The blog of musicalsandconspiracy.com

Hiatus

2007-05-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

The blog of musicalsandconspiracy.com is going on hiatus to work on a 9/11-related paper. Oh, there may be an occasional song, but hopefully it will mostly be the paper. So good luck to the surge and reconciliation, if that's what Iraq wants. Don't forget semi-autonomous federalism and mixed region, if anyone feels the need. And always be on the lookout for conspiracies.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:45 AM ET
update: saturday, june 16, 2007, 3:51 PM ET

tags: 9/11

Congress passes benchmark bill

2007-05-26T10:09:00.000-05:00

"Congress sent President Bush a new Iraq funding bill yesterday that lacked troop withdrawal deadlines demanded by liberal Democrats, but party leaders vowed it was only a temporary setback in their efforts to bring home American troops.
War opponents dismissed the bill as a capitulation to Bush and said they would seek to hold supporters in both parties accountable. But backers said the bill's provisions -- including benchmarks for progress that the Iraqi government must meet to continue receiving reconstruction aid -- represented an assertion of congressional authority over the war that was unthinkable a few months ago.
Bush, who had vowed to veto any legislation with restrictions on troop deployments, announced he would sign the $120 billion package.
. . . The focus now shifts to September, when the new funding runs out, and when U.S. commanders say they will be able to assess the results of an ongoing troop buildup.
. . . 'We are moving backward,' said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), a war opponent. 'Instead of forcing the president to safely redeploy our troops, instead of coming up with a strategy providing assistance to a post-redeployment Iraq, and instead of a renewed focus on the global fight against al-Qaeda, we are faced with a spending bill that kicks the can down the road and buys the administration time.' "

source
Murray, Shailagh. (The Washington Post). Congress Passes Deadline-Free War Funding Bill. May 25, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:17 AM ET

tags: iraq congress russell feingold

US public still wants out, poll says

2007-05-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

"Americans now view the war in Iraq more negatively than at any time since the invasion more than four years ago, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Sixty-one percent of Americans say the United States should have stayed out of Iraq and 76 percent say things are going badly there, including 47 percent who say things are going very badly, the poll found.
Still, the majority of Americans support continuing to finance the war as long as the Iraqi government meets specific goals.
. . . A majority, 76 percent, including 51 percent of Republicans, say additional troops sent to Iraq this year by Mr. Bush either have had no impact or are making things worse. Twenty percent of all respondents say the increase is improving the situation.
Most Americans support a timetable for withdrawal. Sixty-three percent say the United States should set a date for withdrawing troops from Iraq sometime in 2008."

source
Sussman, Dalia. (The New York Times). Poll Shows View of Iraq War Is Most Negative Since Start. May 25, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:08 AM ET
update: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:18 AM ET

tags: iraq poll

Maliki names cabinet replacements

2007-05-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

"In Baghdad on Thursday, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki named replacements for six cabinet ministers who quit last month on the orders of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. At the time, Mr. Sadr said he was taking the action to protest Mr. Maliki’s refusal to back a timeline for the departure of American forces. But the cleric may also have wanted to distance himself from the increasingly unpopular Maliki administration, which completed its first year in office this week with scant progress in curbing violence or improving Iraq’s devastated public services.
Officials in Mr. Maliki’s office described his nominees as technocrats who would bring new levels of efficiency to the ministries, which included the politically delicate portfolios of agriculture, health and transport.
But Mr. Maliki also voiced some of his strongest opposition yet to pressure for his government to meet political 'benchmarks' on bitterly contested issues like the division of oil revenues. 'How can the head of an elected government accept another country imposing restrictions or conditions on its actions?' he said Wednesday in a television interview."

source
Burns, John F. (The New York Times). Iraqi Tribal Leader Is Killed, and Mourners Are Attacked. May 25, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:02 AM ET
update: saturday, may 26, 2007, 11:19 AM ET

tags: iraq maliki cabinet

Sadr returns as Hakim & Talabani medical problems / Sunni tribal leader visits Sadr City

2007-05-26T09:26:00.000-05:00

"Moqtada al-Sadr, the influential Shiite cleric and militia leader who went into hiding before the launch of a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive in February, is in the southern city of Kufa, senior U.S. military commanders said Thursday.
Sadr, who has long opposed the U.S. occupation and is ratcheting up pressure for a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, has returned from neighboring Iran, perhaps as recently as this week, they said.
. . . Sadr's movement is wooing Sunni leaders and purging extremists in his Mahdi Army militia in an attempt to strengthen his image as a nationalist who can lead all Iraqis at a time when antiwar sentiments are growing in the United States and Iraq's political landscape is increasingly fractured.
Sadr's apparent reemergence comes days after his main Shiite rival, cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, went to Iran for treatment of lung cancer. Hakim is also trying to strike a nationalist stance, recently changing the name of his party from the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq to the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq." [1]

"The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, flew to the United States on Sunday for a multiweek visit that his office said was for rest and for help in reducing his weight. His office denied local news media reports that Mr. Talabani was ill and said he was in general good health apart from his weight, The Associated Press reported. His extended departure comes at a time when the United States is pressing Iraqi politicians to make progress on a variety of measures." [2]

"Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resurfaced Friday after nearly four months in hiding and demanded U.S. troops leave Iraq, a development likely to complicate U.S. efforts to crack down on violence and broker political compromise in the country.
. . . 'No, no for Satan. No, no for America. No, no for the occupation. No, no for Israel,' the glowering, black-turbaned cleric chanted in a call and response with the crowd.
. . . 'To our Iraqi Sunni brothers, I say that the occupation sows dissension among us and that strength is unity and division is weakness,' he said. 'I'm ready to cooperate with them in all fields.'
. . . Al-Sadr's associates say his strategy rests in part on his belief that Washington will soon start reducing troop strength, leaving behind a hole in Iraq's security and political power structure that he can fill. He also believes al-Maliki's government may soon collapse under its failure to improve security, services and the economy, they say." [3]

"In a hopeful sign on Tuesday, a Sunni tribal leader made a conciliatory public visit to Sadr City, the Shiite enclave in western Baghdad. Sheikh Hamid al-Hayis, leader of an alliance of Sunni tribes that recently began providing men to fight Al Qaeda beside the marines in Anbar Province, met with backers of the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
Salih al-Ugaily, a Sadr supporter in Parliament, said in an interview that the two sides had agreed on the need for reconciliation and to expedite holding provincial elections, a major demand of Sunni Iraqis, many of whom have said they feel disenfranchised after boycotting previous elections." [4]

sources
[1] Ricks, Thomas E. & Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Sadr Back in Iraq, U.S. Generals Say. May 25, 2007.
[2] Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). 7 U.S. Soldiers Die in Iraq, 6 in Sweep of Baghdad. May 21, 2007.
[3] The Associated Press. Radical Anti-American Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Returns to Iraq. May 25, 2007.
[4] Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). Baghdad Truck Bomb Kills 25 and Wounds 100 Others. May 23, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 10:55 AM ET
update: saturday, june 16, 2007, 3:55 PM ET

tags: iraq sadr

Sectarian killings increase

2007-05-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

"More than three months into a U.S.-Iraqi security offensive designed to curtail sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq, Health Ministry statistics show that such killings are rising again.
From the beginning of May until Tuesday, 321 unidentified corpses, many dumped and showing signs of torture and execution, have been found across the Iraqi capital, according to morgue data provided by a Health Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The data showed that the same number of bodies were found in all of January, the month before the launch of the Baghdad security plan.
Such killings are a signature practice of Shiite militias, although Sunni insurgents are also known to execute victims. The number of found bodies is a key indicator of the level of sectarian violence, but the statistics also include some who died from causes unrelated to the political situation.
. . . Lt. Gen. Aboud Qanbar, the Iraqi commander overseeing the security plan, acknowledged in an interview that the number of unidentified corpses is rising and said there has been a spike in sectarian assaults by Shiite militias, especially elements of the Mahdi Army, the militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
. . . 'It's possible that some parties are using the name of Mahdi Army for killing the Sunnis,' said Ahmed Shaibani, a senior Sadr aide."

