A secret deal with an Iran-backed militia kept British forces out of a battle in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, leaving U.S. and Iraqi forces to fight alone, a newspaper reported Tuesday. The Ministry of Defense denied any deal was struck and said it held back to ensure that the operation was seen as Iraqi-led. ...more

August 6, 2008

The Iraqi government on Monday left little doubt that it favors a withdrawal plan for U.S. combat troops similar to what Sen. Barack Obama has proposed, providing Obama with a potentially powerful political boost on a day he spent in Iraq working to fortify his credibility as a wartime leader. ...more

July 22, 2008

The decisive battle of the Iraq war is shaping up - not in the streets of Baghdad but in the halls of government where the future of America's role across the region is on the line. ...more

June 22, 2008

Iraq's negotiations with the United States on a security agreement governing America's long-term involvement in the country are at an impasse because America's demands infringe upon Iraq's sovereignty, the country's prime minister said Friday. ...more

June 14, 2008

The Iraqi government and representatives of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced Saturday that they had struck a deal to halt weeks of fighting in a Baghdad slum. But disagreements over the content of the accord cast doubt on whether it would end the bloodshed. ...more

May 11, 2008

Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor blamed by an angry Iraqi government for the shooting deaths of 17 civilians, is not expected to face criminal charges - all but ensuring the company will keep its multimillion-dollar contract to protect U.S. diplomats. ...more

May 10, 2008

The Iraqi government backed away Sunday from accusations of Iranian interference, saying it has appointed a committee to determine whether there is merit to U.S. charges that Iran is arming and training Shiite Muslim militants in Iraq. ...more

May 5, 2008

Blackwater Worldwide repaired and repainted its trucks immediately after a deadly September shooting in Baghdad, making it difficult to determine whether enemy gunfire provoked the attack, said people familiar with the government investigation of the incident. ...more

January 13, 2008

The Iraqi parliament passed a bill Saturday to allow some former officials from Saddam Hussein's party to apply for government positions in the first of the so-called political benchmark measures to pass after months of U.S. pressure for progress. ...more

January 13, 2008

President Bush on Friday used a pocket veto to reject a sweeping defense bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era. ...more

December 29, 2007