Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is asking his followers to cease attacks against U.S. targets until the end of the year when U.S. forces are scheduled to complete their withdrawal from Iraq. According to a statement posted online today, should any Americans remain after Dec. 31, Sadr promises that attacks “will resume with greater vigor.” The goal is to eliminate one significant reason for a troop extension.
The new appeal, however, did not prevent three bombs from blasting a U.S. patrol near Qalat Sikar village in Dhi Qar province. Casualties, if any, were not reported. At least one Iraqi was killed and 13 others were wounded in other violence.
read moreTurkey Offers To House Predator Drones To Keep Eye on PKK
With the impending U.S. withdrawal from Iraq just 16 weeks away, Washington has found itself in need of a new location to house its Predator drones. Not coincidentally, Ankara, which extensively uses information captured with those drones to keep track of Kurdistan Workers Party (P.K.K.) rebels, has offered to let the U.S. base those drones in Turkey. Meanwhile, at least 13 Iraqis were killed and 15 more were wounded in new violence.
read moreAl-Qaeda’s Project for Ending the American Century Largely Succeeded
A decade after its spectacular Sep. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City's twin World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon and despite the killing earlier this year of its charismatic leader, Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda appears to have largely succeeded in its hopes of...
Baghdad OKs Peshmerga Fighters in Diyala Province
About 1300 Peshmerga fighters have been deployed into contested areas of Diyala province, where they will operate in the heavily Kurdish areas of Jalawla, Saidiya, Qara Tappa, and Mandali. Due to increased security concerns, the Kurdish parliament recently voted to redeploy the soldiers even though Diyala is not one of the three provinces that belong to Iraqi Kurdistan. The Peshmerga, so far, have been able to work peacefully alongside Iraqi army troops. Meanwhile, at least 43 Iraqis were killed and eight were wounded across the country.
read moreWhat 9/11 Wrought: The Bush Legacy
In Cairo in 1943, when the tide had turned in the war on Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, who had embraced Joseph Stalin as an ally and acceded to his every demand, had a premonition. Conversing with Harold Macmillan, Churchill blurted: "Cromwell was a great man,...
9/11 and the Bizarro Effect
The Congressional ‘Supercommittee’: Debt Panel or Death Panel?
When it comes to government handouts, there's no bigger welfare queens than the Pentagon and the legions of mercenaries and weapons manufacturers profiting from America's half-dozen ongoing wars and its global empire of military bases. In fact, more than half of U.S....
Let’s Cancel 9/11
Let's bag it. I'm talking about the tenth anniversary ceremonies for 9/11, and everything that goes with them: the solemn reading of the names of the dead, the tolling of bells, the honoring of first responders, the gathering of presidents, the dedication of the new...
Iraqi and Kurdish Journalists Still Under Attack
An Iraqi journalist who was detained at a protest and tortured last February was shot to death last night in Baghdad. Hadi al-Mehdi had been openly criticizing the government through his radio show and had received death threats over a demonstration planned for...
A 10-Year Reckoning
This weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the day that changed the United States forever. There will be remembrance ceremonies in many cities and towns. In many cases, they will be accompanied by military displays, to remind everyone that the America of...
