http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/baghdad/ en-us Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:22:47 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281734/posts BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. troops pulled out of Baghdad on Monday, triggering jubilation among Iraqis hopeful that foreign military occupation is ending six years after the invasion to depose Saddam Hussein. Iraqi soldiers paraded through the streets in their American-made vehicles draped with Iraqi flags and flowers, chanting, dancing and calling the pullout a "victory." One drove a motorcycle with party streamers on it; another, a Humvee with a garland of plastic roses on the grill. U.S. combat troops must pull out of Iraq's urban centers by midnight on Tuesday under a bilateral security pact that also requires all troops... Reuters via Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281734/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:22:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266749/posts Iraqi authorities have detained five U.S. citizens in connection with the death of an American contractor in Baghdad, officials said Sunday, in what could be the first case of Americans facing local justice under a joint security pact that took effect this year. The body of Jim Kitterman, who was reportedly bound, blindfolded and stabbed, was found in his car last month in the protected Green Zone where his small construction company was based. It was an unprecedented slaying in the sprawling district and occurred at a time when blast walls are coming down and Iraqi forces are assuming greater... Breitbart/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2266749/posts#comment Sun, 7 Jun 2009 20:11:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261172/posts A U.S. Embassy in a Muslim country has sponsored an event to celebrate the homosexual lifestyle. Last night the U.S. Embassy in Iraq held a "Gay Pride Theme Party" at a pub called Baghdaddy's. Embassy employees were encouraged to attend the Baghdad event dressed in drag or as a homosexual icon. Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says homosexual activism at U.S. embassies was prevalent during the Bush administration, but it has gone a step further under the Obama administration. One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261172/posts#comment Sat, 30 May 2009 13:45:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2260855/posts Blog: Note: The following blog entry is a quote: Blog Details Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria to Link Their Power Networks Iran, Iraq, and Turkey yesterday signed an agreement for power and energy cooperation and for linking their power networks with that of Syria. The memorandum of understanding was signed by Iran's Minister of Energy Parviz Fattah and his Iraqi and Turkish counterparts at the end of the first regional power conference, held in Baghdad. Under the agreement, power networks of the Persian Gulf Arab states, Central Asian republics and regional countries will in the long run be connected to those... ("Sources: IRNA, Fars, Iran, May 29, 2009") via THE MEMRI BLOG.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2260855/posts#comment Fri, 29 May 2009 21:53:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246706/posts Silicon Valley execs join State Department delegation to IraqIN A meeting room in Baghdad's Green Zone, Scott Heiferman, chief executive of Meetup.com, and Jason Liebman, chief executive of how-to video site Howcast, sat down with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih for some coffee. It was one of their last meetings as part of a delegation of Silicon Valley and New York–based technology executives—including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, WordPress's Raanan Bar-Cohen and representatives from YouTube, Google and AT&T—who were sent to Iraq by the U.S. State Department to help formulate ideas on how to build its information infrastructure from scratch.... San Jose Metro http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2246706/posts#comment Fri, 8 May 2009 05:23:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234299/posts BAGHDAD — Vice is making a comeback in this city once famous for 1,001 varieties of it. A liquor store in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad. The stores were tolerated by Saddam Hussein but shut by militiamen after his ouster in 2003. Gone, for the most part, are nighttime curfews, religious extremists and prowling kidnappers. So, inevitably, some people are turning to illicit pleasures, or at least slightly dubious ones. Nightclubs have reopened, and in many of them, prostitutes troll for clients. Liquor stores, once shut down by fundamentalist militiamen, have proliferated; on one block of busy Saddoun Street, there... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2234299/posts#comment Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:56:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2209469/posts Two Hours at a Baghdad Shawarma Stand BAGHDAD The cart teetered out at 4 p.m. Unique, its owner, Bahloul Younes, called it. Admiringly, he pointed to its steel ornaments, wrought in curves like the letter S. He looked fondly at the rickety wheels that carry it each day to the neighborhood of Adhamiyah, once one of Baghdad's most dangerous. "A proper place would be too expensive," Younes admitted. Soon after, he hung three lights on it, rigging electricity from a spider's web of necessity and ingenuity that hovered over the street. They flickered on, tentative and hesitant, like so much... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2209469/posts#comment Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:31:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2203183/posts nothing follows as of yet http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2203183/posts#comment Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:08:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196132/posts The American soldier stepped out of the Baghdad nightclub. In one hand, he clutched his weapon. In the other, a green can of Tuborg beer. He took a sip and walked over to two comrades, dressed as he was in camouflage and combat gear. Inside the club Thursday night, U.S. soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division ogled young Iraqi women who appeared to be prostitutes gyrating to Arabic pop music. A singer crooned soulfully through scratchy speakers to the raucous, pulsating beat — an action that Islamic extremists have deemed punishable by beheading. Twenty minutes later, several drunk men coaxed... msnbc http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196132/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:35:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192843/posts pMSNBC (web) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2192843/posts#comment Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:08:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2173238/posts SAADIYAH, Iraq — Iraqi police officers found explosives planted at a polling station Sunday morning here, the latest incident in a tense run-up to provincial elections in northeast Diyala province. The officers found two anti-tank mines with cell phone detonators at a school that will act as a polling station in Saadiyah, north of Baghdad in a part of Iraq disputed between Kurds and Arabs, U.S. military officials said. An Iraqi army explosives ordnance team defused and disposed of the explosives, officials said. Two men hired to guard the school were arrested for suspected complicity in the bombing plot, an... stars and Stripes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2173238/posts#comment Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:16:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168554/posts Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE No. 20090118-07 Jan. 18, 2009 ISF captures suspected sniper team in northeast Baghdad Multi-National Division – Baghdad UR, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces thwarted an attack on a U.S. military patrol in northeast Baghdad Jan. 17. Elements of the 1st National Police Division, and 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division, worked together to detain a suspected sniper team that was targeting an American forces on patrol in the Haay Ur neighborhood of northeast Baghdad. “The actions of our ISF partners saved at least one, and probably several, U.S. Soldiers... MNF-IRAQ.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2168554/posts#comment Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:58:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154103/posts Note: The following SNIPPET is a quote. Click on the link below to read the entire text. https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=95091 YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: U.S. Embassy Baghdad Personnel Movement Restricted CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS Middle East / N. Africa - Iraq 24 Dec 2008 RELATED REPORTS 15 Dec 2008 AL-QA’IDA IN IRAQ (AQI) ATTACK OVERVIEW (DECEMBER 1-5, 2008) U.S. Embassy Baghdad released the following Warden Message on December 24, 2008: Due to threat information against the US Embassy in Baghdad, the US Embassy is restricting the movement of its personnel located within the... OSAC.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2154103/posts#comment Thu, 25 Dec 2008 08:36:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2151042/posts BAGHDAD — The square in front of the July 14 Bridge in Baghdad is closed by troops several times a day. The bridge leads into the American-controlled Green Zone. On the square, not far from the Green Zone, lie the offices of the president and the head of the biggest parliamentary bloc. Official convoys come and go all day long. In the many times that I have been at that square, no one has ever objected to soldiers closing off the road while some official's convoy passes by. We all turn off our cars and sit there and wait. Wednesday,... McClatchy http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2151042/posts#comment Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:34:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2150770/posts BEIRUT, December 17, 2008 (MENASSAT) – Muntazer Al-Zaidi is facing charges of “aggression against a president” and could receive 15 years in prison if charged with the maximum sentence, said the spokesman for Iraq’s High Judicial Council, Abdul Satar Birqadr. Zaidi appeared in Court on Tuesday, where he admitted to throwing a shoe at George W. Bush at a press conference a few days earlier. According to the family of the 29-year old journalist who worked for Al-Baghdadiya TV, Zaidi appeared in court with a broken arm and rib and bruises on his eyes and legs. Dirgham Al-Zaidi, Muntazer’s brother,... Menassat http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2150770/posts#comment Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:30:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2149444/posts BAGHDAD -- “If your men conduct any raids,” I said to Captain Todd Looney at Combat Outpost Ford on the outskirts of Sadr City, Baghdad, “I want to go.” “We might have something come up,” he said. “If so, I'll get you out there.” Less than an hour later, one of the most dangerous terrorist leaders in all of Iraq was spotted holding a meeting at a house in the area. An arrest warrant had already been issued by the government of Iraq, and Captain Looney's company was the closest to his location. They would be the ones to... michaeltotten.