A proposed law designed to protect the press may end up obstructing it because of a failure to guarantee access to information, journalists say.

Iraq remains the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Now, proposed legislation designed to protect them is ripe for abuse.

The withdrawal from Iraq is progressing at a precipitous pace. No, not the withdrawal of American troops. I’m talking about the withdrawal of the American news media.
While American troop strength in Iraq is being slowly reduced, the press corps there is being rapidly reduced. The raw numbers tell the story:

Only four U.S. news organizations now staff bureaus in Baghdad, compared to a dozen in the early days of the war. CBS and NBC have no correspondents based in Iraq.
The New York Time more...

How 'humanitarian intervention' made a world in which stateless terror could flourish - Article by Brendan O’Neill.
'Over the past decade, a new player has emerged in world affairs - the cross-border terrorist. Unlike the national liberation movements of old, like the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or the Irish Republican Army (IRA), cross-border terror groups do not confine themselves territorially or ideologically to a particular region. Instead, in the words of one foreign policy more...

Iraqi journalists rejoiced at their new-found freedom of expression when Saddam Hussein’s regime fell in March 2003, despite the chaotic security situation. Nearly five years later, things are more dangerous than ever. At least 56 media workers were killed in 2007 and journalists faced increasing restrictions imposed by the Iraqi authorities.

Violence has not abated in Iraq and the toll among journalists continues to grow. The UN Security Council resolution (1738) of December 2006 on protec more...

Reporters Without Borders describes the dangers journalists have faced there since the start of the war, the bloodiest for the media since World War II. Who were these men and women journalists killed for doing their job? How were they killed or kidnapped, and by whom? This detailed report (dated 20 March 2006) explains.

The Iraq Speakers Site provides direct access to policy experts, diplomats, former UN officials, human rights activists and public health researchers who are committed to taking readers beyond the headlines. Each speaker shares critical insight, rational analysis and compassionate stories that can turn news into vivid reality.

An International Conference on Freedom of Expression and Media Development in Iraq was held from 8 to 10 January at UNESCO in Paris. The approximately 200 participants included Iraqi media professionals, Iraqi government officials and representatives of international NGOs and other organizations. The conference was organized by the Communications and Media Commission of Iraq (CMC) in cooperation with UNESCO and UNDP. A session was devoted to journalists who have risked – and in all too many c more...

Education for Peace in Iraq Center's Executive Director Erik Gustafson joined ex-CIA official Robert Grenier of Kroll Associates, a security consulting firm, on The NewsHour, 2nd November, with Jim Lehrer to discuss the increasingly complex relationship between Iraq's government and the United States.

An opus in three parts, Iraq In Fragments offers a series of intimate, passionately-felt portraits: A fatherless 11-year-old is apprenticed to the domineering owner of a Baghdad garage; Sadr followers in two Shiite cities rally for regional elections while enforcing Islamic law at the point of a gun; a family of Kurdish farmers welcomes the US presence, which has allowed them a measure of freedom previously denied.

American director James Longley spent more than two years filming in Iraq to more...

In an in-depth interview with Education for Peace in Iraq Centre, acclaimed filmmaker Laura Poitras -- director of the Iraq documentary My Country, My Country -- explains the importance of understanding the people and culture of Iraq in bringing an end to the violence and finding lasting solutions. For eight months in 2004 and 2005, Ms. Poitras lived alone in Iraq, threatened by kidnappings and violent attacks on a daily basis. Armed with only a camera and a passion to tell a story from the Iraq more...