source
Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Morgue Data Show Increase In Sectarian Killings in Iraq. May 24, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 10:25 AM ET

tags: iraq sectarian

New US plan to have political emphasis

2007-05-26T09:03:00.000-05:00

"Top U.S. commanders and diplomats in Iraq are completing a far-reaching campaign plan for a new U.S. strategy.
. . . The classified plan, scheduled to be finished by May 31, is a joint effort between Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior American general in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker.
. . . The overarching aim of the plan, which sets goals for the end of this year and the end of 2008, is more political than military: to negotiate settlements between warring factions in Iraq from the national level down to the local level.
. . . The plan has three pillars to be carried out simultaneously -- in contrast to the prior sequential strategy of 'clear, hold and build.' One shifts the immediate emphasis of military operations away from transitioning to Iraqi security forces . . . toward protecting Iraq's population in trouble areas.
. . . Next, the plan emphasizes building the government's capacity to function, admitting severe weaknesses in government ministries and often nonexistent institutional links between the central government and provincial and local governments.
. . . Finally, the campaign plan aims to purge Iraq's leadership of a small but influential number of officials and commanders whose sectarian and criminal agendas are thwarting U.S. efforts."

source
Tyson, Ann Scott. (The Washington Post). New Strategy for War Stresses Iraqi Politics. May 23, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 10:15 AM ET

tags: iraq plan

Shiite stronghold model community, but tradeoff

2007-05-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

"Ice cream shops in the Shiite stronghold of Kadhimiya are flush with sweet-toothed customers. Hospitals have new supplies. Rents have tripled as displaced Shiites flock to the historic district’s spacious homes, while pilgrims stream to the golden-domed shrine at its heart.
. . . Religious Shiite leaders and their militias have unquestionably consolidated control, transforming Kadhimiya into what could be a model for much of Baghdad if the Shiites have their way.
. . . But the future that Kadhimiya points to may not be democratic, inclusive or just, at least by Western standards. Residents and American commanders describe the area as a nerve center for benign and malignant elements of Shiite power, the raw embodiment of the Shiite revival that has swept Iraq in the last four years.
. . . For the average Iraqi, the tradeoff for relative safety is living with a certain level of extortion, political corruption and religious militancy.
Loyalties in Kadhimiya can change block by block as rival militias vie for turf. Clerics post guards with Kalashnikov rifles in winding alleyways . . . There is even a gas station controlled by a different armed group every few days.
. . . The militias’ intimidating form of street justice, complete with underground Islamic courts, has helped prevent the catastrophic bomb attacks all too common in other Shiite neighborhoods."

source
Wong, Edward & Cave, Damien. (The New York Times). Baghdad District Is a Model, but Only for Shiites. May 22, 2007.

posted: saturday, may 26, 2007, 10:02 AM ET

tags: iraq kadhimiya

Sadr fight qaeda so US exit; outreach to Sunnis

2007-05-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

"Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr . . . is reaching out to a broad array of Sunni leaders, from politicians to insurgents, and purging extremist members of his Mahdi Army militia who target Sunnis. Sadr's political followers are distancing themselves from the fragile Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which is widely criticized as corrupt, inefficient and biased in favor of Iraq's majority Shiites. And moderates are taking up key roles in Sadr's movement, professing to be less anti-American and more nationalist as they seek to improve Sadr's image and position him in the middle of Iraq's ideological spectrum.
'We want to aim the guns against the occupation and al-Qaeda, not between Iraqis,' Ahmed Shaibani, 37, a cleric who leads Sadr's newly formed reconciliation committee, said.
. . . 'We are not anti-American. We think the Americans have an important role in rebuilding Iraq, but as companies, not as an army,' [Salah al-Obaidi, a senior aide to Sadr said]. . . 'We can open a new channel with the Democrats, even some of the Republicans.'
. . . If the sectarian war can be stopped, if the Mahdi Army and Sunni insurgent groups can join hands and break al-Qaeda in Iraq, there will be less reason for U.S. forces to stay, said Shaibani, wearing a black dishdasha, a traditional loose-fitting tunic, and clutching a Nokia cellphone during an interview in late April. 'The American argument is we can't have a timetable because of al-Qaeda,' he said. 'So we're going to weaken al-Qaeda for you.'

source
Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Iraq's Sadr Overhauls His Tactics. May 19, 2007.

posted: tuesday, may 22, 2007, 2:40 PM ET

tags: iraq moktada al-sadr al qaeda

Hakim to be treated for "limited tumor"

2007-05-22T13:14:00.000-05:00

"The leader of Iraq's largest Shiite party said Monday that tests in the United States have shown that he suffers from a "limited tumor" and that he will get medical treatment in Iran.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, 57, did not say where the tumor was, but officials close to him said he was diagnosed with lung cancer after undergoing tests last week at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston."

source
Hendawi, Hamzi. (The Associated Press). Iraqi Shiite Leader Says He Has Tumor. May 21, 2007.

posted: tuesday, may 22, 2007, 2:19 PM ET

tags: iraq abdul aziz al-hakim

Record number of contractor deaths

2007-05-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

"At least 146 contract workers were killed in Iraq in the first three months of the year, by far the highest number for any quarter since the war began in March 2003, according to the Labor Department, which processes death and injury claims for those working as United States government contractors in Iraq.
That brings the total number of contractors killed in Iraq to at least 917, along with more than 12,000 wounded in battle or injured on the job, according to government figures and dozens of interviews.
The numbers, which have not been previously reported, disclose the extent to which contractors — Americans, Iraqis and workers from more than three dozen other countries — are largely hidden casualties of the war, and now are facing increased risks alongside American soldiers and marines as President Bush’s plan to increase troop levels in Baghdad takes hold.
. . . Nearly 300 companies from the United States and around the world supply workers who are a shadow force in Iraq almost as large as the uniformed military. About 126,000 men and women working for contractors serve alongside about 150,000 American troops, the Pentagon has reported. Never before has the United States gone to war with so many civilians on the battlefield doing jobs — armed guards, military trainers, translators, interrogators, cooks and maintenance workers — once done only by those in uniform."

source
Broder, John M. & Risen, James. (The New York Times). Contractor Deaths in Iraq Soar to Record. May 19, 2007.

posted: tuesday, may 22, 2007, 2:12 PM ET

tags: iraq contractor

US ignored Afghan drugs now financing Taliban

2007-05-18T16:49:00.000-05:00

"To fight a Taliban insurgency flush with drug money for recruits and weapons, the Bush administration recognizes that it must also combat the drug trafficking it had largely ignored for years. But plans to clear poppy fields and pursue major drug figures have been frustrated by corruption in the Afghan government, and derided by critics as belated half-measures or missteps not likely to have much impact.
. . . The State Department and Pentagon repeatedly clashed over drug policy, according to current and former officials who were interviewed. Pentagon leaders refused to bomb drug laboratories and often balked at helping other agencies and the Afghan government destroy poppy fields, disrupt opium shipments or capture major traffickers, the officials say.
And the C.I.A. and military turned a blind eye to drug-related activities by prominent warlords or political figures they had installed in power, Afghan and American officials say.
. . . Administration officials say they had believed they could eliminate the insurgency first, then tackle the drug trade. “Now people recognize that it’s all related, and it’s one issue,” said Thomas Schweich, the State Department’s coordinator for counternarcotics in Afghanistan."

source
Risen, James. (The New York Times). Poppy Fields Are Now a Front Line in Afghan War. May 16, 2007.

posted: friday, may 18, 2007, 6:11 PM ET

tags: afghanistan drug

Sunni says US is problem; against faction meet / Anti-Shiite conspiracy, Shiite hotelier says

2007-05-16T04:52:00.000-05:00

" 'The problem in Iraq is the American Army,' . . . [Muhammad al-Daini, a Sunni Arab member of the Iraqi Parliament] told a group of attentive American legislators. . . 'What brought terrorism, what brought Al Qaeda and what brought Iranian influence is the Americans.'
Mr. Daini, soft-spoken and generally unsmiling, has been ushered from meeting to meeting by a public relations firm paid by an American businessman who calls the Iraqi politician 'a true humanitarian.' The businessman, Dal LaMagna, says he is devoting the fortune he made selling his high-end grooming tools business, Tweezerman, to seeking an end to the violence in Iraq.
. . . The American lawmakers were polite and inquisitive but some appeared nonplussed by hints of the polarization of Iraqi views. When Representative Bill Delahunt, Democrat of Massachusetts, suggested that it might be valuable to get all Iraqi factions to meet for talks in the United States, Mr. Daini demurred.
. . . Mr. Daini, 35, is a member of the National Dialogue Front, a Sunni Arab political group led by Saleh al-Mutlak, a former Baath Party official who insists that the Baath Party, the party of Saddam Hussein, was the best party ever to govern Iraq." [1]

"Ayad owns a hotel in the southern city of Karbala, home to two of Shiism’s most important shrines. His wife and two daughters wear veils. He believes that the violence in Iraq is a Sunni and American conspiracy against Shiites, and he argues that Iran is the best ally of Iraqi Shiites.
. . . The Sunnis, he said, have 'oppressed us since the days of the Prophet, and now it is our chance to hit back and rule.'
According to Ayad, a Shiite takeover in Iraq would set a good model for the Shiites of Lebanon, where they number about a third of the population, and Bahrain, where they are a majority.
'Perhaps the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia will act too, rid themselves of the Sunni oppression against them, and rule or at least separate themselves from Riyadh and create their own state.'
It is exactly this possibility that has made the Sunni Arab regimes fear a Shiite regional revolt and moved some to support the Sunni insurgency in Iraq or at least to voice their resentment of the Iraqi Shiite government, which is seen as being biased against Iraqi Sunnis.
. . . 'When we fought the Persians during the 1980s, we were wrong. We’re Shiites before being Iraqis. Sunnis invented national identity to rule us.' "

Op-ed by Hussain Abdul-Hussain, "a former reporter for The Daily Star of Lebanon." [2]

Peace thru oppression?

source
[1] Shane, Scott & Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Antiwar Iraqi in Washington Has a More Sectarian Agenda at Home. May 14, 2007.
[2] Abdul-Hussain, Hussain. (The New York Times). In Iraq, the play was the thing. May 7, 2007.

posted: wednesday, may 16, 2007, 6:14 AM ET
update: wednesday, may 18, 2007, 6:29 PM ET

tags: iraq muhammad al-daini dal lamagna tweezerman saleh al-mutlak

Oil missing

2007-05-16T04:37:00.000-05:00

"Between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels a day of Iraq’s declared oil production over the past four years is unaccounted for and could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling, according to a draft American government report.
Using an average of $50 a barrel, the [Government Accountability Office] report said the discrepancy was valued at $5 million to $15 million daily.
The report does not give a final conclusion on what happened to the missing fraction of the roughly two million barrels pumped by Iraq each day, but the findings are sure to reinforce longstanding suspicions that smugglers, insurgents and corrupt officials control significant parts of the country’s oil industry.
The report also covered alternative explanations for the billions of dollars worth of discrepancies, including the possibility that Iraq has been consistently overstating its oil production.
. . . Virtually the entire economy of Iraq is dependent on oil revenues."

source
Glanz, James. (The New York Times). Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, U.S. Study Says. May 12, 2007.

posted: wednesday, may 16, 2007, 5:49 AM ET

tags: iraq oil

Surge addresses 2005-06 security turnover mistake

2007-05-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

"The push to expand the U.S. and Iraqi presence in Baghdad's neighborhoods reflects what U.S. commanders now acknowledge was a mistaken drawdown in 2005 and 2006 of American troops in the capital, leaving Iraqi forces in their place.
'What we had been doing for 3 1/2 years didn't keep up with the sectarian violence spreading so swiftly,' said Maj. Gen. Joseph F. Fil Jr., the senior U.S. commander for Baghdad. The new approach 'will take every bit of the five brigades' of combat troops now flowing in as reinforcements in the city of 6 million people, he said.
"It's fairly obvious that we transferred out too soon," said Col. Bryan Roberts, who commands a U.S. cavalry brigade in central Baghdad.
The limited U.S. troop presence was one reason that sectarian killings soared out of control in Baghdad after the February 2006 bombing of an important Shiite mosque in Samarra. That spurred what U.S. officers now call the sectarian cleansing of most of eastern Baghdad and large swaths of the west -- as Shiites forced Sunnis out of all but a few enclaves -- a movement that was arrested only with the troop increase this February.
'The sectarian cleansing is pretty much done on the east side' of Baghdad, said a U.S. military official. But since the influx of U.S. and Iraqi forces began, he said, 'for the most part the Shia expansion is frozen where it is.' "

source
Tyson, Ann Scott. (The Washington Post). Commanders in Iraq See 'Surge' Into '08. May 9, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 13, 2007, 10:33 AM ET
update: sunday, may 13, 2007, 10:45 AM ET

tags: iraq baghdad

US killing Afghan civilians lately

2007-05-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

"Air strikes called in by U.S. Special Forces soldiers fighting with insurgents in southern Afghanistan killed at least 21 civilians, officials said Wednesday. One coalition soldier was also killed.
Helmand provincial Governor Assadullah Wafa said Taliban fighters sought shelter in villagers' homes during the fighting in the Sangin district Tuesday evening, and that subsequent air strikes killed 21 civilians, including several women and children.
. . . The report of civilian casualties comes less than a week after Afghan officials said that 51 civilians were killed in the western province of Herat.
It also comes one day after the U.S. military apologized and paid compensation to the families of 19 people killed and 50 wounded by U.S. Marines Special Forces who fired indiscriminately on civilians after being hit by a suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan in March.
Afghanistan's upper house of parliament on Tuesday passed a bill calling for a halt to all international military operations unless co-ordinated with the Afghan government, action seen as a rebuke of the international mission here." [1]

"Col. John Nicholson, an Army brigade commander in eastern Afghanistan, met Tuesday with the families of the 19 Afghans killed and 50 wounded when a Marine Special Operations unit opened fire on a crowded stretch of road near Jalalabad after a suicide bomber in a vehicle rammed their convoy.
. . . The company commander and the senior enlisted member from the unit involved in the incident were relieved of duty last month. With six other marines involved, they were returned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., until the investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service is completed, said Maj. Cliff W. Gilmore, a spokesman for the Marine Special Operations Command.
. . . Anger among Afghans at American tactics has seemed to intensify since the March 4 incident. After an incident this month in western Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai warned at a news conference that continuing civilian casualties would not be tolerated." [2]

sources
[1] Khan, Noor. (The Associated Press). 21 civilians said killed by Afghan air strike. May 9, 2007.
[2] Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). U.S. Pays and Apologizes to Kin of Afghans Killed by Marines. May 9, 2007.

posted: friday, may 11, 2007, 2:27 PM ET
update: friday, may 18, 2007, 6:32 PM ET

tags: afghanistan

Oil law by Sept, need navy-air-force, Rubaie says

2007-05-11T12:48:00.000-05:00

"Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the national security adviser to Iraq’s prime minister, undertook on Tuesday what may have been his most challenging mission yet: trying to persuade American lawmakers who have all but run out of patience that still more patience is required.
. . . Mr. Rubaie stressed that a law distributing oil revenues would be in place by September and that a date would be set for provincial elections to be held in 2008.
Work is under way on constitutional reforms, he said, and the overhaul of the policy barring most former Baath Party members from government jobs would be completed by the end of the year.
. . . Mr. Rubaie also asserted that Iraqi government officials were involved in serious discussions with several insurgent groups, including the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade and Ansar al-Sunna — an effort to split the opposition and turn them against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia.
. . . Mr. Rubaie stressed that Iraq was involved in a historic process to overcome the long legacy of authoritarian rule, and that the early withdrawal of American troops would lead to chaos." [1]

"Although U.S. troops could eventually redeploy to forward bases in Iraq and the region, he said, a U.S. presence will be needed until Iraq builds not just an army, but also an air force and a navy, which could take decades.
'We will need coalition forces for the foreseeable future,' he said in an interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Post. 'Building an air force to own our air and to be able to defend Iraq cannot be done overnight, or in months. It will take decades to build an air force and to build a navy.' " [2]

source
[1] Gordon, Michael R. (The New York Times). Official Takes Case to U.S., but Skeptics Don’t Budge. May 9, 2007.
[2] Wright, Robin. (The Washington Post). Iraq Seeks Time to Take Steps, but Levin Notes 'Disconnect'. May 10, 2007.
posted: friday, may 11, 2007, 2:03 PM ET
update: sunday, may 13, 2007, 10:17 AM ET

tags: iraq mowaffak al-rubaie

More thoughts on draft oil law

2007-05-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

If there is concern over the timely distribution of oil revenue, then the idea mentioned previously of having an outside organization do the distributing seems like a good solution. If some want the revenue distributed by the central government and others want it done by a third party, then let the ones who want it done by the central government have their revenue distributed by the central government and the ones who want it done by a third party have it done by a third party.

