IRAQ: Occupation Strangles Farmers

New plant diseases, attacks by occupation forces and escalating fuel prices are strangling farmers in Diyala province.

POLITICS-US: Vets Break Silence on War Crimes

U.S. veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are planning to descend on Washington from Mar. 13-16 to testify about war crimes they committed or personally witnessed in those countries.

IRAQ: Baquba Losing Life – And Hope

Life has been bad enough in Diyala province north of Baghdad after prolonged violence, unemployment and loss of all forms of normal living. What could be worse now is the loss of hope that anything will ever be better.

U.S./IRAQ: Strategic Alliances Remain Elusive

The George W. Bush administration has ballyhooed recent legislation passed by the Iraqi parliament as a sign that its troop escalation strategy has indeed created space for political reconciliation.

IRAQ: In Tatters Beneath a Surge of Claims

What the U.S. has been calling the success of a "surge", many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where U.S. forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence.

IRAQ: Unemployment Too Becomes an Epidemic

For a few, salaries have soared. For the rest, unemployment has.

US: Overstretched Forces Concern Officers

The U.S. military is "severely strained" by two large-scale occupations in the Middle East, other troop deployments, and problems recruiting, according to a new survey of military officers published by Foreign Policy magazine and the centrist think-tank Centre for a New American Strategy.

POLITICS: Can the U.S. Brace Its Fall?

"Is the American era over?" That was the big question that launched a lengthy analysis by veteran international affairs reporter James Kitfield in the influential ‘National Journal’ last May. Significantly, the article - which featured interviews with an all-star cast of former top U.S. policy-makers - was titled "The Decline Begins."

IRAQ: The Lights Have Gone Out, Who Cares

Lack of electricity in Baquba has shattered businesses, and the lives of families. Months of power failures has darkened morale everywhere.

US-IRAQ: Surge Exposing Political Tensions

Despite assertions by the George W. Bush Administration that the escalation strategy in Iraq - known as the "surge" - has been a rousing success, many of the problems of pre-surge Iraq still exist and, along with new issues, are exacerbating a tenuous political situation there.

IRAQ: A New Force Called Sahwa Shows Its Muscle

The Awakening Councils in Diyala province are stepping up their protests against the government in Baghdad.

POLITICS-US: The Cat’s Pause

As the man responsible for the health and strength of the U.S. military, Pentagon chief Robert Gates is increasingly finding himself between the devil and the deep blue sea.

IRAQ: US-Backed Groups Challenge Government

U.S. backed Sunni militants have challenged the U.S.-backed Iraqi government in Baghdad, and demanded political power after two women were killed by government forces.

IRAQ: The Road to Learning Can Be Dangerous

University professors now enjoy increased pay, but in the face of threats and isolation, there is little they are able to do in the world of academics.

IRAQ: More Bombing Creates New Enemies

Now that the smoke has cleared and the rubble settled, residents of a group of bombed Iraqi villages see the raid as really a U.S. loss.

POLITICS-US: The King Is Dead. Long Live McCain?

At the end of last summer, Sen. John McCain's bid for the Republican nomination for president was running on fumes. Broke and dejected, McCain was polling below New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and senator-turned-actor-turned-candidate Fred Thompson.

POLITICS: Pakistan-Based Al Qaeda Biggest U.S. Threat

With key improvements in the security situation in Iraq during 2007, al Qaeda - and particularly its central leadership based in border regions of Pakistan - continues to pose the most significant threats to the United States, both at home and abroad, according to the director of national intelligence (DNI), ret. Adm. J. Michael McConnell.

AFGHANISTAN: NATO Winning Battles, Losing the War

"Make no mistake," begins a new issue brief from non-partisan think tank the Atlantic Council of the United States, "NATO is not winning in Afghanistan."

IRAQ: Violence Draws Veil Over Women

Conditions are particularly difficult for women in Baquba, despite the relative lull in violence. The city, about 40 km northeast of Baghdad, is capital of Diyala province, amongst the most troubled regions of Iraq in recent months.

POLITICS: U.N. Grapples With Suicide Attacks by Children

The United Nations is expressing "serious concern" over the growing number of suicide attacks involving children, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq.

POLITICS-US: One More Year of the Same

With just less than one year left in his presidency, George W. Bush remains as focused as ever on the Middle East and Iraq and appears reluctant to take on any major new foreign policy challenges in the time that he remains in power.