IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.

Overstretched U.S. Forces Concern Officers
Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON – The U.S. military is “severely strained” by two large-scale occupations in the Middle East, other troop deployments, and problems recruiting, according to a new survey of military officers published by Foreign Policy magazine and the centrist think-tank Centre for a New American Strategy.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41260

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IRAN: Intolerance Marks Sunni Student’s Death Sentence
Kimia Sanati
TEHRAN – The death sentence passed in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province on civil rights activist and journalist Yaghub Mehrnahad, 28, has highlighted repression on Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41247

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MIDEAST: Many Die With Targeted Leader
Mohammed Omer
GAZA CITY – Human remains mix with debris following the latest Israeli assault Friday on Bureij Camp in Gaza Strip. Early reports listed nine dead and more than 50 injured.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41226

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IRAQ: The Lights Have Gone Out, Who Cares
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*
BAQUBA – Lack of electricity in Baquba has shattered businesses, and the lives of families. Months of power failures has darkened morale everywhere.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41217

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IRAQ: U.S. Surge Exposing Political Tensions
Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON – Despite assertions by the Bush Administration that the escalation strategy in Iraq — known as the “surge” — has been a rousing success, many of the problems of pre-surge Iraq still exist and, along with new issues, are exacerbating a tenuous political situation there.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41203

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MIDEAST: No Lovers Got These Flowers
Mohammed Omer
RAFAH – After generations of occupation, Valentine’s Day has meant little in the Gaza Strip. But the flowers that lovers presented in Europe have.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41198

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IRAQ: A New Force Called Sahwa Shows Its Muscle
Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*
BAQUBA – The Awakening Councils in Diyala province are stepping up their protests against the government in Baghdad.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41187

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp

Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/index.asp

Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/index.asp

Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/index.asp

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/index.asp

View From the U.S.: Bush at War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/index.asp

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