Iraq

Landmark Study Finds 1 in 5 New Veterans Suffer from PTSD or Major Depression

04/17/08 -- NEW YORK – Today, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, released a groundbreaking study of the mental health of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Car bomb, Baghdad: Photo by Jim Gordon (CC)

The historic findings highlight the barriers which prevent thousands of new veterans from accessing quality care for mental health problems and traumatic brain injuries.    » read more »

16 April 2008 -- Iraqi officials say two senior commanders in Basra were replaced Wednesday, weeks after Iraqi security forces failed in efforts to crack down on Shi'ite militias in the southern city.

Officials say the military chief and police chief were reassigned to Baghdad.

Iraqi soldiers cooking: Photo by James McCauley (CC)

Iraq's security forces launched an offensive in late March against militants loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The effort triggered deadly clashes, during which hundreds of security force members refused to fight or gave their weapons to the militants.    » read more »

16 April 2008 -- The Turkish military says its warplanes attacked a group of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as they tried to sneak across the border into Turkey.

A military statement issued Wednesday said the rebels were "rendered ineffective" by the raid on Tuesday. The military did not provide casualty figures.

A spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), said Turkish airplanes bombed some areas of the Zagros Mountains bordering Turkey and Iraq, but he added there were no reports of any casualties.

Turkey-Kurdistan border: Photo by James Gordon (CC)    » read more »

15 April 2008 -- U.S. and Iraqi military authorities have blamed al-Qaida for a series of bombings in Sunni Arab areas of Iraq Tuesday that killed more than 50 people and wounded 94 others.

In Baquba, an explosives-laden car exploded in front of a restaurant near government offices around lunchtime. Women and children were among the 40 people killed. Eighty other people were wounded.

Aftermath of a Baghdad car bomb attack: Photo by Jim Gordon (CC)    » read more »

14 April 2008 -- The U.S. war in Iraq has now lasted more than five years. Thousands of American soldiers and Iraqis have been killed or wounded in the conflict. In addition to the tragic human toll, the war has also run up a large price tag for the United States. But determining the exact cost in dollars and cents is both elusive and politically sensitive.

Iraq - The $3 Trillion War: Photo by Mark Kobayashi-Hillary (CC)    » read more »

Chicago, IL - Senator Barack Obama released the following statement on President Bush' strategy of staying the course in Iraq.

"President Bush gave no answer to the most important question about the way forward in Iraq: how will we end this war that is not making us safer?

U.S. Army Pfc. Brandon Stanfield waits to move out for a patrol of the Riyahd village in Iraq March 8, 2007: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway    » read more »

13 April 2008 -- A new report indicates Iraqi refugees and internally displaced people who have returned home find no relief from the humanitarian crisis they suffered during their exile and displacement. Iraq's Ministry for Displacement and Migration and the International Organization for Migration made the assessment in a survey of more than five thousand returnees.

Iraqi refugee family in Damascus: Photo by Jim Gordon (CC)

The joint Iraqi / I.O.M. study finds the situation for those Iraqis returning home is grim and not necessarily an improvement from when they were displaced.    » read more »

14 April 2008 -- Iraqi police say a bomb has exploded in central Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding several others. Police say the blast Monday was caused by a roadside bomb.

In northern Iraq, U.S. forces say they found a mass grave containing up to 30 bodies. A news release Monday says the grave was found Sunday near the town of Muqdadiyah in restive Diyala province, north of Baghdad.

The statement says the bodies were badly decomposed and appeared to have been buried about eight months ago.

Last week, Iraqi authorities uncovered about 40 bodies from a mass grave south of Baghdad. The bodies were believed to have been buried for more than a year.

Source: VOA News

April 10, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate all accidental electrocution-related deaths or injuries of military and contract personnel in Iraq as well as any other military installation where such an incident has occurred.

Senator Casey made the request in response to the death of Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth, from Shaler, Pennsylvania, who was electrocuted while taking a shower in his living quarters in Baghdad.

“This is a troubling and serious problem that must be investigated and resolved to eliminate this avoidable danger,” Casey said.    » read more »

Secretary Gates and Chairman Mullen

April 10, 2008 -- "Welcome, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen. We appreciate your willingness to appear before the Committee this afternoon, and we thank you for your dedication and service.

The issue before us isn’t whether or not we want to succeed in leaving Iraq stable and secure. We all seek that goal. The question is how to maximize the chances of success, and whether the course we are on is the right one.

Marines with 3rd Battalion 8th Marine Regiment sleep at Combat outpost Hawk: Photo by USMC    » read more »

April 10, 2008 -- Nevada Senator Harry Reid commented on President Bush’s remarks on Iraq and Congressional hearings involving General Petraeus’s and Ambassador Crocker’s testimonies. “This week’s hearings gave the Bush Administration a chance to answer two fundamental questions that would indicate whether we are succeeding in Iraq: ‘Has this war made us any safer?’ and ‘Are our troops any closer to being able to get out of Iraq?’ On both counts, the answer is no,” said Senator Reid.

A house is blown up in New Ubaydi, Iraq: Photo by USMC    » read more »

April 10, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and leaders of veterans groups held a stakeout this morning following President Bush’s speech on Iraq. Below are the Speaker’s opening remarks:

“I want to join Leader Reid in welcoming our special guests today, our friends from the veterans’ community, Bobby Muller, whom we've all worked with over the years, whether it's eliminating land mines and speaking out for veterans.

Anti-Bush bumper stickers: Photo by Cesar Bojorquez (CC)    » read more »

10 April 2008 -- U.S. lawmakers are calling on the Bush administration to submit any deal on future U.S. troop operations in Iraq to Congress for approval. It has become an issue in the presidential race, with Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama expressing concern that such a pact could limit the options of the next commander in chief.

Demonstrators against George W. Bush in New York City, March 2003: Photo by J.L. McVay (CC)    » read more »

April 9, 2008 -- Despite the fact that John McCain has made the same mistake FIVE times in five months, his campaign continues to claim that John McCain misspoke when he confused Sunni and Shiite extremists in Iraq. After McCain referred to al-Qaeda in Iraq as a Shia group during yesterday's Senate hearing with General Petraeus, McCain's campaign said the senator "stumbled on his words and corrected them immediately."

The Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq: The spiral minaret in Samarra. Samarra stands on the east bank of the Tigris 125 kilometers north of Baghdad. UNESCO named Samarra one of its World Heritage Sites. Photo by James Gordon (CC)    » read more »

4/9/2008 -- In advance of President Bush’s speech tomorrow, Hillary Clinton delivered the following remarks at a town hall event with senior retired military officers and Pennsylvania veterans in Aliquippa, PA earlier today:

"Yesterday in the Senate Armed Services Committee, I asked General Petraeus for the conditions under which he would actually support a change of course in Iraq, and to begin a drawdown of our troops, given that the surge has failed to achieve its stated goal of political reconciliation among the Iraqis. Well, he didn't really answer me.

U.S. Army soldiers waist deep in mud hole: Photo by Staff Sgt. John Smith    » read more »