Another way of equitably distributing oil revenue and addressing Kurdish concerns over management could be to divide the oil fields between the various groups. The Shiites and Kurds could keep managing the fields in their regions, but the Sunnis and any other groups would get to manage fields in the Shiite and Kurdish regions proportionate to their population.

The potential for manipulation or coercion of Iraqis of all groups by those who control Iraq's oil or oil revenue is great, so care should be taken to pass a law that will ensure that these things will not occur.

posted: wednesday, may 9, 2007, 10:27 AM ET
update: wednesday, may 9, 2007, 10:33 AM ET

tags: iraq draft oil law

Many US soldiers believe abuse of Iraqis OK

2007-05-09T08:48:00.000-05:00

"More than one-third of U.S. soldiers in Iraq surveyed by the Army said they believe torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents, the Pentagon disclosed yesterday. Four in 10 said they approve of such illegal abuse if it would save the life of a fellow soldier.
In addition, about two-thirds of Marines and half the Army troops surveyed said they would not report a team member for mistreating a civilian or for destroying civilian property unnecessarily. 'Less than half of Soldiers and Marines believed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect,' the Army report stated.
About 10 percent of the 1,767 troops in the official survey -- conducted in Iraq last fall -- reported that they had mistreated civilians in Iraq, such as kicking them or needlessly damaging their possessions.
. . . The study also found that the more often soldiers are deployed, the longer they are deployed each time; and the less time they spend at home, the more likely they are to suffer mental health problems such as combat trauma, anxiety and depression." [1]

"The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Monday he was concerned by a recent survey that concluded many combat troops would not report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian.
Speaking to the annual meeting of The Associated Press, Gen. David Petraeus called for a 'redoubling of our education efforts' to identify potential for abuses among soldiers in Iraq and anticipate problems related to combat stress during extended missions that can last up to 15 months." [2]

sources
[1] Ricks, Thomas E. & Tyson, Ann Scott. (The Washington Post). Troops at Odds With Ethics Standards. May 5, 2007.
[2] Murphy, Brian. (The Associated Press). Petraeus 'Concerned' by Ethics Report. May 7, 2007.

posted: wednesday, may 9, 2007, 10:07 AM ET
update: wednesday, may 9, 2007, 10:11 AM ET

tags: iraq ethics

Inatl conference: debt relief, reform, proxy war

2007-05-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

"The Thursday conclave [at the international conference in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt] centered around trying to persuade the international community, particularly the Persian Gulf countries, to agree to a debt relief and financial aid for Iraq. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said that donor countries, including Britain, Saudi Arabia and China, pledged to waive $30 billion in Iraqi debt.
In return, Baghdad promised to enact a series of reforms, like better inclusion of the country’s Sunni minority in the political process, an oil law and better legal protections for Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds." [1]

"Iraq has become a proxy battlefield for influence in the region between the Shiite Muslim government of Iran and the Sunni-led capitals of the Arab world. While the United States would like to help buttress Iraq’s Shiite-led central government, some Arab capitals have been reluctant to offer their support out of concern that they would, in turn, be helping to empower Iran.
Arab leaders believe that the presence of American troops in Iraq are destabilizing the region, inciting people to adopt the most radical Islamic ideologies. But they fear that a precipitous withdrawal would lead to civil war and give Iran a stronger hand in Iraq than it already has, analysts and former officials said." [2]

"For their part, the [U.S] official said, Arab governments need to show more appreciation of the problems Maliki faces and the progress, however slow, he has made. Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, do not understand "what's really happening in Iraq," he said.
The official, who briefed reporters after attending the Rice-Maliki meeting, said that negative Arab views of Maliki's Shiite-dominated government are skewed by a fixation on the Sunni-Shiite divide, based on information from "interested parties" inside Iraq.
While the administration shares their concerns about Sunni minority rights and Shiite Iran's growing influence in Baghdad, he said, the answer "is not exclusion, passivity and ostracization of Iraq" by its neighbors." [3]

sources
[1] Cooper, Helene & Elsen, Jon. (The New York Times). U.S. Officials Meet Briefly With Iranians. May 4, 2007.
[2] Slackman, Michael & Cooper, Helene. (The New York Times). Concern Is High and Unity Hopes Are Nil at Talks on Iraq. May 3, 2007.
[3] DeYoung, Karen. (The Washington Post). Rice Presses Maliki on Eve Of Conference on Iraq Aid. May 3, 2007.

posted: wednesday, may 9, 2007, 9:48 AM ET

tags: iraq sharm el sheik

Baghdadi not killed; existence questioned

2007-05-06T22:54:00.000-05:00

"On Thursday, Iraqi government officials said the man who had been killed was actually Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent umbrella organization said to have been created by al-Qaeda in Iraq.
But [Maj. Gen William B.] Caldwell questioned whether Baghdadi 'even exists,' stressing that the U.S. military had nobody, 'alive or dead,' that is 'going through any kind of testing or analysis at this point,' referring to both Masri and Baghdadi.
'There's a lot of discussion about a person called al-Baghdadi, but we actually have no knowledge who that might be,' Caldwell said.
The Islamic State of Iraq, in a statement posted on an insurgent Web site, asserted that Jubouri had been "martyred" but that Baghdadi was still alive.
'We assure the nation that our chief 'Abu Omar al-Baghdadi' is still enjoying the blessings of God, and that what media agencies stated that he was killed is not true,' the statement read."

source
Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). U.S. Identifies Dead Insurgent As Group's Propaganda Chief. May 4, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:59 PM ET
update: monday, may 7, 2007, 12:04 AM ET

tags: iraq abu omar al-baghdadi conspiracy theory

Draft oil law submitted to Parliament; Kurd issues

2007-05-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

" Iraq's oil minister said the country's draft oil law was submitted to parliament on Wednesday, setting up potentially bitter negotiations over the creation of a framework for managing the country's vast petroleum supplies and distributing oil revenue.
. . . The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, told Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Kurds would not accept the oil law unless a piece of companion legislation, and accompanying annexes detailing revenue distribution, were amended. The changes would allow the Kurds greater concessions in developing oil fields in their territory, according to Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish legislator.
. . . 'The Kurds will not accept the law to be put before the parliament as a first part and a second part -- it needs to be a package,' Othman said. 'The whole problem is because this law was made in a hurry, and the Americans were rushing everyone to do it. The details haven't been discussed, that's why there's no agreement.'
Mehdi Hafedh, a parliament member . . . said he believed that the Kurdish opposition was determined but that eventually a compromise solution would be reached." [1]

"In Iraq, the Kurds have taken issue with a new provision that was quietly packaged with the draft oil law by the Shiite-led Oil Ministry last month. The measure would essentially cede control of the management of nearly all known oil fields and related contracts to a state-run oil company to be established after passage of the law, said a spokesman for the Kurdish regional government.
The spokesman, Khalid Salih, said the provision violated a clause in the Constitution that says the central government must work with regional governments to determine management of known fields that have not been developed. The Kurds . . . have been arguing for maximum regional control over oil contracts.
The provision is part of four so-called annexes that are to be debated with the draft oil law in Parliament. Any objection to one or more of the annexes will stall passage of the law.
. . . A senior Shiite Arab legislator, Sheik Jalaladin al-Saghir, said the concerns raised by the Kurds amounted to a bargaining tactic. 'I think it’s a maneuver,' he said, adding that he believed the Kurds 'will move forward to pass the law since everybody needs it.' " [2]

sources
[1] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Draft Oil Measure Sent to Parliament. May 3, 2007.
[2] Wong, Edward & Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. (The New York Times). Iraqi Blocs Opposed to Draft Oil Bill. May 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:50 PM ET

tags: iraq draft oil law

75,000 US troops for advisory role

2007-05-06T22:19:00.000-05:00

"The surge must be accompanied by a commensurate surge in Iraqi troops. To date, the Iraqis have simply been shifting soldiers from other areas into Baghdad. But these are stop-gap soldiers — as are our own — when what we seek is permanence. The Iraqi government must double the size of its army, to 300,000 combat troops from 150,000 today. The American surge will give them the breathing room to do so, and a deadline by which it must be done.
. . . The idea is that, starting this fall, the Iraqi units would bulk up so the American units could begin to break up, moving to an advisory model in which the number of American soldiers embedded with Iraqi units triples while the overall United States force declines.
. . . Oddly, the Congressional resolutions calling for withdrawal would allow for this continued American advisory presence, somehow not including these troops as 'combat forces.'
. . . The issue will be the numbers. A meaningful advisory force — both the embedded troops and the support personnel — would likely mean 75,000 Americans still in Iraq in the fall of 2008. This is about half of what we’ll have in place for the surge this summer, but more than the supporters of the resolutions might expect."

Op-ed by Owen West, Marine Reserves major.

source
West, Owen. (The New York Times). Why Congress Should Embrace the Surge. May 1, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:32 PM ET
update: monday, may 7, 2007, 12:03 AM ET

tags: iraq advisory

Iraq terror acts rose 91% in 2006

2007-05-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

"The number of terrorism incidents in Iraq -- and resulting deaths, injuries and kidnappings -- skyrocketed from 2005 to 2006, according to statistics released by U.S. counterterrorism officials yesterday.
Of the 14,338 reported terrorist attacks worldwide last year, 45 percent took place in Iraq, and 65 percent of the global fatalities stemming from terrorism occurred in Iraq. In 2005, Iraq accounted for 30 percent of the worldwide terrorist attacks.
The figures, compiled by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and released with the annual State Department Country Reports on Terrorism, showed that the number of incidents in Iraq rose 91 percent, from 3,468 in 2005 to 6,630 in 2006.
Almost all of those incidents involved the death, injury or kidnapping of at least one person. All told, the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped as a result of terrorism in Iraq jumped 87 percent, from 20,685 to 38,713."

source
Kessler, Glenn. (The Washington Post). U.S. Cites 91 Percent Rise In Terrorist Acts in Iraq. May 1, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:18 PM ET

tags: iraq National Counterterrorism Center

Iraqi dept removing anti-militia security officers

2007-05-06T21:54:00.000-05:00

"A department of the Iraqi prime minister's office is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias, according to U.S. military officials in Baghdad.
. . . Although some of the officers appear to have been fired for legitimate reasons, such as poor performance or corruption, several were considered to be among the better Iraqi officers in the field. The dismissals have angered U.S. and Iraqi leaders who say the Shiite-led government is sabotaging the military to achieve sectarian goals.
. . . At the national level, some U.S. officials are increasingly concerned about the Office of the Commander in Chief, a behind-the-scenes department that works on military issues for the prime minister.
One adviser in the office, Bassima Luay Hasun al-Jaidri, has enough influence to remove and intimidate senior commanders, and her work has 'stifled' many officers who are afraid of angering her, a senior U.S. military official said. U.S. commanders are considering installing a U.S. liaison officer in the department to better understand its influence."

source
Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Maliki's Office Is Seen Behind Purge in Forces. April 30, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 11:09 PM ET

tags: iraq bassima luay hasun al jaidri

Bush vetoes withdrawal bill; Dems drop timeline

2007-05-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

"President Bush vetoed a $124 billion war spending bill on Tuesday, setting up a second round in his long battle with Congressional Democrats who are determined to use the financing measure to force the White House to shift course in Iraq.
The veto was only the second of Mr. Bush’s presidency. In a six-minute televised speech from the White House, the president called the measure a “prescription for chaos and confusion,” and said, as he has for weeks, that he could not sign it because it contained timetables for troop withdrawal.
. . . Democrats concede they do not have enough votes to override the veto. But, speaking in the Capitol shortly after Mr. Bush’s remarks, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, and the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said they would not be deterred from pushing the president as hard as they could to bring the troops home.
'If the president thinks by vetoing this bill he will stop us from working to change the direction of the war in Iraq, he is mistaken,' Mr. Reid said. He added, 'Now he has an obligation to explain his plan to responsibly end this war.' " [1]

"President Bush and congressional leaders began negotiating a second war funding bill yesterday, with Democrats offering the first major concession: an agreement to drop their demand for a timeline to bring troops home from Iraq.
. . . 'We made our position clear. He made his position clear. Now it is time for us to try to work together,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said after a White House meeting. 'But make no mistake: Democrats are committed to ending this war.'
Bush said he is 'confident that we can reach agreement,' and he assigned three top aides to negotiate.
But a new dynamic also is at work, with some Republicans now saying that funding further military operations in Iraq with no strings attached does not make practical or political sense.
. . . House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) indicated that the next bill will include benchmarks for Iraq -- such as passing a law to share oil revenue, quelling religious violence and disarming sectarian militias -- to keep its government on course. Failure to meet benchmarks could cost Baghdad billions of dollars in nonmilitary aid." [2]

sources
[1] Stolberg, Sheryl Gay & Zeleny, Jeff. (The New York Times). Bush Vetoes Bill Tying Iraq Funds to Exit. May 2, 2007.
[2] Weisman, Jonathan & Murray, Shailagh. (The Washington Post). Democrats Back Down On Iraq Timetable. May 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, may 6, 2007, 10:53 PM ET
update: monday, may 7, 2007, 12:06 AM ET

tags: iraq bush veto

War of insurgency-subversion-infiltration post-WWII

2007-05-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

"Following World War II, there were ample indicators that America's enemies would turn to insurgency to negate our advantages in firepower and mobility. The French experiences in Indochina and Algeria offered object lessons to Western armies facing unconventional foes. These lessons were not lost on the more astute members of America's political class. In 1961, President Kennedy warned of 'another type of war, new in its intensity, ancient in its origin — war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins, war by ambush instead of by combat, by infiltration instead of aggression, seeking victory by evading and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him.' In response to these threats, Kennedy undertook a comprehensive program to prepare America's armed forces for counterinsurgency."

source
Yingling, Paul, Lt. Col. (Armed Forces Journal). A failure in generalship. May, 2007. *

footnote
* Good article, but it doesn't mention the surge or Gen. Petraeus who are doing the counterinsurgency that the article seems to favor.

posted: tuesday, may 1, 2007, 4:22 PM ET

tags: iraq counterinsurgency john f. kennedy

Security contractor laws not enforced, Blackwater president says

2007-05-01T14:39:00.000-05:00

"Actually, there are quite a few federal laws that regulate [private security] contractors. The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) creates jurisdiction for federal court trials, and the wrongdoing itself is covered under statutes like the War Crimes Act, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, the Anti-Torture Statute, the Defense Base Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and a whole raft of other domestic regulations, not to mention international prohibitions. The issue has never been about regulation; rather, it has always been about a lack of enforcement.
. . . Author Jeremy Scahill has called Blackwater’s founder a “Christian supremacist” and has claimed that he has created, 'a private army to defend Christendom around the world against secularists.'
. . . [Blackwater founder and CEO Erik] Prince is a practicing Roman Catholic and I assure you is no radical. His views, which others have inflated to serve their own agendas, are his own and he makes no effort to force them on anyone at Blackwater." [1]

"In his new best-selling book, 'Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army' (Nation), the writer Jeremy Scahill describes the company as the private and secretive Praetorian Guard of the Bush administration. He has called Blackwater, 'one of the greatest beneficiaries of the ‘war on terror,’ ' profiting from lucrative contracts with the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, and deploying battalions of secret soldiers in nine countries, notably Iraq and Afghanistan.
Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater USA since October 2001, keeps a decidedly low profile, but he recently granted an interview to the author R. J. Hillhouse, who runs an unusual blog on security and intelligence called The Spy Who Billed Me. She is both skeptical and sympathetic toward private military contractors, which are dominated by companies like Blackwater, and often run by special-operations veterans like Mr. Jackson and retired C.I.A. officers." [2]

sources
[1] Hillhouse, R.J. (The Spy Who Billed Me). Exclusive Interview: Blackwater USA's President Gary Jackson. April 26, 2007.
[2] Weiner, Tim. (The New York Times). A Security Contractor Defends His Team, Which, He Says, Is Not a Private Army. April 29, 2007.

posted: tuesday, may 1, 2007, 4:04 PM ET

tags: iraq contractor blackwater gary jackson

Maintenance problems for US built facilities

2007-05-01T14:18:00.000-05:00

"Inspections of eight facilities that were rehabilitated or built as part of U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq revealed problems with maintenance that suggest some such projects may not function as long or as well as planned, according to a federal oversight agency.
The evaluations were conducted by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which is charged with monitoring projects for fraud, waste and abuse of funds.
. . . [It] looked at eight projects across Iraq, with a total cost of about $150 million, and found maintenance and operational problems with seven.
The findings range from unrepaired water leaks that damaged floors at the Camp Ur military base in Nasiriyah, generators that weren't working at Baghdad International Airportand expensive equipment going unused at a maternity and pediatric hospital in Irbil.
Bowen said that each of the facilities had generally been completed as originally envisioned but that the problems found had at least, in some cases, partly impaired the facilities' ability to function fully."

source
Hedgpeth, Dana. (The Washington Post). Report Finds Problems at Iraqi Sites Built or Aided by U.S. April 29, 2007.

posted: tuesday, may 1, 2007, 3:33 PM ET

tags: special inspector general for iraq reconstruction iraq

Excerpts from Gen. Petraeus press conference

2007-04-29T04:01:00.000-05:00

"The focus of Multinational Force Iraq is, of course, on working with our Iraqi counterparts to help improve security for the people of Iraq in order to give Iraqi leaders the time and space they need to come to grips with the tough political issues that must be resolved. Resolution of these issues is the key to the achievement of reconciliation among the various ethnic and sectarian groups, political parties and leaders in order to achieve a lasting solution to Iraq's problems.
We are still in the relatively early stages of our new effort, about two months into it, with three of five Army surge brigades and two additional Marine battalions on the ground, and the remainder of the additional combat forces scheduled to be operating in their areas by mid-June.
Baghdad is the main effort, and we continue to establish joint security stations and combat outposts in the city and in the belts around it. The presence of coalition and Iraqi forces and increased operational tempo, especially in areas where until recently we had no sustained presence, have begun to produce results. Most significantly, Iraqi and coalition forces have helped to bring about a substantial reduction in the rate of sectarian murders each month from January until now in Baghdad, a reduction of about two-thirds. There have also been increases in weapons caches seized and the number of actionable tips received.
In the Ramadi area, for example, U.S. and Iraqi forces have found nearly as many caches in the first four months of this year as they found in all of last year.
Beyond this, we are seeing a revival of markets, renewed commerce, the return of some displaced families and the slow resumption of services, though I want to be very clear that there is vastly more work to be done across the board and in many areas, and I again note that we are really just getting started with the new effort.
I am well aware that the sense of gradual progress and achievement we feel on the ground in many areas in Iraq is often eclipsed by the sensational attacks that overshadow our daily accomplishments. While the enemy's effectiveness in carrying out such attacks has been reduced by our operations to some degree, there clearly are still far too many of them, and we obviously are focusing heavily on actions to identify and dismantle the networks that carry out car bomb and suicide vest attacks and their supporting infrastructure.
Our achievements have not come without sacrifice. Our increase in operational tempo, location of our forces in the populations they are securing and conduct of operations in areas where we previously had no presence, as well as the enemy's greater use of certain types of explosive devices, have led to an increase in our losses. Our Iraqi partners have sacrificed heavily as well, with losses generally two to three times ours or even more.
Indeed, while some Iraqi forces remain a work in progress, there should be no question that Iraq's soldiers and police are fighting and dying for their country, and a number of them have impressively shouldered their part of the burden of the fight against al Qaeda and the other enemies of the new Iraq. To help them progress, we have steadily been increasing the number of transition teams, the train and equip effort, and steadily strengthening the partnership programs between our forces and Iraqi elements.
The situation in Iraq is, in sum, exceedingly complex and very tough. Success will take continued commitment, perseverance and sacrifice, all to make possible an opportunity for the all-important Iraqi political actions that are the key to long-term solutions to Iraq's many problems. Because we are operating in new areas and challenging elements in those areas, this effort may get harder before it gets easier.
Success, in the end, will depend on Iraqi actions. As I noted during my confirmation hearing, military action is necessary but not sufficient. We can provide the Iraqis an opportunity, but they will have to exploit it.
During Secretary Gates' recent visit to Iraq, we agreed that in early September, Ambassador Ryan Crocker and I would provide an assessment of the situation in Iraq with respect to our mission and offer recommendations on the way ahead. We will be forthright in that assessment, as I believe I have been with you today.
Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all Americans for their support of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and civilians serving in Iraq. Our young men and women in uniform deserve the recognition that Tom Brokaw accorded them when he described them as America's 'new greatest generation.' It's a privilege to serve with them again."

"[QUESTION]: You say that Iraq is now the central focus of al Qaeda's worldwide effort. Are you saying that al Qaeda in Iraq is now the sort of principal enemy of the U.S. forces stationed there? Before it was Shi'a groups. And do you see that al Qaeda in Iraq -- do you see any evidence that it is linked internationally to bin Laden? How many foreign fighters are actually there?
GEN. PETRAEUS: First of all, we do definitely see links to the greater al Qaeda network. I think you know that we have at various times intercepted messages to and from. There is no question but that there is a network that supports the movement of foreign fighters through Syria into Iraq.
It is something we can, you know, keep some track of in a broad way. Obviously, when we can get the final 50 meters, if you will, we then take action against it.
It is clearly the element in Iraq that conducts the sensational attacks, these attacks that, as I mentioned, cause not just horrific physical damage -- and which, by the way, have been increasingly indiscriminate. Secretary Gates noted the other day that al Qaeda has declared war on all Iraqis, and I think that that is an accurate statement. They have killed and wounded and maimed countless Iraqi civilians in addition to, certainly, coalition and Iraqi security forces, and they have done that, again, without regard to ethnosectarian identity.
That significance of al Qaeda in the conduct of the sensational attacks, the huge car bomb attacks against which we have been hardening markets, hardening neighborhoods, trying to limit movement and so forth -- those attacks, again, are of extraordinary significance because they can literally drown out anything else that might be happening.
As I mentioned, we generally in many areas -- not all, but in many areas -- have a sense of sort of incremental progress. Again, that is not transmitted at all. Of course it will never break through the noise and the understandable coverage given to it in the press of a sensational attack that kills many Iraqis.
So this is a -- you know, it is a very significant enemy. I think it is probably public enemy number one. It is the enemy whose actions sparked the enormous increase in sectarian violence that did so much damage to Iraq in 2006, the bombing of the Al Askari mosque in Samarra, the gold-domed mosque there, the third holiest Shi'a shrine. And it is the organization that continues to try to reignite not just sectarian violence but ethnic violence, as well, going after Iraqi Kurds in Nineveh province and Kirkuk and areas such as that, as well. So again, I think a very, very significant enemy in that regard."

"We will have seen [by September] additional Iraqi security forces -- I forget the exact number that is being trained just in the month of May that will graduate from this greatly expanded institutional training capacity of the Iraqis. I think it's in the order of 7,000 to 9,000 in the military alone."

"The Iranian involvement has really become much clearer to us and brought into much more focus during the interrogation of the members -- the heads of the Qazali network and some of the key members of that network that have been in detention now for a month or more."

"I don't think we have found a link [of Iran] to the spectacular car-bomb attacks, which we believe are generally al Qaeda and elements sort of connected to al Qaeda. Typically, in fact, still we believe that, oh, 80 to 90 percent of the suicide attacks are carried out by foreigners. That's a network, again, that typically brings them in through Syria and is again a major concern and certainly a hope that Syria will crack down on the ability of people to come through their airport and so forth and then be brought into Iraq."

"[Prime Minister Maliki is] not the Prime Minister Tony Blair of Iraq. He does not have a parliamentary majority. He does not have his ministers in all of the different ministries. They are from all kinds of different parties. They sometimes sound a bit discordant in their statements to the press and their statements to other countries. It's a very, very challenging situation in which to lead."

"Well, look, I think first of all that the tribal elements of Iraq are a fact of life, and that what Iraq eventually will have is some form of government that at least listens to and incorporates the views of tribes and sheikhs, particularly in an area like Anbar province. Now, it varies when you're in cities; the tribal influence is less.
But I think that, candidly, a mistake that we may have made in early days was not to pay enough attention to these very important elements of Iraqi society, which still play a very, very key role and are really, you know, a lot more than I think sort of the stereotypical view of tribes. I mean, each tribe generally has a construction company, an import-export business, and a trucking company as well. I mean these are entrepreneurs as well as tribes, and they provide a variety of services to the members of their tribes.
So I think, again, that what results in Anbar province will actually have the features of democratic governance representing the citizens of Anbar province and being responsive to them.
But among those elements to whom they are responsive will be certainly the sheikhs and the leaders of the major tribes in that area, because of the allegiance that the people give to them."

"[T]he progress is interesting, because it's a negative. It means nothing happened, in most cases. In other words, there were not sectarian murders. Whether that is newsworthy before it goes on for several weeks is obviously arguable.
But anyway, so what I asked was, 'Hey, come on, it's about dusk, let's go -- we'll fly around the city a little bit.' And we flew around. And so -- I mean, it was unbelievable.
This is a day in which I think there was a car bomb in Iraq, some of . . . [Baghdad's] seven million citizens were affected by that, but you could not have told that from what we saw over the city. There were three big amusement parks operational. I'm talking about, you know, roller coaster kinds of -- these are not just a couple little merry-go-rounds in small neighborhood parks. Restaurants in some parts of the city were booming. Lots of markets were open. The people were on the street. There were -- there had to be a thousand soccer games ongoing. They're watering the grass in various professional soccer fields -- the soccer leagues.
You know, all of this is actually so foreign, I think, in the mind of most people who see the news and of course do see that day's explosion or something like that. And actually there is a city of seven million in which life goes on, and again, citizens are determined to carry on with their life."

source
U.S. Department of Defense. DoD News Briefing with Gen. Petraeus from the Pentagon. (Transcript). April 26, 2007.

video
The Pentagon Channel. Pentagon Briefing 26 April 2007. (Click appropriate link or use search box).

posted: sunday, april 29, 2007, 5:54 AM ET

tags: iraq petraeus

Kurds want their oil fields, Sunnis want oil unity

2007-04-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

"Politicians from the . . . Kurdish region say measures in the law that would take undeveloped oil fields away from regional governments and have a new national oil company oversee them are unconstitutional.
'Iraq, frankly, does not have the money to invest in oil fields,' said Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish region's minister of natural resources. He added that the Kurds are disputing four annexes to the draft law that would dilute their ability to exploit oil in their territory. If the draft isn't 'watered down,' Kurdish regional authorities will not support it, he said.
The Kurds also don't trust the central government to distribute oil revenue, saying it has been behind in payments in other instances. Some have suggested that a fund be set up outside Iraq to dole out that money. 'We are asking for our fair share and guarantees that we will receive it,' Hawrami said.
Sunni Arabs and some secular Shiite politicians, however, stand firm that the central government must control oil production and revenue distribution. 'If we want to keep the unity of Iraq, the best way is to keep the oil under the authority of the central government,' said Adnan Pachachi, a secular Sunni with the Iraqi National List party of former prime minister Ayad Allawi. *
While some Kurds favor allowing agreements that would share production with foreign oil companies, many Sunnis and Shiites are against them on nationalistic grounds. They prefer service contracts."

source
Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Baghdad's Fissures and Mistrust Keep Political Goals Out of Reach. April 26, 2007.

footnote
* The main reason for some sort of centralized distribution of oil revenue, whether from the Iraqi national government or somewhere else, should be the fair distribution of these revenues. It should not be used to keep regions or provinces from achieving a more autonomous status, if that's what they want.

posted: saturday, april 28, 2007, 6:07 PM ET
update: sunday, april 29, 2007, 4:42 AM ET

related posting
Should Iraq's oil fields be nationalized? April 11, 2007.

tags: iraq oil

Mixed marriage massacre

2007-04-25T14:50:00.000-05:00

"The bad blood began to rise a few months ago in northern Iraq with the kind of interfaith love so reviled by Iraq's religious extremists: A Muslim woman eloped with a member of the tiny Yazidi religious sect.
It erupted in a massacre Sunday, police said, when Sunni gunmen in Mosul hijacked a busload of mostly Yazidi workers from a nearby town and shot and killed 23 of them, one by one.
The mass killing was the latest attack on religious minorities in Iraq, where human rights groups say Christians, Jews and members of other, smaller sects are often killed, persecuted or forced to convert by Muslim extremists. Last month in Kirkuk, two elderly Chaldean Catholic nuns were killed by armed men who stormed their house as they slept.
. . . 'They don't know the language of negotiation,' he said of the killers, who he said were probably members of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. 'They only know the language of weapons.' "

source
Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). An Iraqi Massacre Rooted in Interfaith Love. April 23, 2007.

related posting
Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution? March 6, 2007.

posted: wednesday, april 25, 2007, 4:37 PM ET

tags: iraq yazidi mixed marriage

Sunni "gated community" controversy

2007-04-25T13:51:00.000-05:00

"The U.S. military is walling off at least 10 of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods and using biometric technology to track some of their residents, creating what officers call 'gated communities' in an attempt to carve out oases of safety in this war-ravaged city.
The plan drew widespread condemnation in Iraq this past week. On Sunday night, Prime Minister Nouri-al Maliki told news services that he would work to halt construction of a wall around the Sunni district of Adhamiyah, which residents said would aggravate sectarian tensions by segregating them from Shiite neighbors.
. . . The tactic is part of the two-month-old U.S. and Iraqi counterinsurgency plan to calm sectarian strife and is loosely modeled after efforts in cities such as Tall Afar and Fallujah, where the military says it has curbed violence by strictly controlling access. The gated communities concept has produced mixed results in previous wars -- including failure in Vietnam, where peasants were forcibly moved to fortified hamlets, only to become sympathizers of the insurgency.
. . . [S]outhern Ghazaliyah is a base for al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgent groups." [1]

"The barrier quickly drew criticism from Adhamiyah residents, who . . . likened it to the barriers Israel has constructed around the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which are much-maligned in the Arab world. Other critics joined the outcry, among them human rights activists and representatives of anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, one of whom told reporters in Najaf that the walls amounted to a 'siege of the city.'
. . . Dawood al-Azami, deputy director of the Adhamiyah local council, said 90 percent of respondents to a survey distributed in the neighborhood on Sunday were strongly opposed to the wall, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. military officials say many residents of the city's newly walled-off neighborhoods are pleased with the barriers. Mohammad al-Kabi [a building contractor] is one.
. . . Checkpoints and road closures already have severed his ties to friends and business partners on the other side of wall, he said. There used to be daily clashes on his street. Now, with the wall going up, he said he feels more protected.
'There are no other options,' said Kabi, a Shiite Muslim. 'It has reduced the violence. The snipers are not shooting at us anymore.' [2]

"The strong reaction underscores the sense of powerlessness Iraqis feel in the face of the American military, whose presence is all the more pervasive as an increasing number of troops move on to the city’s streets.
And it has proved to be an unlikely boon for Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, making the Shiite politician — at least for now — into a champion for Sunnis because he publicly opposed the wall’s construction." [3]

source
[1] Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). 'Gated Communities' For the War-Ravaged. April 23, 2007.
[2] Bruillard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Iraq Blast Kills 9 GIs, Injures 20 At Outpost. April 24, 2007.
[3] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). Frustration Over Wall Unites Sunni and Shiite. April 24, 2007.

posted: wednesday, april 25, 2007, 3:48 PM ET

tags: iraq gated communities

What's Iraq?

