Iraq

Iraq: A New Democratic Dawn - or Back to the Bad Old Days?

BAGHDAD - As the US and Britain steadily exit Iraq, a pre-invasion reality is returning for many. Essential services still don't work, while the old-world Ba'athist order is once again flourishing.

Saddam Hussein's loyalists have been removed from the extensive bureaucracies that once ran Iraq, but the often draconian rules they imposed over 30 years are back in vogue.

Security has improved across the country, to the extent of families being able to return to public parks and sports grounds even in provincial areas that are far less stable than the capital.

Posted in Iraq

US Influence in Iraq Far From Over

Barack Obama won the votes of many Americans by promising to swiftly end the Iraq War and bring U.S. troops home. He denounced George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq as a "violation of international law."

So will U.S. troops leave Iraq? Will those responsible for this trumped-up war face justice?

No, on both counts.

President Obama says U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq by August 2010. However, the U.S. military occupation will not end. What we are seeing is a public relations shell game.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Iraq

Is Obama's War Strategy a Wise One or a Betrayal?

During the presidential campaign red and white anti-war signs dotted the countryside. In some towns, they lined the streets.

The initial impetus for Barack Obama's candidacy came from the anti-war movement and his promise to bring the troops home.

At first, Obama argued that U.S. involvement in the war would end quickly after he became president. As the campaign wore on that urgency migrated to getting the troops out in 16 months.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Iraq

Iraqi Refugees Returning to Danger Zone to Escape Poverty in Utah

MURRAY, Utah - Six months ago, Tarek Darwish and his family arrived in Utah as refugees craving a new and better life. Last week, his family wept and kissed his hand in farewell as the former lawyer, disillusioned, left to return to Iraq.

Life in Utah has been a list of disappointments. His family of seven lives in a two-bedroom apartment. None of the adults have jobs. His wife needs glasses and dental work but has been told Utah's Medicaid won't cover them.

Posted in refugees, War/Empire, Iraq

Drawdown Plan May Leave Combat Brigades in Iraq

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has given military commanders a free hand to determine the size and composition of a residual force in Iraq up to 50,000 troops, apparently including the option of leaving one or more combat brigades or bringing them from the United States, after the August 2010 deadline for the ostensible withdrawal of all combat brigades now in Iraq.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, status of forces, War/Empire, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
4:12 PM

CONTACT: CODEPINK

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder, 415-235-6517
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK media coordinator, 508-769-2138

CODEPINK Calls Obama's Announcement of Timetable, Residual Troops in Iraq a 'Broken Promise'

Americans must continue to push for change

WASHINGTON - February 27 - CODEPINK Women for Peace is disheartened by President Obama's announcement this morning for troop withdrawal by Aug. 2010, later than his campaign promise, leaving residual troops until December 2011.

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CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities. CODEPINK rejects foreign policies based on domination and aggression, and instead calls for policies based on diplomacy, compassion and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence.

CODEPINK Links:

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
3:00 PM

CONTACT: Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Nathan White (202)225-5871

Kucinich on Iraq Troop Withdrawal: You Can’t be In and Out at the Same Time

WASHINGTON - February 27 - Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), who led the effort in the House of Representatives against the war in Iraq as far back as 2002, today made the following statement after President Obama announced that the combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010. The President also indicated that between 35-50,000 troops will remain in Iraq to advise and train Iraqi security forces and protect American civilian and military personal.

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Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Iraq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
2:25 PM

CONTACT: Peace Action

Paul Kawika Martin, Political Director, 301.565.4050 x 316, 951.217.7285 cell, pmartin@peace-action.org
Kevin Martin, Executive Director, 301.565.4050 x 307, 301.537.8244 cell

Largest Peace Group Gives Mixed Review of Obama’s Iraq Plan

WASHINGTON - February 27 - Peace Action, the nation's largest peace organization, today praised President Obama's Iraq plan as a step towards ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The group claimed that all troops and contractors could be redeployed from Iraq more rapidly and that Iraq needs more resources focused on reconstruction and humanitarian aid to mitigate the refugee crisis.

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action, the United States' largest peace and disarmament organization with over 100,000 members and nearly 100 chapters in 34 states, works to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs and encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Iraq

Obama to Troops: Iraq Mission to End in August 2010

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Before 2,000 Marines here on Friday, President Obama announced that the United States combat presence in Iraq will end in August 2010 after about 90,000 troops are withdrawn.

"Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31st, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama said to applause from the Marines.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Iraq

Iraq Troop Withdrawal or Occupation-Lite?

President Barack Obama said directly that he would be announcing "a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war." As far as it goes, that sounds good. This is an indication that President Obama is largely keeping to his campaign promises, and that's a hopeful sign, reflecting the power of the anti-war consensus in this country.

Posted in iraq withdrawal, obama, Iraq