[Previous] Witness: Secret Iraq prison for women and children - 12160....

 [Next] Iraqi court seals secular bloc's election margin but Shiit...

Some related posts from Technorati and Google.

[Dailycensored.com] Dailycensored.com Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not Just: For a war to be ethical in the Just War Theory and some eastern traditions there must be a high probability of success.  There was hardly a doubt that U.S. military forces could topple the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.  However, there was considerable doubt about the war’s ability to end or even reduce terrorism.  This is a stated cause of war, so accordingly it must have a high probability of success to be just.  As these wars have continued it has become quite clear that they have not ended or reduced terrorism.  In fact, as predicted since the development of these wars the world, and the U.S. has seen considerably more terrorism than before these wars (Glasser).  Many top U.S. officials believe that these wars cause the increase in terrorism the world is experiencing (Wadhams).  Most U.S. troops think we should leave Iraq, 72%, according to a Zogby International poll (“U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006”).  Many terrorists themselves list grievances caused by the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the reason they conducted terrorist activity.  One recent example is Najibullah Zazi, a member of al-Qaeda, who recently pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up a subway system.  Zazi confessed that he planned this attack to “sacrifice myself to bring attention to what the United States military was doing to civilian[s] in Afghanistan by sacrificing my soul for the sake of saving other souls” (“Najibullah Zazi reveals chilling details on Al Qaeda training and terrorist plot to blow up subways”).  According to a Rand study, most U.S. analysts on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan believe that terrorism is increasing because of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and they support a U.S. withdrawal (Wadhams).  According to polls 45% of the population of Iraq now views terrorism against the U.S. favorably (Temko).  This shows that the probability of success, in reducing or eliminating terrorism, is not only extremely low, but most probably negative.  This is a violation of the Just War theory clause that wars must have a high probability of success.  These criteria also would forbid warfare in the Hindu tradition that honors prudence.

[Local/AP] Iranian ambassador: No deal on American hikers | Washington Examiner: Iran, which like Iraq is predominantly Shiite, is believed to have heavily supported a union of al-Maliki's State of Law and the traditionally Iranian-backed Iraqi National Alliance. That alliance is only four seats short of the needed .

[Stars and Stripes] U.S. forces struggle to save the suburbs - News - Stripes: Lisa Burgess / S&S

[The Great One's Blog...] Iraq: Gunmen rob gold shops in Baghdad, kill 15 « The Great One's ...: In one of the most sensational crimes in recent years, several members of Iraq’s presidential guards ”” which protect senior officials ”” broke into the state-run Rafidain Bank on July 28 and stole about 5.6 billion Iraqi dinars, or $4.8 million. They tied up eight guards at the bank in Baghdad’s central Karradah area and shot each one execution-style.

[Investor's Iraq Forum - Iraq Dinar Forum, Iraq Investments, Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraq Bank, Iraq News, Iraqi Dinar] Iraqi electoral commission confirms tally: Maliki's alliance with ...: If Maliki is confirmed as Iraq's next prime minister, the U.S. will have a partner it knows well and has been carefully handling throughout the process. While some believe Maliki's actions in recent weeks show he will use any means to stay in power, the embassy's view is that he is something of an opportunist and can be encouraged to curb questionable behavior.

[Stars and Stripes] Rarely-used flying bomb strikes new targets in Iraq - News - Stripes: The other was a dud that's now being investigated by American and Iraqi forensics teams to determine its components and origins. Previous IRAMs have been linked to the Mahdi Army of volatile Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and other Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

[mcclatchydc.com: Latest headlines] Gunmen rob Baghdad gold shops, killing 14, wounding 4 | McClatchy: About 17 heavily armed assailants spilled out of several cars that pulled up to a cluster of shops Tuesday on Bayaa's busy Street 20, according to the Iraqi security command in Baghdad. The gunmen shot into the air and threw percussion grenades, whose loud booms sent passers-by scrambling for safety, which cleared space for the attackers to enter jewelry shops and kill anyone inside before stuffing bags full of gold, authorities said.

