Iraq Project

About CPT Iraq

CPT has held a presence in Iraq since October 2002, six months before the beginning of the U.S. led invasion in March of 2003. The team responded to the drumbeat of war, the "shock and awe" bombing of Baghdad, the ongoing U.S. occupation, a hostage situation, and a deteriorating security situation as Baghdad descended into chaos.

The primary focus of the team for eighteen months following the invasion was documenting and focusing attention on detainee abuses and basic legal and human rights being denied them.

In November 2005, four CPT personnel were taken hostage, resulting in the murder of CPTer Tom Fox and the freeing of the remaining three CPTers in a military operation in March 2006. Following an evaluation phase, CPT relocated its violence reduction work to the Kurdish north of Iraq in late 2006.

The team now works toward accompanying displaced persons home by living in conflicted border regions and documenting human rights violations against civilian populations.

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Through the Looking Glass

More videos from Iraq Kurdistan

Report: Cross-Border Bombings

"Where there is a promise, there is tragedy: cross-border bombings and shellings of villages in the Kurdish region of Iraq by the nations of Turkey and Iran," details the destruction of northern Iraqi village life by Turkish and Iranian attacks over the past two years. Written because regional and world powers, rebel groups and Kurdish Regional Government have dismissed the villagers—mostly shepherds and farmers—their lives, their futures, their lands, their children, as irrelevant to the 'larger' agendas of the parties involved.  Read the FULL REPORT.

 

Profiles of Courage

Aram Jamal Sabir

CPT Iraq blog

Khalid Qadir Mohammed

CPT Iraq blog

Taban, Arke Saru

CPT Iraq blog

Mahmud, Kanispi

CPT Iraq blog

Snapshots of Real People in Iraq

CPTer Peggy Gish

Bloodshed in Northern Iraq

CPTer Michele Naar-Obed

A View from Inside Kurdistan

CPTer Michele Naar-Obed

Iraqi Kurdistan: 'I Cry All Day Long'

CPTer Peggy Gish

Mahmud, Kani Spi

IRAQ: Christian Peacemaker Teams report challenges U.S. reading of Iraq situation

September 2nd, 2010
in:

Suleimaniya, Iraq—The future of Iraq is more complex and uncertain than the current U.S. narrative claims, according to a report just published by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Iraq (download here in pdf format.)

The report quotes Iraqis who express doubt on the effects of the U.S. military “surge,” the trustworthiness of the Iraqi military, and the reliability of Iraqi public figures and institutions.

“Iraqis in this report challenge the simplistic success story that the U.S. is telling about Iraq,” says CPTer Marius van Hoogstraten.

The report, entitled “Iraq after the Occupation – Iraqis speak about the state of their country as the U.S. military withdraws,” is based on extensive interviews with Iraqi citizens in various parts of the country.  It recommends that the U.S. “think creatively” about ways to support Iraqi society before the U.S. military withdraws entirely at the end of 2011.

CPTnet Stories

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Events

Title Start: End:
Iraq delegation - Kurdish North Thu, 10/14/2010 Wed, 10/27/2010
Iraq delegation - Kurdish North Thu, 03/31/2011 Wed, 04/13/2011
Iraq delegation - Kurdish North Thu, 10/13/2011 Wed, 10/26/2011