Word: iraqi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...what appeared to be a bold move, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Monday for the first time that his government may consider a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal of forces. "Today, we are looking at the necessity of terminating the foreign presence on Iraqi lands and restoring full sovereignty," al-Maliki said during a meeting with several Arab ambassadors in the United Arab Emirates. "The current trend is to reach an agreement on a memorandum of understanding either of the departure of the forces or a memorandum of understanding to put a timetable on their withdrawal...
...Amara, the capital of Iraq's unruly Maysan province - long a smuggling hub for weapons and drugs on Iraq's border with Iran - Iraqi forces are waging a crackdown on the Mahdi Army, led by popular radical Shi'ite cleric and opposition leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched the campaign last month under the banner of "imposing the law" and wresting control away from militias operating "outside the law." Similar campaigns in Basra, the chaotic port 100 miles away, and Sadr City, the huge Baghdad slum, initially met fierce resistance from al-Sadr's followers...
...Thursday and Brigadier General Saad Ali Harbia's phone rings - not his regular mobile, but the new hotline that the Iraqi police force in Amara, 185 miles southeast of Baghdad, has set up to receive tips that could lead to arrests. The tip comes from a man who says he knows about a financier of Mahdi Army commanders in the region. Harbia's assistant takes down the information and says they will follow...
...capable of reinforcing the central government's tenuous hold on the oil-rich regions south of Baghdad - even as the Prime Minister discusses the possibility of a timetable for American troop withdrawal as part of a new security agreement with the U.S. More immediately (and concretely), the efficacy of Iraqi government forces is critical to the outcome of provincial elections in October...
Indeed, despite a low profile, Harbia says the support provided by the U.S. forces has been a key component in Amara's success. And having learned their lesson from Basra and Sadr City, Harbia says, the Mahdi Army is now on the run, and Iraqi forces are using the campaign to pave the way for smoother provincial elections in October - or as members of the Sadrist movement allege, to weaken support for Sadrist-allied candidates ahead of the elections...