The Battle of Basra
Editors, Electronic Iraq (Mar 29, 2008)
Comprehensive coverage of the violence that has drawn Iraqi, U.S., and British military forces together in a battle against Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army in the south of Iraq and beyond.
The "Surge"
Editors, Electronic Iraq (Feb 6, 2007)
President George W. Bush spent months deliberating on a new plan for Iraq, repeatedly postponing an address to the nation where he would push his new strategy, ending months of speculation about who he was listening to on his "listening tours" of policymakers, war makers and think tanks. He delivered his eagerly awaited speech on January 11, 2007. There was an overwhelmingly negative response to President Bush's speech and his plan to send more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. From the streets to the halls of Congress, dissent was quick and strong. The debate and the administration's attempt to follow through with its controversial plan is ongoing.
Lt. Ehren Watada is the first commissioned U.S. officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. Facing court martial, Watada in a 2006 speech to a Veterans for Peace gathering:"Today, I speak with you about a radical idea. It is one born from the very concept of the American soldier (or service member). It became instrumental in ending the Vietnam War - but it has been long since forgotten. The idea is this: that to stop an illegal and unjust war, the soldiers can choose to stop fighting it.
On Saturday, December 30, 2006, Saddam Hussein was put to death. The hanging was a dramatic and violent ending to a dramatic and violent life. Responding to the hanging, Human Rights Watch commented: "The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein following a deeply flawed trial for crimes against humanity marks a significant step away from respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iraq."
On Sunday, November 5, 2006, the High Tribunal in Iraq sentenced the deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to death by hanging for ordering the murder of 148 Shi'ite residents of Dujail in 1982. The verdict marked the end of a dramatic and dramatically flawed trial. The verdict marked the end of a dramatic and dramatically flawed trial. Responding to the verdict, Amnesty International, in a statement, noted that "political interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court, causing the first presiding judge to resign and blocking the appointment of another, and the court failed to take adequate measures to ensure the protection of witnesses and defense lawyers, three of whom were assassinated during the course of the trial. Saddam Hussein was also denied access to legal counsel for the first year after his arrest, and complaints by his lawyers throughout the trial relating to the proceedings do not appear to have been adequately answered by the tribunal"
Eye on Ramadi (Updated 21 June 2006)
Editors, Electronic Iraq (Jun 12, 2006)
Following reports last week of an imminent U.S.-led attack on Ramadi, denied by military leaders at the time, U.S. forces have pushed deeper into Ramadi, tightened their siege of the city, and increased attacks, according to reports. There is much to suggest a massive assault similar to the November 2004 U.S.-led attack on nearby Fallujah. Electronic Iraq will be following developments in Ramadi all week again. Check back daily.
Initial reports about a November 19th, 2005 incident in Haditha, Iraq - now an alleged massacre - were not longer than a couple of lines. Since then, there has been much talk of Haditha in the United States; talk of war crimes or of warriors just following orders. It is ahistorical to be surprised, as many have been, by war-time attrocities, but it would be imprudent not to take every opportunity to lift up the suffering of the victims and the perpetrators, however artificially isolated the incident. Here eIraq maps key coverage of the alleged massacre in Haditha.
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