WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pledged Friday to help combat an increasingly active al-Qaida in Iraq but stopped short of announcing new commitments of assistance sought by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Maliki came to the Oval Office requesting additional aid, including weapons and help with intelligence, to fight insurgent violence that has spiked in Iraq since American troops left in 2011.

Editorial for Dec. 8, 2005

After 14 month in Iraq, soldier tells story

Benjamin Joffe-Walt, an anti-war activist who participated in the Human Shields protest in Iraq before the U.S.-led war began, spoke to about 40 people at Riverside Church Monday night. Rather than talk extensively about the Human Shields action, in which activists from around the world placed themselves in areas vital to civilian life in order to deter military strikes against the Iraqi people, Joffe-Walt used his experience in Iraq — and as an activist in general — to present a “teach-in” style program encompassing topics ranging from Iraq’s recent history to the media’s role in the U.S.-led war and its aftermath to where the peace movement stands now.