US/IRAQ: Sadr Offensive Shows Failure of Petraeus Strategy

The escalation of fighting between Mahdi Army militiamen and their Shiite rivals, which could mark the end of Moqtada al-Sadr's self-imposed ceasefire, also exposes Gen. David Petraeus's strategy for controlling Sadr's forces as a failure.

IRAQ: Syria Now Home to a Million ‘Pillow Drivers’

More than a million Iraqis in Syria cannot find work. For their idleness, they have come to be called the "pillow drivers".

POLITICS-US: McCain’s Gaffes Reflect Bush’s Iran-Qaeda Myth

Sen. John McCain's confusion in recent allegations of Iranian training of al Qaeda fighters in Iraq is the result of a drumbeat of official propaganda about close Iran-al Qaeda ties that the George W. Bush administration and neoconservatives have promoted ever since early 2002.

POLITICS-US: Winter Soldiers Move Toward GI Resistance

Hundreds of veterans who gathered outside Washington last weekend to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan are returning to their communities across the country with the goal of stoking resistance to the Iraq war from inside the U.S. military.

MIGRATION: Canada to Double Iraqi Refugee Quota

Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley announced this week that Canada will more than double the number of refugees it receives this year from Iraq, accepting 1,800 to 2,000 refugees, up from 900 in 2007.

POLITICS: Why Did the U.S. Invade Iraq?

So why, exactly, did the U.S. invade Iraq five years ago this week?

US/IRAQ: "I Saw the Interrogator Waterboarding Him"

"I would like to share with you how one goes about becoming a concentration camp guard without having made many decisions," 24-year-old former Guantanamo prison guard Christopher Arent told a crowd of hundreds at last weekend's Winter Soldier gathering outside Washington, DC.

IRAQ: Five Years, And Counting

Devastation on the ground and largely held Iraqi opinion contradicts claims by U.S. officials that the situation in Iraq has improved towards the fifth anniversary of the invasion Mar. 20.

POLITICS-US: Anti-War Grannies Arrested Trying to Enlist

As part of actions across the United States to mark the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 10 "Grandmothers for Peace", ranging in age from 57 to 80, were arrested Monday while trying to enlist in the United States Army. Acts of civil disobedience are planned this week in at least 17 other U.S. cities.

US/IRAQ: Rules of Engagement "Thrown Out the Window"

Garret Reppenhagen received integral training about the Geneva Conventions and the Rules of Engagement during his deployment in Kosovo. But in Iraq, "Much of this was thrown out the window," he says.

US/IRAQ: "We Reacted Out of Fear, and With Total Destruction"

Hart Viges joined the U.S. Army the day after Sep. 11, 2001, in the belief that he could help make the world a safer place.

IRAQ: EU Looking for Safe Entry

The European Union lacks "clear guidelines" for use of private security firms to protect its civil servants operating in Iraq, a new report has found.

IRAQ: Childhood Is Dying

Iraq's children have been more gravely affected by the U.S. occupation than any other segment of the population.

POLITICS-US: Just Waterboarding Under the Bridge

U.S. President George W. Bush appeared headed toward another train wreck with Congress as he carried out his threat to veto an intelligence bill that would have banned the Central Intelligence Agency from using waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" in questioning terrorism suspects.

IRAQ: Where Happiness Has Gone

After losing sight of what they knew to be normal life, residents across Baquba seem to have fallen into a depression.

WOMEN’S DAY-IRAQ: Surviving Somehow Behind a Concrete Purdah

Iraq, where women once had more rights and freedom than most others in the Arab world, has turned deadly for women who dream of education and a professional career.

IRAQ: Sahwa Forces Challenge Govt, and Win

The conflict between Sahwa forces and the Iraqi government in Diyala has resulted in more power for the Sahwa.

POLITICS: Sunni Insurgents Exploit U.S.-Sponsored Militias

For months, U.S. President George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus have been touting the programme of recruiting tens of thousands of Sunnis into U.S.-financed "Awakening Councils" as a master stroke of Iraq strategy which has weakened al Qaeda in Iraq and helps reduce sectarian conflict through "bottom up reconciliation".

IRAQ: ‘Not Our Country To Return To’

More Iraqis continue to flee their country than the numbers returning, despite official claims to the contrary.

POLITICS-US: Embattled Veterans Official Resigns Post

Another high-ranking George W. Bush administration official has resigned. The Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Benefits Daniel Cooper quit Thursday amid mounting criticism over a backlog of disability claims for injured veterans that runs six months long and an appearance he made in a fundraising video for an evangelical Christian organisation where he said Bible study was more important than doing his job.

IRAQ: Tensions Rise Between Sahwa and Govt Forces

U.S. backed Sahwa forces threaten to destabilise U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces in Iraq's volatile Diyala province.