Chicago Sun-Times | Bagram Air Base was covered with Chicago gang graffiti, everything from the Gangster Disciples’ pitchfork to the Latin Kings’ crown.

Independent | Britain was taken to war in Iraq on the basis of “lies”, scaremongering and deliberate exaggeration, a former UK diplomat told the Iraq inquiry.

AFP | General Ray Odierno said security measures had been increased at US military facilities following intelligence reports that Ketaib Hezbollah, a Tehran-sponsored Shiite insurgent group, was planning an attack.

CNN | The United States may still be in the Afghanistan and Iraq region for another ten years, according to Gen. George Casey.

London Telegraph | Tony Blair’s government ‘intentionally and substantially’ exaggerated the threat from Saddam Hussein ahead of the war in Iraq, a former senior British diplomat has claimed.

Philip Brennan | Prisoners include pre-teen children.

Ron Paul | For most Americans, we are at war — at war against a tactic called terrorism, not a country.

Politico | A loud explosive device was heard inside the huge U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad on Sunday night during a visit to Iraq by Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden.

Press TV | Biden visits Iraq to press for the formation of the new government, as political rivals have yet to announce a ruling coalition.

Andrew Steele | Many young people have turned to military service rather than seeking private industry jobs.

You Tube | Broken promises are a way of life in Washington, but it doesn’t get more brazen than President Obama’s lies about ending the war in Iraq– shameful enough to make candidate Obama blush.

WSJ | Wikileaks videos do not reveal the myriad cases in which our forces refrain from attacking targets because civilians are in harm’s way.

Independent | Iraq’s Electricity Minister has resigned amid public anger over frequent power and water cuts in the searing summer heat, while international oil executives will discuss contracts for the four planned refineries in Iraq.

AFP | Turkish forces pushed into northern Iraq yesterday, killing four people.

Ralph Lopez | The deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime.

Press TV | The waste is being disposed of locally instead of being returned for treatment or shipped to Iraq-based factories which specialize in disposal.

UPI | U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, told Pentagon reporters that al-Qaida in Iraq was on its way to defeat.

Time | BP, like many major oil companies, has been providing training for free to Iraq since 2003.

KVAL | National Guard soldier who received Purple Heart charged by military for lost equipment.

From the Old | On May 30th at 10:06 the United States reached the point where they have spent $1trillion on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ali Kareem | The alarming spread of illegal squatter settlements has aid groups fearful of a looming social crisis.

Nick Baumann | Capt. Michael Clauer’s homeowners’ association foreclosed on his family’s $300,000 house and sold it for $3,500.

Washington Post | The idea was to then “flood Iraq with the videos,” a former official said.

Press TV | An international anti-war organization, the War and Peace Foundation, says continued fatalities of US troops in Iraq is a sign of their involvement in secret operations.

Al Jazeera | Iraqi doctors believe depleted uranium from US military equipment used in the 2003 invasion is spreading cancer through the population.

AFP | Turkish warplanes on Thursday bombed dozens of Kurdish rebel targets in neighbouring northern Iraq.

Times Online | Baghdad is to resort to one of the oldest forms of defence by building a massive wall around the capital to keep out insurgents, The Times has learnt.

AFP | A senior Al-Qaeda militant had been planning an attack against the football World Cup which kicks off in South Africa next month, an Iraqi security spokesman said on Monday.

Reuters | A Senate committee on Thursday approved another $33.5 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq this year, although some members said they did so reluctantly.

Guardian | General Ray Odierno, the US commander, had been due to give the order within 60 days of the general election held in Iraq on 7 March.

USA Today | The monthly cost of the war in Afghanistan, driven by troop increases and fighting on difficult terrain, has topped Iraq costs for the first time since 2003 and shows no sign of letting up.

Real News | Josh Stieber: In boot camp we trained with songs that joked about killing women and children.

Sydney Morning Herald | Iyad Allawi, the former prime minister who scored a surprise win in the recent general election, has warned that Iraq risks descending into a new sectarian war.

FT.com | More than 100 people were killed in a series of car bombings and drive-by shootings yesterday in the worst day of violence Iraq has suffered this year.

Al Jazeera | Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been blamed for a wave of deadly attacks across the country that left at least 85 people dead and more than 300 injured.

Uruknet | Allegations that Britain was complicit in the use of chemical weapons linked to an upsurge in child deformity cases in Iraq, are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.

Reuters | Iraq’s two big Shi’ite political coalitions, one led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and one with close ties to Iran, agreed on an alliance to form a single bloc in parliament, officials said.

Pasadena Weekly | As of Day 3,125 of the war in Afghanistan and Day 2,579 of the war in Iraq, 965 American military service members have died in Afghanistan since 2001 and 4,397 have died in Iraq since that war began in 2003.

Democrat Herald | Capt. Michael Dung Nguyen was sentenced today to 30 months in prison following his guilty pleas to theft of approximately $690,000 in United States currency.

AFP | Brigadier General Ralph Baker, a senior officer in Baghdad, said al-Qaeda is struggling to recruit volunteers for suicide bombings and other attacks.

London Independent | The U.S. is trying to resolve the growing crisis over the formation of a new Iraqi government, with a deal between current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and his main rival Iyad Allawi.

Index on Censorship | Kidnapping came six days after he wrote an article condemning Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a lack of transparency.

Oil and Gas Journal | Iraqi oil exports have been cut due to sabotage along the northern pipeline system, according to officials who say repairs could take up to a week.

Dallas Morning News | A series of bombings struck mainly Shiite areas of Baghdad and a western province on Friday, killing at least 69 people and demonstrating a resilient insurgency after the recent killing or capture of several militant leaders.

New York Times | A series of bombings on Friday struck mosques, a market and a shop in Baghdad, as well as the homes of a prosecutor and police officers in western Iraq on Friday.

Reuters | The deaths could be a major setback to the stubborn insurgency, according to Iraq’s puppet government.

Washington Post | Allawi says country could slide into a sectarian war if his group is shut out of the next government.

Press TV | Robert Gates said the WikiLeak video footage is out of context and depicts an incomplete picture of the battlefield.

Christopher Weber | The Army reserve unit that became infamous after some of its members were charged with abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison six years ago is returning to Iraq.

Guardian | Elections have been exported at the point of a gun and a missile to Iraq and Afghanistan.