Baghdad mayor dreams big in former rebel bastion (AFP)

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Baghdad mayor dreams big in former rebel bastion (AFP)

AFP - When Saber al-Essawy, the mayor of Baghdad, looks out across the crumbling concrete tenements and cratered streets of Baghdad's largest slum he envisions decades of neglect melting away, money flooding in and the gardens blooming.

U.S. to unveil charges in Blackwater shooting in Iraq (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. officials expect to announce criminal charges soon against Blackwater security guards over a shooting in Iraq last year that killed 17 civilians and strained U.S.-Iraqi relations, law enforcement sources said on Friday.

Bush thanks Iraqi leaders for security pact help (AP)

AP - President Bush called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday to thank him for pushing through an agreement that sets a three-year time frame for U.S. troops to leave the country, a pact the administration said will put future U.S.-Iraqi relations on a strong footing.

U.S. military frets over Iraqi prisoners (Reuters)

Reuters - They have outraged Iraqis and been condemned by human rights groups, but next year the prisons in which U.S. forces hold thousands of Iraqis will be flung open under a U.S.-Iraq security pact.

Tape recorder bomb kills teenage sisters in Iraq (AFP)

AFP - Three teenage girls were killed in Iraq on Friday, two of them sisters, when one of them found a tape recorder wired with explosives and brought it inside their house, security officials said.

Bush delivers upbeat defense of his Mideast policy (AP)

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Bush delivers upbeat defense of his Mideast policy (AP)

AP - President George W. Bush delivered a broad and upbeat defense of his Mideast policies on Friday, yet cautioned that President-elect Barack Obama will inherit threats from Iran's nuclear programs, an unfinished Israeli-Palestinian peace accord and a fragile democracy in Iraq.

Turkey bombs Kurdish rebels in Iraq: army (AFP)

AFP - Turkish warplanes on Friday bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, the army's general staff said.

New orders for US troops in Iraq after landmark pact (AFP)

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New orders for US troops in Iraq after landmark pact (AFP)

AFP - The top US military commander in Iraq on Friday issued new orders to troops after the Iraqi government approved a landmark military pact that will give it increased control over their operations.

Reporter reflects: 'Their grief is my last remembrance of Iraq' (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - It was hard to see exactly what was happening from the back seat of the beat-up armored Mercedes that was taking me to Baghdad International Airport. Through the dirty, 2-inch-thick windows I could make out four Iraqi soldiers standing on the side of the road, locked together in one big hug. I'd been watching them for a few minutes, along with my driver, Suhaib, and McClatchy's British security adviser, Kevin. Why are they hugging? I wondered.

Turkish planes bomb Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq (AP)

AP - Turkey's military says its air force has attacked Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.

Many oil majors skip Iraq oil expo (AFP)

AFP - Many major global oil companies have stayed away from the first Iraq Energy Expo which opened in Baghdad on Friday, amid uncertainty about plans for oil production partnerships.

New orders for US troops in Iraq after landmark pact (AFP)

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New orders for US troops in Iraq after landmark pact (AFP)

AFP - The top US military commander in Iraq on Friday issued new orders to troops after the Iraqi government approved a landmark military pact that will give it increased control over their operations.

US mulls unusual tactic as Blackwater charges loom (AP)

AP - The Justice Department is readying indictments that could send Blackwater Worldwide guards to prison for at least 30 years for their involvement in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians, people close to the case said.

US cmdr spells out Iraq mission under new pact (AP)

AP - A security pact that sets a timetable for troops to leave Iraq requires a shift in how the U.S. carries out combat missions during its remaining time in the country, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Friday.

Baghdad mayor dreams big in former rebel bastion (AFP)

AFP - When Saber al-Essawy, the mayor of Baghdad, looks out across the crumbling concrete tenements and cratered streets of Baghdad's largest slum he envisions decades of neglect melting away, money flooding in and the gardens blooming.

Iraqi army finds 80 bodies in four mass graves (Reuters)

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Iraqi army finds 80 bodies in four mass graves (Reuters)
Reuters - The Iraqi army unearthed 80 decomposed bodies from four mass graves in northern Iraq's volatile Diyala province, a security source for the region said on Thursday.

Warehoused Asian workers in Iraq will be sent home (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Asian men who've been living in warehouses near the Baghdad airport while awaiting promised jobs with a military subcontractor now are in line to be sent home, and they're still not sure how they'll be paid for their time in Iraq.

Iraq Pact Puts Relations on Strong Footing, U.S. Says (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg - Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. welcomed Iraq’s approval of a security accord that gives American forces three years to leave the country, saying it puts relations between the two countries on a “strong footing.”

At least 15 dead, 147 hurt in Fallujah bombings (AFP)

AFP - At least 15 people died and 147 were hurt, including many schoolchildren, by two suicide vehicle bombs in the former rebel bastion of Fallujah on Thursday, an interior ministry official said.

Bombers return to Fallujah as Iraq-US pact endorsed (AFP)

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Bombers return to Fallujah as Iraq-US pact endorsed (AFP)

AFP - Car bombers killed at least 15 people in a former rebel bastion on Thursday as Iraq's security pact with Washington won final approval before its launch at the end of the month.

Halliburton, KBR sued for unsafe conditions at Iraq base (AFP)

AFP - A civilian employee of US oil services giant Halliburton and government contractor KBR has charged in a lawsuit the companies exposed thousands of workers to unhealthy, contaminated conditions at an Iraqi military base.

Testimony doesn't link US soldier to 4 dead Iraqis (AP)

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Testimony doesn't link US soldier to 4 dead Iraqis (AP)
AP - A defense lawyer told a military court Thursday that witnesses had provided insufficient evidence to support charges that a U.S. Army sergeant was involved in killing four Iraqi men found bound, blindfolded, shot and dumped in a Baghdad canal.

US hails Iraq accord, sees ties on 'strong footing' (AFP)

AFP - The White House on Thursday hailed Iraq's approval of a controversial security pact that gives US combat troops three years to leave, saying it will set long-term ties on a "strong footing."

Tonga, most other coalition countries leaving Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers)
McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — The Tongan marines left with a song, their vowel-rich war choruses echoing in the marble halls of a palace built for Saddam Hussein but now occupied by the U.S. military.