Iraqis Getting Fat: I Blame Bush

There's an obesity epidemic in Iraq that's been fueled by the war, Tina Susman reports for the LAT. For most of the last five years, sectarian violence has drastically altered Iraqis' lifestyles. Most retreated to the safety of their homes and became increasingly sedentary, rarely venturing out of their neighborhoods. To go out was to risk being kidnapped, killed by a ...

A New Strongman for Iraq?

There's been an interesting conversation going on, prompted by this guest post by Gregory Gause, professor of political science at University of Vermont and director of its Middle East Studies Program. In his post Dr. Gause notes that in recent months Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken a number of steps which, considered together, appear to be a ...

The Anbar Handover

Yesterday formal responsibility for security in Iraq's western Anbar province was turned over to Iraqi forces: Baghdad - The US military handed over control of Anbar Province Monday, marking a significant milestone in the Iraq war. Anbar was the deadliest Iraqi province for US troops, with nearly 1 in every 3 Americans killed there. It was once the symbol of Sunni resistance, ...

Pronouncing Foreign Names

Jonathan Kolieb is upset that Americans don't pronounce foreign names in the other country's mother tongue. I was flipping through the cable news channels the other night, and there were several segments on developments in Iraq.  I found myself getting irritated, then angry:  Why, five years after occupying a country, do we still not know how to pronounce its name? [...] Language and ...

Army Has Major Deficit

Robert Kaplan often refers to the "Iron Majors," the mid-career officers who have chosen the Army as a career and serve in its key staff positions.  Ann Scott Tyson reports that we're running low. The Army's growth plans and the demands of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are contributing to a shortfall of thousands of majors, critical mid-level officers whose ...

Georgian Forces Retreat, Wonder Where Friends Are

Georgian forces have been routed and have retreated from their South Ossetia province after being outmatched by the Russians.  Now, many Georgians are wondering where their Western allies are. Tony Halpin for The Times of London: As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t ...

Garrett Jones, Amputee Marine, Returns to War Zone

Marine Corporal Garrett Jones is back serving as a combat infantryman in Afghanistan, only a year after losing most of his left leg in Iraq. On July 23, 2007, Jones was on foot patrol near the Iraqi city of Fallouja when he was injured by a roadside bomb. After the attack, his left leg was amputated above the knee. He developed ...

Mahdi Army Transforming into Salvation Army?

The Mahdi Army might soon be the Iraqi equivalent of the Salvation Army, Gina Chon reports for the Wall Street Journal. Anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- long a thorn in the side of the U.S. military and Iraqi government -- intends to disarm his once-dominant Mahdi Army militia and remake it as a social-services organization. The transformation would represent a significant turnabout ...

Sunni Awakening Leader Killed

The leader of a US-allied Sunni group was killed yesterday, along with six of his men: Unknown gunmen attacked the convoy of Sheik Ibrahim al-Karbouli in Youssifiyah on Monday, said the group member who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fears for his own security. The sheik was a senior leader of the so-called awakening council in the town, which ...

Did the Surge Work? Who Can Say?

Ezra Klein and his summer intern have compiled ten expert responses to the question "How Important Was the Surge?" Not surprisingly, those from Center for American Progress answered "Not all that important" whereas Michael O'Hanlon and others who supported the Surge to begin with though it was "undoubtedly very important." Or, as Marc Danziger puts it, There's a fairly wide ...