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.

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Summary: The security situation in Iraq remains fragile and uncertain as the U.S. hands over security to Iraqi forces in accordance with the Bush administration’s status-of-forces agreement with Iraq.

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Iraq’s prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid as a “crime” that violated its security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.

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Summary: Cheered wildly by U.S. troops, President Barack Obama flew unannounced into Iraq and promptly declared it is time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country” after America’s commitment of six years and thousands of lives.

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Summary: A roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan killed four NATO troops, while bombings and clashes elsewhere in the country killed 14 more people. … A suicide bomber in a police uniform detonated inside a police headquarters in southern Afghanistan, killing 11 people and wounding 29. … Iraq’s prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said any U.S. withdrawals “must be done with our approval” and in coordination with the Iraqi government. … The U.S. military confirmed that U.S. forces shot down an unmanned Iranian aircraft in Iraqi airspace. … At least 4,259 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war.

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Summary: Suicide rates among active-duty U.S. military personnel are continuing to rise even as the Defense Department dedicates more resources to identifying troubled service members and getting them the help they need. Preliminary figures confirm at least 125 soldiers killed themselves in 2008, compared with 115 in 2007, 102 in 2006 and 87 in 2005.

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Summary: The upcoming January 2009 provincial elections will be Iraqis’ fourth national ballot since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime. … David Enders of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting examines the power struggle among competing Shiite factions in Iraq.

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Summary: Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on the Iraqi resistance to stage “revenge operations” against American forces to protest Israel’s Gaza offensive.

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Iraq’s fractious parliament squeezed its abrasive speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani out of a job and authorized non-U.S. foreign troops to stay in the country for another half-year, a pair of high-stakes moves in its final session of 2008.

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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.

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