Iraq govt wants Aziz to die in prison: son (AFP) AFP - The Iraqi government wants jailed former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz to die in prison and has shown no compassion for his declining health, his Amman-based son said on Monday. Five killed in attack north of Baghdad: police (AFP) AFP - Five Iraqi businessmen who were involved in building a police station and a youth centre north of Baghdad were killed in a gun and knife attack overnight, police and medical officials said on Monday. Female, single, over 30: Iraqis count cost of war (AP) AP - Only one of Nidal Haidar's six sisters is married. She has given up on ever getting hitched. Despite formal combat end, US joins Baghdad battle (AP) AP - Days after the U.S. officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the center of Baghdad on Sunday. The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens. Twelve killed in suicide assault on Iraq army base (Reuters) Reuters - Up to six suicide bombers, some armed with rifles, tried to storm an army base in Baghdad on Sunday, killing 12 people and wounding 36 less than a week after Washington declared U.S. combat operations in Iraq over. US troops fire back as suicide bombers kill 12 in Baghdad (AFP) AFP - American troops were among those who fired back to repel a coordinated suicide attack on an Iraqi army complex that killed 12 people on Sunday, days after US forces officially ended combat operations in the country. Former Saddam confidant says he'll die in prison (AP) AP - The man who once served as the international face of Saddam Hussein's regime predicted Sunday that he will die in an Iraqi jail, citing his old age and lengthy prison sentence. Sunni and Shiite Iraqi journalists talk about war (AP) AP - As the U.S. draws down in Iraq, two Associated Press Television News cameramen, one Sunni and one Shiite, talk about what it has been like to live through and record the war. The accounts are translated and edited. US 'likely' to keep troops in Iraq after 2011 (AFP) AFP - The United States likely will need to keep thousands of troops in Iraq beyond 2011 to keep a lid on sectarian tensions and to bolster Baghdad's fledgling military, experts and former officers say. US military chief seeks Turkish support over Iran (AP) AP - The United States' top military officer stressed on Saturday the need for Turkey to help enforce United Nations sanctions against Iran aimed at deterring the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Families calling for justice for soldiers, Marines (AP) AP - As major U.S. combat operations in Iraq end, some families of soldiers and Marines convicted of crimes during battle hope the nation doesn't forget their sons. UNHCR urges halt to unsafe Iraqi refugee returns (AFP) AFP - The UN refugee agency on Friday urged European countries not to send Iraqi refugees back to central parts of Iraq, just days after the official withdrawal of US combat troops. In Baghdad, police chief explains why it's tough to enforce the rule of law (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - At a police outpost in the middle of Baghdad, the latest theft they’re investigating is someone in the neighborhood stealing electricity – from the police station. As Iraq combat operations end, US forces try to cement gains (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - The shrinking US military footprint here is particularly evident in this community south of Baghdad, where a few dozen American soldiers live among 1,000 Iraqi troops in an area crucial to Baghdad's security. Tony Blair memoir: I'd do Iraq again, and I considered firing Gordon Brown (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - Tony Blair began his leadership as a dashing popular British Bill Clinton -- a fresh answer to “the suit,” as Fleet Street called John Major. After 2001, it all went sideways and Mr. Blair’s 10-year tenure terminated with him portrayed at home as a “lap dog” for President George Bush. Iraqi army needs US help: commanders (AFP) AFP - Iraq cannot yet sustain its army despite having managed to quell a violent insurgency, US and local commanders told AFP, raising the prospect that American troops will stay on beyond 2011. Obama's Iraq Speech: Reactions from Afghanistan (Time.com) Time.com - President Obama's Oval Office address indicated that the Iraq withdrawal would lead to more forces for Afghanistan. But Afghans only see an eventual withdrawal from their own troubled country Biden says Iraq close to forming government (Reuters) Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden, in Baghdad to mark the end of U.S. combat operations, said on Wednesday he believed Iraq's political stalemate was nearly over and officials would form a government in "the next couple of months." U.S. touts Iraq trade mission as war mission wanes (Reuters) Reuters - The Commerce Department said on Wednesday it will lead 15 U.S. companies, including Boeing, General Electric and Wamar International, on a trade mission in October to help rebuild Iraq. US, Iraqi leaders praise sacrifices of war, 'historic opportunity' (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - The United States marked the official end of its combat role in the seven-year Iraq war today, acknowledging the immense sacrifices of a war that has divided Americans as well as Iraqis and pledging to help the country move forward.