Spread the Word: Iraq-Nam has suspended publication. The 7,501 posts that cover the period from September 1, 2006 through October 13, 2007 will remain online as a research resource for anyone who cares to make use of it. The 'Search Blog' feature at the top right hand corner (in the blue bar) will bring up a page with the relevant posts. But the more specific the search term, the better the

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 13th edition

October 13, 2003: Escorted by Blackwater 'security guards', Paul Bremer -- head of the Coalition Provisional Authority -- walks down the steps of the Al Hamar hotel after a night-time meeting in Baghdad.October 13, 2002:Pentagon has plans to vaccinate soldiers against smallpoxIn moves suggesting new Pentagon preparations for war against Iraq, key Army and Marine Corps battle staffs are being sent

Security Summary: October 13, 2007

Above: Shiite women attend an Eid al-Fitr prayer service marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Baghdad today.BAGHDAD - Four bodies were found in different districts of Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.MAHAWEEL - One body was found in the town of Mahaweel, 75 km (45 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.KUT - Gunmen attacked the house of a policeman, killing him and wounding his

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 12th edition

October 12, 2003: A U.S. Army soldier secures the scene after a car-bomb explosion near the Baghdad Hotel, thought to house an office of the CIA.October 12, 2002:Bush's evidence of threat disputedWith a resounding congressional endorsement behind him, President Bush confronts Iraq bolstered by the near-universal consensus that Saddam Hussein poses a security menace to his neighbors and the United

Security Summary: October 12, 2007

Above: A child cries during a funeral today for a family member killed in a car-bombing Thursday. Four people died in the attack.BAGHDAD - Four bodies were found in different districts of Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said.MAHAWEEL - One body was found in the town of Mahaweel, 75 km (45 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.KUT - Gunmen attacked the house of a policeman, killing him and

U.S. air strike kills 9 children, 6 women non-combatants

Above and Left: Family members grieve over victims of the U.S. air strikes.U.S. air strikes kill 19 insurgents, 15 civiliansU.S. forces killed 19 insurgents and 15 women and children in air strikes north of Iraq's capital targeting suspected leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday..."These terrorists chose to deliberately place innocent Iraqi women and children in danger

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 11th edition

October 11, 2005: As dawn breaks, soldiers from Task Force Baghdad prepare for combat operations in east Baghdad.October 11, 2002:White House developing plan for postwar occupation of IraqThe Bush administration is working on postwar plans for Iraq that could include using American and other foreign troops as a stabilizing force until a new government is formed, the Pentagon said Friday."Clearly,

Security Summary: October 11, 2007

Above: Detainees held at the fifth Iraqi army division base in Baqubah are lined up for transfer to an Iraqi prison today.LAKE THAR THAR - U.S. forces killed 19 insurgents and 15 women and children near Lake Thar Thar, about 120 km (75 miles) north of the capital, in air strikes targeting suspected senior members of al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said. Two suspects, a woman and three

Report: Marine Corps pressing to take lead in Afghanistan, remove forces from Iraq

Above: Marines from Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment quickly man the perimeter during an indirect fire attack against Camp Blessing last year. Blessing was the most remote manned Marine Corp post in Afghanistan and constantly recieved enemy fire.Marines Press to Remove Their Forces From IraqThe Marine Corps is pressing to remove its forces from Iraq and to send marines instead to

Mortar attack on Camp Victory kills at least 2, wounds 40

Above: The Al-Faw Palace, which serves as the headquarters for the Multinational Corps-Iraq, is located on Camp Victory. Below: Sandbagged tent area at Camp Victory. Camp Victory is the primary component of the Victory Base Complex (VBC) that occupies the area surrounding the Baghdad International Airport.Iraq: Attacks Kills 2 SoldiersTwo members of the U.S.-led coalition force were killed and 40

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 10th edition

October 10, 2006: Iraqi security forces undergo Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) training at Forward Operating Base McHenry near Hawijah.October 10, 2002:House gives Bush authority for war with IraqPresident Bush praised the House of Representatives for voting to give him authority to go to war to disarm Iraq Thursday, calling it "a debate and a result that all Americans can be proud of."The

Security Summary: October 10, 2007

Above: The father of Hussein Hameed mourns next to his dead son in Baqubah today. Hammed, a 27 year-old barber, was shot by unknown gunmen in his shop. Though the reason is unknown, barbers in Iraq have been threatened by religious extremists for providing 'western-style' hair cuts.TIKRIT - Six people were killed and 10 wounded when a car bomb exploded near the convoy of Colonel Jassim Hussein

Stone: U.S. detains 25,000 overall; 83% Sunni, 16% Shia; 860 juveniles; 280 foreign nationals; 'We have the capacity to keep on building'

Above: A guard stands watch at Compound 17’s Alpha Quad tower at Camp Bucca, the main U.S. internment facility, in May. Left: A man is detained for suspicion of weapons trafficking yesterday in Baghdad. Detainees may be held upon suspicion, without charges and with no determined date of release.Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, deputy officer in charge of detainee operations, said the U.S. military now

Turkish government okays incursions into Iraq; 'The order has been given for every kind of measure, including if needed a cross-border operation'

Above: Turkish military trucks transport tanks near the border with Iraq today.Turkey threatens Iraq border raidTurkey's prime minister has given the go-ahead for a possible cross-border military operation in northern Iraq to hunt Kurdish separatists.Fifteen Turkish soldiers have been killed in rebel attacks since Sunday...On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan chaired a meeting

Ricardo X. Rodriguez dies 'of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations'

