New Afghan Law Castrates Women’s Rights

Staff / Truthdig Aug 14, 2009 Remember all that malarkey about how the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan would result in a remarkable push for women's rights? Well, the Afghan government has passed a law that allows Shiite men to deny food to their wives if they refuse their husbands' sexual demands. Oh, and a rapist can effectively avoid prosecution by paying "blood money" to his victim. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Preparations Made for Sadr City Assault

Staff / Truthdig May 7, 2008 After a seven week surge in violent street clashes and an estimated 1,000 civilian deaths in the Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad alone, U.S. and Iraqi forces are now preparing an overwhelming military offensive they hope will completely annihilate active Shia resistance movements and pacify the area, making it safe for occupation. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Sadr: U.S. Will Always Be Enemy

Staff / Truthdig Apr 13, 2008 Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintained his defiant stance against the U.S. as intense fighting in Sadr City and Najaf claimed more lives this weekend, including that of a Sadr relative and supporter, Riyad al-Nuri. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Iraq Exploding as Shiite Fights Shiite

Patrick Cockburn / Truthdig Mar 27, 2008 A new civil war may be looming in Iraq as American-backed Iraqi government forces battle Shiite militiamen for control of Basra and parts of Baghdad. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Iraqi Troops Step Up Fighting in Basra

Staff / Truthdig Mar 25, 2008 Iraqi forces on Tuesday launched an offensive targeting Shiite militia groups in the southern city of Basra, where at least 30 deaths are reported to have occurred in the operation, as well as in other regions of the country. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Cabinet Reflects a Divided Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Aug 7, 2007 Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "unity government" has lost its last Sunni representatives, as five ministers announced a boycott in protest of sectarian favoritism. Nearly half of the Cabinet has walked this year. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush’s Baffling Optimism Defies Harsh Reality in Iraq

Staff / Truthdig Jul 14, 2007 Scrambling to shore up support for the Iraq war, President Bush has released a report claiming progress has been made. To many, it seems that the administration is playing its last cards. Patrick Cockburn, in an article originally published in Britain's The Independent, analyzes the situation. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Friend or Foe?

Dwayne Powell / Truthdig Jun 13, 2007 Dig deeper

Shiite Shrine Bombed in Samarra

Staff / Truthdig Jun 13, 2007 One of the holiest of Shiite Muslim shrines has been bombed in the Sunni-dominated Iraqi city of Samarra north of Baghdad. Explosions reportedly caused the collapse of the shrine's two minarets. The 2006 bombing of the golden dome at the same shrine sparked the rampant sectarian strife in Iraq that continues today. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

5 Suspected Militants Captured in Baghdad

Staff / Truthdig May 30, 2007 American and Iraqi troops raided houses and buildings in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood on Wednesday to arrest five suspected members of a Shiite terror cell following Tuesday's brazen kidnapping of a British computer expert and his four bodyguards from a government building in the capital city. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Angry Iraqis Attack Police After Karbala Bombing

Staff / Truthdig Apr 29, 2007 A car bomb explosion in the holy city of Karbala has killed 68 people. After the attack, an angry crowd gathered and began attacking Iraqi police, accusing them of failing to protect the population. Elsewhere in Iraq, nine U.S. soldiers have been killed in the last two days. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Shiite Crowds Protest Occupation

Staff / Truthdig Apr 10, 2007 A massive procession made up of tens of thousands of Shiites marched to the holy city of Najaf on Monday to protest the U.S. occupation on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. One might recall that these are the very Iraqis who, having been oppressed by Saddam Hussein, were supposed to greet us as liberators. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )