America's North Shore Journal

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki stepped off the first plane landing in Najaf International Airport and waved to cheering crowds, July 20. The celebration marked the opening of a new airport, which will facilitate travel, boost business opportunities and increase tourism to the third-most-popular destination for Islamic pilgrimages. “The Najaf airport is a starting point for competition among provinces and local governments to make extraordinary progress toward reconstruction … We were determined to face the terrorism that was about to destroy Iraq. The strong will of the federal government has fought and defeated it in all of its forms,” Maliki said when he addressed the crowd. Members of the Iraqi army and Iraqi police maintained control over the mass of media and photographers who came to record the historic event. Young children laughed and … Read entire article »