Operation Iraqi Freedom/External links: Year Five (Part Two)

Year Five - Beyond Quagmire of Operation Iraqi Freedom commenced on March 19, 2007.

This section is Part 2 and covers May through July 2007.


 * Part 1 covers March 19, 2007 - April 30, 2007
 * Part 3 begins with August 1, 2007

Also see Task Bar for more links.

Background

 * "Iraq on the Record: The Bush Administration's Public Statements on Iraq" presented by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform website. Searchable by name of Bush administration official, topic, or key word.
 * "A Timeline of the Iraq War" from Think Progress.

May 2007

 * "'Mission Accomplished' By The Numbers," Think Progress, May 1, 2007.
 * See "Mission Accomplished" May 1, 2003.


 * Dan Froomkin, "Four Years After 'Mission Accomplished'," White House Watch Blog/Washington Post, May 1, 2007.
 * Greg Mitchell, "Back in the Days of 'Mission Accomplished'," Editor & Publisher, May 1, 2007.
 * Tom Engelhardt, "Mission Unaccomplished," The Nation, May 1, 2007.
 * Anne Flaherty and Jennifer Loven, "Democrats Send Iraq Timeline to Bush," Associated Press (Forbes), May 1, 2007.
 * Arwa Damon, "Shadowy Iraq office accused of sectarian agenda," CNN, May 1, 2007.
 * Paul Campos, Opinion: "Bush's farewell tantrum," Rocky Mountain News, May 1, 2007.
 * GregP, "Jim Webb: 'The United States military is not going to change the societal makeup of Iraq'," Daily Kos, May 1, 2007.
 * "Bush vetoes war-funding bill with withdrawal timetable," CNN, May 1, 2007.
 * "ABC: Reports Of Masri’s Death False, ‘Part Of A Misinformation Campaign’," Think Progress, May 1, 2007. re al Qaeda
 * Nancy A. Youssef, "April in Iraq: 5th straight month of 80+ U.S. war dead," McClatchy Newspapers (Seattle Times), May 1, 2007.
 * Sudarsan Raghavan and Karin Brulliard, "April Toll Is Highest Of '07 for U.S. Troops. Over 100 Killed in Month; Iraqi Deaths Far Higher," Washington Post, May 2, 2007.
 * Hamid Ahmed, "Military: 4,000 U.S. soldiers arrive in Baghdad to strengthen crackdown," Associated Press (San Diego Union-Tribune; Forbes), May 2, 2007.
 * "Moving troops into small bases gets them closer to Iraqis — but adds risks," Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), May 2, 2007.
 * Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Jeff Zeleny, "Bush Vetoes Bill Tying Iraq Funds to Exit," New York Times, May 2, 2007.
 * Edward Epstein, "War bill vetoed -- GOP lines waver," San Francisco Chronicle, May 2, 2007.
 * Barbara Slavin, "U.S. diplomats returning from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder," USA TODAY, May 2, 2007.
 * Gregory Levey, "Northern exposure. American soldiers are fleeing the Iraq war for Canada -- and U.S. officials may be on their trail. North of the border is no longer the safe haven it was during the Vietnam era," Salon, May 3, 2007.
 * JoAnn Wypijewski, "Damned Weaklings. The Army’s Abuse of Its Own Extends Far Beyond Walter Reed," The Washington Spectator (Common Dreams), May 3, 2007.
 * Greg Flakus, "US Defense Secretary says Iraq War Long, Difficult," Voice of America News, May 3, 2007.
 * "Study: Anxiety, depression, acute stress in combat troops," CNN, May 4, 2007.
 * Al Pessin, "Iraq, Afghan Wars Cause Concern in US Military About Readiness," Voice of America News, May 4, 2007.
 * Al Pessin, "US General Predicts More Casualties as Iraq Surge Continues," Voice of America News, May 4, 2007.
 * Patrick Cockburn, "Beyond the Green Zone's 'Gated Community,' Bush's Surge Is Failing," CounterPunch (AlterNet), May 5, 2007.
 * Thomas E. Ricks and Ann Scott Tyson, "Troops at Odds With Ethics Standards. Army Also Finds More Deployment Means More Mental Illness," Washington Post (Boston Globe), May 5, 2007.
