Quil Lawrence : NPR

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Iraq Cracks Down On Iranian Dissident Group

July 30, 2009 • Members of an Iranian opposition group have been complaining of a deadly crackdown by Iraqi authorities. The People's Mujahideen, known by its initials MEK, has lived in a cloistered camp inside Iraq for decades and been under U.S. military protection until the beginning of this year. This week, some members of the group were killed when Iraqi police tried to enter the camp.

Iraq Cracks Down On Iranian Dissident Group

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Man's Best Bomb-Sniffing Friend Taboo In Iraq

July 27, 2009 • One of the most useful security tools is also one of the most difficult for Iraqis to accept because of a cultural taboo. Sniffer dogs are universally recognized as the most effective means of detecting explosives, but Iraqis consider dogs unclean.

Man's Best Bomb-Sniffing Friend Taboo In Iraq

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Opposition Claims Gains In Self-Ruled Kurdish Region

July 27, 2009 • Preliminary results from the elections held in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq over the weekend defied conventional wisdom. A movement calling itself "Change," which also borrowed the "yes we can" slogan from the Obama campaign, made a surprisingly strong showing. The reshuffling of Kurdish politics may have a ripple effect in Baghdad and beyond.

Opposition Claims Gains In Self-Ruled Kurdish Region

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'Change' Party Rallies Ahead Of Kurdistan Election

July 23, 2009 • The autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan is experiencing something it's unaccustomed to: an election in which no one knows the results in advance. The election will have consequences for the tense standoff between Arabs and Kurds in Iraq — friction that threatens to derail the Obama administration's plan for an orderly withdrawal.

'Change' Party Rallies Ahead Of Kurdistan Election

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U.S. Visit A Balancing Act For Iraq's Maliki

July 21, 2009 • Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki makes his first visit to the Obama White House on Wednesday. With the election season under way in Iraq, Maliki will be keeping an eye on domestic politics there while he's in the United States. He risks losing votes if he's seen as too pro-American, but he's counting on U.S. support at the United Nations.

U.S. Visit A Balancing Act For Iraq's Maliki

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U.S. Military Holds Iraqi Journalist Without Charge

July 20, 2009 • American forces arrested Iraqi cameraman Ibrahim Jassam last year and continue to hold him, without charge, in a U.S. military prison camp — even as the United States transfers jurisdiction to Iraqi authorities. The U.S. says he is a "high-security threat," but offers no evidence.

U.S. Military Holds Iraqi Journalist Without Charge

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In Iraq, Kurdish-Arab Tensions Simmer

July 17, 2009 • Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will be in Washington next week. His visit comes as the president of the Iraqi Kurdish region says ethnic tension is driving Iraq's Kurds and the central government in Baghdad dangerously close to confrontation.

In Iraq, Kurdish-Arab Tensions Simmer

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To Many Iraqis, U.S. Troops Have Not Faded Away

July 13, 2009 • Nearly two weeks after U.S. combat troops officially pulled out of Iraq's cities, the government in Baghdad says the arrangement is going smoothly. Many Iraqis, however, aren't so sure and are questioning why American soldiers are still on their streets.

To Many Iraqis, U.S. Troops Have Not Faded Away

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Iraqi Insurgents Turn To Small But Deadly Weapon

July 10, 2009 • U.S. military officials are hard at work on a strategy to defend against a weapon insurgents have been using with increasing frequency in Iraq. The RKG-3 grenade looks like a tin can on a long stick and can be easily concealed in a crowd.

Iraqi Insurgents Turn To Small But Deadly Weapon

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New Generation Of Iraqi Military Pilots Looks To Sky

July 3, 2009 • Iraq's military pilots once enjoyed elite status in the country's armed forces. But the Iraqi airforce hasn't really flown for 18 years. At an American airbase outside the city of Kirkuk, a young generation of pilots is learning to fly again.

New Generation Of Iraqi Military Pilots Looks To Sky

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Kirkuk In Question, U.S. Troops Leave Iraqi Cities

June 30, 2009 • U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities Tuesday. But as the U.S. military steps back, it will also be losing influence in Iraq's many outstanding disputes — one of which is over northern Iraq's Kirkuk, home to many of Iraq's ethnic and religious groups, and the country's vast oil wealth.

Kirkuk In Question, U.S. Troops Leave Iraqi Cities

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U.S. Combat Troops Leave Iraqi Cities

June 30, 2009 • For the first time in six years, Baghdad and other Iraqi cities are almost completely free of U.S. combat troops. Iraq's government declared a national holiday to celebrate the occasion, but a deadly car bomb in the city of Kirkuk provided a grim reminder of the challenges ahead.

U.S. Combat Troops Leave Iraqi Cities

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U.S. Troops Withdraw From Iraqi Cities

June 30, 2009 • Iraqi forces are in full formal control of Baghdad and other cities. American troops have handed over security in urban areas to Iraqi troops in a defining step toward ending the U.S. combat role in the country.

U.S. Troops Withdraw From Iraqi Cities

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Deadline Nears For Iraqi Security Handover

June 29, 2009 • By Tuesday, all but a small number of U.S. troops are to have left Iraq's urban areas, leaving security in the hands of Iraqi soldiers and police. Americans will take a supporting and advisory role. Iraqis and Americans are greeting the day with a mix of relief and anxiety.

Deadline Nears For Iraqi Security Handover

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Security Tightens In Baghdad As Deadline Looms

June 28, 2009 • Security tightened in Baghdad on Sunday as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraq's cities draws near. This major transition is supposed to happen by Tuesday, but with a series of deadly insurgent attacks around the country, some are wondering if Iraqi forces are up to the challenge.

Security Tightens In Baghdad As Deadline Looms

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