Larry Kaplow

The bombs that exploded Iraq's foreign and finance ministries today show that the country is poorly defended but far from civil war.

The new exit strategy in Iraq may send Americans back into battle.

Renewed violence in Iraq looks like the beginning of a sectarian melee. It's not.

It takes about half an hour to ascend the well-paved highway from bustling Irbil to the mountaintop villas and elite homes where Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), lives.

Iraq's Kurds have been enthusiastic U.S. allies since before the 2003 invasion. But as the Kurds have expanded their control over their oil-rich territory—and as they reassert claims to the contested city of Kirkuk ahead of a constitutionally mandated referendum—tensions are mounting with the central government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and with Arabs and other ethnic groups.

Threading the needle between Tehran, Washington, and his constituents in Iraq.

Gaze over the road circling the Iraqi city of Najaf's compact center and it's clear that this spiritual capital of Shiite Islam is first and foremost a vast cemetery.

Nuri al-Maliki wants to keep Tehran at bay.

U.S. soldiers leaned back on metal chairs in the open parking lot where the crowds walked through metal detectors. Inside their cordon they mingled through the stands at Baghdad's national soccer stadium.

Iraqi government representatives faced leaders of the Awakening tribal militia movement in Baghdad today to hear their complaints and answer with promises that they are not being abandoned.

Amid the patrols, searches, training of Iraqi counterparts and the usual tedium of soldiering, many U.S. troops in Iraq are also trying to manage their mental health.

A new United Nations report on human rights in Iraq cites Iraqi prisons for continued torture of detainees, incarceration for months without charges and warns, as it has in the past, that "security may not be sustainable unless significant steps are taken in the area of human rights such as strengthening the rule of law and addressing impunity." The report (PDF), covers mainly the last half of 2008.

An Iraqi talk show anchor planned to spend his hour today talking about the recent robbery and shooting spree against jewelry store owners. But after the third bombing with massive casualties in two days, he changed the subject.

American archaeologist Brian Rose visited Iraq this month to work with antiquities officials in making southern Iraq's historic site of Ur, a reputed home of the Biblical Abraham, accessible for tourists and research.

For nearly six years, the Green Zone's perimeter walls have choked off several key traffic arteries where they intersect in the heart of the capital. One may now be opening.

For years this man has spoken out for members of Saddam's old party. Now Iraqis are listening.

The implications of the January provincial elections are still playing out in Iraqi politics. Since they required intramural competition among Sunni and Shiite political parties (rather than just the old, lopsided Shiite vs.

The Western media's financial downfall has been felt sharply in Baghdad, where the number of American reporters has dropped significantly over the past year and bureaus are laying off Iraqi staff.

Not all Iraqis want to let the shoe thrower off the hook and some even agree with the harsh three-year jail sentence Muntadhar al-Zeidi received today from an Iraqi court.Granted, it's a minority.

There are a lot of pitfalls in the path to Iraqi democracy. But they're getting the election part down. Today's voting to choose the leadership councils of 14 of the country's 18 provinces was orderly, safe and enthusiastic.

Iraq's elections tomorrow are local affairs meant to choose the leadership of 14 of the country's 18 provinces. But the implications are national.Previously, Iraq's finger-inking electoral spectacles were largely ethnic referenda.

With security improving, the toughest part of Saturday's Iraqi provincial elections might be educating voters about how to mark their ballots. An attempt to explain a truly complex process:  The elections are for the provincial councils in 14 of the country's 18 provinces.

Iraq's voters will come out in force for Saturday's elections, armed with knowledge, says deputy prime minister.

Ahmed Chalabi just sent me a text message. "Elect slate 274 now. The future is in your hands, Dr. Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi National Congress, paid advertisement," stated the little script across my phone screen.

U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, admittedly worn out from years on the intense diplomatic front lines since September 11, 2001, gave his last press conference to the Baghdad Western press corps today.

Last summer when Barack Obama made his only visit to Iraq, he met one of Iraq's most influential and colorful sheiks. Sheik Ali Hatim watched the inauguration last night and remembered telling Obama that his schedule for pulling troops from Iraq was too fast and could leave the country again in chaos. "I don't want you to stay forever but fix what you messed up," he says he told the then presumptive Democratic nominee. "We will not abandon you," he remembers Obama telling him.

A local staff member for Newsweek last week was stopped for a search of his car at a crossing where Iraqi soldiers usually let people pass by unhindered. This time, there were U.S. troops standing by.

It's bad enough to have phone lines that have not worked for years. It's worse to get billed for them. In recent weeks, Iraqis have been getting visits from employees of the government phone company handing them large bills for phone service–their first bills in years.

As a ceremonial and social event, the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was an unqualified success. The sun shone on a cool winter day. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani expressed his gratitude for America's sacrifices to drive a despot from his homeland and Ambassador Ryan Crocker pledged his country's continuing support.

It's too late to fix Iraq before the pullout date. All U.S. troops can do now is keep trying to slow the killing and get out. They call it 'Iraqi good enough.'