Iraq

03 November 2009 -- BP, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), announced today that they have signed a technical service contract with Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company (SOC) to expand production from the Rumaila oilfield, near Basra in southern Iraq

The signing follows BP's successful bid for the contract with CNPC in Baghdad in June.

The consortium led by BP (38 per cent) with partners CNPC (37 per cent) and the Iraq government's representative State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO - 25 per cent), has agreed to nearly triple the Rumaila field's output to almost 3 million barrels of oil a day (b/d), which would make it the world's second largest producing oilfield.    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- Although U.S. Army deployments have been linked positively to the likelihood of reenlisting for much of the past decade, a new RAND Corporation study shows that by 2006 the mounting burden of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan reached the point where deployment had a negative effect on reenlistment.

However, the increased rate of deployment did not reduce reenlistment rates through 2007 for any of the three other branches of the U.S. military.    » read more »

Addresses Electrocutions and Other Risks to Safety

October 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) spoke on the Senate floor and introduced an amendment to the FY2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill that would hold contractors accountable for the safety of military personnel while serving abroad. Senator Casey introduced this legislation after shoddy electrical work lead to the deaths of a soldier and a contractor with ties to Pennsylvania while showering in Iraq.    » read more »

October 01, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced that the Defense Department’s Inspector General will investigate the U.S. Army’s response to the 2003 exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.    » read more »

Investigation requested by Bayh to examine handling of exposure of Indiana National Guard soldiers in Iraq

October 1, 2009 -- Washington -- At the request of Senator Evan Bayh, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) announced that it will initiate an investigation into the U.S. Army’s response to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers—including 142 members of the Indiana National Guard—to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.    » read more »

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to review procedures impeding the rapid resettlement of Iraqi refugees to the United States.    » read more »

May 12, 2009 -- The record of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein compares favorably to that of many other U.S. efforts at post-conflict reconstruction, particularly in the areas of economic development, rule of law, education, health and democratization, according to a study released today by the RAND Corporation.

However, these achievements were undermined and overshadowed by the failure of American civilian and military authorities to protect the Iraqi population from the criminals and extremists among them who pulled Iraq into civil war.    » read more »

Washington, DC, April 6, 2009 -- Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina on Wednesday, April 8th to welcome home the XVIII Airborne Corps back from Iraq. This is the XVIII Airborne Corps’ second deployment to Iraq since 2006. Vice President Biden will deliver remarks at the Welcome Home Ceremony.    » read more »

March 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The sister of a U.S. Army officer has pleaded guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme related to bribes paid for contracts awarded in support of the Iraq war, Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division and Acting Assistant Attorney General Scott D. Hammond of the Antitrust Division announced today.    » read more »

March 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry as Ambassador to Afghanistan and Christopher R. Hill as Ambassador to Iraq.    » read more »

Defendant Also Agrees to Plead Guilty to Beating D.C. Prison Guard Unconscious

February 26, 2009 --
WASHINGTON – An Iraqi-born Dutch citizen today pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to murder Americans overseas, including by planting roadside bombs targeting U.S. soldiers in Fallujah, Iraq, and by demonstrating on video how these explosives would be detonated to destroy American vehicles and their occupants.    » read more »

25 September 2008 -- Iraqi police have raised the death toll from an ambush in Diyala province to 35 people, most of whom were police officers.

Gunmen ambushed the group of Iraqi policemen and anti-al-Qaida fighters on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military said Thursday a suicide bomber killed an American soldier Wednesday in Diyala.

In other news, Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill that calls for provincial elections to be held by January 31, several months later than originally planned.

U.S. President George Bush and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the move, saying it will contribute to political reconciliation in Iraq.    » read more »

30 August 2008 -- The U.S. military says it has released more than 11,000 Iraqis from military detention centers this year.

In a statement issued Saturday coalition forces said the prisoners who were once considered a security threat, have completed their detainment and can go on to lead productive lives.

American military spokesman Major Neal Fisher says less than one percent of those released have been detained again.

He also said at the current rate, the U.S. military expects to reach its goal of having released more than 12,000 detainees by mid-September.

Source: DoD

27 August 2008 -- The U.S. Defense Department says it wants to turn over security responsibility to Iraqi forces as quickly as possible, but that the timing should be based on conditions. A spokesman repeated the position Tuesday in response to a statement by Iraq's prime minister calling for a full U.S. withdrawal by 2011.

Iraqi policemen and US soldier: Iraqi policemen gather around U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ian Putansu of Camden, MN, 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, as he instructs tactical maneuvers at the Hammiyat police station in Taji, Iraq, August 4, 2008.    » read more »

August 22, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - "I am glad that the Administration has finally shifted to accepting a timetable for the removal of our combat troops from Iraq. Success in Iraq depends on an Iraqi government that is reconciling its differences and taking responsibility for its future, and a timetable is the best way to press the Iraqis to do just that. I welcome the growing convergence around this pragmatic and responsible position.    » read more »