U.S. Abductions Lead to Standoff With Kurds

Staff / Truthdig Jan 12, 2007 Just hours before the president's national address, during which he accused Iran of supporting attacks on American troops, U.S. forces raided the Iranian consulate in Erbil, Kurdistan, abducting at least five people and seizing documents and other property, according to eyewitnesses. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Reese Erlich: Trouble Brewing in Paradise

Reese Erlich / Truthdig Dec 27, 2006 The award-winning investigative journalist probes the divided loyalties of Iraqi Kurdistan, where U.S. trainers are working to fold political militias into the Iraqi army. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Sadr Considers Cease-Fire

Staff / Truthdig Dec 21, 2006 Muqtada al-Sadr may call for a monthlong unilateral cease-fire amid the formation of a new political coalition in Iraq. Sadr is set to meet Thursday with key Shiite political leaders and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to discuss his role, or lack thereof, in the changing political landscape. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Turks Acquitted for Publishing Chomsky

Staff / Truthdig Dec 21, 2006 A Turkish publisher, two editors and a translator have all been acquitted of insulting Turkishness. The four were charged for translating and publishing "Manufacturing Consent," by Noam Chomsky (above), which criticizes Turkey's treatment of Kurds. Though the EU has pressured Turkey to reform its laws regarding expression, it remains a crime there to insult the state. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Bid to Ostracize Moqtada al-Sadr

Staff / Truthdig Dec 12, 2006 Iraqi politicians have been meeting, with help from the Bush administration, to see if they can form a new coalition in Parliament to sideline the troublemaking Moqtada al-Sadr. The new group of Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites would have to attract moderates to find a way to handle Sadr's militia, with its estimated 60,000 men. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Springtime for Kurdistan

Parag Khanna / Truthdig Aug 30, 2006 The semiautonomous northern region of Iraq is an island of relative stability in an ocean of turmoil. If America does not support Kurdistan's independence, we may well lose our best shot of having a desperately needed secular ally in the region. New America Foundation fellow Parag Khanna, just back from the area, reports. Dig deeper ( 13 Min. Read )

A Glimmer of Hope in Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Apr 21, 2006 Jaafari's decision to step aside as prime minister removes a major obstacle to forming a unity government in Iraq, says the N . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Saddam Charged for 1980s Gassing of Halabja

Staff / Truthdig Apr 4, 2006 The Iraqi tribunal charged Hussein on Tuesday with new criminal charges -- steming from the late 1980s gassing that allegedy left 5,000 civilians dead. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bound, Blindfolded and Dead: The Face of Atrocity in Baghdad

Staff / Truthdig Mar 26, 2006 As Baghdad's murder rate triples from 11 to 33 a day, bodies are turning up with horrific signs of torture. "This is sectarian cleansing," says a Kurdish member of parliament. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

U.S. Lowers Expectations in Post-Election Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Jan 22, 2006 We're settling for reducing the pro-Iranian militia's influence over the military and police. | story Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iraqi Voting Tally Deals Deathblow to Neocon Fantasies

Blair Golson / Truthdig Jan 20, 2006 The parliamentary results are confirmed: Shiites will dominate both the Sunnis and the Kurds in Iraq So while the US tries to intimidate Iran over its nukes, Iranian-bred theocratic Shiites--those most hostile to our interests--are in the ascendancy in Iraq So much for the neocons' "Field of Dreams" scenario for creating democracy in Iraq: "If you break it, they will come" | storyAlso, read Juan Cole on how Bush created a theocracy in Iraq | columnAnd read Robert Scheer on Iran's victory in Iraqcom/eartotheground/item/irans_victory_in_iraq/" title="item">itemUpdate: A former Pentagon analyst is sentenced to 12 years-plus for leaking confidential documents in an attempt to get the U to take the threat of Iran more seriously | storyUpdate No 2: Iran and Iraq are already linking arms on the construction of electricity facilities . Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )