We're Making Progress, Who CAREs edition

Care International announced today that they have suspended operations in Iraq after gunmen seized the woman who ran the humanitarian organization's work in the country.

Margaret Hassan, who holds British, Irish and Iraqi citizenship, was seized early Tuesday on her way to work in western Baghdad after gunmen blocked her route and dragged the driver and a companion from the car, her husband said.


Hassan, who is in her early 60s, is among the most widely known humanitarian officials in the Middle East and is also the most high-profile figure to fall victim to a wave of kidnappings sweeping Iraq in recent months.

This is the latest organization to scale back or end operations in Iraq because of the continuing chaos in the country. We reported here in July that Doctors Without Borders was Leaving Afghanistan after many years in that country because of the inability of the U.S. forces to halt the anarchy and chaos.