The unspeakable truth is that we lost in Iraq. We must not lose in Afghanistan too

Britain has fought more wars than any other country, but rarely has it suffered two defeats in a row. That humiliation is what this country is currently drifting towards, following failure in Iraq with failure in Afghanistan…Westminster might be obsessing over the Iraq inquiry’s revelations about how the decision to go to war was made, but the really important part of the inquiry’s work will come when it turns its attention to what happened after the invasion. Read more

Coordinated Bombings Kill at Least 101 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — In what appeared to be a coordinated assault, a series of car bombings across Baghdad on Tuesday killed at least 101 people and wounded scores more, according to preliminary accounts by police and hospital officials… Five bombs, including at least one suicide attack, struck near a university, a court, a mosque and a market in a neighborhood near the Interior Ministry. The blasts began shortly Read more

The Best Allies Money Can Buy

In 2003, I was on a trip to Iraq and had arranged an appointment in the Green Zone with a member of the then-Iraqi Governing Council. Security was tight. I was with my Iraqi translator, a middle-aged man who had once been a teacher. When we arrived at the council, after a long walk, I showed my ID to two young uniformed U.S. soldiers. They told me to wait, went inside and out came a man wearing civilian clothes, one of those fishing vests and an Read more

US moves from Saddam Hussein’s palace to new embassy

Baghdad – It is the most expensive embassy in the world, but hardly the most comfortable.

After five years of occupying the gilded halls of Saddam’s Republican Palace, US diplomats in Iraq will complete their move into a new residence that has the charm of a high-security prison and about as much recreational space.

Today the empty, marble-tiled palace will be handed over to the Iraqis and US diplomats will be confined [ read more ]

by Oliver August| on timesonline website | Posted: 1 January 2009

Greens offer six big steps for economic recovery

Part two of two

“Making autos more efficient will only get us part way toward solving our energy and climate challenges.  We need to get people out of their cars altogether.  Communities need the ability to provide local solutions for mass transportation: new trains, subways, light rail wherever they fit,” said Wes Rolley, co-chair of the Green Party’s EcoAction Committee.

(4) Enact a Single-Payer/Medicare For All national health plan, providing every American with coverage and removing the burden of health care from small and large private businesses. Read more

Daughters of Iraq: front-line guards against suicide bombers

Iraqi women take on key security role as attacks by female suicide bombers rise.

Baghdad – Although the overall level of violence in Iraq has decreased to a four- year low, the country has recently witnessed a sharp rise in a violent trend that alarms many Iraqis: female suicide bombings. This year the number of suicide bombings carried out by women has more than tripled to 29 attacks, say US military officials.… Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups have turned to women to exploit [read more]

By Tom A. Peter | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor | from 11 Sept 2008 edition