Once a torrent of water coursed through this central Iraq town, which takes its name from Nahr Dujayl, the Little Tigris River that for centuries nourished its lush palm groves and orchards. Now, only raw sewage flows through open gutters along the city's unpaved alleyways. Inside a mud-brick home, an old man chokes back tears as he recalls his three sons. They were killed, prosecutors say, as a result of then-President Saddam Hussein's vengeful fury following a 1982 assassination attempt.
— Los Angeles Times, October 18, 2005
In the dishdasha -and-dagger world of Middle East intelligence, Iraq's new spy outfit remains a faltering upstart, hamstrung by a lack of experience, outmatched and infiltrated by its rivals inside and outside Iraq and beholden to multiple masters.
— Los Angeles Times, Septenber 18, 2005
As Mohammed Ahmad Younis puts it, he's little more than a 26-year-old loser, a failed artist, son and boyfriend unable to accomplish anything worthwhile in his life. In hopes of changing that, one day this month he put on a pair of sunglasses, fake-leather jeans, platform shoes, blue contact lenses and a black "Star Trek" T-shirt, and became a contestant on "Iraq Star," the local version of "American Idol."
— Los Angeles Times, August 31, 2005
Servants -- and weapons -- of war
In a war where the line between civilian and soldier is blurred, even man's best friend has been caught up in the combat. U.S. forces hail their trained dogs as heroes, but to insurgents, canines provide the means for a more sinister goal.
— Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2005
Home beckons, but Iraq duty takes priority
On slow afternoons,
Pfc. Jose Velasquez pores over books. A while back it was "Slaughterhouse-Five,"
Kurt Vonnegut's novel of war and trauma. On Tuesday, he was
well into F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and thinking
of a life beyond the confines of his dusty base in southern
Baghdad. "Of course, I would love to get home," said the
19-year-old Riverside, Calif., native. "But we still got a job
to do here. We can't leave before it's finished."
— Los
Angeles Times, June 29, 2005
On a busy commercial strip, U.S. soldiers cajole a ragged band of reluctant Iraqi army recruits to take charge of their own streets. In the highest corridors of power, U.S. officials press Iraqi politicians to meet political deadlines. A year after occupation authority head L. Paul Bremer III handed the formal reins to an appointed Iraqi government, private military firms contracted by the Pentagon continue to wield guns with scant regard for Iraqi authorities.
— Los Angeles Times, June 28, 2005
Joint isn't jumping in Baghdad
Close your eyes and the dusty ballroom of Hadira Shalal seems to come alive with the sounds of Iraqi folk music and the scent of booze and cologne. The scattered wooden chairs of the deserted nightclub become the swirling figures of happy-go-lucky revelers flirting and line-dancing. Juicy kebabs and bottles of liquor appear on the bare tables, now piled up in the corners. Until restaurateur Bassel Aziz Majid closed the doors about a month ago, Hadira Shalal, which means "the sound of a waterfall," may have been Baghdad's last nightclub.
— Los Angeles Times, June 27, 2005
During a week when insurgents killed at least 15 U.S. troops across Iraq, four American soldiers on a foot patrol through the middle-class Karada district of the capital felt secure enough to stop at a kebab stand for shawarma sandwiches, greasy slices of chicken wrapped in pita bread. College student Degha Abdul Hamid, meanwhile, drove a girlfriend to the lively Zayona commercial strip to shop for shoes and handbags, a previously unheard-of foray for the two single women since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq more than two years ago.
— Los Angeles Times, June 22, 2005
At hospitals, vital signs point to progress in Iraq
Iraq's gains -- and challenges -- can be detected in the emergency rooms of its hospitals. Plus, a morning on the floor of the Iraqi Stock Exchange, where go go-getters are abundant and no one is waiting for a handout.
— Newark Star-Ledger, April 17 and 18, 2005
|
Two years after the U.S.-led invasion, the changes wrought in Iraq are becoming tangible. Iraqis have watched their country come unraveled as it tests the limits of freedom, through political expression as well as violence and lawlessness. The war did not merely replace the country's leadership with a new management team, as many in the U.S. administration envisioned. It reshaped the country and transformed its people. — Newark Star-Ledger, March 18, 2005 |
Car bomb aftermath, Baghdad, June 26, 2004. |
As tensions with US grow, Iran heightens war readiness
Iran has begun publicly preparing for a possible US attack, announcing efforts to bolster and mobilize recruits in citizens' militias and making plans to engage in the type of "asymmetrical" warfare that has plagued American troops in neighboring Iraq.
— Boston Globe, February 20, 2005
A day after millions of Iraqis flocked to the polls in an election hailed as a success by U.S. and Iraqi officials, the nation faces a series of daunting challenges, including choosing a prime minister, writing a constitution and closing the ethnic and religious divisions revealed on election day.
— San Francisco Chronicle, January 31, 2005
Iraqis boldly vote despite steady violence
Polling stations opened across Iraq this morning, as cautious voters braved heavy security and the threat of violence to cast ballots in a historic election intended to set this war-ravaged country on the road to self- government.
— San Francisco Chronicle, January 30, 2005
High-risk business: Pollsters have been called spies, beaten, kidnapped and thrown in jail
The middle-aged man looks like the tweedy scholar he once was, but now he is engaged in one of the most dangerous occupations in Iraq. He's a pollster.
— San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2005
Divided Kirkuk a rich political prize
For most Iraqis, Sunday's election represents a step toward national sovereignty or a chance to make good on the murky promise of a more secure future. But in this city, many see the election as about one thing -- Kirkuk.
— San Francisco Chronicle, January 27, 2005
In Iraq, death lurks around every corner
"You know how to use that, right?" said Sergeant Richard Sturm, 34, of Old Bridge, N.J., as he handed the journalist a holstered 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. "Everybody's got a right to defend himself."
— Toronto Globe & Mail, January 27, 2005
For female candidates, election is both a danger and an opportunity
Decades ago, Zakia Khalifa al-Zaidi wrapped herself in an all- covering black abaya as a shield against the watchful eyes of Saddam Hussein's security apparatus. Now she finds herself forced to dress in traditional religious attire to protect herself from the eyes of Islamic militants who prowl the streets.
— San Francisco Chroniclel, January 26, 2005
Les chiites en campagne à Sadr-City
Il y a quelques mois à peine, vêtu d'un treillis et le keffieh drapé sur ses épaules, Fattahlah Ghazi el-Esmaili écrivait pour le compte de l'insurrection chiite contre les forces d'occupation américaines. A présent, bien droit dans son costume beige et la barbe soigneusement taillée, cet homme de 38 ans fait campagne pour les élections législatives.
Residents unleash anger at security forces in Iraq
The meeting in this violence-prone Sunni triangle city was meant to give insurgents one last chance to change their ways. Instead, residents vented rage against the government, US troops and the Iraqi forces meant to protect them.
— Toronto Globe & Mail, January 19, 2005
China Goes Beyond Oil in Forging Ties to Persian Gulf
Lured by the world's largest oil reserves and some markets considered too risky by Western companies, China is quickly becoming a major economic player in the Persian Gulf, making deals in transportation and technology, showcasing its consumer goods and shoring up agreements to meet its enormous energy needs.
— The New York Times, January 13, 2005
Saddam's men may be behind brutal attacks
The murder scene had the markings of a gangland slaying, but the motive was not money, revenge or a drug deal gone sour. The scene resembled the interrogation rooms of deposed President Saddam Hussein's security forces, whom officials suspect.
— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 10, 2005
