Iraq analysis

[Al-khiyal]

Writer Kamal Karim came away with a troubling lesson from his Kurdish homeland in northern Iraq -- an opinion can get you a 30-year jail sentence.

The Iraqi Kurd, an Austrian citizen, returned to the semi- autonomous Kurdistan expecting a new era of human rights after a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

But he soon learned the risks of exposing what he said was the abuse of power by regional President Masoud Barzani.....

Kurdish writer learns words are risky in new Iraq

[Al-khiyal]

US-Iran talks over Iraq put on hold

[Al-khiyal]

US marine shot dead by Iraqi soldier

[Al-khiyal]

Shiite Muslim militias pose the greatest threat to security in many parts of Iraq, having killed more people in recent months than the Sunni Arab-led insurgency, and will likely present the most daunting and critical challenge for Iraq's new government, U.S. military and diplomatic officials say.

Assassinations, many carried out by Shiite gunmen against Sunni Arabs in Baghdad and elsewhere, accounted for more than four times as many deaths in March as bombings and other mass-casualty attacks, according to military data. And most officials agree that only a small percentage of shooting deaths are ever reported.....

....While acknowledging the instability caused by Shiite armed groups, the largest of which are linked to the country's dominant political parties and operate among Iraq's police and army, U.S. and Iraqi officials here have yet to implement, or even publicly articulate, a strategy for addressing the problem.....

Threat of Shiite militias now seen as Iraq's most critical challenge

[Al-khiyal]

"The advance of freedom is the story of our time, and we're seeing new chapters written before our eyes."

George W. Bush
Speech on Iraq at Washington
March 29, 2006

....The first blast hit near the mosque exit as worshipers trickled out after Friday prayers. Panicked survivors rushed back into the mosque for safety, only to encounter two thudding booms that resounded inside the mosque.

"I saw the bodies and blood covering the walls and ground. Many people died inside. Many died," said Abbas Talib, a 53-year-old gas station attendant whose jumpsuit and hands were soaked in the blood of the dead he carried out. "The ground was all flesh and blood."

Within a few minutes, the sealed-off street resembled a battlefield. Iraqi army vehicles, police cars and ambulances broke the security cordon around the mosque to help carry the casualties.

Survivors jumped over the mosque's fence, fearing more bombs. Injured people in blood-soaked clothes ran through the streets, looking for a place to hide.

"Don't gather in one spot! Don't gather in one spot!" police loudspeakers warned....

A day in the life of Iraq
April 7th 2006

[Al-khiyal]

South Iraq's unpredictable future

[Al-khiyal]

Iraqi official admits Iraq is in state of civil war