IPS Inter Press Service - Iraq and BeyondIPS provides balanced, independent reporting about the conflict based on its principles in favour of peace, development and sustainable human security, and with a focus on civil society.POPULATION: Iraq Still a Major Source of Refugees in 2007- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 19 (IPS) - Despite a marked reduction in violence due in part to more aggressive U.S. counter-insurgency efforts in 2007, Iraq was the biggest source of the world's newest refugees for the third year in a row, according to the latest annual report of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) released here Thursday.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42887 POLITICS: Al-Maliki's Balancing Act Leaves Iran Cool- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 10 (IPS) - As Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sought to alleviate neighbouring Iran's increasing concerns about a security deal between his country and the United States, he strove to keep a delicate balance with the two countries which are vying for hegemony over Iraq.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42728 IRAQ: 'Special Weapons' Have a Fallout on Babies- (Found June 29, 2008 ) FALLUJAH, Jun 12 (IPS) - Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42762 POLITICS-US: Bush Pledges on Iraq Bases Pact Were a Ruse- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 12 (IPS) - Two key pledges made by the George W. Bush administration on military bases in its negotiations with the government of Iraq have now been revealed as carefully-worded ruses aimed at concealing U.S. negotiating aims from both U.S. citizens and Iraqis who would object to them if they were made clear.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42773 MIGRATION: Int'l Community Failing Iraqi Refugees- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 13 (IPS) - The international community, especially the United States, has depicted a "false picture of the security situation" in Iraq in order to encourage refugees to return to a country where the situation is still "too dire", said Amnesty International, a prestigious London-based rights group, in a statement Friday.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42804 IRAQ: The Love Stories Are Gone- (Found June 29, 2008 ) BAGHDAD, Jun 14 (IPS) - As statistics go, at least 655,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the occupation, now in its fifth year. Every one of them has left behind once loved ones to mourn the loss and to think of what might have been.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42808 AUSTRALIA-IRAQ: Troops Withdraw, Howard Comes Under Fire- (Found June 29, 2008 ) MELBOURNE, Jun 18 (IPS) - The withdrawal of Australian combat troops from Iraq is coinciding with a push to have the man responsible for the countrys participation in the "coalition of the willing", former prime minister John Howard, indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42839 IRAQ: Home to Too Many Widows- (Found June 29, 2008 ) BAQUBA, Jun 18 (IPS) - Just about everyone in Iraq is a loser as a result of the occupation, but none more than women. One of the more obvious signs of that is the very large number of widows.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42858 POLITICS: US Concessions Rescue Floundering Iraq Security Deal- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 19 (IPS) - Despite apparent serious disagreements reflected in a series of incongruent statements by senior officials of the U.S. and Iraqi governments, they appear to have made a breakthrough in negotiations for a new security pact.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42884 USIRAN: Fearing Escalation, Pentagon Fought Cheney Plan- (Found June 29, 2008 ) WASHINGTON, Jun 6 (IPS) - Pentagon officials firmly opposed a proposal by Vice President Dick Cheney last summer for airstrikes against Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) bases by insisting that the administration would have to make clear decisions about how far the United States would go in escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a former George W. Bush administration official.http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42696 |