attack killed sixty five people, mostly female students, and wounded 138. Though these incidents did not deter Renda from attending classes, they have had a negative impact on the majority of the country’s students. According to a joint Ministry of Inte... US-Kurdish Relations in Post-Invasion Iraq
Aram Rafaat - 12/27/2007
The Kurds' desire to secure and consolidate the freedoms they enjoyed in the decade prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq has reshaped U.S.-Kurdish relations in many ways. In order to keep Iraq united with a strong central government, U.S. policy tries to ensure that the Kurds do not seek independence. At the same time, though, The United States has tried to work with the Kurdish Regional Government. The Kurds have equally tried to support the U.S. presence in Iraq as they too benefit from the cooperative relationship. US Investigation Into Iraqi Government's Corruption Is 'Classified Information': State Department
Angelique van Engelen - 11/5/2007
The government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is corrupt. The Bush administration knows it. Yet the State Department in Washington has decided that the investigation into this issue will be classified to the extent that all ‘embarrassing issues’ will stay out of the public domain. An October 4 hearing by the House government oversight and reform committee (which has powers to investigate any federal legislative issue) is seriously impeded by the secrecy. Wither Maliki? What’s Working, What’s Not, and Why
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 10/9/2007
Are you of the lot that feels security can only come to Iraq if there is a political accommodation amongst internal factions? Or do you believe the establishment of security is a prerequisite step that must be taken prior to a political resolution? Or are the two interwoven and yet distant all at once? Transferring American Military Values to Iraq
William Bache - 10/6/2007
The President of the United States expressed his desire to build a democratic Iraq that could serve as an example to the rest of the Arab and Islamic nations. The American military was the instrument chosen to build an Iraqi security structure that could fight terrorism and still promote ethical leaders and democratic values. However, efforts to transfer American military values to Iraq have been a failure. The leaders of the Iraqi Joint Security Forces have politely listened to what the Americans have determined is best for them and then have gone back to doing what they feel is best for them_namely situational leadership, corruption, and human rights violations. Disbanding and Rebuilding The Iraqi Army: A Historical Perspective
Prof. Ibrahim al-Marashi - 10/3/2007
In 1921, the Iraqi Army was established in the British mandate, which had weak democratic institutions at the time of the first insurgency. The Iraqi public saw that its destiny was controlled by the British, whom it believed sought to exploit the country's natural resources. In a backlash of nationalism, the public projected its aspirations for complete independence on the growing army. After 2003, the Americans reestablished an army in a state with weak democratic institutions during a period of civil internal conflict, and 82 years after the British mandate, the United States controlled Ira... Time for Washington To Admit It Backed The Wrong Horse In Iraq
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 8/30/2007
Iranian exile dissident Ghazal Omid’s recent Op-Ed of August 16, 2007, “Close the Iraq Chapter Before Opening Iran”1, published on Omedia.org, presents a cogent argument for the United States to admit that it committed many errors in its handling of Iraq these last four plus years. As Ms. Omid points out, the U.S. has been remiss in understanding Iraqi culture and customs, part of our general poor knowledge of Islam, the Middle East, and anything beyond the shores of our own nation. Her essay was occasioned, at least in part, by her reaction to photographs of Iraqi Prime Minister Dr. Nouri Kam... What the U.S. needs to do in Iraq
Ghazal Omid - 8/20/2007
On Aug. 9, 2007, President Bush addressed journalists at the White House regarding Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki's mission to deliver a message to Iran. On Aug. 8, Maliki arrived in Tehran from Ankara, Turkey, purportedly to deliver the U.S. president's press conference message. When I saw a photo on the Iranian state website IRIB of Maliki meeting the Iranian supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, my impression of the Iraqi prime minister was that he looked like a nervous and obedient schoolboy brought before a principa... Love, Honor, Shame And Hubris In Iraq
Anthony C. LoBaido - 8/4/2007
Despite all the talk about a "surge," there is still much which needs to be said about Iraq, and to a lesser extent, Afghanistan. This exercise will require the painting of some very broad and even painful strokes. So many important and vital questions have not even been asked, let alone pondered. Iraq Policy Requires Withdrawal Plus Redeployment
Prof. Barry Rubin - 7/22/2007
The Iraq war is one of modern history's most difficult, controversial issues. There is no ideal solution but, as is so typical of our current era, the passions aroused make it difficult to discuss the problem rationally. Leaving Iraq Holds Difficult Challenges
Amit Pyakurel - 7/22/2007
While the discussion is rising that the Iraq war isn't gaining fruit and withdrawal of the coalition troops is needed, the withdrawal, however, may not take place that soon given the disapproval of the Republicans in US Senate against the amendment proposed by the Democrats that could have forced President Bush to begin withdrawing the US troops within the next 120 days. What Was The Role Of 'Chemical Ali' In al-Anfal?
Iqbal Latif - 7/7/2007
An Iraqi special tribunal yesterday sentenced Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali" to death for the destruction of thousands of Kurdish villages and the murder of tens of thousands of their inhabitants during the 1988 "Anfal campaign". What was al-Anfal about?? Saddam, America’s Good Son
Weam Namou - 7/6/2007
When I was a child, I often heard that America “raised” Saddam, that he was her son. He was conceived the moment, if not before, he attempted to topple Iraqi President Abdul Kareem Qassim. It was 1959 and President Qassim had barely been in power for a year, but he was already Iraq’s most popular leader and America’s least favorite one. He had carried out anti-American and anti-corporatist policies like nationalizing foreign oil companies in Iraq, withdrawing Iraq from the US-initiated right-wing Baghdad Pact, and decriminalizing the Iraqi Communist Party. He also resurrected a long-standing Iraqi claim to Kuwait. Saddam, America’s Good Son
Weam Namou - 7/6/2007
When I was a child, I often heard that America “raised” Saddam, that he was her son. He was conceived the moment, if not before, he attempted to topple Iraqi President Abdul Kareem Qassim. It was 1959 and President Qassim had barely been in power for a year, but he was already Iraq’s most popular leader and America’s least favorite one. He had carried out anti-American and anti-corporatist policies like nationalizing foreign oil companies in Iraq, withdrawing Iraq from the US-initiated right-wing Baghdad Pact, and decriminalizing the Iraqi Communist Party. He also resurrected a long-standing Iraqi claim to Kuwait. Regional Powerplays and Shifting Sectarian Dynamics in Iraq
Timothy Brown - 7/2/2007
The March 2003 United States invasion of Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, reversed 300 years of Turkish Ottoman, Sunni based monarchial and military rule in the country. The toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Baa’th Socialist Party of Iraq, and moreover, the total evisceration of the governmental structure, set in motion the decentralizing centrifugal forces of sectarianism. The ending of the Saddam regime moved away from the axis of order and central rule the following: the Sunni dominated leadership, the Shi’a majority, and the Kurds. The long oppressed and marginalized Shi’a majority, and Kurds,... What Bush wanted to do and what he did
Saberi Roy - 5/23/2007
Almost anyone will agree that the Iraq war went horribly wrong. What did we get from it, other than Saddam’s head? Bloodshed and more bloodshed, 30 killed, 80 killed, 100 killed…. Is this what President George W. Bush wanted or anyone wanted? The excuse given is that no one anticipated that the country will be pushed to a sort of Civil War. Then what was anticipated really? Any foreign policy should be made considering the past, the present and the future situation in a country, the consequences likely as a result of such policies and associated actions, but none of these seemed to have been thought of by Bush and his clan. Unquantified successes ? How Iraq has been won!
