Bush: God told me to invade Iraq
Rupert Cornwell in Washington, The Independent 10/7/2005
President George Bush has claimed he was told by God to invade Iraq and attack Osama bin Laden’s...
Americans admit holding about 500 minors at prisons in Iraq
Agence France Presse - AFP, Daily Star 5/16/2008
WASHINGTON: Around 500 minors are currently detained by the US army in Iraq, as well as nearly a dozen juveniles in Afghanistan, a US civil liberties group revealed on Wednesday. "Since 2002, the US has held approximately 2,500 individuals under...
Iraqi forces round up hundreds of Al-Qaeda suspects in Mosul
Marwan Ibrahim, Daily Star 5/16/2008
Agence France Presse - MOSUL: Iraqi security forces carried out mass arrests in the main northern city of Mosul on Thursday as a major crackdown against Al-Qaeda entered its second day, officials said. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who traveled to Mosul...
We owe the Palestinians a state
Bradley Burston, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008
I was walking the dog in Jaffa early the morning after Independence Day when, contrary to all seasonal expectation, it began to rain. We took cover by the old Turkish government building, the Sarai. Beautiful as it surely is, though...
Iraq’s Baquba running out of water in rising heat
Middle East Online 5/14/2008
Water supply is drying out in what was once the agriculturally rich Diyala province north of Baghdad. Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, is now running out of water both for drinking and for irrigation.
Water supply has been hit...
Obama says he’ll reshape US foreign policy. But can he?
Jonathan Steele, The Guardian 5/14/2008
The presidential hopeful opposed the Iraq war and spoke sense about Iran, but expect business as usual on the Middle East - Now that Barack Obama is almost certain to be the Democratic party’s nominee, in spite of last...
Four Days of Transformation in Lebanon
Rami G. Khouri, Middle East Online 5/13/2008
BEIRUT -- Events in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon continue to move erratically, with simultaneous gestures of political compromise and armed clashes that have left more than 20 killed in the past week. The consequences of what has happened in...
IRAQ: Government negligent in tackling human displacement - MP
IRCS, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 5/13/2008
Iraqi Red Cresent Society staff hand out supplies to displaced families in Babil Province. Iraq’s displacement problem dates back nearly 25 yearsBAGHDAD, 13 May 2008 (IRIN) - The problem of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Iraqi refugees in neighbouring...
Al-Sadr ceasefire allows troops to enter Shia slum
Patrick Cockburn in Arbil, The Independent 5/13/2008
The anti-American Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is the great survivor of Iraqi politics. In a tactical retreat he yesterday authorised a ceasefire under which the Iraqi army, but not US troops, will enter the great Shia slum of Sadr City...
Violence erupts in Sadr City
Al Jazeera 5/13/2008
At least 11 people have been killed and 20 others wounded after US troops and Shia fighters clashed in Baghdad’s Sadr City, hospital officials have said, despite a truce being agreed at the weekend. The US military on...
Former US official claims Iraq corruption sham
Middle East Online 5/13/2008
WASHINGTON - A former senior US official in Iraq on Monday accused the State Department of recklessly misleading Americans over the country’s plight and contributing to the deaths and maiming of US soldiers. Retired judge Arthur Brennan alleged that...
Holy See asks Israel to help protect Christians in Mideast
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/13/2008
VATICAN CITY- Pope Benedict XVI urged Israel on Monday to help the dwindling Christian community in the Middle East by assuring them of a secure future in the region. He has also asked that Israel resolve long-standing problems with the...
IRAQ: Local aid groups support UNHCR appeal for more funds
M.Bernard/UNHCR, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 5/12/2008
BAGHDAD, 12 May 2008 (IRIN) - Local aid organisations on 12 May joined the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in appealing to international donors for US$127 million to help Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees until the end of 2008...
Sadr vows to honour ceasefire deal
Middle East Online 5/12/2008
Anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr gave his personal backing on Monday to a deal between his militia and the Iraqi government to halt bloodshed in his Baghdad stronghold, even as sporadic fighting there claimed three lives. Sadr’s spokesman...
Truce brings peace to Baghdad’s Sadr City - for now
Jacques Charmelot, Daily Star 5/12/2008
Agence France Presse - BAGHDAD: Guns fell silent in Baghdad’s militia bastion of Sadr City on Sunday after the movement of hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr struck a deal with Iraqi officials to end the fighting in the district...
’Ghost city’ Mosul braces for assault on last bastion of al-Qa’ida in Iraq
Patrick Cockburn in Mosul, The Independent 5/11/2008
Mosul looks like a city of the dead. American and Iraqi troops have launched an attack aimed at crushing the last bastion of al- Qa’ida in Iraq and in doing so have turned the country’s northern...
IRAQ: Residents, NGOs welcome Sadr City truce
DefenseLINK, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 5/12/2008
BAGHDAD, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - Aid organisations and residents of Baghdad’s mainly Shia district of Sadr City welcomed on 11 May a truce between Shia militiamen loyal to radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr and US-backed government forces, ending seven...
Israel at 60
Daniel Levy, MIFTAH 5/10/2008
I don’t often, or ever really, write about my own relationship to Israel or how I ended up there, but I’ll make an exception for the 60th anniversary.It happened for me at the time of the ‘good’ Iraq war, you...
Mideast Change is Coming, and May Not be Pretty
Rami Khouri, MIFTAH 5/10/2008
The convergence of six trends in the Middle East - the changing realities of food, energy, water, population, urbanization and security-dominated politics - is likely to create conditions that will be politically challenging, if not destabilizing, in many countries in the years...
Lost Palestinian Refugee Camps on UN-Google Earth Map
Haitham Sabbah, Palestine Think Tank 4/11/2008
It was a happy moment when I heard the news that UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched in coordination with Google Earth, a new layer that focus on refugee camps around the world. This should be a great tool...
Deal struck to end Baghdad fighting
Al Jazeera 5/10/2008
The political group headed by Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, says it has struck a deal with the Iraqi government to end the fighting in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, where clashes have left at least 13 people dead...
Tension reigns after three deadly days in Lebanon
Middle East Online 5/10/2008
BEIRUT - Lebanon was steeped in tension on Saturday after Hezbollah seized control of west Beirut in three days of deadly fighting with pro-government forces, triggering fears of all-out civil war. At least 18 people were killed in the violence that...
Annual Arab Public Opinion Poll
Mary Rizzo, Palestine Think Tank 5/10/2008
The Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development has released its poll results. The poll was conducted under strict sampling methodology (margin of error +/- 1. 6%) amongst a representative population in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Lebanon...
