Today's Fresh Blogs...

• Interview with General Petraeus

  Published: August 31, 2007, 12:04 pm

  Tags: Iraq, Terrorism, Ryan Crocker, David Petraeus, Diyala, Al Qaeda, Anbar, Counterinsurgency, Islamists

  strongholds in Anbar and Diyala have killed or captured hundreds if not thousands of Al Qaeda jihadists. The increase of American troop presence has also helped to decrease sectarian violence, a very important step.To be brutally honest, many Iraqis want to be on the winning side. If the Iraqi people see significant increases in security

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• U.S. Airstrike on Village in Diyala Kills at Least 25

  Published: October 6, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: U S, Airstrike, Village, Diyala, Kills, Least, Diyala Province, United States, Iran, Iraq, U S Armed Forces, Baghdad, Mouwaffak Al Rubaie, George W Bush, Jayzani Al Imam, Al Mahdi Army, Anbar Province, Salah Ad Din, The Associated Press, The Washington Post Comp

  BAGHDAD, Oct. 5 -- U.S. military aircraft bombarded a Shiite village north of Baghdad on Friday morning as they pursued suspected militiamen, in an attack that killed at least 25 people, according to U.S. military officials.

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• National Guard Faces Call-Ups for 2008, '09

  Published: October 18, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: National, Guard, Faces, Call Ups, For, 2008, Iraq, The Army National Guard, Afghanistan, The Pentagon, United States, Indiana National Guard, Diyala Province, The Associated Press, Robert Gates, Kuwait, U S Army

  The Pentagon this week plans to alert at least seven National Guard units to be ready for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009 as the military's reserve forces are increasingly called upon to relieve the strain on active-duty troops, officials said yesterday.

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• Combat Brigade To Leave Iraq

  Published: October 18, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Combat, Brigade, Leave, Iraq, Diyala Province, Robert Gates, United States, Geoff Morrell, Baghdad, Condoleezza Rice, David Petraeus, Jon Lehr, U S Armed Forces, Najaf, The Washington Post Company, Al Diwaniyah, Ann Scott Tyson, Benjamin Mixon, Kirkuk, Mohammad Abdul Azi

  BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- The U.S. military intends to reduce the number of combat brigades in Iraq from 20 to 19 by the end of this year, the first part of a plan to withdraw thousands of American troops from the war zone by next summer, military officials said Wednesday.

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• Iraq Is Criticized for Slow Hire of Police

  Published: October 27, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Iraq, Criticized, For, Slow, Hire, Police, Diyala Province, United States, Nouri Al Maliki, U S Armed Forces, Baghdad, Anbar Province, Benjamin Mixon, David Petraeus, Iran, Iraqi Police Service, Syria

  A senior U.S. commander in Iraq yesterday criticized the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for "foot-dragging" in failing to hire thousands of Sunni and other volunteers needed to expand and balance the police force.

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• In Iraq, a Lull or Hopeful Trend?

  Published: November 2, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Iraq, Lull, Hopeful, Trend, Baghdad, United States, Iraq, U S Armed Forces, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Al Qaeda, Diyala Province, Amiriyah, Raymond Odierno, Najaf, Psa Peugeot Citroen Sa, The Washington Post Company, Abdul Amir, Amit R Paley, Ann Scott Tyson, Basim Hamdi, Bas

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 1 -- From store clerks selling cigarettes by generator power, to military commanders poring over aerial maps, Iraqis and Americans are striving to understand the sharp decrease in violence over the past several months and what it might herald for the future of Iraq.

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• In Iraq, a Lull or Hopeful Trend?

  Published: November 2, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Iraq, Lull, Hopeful, Trend, Baghdad, United States, Iraq, U S Armed Forces, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Al Qaeda, Diyala Province, Amiriyah, Raymond Odierno, Najaf, Psa Peugeot Citroen Sa, The Washington Post Company, Abdul Amir, Amit R Paley, Ann Scott Tyson, Basim Hamdi, Bas

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 1 -- From store clerks selling cigarettes by generator power, to military commanders poring over aerial maps, Iraqis and Americans are striving to understand the sharp decrease in violence over the past several months and what it might herald for the future of Iraq.

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• U.S. Frees 9 Iranians From Custody in Iraq

  Published: November 10, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: U S, Frees, Iranians, From, Custody, Iraq, Iran, U S Armed Forces, United States, Wasit Province, Baghdad, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Anbar Province, Diyala Province, Qadisiyyah, Arbil, The Washington Post Company, Ali Al Adeeb, Fallujah, Mark Mueller, Mohammad

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 9 -- The U.S. military on Friday released nine Iranian citizens, including two described as diplomats, who had been held in American custody in Iraq for as long as three years.

