Sgt. Darron Mikeworth was severely injured in Iraq and nearly died. His road to recovery is a war story that has been part medical marvel, part profile in courage, the stalwart soldier who rebuilds his confidence as doctors rebuild his face.

An Iraqi football player has been shot dead by a spectator as he was about to score an equalising goal. The shooting happened in the last minute of a game between two local rivals on Sunday, police say. The striker was shot in the head during the match in the city of Hilla, according to local security officials. The game was being played between Sinjar and Buhayra. The suspected killer has been arrested as police carry out an investigation. – From BBC

The Iraq war will come to an end on Aug. 31, 2010, senior officials said, following President Obama’s decision to end all counter-insurgency missions by that time. Obama told top leaders in Congress on Thursday that he will transition the mission in Iraq to training, advising and engaging in limited counter-terrorist operations, according to congressional sources. The president is expected to deliver a speech Friday at the Marine base in Camp Lejeune, N.C, in which he will order the immediate drawdown of the 142,000 Marines and Army personnel in Iraq. – From Fox News

President Barack Obama was set to announce on Friday he will pull U.S. combat forces from Iraq by August 2010, winding down the unpopular six-year war but leaving behind up to 50,000 troops. Obama’s decision to leave a sizable force to bolster stability was welcomed by congressional Republicans, including former presidential candidate Senator John McCain, while some Democrats were concerned too many troops would remain in Iraq. The announcement fulfills a major campaign promise that Obama made last year as he concentrates on beefing up the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan to turn back the resurgent Taliban. – From Reuters

President Barack Obama will announce today that most U.S. combat troops will be out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, though thousands will remain behind to support Iraqi forces, two administration officials said. Obama plans to leave 35,000 to 50,000 military personnel in Iraq through 2011 to perform duties such as training, equipping and supporting the Iraqi military and protecting civilian operations. Some of the remaining troops would conduct anti- terrorism operations, the officials said. By Dec. 31, 2011, all U.S. troops would be out of Iraq under the plan, they said. – From Bloomberg

I was thinking it should be a theme park.

Abu Ghraib, the Iraqi prison which became notorious for detainee abuse by US forces in 2004, is being officially re-opened in a new incarnation. It has been handed over to the Iraqis and renamed Baghdad Central Prison. The site has been extensively renovated, with upgraded facilities and amenities, including a hospital, rest rooms and visiting rooms. Work is continuing on the prison, which will eventually be the city’s main jail, holding about 12,000 inmates. – From BBC

Iraqi officials on Saturday formally reopened Abu Ghraib prison, which became synonymous with abuse under the U.S. occupation, and in addition to a fresh coat of paint, gave it a new name. The prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad earned global notoriety after U.S. jailkeepers filmed themselves tormenting and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners less than a year after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The pictures sparked global anger and helped fuel a raging anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq that killed tens of thousands of Iraqis and has only started to fade in the past year. – From Reuters

The Iraqi government has renamed and partly renovated the infamous Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad, and it plans to transfer about 3,000 convicts there shortly, the first to occupy the facility in any numbers since it was handed over by the Americans in 2006. The government says it sorely needs Abu Ghraib — now Baghdad Central Prison — and other detention centers around the country being refurbished with American money because of overcrowding at prisons and continued threats to security, said Safaa el-Deen al-Safi, who was the acting justice minister for almost two years, until Thursday. – From NY Times

At least 40 Shiite pilgrims, many of them women and children, were killed Friday by a female suicide bomber south of Baghdad in the deadliest attack so far this year, Iraqi officials say. At least 60 more were injured in the attack near Iskanderiya, about 25 miles south of Baghdad, at a stop on the pilgrimage route to Karbala, where millions of Shiites annually converge to mark the death of Imam Hussein. – From Christian Science Monitor

A female suicide bomber killed 40 people and wounded 60 others south of Baghdad on Friday when she blew herself up on a major Shiite religious ceremony route, police said. The attack in Iskandariya, 40 km south of the capital, came a day after a bomb killed eight people in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, to which hundreds of thousands of visitors were headed to commemorate Arbaeen. – From GulfNews.com

