The independent Addustour newspaper said Monday, speaking on the occasion of the June 25 death of three Iraqi civilians at the hands of the security firm Blackwater, that the Iraqi government has been oblivious to the crimes committed by foreign private security companies -- a fact that encourages these firms to be more careless.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- One aspect of private military and security contractors that is relatively ignored is their relationship with regular military forces. Such discussion, as there is, is generally limited to sound bites about the reported envy that soldiers have for allegedly better paid security contractors.

ERBIL, Iraq, April 3 (UPI) -- Jay Garner, the first U.S. administrator in Iraq following the ouster of Saddam Hussein, likened the Kurdish region to a potential federalized Iraq.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- About 1,700 German companies are active in Iran ($7 billion in trade), where most companies are equipped with German technology. Under U.S. pressure, Germany’s three main commercial banks have closed their Tehran offices and Chancellor Angela Merkel, from the U.N. rostrum, urged a hard line against Iran’s nuclear program. But this finds little favorable echo in the Bundestag. Thus, EU sanctions would most likely be watered down to where neither Iran nor Germany would feel much pain.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- With the situation in Iraq becoming more complicated amid increasing setbacks so too is the political recrimination becoming more apparent. Meanwhile, attributing blame for the failures in Iraq is turning into something of a national pastime.

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. method of pacifying Iraq after Saddam Hussein's fall actually may have spurred an anti-American insurgency, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Three key figures in the War on Terror were praised Tuesday for their service to the nation and were awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The campaign of Sen. John Kerry scoffed at a new, more pointed attack Wednesday by President George W. Bush, saying it was a sign of desperation.

WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said Monday the interim Iraqi government had decided to reopen a newspaper operated by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.