IRAQ :

Washington Post, 01 Jul 09, by Ernesto Londoño and Ann Scott Tyson
Iraq's 'Milestone' Day Marred by Fatal Blast
'Car Bombing Kills at Least 34 in Kirkuk As U.S. Combat Troops Pull Out of Cities'

New York Times, 01 Jul 09, by Campbell Robertson
Insurgents Hail Pullout of Troops From Cities
'Groups that have advocated violence against Americans urged Iraqis to continue the fight, but not among themselves.'

New York Times, 30 Jun 09, by Alissa J. Rubin
Iraq Marks Withdrawal of U.S. Troops From Cities
'The excitement, however, has rung hollow for many Iraqis, who fear that their country’s security forces are not ready to stand alone and who see the government’s claims of independence as overblown.'

Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jun 09, by Dan Murphy
Iraqi cities: Could violence bring US forces back?
'Key challenges remain, including the discontent of former Sunni insurgents recruited by the US and credited with improving security.'

Washington Post, 29 Jun 09, by Ernesto Londoño
1st Pullout Deadline Stirs Anxiety, Pride in Iraq
'... across Iraq, the first major deadline in the American military's phased withdrawal from the country is being viewed with a mix of apprehension, pride and incredulity.'

New York Times, 29 Jun 09, by Marc Santora
U.S. Leaves Iraqi District Where Anger Lingers
'... as American soldiers prepared to withdraw from such outposts as part of a security agreement with the Iraqi government, the last stand was drawing to a close.'

Christian Science Monitor, 29 Jun 09, by Jane Arraf
US troops to exit Iraq's cities but new role still evolving
'Iraqi and US officials agree that Tuesday's withdrawal of American combat forces from Iraqi cities is a historic event. What is less apparent to even military commanders here is how exactly the new arrangements will work.'

Washington Post, 01 Jul 09, by Ernesto Londoño, K.I. Ibrahim and Steven Mufson
Anxious Oil Giants Pass on Iraq
'... The impasse was also a setback for the United States, which has encouraged Iraq to make use of foreign investment and expertise to help bring stability to the most important sector of the country's economy.'

Reuters, 25 Jun 09, by Daniel Wallis
Q+A-The U.S. military draw down in Iraq
'All but a few U.S. soldiers must leave cities, towns and villages by June 30, marking a milestone moment as Iraq reasserts its sovereignty six years after the U.S. invasion. Here are some issues to watch going forward ...'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jun 09, by Jane Arraf
Stabilizing Iraq: Why Mosul is a special case
'The fatal shooting of a young man on a crowded downtown street illustrates why Americans could have trouble completely leaving this troubled provincial capital.'

Washington Post, 23 Jun 09, by Ernesto Londoño and Nada Bakri
Blasts Kill 22 Across Baghdad
'A series of explosions across Baghdad on Monday left at least 22 people dead and dozens wounded, heightening fear among residents and Iraqi leaders of a resurgence of violence on the eve of the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from urban areas.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jun 09, by Jane Arraf
Iraq pullout: Some US soldiers likely to stay behind in Mosul
'As US prepares to withdraw troops from major cities, bombings in Baghdad and near Kirkuk have the country on edge.'

Washington Post, 22 Jun 09, by Ernesto Londoño and Nada Bakri
Uneasy Iraq Weighs Implications of the Political Crisis Next Door
'As post-election unrest roils neighboring Iran, Iraqi officials are warily contemplating the potential ramifications of the crisis in a country with which Iraq shares a tumultuous past and an 800-mile border.'

Washington Post, 25 Jun 09, by Anthony Shadid
In Iraq, a Different Struggle for Power
'Although Iraq's sectarian war has largely ended, and the Sunnis feel they lost, another struggle for power, perhaps no less perilous, has begun in earnest. Maliki has resorted to a more traditional notion of politics in which violence is simply another form of leverage. ... To allies, he is what Iraq needs, a proponent of law in a state still without order.'

New York Times, 21 Jun 09, by Timothy Williams and Suadad Al-Salhy
Laws Lag in Iraq, as Patience Wears Thin
'Popular support for Iraq's democratic institutions is being undermined steadily by official corruption, yet the country has no comprehensive anticorruption law.'

Christian Science Monitor, 15 Jun 09, by Jane Arraf
Why was top US general late for his own press conference? Iraqi security.
'As the June 30 deadline approaches for US combat troops to be out of the cities, Iraqi military leaders, officials, and ordinary security people have been increasingly emphasizing Iraqi independence in ways large and small.'

Christian Science Monitor, 15 Jun 09, by Jane Arraf
Could the murder of an Iraqi lawmaker kick off a new insurgency?
'As US forces begin to pull out of cities, Hareth Obeidi's assassination is sparking concern among Sunnis.'

New York Times, 09 Jun 09, by Alissa J. Rubin
Iraq Moves Ahead With Vote on U.S. Security Pact
'The Iraqi government is pressing ahead with plans to hold a national referendum on the Iraqi-American security agreement — a measure likely to lose if put to a popular vote with the outcome that American troops could be forced to leave as early as next summer, nearly a year and half ahead of schedule.'

New York Times 'Baghdad Bureau', 04 Jun 09, by Campbell Robertson and Baghdad Bureau
Iraqi Reaction to President Obama's Speech
'... most people in Iraq, a country that has been exhaustively condemned, extolled, grieved over and celebrated by a succession of American presidents, seemed unimpressed.'

New York Times, 02 Jun 09, by Alissa Rubin and Rod Nordland
New Envoy Faces an Iraq of 2 Minds About U.S.
'Among Iraqis there are two conflicting views of America's policy now: the American military is leaving too soon, or the American military is not ever going to leave. Persuading its friends of continued American support while convincing its skeptics that the Americans really will go is the conundrum faced by the recently installed American ambassador, Christopher R. Hill.'

See Iraq archive for past stories.