This Blog is intended for use by students in the Islamic Middle East course at Northfield Mount Hermon School and guest students and teachers from other participating schools.
Story at BBC
BBC reports on this incident suggest that this was the first known incursion of U.S. forces into Syrian territory. This is not so. On June 18, 2003, just three months after the war began, U.S. forces fired upon a convoy of vehicles believed to contain members of the recently deposed Iraqi leadership who [...]
Oct 23rd 2008
From The Economist
Why it is in America’s own interest to let the Iraqis have their way
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12471116
Below is a summary chronicling some of the major steps the U.S. has taken since 1980 in the growth of its commitment to the Gulf region, including Iraq:
1. “Carter Doctrine” – On January 23, 1980, President Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union speech said, “Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside [...]
In a small Iraqi village close to the city of Baquba (located in the Diyala Province North-east of Baghdad), at least 35 people were killed by the Al-Qaeda. The victims were primarily policemen and Sunni Arab fighters who opposed to the Al-Qaeda. They first attacked a checkpoint and then opened fire on the police and Sunni [...]
Tagged al-QaedaBy: Erica Goode
Date: October 2, 2008
Summary: The city of Samarra, Iraq was once a tumultuous area, a target for bombings and violence. But now it has begun to rebuild itself and more specifically to rebuild the famous Askariya Shrine. Two years ago there was an explosion that destroyed the shrine’s golden dome. This event triggered [...]
Estimated to number less than 100,000 remaining adherents in Iraq and adjacent countries, Yazidis are practitioners of a “syncretic” (mixed creed) religion combining Judaism and Zoroastrianism along with Manichean and (Nestorian) Christian elements. Many are Kurds. Yazidis have been targeted in particular by Sunni Muslim militants in Iraq.
Campbell Robertson, “Followers of Ancient Faith Caught in Iraq’s Fault [...]
•Kaki Elgin; September 30, 2008.
•Families Shattered by Suicide Attacks: Female Suicide Bombers are Latest War Tactic
•Source of Article – Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091603697.html?sid=ST2008091603731&s_pos=
•Article Summary
Time
—
Place
Iraq
Key People
Women, al-Qaeda, Abu Abdul Aziz al-Mohammadi, Col. Scott Maw, Gen. Abdul Karim Rubaie
Vocabulary
Naseeba al-Ansariya Martyrdom Battalion, Islamic State of Iraq, martyrdom, National Institute for Handicapped and Special Needs
Main Ideas
Women, greatly pressured by Al-Qaeda [...]
Summary: Recently Iraq’s parliament passed a bill that will let elections take place in much of the country next year. This represents an important achievement for Iraq as the country begins to deal with issues in political measures rather than violence. These next elections will be held in 2009. Along with this, the area of [...]
Christians living in and around the northern Iraqi city of Mosul are being targeted for assassination. A dozen have been killed in the last two weeks.
Story at BBC
UPDATE 10/15/2008:
See Sam Dagher, “Iraqi ChristiansFlee Mosul in the Wake of Attacks,” New York Times, Oct. 15, 2008
UPDATE 10/29/2008:
Story at BBC about the growing fears of Christians living [...]
This article sounds fairly biased, and I am surprised to see this kind of article at the center of Yahoo’s news section. It only talks about what AQI has done so far, not mentioning any actions done by the U.S. force that contributed to the unstable state of Iraq. It sounds more like an argument [...]
BBC Middle East