Iraq

David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq

Before leaving the Middle East, there was one last thing I had to do. F., an Iraqi friend and colleague who I worked with in Baghdad and was now living in Damascus needed to get to Jordan. He had been promised a job there. The only problem is that, despite extremely rare exceptions, Jordan has closed its borders to Iraqis.

Governance has ground to a halt in this southern oil capital, with Basra's two largest parties arguing over the legitimacy of the provincial governor while militias and gangs take over the streets.

The bitter power struggle, gaining strength as British forces reduce their numbers and withdraw into their bases, has left grave doubts about what had been one of the most promising regions in post-invasion Iraq.

At the center of the political gridlock lies Gov. Mohammed al-Waili, the local leader of the Fadhila party, which also holds 15 seats in the National Assembly.

David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq

Resettlement has been described by UN officials as the only "durable" solution for the Iraqi refugee problem.

Since Syria is one place that foreign journalists can work and interact with Iraqis, the problem has received coverage. Nonetheless, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen.

David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq

Yes, Rick and I are in Kurdistan. I had actually forgotten what is was like to hear people in Iraq say that. Stopped happening in Baghdad some time ago.

But then again, we're not actually in Iraq. Kurdistan is, for all intents and purposes, more of less an independent country.

David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq

Oil workers unions based in southern Iraq say they will continue to fight the implementation of a proposed oil law despite the government's insistence that the unions have no legal standing.

The measure, intended to foster reconciliation by ensuring a fair distribution of the nation's oil wealth, is among the most important "benchmarks" by which U.S. commanders are to judge progress in Iraq next month.

Southern Iraq is home to Basra, the third largest city in the country, and one of the centers of the nation's oil wealth. Once hailed as a success story, the situation has deteriorated into militia violence after the 2005 elections. David Enders has more on the deep decline of Southern Iraq as British troops prepare to leave.

Listen to this report.

Hear more from Free Speech Radio News.

The opposition of Iraq's southern oil worker's union to that country's proposed oil law has earned it the ire of Iraq's oil minister. David Enders reports from Iraq, where the oil minister invoked a Saddam Hussein era law and declared the union illegal last week.

Listen to this report (David's interview starts around 5 minutes in).

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday media roundtable. This week, Rupert Murdoch's bid for the Wall Street Journal was accepted, the House passed ethics reform, and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testified at a hearing about the death of Pat Tillman. Joining us to discuss the news of the week is Robert Hodierne of Army Times, David Enders, independent reporter in Iraq, and Pratap Chatterjee of CorpWatch. What was your story of the week? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar.

Richard Rowley, for the Pulitzer Center
Iraq

lights stutter on and off.
the sun rises and sets behind heavy curtains
while thousands of ants slowly inherit this tile and plaster to the desert.

Abbas Ibn Fernas' wings spread like a warning.

in the smooth marble stomach of our abandoned cities,
brush the flies away from the corner of his mouth.

'what kind of men lived and worked in buildings like these?'
'strange to know that they were us.'

David Enders, for the Pulitzer Center
Basra, Iraq