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Archive for December, 2008

Dec 23rd, 2008

Summary: The Army began an investigation after being prodded by Amanda Henderson, wife of Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Henderson, an Iraq combat veteran who spent the final months of his life as an Army recruiter before hanging himself with a dog chain in his backyard shed. In all, 15 of the Army’s 8,400 recruiters have committed suicide since 2003, with more than 540 of the Army’s half-million active-duty soldiers killing themselves.


Dec 22nd, 2008

Summary: The brother of Muntadhar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, says his apology letter was written against his will after he was tortured in detention. The shoe-throwing incident received worldwide media coverage and al-Zeidi has become a potent symbol for opponents of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.


Dec 21st, 2008

Summary: In its annual list of “top 10” humanitarian crises, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said many of the countries on this year’s list — including Somalia, Pakistan, Sudan, and Iraq — illustrated the growing difficulties aid groups faced. The 2008 list included Somalia, Myanmar (Burma), eastern Congo, Zimbabwe, global malnutrition, Ethiopia’s Somali region, Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan, Sudan (including Darfur), Iraq, and HIV/TB co-infection.


Dec 20th, 2008

Summary: Iraq’s parliament has voted to reject a draft law that allows troops from Britain, Australia, and several other countries to remain in Iraq beyond the end of 2008.



Summary: Zimbabwe has collapsed, and the world must act now to keep it from deteriorating into Somalia-scale chaos, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer. … Personality profile of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe by Aubrey Immelman and Adam Beatty, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics. … For the sixth consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest place for journalists in 2008, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.


Dec 18th, 2008

Summary: At least 25 Iraqi interior ministry officials have been arrested, including several accused of planning a coup, according to newspaper reports. … The Iraqi government has accused U.S. forces of killing at least three Trade Ministry employees in a pre-dawn raid on ministry property in Baghdad. … Iraqi police say attackers have shot and beheaded Nahla Hussein al-Shaly, 37, leader of the women’s league of the Kurdish Communist Party, reportedly because she promoted women’s rights in Iraq.


Dec 17th, 2008

Summary: The speaker of Iraq’s parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, announced his resignation after a parliamentary session descended into chaos as lawmakers argued about whether to free a journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush. … In an interview with ABC News, Vice President Dick Cheney attempted to justify the decision to invade Iraq. … A double-bombing targeting traffic police in Baghdad killed at least 18 people and wounded 52. … Raed Fahmy, Iraq’s Minister of Science and Technology, escaped injury in a car bomb explosion that appeared to be an assassination attempt.


Dec 16th, 2008

Ottis Toole, a serial killer who died more than a decade ago is the person who decapitated the 6-year-old son of “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh in 1981, according to Florida police. The announcement brought to a close a case that has haunted the Walsh family for more than two decades, launched the television show about the nation’s most notorious criminals, and inspired changes in how authorities search for missing children.


Dec 16th, 2008

Summary: Thousands of Iraqis took to the streets to demand the release of Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush, as Arabs across the Middle East hailed the journalist as a hero and praised his insult as a proper send-off to the U.S. president upon leaving office.


Dec 15th, 2008

Summary: An Iraqi reporter hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush on a farewell visit to Baghdad, shouting in Arabic, “This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog.”