Hamid Al Bayati

Iraq's U.N. ambassador on Monday urged the United Nations to commemorate yearly the anniversary of a chemical weapons attack by Saddam Hussein's government that he called the largest against civilians in history. Saddam ordered the attack on the city of Halabja on March 16, 1988, as part of a scorched-earth campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the north, which was seen as aiding Iran in the final months of its war with Iraq. An estimated 5,600 people were killed — the vast majority of them Kurds — in the nerve and mustard gas attacks. Many survivors still suffer from the aftereffects. "Today, more ... Read Full Story

Hhaaaaaa Hhaaaaa Hhhaaaaaaaaa, here’s your Hopechange beatches! The day after Barack Obama was elected to be the next U.S. president, Iraq’s Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid al-Bayati called it inspiring. But on the ground in Iraq, Obama really wouldn’t be too different from President Bush, he said. Bad news for the Hopechange Nation: In an interview with [...] Read Full Story

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraq's ambassador to the United States insisted Sunday his government was doing more to pay its own way as angry Democrats in Congress push to cut US funding for reconstruction. Iraq envoy rejects Democrats' anger over US funding 21 minutes ago http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080511/pl_afp/usiraqcongresspoliticsbudget Samir Sumaidaie told CNN: "We are taking over as fast as we can. We are taking over on the construction side. We are taking over on the security side. "And as time goes on, the money spent by the Americans on reconstruction or on our arms (armed) services will come down to zero and we'll take on the full ... Read Full Story

This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap and add your own blog entry ! Read Full Story