Iraq is making friends again (for now)
Jeff Severns Guntzel, Electronic Iraq (Aug 13, 2008)
On Monday King Abdullah of Jordan became the first Arab leader to visit Iraq since the invasion and occupation in 2003. Other regional powers have been engaging the country as violence has dipped. Bahrain is setting up an embassy (a diplomat was held hostage for two weeks in 2006), UAE has appointed an ambassador, and Egypt's considering sending an ambassador (their last envoy was killed in 2005). Iraq is making friends again--for now at least. Reuters has a sort of state-of-regional-relations roundup.
A Tale of Three Cities
Jeff Severns Guntzel, Electronic Iraq (Jun 21, 2008)
Don't miss Brooklyn photographer Moises Saman's from Basra, Mosel and Sadr City over at the New York Times site. The slide show accompanies the paper's "What’s going right? And can it last?"
"Changing Lives": Young Iraqi women filmmakers tell their stories
Noah Baker Merrill, Electronic Iraq (May 15, 2008)
A powerful story from young Iraqi refugees and immigrants in Australia: Young Iraqi women living in Western Sydney have created digital stories about their experiences - harrowing journeys by boat to Australia, their time in detention, stories of longing for family left behind, and dreams of future lives in a new land.
The landscape of broken lenses
Noah Baker Merrill, Electronic Iraq (Mar 26, 2008)
Yesterday news reports began streaming in of a "major security operation" being conducted by the Iraqi security forces, backed by US air and other support, in many parts of Southern Iraq. The main target appears to be the Mahdi Army, which has observed a ceasefire for many months. That ceasefire now seems strained to the breaking point. Moqtada Sadr has called for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience, and many Sadrist-controlled areas are responding. But while news reports vary in their ability to place these ongoing developments in context, most are missing the most essential dynamics at work.
Framing Iraq's politics, and partition by other names
Noah Baker Merrill, Electronic Iraq (Mar 10, 2008)
One of the most destructive qualities of how events in Iraq are framed in the English-language media is the oversimplification of Iraq's political actors into three groups: Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds. A recent article by Reidar Visser in Middle East Report is a much-needed reminder - through the lens of the debate over the proposed Shiite "super region" - that without understanding the true dynamics and complexities of Iraq's politics, there is little hope of understanding paths toward a better future for Iraq's people.
International Crisis Group on the Mahdi Army Ceasefire
Noah Baker Merrill, Electronic Iraq (Feb 11, 2008)
While speculation continues on the reasons for a reduction in violent deaths in parts of Iraq in recent months, one thing is clear: It has a lot to do with the Mahdi Army. A new report from the International Crisis Group assesses the role that the Mahdi Army's ceasefire has played in reducing violence in Iraq in recent months, and makes recommendations to all parties involved about next steps.
A window on returnees
Noah Baker Merrill, Electronic Iraq (Feb 6, 2008)
The Iraqi and US governments have made much of the return of small numbers of displaced people to Baghdad. An article today casts light on the tenuous nature of the "safety" that has allowed some to go home. Also, a recent UN report says that more Iraqis are again entering Syria than returning to Iraq.
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