 * Tina Susman, "U.S. expects rise in troop casualties. General says toll will grow as more forces deploy in security plan. Eight Americans die in three separate attacks," Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2008.
 * Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes, "Defense secretary's stance on Iraq strategy in question. Gates' timetable views seem to undercut White House; officials deny it," Baltimore Sun, May 7, 2007.
 * "Pentagon identifies 35,000 more troops for Iraq," Reuters (Washington Post), May 8, 2007.
 * "35,000 soldiers told to prep for Iraq," Think Progress, May 8, 2007 (with comments).
 * Ann Scott Tyson, "Troops at Baghdad Outposts Seek Safety in Fortifications," Washington Post, May 8, 2007.
 * Greg Mitchell, "Gen. Petraeus and the $2000 Payoff," Editor & Publisher, May 8, 2007.
 * Nico Pitney, "Murtha: Bush May Double Forced Iraq Extensions," Think Progress, May 8, 2007.
 * Jonathan Weisman and Thomas E. Ricks, "September Could Be Key Deadline in War. Lawmakers Call for Proof of Progress by Fall," Washington Post, May 8, 2007.
 * Carl Hulse, "House Democrats May Seek Short-Term Financing of War," New York Times, May 8, 2007.
 * Noam N. Levey, "Democrats plan 'short leash' for war funds. Iraq must report progress on such issues as containing militias. The White House calls the proposal 'bad management'," Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2007.
 * Ann Scott Tyson, "Commanders in Iraq See 'Surge' Into '08. Pentagon to Deploy 35,000 Replacement Troops," Washington Post, May 9, 2007.
 * Raed Jarrar and Joshua Holland, "Majority of Iraqi Lawmakers Now Reject Occupation," AlterNet, May 9, 2007.
 * Nico Pitney, "Gates Contradicts Bush, Says ‘I Don’t Know’ If 2002 War Authorization Is Still Valid," Think Progress, May 9, 2007.
 * Tom Raum, "Cheney Addresses U.S. Troops in Tikrit," Associated Press (Washington Post), May 10, 2007.
 * Shailagh Murray and Jonathan Weisman, "Bush Told War Is Harming The GOP. A Warning on Eve Of Vote on New Bill," Washington Post, May 10, 2007.
 * Joshua Partlow, "Iraqi Lawmakers Back Bill on US Withdrawal," Washington Post (truthout), May 11, 2007.
 * "U.S. commander in Iraq warns against torture, abuses," Reuters, May 11, 2007.
 * "Hate to Be So TDS/Colbert-Centric, But...," Hoffmania!, May 11, 2007. Colbert with Reza Aslan, CBS News' Middle East expert, on al Qaeda "insurgency" in Iraq.
 * "U.S. Commander in Northern Iraq Says He Doesn't Have Enough Troops," Associated Press (Wall Street Journal), May 11, 2007.
 * Jeremy Scahill, "Outsourcing the War," The Nation (Common Dreams), May 12, 2007. re private military contractors
 * David S. Cloud, "Pentagon Opens Inquiry of Troop-Support Group," New York Times, May 12, 2007. re America Supports You
 * Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "See You in September, Whatever That Means," New York Times, May 13, 2007.
 * Matt Corley, "Tucker: Active-Duty Generals Will ‘Revolt’ Against Bush If He Maintains Escalation Into 2008," Think Progress, May 13, 2007.
 * Kristin Roberts, "U.S. National Guard chief says funds lagging risks," Reuters, May 13, 2007.
 * "Republican senator slams Iraqi government," Reuters, May 13, 2007.
 * Peter Beaumont, "'More troops' call as Iraq murders soar. 234 bodies dumped in Baghdad in only 11 days," The Observer (UK), May 13, 2007.
 * Tina Susman, "Iraqis resist U.S. pressure to enact oil law. Foreign investment and Shiite control are the primary concerns. A White House deadline for passage is in doubt," Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2007. re Oil and War in Iraq
 * "Blood and oil: How the West will profit from Iraq's most precious commodity," The Independent (UK), May 14, 2007.