Iqbal Latif - 5/17/2007
'Kerry's and Kennedy's and democrats' shortsightedness on Iraq is a classic example of instant gratification in politics. The real change of direction and leadership of Iraqi Shiites to Sistani is the greatest victory of the new era of constitutionalism and civility in Iraq. The shifting of Shiite Islam to Najaf, instead of Qum, is a huge change and a direct result of Iraq's freedom that has changed the balance of power in Iraq and Iran. The other day in the hinterland of Gulf, a very senior Arab leader pointed to me, "Ike, when Saddam was hanged, this was the first time in last five decades t... Dealing with the Iranian Threat in Iraq
Professor Daniel M. Zucker - 4/28/2007
After more than four years of war in Iraq, it is now clear that much of the continued violence in Iraq is due to the interference of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxy agents in the internal affairs of its western neighbor . Iran, through its support of the Shi‘ite fundamentalist parties—Moqtada al-Sadr’s Al-Daawa and Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim’s SCIRI (the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq)--and their respective militias (Jaish al-Mahdi, and the Badr and Wolf Brigades) and through the deployment of its Sepah al-Qods (the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ m... Neither Withdrawal Nor Staying The Course Will Save Iraq
Amit Pyakurel - 4/23/2007
While President Bush has never relented on getting the "work done" in Iraq, the scenario in this long-tormented nation, since the invasion over three years ago, still doesn't sound any pleasing. Though after the execution of the one-time tyrant, Saddam Hussein, who was believed to have had imposed havoc to his people, Iraq hasn't shown any visible progress and its citizens are experiencing the bloodletting worse than in the time of their now-extinct dictator. Iraq's Struggle against Tehran Sponsored Extremism
Shahab Sariri - 4/14/2007
Events in Iraq have created the illusion that the country is in the midst of a civil war, and split down sectarian lines. Shiites and Sunnis, who traditionally lived in peace with one another, are now hostages to death squads looking to exploit the country's power vacuum in an effort to push forth an extremist plan to dominate the region. At the surface, it is easy to be deceived by the notion that this is a Shiite vs. Sunni conflict. However, it is becoming more evident that Iraq has become the battle ground between secular democratic forces and Iranian sponsored extremists espousing the establishment of a fundamentalist theocracy based on the Iranian model. Forgiving Iraq's Debts
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/14/2007
The French were at it again in April 2003. Any reduction in Iraq's mountainous $120 billion external debt should be negotiated within the Paris Club of creditor nations, they insisted. It ought not - indeed, cannot - be tackled bilaterally. And what about another $200 billion in war reparations and contractual obligations? This, said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau, is to be discussed. Iraq's Revenant Sons
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/12/2007
Iraqi Jews - a quarter of a million strong - are known in Israel for their haughtiness and broad education, the latter often the cause of the former. They were forced to flee Arab-nationalist Iraq in 1941-1951, following the rise of Nazism and, later, the establishment of the State of Israel. Iraq's Middle Class
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/10/2007
Iraq had no middle class to speak of until the oil boom of the 1960s-1970s. At the turn of the previous century, Baghdad sprawled across a mere tenth of its current area. However, since then and as late as 1987, the Iraqi capital was renowned throughout the Arab realm for its superior infrastructure, functioning services, splendor, conspicuous consumption and educated populace. "Baghdadi" in many Arab dialects meant "big spender". Iraq's Oil for Food Revisited
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 4/9/2007
It is payback time. The United States has every intention of sidelining France, Germany and Russia in the lucrative reconstruction of a war-ravaged Iraq. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Negroponte, said, last Wednesday, that Washington is bent on "streamlining" the 8 years old U.N. oil-for-food program, now on hold since last Monday. The Allawi Option: A Return to Non-Sectarian Politics in Iraq?
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 3/21/2007
The psychological pendulum in Iraq is swinging yet again. Given this is our eleventh our, it could not come at a better time. We are in a race of sorts; not only a race to connect the Middle East to the rest of the world before primordialists disconnect it, or a race to crush a resurgent Taliban, to win over the tribal loyalists of Sunni sheikhs in Anbar, to provide security for residents of Sadr City, or to undercut Iranian schemes before their nuclearization. Our race also hinders on coy presidential hopefuls, already in full-swing campaign mode, and a Congress that first demands for a ch... The Inconvenient Truth About the Recent Karbala Incident
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 2/22/2007
On the afternoon of Saturday, January 20, 2007, a group of black, armored GMC Suburbans (standard US Government issue) flashed through an Iraqi army checkpoint and rushed into the government security compound in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, one of Shia Islam’s holiest sites. Once inside the area, the men who drove these vehicles unleashed a deadly attack on a group of American soldiers meeting with Iraqi security officers, killing one American and kidnapping four at gunpoint. The four American soldiers were later discovered dead, each with a single bullet to the back of the head. Iraq: The Big Lecture
Iqbal Latif - 1/25/2007
Iraqi Presidential advisor recently lectured in Warwick University, the following is a story of an interesting encounter. It answers adequately that why Iraq is on the course of disintegration, this encounter emphasizes the existing quandaries within Iraqi government and portrays how various factions within Iraqi government take advantage of the divisions within the American policy framework. A New Middle East?
