Free Republic

"Rest in peace," Iraqi government spokesperson Bassem al-Awadi said in a eulogy for the former U.S. vice president shared with Newsweek. "Without delving into the intentions behind actions, the change that took place in Iraq under your leadership and that of President Bush in 2003 was profound." "Despite all the events that followed, the transformations Iraq witnessed after the fall of Saddam’s regime were vast and astonishing, though many have tried to distort them to serve their own interests," Awadi said. "The numbers are remarkable, Mr. Dick Cheney, and too many to list here." Iraqis are even more divided on...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced an agreement with the Iraqi government Friday to wrap up the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by next year, with U.S. troops departing some bases that they have long occupied during a two-decade-long military presence in the country. But the Biden administration refused to provide details on how many of the approximately 2,500 U.S. troops still serving in Iraq will remain there or acknowledge it will mark a full withdrawal from the country.... Following the November election, American forces will start departing from Ain al-Asad airbase...

When Ibrahim al Qosi was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2012, a lawyer for the former Usama bin Laden aide said he looked forward to living a life of peace in his native Sudan. Three years later, Qosi has emerged as a prominent voice of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, appearing in a number of AQAP propaganda videos -- including a 50-minute lecture calling for the takeover of Saudi Arabia. ...

Charity charged with funneling funds to Iraq Columbia Islamic group, now defunct, is accused of sending $1.4 million during Hussein’s reign. By MARK MORRIS The Kansas City Star A defunct Columbia charity and five officers and associates have been charged with illegally sending more than $1.4 million to Iraq while Saddam Hussein was in power. The 33-count federal indictment, unsealed Wednesday in Kansas City, is the latest assault on a charity that in 2004 was designated a supporter of global terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and Hamas. At its core, the indictment alleges the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA solicited...

An al Qaeda militant who planned the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa was killed in a U.S. airstrike, Somali official tells AP.