IRAQ: U.S. Surge Strategy Successful – in Shifting the Violence

Halfway through the implementation of U.S. President George W. Bush's "surge" strategy to enhance security in Baghdad and Iraq's predominantly Sunni Muslim al-Anbar province, evidence that it is turning the tide nationwide is hard to come by.

REFUGEES-IRAQ: The Hidden Face of the War

The United Nations was able, at least for a few hours, to draw public attention away from the bombings and attacks that have become routine in Iraq and direct it towards another, equally painful, aspect of the conflict - the humanitarian crisis suffered by nearly four million refugees and internally displaced persons.

SYRIA: A Lot of Uninvited Guests

The massive influx of Iraqi refugees into Syria has brought rising prices and overcrowding, but most Syrians seem to have accepted more than a million of the refugees happily enough.

SYRIA: Refugees Bring In Some Brittle Strength

Syria's decision to accept Iraqi refugees streaming into the country has brought the government of President Bashar Assad more power within Syria and the region, but at significant cost.

RIGHTS: UN Refugee Agency Turns Spotlight on Iraqis

Nearly four million Iraqis have been displaced in and outside their country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, making it the largest exodus of people in the Middle East since the creation of Israel in 1948.

IRAQ: Where Al-Qaeda Reigns

Refugees from Baquba city who have now found shelter in Damascus describe their hometown as a "dead city" where armed men roam the streets and al-Qaeda reigns.

POLITICS: Top Wolfowitz Postings Went to Iraq War Backers

Of the top five outside international appointments made by embattled World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz during his nearly two-year tenure, three were senior political appointees of right-wing governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq.

POLITICS-US: Cheney Daughter Rages Against Syria

Just a week after Vice President Dick Cheney accused Congress' senior Democrat and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of "bad behaviour" for visiting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his daughter and former senior State Department official, Elizabeth Cheney, called Thursday for a global diplomatic embargo against Damascus.

RIGHTS-U.S./IRAQ: Claims Detail Grim Civilian Toll

Newly released documents have made public hundreds of claims for damages by Iraqi civilians requesting compensations for the death and injury of family members as a result of operations by Coalition Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

POLITICS-US: Breaking the Army

President George W. Bush's ongoing "surge" of some 35,000 troops to add to the 140,000 already deployed in Iraq is highlighting growing concern, particularly among the military brass, that the U.S. army is overstretched and fast becoming "broken".

IRAQ: Refugees Speak of Escape from Hell

Refugees from Iraq scattered around Damascus describe hellish conditions in the country they managed to leave behind.

IRAQ: Now the South Erupts

The eruption of demonstrations in the south of Iraq this week could rob the occupation forces of what was considered a critical bastion of support.

POLITICS: Elliott Abrams and Deja Vu All Over Again

It has an all too familiar ring to it.

IRAQ: And These Refugees Are Lucky

Salim Hamad, 33, glances at the sprawling buildings of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus and sees business. He has set up a small tea shop at the camp.

POLITICS: Bush’s Bluster on Iran Was Cover for Direct Talks

When the George W. Bush administration launched a high-profile campaign in January and February accusing Iran of exporting armour-piercing bombs to Shiite militias in Iraq, seizing Iranian officials in Iraq, threatening cross-border raids against Iran and sending a second carrier battle group into the Gulf, it seemed that it was entering a much more aggressive phase of Middle East policy.

WORLD HEALTH DAY: How Much Can Iraq Survive

Iraqis surviving violence are not so sure they can also survive disease.

POLITICS-US: Civilian Court Sides With “Conscientious Objector”

University of California Santa Cruz student Robert Zabala joined the Marine Corps thinking it would be a "place where he could find security" after the death of his grandmother in 2003.

RIGHTS-US/IRAQ: “My Name Used to Be 200343”

A year ago, Donald Vance learned what its like to be falsely accused by the U.S. military of aiding terrorists. He was held without charge for more than three months in a high-security prison in Iraq, and interrogated daily after sleepless nights without legal counsel or even a phone call to his family.

POLITICS-IRAN: Lessons in Capture, Release of Britons

The drama surrounding the release of 15 British sailors and marines after 12 days in Iranian captivity was designed to convey two key messages that the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush would do well to heed, say experts here.

FINANCE: Questions Linger About Bushes and BCCI

Now that the U.S. Congress is investigating the truth of President George W. Bush's statements about the Iraq war, they might look into one of his most startling assertions: that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.

POLITICS-US: Public Anxiety Over Foreign Policy Nears Crisis

Increasingly anxious about the course of U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush, particularly in Iraq, the country appears to be moving toward a "full-blown crisis of public confidence," according to the latest "Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy" survey designed by veteran pollster Daniel Yankelovich released here Tuesday.