Iraq Prime Minister's Office, ho/AP Photo
In this image released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's Office, Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, right, shakes hands with his Turkish counterpart Receb Tayyip Erdogan, during a meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009.
...Turkish-Iraqi ties have been warming since the 2003 (click here) U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, but raids by Turkish forces pursuing Kurdish rebels who use northern Iraq as a stronghold have been a consistent sore point in relations.
Nouri al-Maliki delivered the message to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Baghdad, the Iraqi government spokesman said.
"Iraq's prime minister reiterated that the government will not allow any forces to cross Iraqi borders," said Ali al-Dabbagh.
In a statement delivered later Tuesday by Erdogan as he stood next to al-Maliki at the end of the visit, the Turkish leader said Turkey respects Iraqi sovereignty but emphasized that the Kurdish rebels are a threat to its security and that it will continue to combat them in the future....
85,000 people are a lot of people. Some would say that is an underestimate. I probably is. In 2003, Fallujah was a city of 600,000 people in 2003. 85,000 seems like an underestimate. There are still those in refugee camps and the Iraqi government can't say for sure all their citizens are accounted for within all the dispersals over the years since March 2003.
Iraq says 85,000 violently killed (click here)
Page last updated at 17:24 GMT, Wednesday, 14 October 2009 18:24 UK
Just over 85,000 Iraqis were killed in Iraq between 2004 and 2008, according to the first estimate from the Iraqi government since the war began.
The figure is based on death certificates issued by the ministry of health and included 15,000 unidentified bodies.
It counts violent deaths of military, police and civilians, but does not include foreigners or insurgents.
Previous attempts to calculate the number of dead have been controversial.
Past reports have used a number of different methods to produce estimates ranging from more than 100,000 to well over half a million deaths since 2003.
The Ministry of Human Rights included the figure in a larger report into human rights in the country....
It would seem the Iraqi army and police are being loyal to their leadership. They are fighting and dying to secure their country.
FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Oct 15 (click here)
Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:43am EDT
Oct 15 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 1230 GMT on Thursday.* denotes a new or updated item*
MOSUL - A roadside bomb killed one policeman and wounded another officer and three civilians in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.*
MOSUL - A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded one civilian in eastern Mosul, police said.*
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded two others and one civilian in north Baghdad's Adhamiya district, police said.
KIRKUK - A roadside bomb wounded four Iraqi policemen in southern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said.
TUZ KHURMATO - A roadside bomb wounded a member of the Kurdish security forces on Wednesday in Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (105 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
RAMADI - An assailant attacked and wounded a local journalist on Wednesday in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Returning to Iraq: Oregon Army National Guard soldiers on leave reenter the war zone (click here)
By Mike Francis, The Oregonian
October 15, 2009, 5:25PM
KUWAIT CITY – It feels like any commercial flight, this Ryan Air 767 out of Dallas. "Get Smart" plays on the movie screens in each cabin, and flight attendants walk the aisles, collecting napkins and plastic cups. And then the pilot turns on the intercom and delivers an ambivalent welcome. "We're sorry to have to bring you back, but hopefully we'll see you on another one of our flights real soon, when you're coming home for good."...
Exclusive: Army Brigade Will Not Go to Iraq in January as Scheduled (click here)
Move Frees Up an Additional Combat Unit That Could Be Sent to Afghanistan
By LUIS MARTINEZ
Oct. 15, 2009
In perhaps another sign of the improving security situation in Iraq, an Army brigade slated to replace a departing unit this January has received orders not to deploy, defense officials told ABC News....
And this time when we leave a war behind we are doing it the right way. We aren't leaving enough munitions in the country for them to start and conduct still another war. The USA is leaving and taking everything home. I would think the USA and its allies need most of it in Afghanistan.
Leaving Iraq Is a Feat That Requires an Army (click title to entry - thank you)
By MARC SANTORA
Published: October 8, 2009
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq — There is no more visible sign that America is putting the Iraq war behind it than the colossal operation to get its stuff out: 20,000 soldiers, nearly a sixth of the force here, assigned to a logistical effort aimed at dismantling some 300 bases and shipping out 1.5 million pieces of equipment, from tanks to coffee makers.
It is the largest movement of soldiers and matériel in more than four decades, the military said.
By itself, such a withdrawal would be daunting, but it is further complicated by attacks from an insurgency that remains active; the sensitivities of the Iraqi government about a visible American presence; disagreements with the Iraqis about what will be left for them; and consideration for what equipment is urgently needed in Afghanistan....
