iraq – The News Desk

27Dec

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Health

Iran Is Pushing Biden Around

Hours after Kataib Hezbollah injured three American troops with an attack on an air base in Iraq on Dec. 25, the U.S. struck back, hitting three facilities used by the Iran-backed militia. U.S. officials described the act as a proportionate retaliation to deter further attacks and mitigate the risk of a full-scale war between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. military officials say there have been 103 attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17. Several Americans have been injured. The U.S. has retaliated half a dozen times against Iran’s Arab proxies in both countries. The math isn’t working for the Biden administration, and neither is time. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

The Hostage Deal Means Israel Is Fighting the Clock

23Nov

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Health

The Hostage Deal Means Israel Is Fighting the Clock

With a four-day cease-fire reportedly going into effect Friday, time isn’t on Israel’s side in its war with Hamas in Gaza. Israel already faces challenges unprecedented in the history of war. A terrorist enemy dedicated to its destruction holds hundreds of hostages in a complex tunnel network and uses civilians as human shields. Israeli society, already riven by political infighting, is traumatized by Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault and divided over how to handle the hostage crisis. Further cease-fires mean the recovery of more hostages, but this will slow and eventually halt Israel’s effort to break Hamas’s control over Gaza. That would be a strategic defeat for both Israel and the U.S.Israel needs time to root out Hamas. But the longer the war goes on, the likelier it is to spiral into a regiona...

Iraq’s Delicate Balancing Act With Iran and the U.S.

20Nov

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Health

Iraq’s Delicate Balancing Act With Iran and the U.S.

BaghdadWith the Gaza war threatening to spiral into a wider Middle East conflict, Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani. Mr. Sudani faces the delicate task of balancing his country’s ties between America and Iran and stopping Iran-aligned militias from attacking U.S. military and diplomatic personnel in Iraq. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Israel Races to Root Out Hamas as Calls for Gaza Cease-Fire Mount

10Nov

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World

Israel Races to Root Out Hamas as Calls for Gaza Cease-Fire Mount

Listen to article(2 minutes)In a little over a week, Israeli ground forces have fought their way into northern Gaza’s urban areas with a speed that has surprised even their own commanders. But the most complex stages of the war might still lie ahead.As they move closer to the center of Gaza City, Israeli troops are encountering dug-in Hamas fighters in larger numbers who attack and then pull back or disappear underground, slowing the Israeli advance, soldiers and current and former officials say.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Escalating Militia Attacks on U.S. Troops Risk Washington-Tehran Confrontation

5Nov

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World

Escalating Militia Attacks on U.S. Troops Risk Washington-Tehran Confrontation

Updated Nov. 5, 2023 3:49 pm ETWhen a drone laden with explosives was found late last month lodged in the upper floors of U.S. barracks in Iraq, Pentagon officials quickly realized how close the suspected militia-launched weapon came to killing American personnel.In this case, the explosives failed to detonate, and there were no reports of injuries. But as the number of these attacks escalates, so too does the risk of a deadly incident that will demand a response from the U.S. military, edging it closer to direct confrontation with Iranian-backed groups it suspects are responsible. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Many Israelis Are Refugees From Arab Lands

4Nov

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World

Many Israelis Are Refugees From Arab Lands

As people around the world demonstrate for Palestinian rights, we shouldn’t overlook another group of Middle Eastern refugees who also have suffered for decades but whose plight is seldom discussed: the displaced Jewish refugees from Arab lands. I should know; I am one of them. Our story needs to be told. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq, as were my parents and grandparents. When Cyrus the Great liberated Babylon in 538 B.C. and gave Jews the choice to leave, my ancestors stayed. By 1948 an estimated 135,000 Jews lived in Baghdad, comprising one-third of the city’s population—more Jews by proportion than Warsaw or New York at the time. Iraqi Jews were active in government, launched businesses and held prominent positions. Iraq’s first finance minister, Sassoon Eskell, was Jewish. He insisted t...

U.S. Launches Strikes on Suspected Iranian-Supported Bases in Syria

27Oct

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World

U.S. Launches Strikes on Suspected Iranian-Supported Bases in Syria

Oct. 26, 2023 10:41 pm ETWASHINGTON—The U.S. said it launched strikes Thursday night on two bases in eastern Syria it believed were used by Iranian groups, the first U.S. offensive military response to a wave of drone and rocket attacks on troops based in Iraq and Syria, the Pentagon said.The strikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated groups were authorized by President Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Iranian-Backed Militias Mount New Wave of Attacks as U.S. Supports Israel

25Oct

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World

Iranian-Backed Militias Mount New Wave of Attacks as U.S. Supports Israel

Updated Oct. 24, 2023 8:24 pm ETU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Tuesday that Washington would react “swiftly and decisively” if Iran or its proxy forces attack U.S. personnel after Tehran raised the risk of a larger Middle East conflict in recent days by unleashing the regional militias it has spent years arming.For more than six months, these Iranian-backed militia groups refrained from launching drones or rockets against American troops in Iraq and Syria, as part of what appeared to be an undeclared truce between Tehran and Washington. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Taking Gaza Would Be Possible, Sieges From Mosul to Mariupol Show—but at a Steep Cost

22Oct

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World

Taking Gaza Would Be Possible, Sieges From Mosul to Mariupol Show—but at a Steep Cost

Updated Oct. 22, 2023 12:09 am ETListen to article(2 minutes)DUBAI—As Israel plans a ground operation in Gaza, aiming to eradicate Hamas, recent history elsewhere suggests that the goal can be achieved—but only at a tremendous cost, to Israeli troops and much more so, to Palestinian civilians caught in the middle.Urban warfare, especially in dense terrain with multiple high-rises—and Gaza has scores of buildings over six floors—naturally favors the defenders. Close-quarters combat also usually reduces the advantages of the technologically more advanced side, something that would partially offset Israel’s formidable military edge.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Oil Exports: Turkey has yet to notify Iraq on oil pipeline, Baghdad says

8Oct

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Business

Oil Exports: Turkey has yet to notify Iraq on oil pipeline, Baghdad says

BASRA: Iraq has not received formal notification from Turkey on whether the oil exports pipeline is ready to begin operations, two senior Iraqi oil officials said on Sunday. The officials spoke following Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar's comments last Monday when he said the oil pipeline bringing crude from Iraq was ready. "We as an oil ministry need to be informed officially by the Turkish side about the recent developments on the pipeline status. We heard about it in media only," said a senior oil ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity. A second senior energy adviser told Reuters Iraq was also waiting for talks on "lingering financial and technical issues". Turkey halted flows through Iraq's northern oil export route after an arbitration ruling in March by th...