Iraq

Iraqi vote expected to bolster Maliki

Early returns from Saturday's provincial polls suggest that the Shiite prime minister's Dawa Party will be the big winner.
A momentous vote in Iraq after years of war

Polls open throughout most of the country for a provincial election that could shift the balance of power.
Logistics of a faster Iraq exit

Will Obama be able to get most US forces out in 16 months?
Iraqi voters show preference for can-do over creed

An emerging backlash against rule by religious parties gives opening to technocrats in Jan. 31 provincial elections.
As US withdraws, will Al Qaeda in Iraq find new openings?

The Sunni insurgent group may strike back, but Iraq experts say it's unlikely they will ever achieve the level of power they once wielded.
As war winds down, will Iraq's progress hold steady?

Violence has plummeted and US forces are pulling back, but the year ahead will test the staying power of gains throughout the country.
US opens world's largest foreign mission in Iraq

The $592 million, 104-acre compound that was dedicated in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on Monday is meant to symbolize a long-term commitment to Iraq.
Shoes flung at Bush flying from shelves

An Istanbul cobbler capitalizes on the 'shoe mania' sparked by the tossing of his work.
Bush's final Iraq visit marks gains, meets contempt

While President Bush traveled to Baghdad Sunday to hail progress, the war is far from over in places like Mosul where US and Iraqi forces still battle insurgents linked to Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Maliki's tenure on ice as rift with Kurds widens

The Iraqi premier is increasingly at risk as cracks in his Shiite-Kurdish coalition grow in the waning days of the Bush administration, his other main ally.
Discontent over Maliki threatens US-Iraqi security pact

Wednesday's vote on a security pact to allow US troops to remain in Iraq for three more years is being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Maliki's performance.
Iraqi town defies Al Qaeda

Despite attack, Dulaim vows to bar Al Qaeda in Iraq, which it ousted from the town last year.
Terrorism & Security
Obama win sparks global conversation on Iraq and Afghanistan

Troop withdrawal, Taliban havens, and Iraq's security may define Obama's presidency, analysts say.
In Iraq's Diyala Province, US forces anticipate exit

The American military is handing over control of projects in the troubled province ahead of a US-Iraqi security pact that could reduce the US footprint next year.
US referees Iraq's troubled Kurdish-Arab fault line

At a flash point for violence, an Army general plays diplomat.
US-Iraqi security pact still unsettled

Amid growing opposition, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Sunday for more time to negotiate a plan that could begin US troop withdrawals in June 2009.
Stuck in Syria, Iraqi students get a crack at college in the U.S.

A nonprofit group paves the way by negotiating tuition waivers.
Terrorism & Security
Female suicide bombings in Iraq: Why the recent surge?

Women are believed to be carrying out attacks to avenge the deaths of loved ones, counter depression, or atone for previous actions.
Kurdistan's muckraking media test free speech limits

Editors and reporters risk jail time as they expose cronyism and push Iraqi leaders for reforms.
Why Australia is leaving Iraq

Prime Minister Rudd criticized the US justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq as 550 Australian troops packed up to leave.
Palestinian cell service still on hold

Mobile phone service in Gaza Strip and the West Bank could spur investment – and bolster prospects for peace.
As Baghdad grapples with Sadr City, Iraqi Kurdistan busily builds 'Dream City'

The Kurdistan Regional Government is briskly pursuing oil and gas contracts and economic development, a drive that is chafing Iraq's central government in Baghdad.
Iraq's new gated communities: safer, mixed, walled-in

Residents are moving back to Saidiyah, a neighborhood once racked by sectarian violence that is now guarded by a 12-foot-high wall.
Iraqis see red as U.S. opens world's biggest embassy

The 104-acre, 21-building enclave was cleared for occupancy recently and will open next month.
Iraq's simmering ethnic war over Kirkuk

Tensions are rising between Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen factions over power and populations in the province, the heart of northern Iraq's oil industry.