- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by A_alaa

Iraq’s January Elections Face Near Certain Delay

Alaa — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:07:47 +0000

Iraq’s tortuous effort to hold its parliamentary election on schedule in January collapsed Monday, raising the prospect of a political and constitutional crisis next year as the United States begins withdrawing the majority of its combat...

Kirkuk at the heart of Iraq election law deadlock

Alaa — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:24:28 +0000

Iraqi politicians have been turning up their rhetoric over Kirkuk, the oil-rich city that both Kurds in the north and Arabs in the south want to control.

The dispute has caused a deadlock over the country’s election law, threatening to delay Iraq’s nationwide elections set for mid-January. Any vote setback could, in turn, disrupt American plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, scheduled to ramp up after the vote.

“We are getting to a crisis,” said Marina Ottoway, director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “They have been trying for over a year to reach a compromise on Kirkuk.”

“Now,” she warns, “it is becoming a problem for the United States.”

For years, tensions have simmered over Kirkuk and its surrounding province of about 1.3 million people, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Boasting an ancient citadel, it is in many ways an ordinary, if somewhat shabby, Iraqi city.

Where are the Liberal Muslims?

Alaa — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:52:45 +0000

Since 9/11, many of us have wondered: Where are the moderate Muslims? If they are out there, why are we not hearing more, and getting more help, from them in the fight against our common foe — the totalitarian...

“Curveball” Denies Making WMD Claims on Iraq

Alaa — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:01:09 +0000

An Iraqi engineer who provided the information that became one of the key planks in the Bush administration’s case justifying the invasion of Iraq has been tracked down by undercover reporters to a drab residential block in southern...

Iraqs Maliki orders militants to lay down guns

Alaa — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:05:21 +0000

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday ordered militants fighting Iraqi security forces in the southern oil hub of Basra to lay down their weapons in 72 hours or face “severe penalties”.

“Those who were deceived into carry weapons must deliver themselves and make a written pledge to promise they will not repeat such action within 72 hours,” he told state television.

“Otherwise, they will face the most severe penalties.”

White House praises al-Maliki for Basra initiative

Alaa — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:01:27 +0000

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino is praising Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for sending Iraqi troops into battle against Shiite militia with links to Iran for control of the southern oil capital of Basra.

She calls it a brave decision and another sign that the Iraqi army is ready to face the challenges ahead.

Officials say at least 31 people were killed and 88 wounded.

An Iraqi military spokesman says the government troops were facing stiff opposition.

Meanwhile, armed Mahdi Army militiamen appeared on some Baghdad streets for the first time in more than six months today.

Iraq, $5,000 Per Second? New York Times

Alaa — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:36:22 +0000

The Iraq war is now going better than expected, for a change. Most critics of the war, myself included, blew it: we didn’t anticipate the improvements in security that are partly the result of last year’s...