Middle East Online AlterNet: War on IraqSeptember 29, 2008. The Iraqi government is providing weapons permit to doctors and pledges not to detain them during security operations.
Patrick Cockburn, Independent UK. September 3, 2008. With an eye on the presidential election, the White House is working to create the impression that the war is ripe for U.S. victory.
Nir Rosen, The National, Abu Dhabi. June 14, 2008. As the U.S. tries to secure its "security agreement" in Iraq, the Mahdi Army remains the only genuine mass movement in Iraq.
Sami Moubayed, Asia Times. May 5, 2008. While U.S. casualties continue to mount -- and many Iraqi troops lay down their arms -- the Mahdi Army is waging a war of survival.
Ramzy Baroud, Middle East Online. April 12, 2008. Muqtada al-Sadr reflects the views of most Iraqis; October's elections could position him as a new nationalist leader, and a unifying force.
Gareth Porter, IPS News. April 8, 2008. The effort is an indication that the operation was viewed as a major embarrassment just as Gen. David Petraeus is about to testify before Congress.
Dahr Jamail, Ali Al-Fadhily, IPS News. April 3, 2008. The "Surge" will go down in history as one of the greatest strategic failures in military history.
Robert Dreyfuss, The Nation. April 1, 2008. As the smoke clears over new rubble in Iraq's second city, the big winners are the forces of rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
AzzamanApril 1, 2008. Analysts: those sacked will have no choice but to join the ranks of Mahdi Army with their weapons, boosting the militia's strength and standing.
Gareth Porter, IPS News. March 30, 2008. The signs that the Madhi Army will no longer be passive mark a major defeat for the U.S. military command's strategy.
Cenk Uygur, Huffington Post. March 29, 2008. The so-called Iraqi Army fighting in the south right now is mainly the Badr Corps, a rival Shiite militia to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.
Attaturk, Firedoglake AlterNet: War on Iraq. March 26, 2008. Ah, the latest battles in the never-ending nightmare that is Iraq. The only question ever being, slow disaster or fast disaster?
Patrick Cockburn, The Independent UK. March 26, 2008. Muqtada al-Sadr called for a campaign of civil disobedience in which shops, businesses, schools and universities would close down.
AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. December 17, 2007. Al-Qaeda number two says US claims of progress in Iraq are empty propaganda meant to cover up its failure.
Jeffrey Feldman, Huffington Post. November 19, 2007. Results of the British pull-out from Iraq's second largest city will have a huge impact on the way the public interpretes the dynamics of occupation.
Sam Dagher, Christian Science Monitor. September 21, 2007. As British troops exit Basra, Shiite parties vie to fill power vacuum. What happens in the city may may provide a window on the future for the rest of Iraq.
