Iraq Suicide Bomber Female Counterinsurgency Archives

Iraq Suicide Bomber Female Counterinsurgency

Behind the Surge in Iraqi Women Suicide Bombers

by Erik Leaver, Steve Niva | Aug 11, 2008

While overall levels of violence in Iraq have significantly dropped from their peak in 2006, every day seems to bring news of yet another ghastly suicide bombing, only now the bomber often comes in a black abaya, the full-length robe worn by many Iraqi women. For the one deadly number that has risen substantially since the U.S. military "surge" and widely touted adoption of a new "hearts and minds" counterinsurgency strategy in early 2007 has been the dramatic increase in suicide bombings carried out by Iraqi women.

Postcard from… Dhaka

by Saif Rahman | Aug 11, 2008

I hate malls, maybe more than anything else in this world. But I knew I was in for a mind-blowing experience the second I heard there was a brand–spanking-new mega-mall in the heart of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Opening in 2004, “Bashundhara City” is eerily and aptly named. It features 20 floors (eight for shopping, the rest for offices), 2,500 stores, a multi-screen movie theater, a Gold’s Gym, a swimming pool and yes, even an indoor amusement park. It claims to be “South Asia’s largest shopping-cum-recreation complex.”

Baseball Big and Little: Its Role in U.S.-Cuba Relations

by Saul Landau | Aug 8, 2008

The 1998 Orioles-Cuba baseball games did not, as we know, lead to Washington’s lifting of its embargo or travel ban. Baseball diplomacy led to the defection in 2002 of Cuba’s star pitcher, Jose Contreras, who had held the Orioles to two runs in nine innings. But instead of joining the O’s, he signed with the New York Yankees for millions of dollars. Even in the 21st Century, Dollar Diplomacy still functions.