Imran Khan - 1/25/2007
Many recent acts of aggression have caused the relations between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq to deteriorate.The most significant act was the bombing of Al-Askari Mosque, one of the holiest Shiite shrine, in Samara in February 2006. After that incident a vicious cycle of revenge killings started in the country. The last nail was hammered by the Iraqi government when Saddam Hussein was hanged. The manner of his execution has created more rifts between Sunni and Shiites. In past Sunnis have accused Shiite dominated Police and Army forces for aiding with the Shiite militant groups responsible for t... Exclusion and Reconciliation in Iraq
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 12/26/2006
The Iraqis seem to be the only ones who get it. Something is occurring behind the scenes in that war-torn land; something that is likely going to lead to a spike in violence, albeit a necessary spike. As we debate the nuances of the Iraq Study Group's findings, elected Iraqi parliamentarians of all stripes are coming to the conclusion that the agents who seek a sectarian war in Iraq must be confronted politically and militarily by the Iraqi state itself. Middle East Civil Wars and Regional Stability
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 12/20/2006
Perhaps the biggest battle underway is the one we are waging against our own nomenclature. This fuss over civil war is surreal. First and foremost, it is the inherent nature of intrastate conflicts to be conducted within states. What is the Iraqi counterinsurgency anyway but an effort to have Iraqis police themselves? This will unquestionably lead to Iraqi-on-Iraqi killing; not ethnic or sectarian, per se, for there are aligned Sunnis and Shi'ites. The civil conflicts we are witnessing in Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and elsewhere are ideological, socio-political, and conceivably... Iraq Is A Political Mess
Imran Khan - 12/12/2006
The bloodshed in Iraq is not looking to decline. A study group claims over 650,000 Iraqis have been killed after US occupation of Iraq since 2003. Iraqi government figures say around 150,000 killed, US has own estimates. Whichever figure is true, one thing is sure that Iraq is dealing with death and carnage what we have never heard in the recent history of the world. It becomes a part of life there and everyone living with fear and horror. Why things are so bad for such a long time? Assyrian Teen Beheaded In Iraq For Being Christian
Jeremy Reynalds, Ph.D. - 10/30/2006
An Assyrian Christian teenager has reportedly been decapitated while at work. The Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reported that according to the Assyrian website www.ankawa.com, a 14-year-old Christian Assyrian boy, Ayad Tariq, from Baqouba, Iraq was beheaded at his work place on Oct. 21. The Partition of Iraq into 4 States is a viable solution
Charles Jalkh - 10/6/2006
The formation of the modern Arab world by the European colonialism of the past century was riddled with time bombs and mine fields. Almost without exception, all Arab states were patched up together arbitrarily with neither a concept of the modern citizen, nor a homogeneity of populations and national aspirations. The result has been 60 years of dictatorships, genocides, tribal wars disguised as safeguarding the unity of the “nation”, wars of aggressions, and gross violations of human rights, all contributing factors to the economic and cultural retardation of the whole region. Iraq War: No Way Out
Imran Khan - 10/3/2006
National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which represent the consensus of 16 United States intelligence agencies has described in a report that America is less safe than before and war against Iraq has fueled the growth of anger in Muslim World. Iraq War: Losing Its Objective
Amit Pyakurel - 9/4/2006
Enough time has passed to evaluate whether there has been a visible improvement in the lives of Iraq's citizens since the end of Saddam Hussein's despotic reign. U.S.-led coalition troops succeeded in this objective after capturing Hussein in December 2003, some nine months after the invasion took place in March 2003. That his inglorious end would ultimately bring democracy and prosperity to the lives of the Iraqis was often touted and even glamorized by the Bush administration (as the international community has said). Iraq's Future Still Uncertain
Bhuwan Thapaliya - 8/31/2006
One of America's most cherished ideas about itself is that, with enough military presence and the vice-like power of sanctions, it can achieve anything it wants in every nation of the world. Stories of Iran, Libya, Cuba and Iraq spell out this belief. Yet now America, it seems, is fighting a losing battle in Iraq, pretending to win after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. Getting It Right in Iraq
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker - 8/14/2006
Last year U.S. Ambassador (ret.) Peter W. Galbraith wrote a brilliant essay analyzing the current political situation in Iraq, entitled "Iraq: Bush's Islamic Republic". The ironic truth of his title encapsulates the sad fact that American foreign policy makers ventured into an area of which they had little if any comprehension, and now some 40 months later still show little evidence of having learned "on the job" as it were. Having failed to understand that Iraq has never had a unified national identity, the foreign policy "experts" continued to be under the delusion that Iraqis were united in... In Defense of Nouri Maliki
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 7/31/2006
Sometimes the political atmosphere in Washington becomes so repulsive it not only drags the country down, but results in needless invectives for non-Americans whose only crime was needing American help. Although it was before my time, others may be able to remember Soviet seizures of Polish dissidents early on in the Reagan administration. The revolutionary Solidarity Movement had caused a wonderful ruckus, bringing the Papacy on their side, demanding rights and freedom. As a result, most of its leaders were rounded up and tossed into gulags. Something's Different in Iraq: Tipping Point Reached?
