Though Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte claimed that the Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government is "close," the question of troop immunity remains a point of serious contention between the two sides. Serious enough that until the issue is...
Upbeat Petraeus Sees “A Little Bit Less” Fragility in Iraq
After months of declaring the decreased violence in Iraq "fragile and reversible," incoming CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus strayed somewhat off-script in a speech today to the Association of the U.S. Army. He once against reiterated the "fragile and reversible"...
Turkish Military Accuses Iraqi Kurds of Aiding Rebels
In the wake of Saturday's bloody clash between the Turkish army and Kurdish rebels, Iraq's central government has promised to cooperate with Turkey against the rebels and the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan issued a condemnation of the rebel ambush. Turkish...
US Raid Kills 11 Members of Mosul Family
US forces conducted a dawn raid on a house in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in which they believed a "suspected insurgent" was hiding. When the clash was over, 11 members of a single Iraqi family were dead. The US wasn't specific about the nature of the deaths,...
Is US Threatening to Seize Iraqi Assets if They Don’t Sign Pact?
An unverified report quotes Iraqi President Jalal Talibani as claiming that the United States has "threatened to use any means to seize Iraqi assets if we do not support the security pact." The quote reportedly comes from the Arabic language Marsadiraq, by way of...
State Department Struggles to Keep Iraqi Refugees Out of Michigan
With the United States admitting an increasing number of Iraqi refugees it is only natural that Michigan, with its large Arab-American population (and particularly Iraqi-American Chaldeans), would be a prime destination for those fleeing their war-torn nation. Indeed,...
Considerable Distrust as Iraqi Government Takes Control of Awakening Forces
Iraq's Awakening Council, a Sunni fighting force whose control the US military has just transferred to the Iraqi government, has warned the Shi'ite dominated government against any attempt to abandon the force's membership. The group wants its members to secure...
Gates: Election Won’t Bring GIs Home
President Bush announced earlier this month that there would be no further troop cuts in Iraq until 2009. CENTCOM commander General David Petraeus has already said he doesn't believe the war will ever end in anything resembling a victory. And while the administration...
Crocker: Iran Trying to Block US-Iraq Security Deal
How are negotiations for America's contentious Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq proceeding? It depends who you ask. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indicated on Saturday that "we're making good progress." Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyan Zebari claimed at the...
35 Security Forces Killed in Ambush Near Baquba
Iraqi police and members of the Awakening Council fighters conducting a raid in a village south of Baquba in Diyala Province were ambushed by gunmen, and 35 have been reported killed. At least three of the dead were high-ranking officers, according to one report. The...


