Iraq News

“To be morally responsible for someone else's criminal act, you need to be somehow involved in their criminal intent. Did you direct it?”

Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected to face criminal charges -- all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats.

Instead, the seven-month-old Justice Department investigation is focused on as few as three or four Blackwater guards who could be indicted in the Sept. 16 shootings, according to interviews with a half-dozen people close to the investigation. Read more

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The UK broadcaster the BBC says a rocket hit its office in Baghdad damaging the building but leaving its occupants unhurt. via Reuters RSS Reuters.com

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“Iran is not going away. We need to be strong and really in the deterrent mode, to not be very predictable.”

The game-changing events in the 2008 campaign are issues of war and peace. Both may be in play between now and November, in ways that add extra volatility to the presidential race. via Tallahassee.com

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“I don't care, being a Christian or Muslim. I don't care about that”

Their first real date lasted only 20 minutes. It ended because darkness was falling, when unimaginable new threats and nightmares could emerge on the streets of Baghdad. via Tri-cityherald.com

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“Whoever can join them and execute a suicide operation, let him do so. By God, it will be a mortal blow”

A former prisoner who complained of mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was involved in a suicide bombing last month in Iraq, U.S. military officials said. via Political Gateway

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The leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was arrested in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

Mohammed al-Askari said the arrest of al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was confirmed to him by the Iraqi commander of the province. There was no immediate confirmation or comment from U.S. forces.

News of the arrest was also reported by Iraqi state television.

"The commander of Ninevah military operations informed me that Iraqi troops captured Abu Hamza al-Muhajir the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq," al-Askari told The Associated Press by telephone. Read more

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“What I learned is, this is going to take time”

Regardless of what happened before he got to Sadr City or what happened after he left, Col. via The Dispatch

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London- Iraqis employed at the British embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone claim to have been sexually abused, the Times reported Wednesday. via Earth Times

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“He actually loved what he was doing”

Corey L. Hicks, 22, an Army private from Glendale, had been in the service for less than a year before he was killed last week in Iraq. via Arizona Republic

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“Bob Reid has frequently served as acting chief editor in Baghdad, displaying a deep understanding of the country acquired from the very first days of the war in 2003”

NEW YORK Robert H. Reid, a veteran foreign correspondent who has covered conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe over the past three decades, has been appointed bureau chief of The Associated Press in ... via Editor & Publisher

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