War Glance
After the marines arrived, a small group of Iraqis gathered around a statue of Saddam Hussein in the middle of the square and tried to bring it down with a sledgehammer and rope. More photographers and TV crews appeared. An American flag was draped over the statue’s head. Eventually, a Marine vehicle equipped with a crane toppled the statue. The spectacle was broadcast live around the world.
Some have argued that the events at Firdos were staged, to demonstrate that America had triumphed, the war was over, and the Iraqis were happy. After all, the marines had seized the only place in Baghdad where a large number of foreign reporters could be found—at least two hundred were at the Palestine.
Toppling Saddam's statue: How the media inflated a minor moment in the Iraq war
Demise of Iraqi water park illustrates limitations, abuse of U.S. funding program
In the spring of 2008, Gen. David H. Petraeus decided he had spent enough time gazing from his helicopter at an empty and desolate lake on the banks of the Tigris River. He ordered the lake refilled and turned into a water park for all of Baghdad to enjoy.
The military doctrine behind the project holds that cash can be as effective as bullets. Under Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq at the time, that principle gained unprecedented emphasis, and it has become a cornerstone of the war effort in Afghanistan, now under Petraeus's command.
Several Warnings, Then a Soldier’s Lonely Death
A gentle snow fell on the funeral of Staff Sgt. David Senft at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 16, when his bitterly divided California family came together to say goodbye. His 5-year-old son received a flag from a grateful nation.
But that brief moment of peace could not hide the fact that for his family and friends and the soldiers who had served with him in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, too many unanswered questions remained about Sergeant Senft’s lonely death in a parked sport utility vehicle on an American air base in Afghanistan, and about whether the Army could have done more to prevent it.
Pakistan drone raids 'claim 18 lives'
Pakistani intelligence officials say three US missile attacks spaced just hours apart have killed 18 people in the country's northwest Pakistan.
At least nine people were killed in the first attack, when missiles struck a moving vehicle in the North Waziristan tribal region, the officials told the Associated Press news agency.
Iraq advisory firm, run by former US special forces officer, seeks a third of Gulf Keystone oil wealth
Gulf Keystone Petroleum is facing a legal battle over its Iraqi oil fields, after an advisory company run by a former US special forces officer filed a claim for up to 30pc of its lucrative reserves.
The £1.25bn AIM-listed explorer saw its share price dive 17 to 167½p after disclosing that it is strongly contesting a suit filed 12 days ago in London’s Commercial Court. It has also been hit with a request for arbitration proceedings in New York.
Al-Qaida says it killed Iraqi commander in Mosul
An al-Qaida linked group has claimed responsibility for the killing of an Iraqi police commander in a raid by three suicide bombers who stormed a security building in Mosul.
Lt. Col. Shamil al-Jabouri had escaped five previous assassination attempts.But he was killed Wednesday morning when attackers wearing explosives vests slipped into the police compound.
Army edits its history of the deadly battle of Wanat
The Army's official history of the battle of Wanat - one of the most intensely scrutinized engagements of the Afghan war - largely absolves top commanders of the deaths of nine U.S. soldiers and instead blames the confusing and unpredictable nature of war.
The history of the July 2008 battle was almost two years in the making and triggered a roiling debate at all levels of the Army about whether mid-level and senior battlefield commanders should be held accountable for mistakes made under the extreme duress of combat.
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