An 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper died of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was on patrol near Bayji, Iraq, on Thursday, the Army said in a news release.Sgt. Ricardo Rodriguez of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was a gunner with 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.“He was a leader and a teacher to his soldiers, and his

Todd Motley laid to rest

The streets of Harrison were lined with flags and people, as residents of this small town turned out to honor Cpl. Todd Motley. Motley, 23, died Sept. 14 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle. He was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th U.S. Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. Motley grew up in Harrison and lived in Clare before being

Zach Tomczak laid to rest

Two of the soldiers who served with Army Staff Sgt. Zachary Tomczak in Iraq said their Huron comrade took care of the men under his command first before thinking about himself.That was the comment made by Sgt. Eric Smallwood of Justin, Texas, who served nearly five years with Tomczak, and Spc. Jeremy Bohanna of Sacramento, Calif., who knew him two years.The two talked about their fallen comrade

Graham McMahon remembered

U.S. Army Cpl. Graham McMahon had a way of making things better for people.As a combat medic in Iraq, he patched up the wounded soldiers in his unit until they could be transported to a base hospital. McMahon’s sudden death in Iraq last month from a mysterious illness stunned his friends and family, including his wife of less than a year.“Families every day get that news. It’s really devastating,

Britain to draw down to 2,500 troops in Iraq

Above: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown autographs a tank during his visit to Iraq last week.LONDON (AP) - Britain will withdraw nearly half its troops in Iraq beginning next spring, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday, leaving a contingent of 2,500 soldiers in the highly unpopular war.Brown told lawmakers the move is possible because of improving security following the U.S. increase in

Report: Military sees 58% decline in black enlistees

Above: Army Major General Steven Hashem of the U.S. Special Operations Command swears in inductees at a stadium in Florida in June.African-Americans, whose longstanding relationship with the US military helped them prove their abilities and offered a way to get ahead, have turned away from the armed forces in record numbers since 2000, a period covering the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and

Cheney Advisor Wurmser: U.S. must 'escalate as far as we need to go to topple the regime' in Syria in order to destabilize Iran

Above: In the interview Wurmser suggests a situation such as Israel's attack on Hezbollah could serve as a pretext for attacking Syria (outrage over the death of 22 children in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon last July caused an end to hostilities). Newsweek also confirmed this month that David Wurmser had told associates of a Cheney plan to ask Israel to launch a missile strike on Iran, hoping

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 7th edition

October 7, 2003: U.S. soldiers arrest an Iraqi demonstrating in central Baghdad. 2,000 former employees of the Iraqi intelligence service demanded back pay and jobs. The protesters threw stones and tried to break through a barbed wire barrier.October 7, 2002:The lessons of EmpireThe photograph below of a fierce-looking group of men cradling antique machine guns comes from an old album in my home.

Security Summary: October 7, 2007

Above: Iraqi soldiers patrol in a tak near Firdos square in downtown Baghdad today.MOSUL - U.S. forces killed a man driving an ambulance rigged with a suicide bomb towards them in the city of Mosul 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.MAHMUDIYA - U.S. forces detained 17 suspected insurgents during combat operations in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, the U.S.

Petraeus: Iran providing 'the weapons, the training, the funding and in some cases the direction for operations that have... killed U.S. soldiers'

Above: A soldier from the 1st Cavalry Division displays U.S. Army field manuals and training aides uncovered in a weapons cache his unit discovered near Baqubah in February. The weapons cache held enough raw material to build over 150 explosively formed pentetrators, which the U.S. says come from Iran.General David Petraeus, speaking at a U.S. military base about 30 km (20 miles) from the Iranian

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 6th edition

October 6, 2006: Iraqi police watch as a fellow officer approaches a vehicle containing two would-be car bombers who were killed after a brief firefight with in Baghdad.October 6, 2002:Attack May Spark Coup In Iraq, Say U.S. AnalystsSenior intelligence experts inside and outside government have reached a consensus that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would likely be ousted in a coup led by members

Security Summary: October 6, 2007

Above: An Iraqi prisoner talks with his son in the national police prison in Baghdad today. Prisoners are allowed to meet with family on the first Saturday of every month.BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed one U.S. soldier and wounded three during combat operations in southern Baghdad, U.S. military said.SAMARRA - Iraqi army, police and local groups working with U.S. forces known as "concerned

Sadr, Hakim reach peace deal

.Above: The major players -- Nuri al-Maliki (Prime Minister, Shiite), Tariq al-Hashemi (one of two Vice Presidents, Sunni), Moqtada al-Sadr ('fiery' anti-American cleric, Shiite), Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim (head of the largest Shiite coalition), Jalal Talabani (President of Iraq, Kurd, Qadiri Sufi sect of Sunnism), and Massoud Barzani (President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Naqshbandi Sufi sect of Sunnisim).

Perspective: On this day in Iraq -- October 5th edition

October 5, 2004: A soldier from the 1st Infantry Division kicks open a gate in during house-to-house searches in Samarra.October 5, 2002:Saddam foes divided in the wake of US offerA US strategy to train and equip an Iraqi opposition force that would join American military units in Iraq has bitterly divided the Iraqi opposition, underscoring fractures among opponents of Saddam Hussein that could

Security Summary: October 5, 2007

Above: A man cries out as four victims of U.S air strikes near Khalis lie on a pick-up truck today.BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded two during operations in the southeastern region of the capital, the U.S. military said.BAIJI - A roadside bomb killed one U.S. soldier and wounded three when it was detonated near their vehicle in Baiji, north of the capital, the U.S.