Latest Iraq government News
Senate poised to vote on repeal of Iraq war powers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is poised to vote Wednesday to repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, which would end more than 20 years of authorization for U.S. presidents to use force in that country and return those war powers to Congress. The...
McConnell opposes as Senate nears repeal of Iraq war powers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he opposes repeal of the 2002 and 1991 authorizations of force against Iraq, arguing that that authority “bears directly on the threats we face today in Iraq and Syria from Iran-backed terrorists.” McConnell, who...
Muslim leader for Scotland a sign of UK political diversity
LONDON (AP) — Humza Yousaf was confirmed as first minister of Scotland on Tuesday, becoming the first person of color to head the Scottish government, and the first Muslim national leader in any Western democracy. The milestone comes five months after the U.K. got its first Hindu...
Spiking violence strains sectarian ties in Iraqi province
MUQDADIYAH, Iraq (AP) — Hussein Maytham and his family were driving past the palm tree grove near their home after a quiet evening shopping for toys for his younger cousins when their car hit a bomb planted on the moon-lit road. “I only remember the explosion,” Maytham, 16,...
Iraqi parliament passes controversial vote law amendments
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi lawmakers passed early Monday controversial amendments to the country's election law that could undermine the chances for smaller parties and independent candidates to win seats in future polls. The amendments increase the size of electoral districts, a move...
Twenty years on, reflection and regret on 2002 Iraq war vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow was sitting in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s conference room at the Pentagon, listening to him make the case that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction. At some point in the presentation — one of many...
Ruling halts oil exports from Iraq's Kurdish area via Turkey
BEIRUT (AP) — Iraqi officials announced Saturday that Baghdad has won an international arbitration case that will halt oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region by way of Turkey. Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, have long been...
Corruption, deep disparity mark Iraq's oil legacy post-2003
NAHRAN OMAR, Iraq (AP) — The oil is pumped 24 hours a day several meters from Raghed Jasim’s home in Iraq’s crude-rich southern heartland. Gas flares from the field light the night sky bright orange, spewing acrid smoke; when the wind picks up, the 40-year old’s clothes are coated black. ...
Senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for war on terror
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to continue congressional authorization for the use of military force in the global fight against terror, turning back an effort by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure. Senators rejected the amendment 86-9...
Kurds remain biggest winners from US-led invasion of Iraq
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Complexes of McMansions, fast food restaurants, real estate offices and half-constructed high-rises line wide highways in Irbil, the seat of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. Many members of the political and business elite live in a suburban...
