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Quil Lawrence Quil Lawrence is a New York-based correspondent for NPR News, covering veterans' issues nationwide.
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Iraq's Truckers In It For The Long, Dangerous Haul

Trucks carrying goods from Iran to Iraq queue for inspection about 90 miles from the southeastern Iraqi city of Amara. These days, Iraqi truckers face more delays than mortal danger while working, but life remains a challenge. Essam al-Sudani/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Essam al-Sudani/AFP/Getty Images

World

Iraq's Truckers In It For The Long, Dangerous Haul

Truckers in Iraq are intimately familiar with the struggle to balance security with freedom of movement in a country plagued by bombings and attacks. A ride along with a driver illustrates how difficult the life is, and how it's still the best way for these Iraqis to make a living.

Iraq's Truckers In It For The Long, Dangerous Haul

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World

Kurdish Doctor Leaves U.S. For Iraqi Politics

Dr. Najmaldeen Karim is going back to Iraq to run in the 2010 elections. The Washington D.C.-area neurosurgeon fled his homeland in 1975. Now he's leaving a comfortable life in the U.S. to try for a seat in the Iraqi parliament representing the Kurds of Kirkuk, one of Iraq's ethnic flash points.

Kurdish Doctor Leaves U.S. For Iraqi Politics

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World

Iraq Executes Chemical Ali

Iraqi TV announced Monday the execution of Chemical Ali, one of Saddam Hussein's top lieutenants. Chemical Ali, whose real name was Ali Hassan al-Majid, was sentenced to death in four separate trials for leading attacks against Iraqi Kurds and Shiites that left tens of thousand dead.

Iraq Executes Chemical Ali

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World

Explosions Rock Baghdad Hotels

Coordinated attacks on three hotels compounds killed dozens of people in Baghdad Monday. The Sheraton, Babylon and Hamra hotels were targeted in the attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers. NPR's bureau is located in the Hamra hotel.

Explosions Rock Baghdad Hotels

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Biden's Task: Defuse Iraq Election Strife

Vice President Joe Biden (right) concludes a meeting with Iraqi Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi on Jan. 14 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images

World

Biden's Task: Defuse Iraq Election Strife

When an Iraqi committee disqualified more than 500 candidates in the March 7 election for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, it theatened to reopen a rift between Sunnis and Shiites. Some prominent Sunnis were barred, and concern spread across Sunni Iraq that Shiites in government were trying to cut them out of the race. The vice president aims for a compromise that will allow Iraq to hold a successful election and, in turn, allow the U.S. to begin its planned drawdown of troops.

Biden's Task: Defuse Iraq Election Strife

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World

Sunni's Disqualification Threatens Iraq Reconciliation

A ruling last week disqualified one of the most important Sunni Arab politicians from running in the March elections, on charges that he is connected to Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party. The move could alienate Sunni Arab voters and threaten. The prime minister has made warnings of a Ba'athist resurgence a central theme of his campaign.

Sunni's Disqualification Threatens Iraq Reconciliation

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Violence Returns To Anbar As U.S. Steps Back

Debris litters the road after two bombings in the western city of Ramadi, about 60 miles from Baghdad, on Dec. 30. Violence has escalated recently in Anbar province, once the stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq. Azhar Shallal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Azhar Shallal/AFP/Getty Images

World

Violence Returns To Anbar As U.S. Steps Back

Iraq's western Anbar province played a role in defeating Iraqi insurgents as local tribal fighters turned on al-Qaida in Iraq. But a slow drumbeat of assassinations and bombings raises questions about stability in the province, as insurgents appear to be exploiting a complicated power struggle.

Violence Returns To Anbar As U.S. Steps Back

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National Security

Airline Passengers Abroad React To Tougher Security

This week, the Obama administration placed 14 so-called "countries of interest" on a list. People traveling through those countries en route to the U.S. will be subject to extra-intense screening. NPR correspondents check in with passengers at airports in two of the countries -- Iraq and Nigeria -- and in Italy, which is a key transit point for travelers headed to the U.S.

Airline Passengers Abroad React To Tougher Security

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World

Some Iraqis Choose Perils Of Home Over Life In U.S.

In 2008, thousands of Iraqis began applying for visas to the U.S. under a special State Department program. Now, some applicants are having second thoughts, fearful about economic prospects and other challenges of living in a foreign land.

Some Iraqis Choose Perils Of Home Over Life In U.S.

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Iraqi Women Taking Aim At Parliament Again

When security in Iraq began to erode, the effort to politically empower women fell by the wayside. Alaa al-Marjani/AP hide caption

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Alaa al-Marjani/AP

World

Iraqi Women Taking Aim At Parliament Again

In Iraq, women have long fought to grab a significant share of seats in the country's parliament. With elections scheduled for early March, many female lawmakers in Iraq say they are still struggling to be accepted.

Iraqi Women Taking Aim At Parliament Again

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World

Dismissal Of Blackwater Charges Infuriates Iraqis

Iraqis are reacting angrily to Thursday's dismissal by a U.S. judge of all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards charged in the deadly shooting of civilians in Baghdad in 2007. Meanwhile, as U.S. forces prepare to begin withdrawing from the country, casualty figures among Americans have dropped dramatically.

Dismissal Of Blackwater Charges Infuriates Iraqis

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Middle East

Iranian Dissidents Find Escape Route Through Iraq

Demonstrations in Iran have been centered in big cities, and so far haven't gained traction in the traditionally rebellious Kurdish province in the northwest of the country. But while Kurdish Iranians don't appear quite ready to join the opposition movement, they do seem to be helping dissidents from Tehran escape to Iraq on their way to Europe.

Iranian Dissidents Find Escape Route Through Iraq

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Is The Worst Over In Iraq?

2009 was the most peaceful year in Iraq for some time. While a spate of recent bombings shows that the capital is still vulnerable, many Iraqis hope the worst sectarian violence is behind them.

Is The Worst Over In Iraq?

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Iraqi Christians' Christmas: A Mostly Silent Night

Father Saad Sirop Hanna of St. Joseph's Church in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad greets worshippers at the Christmas Eve Mass. Susannah George/NPR hide caption

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Susannah George/NPR

World

Iraqi Christians' Christmas: A Mostly Silent Night

Christians in Iraq are celebrating the birth of Jesus with some trepidation. This year, Dec. 25 coincides with one of the most important dates on the Shiite Muslim calendar. So Iraqi Christians are refraining from public signs of celebration out of respect for — or fear of — their Muslim neighbors.

Iraqi Christians' Christmas: A Mostly Silent Night

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World

Iraqi Shiite Party Spends Millions On Mausoleum

Incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is hoping for a repeat of last January's provincial elections — that's when Iraqi voters rejected overtly religious parties and turned to his more secular slate. Luckily for him, those religious parties don't seem to have gotten the message. One of the largest Shiite religious parties is spending millions on an Iranian-style mausoleum to its fallen leaders. It's by far the biggest construction in the city of Najaf, but residents say they'd rather see the money spent on services.

Iraqi Shiite Party Spends Millions On Mausoleum

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