Maliki Challenged in Speaker Vote Runoff

It has been over two months since Iraqi parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani angrily resigned his post, and it looks like after considerable infighting and several failed attempts the parliament is finally poised to select his replacement... a replacement that...

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Iraq: String of Bombings Threatens Relative Calm

The relative quiet which Iraq has enjoyed in the past few months came to a screeching halt today when a pair of back-to-back car bombings at a bus station in southern Baghdad caused scores of casualties. The attacks came as two parked cars loaded with explosives were...

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Gates: Obama to Decide Within Days on Afghan Surge

Since his election in November, President Obama's promised escalation of the war in Afghanistan has been presumed to be one of the first things his administration would do. Yet the president has ordered reviews of the strategy to be completed before moving ahead with...

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Iraqi Parliament Fails Again to Elect New Speaker

The Iraqi Parliament failed once again today to elect a new speaker, sounding a somewhat sour note as the government attempts to tout the relative success of its provincial elections on the international scene. The parliament has been practically without a speaker...

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Iraqi PM Is Big Winner in Vote

Results are beginning to pour in from last weekend's Iraqi provincial elections, and the Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is gaining enormously across the country, though its victory is somewhat obscured by growing accusations of electoral...

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Afghan DM: Foreign Fighters Coming From Iraq

As the violence in Afghanistan continues to escalate, Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak has pointed out that a large number of the foreign fighters flocking to the nation to take part in the seven-year-long war are coming from Iraq. Its not exactly a secret...

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Maliki, Allies Gain in Iraqi Elections

Early (and unofficial) projections show Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and allies gaining at the expense of the rival Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. If this holds though the final count, which will not be available until likely late in the week, it will...

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