 * "Gen. Eaton: If Bush won’t listen, Congress must," Think Progress, May 14, 2007. re VoteVets.org ad
 * "Death squad activity up over 70 percent in a month," The Raw Story, May 14, 2007.
 * "Raucous Iraqi Parliament Makes Little Progress," Morning Edition NPR, May 15, 2007: "Mahmoud Othman says Iraqi lawmakers are already taking off more time than members of the U.S. Congress know about. ... 'Every month we work two weeks,' Othman said. 'That's another point people should know about ... we are working half the time. So it's two-to-three hours a day, two weeks a month and then there is a holiday. So it's sort of a disaster.'"
 * "War-torn Iraq 'facing collapse'. Iraq faces the distinct possibility of collapse and fragmentation, UK foreign policy think tank Chatham House says," BBC News, May 17, 2007. See May 2007 Chatham House paper: "Accepting Realities in Iraq."
 * Nico Pitney, "Petraeus: September Report On Escalation Will Not Say ‘Anything Definitive’," Think Progress, May 17, 2007.
 * Scarecrow, "What We’re Building in Iraq," Firedoglake, May 19, 2007. See permanent U.S. bases in Iraq
 * Satyam Khanna,"Pentagon Making Preparations To Keep Tens Of Thousands Of Troops In Iraq For ‘Decades’," Think Progress, May 21, 2007: "This so-called 'lily-pad' strategy entails keeping a 'series of military installations around Iraq,' with tens of thousands of U.S. troops remaining in the country for as long as a few decades."
 * Scarecrow, "Coalition Of The Had Enough," Firedoglake, May 21, 2007. See coalition of the willing.
 * Stewart M. Powell, "Second Iraq 'surge' quieter. No televised announcement, but more troops deploy just the same," Hearst Newspapers (The News Tribune), May 22, 2007.
 * Bing West and Owen West, "The Adviser Model. We have to stay in Iraq for a decade. Here's how to do it," Slate, May 23, 2007.
 * Nick Turse, "Did the U.S. Lie about Cluster Bomb Use in Iraq? The Shape of a Shadowy Air War," TomDispatch.com, May 24, 2007; Tom Englehardt, Intro: "Tomgram: Nick Turse: The Air War in Iraq Uncovered."
 * Lisa Myers and Robert Windrem, "NBC: CIA warned of risks of war in the Mideast. Pre-war reports say agency predicted dangers of toppling Saddam's regime," MSNBC, May 25, 2007.
 * "Frank Rich Examines the Most Overlooked War Disaster: The Fleeing Iraqis," Editor & Publisher, May 26, 2007.
 * Steve Fainaru and Saad al-Izzi, "U.S. Security Contractors Open Fire in Baghdad. Blackwater Employees Were Involved in Two Shooting Incidents in Past Week," Washington Post, May 27, 2007. re Blackwater USA
 * Logan Murphy, "Lara Logan Returns To Iraq: 'It looks like a wasteland'," Crooks and Liars, May 27, 2007.
 * Damien Cave, "Bombs Kill 2 G.I.’s in Iraq as Death Toll Near Year’s High," New York Times, May 27, 2007.
 * Damien Cave, "A Handful of Soldiers, on Patrol," New York Times, May 27, 2007.
 * "Troop Cut Expected After Iraq Report," Associated Press (Washington Post), May 27, 2007.
 * Eric Pfeiffer, "GOP senator predicts troop decrease in fall," Washington Times, May 28, 2007.
 * Michael Moss and Souad Mekhennet, "Militants Widen Reach as Terror Seeps Out of Iraq," New York Times, May 28, 2007.
 * Michael Kamber, "As Allies Turn Foe, Disillusion Rises in Some G.I.'s," New York Times, May 28, 2007.
 * "Iraq beginning to export fighters to nearby countries - and beyond," The Raw Story, May 28, 2007.
 * "U.S. soldiers with missing limbs allowed to return to active duty," Associated Press (TimesRecordNews.com), May 30, 2007.
 * David Wood, "As U.S. tactics get more aggressive, more troops die," Baltimore Sun, May 30, 2007.
 * Nico Pitney, "Lieberman Confronted By Troops In Iraq: ‘When Are We Going To Get Out Of Here?’," Think Progres, May 30, 2007. re Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.)

