Middle East

Calls on Senate to Confirm Quickly; Diplomatic, Economic Efforts Central to Military’s Success

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Defense and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittees, today met with Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, President Obama’s choice to be the next military commander in Afghanistan to discuss the way forward in the region.

The Senator stressed the need to employ Smart Power – or non-military diplomatic and economic efforts – in cooperation with military force to combat terrorism and extremism in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.    » 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 »

Middle East leaders call on new US administration to push progress on Palestinian-Israeli conflict

Dead Sea, Jordan, 17 May 2009 – Middle East leaders have called on the new US administration to push progress on resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which they said lies at the heart of instability in the region.    » 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 »

12 May 2009 -- US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi was released from jail in Iran on Monday following international and domestic protests at her detention. A court heard an appeal against her conviction on Sunday and commuted her eight-year sentence to a suspended two-year term on the charge of "collecting classified information".

The court imposed a five-year ban on her working as a journalist in Iran. Amnesty International, which had campaigned for her release, welcomed the news.    » read more »

February 03, 2009 -- Remarks by Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell After Their Meeting -- Washington, DC -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning. I welcomed our Special Envoy George Mitchell back from his trip to the Middle East and Europe this morning, and we were able to have a long discussion about what he heard and learned in the region. This kind of diplomatic force projection that Special Envoy Mitchell represents is something that both the President and I believe very strongly in, and I was pleased that the President agreed to appoint Senator Mitchell. And of course, he quickly sprang into action.    » read more »

January 27th, 2009 -- In his first interview with an Arab television station, President Barack Obama offered a bold change to America's relations with the Muslim world.

"My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives," President Obama told Al Arabiya. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."

In the interview, conducted in the White House map room, President Obama also expressed his commitment to tackling the Middle East peace process immediately.    » read more »

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke

Benjamin Franklin Room, Department of State, Washington, DC -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much, and welcome to the State Department. Please be seated.

We are delighted to be joined this afternoon by President Obama and Vice President Biden for this very important announcement. But it is also absolutely a delight to have the President and the Vice President here with us today. It is an indication of the President's commitment to a foreign policy that protects our national security and advances our interests and is in keeping with our values. So we, Mr. President, take great heart from the confidence that you have placed in us.    » 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 »

25 August 2008 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the United States has agreed in negotiations to withdraw all its troops from Iraq by 2011. But U.S. officials insist no deal has been reached.

Mr. Maliki Monday said his government has reached an agreement with Washington that any foreign presence on Iraqi soil will end by 2011. He did not offer any further details.

Iraqi Army soldiers, Mahmudiyah, Iraq: Photo by James Gordon (CC)

Meanwhile, a spokesman for U.S. President George Bush said there has not been any final security deal with Iraq.    » read more »

24 August 2008 -- Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber has struck a dinner feast west of Baghdad, killing at least 25 people and wounding 32 others.

Officials say the attacker blew himself up at the home of a local sheikh who was celebrating his son's release from U.S. detention. The guests at the dinner included members of a Sunni Awakening council -- a U.S.-allied militia group that has turned against al-Qaida.

In other violence Sunday, a double bomb attack in Baghdad against Iraqi security forces killed four people. In the eastern province of Diyala, a roadside bomb killed four Iraqi soldiers in the town of Balad Ruz, while gunmen also killed two policemen in Baquba, the provincial capital.    » read more »

23 August 2008 -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Saturday, killing at least five people and wounding at least eight others.

Local police say among those killed at a car dealership in the southern part of the city was a senior member of a U.S.-allied Sunni group from Diyala province.

Earlier Saturday, unknown gunmen killed an adviser to Iraq's culture minister in a drive-by shooting in Baghdad. Authorities say Kamel Shiya was driving on a highway when the gunmen opened fire, killing him and wounding his bodyguard.    » read more »