Biden to seek $14 billion in military aid for Israel as invasion of Gaza nears
October 20th, 20230 On Thursday, President Biden asked Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas while Israel's defense minister told his troops to be ready to go into the Gaza Strip to destroy the Palestinian militant group. In a televised White House speech late on Thursday that also addressed Ukraine's effort to repel Russia's...
The U.S. violates 2021 pact with Iraq by storing offensive weapons at Ain al-Asad base
September 6th, 20230 In breach of 2021 agreements between the United States and Iraq that saw the U.S. military officially transition to an “advisory role” instead of one of combat, American forces are storing offensive military weapons at Ain al-Asad base. A senior Iraqi military official wanting to remain unnamed told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that he...
U.S. forces making moves at the Iraqi-Syrian border
August 18th, 20231 According to local reports, U.S. military forces stationed at an airbase in the Anbar province in western Iraq plan to seal off the border running hundreds of kilometers between Iraq and Syria. The pro-Syrian government al-Watan daily newspaper cited an unnamed Syrian security source, reporting that U.S. troops are planning to close...
Iraq expels Swedish ambassador over desecration of the Qur’an
July 21st, 20230 BAGHDAD - According to an Iraqi government spokesman, Iraq has expelled the Swedish ambassador and is withdrawing its envoy from Stockholm for permitting the desecration of the Holy Qur’an. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani’s office released a statement Thursday saying the prime minister “instructed the Swedish ambassador...
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visits Damascus, discusses border security with Assad
July 21st, 20230 DAMASCUS — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani traveled to Damascus on Sunday to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The trip marks the first time an Iraqi premier has visited Syria since 2011. The discussion covered various topics, including mitigating the drought’s impact on both countries, enhancing...
Senate votes to repeal Iraq War approval many see now as mistake
March 31st, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal the resolution that gave a green light for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a bipartisan effort to return a basic war power to Congress 20 years after an authorization many now view as a mistake. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were...
No regrets from the Iraqi who threw his shoes at Bush
March 28th, 20230 BAGHDAD — Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi gained fame for hurling his shoes at President George W. Bush in a news conference to show his anger at the corruption and chaos that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He is still furious. "The same people who entered 20 years ago with the occupier are still ruling despite...
Reassessing the U.S. invasion of Iraq 20 years later: “A big strategic error”
March 23rd, 20230 From an empowered Iran and eroded U.S. influence to the cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria to combat ISIS fighters, the United States still contends with the consequences of invading Iraq 20 years ago, current and former officials say. Then-President George W. Bush's 2003 decision to oust Saddam Hussein by force, the way...
Middle East flashpoints that could be affected by Saudi-Iran deal
March 17th, 20230 Here is a summary of the situation in parts of the Middle East where Iran and Saudi Arabia have been involved in proxy conflicts and which could be affected by a Beijing-brokered deal to re-establish relations between the two regional powers. Yemen In 2015, Riyadh intervened in Yemen at the head of a Western-backed coalition...
U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin discusses her trip to the Middle East, painful lessons from U.S. invasion of Iraq
January 7th, 20230 U.S. Rep. Elissa Blair Slotkin (D- Holly) recently returned from a nine-day trip to the Middle East over Thanksgiving. The Congressional Delegation of House Veterans Affairs Committee members visited Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon. Slotkin had to miss the Lebanon portion of the trip due to President Biden’s visit to Bay City,...
Deadly clashes rage in Baghdad in Shi’a power struggle
August 30th, 20220 BAGHDAD — Iraq is seeing a fresh wave of violence in a power struggle between the powerful Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Shi'a parties and paramilitary groups. On Thursday, clashes among rivals in the Iraqi city of Basra killed at least four people, as violence from a worsening political crisis hit the south of the country. Heavy...
Iraq makes it illegal to attempt normalizing ties with Israel
May 28th, 20220 BAGHDAD – Iraq's parliament approved a law on Thursday that will ban normalizing relations with Israel, at a time when several Arab countries have established formal ties. The Iraqi parliament has been unable to convene on any other issue, including electing a new president and forming its own government, prolonging a political...
Final results confirm Sadr’s victory in last month’s Iraqi vote
November 30th, 20210 BAGHDAD — Iraq released final results on Tuesday from last month's general election, confirming populist Shi'a cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement's victory as the biggest bloc, with 73 seats in the fractious 329-seat house. The Taqaddum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats. Former Prime Minister...
Colin Powell, not a hero
October 22nd, 20210 — Iqbal Jassat is an acclaimed writer, analyst and commentator and one of the founding members of Media Review Network. This article, edited for style, also appears in the Palestine Chronicle Will Colin Powell be remembered as America’s hero or as a war criminal? Since his death a few days ago, there appears to be a rush to...
Cleric Sadr wins Iraq vote, former PM Maliki close behind
October 11th, 20210 Shi'a Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's party was the biggest winner in an Iraqi election on Monday, increasing the number of seats he holds in parliament, according to initial results, officials and a spokesperson for the Sadrist Movement. Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki looked set to have the next largest win among Shi'a......
Farewell to Donald Rumsfeld, dreary war criminal
July 2nd, 20210 At 2:40 p.m. on September 11, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld issued orders to one of his underlings. Among Rumsfeld’s thoughts: Best info fast. Good enough judge whether good enough hit SH @ same time not only UBL And: Near term target needs – – go massive – sweep it all up – Things related &...
U.S. suspects 4,000 cases of fraud in Iraqi refugee program
June 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. authorities pursuing a sweeping fraud investigation suspect some 4,000 Iraqis of filing fraudulent applications for resettlement in the U.S. as refugees, and they are re-examining cases involving more than 104,000 others, according to State Department reports reviewed by Reuters. More than 500 Iraqis already...
Pope Francis departs Rome for risky, historic Iraq tour
March 5th, 20210 ROME – Pope Francis left Rome on Friday to start a four-day trip to Iraq, his most risky foreign trip since his election in 2012 and the first visit by a pontiff to the country. An Alitalia airplane carrying the 84-year-old pope, his entourage, a security detail and about 75 journalists left Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport for the...
Pentagon: U.S. carries out airstrikes against Iraqi militia facilities in eastern Syria
February 26th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, President Biden ordered U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria, on the border with Iraq, against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon described as "Iran-backed militia", in a calibrated response to recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. The strikes appeared to be limited in scope,......
First big suicide attack in Baghdad in three years kills at least 32
January 21st, 20210 BAGHDAD — ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack in a crowded Baghdad market on Thursday, killing at least 32 people in Iraq’s first big suicide bombing in three years, authorities said, describing it as a possible sign of the reactivation of ISIS. ISIS claimed early on Friday that two of its men blew themselves up in Tayaran...
International year in review: Palestinians betrayed, calamity in Beirut, crisis in Yemen
January 14th, 20210 The following is a year in review for the top international news that we covered in 2020. Palestinians betrayed, calamity in Beirut, crisis in Yemen. Protests in Lebanon over deepening economic crisis Authorities in some of the most populous areas of Lebanon cracked down on mass protest by Lebanese expressing their frustration......
Iraq issues arrest warrant for President Trump
January 7th, 20210 BAGHDAD — A judge in Baghdad has issued an arrest warrant for President Trump for the killing of an Iranian general and Iraqi militia leader last year. The Washington-directed drone strike had killed Gen. Qassim Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside of the capital’s airport last January. Al-Muhandis was the deputy...
Nowhere to go: Displaced Iraqis desperate as camps close
November 14th, 20200 MOSUL — Iraq has started closing camps housing tens of thousands of people, including many who fled their homes during the final battle against ISIS, but aid groups warn this could create a second wave of displacement with dire consequences. Among those having to leave are 50-year-old Umm Ahmed and her two sons, who have lived at......
