By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Iraqi Shiites increasingly fear that their Muslim sect and holy sites could be targeted in neighboring Syria as the civil war there takes on increasingly sectarian overtones, and Iranian-backed militants are girding for violence in both countries, according to Shiite leaders and government officials.
Iraqi Shiites increasingly fear the Muslim sect and its holy sites could be targeted in neighboring Syria as the civil war there takes on increasingly sectarian overtones, and Iranian-backed militants are girding for violence in both countries, according to Shiite leaders and government officials.
After years of rising influence, a new sign of Iran's presence in Iraq has reached the streets.
After years of growing influence, a new sign of Iran's presence in Iraq has hit the streets. Thousands of signs, that is, depicting Iran's supreme leader gently smiling to a population once mobilized against the Islamic Republic in eight years of war.
Israel's military intelligence chief on Tuesday warned that global jihadists have moved into Syrian territory bordering the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and could soon use the area to stage attacks on the Jewish state.
International envoy Kofi Annan has arrived in Iraq on an outreach tour to Syria's allies in the Mideast.
Masked Hamas police beat and detained members of the Gaza Strip's tiny Shiite community during a religious commemoration last week, a follower and local rights groups said Tuesday, accusing their Islamist rulers of religious intolerance.
Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Saturday his followers in Iraq were still resisting the U.S. "enemy" with all means, including force. But he tempered his fiery words by saying the new Iraqi government should be given a chance to get American troops out of the country in a "suitable" way.
BAGHDAD _ The Iraqi government says it did not order a recent raid on the offices of the country's soccer federation.
An Iraqi official says the government will investigate a raid on the Iraqi Football Association to find out who was behind it.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. urged rival Iraqi politicians on Sunday to end months of delays and select new leaders for their wobbly democracy, predicting a peaceful transition of power even as suicide bombers struck government centers in two major cities.
TEHRAN (AP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed to Iran yesterday for greater cooperation in easing violence in his country, even as the United States has stepped up accusations that Tehran is arming Iraqi Shi'ite militants.
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi Cabinet signed off yesterday on a revised bill to regulate the country's oil industry and sent it to parliament — a major step in reaching a long-delayed benchmark sought by the United States to promote reconciliation between Iraq's Sunnis and Shi'ites.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the government is concerned that Shiite holy sites in Syria could be targeted.
"The targeting of these shrines will lead to the eruption of a sectarian volcano in the region. This will set off a sectarian fire that nobody will be able to put out. Certainly, we have great fears about this," he said.