A suicide bomber killed almost three dozen Shiite Muslim pilgrims Friday while they were en route to a holy site in central Iraq, marking the third straight day of intense violence. The bombing came as officials prepared plan to release final election results next week. Earlier attacks targeted politicians and others. – From McClatchy

The biggest Shiite party in Iraq once appeared to hold all the political sway: control of the heartland, the backing of influential clerics and a foot in the government with ambitions to take full control. But the days of wide-open horizons could be soon ending for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, and replaced by important shifts that could be welcomed in Washington and scorned in Tehran. – From AP

Turnout at Iraq’s provincial elections was lower than expected, with confusion over voter registration and problems with a vehicle ban marring a vote hailed as a crucial milestone. The elections, in 14 of the country’s 18 provinces, were nonetheless seen as an overall success, thanks to a lack of significant violence. They pave the way for Britain and the US to pull out more troops before a general election within the next 12 months. – Times Online

Turnout in Iraq’s polls to elect councils governing 14 out of 18 provinces was lower than many had hoped due to voter registration problems and tight security. The elections took place on Saturday without the major bloodshed that has plagued Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein. – From Reuters

In neighborhoods once dominated by Shiite militias, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared to be riding high Saturday, with Iraqis saying they voted for his party in gratitude for driving the gunmen from the streets. “I have nothing to do with politics, but I voted for the man who made feel safe again,” 71-year-old Zakiya Tahir said as she left a polling station in the Basra district of Hayaniyah, scene of fierce clashes last spring between government troops and Shiite gunmen. She pointed to a campaign poster featuring al-Maliki’s dour face. – From IHT

Iraqis voted on Saturday for local representatives, on an almost violence-free election day aimed at creating provincial councils that more closely represent Iraq’s ethnic, sectarian and tribal balance. By nightfall, there were no confirmed deaths, and children played soccer in closed-off streets in a generally joyous atmosphere. – From NY Times

Protected by armed police and barbed wire, Iraqis voted at polling stations today in a test-case election for the country’s security forces and politicians. Many voters expressed hope that the polls, to elect councils in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces, will herald a new era of politics, saying that they are fed up with the corruption that has so-far tarnished the democratic experiment in their country. Other Iraqis, however, have grown disillusioned and shunned the election, the first since 2005, because they cannot see the point in taking part. – From Times Online

“The times, they are a changin’”

The State Department will not renew the contract of security contractor Blackwater Worldwide when it expires in May, a senior State Department official said Friday. The decision was made after the Iraqi government refused last week to renew the firm’s operating license because of a 2007 incident in which the Iraqi government says security guards — then employed by Blackwater — fired on and killed 17 Iraqis. – From CNN

The U.S. State Department has told Blackwater Worldwide, the private security firm whose guards are accused of killing Iraqi civilians while protecting U.S. diplomats, that it will not renew its contract in Iraq. The move was not a surprise following Iraq’s decision to deny a license to Blackwater, which drew intense criticism after its guards opened fire in Baghdad traffic in 2007, killing at least 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians. One Blackwater guard has pleaded guilty in U.S. court to voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter over that incident, while five others are awaiting trial next year on manslaughter and other charges. The firm denies wrongdoing. – From Reuters

The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide’s contract for securities services in Iraq, according to media reports today, ending one of the most controversial government deals in recent memory. Blackwater and its affiliates have received about $1.3 billion this decade — most of it through State Department contracts. The firm’s revenue increased even as the company faced allegations that some employees murdered Iraqi civilians and overcharged the government. – From Washington Post

Link:

The New York Times reports today that the vast “conspiracy” and possible “coup attempt” that caused the arrest of 24 officials at Iraq’s Ministry of Interior was just a bit of political rough-housing, Mesopotamian-style. The officials have been released. The Malaki government is chastened. There are two ways to think about this: Glass half full: The nascent Iraqi democracy is apparently supple enough to derail this attempt at anti-democratic mayhem. Glass half empty: We are witnessing the return to Iraqi politics as usual–a constant succession of coups and attempted coups that will produce something less than a democracy in the not-too-distant future. – From Time.com