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 6/26/2006
Every conflict reaches a tipping point. More often than not, historians would vouch, that tipping point need not be anywhere near the end of an ongoing war. It could be said, before Okinawa, prior to the bodies at Iwo Jima, before the firebombing of Tokyo, prior to MacArthur's return to the Philippines, and years before Truman's early August atomic decision, Japanese defeat was sowed at Midway. Ditto that in the European theater in the aftermath of D-Day, some eleven months before the fall of the Third Reich: turning points, they were, leaving only the question of how much time, treasure, an d blood was to from there on be lost. Rebel Without a Chance: Abu al Zarqawi's Unimpressive Track Record
Nicholas M. Guariglia - 6/22/2006
It was only a few weeks ago that the infamous head-lopper Abu Musab al Zarqawi revealed his face to the world for the first time. Until this recent video, he had only appeared on tape slicing necks in black pajama outfits and behind the veil of a ninja mask. Conspiratorial websites and Arab sheikhs assured the rest of us that the head of al Qaida in Iraq was either dead or captured for a long time, or a make-believe nonexistent scapegoat altogether, which the West manufactured to blame all of its problems on. In his last message, the Jordanian murderer called for continued attacks on Iraqi ... Interview with Saddam's General Ibrahim Al-Tikriti
Ryan Mauro - 5/26/2006
Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti was a southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s and a personal friend of the dictator. Units under his command dealt with chemical and biological weapons. He was known as the “Butcher of Basra” due to his campaigns and defected shortly before the Gulf War in 1991. The following is the transcript of General Ali Ibrahim Al-Tikriti’s first videotaped testimony. We will release videotaped testimony in the near future. Iraq Then and Now - 2006 International Intelligence Summit Speech by Ryan Mauro
Ryan Mauro - 4/7/2006
First, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone for attending today. I come before you as a critic of the notion that international terrorism is not state sponsored. I do not believe that terrorists would limit their deadly ambitions by refusing an offer of help from a willing and eager state sponsor. Atheist North Korea cooperates with Shiite Iran. Sunni Hamas cooperates with Shiite Hezbollah. And secular Iraq cooperated with Al-Qaeda. After the Soviet Union fell, the idea that countries sponsored terrorists was discarded like yesterday’s trash. The main backer behind terrorist... INTERVIEW: Iraqi WMD Mystery Solved
Jamie Glazov - 3/3/2006
Ryan Mauro, a regular contributor to the Global Politician, had been interviewed by Front Page Magazine about his speech at the recent 2006 International Intelligence Summit on Iraq. He is also the author of "Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq". He was originally hired at age 16 as a geopolitical analyst for Tactical Defense Concepts. He is also a volunteer analyst and researcher for the Northeast Intelligence Network and the Reform Party of Syria. Iraqi General: WMD Went to Syria - Interview with Ali Ibrahim Al-Tikriti
Ryan Mauro - 2/14/2006
Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti was a southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein’s Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s and a personal friend of the dictator. Units under his command dealt with chemical and biological weapons. He was known as the “Butcher of Basra” due to his campaigns and defected shortly before the Gulf War in 1991. This interview aims to gain some insight into the current situation in Iraq. Iraq: Prevailing Justice, but Unfair Occupation
Amit Pyakurel - 12/26/2005
Under Saddam, injustice and barbarity prevailed in Iraq. The citizens' democratic rights had been snatched and they couldn't speak against Saddam's atrocities. There was no one, except Saddam and his henchmen, to get hold of his monopolistic and brutal "laws" that was far from serving the basic sovereignty and welfare of the Iraqi citizens. The US invasion changed all that, and the former dictator is being tried under the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal, led by hybrid legislation formed in accordance with the international and Iraqi law. Initial part of the tribunal started on October 19th... Iraq: The Right War
