Sumedha Senanayake

Also by Sumedha Senanayake

• January 18, 2007

  Will Baghdad Cooperate With New U.S. Plan?

  For the new U.S. strategy to be effective, significant action must be taken by the Iraqi government -- including cracking down on Shi'ite militias.

• January 12, 2007

  Iraqis Mull Bush's New Plan

  Although the Iraqi government has endorsed U.S. President Bush's new strategy, leading voices from all factions in parliament are expressing grave doubts.

• January 10, 2007

  New Security Plan Carries Heavy Risks

  Even as the government announced a new plan to bring security to Baghdad, it was attacked as being risky and likely to exacerbate sectarian tensions.

• January 04, 2007

  Execution Video Proves Damaging

  An unauthorized video showing former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein being taunted before his execution has inflamed sectarian tensions and called into question the prime minister's control.

• December 30, 2006

  Analysis | Execution unlikely to foster reconciliation

  December 30, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The Arab and international media have been abuzz with rumors and reports concerning the impact of the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

• December 28, 2006

  Torture Allegations Hang Over Government

  The recent discovery of a police station where more than 100 prisoners were being tortured is only the latest allegation against Iraqi security forces.

• December 22, 2006

  Iraq: Istanbul Conference Enflames Sectarian Tensions

  (RFE/RL) December 22, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- On December 13-14, Turkey hosted a "Conference for the Support of the Iraqi People" in Istanbul that brought together more than 150 attendees, including politicians, religious figures, intellectuals and activists, from both inside and outside Iraq.

• December 20, 2006

  Reconciliation Conference Fails To Deliver

  In the run-up to the National Reconciliation Conference, officials called it the best way to end the rampant lawlessness and spiraling violence.

• December 15, 2006

  Uniting Against Al-Sadr

  Shi'ite, Kurdish, and Sunni parties are said to be discussing a government not reliant on the political support of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

• December 14, 2006

  Kurds Warn Against Delaying Kirkuk Referendum

  As 2007 approaches, one of the more contentious issues in Iraq looks likely to come to the fore: the status of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

• December 08, 2006

  Reactions To U.S. Report Follow Familiar Pattern

  Iraqi reactions to the U.S. Iraq Study Group's report appeared to follow previously established sectarian agendas.

• December 07, 2006

  Iraq: Increased U.S. Involvement In Politics Carries Risks

  Did Bush (right) risk alienating Sunnis by meeting with al-Hakim on December 4? (epa) NEW YORK, December 7, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- This week, the leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington to discuss the current security situation in Iraq, which followed Bush's November 30 summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan.

• November 30, 2006

  Premier Under Fire From All Sides

  As Nuri al-Maliki met the U.S. president in Jordan, he faced criticism at home from Sunni Arab groups and from some in his own Shi'ite coalition.

• November 29, 2006

  On The Brink Of Civil War

  Following attacks by suspected Sunni insurgents in a Baghdad Shi'ite district that killed over 200, the cycle of violence may have reached a point of no return.

• November 22, 2006

  Elusive Answers

  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is expected to arrive for a Tehran summit today, but analysts wonder whether Iran and Syria can help stabilize neighboring Iraq.

• November 16, 2006

  Brain Drain | Professional class targeted by criminals, militias

  NEW YORK, November 16, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The mass kidnappings of an estimated 150 employees from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research building in central Baghdad on November 14 underscores a huge problem for Iraq: the dwindling of its professional class.

• November 10, 2006

  Reconciliation | Iraq reinstates Ba'athists

  NEW YORK, November 10, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The Iraqi government revealed a plan on November 7 that would allow the majority of former Ba'ath Party members to return to their former positions, in the hope of convincing what is seen as a major part of the Sunni insurgency to lay down their weapons.

• November 08, 2006

  Kurdish Oil Law Poses Problem For Baghdad

  The Kurdish regional government has drafted its own oil law, exacerbating a long-standing conflict with Baghdad.

• November 03, 2006

  Talking | Amman meetings aim to end sectarian violence

  NEW YORK, November 3, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Iraqi officials held meetings this week in Amman, Jordan, with representatives from at least a dozen Iraqi resistance groups, including former Ba'athists, in the hopes of bringing them into the political process. The talks, held on October 29-30, have been seen as a precursor to a national reconciliation conference slated to be held next month in Baghdad.

• November 02, 2006

  Kirkuk | Ethnic tensions on the rise

  NEW YORK, November 2, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- As the government committee charged with reversing the "Arabization" policy pursued in Kirkuk under former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein attempts to complete its constitutionally mandated task, ethnic tensions have increased as each community vies for control of the oil-rich northern city.

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