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2149444/posts#comment Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:52:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132208/posts JD Johannes gives us a before-and-after look at the Dora sector of Baghdad, pre-surge and current day. The difference between April 2007 and October 2008 is stunning, perhaps even more so with the latter shots occurring at night: Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2132208/posts#comment Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:09:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129912/posts A suicide bomber Monday struck a crowd rushing to help schoolgirls trapped in a bus by an earlier bombing. The Interior Ministry said at least 31 people were killed — the deadliest in a string of blasts that raise doubts about Iraqi security forces as the U.S. prepares to reduce troops. The ministry said another 71 people were wounded in the twin blasts, the deadliest attack in Baghdad in six weeks. A third bomb exploded about 130 yards from the scene in the mostly Shiite Kasrah section of north Baghdad but caused no casualties, police said. No group claimed responsibility... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2129912/posts#comment Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:29:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1795466/posts Terror Linked Iranian in 'Kidnap' Puzzle March 05, 2007 New York Post Oran Dan JERUSALEM -- A retired Iranian general linked to the killing of five American soldiers in Baghdad vanished mysteriously in Istanbul last month, Israeli media reported yesterday. Arab newspapers are hinting the CIA and/or the Israeli spy agency Mossad are behind the disappearance of Gen. Ali Reza Askari, the reports said. Askari, a former deputy defense minister, arrived in Istanbul on a flight from Damascus on Feb. 7, left his luggage in his hotel room - and vanished. The missing general was in charge of Iranian undercover... N.Y. Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1795466/posts#comment Mon, 5 Mar 2007 15:24:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2104036/posts The number of foreign journalists in Baghdad is declining sharply, a media withdrawal that reflects Iraq's growing stability and the financial strains faced by some news organizations. In a stark indication of the changing media focus here, the number of journalists traveling with American forces in Iraq has plummeted in the past year. U.S. military officials say they "embedded" journalists 219 times in September 2007. Last month, the number shrank to 39. Of the dozen U.S. newspapers and newspaper chains that maintained full-time bureaus in Baghdad in the early years of the war, only four are still permanently staffed by... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2104036/posts#comment Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:23:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103796/posts BAGHDAD — Market by market, square by square, the walls are beginning to come down. The miles of hulking blast walls, ugly but effective, were installed as a central feature of the surge of American troops to stop neighbors from killing one another. “They protected against car bombs and drive-by attacks,” said Adnan, 39, a vegetable seller in the once violent neighborhood of Dora, who argues that the walls now block the markets and the commerce that Baghdad needs to thrive. “Now it is safe.” The slow dismantling of the concrete walls is the most visible sign of a fundamental... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103796/posts#comment Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:41:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103201/posts “I first began to fathom the extent of Nadhmi Auchi's reach and corrupting influence when I was given responsibility for monitoring illegal transfers of technology and munitions to Iraq as well as overseeing all coalition transportation and communications reconstruction in Iraq." ### Barack Obama has been appropriately strident in his condemnation of the mortgage-based financial corruption which nearly led to the collapse of the investment banking system in the United States. But there are some strong smelling financial skeletons in his own closet. Obama has his own personal housing crisis that is tied not into Fanny Mae, but into a... Wikileaks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103201/posts#comment Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:47:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099574/posts Two powerful bombs exploded outside the Iraqi capital's tightly-guarded Green Zone on Tuesday as US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was ending a visit focused on a controversial military pact. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said an agreement was "very close" and that there were "new ideas and new language" to clinch a mutually-acceptable security deal. "This needs some bold political decisions now," he said. An Iraqi military officer said at least one soldier was wounded in the blasts which went off in quick succession at a time of heavy traffic. AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099574/posts#comment Tue, 7 Oct 2008 14:18:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099235/posts FBI Warns of Potential Terror Attacks The FBI and Department of Homeland Security today issued an analytical "note" to U.S. law-enforcement officials cautioning that al-Qaida terrorists have in the past expressed interest in attacking public buildings using a dozen suicide bombers each carrying 20 kilograms of explosives. Authors with the U.S. Office of Intelligence and Analysis added that they have "no credible or specific information that terrorists are planning operations against public buildings in the United States." The FBI and DHS analysts said they were releasing the note because "it is important for local authorities and building owners and... Previous Thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2099235/posts#comment Tue, 7 Oct 2008 02:27:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097106/posts U.S.-led forces said they shot dead a leader of al Qaeda in Iraq on Friday who was the mastermind behind a series of deadly recent bombings in Baghdad. A spokesman for coalition forces said Mahir Ahmad Mahmud Judu' al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami, had been al Qaeda in Iraq's "emir" of the Rusafa neighborhood of the capital. reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097106/posts#comment Sat, 4 Oct 2008 00:32:21 GMT