Iraq – US Marines’ Iraq command ends; Biden in Baghdad (Park Hills Daily Journal)

US Marines’ Iraq command ends; Biden in Baghdad (Park Hills Daily Journal)
RAMADI, Iraq (AP) The U.S. Marines marked the end of nearly seven years in Iraq on Saturday by handing the Army their command of Anbar province, once one of the war s fiercest battlefields but now a centerpiece of U.S.-Iraqi cooperation.

‘Black Hearts’: On Green, Iraq’s ‘Triangle of Death’ (Time Magazine)
The first of two excerpts from TIME contributing editor Jim Frederick’s new book, ‘Black Hearts: One Platoon’s Descent into Madness in Iraq’s Triangle of Death’

Keon D. Jordan does tour in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Anderson Independent-Mail)
Army National Guard Spec. Keon D. Jordan has returned to the United States after being deployed to an overseas forward operating base to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq . Mission objectives focus …

VA is prodded to give more aid to female vets (Los Angeles Times)
With more women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, some advocates say, more services are needed. Kristine Wise remembers driving from San Diego to Victorville to visit her brother and seeing haunting messages on the freeway signs. Instead of the speed limit or the miles to the next town, she envisioned: Beware of Snipers. Watch Out for Bombs. 40 miles to Baghdad. Death Ahead.

Iraqi PM: Appeals panel can review election law (AP via Yahoo! News)
Iraq’s prime minister says he accepts an appeals panel’s jurisdiction over a ban on candidates from March 7 parliamentary elections for their suspected ties to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Bleak outlook for Iraq’s lonely hearts (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Zina Nabil, a pretty 28-year-old Sunni Arab, thought she had found her man. But like many other Iraqi women, she was forced to abandon her marriage plans three years ago because of sectarian hostilities.

James Denselow: Surgeconomics in Afghanistan and Iraq (The Huffington Post)
Paying militants to switch sides has had some success in Iraq. Now the US hopes the same tactic will succeed in Afghanistan One of the…

Iraq MPs to meet over ‘Saddam’ candidates row (AFP via Yahoo! News)
Iraqi MPs were gathering on Monday to debate a contentious decision to allow hundreds of candidates linked to executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s Baath party to compete in next month’s elections.

New Ba’ath Party consideration opposed (The Washington Times)
BAGHDAD | Hundreds of protesters denounced Iraqis still loyal to Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath Party Sunday as tensions soared over the decision to blacklist suspected Ba’athists from next month’s election. Protesters chanted and carried signs that said, “No, No to Ba’ath Party!” and “The return of the Ba’ath Party is a return to mass graves.” Shi’ite officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al …

Joint security force stirs Iraqi tensions (UPI)
KIRKUK, Iraq, Feb. 8 (UPI) — A joint security force in the north of Iraq is a divisive issue among Kurdish supporters and opponents in the Arab and Turkmen community, leaders say.

Rep. John Murtha, Iraq war critic, dies at 77 (AP via Yahoo! News)
Rep. John Murtha, the tall, gruff-mannered former Marine who became the de facto voice of veterans on Capitol Hill and later an outspoken and influential critic of the Iraq War, died Monday. He was 77. The Pennsylvania Democrat had been suffering from complications from gallbladder surgery. He died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va., with his family at his bedside, the hospital said.

Marines quietly wrap up ops in Iraq (Fond du Lac Reporter)
By mid-February, Marines will be out of Iraq. After almost seven years of bloodshed, 850 Marines killed in action and a pedigree of hard-won victories that toppled Saddam Husseins regime, propped up a new government and quelled a tenacious insurgency, Col. Scott Aikens boots will be among the very last in the sand. But before he can step on a flight home, Aiken must lead Special Purpose Marine …

Sgt. Daycus L. Wheaton deployed to serve tour in Iraq (Anderson Independent-Mail)
Army Sgt. Daycus L. Wheaton has deployed to Iraq to serve in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . Operation Iraqi Freedom is the official name given to military operations involving members of the U.S. armed forces and coalition forces participating in efforts to free and secure Iraq . Mission objectives focus on force protection, peacekeeping, stabilization, security and counter-insurgency …

INTERVIEW-Former Iraq PM: poll ban risks civil war (AlertNet)
Source: Reuters * Former PM says candidate ban a ploy to oust poll rivals * Says ban is effort to detract from government failures By Mohammed Abbas and Muhanad Mohammed BAGHDAD, Feb 8 (Reuters) – A ban on …

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