Iraqi Shi’ite militants have crossed the border to fight in Syria, often alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s troops, adding to the sectarian nature of the proxy war there. The news that Shi’ite Iraqi militias are fighting in Syria with the Assad regime and against many of the other foreign fighters, primarily Sunni, that have flooded into Syria [...]
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki warned Turkey on Wednesday against escalating its tensions with Syria and thereby dragging NATO into the conflict. Maliki, a close ally of Iran, said Syria was not threatening Turkey, and criticized Ankara’s response to errant Syrian shelling that landed in a Turkish town last week, killing 5 civilians, suggesting they [...]
Soaring Violence Signals Al-Qaeda Comeback in Iraq | Training camps reportedly established along Syrian border
Maliki: Iraq Won’t Become Part of Syrian Civil War | Iraq to avoid ‘flaring fire near our borders’
Iraq Tells Turkey to Stop Cross-Border Raids | 12 Kurds killed in fighting along border
The Pentagon says it will be able to continue funding for at least the next 90 days US military personnel in Iraq who are training Iraqi security forces, even though Congress stripped money for the program in a recent resolution. About $1.7 million will be taken “from a special combatant commanders initiative fund” to continue [...]
The death toll from militant attacks across Iraq doubled in September to 365, the highest monthly toll in more than two years, Reuters reports. Americans can still hear Republicans in Washington crow about how the surge in Iraq worked, without noting the now obvious truth that it wasn’t sustainable. The power vacuum left in Iraq following the discretionary war [...]
US to Keep Small Units in Iraq | US troops are training Maliki’s abusive security forces
Iraq Struggles to Keep Both US, Iran Satisfied | Searching Iranian planes risks key alliance
Facing US Pressure, Iraq Will Search Iranian Planes | Foreign Minister promises ‘random inspections’