Ross G. Kaminsky - 12/18/2005
"Was the war in Iraq worth it?" The Bush administration did a terrible job planning for everything after the military engagement, and probably got a bit lucky there too. But the war was just, mistakes or not. As demonstrated by the firing of General John Shalikashvili after he argued that occupying Iraq would take twice as long and twice as many men as President George W. Bush had said, it was clear that the Administration had not learned the key lesson of Vietnam: Don't let politics interfere with military decision making. To be fair, Bush & Co. did seem to learn from this fiasco and one does not hear this often. Tehran’s Plan for Iraq
Frederick Stakelbeck, Jr. - 12/16/2005
As Iraqi citizens prepare to participate in another round of democratic elections on December 15, the Iraqi government is busy reestablishing contacts with its next-door neighbor and historical enemy: Iran. The accelerated nature of these contacts has Washington extremely concerned – and rightly so. The increased bilateral cooperation between Iraq and Iran centers in part upon both governments’ desire to see the withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces from Iraq; there’s also the not-so-small matter of Shiite Iran’s desire to exert its influence over Iraq’s Shiite majority. Sensing an opportuni... Tehran Casts its Shadows over Iraq's Election
David Johnson - 12/15/2005
A day after reports came out about the discovery of another secret Interior Ministry's detention center in Iraq, run by the operatives of Iran-linked Badr Brigade, the leader of the main pro-Tehran Iraqi Shiite party said the Brigade is ready to provide "security" for the December 15 Parliamentary elections. Bush's Idea Of Victory Is Too Far-Fetged For Europeans
Angelique van Engelen - 12/13/2005
It is hardly possible that recent revelations highlighting grave errors in the handling of the Iraq war are not going to have an impact on the future plans of US policymakers. Analysts worldwide are looking out for signs of change indicating that a more moral approach toward international law is adopted. Just how feasible such change is has become an issue that Europeans are increasingly beginning to have practical ideas about. Iraq War Headed Nowhere
Amit Pyakurel - 12/2/2005
The US Congress and President George W. Bush attacked Iraq underlining the "basic" cause which seemed to be the global hazard, "the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)". The WMD were never found by the assessment performed by many independent strategic analysts, key Iraqi defectors, and former chief UNSCOM weapons inspector Scott Ritter, and the failure to prove it created ambiguity upon the global onlookers. Myths About Iraq: Interview with Weam Namou
Ryan Mauro - 11/27/2005
Weam Namou liveed in Iraq as part of the Christian minority and has been on many radio and TV shows to discuss the misconceptions Iraqis have of Americans and vice versa. Her book, “The Feminine Art”, is an acclaimed novel set in America and the Middle East during the Gulf War aftermath. Another Downside Of Staying In Iraq
Chris Edelson, Esq. - 11/14/2005
Why are more than 150,000 American troops mired in Iraq, nearly three years after the invasion? President Bush explains that we are fighting terrorists there so we don’t have to fight them inside the United States. He adds that we have to “complete the mission” in Iraq to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops. The Gulf between Baghdad and Doha
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 11/13/2005
On April 8, 2003, in a testimony before the Senate Steel Caucus, industry executives urged legislators to ignore the future decision of a World Trade Organization appeals panel, widely expected to uphold an earlier preliminary ruling that U.S.-imposed steel tariffs flouted international trade law. Ten More Years in Iraq?