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• Hurdles Stall Plan For Iraqi Recruits

  Published: November 12, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Hurdles, Stall, Plan, For, Iraqi, Recruits, Sadiyah, United States, Iraq, Baghdad Brigade, Baghdad, U S Armed Forces, Nouri Al Maliki, Assad Jadou, David Petraeus, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Diyala Province, Al Qaeda, Al Mahdi Army, Mouwaffak Al Rubaie, Northern Ireland, The Washingto

  BAGHDAD -- The U.S. effort to organize nearly 70,000 local fighters to solidify security gains in Iraq is facing severe political and logistical challenges as U.S.-led forces struggle to manage the recruits and the central government resists incorporating them into the Iraqi police and army,...

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• Maliki Intends to Lift Curfew in Baghdad

  Published: November 13, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Maliki, Intends, Lift, Curfew, Baghdad, United States, Karbala, Nouri Al Maliki, Iraq, Diyala Province, Najaf, The Washington Post Company, Dalya Hassan, Mohammed Zayidan, Naseer Nouri, Raid Shakir Jawdat, Saad Al Izzi, Saad Sarhan, Zaid Sabah, Iran, Iraqi Police Servi

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hopes to soon declare an end to a nine-month-old security plan and curfew in Baghdad because of a recent decline in violence, Iraqi officials said Monday.

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• Explosive Weapons on Wane in Iraq, U.S. Says

  Published: November 16, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Explosive, Weapons, Wane, Iraq, U S, Says, James Simmons, Iraq, United States, Baghdad, U S Armed Forces, Anbar Province, Diyala Province, The Washington Post Company, Baghdad Green Zone, Kirkuk, Sarhad Qadir, Iran, Multi National Force Iraq

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 15 -- The number of roadside bombs and other explosive devices found in Iraq has fallen to its lowest level in two years, in part because of Iranian efforts to stop the weapons from flowing into the country, a top U.S. military official said Thursday.

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• U.S. Blames Shiite Militiamen in Deadly Baghdad Bombing

  Published: November 25, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: U S, Blames, Shiite, Militiamen, Deadly, Baghdad, Bombing, Muqtada Al Sadr, Iraq, Kirkuk, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Diyala Province, The Washington Post Company, Gregory Smith, Jamal Taher Bakr, Al Mahdi Army, Iraqi Police Service, U S Armed Forces, United States

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 24 -- The U.S. military said Saturday that Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen were responsible for the bombing of a pet market, one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in months.

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• U.S. Troops Kill at Least 5 Iraqis in Checkpoint Shootings

  Published: November 28, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: U S, Troops, Kill, Least, Iraqis, Checkpoint, Shootings, Baghdad, United States, U S Armed Forces, Iraqi Police Service, Diyala Province, Ninawa Province, Salah Ad Din, The Washington Post Company, Anton Alston, Dalya Hassan, Hor Rajab, K I Ibrahim, Muhanad Al Bawi

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 27 -- U.S. troops killed at least five Iraqis, including a child, when they fired at vehicles approaching checkpoints in two separate incidents, U.S. military officials and Iraqi police said Tuesday.

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• Female Bomber Wounds 7 GIs in Iraq

  Published: November 29, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Female, Bomber, Wounds, Gis, Iraq, United States, Baghdad, U S Armed Forces, Diyala Province, Ali Al Dabbagh, Baghdad Green Zone, Baqouba, Damascus, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Syria

  BAGHDAD, Nov. 28 -- A woman wearing an explosives belt blew herself up near a U.S. patrol about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, wounding seven U.S. troops and five Iraqis, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The attack Tuesday near Baqubah, in Diyala province, was a rare example of a female suicide...

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• 20 Die as Gunmen Descend on Village

  Published: December 2, 2007, 12:00 am

  Tags: Die, Gunmen, Descend, Village, Diyala Province, United States, Iraq, U S Armed Forces, Baghdad, Kurdistan Workers Party, Adnan Al Dulaimi, Al Qaeda In Iraq, Turkey, Baqouba, Dahuk, Ali Al Dabbagh, Abdul Karim Al Rubaiee, Ismail Fattah, Karen Deyoung, Mosul, Muhammad

  BAGHDAD, Dec. 1 -- Dozens of gunmen overran a Shiite village north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 20 people, police said, the latest in a recent spike in attacks in Diyala province, where the U.S. military is rotating some troops out and moving others in.

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