June 2007

 * "Soldiering On. ABC News Learns of Plans to Keep Troops in Iraq Beyond 2009," ABC News, June 1, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "Petraeus has already decided he's going to call the surge a success in September," AMERICAblog, June 1, 2007.
 * Robert Burns, "Gates Warns Turkey Not to Invade Iraq. U.S. Defense Chief Urges Turkey Not to Invade Northern Iraq to Attack Kurdish Rebels," Associated Press (ABC News), June 3, 2007. re Turkey
 * Kim Gamel, "Report: U.S. Drive in Baghdad Falters," Associated Press (Guardian Unlimited (UK)), June 4, 2007.
 * Amanda Terkel, "Former U.S. Commander In Iraq: War Is Lost," Think Progress, June 4, 2007. re Ricardo S. Sanchez
 * Amanda Terkel, "Petraeus: ‘We Haven’t Started The Surge Yet’," Think Progress, June 5, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "Petraeus now says surge hasn't even started when last week he already determined the surge was a resounding success," AMERICAblog, June 5, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "Thousands of Turkish forces invade northern Iraq," AMERICAblog, June 6, 2007.
 * "Bush Nominee Worries Iraq Can't Do More. Bush's War Adviser Nominee Doubts Iraqi Government's Ability To Assume Control Of Country," Associated Press (CBS News), June 7, 2007.
 * John Holusha, "General Tells Senate U.S. Must Prevail in Iraq," New York Times, June 7, 2007.
 * Tony Capaccio and Jeff Bliss, "Bush Pick for War Adviser Says Consider Withdrawal (Update2)," Bloomberg News, June 7, 2007.
 * Peter Spiegel, "'War czar' duties may signal policy shift. Many are surprised when Lute testifies he'd report directly to Bush on Iraq and Afghanistan, leaving the national security advisor out of the loop," Los Angeles Times, June 8, 2007.
 * Peter Baker and Karen DeYoung, "Nominee to Coordinate War Offers Grim Forecast on Iraq. General's Appraisal Echoes Secret Intelligence Findings," Washington Post, June 8, 2007.
 * "'This Is a Serious Blow'. Charles Gibson Interviews Gen. David Petraeus After the Samarra Mosque Attack," World News with Charles Gibson/ABC News, June 13, 2007.
 * "Three Sunni mosques burned south of Baghdad: police," Reuters (Washington Post), June 14, 2007.
 * Joshua Partlow, "Mosques Hit After Shrine Attack. Security Measures, Iraqi Appeals Credited With Limiting Violence," Washington Post, June 14, 2007.
 * Lauren Frayer, "Baghdad curfew empties streets," Associated Press (Boston Globe), June 14, 2007.
 * Andrew Gray, "U.S. says all Iraq reinforcements now in place," Reuters AlertNet, June 15, 2007.
 * Dana Priest and Anne Hull, "The War Inside. Troops Are Returning From the Battlefield With Psychological Wounds, But the Mental-Health System That Serves Them Makes Healing Difficult," Washington Post, June 17, 2007.
 * Zachary Goldfarb, "Petraeus hints Iraq 'surge' may be needed longer," The Talk Blog/Washington Post, June 17, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "What Petraeus is planning to do in September," AMERICAblog, June 17, 2007.
 * William M. Arkin, "Petraeus' Perspective on Iraq," Early Warning Blog/Washington Post, June 18, 2007.
 * Robert Stacy McCain, "U.S. likely to fight insurgents for years," Washington Times, June 18, 2007.
 * Karen DeYoung, "Petraeus: Iraq 'Challenges' to Last for Years," Washington Post, June 18, 2007.
 * Glenn Kessler, "Embassy Staff In Baghdad Inadequate, Rice Is Told. Ambassador's Memo Asks for 'Best People'," Washington Post, June 19, 2007.
 * Robin Wright, "Iraq, 'Sinking Fast,' Is Ranked No. 2 on List of Unstable States," Washington Post, June 19, 2007.
 * Richard Beeston, Transcript of The Times interview with General Petraeus, The Times (UK), June 20, 2007.
 * AJ in DC, "Patraeus deluded about Iraq factors," AMERICAblog, June 21, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "Starbucks barista or Iraqi cop? You decide," AMERICAblog, June 21, 2007.
 * Satyam Khanna, "Petraeus: U.S. Has Occupied Iraq Long Enough That We Have ‘Become Liberators Again’," Think Progress, June 21, 2007.
 * Stephanie Gaskell, "No Iraq exit yet, says U.S. general," New York Daily News, June 24, 2007.
 * Amanda Terkel, "REPORT: Stop Training Iraqi Security Forces And Redeploy U.S. Troops," Think Progress, June 25, 2007. See report: Brian Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb, and Peter Juul, "Strategic Reset. Reclaiming Control of U.S. Security in the Middle East," Center for American Progress, June 25, 2007.
 * Spencer Ackerman, "Center for American Progress: So Long, Iraq," TPMmuckraker, June 25, 2007.