Chris Edelson, Esq. - 11/4/2005
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice recently appeared before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee to assure Americans that progress is being made in Iraq and that there is a plan for victory. However, when she was asked whether U.S. soldiers might still be in Iraq in five years, or even ten years, she refused to answer, saying she couldn’t speculate and that troops would stay until victory was achieved. When Senator John Kerry asked Secretary Rice to define victory, she gave an answer that set new standards for vagueness and uncertainty. She said victory means “laying the foun... The Madman and the Iraqi War
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 10/31/2005
It is the war of the sated against the famished, the obese against the emaciated, the affluent against the impoverished, the democracies against tyranny, perhaps Christianity against Islam and definitely the West against the Orient. It is the ultimate metaphor, replete with "mass destruction", "collateral damage", and the "will of the international community". U.S. Is Refusing To Fight The Iraq War Properly
Jan Lamprecht - 9/23/2005
The United States definitely has the capability to win the war in Iraq, and the larger War on Terror, but it probably will not. At this point, a withdrawal from Iraq will likely result in the collapse of the existing Iraqi government and failure of the American effort, as well as in a tremendous loss of Washington’s diplomatic and political power. Iran's President Ahmadinejad Should Not Welcomed At UN
Nasser Rashidi - 9/10/2005
The presidential elections in Iran was the worst possible scenario for the West. Now, the Iranian executive branch, like the legislative and judiciary branches, has come under the complete control of hard-liners. To cast his ballot, Iran's new president, had to walk on a street over which the flags of US, UK and Israel were painted. Iraq’s Neoliberal Constitution
Herbert Docena - 9/8/2005
Article 25: “The state shall guarantee the reforming of the Iraqi economy according to modern economic bases, in a way that ensures complete investment of its resources, diversifying its sources and encouraging and developing the private sector.” Al-Qaida Establishes "Islamic Republic of Qaim" in Iraq
Ross Kaminsky - 9/7/2005
According to Pravda and the Washington Post, Al Qaeda and/or radical muslim insurgents have taken control over the Iraqi town of Qaim, near the Syrian border. While the world focuses on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and the talking heads wonder aloud about the political damage done to President Bush (as well as local leaders in Louisiana) by Katrina and burst levees, a major story is developing in Iraq - one which the President should be nearly as concerned with, and one which may cause him serious trouble well after the situation on the Gulf Coast has moderated. Vietnam II:Terrorists Are Winning The War In Iraq
Jan Lamprecht - 7/18/2005
I was talking to a Muslim co-worker of mine the other day about Iraq and he mentioned to me that if the United States abandons Iraq, it will be the most incredible adrenalin rush the Muslims have ever had. He said it would be a huge victory for them. The terrorists are pulling out all the stops as they see the U.S. and Great Britain wavering about staying in the country. So what will George W. Bush do? If he pulls out, the Iraqi government and its military forces may be overwhelmed by Islamists and other anti-American terrorists. So does George Bush push up his troop commitments or stay? Saddam's One Thousand Nights - The Run-up to the Second Gulf War
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 6/19/2005
Iraq's latest war was yet another seemingly mortal blow to its eerily resilient economy. According to Fred Horan of Cornell University, Iraq's GNP per capita contracted by one third in the aftermath of its protracted and bloodied war with Iran. Similar drops in gross national consumption and government spending were recorded by Dr. Kamil Mahdi of the Center for Arab Gulf Studies in Exeter University. The CIA pegs the cost of the Iran-Iraq conflict at $100 billion. This was three years before the first Gulf War and the decade of debilitating sanctions that followed it. The Infamous WMD Search: A View From the Inside - Interview with Douglas Hanson
Ryan Mauro - 6/3/2005
Douglas Hanson was a US Army cavalry reconnaissance officer for 20 years, and is a Gulf War I combat veteran. He has a background in radiation biology and physiology, and was an Atomic Demolitions Munitions (ADM) Security Officer, and a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Officer.? As a civilian analyst, he has worked on stability and support operations in Bosnia, and helped develop a multi-service medical treatment manual for nuclear and radiological casualties. He was initially an operations officer in the operations/intelligence cell of the Requirements Coordination Office of the CPA, and was later assigned as the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Is Sectarian Strife Developing A Lasting Stranglehold on Iraq?