[Jihad Watch] Iraq: Authorities foil plot by Sunni Misunderstanders of Islam to ...: Two senior Iraqi officials said al-Qaida planned to hijack flights as they were leaving Iraqi airports, prompting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to order tighter screening -- including searches of security forces and background checks of pilots and airline crews.

[Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7] Iran seen as using influence to help Iraq's al-Maliki stay on as ...: Iraqi premier accuses neighbors of meddlingBAGHDAD ”” Iraq's prime minister accused neighboring states on Monday of meddling in his country's internal affairs in efforts to influence government building after March 7 elections produced no clear winner. Nouri al-Maliki told a government committee meeting he was upset to hear representatives of neighboring states talking on television as if they were Iraq's "guardians.""Our message is clear: do not interfere in our affairs," al-Maliki said.

[Understanding War RSS Feed] Fact Sheet: Ibrahim al-Jaafari | Institute for the Study of War: Al-Jaafari ran in the March 2010 parliamentary election as part of the Iraqi National Alliance, the predominantly Shi’a bloc that included the Sadrists and ISCI; however, his party only won one seat in the election, his own.15

[The Common Ills] Iraq snapshot « The Common Ills: ) reported, "An informed sources who spoke to Ashraq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity revealed that the reason that Iraqi Prime Minister and leader of the State of Law coalition Nuri al-Maliki backed out of a meeting with the leader of the Iraqiya bloc Iyad Allawi, was a visit undertaken by a senior official from one of the neighboring countries. The source said that 'the official's visit which took place two days prior to the meeting that was scheduled to take place between Allawi and al-Maliki was to put pressure to prevent this meeting from taking place, and that is what happened'."

[Simple Thoughts - Java and Web Blog] Iraq's election tangle: Sunnis fear Shiite maneuvers will kill ...: Iraqi PM fights to hold power, risks sectarian warBAGHDAD ”” Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's postelection strategy suggests he is prepared for a long and bitter fight to hold on to power, even if it alienates the country's Sunni community and risks new sectarian warfare. The Iraqi leader is trying all sorts of legal maneuvers to deny victory to his chief opponent, former prime minister Ayad Allawi, whose secular, nationalist bloc won the most parliamentary seats in the March 7 elections and presumably the right to try to form a new government.

[NewsReal Blog] I Thought the War in Iraq Was a Victory for Iran? | NewsReal Blog: The Supreme Council and the two ruling Kurdish parties the KDP and PUK also fought on the Iranian side in the Iran-Iraq War even though U.S. officials liked to use the war as an example of Iraqi resistance to Iranian influence.

[Global News Blog Headlines] Middle East News - Where Iraq Meets Iran, Guards Watch Shifting ...: Until now, detailed, credible data about Iraqi views on Iranian influence on the recent Iraqi elections has been sorely lacking. This gap is now filled by new results from a survey commissioned by the Princeton-based Pechter Middle East Polls, conducted in late March by a prominent Iraqi research center and focusing on a representative national sample of 3,000 Iraqis.

[Lens] Knowing Where to Step, Gingerly, in Iraq - Lens Blog - NYTimes.com: Obviously, with Iraqi photographers that were imprisoned, the U.S. says that they are spies and getting to these places very quickly. I don’t know the specifics but it sounds to me like they are doing what we all do, which is trying to get access to these scenes quickly.

[In Good Faith] In Good Faith: AP: Agreement to increase clerics' power in Iraq ...: "We are close to the Shiite blocs and we have a historical alliance with them, but we as a Kurdish coalition we are leaning toward forming a national unity government that includes all the main four winning blocs," said Fadhil Miran, an aide to Kurdish President Massoud Barzani. "We do not want a sectarian government and we do not want Iraqiya list to be excluded."

Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Shiite, Iran Reviews