July 2007

 * Joseph Neff, "Blackwater manager blamed for 2004 massacre in Fallujah. Military contractors write that a site manager sent four Americans on an ill-advised, fatal mission," The News & Observer (N.C.) (The Raw Story), July 8, 2007.
 * Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian, "The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness," The Nation, July 9, 2007 (July 30, 2007 issue).
 * Ryan Powers, "FACT CHECK: Bush’s Claims Of ‘Satisfactory Performance’ In Iraq Debunked," Think Progress, July 12, 2007.
 * Peter Slevin, "Midwest Towns Sour on War as Their Tolls Mount," Washington Post, July 14, 2007.
 * Dan Froomkin, "How Bush Uses His Generals," Washington Post, July 16, 2007.
 * Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks, "Exit Strategies. Would Iran Take Over Iraq? Would Al-Qaeda? The Debate About How and When to Leave Centers on What Might Happen After the U.S. Goes," Washington Post, July 17, 2007.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground," Washington Post, July 18, 2007.
 * Joe Sudbay, "Harry Reid pulls Defense Authorization Bill. If no meaningful legislation on Iraq, no bill," AMERICAblog, July 18, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "The top al Qaeda leader in Iraq has been captured, again and again and again," AMERICAblog, July 18, 2007.
 * John Aravosis, "Headlines America doesn't like to see," AMERICAblog, July 18, 2007.
 * Timothy Garton Ash, "America is just starting to wake up to the awesome scale of its Iraq disaster. The American public has decided that its boys should come home, but the ghosts of Baghdad will return with them," The Guardian (UK), July 19, 2007.
 * Sam Dagher and Dan Murphy, "US draws new Iraq-Al Qaeda link. The US military says it caught the man who ties Osama bin Laden's network to Iraq," Christian Science Monitor, July 19, 2007.
 * Dan Reilly, "Crocker's remarks steam Democrats," The Crypt's Blog/The Politico, July 19, 2007.
 * Julian E. Barnes and Paul Richter, "U.S. military wants new date to assess buildup: November," Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2007.
 * Tom Shanker and David S. Cloud, "U.S. Generals Request Delay in Judging Iraq," New York Times, July 20, 2007.
 * Karen DeYoung, "Iraq Report Boils Down to Competing Time Demands," Washington Post, July 20, 2007.
 * Robert Burns, "Commander Pleads for Time to Secure Iraq," Associated Press (Fox News), July 20, 2007.
 * Karen DeYoung, "The Pentagon Gets a Lesson From Madison Avenue. U.S. Needs to Devise a Different 'Brand' to Win Over the Iraqi People, Study Advises," Washington Post, July 21, 2007. re rebranding the war on terror
 * Amanda Terkel, "Norquist’s Advice For Bush On Iraq: Make Groups Like MoveOn Look ‘More Extreme’," Think Progress, July 25, 2007. re Grover Norquist and MoveOn.org
 * Chris Cillizza, "Parsing the Polls: Who Really Supports Withdrawal?" The Fix Blog/Washington Post, July 25, 2007. See Washington Post/ABC News poll.
 * Edward Epstein, "House votes to bar bases in Iraq. Dems use 7th such action to press GOP to end war support," San Francisco Chronicle, July 26, 2007.
 * "Escalation Architect Says Calling The Army Broken ‘Is One Of The Most Offensive Statements To Make’," Think Progress, July 27, 2007.
 * Paul Beddard, "Hints on When Troops Come Home," Washington Whispers/U.S. News & World Report, July 29, 2007.
 * "Big U.S. presence in Iraq until mid-2009: commander," Reuters (Common Dreams), July 30, 2007.
 * Phoenix Woman, "The Rubber-Stampers’ Latest Contortion," Firedoglake Blog, July 30, 2007.
 * David Edwards and Muriel Kane, "Petraeus denies militants cross Saudi/Iraq border but officials admit infiltration," The Raw Story, July 31, 2007.
 * John Byrne and David Edwards, "Pentagon announces 20K troops will rotate into Iraq," The Raw Story, July 31, 2007.