Angelique van Engelen - 5/28/2005
The confirmation of persistent rumors about the serious injuries of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq as well as the arrest of two of his top aides, is a major morale boost for both the US army and the Iraqi security forces, who increasingly are taking over from the army. But it is no guarantee that the security situation in Iraq will have become any less precarious. Some wonder whether it is even possible for the forces to get a grip. Iraq Insurgency: Arab and Iranian Mercenaries, and Russian Sponsorship of Extremists
Jan Lamprecht - 5/18/2005
On May 15, 2005, The New York Times wrote of the "Mystery of the Insurgency". But is there really a mystery in Iraq? Well, I fail to see what the mystery is. As I said from the beginning, these Arabs/Muslims want to go to war against America, and I thought from the start, that this is a strategic trap any way. The Americans are being drawn into a conflict which the sponsors (who may be corrupt politicians and mobsters from Russia) want to turn into a wider war. I stand by that analysis. US Media Largely Ignoring Secret UK Government Memo Evidencing Iraq War Conspiracy
Angelique van Engelen - 5/18/2005
The blogosphere has been jumping around the story like crazy but it seems the mainstream media are doing their best to ignore it. Yet it's been branded the most extensive case of governing-level conspiracy plotting in ages. CNN spent very limited time on it and that's also a pretty accurate indicator of the attention most other media outlets have devoted to it so far. Even though some 88 members of Congress openly inquired about it and a few other US opionion leaders spoke out against it. But that was it more or less. What was? A recently leaked internal UK government memo dated July 2002, that was so secret extra copies could not be made, not even for internal use. US Shows Saddam to Iraqis: ""He Now Knows It's All Over" - But When Is The US Mission Accomplished?
Angelique van Engelen - 4/7/2005
When American officials communicated to the Iraqis that their ex-leader was watching the new Iraqi president Jalal Talabani take the oath from a lone jail cell, the message won't have missed its intended impact on the collective psyche. Saddam Hussein apparently was visibly shaken watching the proceedings. "It is now clear to him it's all over", they told the Iraqi people. But when is it 'all over' for the US troops in Iraq? It is increasingly believed that the US idea of 'mission accomplished' is by no means ascribed to tangible realities only. Iraqis (And Others): Learn From the Philippines
John Mangun - 3/8/2005
There is a storm moving around the globe and like the Bob Dylan song of the 1960's; you don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. The change of a nation's government structure and social/political system to a participatory democracy is never orderly, rarely graceful, and often burdened with bloodshed and chaos. Because forming a democracy entails the transfer of the power of control from the few to the many, the 'few' vigorously resist relinquishing that which they believe has become theirs by right and habit. Strangely enough to some of the world's current crop of... Should UN Administer Iraq: Kosovo's Iraqi Lessons
Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. - 3/5/2005
Should the United Nations administer Iraq? Is it - as Kofi Annan, its General Secretary, insists - best-qualified to build nations? Or will it act as a bureaucracy, out to perpetuate itself by preventing true transformation and indigenous rule? Kosovo is a lucrative post for more than 10,000 exorbitantly overpaid international administrators and perked consultants as well as 40,000 itinerant peacekeepers. Iraq War: One Negative Trumps All Positives
David Storobin, Esq. - 3/5/2005
The foreign policy of George W. Bush and the war in Iraq may make Americans and the world less safe. I say this even though it is hard to argue with some of the phenomenal and almost unbelievable results of the policies pushed by the Administration. In the last few months, we've witnessed democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq with benevolent governments replaced extremist regimes that sponsored terror against the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East and Asia. Libya gave up its nuclear program, Egypt is beginning to democratize, and the Lebanese are bravely taking on their government a... Iran Supported The American Invasion of Iraq
David Storobin, Esq. - 2/16/2005
In what may be a spectacular coup for Iran, information is coming out that the Islamic Republic not only supported the war in Iraq, but actually used its covert agents to help make the case, often with falsehoods, for the American invasion. It may be a lucky coincidence for Tehran, but at least some facts are pointing to their support of the war. Saddam's Terror Ties
Ryan Mauro - 1/26/2005
This is to serve as a semi-chronological guide to Iraq's sponsorship of terrorism throughout the years beginning with 1990. I personally have not taken a firm position as to if Saddam personally supported any anti-American terrorist attack, but the information is presented here for you to make up your mind. Some may say that Wahhabists like Bin Laden, Shiites like the Iranians, and Sunnis like the Iraqis won't work together due to theological differences. This argument has obviously been disproved, as today we see Saddam's loyalists, Wahhabists and all sorts of terrorists today cooperating in the war against Coalition forces. |
