Summary: Baghdad has been much calmer since sectarian violence peaked in late 2006 and the first half of 2007. However, the calm has been achieved in part because the city is now ethnically divided, with Shiites predominating and Sunnis having largely fled.

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Summary: A rocket attack on a U.N. compound in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone has killed two foreigners and wounded 15. … A suicide bomber struck Shiite worshippers at a mosque run by followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, killing at least 12 people, a day after Iraqi lawmakers approved a status-of-forces agreement with the Bush administration. … The Iraqi parliament’s approval of a security pact with the U.S. has propelled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki into a position of strength unsurpassed among Iraqi political leaders since the fall of Saddam Hussein; however, it has also set the stage for a power struggle in the run-up to the 2010 Iraqi elections, which may weaken Maliki’s dominance.

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Summary: On the 20th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on mass-casualty bombings in Baghdad and a lecture by Juan Cole on the foreign policy implications of the Iraq war.

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Summary: On the sixth day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on a mass-casualty car bombing in Iraq and announced three upcoming events at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., with a focus on foreign policy and international affairs.

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