Summary: Iraq Body Count, a British group monitoring Iraqi civilian deaths, said in its 2010 annual report that the number of fatalities has dropped slightly since 2009 but warned of lingering, low-intensity conflict in the years ahead. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 29, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that an Afghan soldier killed a U.S. service member and wounded two Italian soldiers in western Afghanistan, while Pakistani authorities appealed for calm after a bombing against a Shiite Muslim procession marking the holy day of Ashoura killed 43 in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: In the first comprehensive tally released since the war began, Iraq’s Human Rights Ministry reports that 85,694 Iraqis lost their lives from 2004-2008 and 147,195 were wounded. The count includes Iraqi civilians, military, and police but not U.S. military deaths, insurgents, or foreigners, including contractors or U.S. forces, and it did not include the first months of the war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. … On the 35th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman reported on the increasing incidence of attacks by female suicide bombers — the mujahidaat — in Iraq and examined some of the factors behind this emerging threat.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: Bombs exploded near five Shiite mosques in Baghdad on July 31, 2009, killing at least 29 people, in an apparent coordinated attack that targeted worshippers leaving Friday prayers. … August 2009 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 17th day of his 2008 campaign against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman took Rep. Bachmann to task for talking almost exclusively about energy issues such as the price of gasoline in her reelection campaign, while ignoring important national security concerns.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: Iraqis are skeptical that much will change after June 30, 2009 withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from urban areas. … June was the deadliest month for Iraqis in 2009. … July 2009 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. … Two U.S. troops killed in attack on U.S. base in Afghanistan. … U.S. soldier reported missing, believed captured, in Afghanistan. … Four U.S. troops killed in Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan roadside bombing.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: An attacker wearing an Iraqi army uniform shot dead two U.S. soldiers outside the volatile northern city of Mosul, Iraq, on May 2, 2009. … May 2009 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. … Security incidents in Iraq on May 2, 2009, as reported by Reuters.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: With the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq in sight, the cost of leaving is now measured in financial, logistical, and — above all — political terms. The U.S. withdrawal from Iraq will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. … March 2009 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. … The Pentagon reports that up to 18 deaths of soldiers in February 2008 may have been suicides.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: A female suicide bomber killed at least 38 and wounded 72 in an attack on pilgrims entering the revered Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in Kadhimiya, northwestern Baghdad, on January 4, 2009. … Security incidents in Iraq on Jan. 3, 2009, as reported by Reuters. … January 2008 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: Between 8,300 and 9,000 civilians were killed in Iraq in 2008, bringing the total number of civilian deaths since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to at least 98,400, according to Iraq Body Count.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: President George W. Bush says the biggest regret of his presidency was flawed intelligence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, telling ABC World News in an interview airing December 1, 2008 that he was unprepared for war when he took office. … December 2008 update of key facts, figures, and statistics on Iraq since the war began in March 2003. … Security developments in Iraq on December 1, 2008, as reported by Reuters.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: Racial incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are shattering the post-election illusion of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America. There have been “hundreds” of incidents since the election, many more than usual, said Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate crimes. … Update on military and civilian deaths in Iraq.

  ::  Read Comments (0)