Siriel-Media

US-IRAQ: Troops Leave Cities, as Questions Remain	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 30 (IPS) - U.S. combat troops pulled out of most Iraqi cities Monday, a day before the Jun. 30 deadline for their withdrawal in accordance with the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) ratified by the Iraqi parliament in November 2008.
MIDEAST: Arabs Court U.S. via Baghdad	more
CAIRO, Jun 26 (IPS) - Egypt finally appointed an ambassador to Iraq earlier this month after four years without diplomatic representation in Baghdad. While the last year has seen other Arab capitals do likewise, some critics question the wisdom of the move in light of Iraq's still volatile security situation.
IRAQ: Lame-Duck Lawmakers Push Through Kurdistan's New Charter	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 26 (IPS) - A draft constitution passed by the parliament of Iraqi Kurdistan has drawn divided reactions, with some questioning the very legitimacy of a lame-duck parliament to pass the single most important legal document of the Kurdish region and others touting it as a positive step forward.
MIDEAST: Iran Crisis Ripples Outward	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 26 (IPS) - As the political crisis that erupted after Iran?s Jun. 12 elections enters its third week, it is becoming evident that this crisis will have repercussions in many parts of the Middle East - and far beyond.
POLITICS: U.S. to Name Ambassador to Damascus after Four Years	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 24 (IPS) - After informing the Syrian embassy in Washington on Tuesday night, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that President Barack Obama will be sending an ambassador to Damascus for the first time since 2005.
Q&A: Military Losing GI Hearts and Minds	more
NEW YORK, Jun 23 (IPS) - The continuing occupation or Iraq and the growing war in Afghanistan are leaving permanent physical and emotional scars on a whole generation of U.S. soldiers. Not since Vietnam have so many GIs objected to a war, and never have military families spoken out so strongly for withdrawal.
US-IRAQ: Fate of Withdrawal Pact to be Decided at the Polls	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 22 (IPS) - As Iraqis witness a spike in violence after a months-long relative lull, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has decided to put its security agreement with the U.S. to a public referendum, although the move appears to be only heightening a sense of uncertainty over the fate of the country.
POPULATION: The Worst Places to Be a Refugee	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 17 (IPS) - Gaza, South Africa and Thailand are among the world's worst places to be a refugee, according to the latest annual World Refugee Survey released here Wednesday by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).
MIGRATION: Pakistan Refugee Crisis Worst in a Decade, U.N. Says	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 16 (IPS) - Forty-two million people were forcibly uprooted by conflict and persecution worldwide in 2008, said a new report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released Tuesday.
U.S.: Congress Reviews Military Contracts, Kabul Embassy Scandal	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 11 (IPS) - Private security guards abandoning their posts at the U.S. embassy in Kabul for up to three and a half hours.
POLITICS: Syrian Foreign Minister Eager to Work with Obama	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 10 (IPS) - Former U.S. senator George Mitchell is due to arrive in Syria?s capital, Damascus, Friday on his first visit there since being named Pres. Barack Obama?s special envoy for Arab-Israeli peace.
U.S.: Obama Appeals to Muslim World for "New Beginning"	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 4 (IPS) - In what was perhaps the most widely anticipated speech delivered by a U.S. president abroad in recent memory, Barack Obama Thursday extended a hand to the world?s 1.4 billion Muslims, receiving repeated applause and a standing ovation from the audience at Cairo University in the Egyptian capital.
US-MIDEAST: Obama Overture Fraught With Stumbling Blocks	more
WASHINGTON, Jun 3 (IPS) - In his most widely anticipated speech to date, U.S. President Barack Obama will reach out directly to the Muslim world Thursday morning at Cairo University.
POLITICS: At East-West Crossroads, Turkey Presses Ambitious Agenda	more
ISTANBUL, May 21 (IPS) - Two soaring bridges link Asia and Europe in this historic city, which straddles the two continents.
MIDEAST: : Obama Has Real Chance to Change Arab Opinion ? Survey	more
WASHINGTON, May 19 (IPS) - President Barack Obama has a major opportunity to improve the mostly negative views about the United States in the Arab world, but is likely to have only a short period of time to do so, according to a major new survey of public opinion in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
POLITICS-US: Rights Groups Slam Bid to Suppress Abuse Pics	more
NEW YORK, May 14 (IPS) - President Barack Obama?s decision Wednesday to object to the planned release of photos showing abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan has drawn quiet praise from the military and some in Congress ? and outspoken scorn from human rights advocates, a number of legal scholars and religious leaders, and many on the left of his Democratic Party.
RIGHTS-US: Senate Panel Probes Legality of Torture Memos	more
NEW YORK, May 13 (IPS) - "An ethical train wreck" was the phrase used by one witness to describe the legal reasoning behind the Justice Department?s recently released memos justifying the use of waterboarding and other forms of "enhanced interrogation techniques".
U.S.-IRAQ: Massacre Puts War Trauma Under the Spotlight	more
SAN FRANCISCO, May 11 (IPS) - A U.S. soldier shot five of his colleagues dead at a base in Baghdad, Iraq Monday. The Pentagon says at least two other people were hurt in the shootings and the gunman is in custody.
RIGHTS-US: Lawmakers Try to Block New Abuse Photos	more
NEW YORK, May 11 (IPS) - Civil libertarians are condemning a call by two influential U.S. senators for the White House to block the impending release of photographs showing detainees being abused by U.S. military personnel at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and at other U.S. detention facilities in the Middle East and elsewhere.
RIGHTS-IRAQ: U.N. Report Paints Grim Picture	more
NEW YORK, May 4 (IPS) - Iraqi prisons are torturing detainees, locking people up for months without charges and, in most cases, allowing the perpetrators of these human rights abuses to escape justice, according to a new United Nations report.
RIGHTS: Recruiters of Child Soldiers Defy U.N. Pressure	more
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 29 (IPS) - The United Nations remains virtually helpless as an increasing number of armed groups - described as "non-state actors" - continue to exploit, abuse and deliberately harm children in battle zones in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
RIGHTS-US: Bracing for New Prisoner Abuse Photos	more
NEW YORK, Apr 27 (IPS) - This Tuesday, Apr. 28, will mark five years since the world got its first look at the sickening photographs from Abu Ghraib on the U.S. television programme "60 Minutes."
RIGHTS-US: Senate Report Casts Grim Light on Bush Era	more
NEW YORK, Apr 22 (IPS) - Pentagon interrogators continuously ramped up their abusive techniques against prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq and Afghanistan in a vain attempt to establish a link between the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the al Qaeda attacks on the U.S. on Sep. 11, 2001.
IRAQ: More Than Two Million Refugees Waiting to Come Home	more
WASHINGTON, Apr 16 (IPS) - The government of Iraq and the international community must establish safe conditions for the return of 2.6 million displaced Iraqis, says a new field report by the non-profit group Refugees International.
RIGHTS-US: Abu Ghraib Victims Can Sue Interrogators	more
NEW YORK, Apr 16 (IPS) - In a ruling that could have widespread implications for government contractors overseas, a federal court has concluded that four former Abu Ghraib detainees, who were tortured and later released without charge, can sue the U.S. military contractor who was involved in conducting prisoner interrogations for the Pentagon in Iraq.
AUSTRALIA: Government Urged to Conduct Iraq War Probe	more
MELBOURNE, Apr 11 (IPS) - The U.K. government?s recent announcement that it will conduct an inquiry into Britain?s involvement in Iraq has led to calls here for Australia to review its own participation in the controversial war.
US: Counterinsurgency Back In Vogue?	more
WASHINGTON, Apr 10 (IPS) - As the U.S. prepares to reduce its military presence in Iraq while intensifying its war effort in Afghanistan, hawks within both the Republican and Democratic parties have come increasingly to believe that counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine offers a solution to the central security challenges Washington will face in the 21st century.
IRAQ: Virtual Therapy Treats Real Agony	more
BERLIN, Apr 10 (IPS) - "Oh, dear Lord, what I am going through," 'N', a 25-year-old Iraqi from Baghdad wrote several months ago. "Am I going to see my family again? Sometimes, I even see my own dead body, lying somewhere. And I imagine the pain my death would cause to the people I love the most."
US: Obama Team Debates Stance on Israeli Attack Threat	more
WASHINGTON, Apr 8 (IPS) - A recent statement by the chief of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), Gen. David Petraeus, that Israel may decide to attack Iranian nuclear sites has been followed by indications of a debate within the Barack Obama administration on whether Israel's repeated threats to carry out such a strike should be used to gain leverage in future negotiations with Tehran.
POLITICS-US: New Budget, Not Quite a Fundamental Shift	more
WASHINGTON, Apr 6 (IPS) - Secretary of Defence Robert Gates unveiled the U.S.?s much-anticipated new military budget Monday, which aims to reorient the armed forces toward irregular and counterinsurgency warfare while proposing cuts in several major weapons programs.