2007-04-25T13:25:00.000-05:00

"The Bush administration conjures up the image of a strong global al Qaeda movement to motivate America's support for the war.
By contrast, many Americans who oppose our presence in Iraq focus on sectarian hatreds that have come to affect millions of Iraqis. While there is an element of truth to each of these images of our challenge in Iraq, neither is the most accurate way to understand the war.
Consider first the numbers of those fighting in Iraq. Throughout the first three years of the Iraq war, Brookings' estimates of the size of the resistance, based largely on CENTCOM data, ranged from 15,000 to 20,000 fighters. Only about 1,000 to 2,000 al Qaeda were typically in Iraq. Yet these individuals, altogether representing less than 0.1 percent of Iraq's population, have used sabotage and terror and assassination so effectively as to prevent Iraqi economic recovery, the formation of a strong government, or a sense of hopefulness among the Iraqi population.
Admittedly, guerrilla movements are often relatively small, but Iraq's insurgency has been particularly so. Its al Qaeda element, responsible for most of the suicide attacks such as those that terrorized Baghdad April 18, has been downright tiny."

Op-ed by Michael O'Hanlon, Brookings Institution [1]

And how much of the civil war aspect is being provoked by the insurgency or al Qaeda?

source
O'Hanlon, Michael. (The Washington Times). A ruthless foe. April 24, 2007.

posted: wednesday, april 25, 2007, 2:48 PM ET

tags: iraq insurgency

Ft. Bragg paratroopers killed in Iraq / Special Forces-linked Tillman-Lynch hearings

2007-04-25T12:27:00.000-05:00

"Army officials on Tuesday continued the solemn process of contacting the families of nine paratroopers killed in a suicide truck bombing in Iraq, the single deadliest attack for the storied 82nd Airborne Division in nearly 40 years.
Twenty paratroopers from the same division were wounded in Monday's blast, which was also the single greatest loss of life for American ground forces in Iraq since Dec. 1, 2005.
. . . The soldiers were members of the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Bragg. A civilian interpreter was also wounded.
. . . An insurgent group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, according to an Internet-posted statement Tuesday.
"The difference between the 82nd and most other combat units is that something like this, instead of diminishing morale, will ultimately strengthen it," [division spokesman Maj. Tom] Earnhardt said.
. . . Earnhardt said 106 soldiers from the division have been in killed in combat since Sept. 11, 2001." [1]

"Members of a congressional oversight panel vowed yesterday to investigate whether the White House and top Pentagon officials played a role in deceiving the public about the 2004 'friendly fire' death of a former NFL player, Cpl. Pat Tillman, and argued that five investigations have failed to answer critical questions about the case.
During a dramatic hearing on Capitol Hill, Tillman's brother, Kevin, spoke publicly for the first time about the shooting and how members of the Army Ranger unit they both were with kept him in the dark about how Pat died on an eastern Afghanistan hillside. Kevin Tillman spoke about the 'deliberate and calculated lies' the military told his family and the public, and how he believes military officials 'hijacked' Pat's legacy by transforming his tragic death into 'an inspirational message.' " [2]

"The hearing will cover both Tillman's death three years ago and the 2003 rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch in Iraq _ a story embellished by the military, which videotaped her rescue by special forces, stirring complaints of government media manipulation." [3]

"[Command Sgt. Maj. Bruce] Coleman, the West Virginia Army Guard's state command sergeant major, was at Fort Bragg, N.C., at the right time to drive Jessica's brother, Pfc. Gregory Lynch Jr., home to Palestine on emergency leave the day or so after his sister was reported to be missing. The brother enlisted in the Army at the same time his sister did and is a helicopter avionics and electronics technician at Fort Bragg." [4]

source
[1] Thompson, Estes. (The Associated Press). 9 Fort Bragg Paratroopers Killed in Iraq. April 24, 2007.
[2] White, Josh. (The Washington Post). Panel Vows to Pursue Tillman Case. April 25, 2007.
[3] The Associated Press. Lawmakers To Open Tillman-Lynch Hearing. April 24, 2007.
[4] Haskell, Bob. (American Forces Press Service). Special Guards for a Special Family. April 18, 2003.

related posting
U.S. security contractors in Iraq are outside law. April 21, 2007.

posted: wednesday, april 25, 2007, 2:24 PM ET
update: sunday, april 29 2007, 4:58 AM ET

tags: iraq fort bragg 82nd airborne division pat tillman jessica lynch

Maliki says security takeover by year end; Maysan handover; bombs

2007-04-22T01:40:00.000-05:00

"Bombs ravaged Baghdad in five horrific explosions aimed mainly at Shiite crowds on Wednesday, killing at least 171 people in the deadliest day in the capital since the American-led security plan for the city took effect two months ago.
. . . The wave of attacks, five of them involving car bombs, took place as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki declared that the Iraqi government planned to take full control of security from the American-led forces before the end of the year.
. . . Mr. Maliki said the gradual transfer to Iraqi authority would continue, with three provinces in the relatively tranquil region of Kurdistan the next to come under Iraqi security authority, followed by Karbala and Wasit Provinces in the south.
'In this way, province by province, we will reach the end of the line before the end of the year,' the prime minister said in a speech delivered by Mowaffak al-Rubaie, his national security adviser. The speech observed the transfer of the southern province of Maysan from British to Iraqi control. Maysan is the fourth of Iraq’s 18 provinces to be handed to Iraqi security forces." [1]

"In Maysan, Iraqi police and soldiers will assume control of all law enforcement and security operations. Coalition units will continue to partner with Iraqi security forces, and small military and police training teams will continue to help Iraqi forces as they gain more hands-on experience, . . . [a Multinational Force Iraq] official said.
Iraqi officials can call on coalition forces in Basra province if they face a situation they cannot handle, the official said.
Coalition forces will also help Iraqi border police. The province has a long border with Iran and coalition forces will continue to help the police patrol the border, the official said.
Investment in the province will continue. In all, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed more than 200 projects totalingalmost $100 million in Maysan Province. There are currently 41 projects under construction and another 15 projects planned. Health care, electricity and water are the most important projects in the province, the official said." [2]

source
[1] Semple, Kirk. (The New York Times). Wave of Bombings Continues in Iraq. April 19, 2007.
[2] Garamone, Jim. (American Forces Press Service). Fourth Iraqi Province Transfers to Local Control. April 18, 2007.

resource
Wikipedia. Maysan Governate. Accessed April 22, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 22, 2007, 3:37 AM ET
update: sunday, april 22, 2007, 3:45 AM ET

tags: iraq security maysan

Saudi Arabia to forgive 80% Iraq debt; US leads

2007-04-22T01:11:00.000-05:00

"Saudi Arabia has agreed to forgive 80 percent of the more than $15 billion that Iraq owes the kingdom, Iraqi and Saudi officials said yesterday, a major step given Saudi reluctance to provide financial assistance to the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad.
. . . The Bush administration has been working for months to persuade other governments to follow the U.S. lead and write off all of their shares of Iraq's debts, which Jabr said total $140 billion. Most of those loans date to Iraq's war with Iran from 1980 to 1988, when the United States, Saudi Arabia and other governments saw Iraq as a buffer against Iran.
Iraq also owes $199 billion in compensation for the Persian Gulf War that followed Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, analysts said."
. . . After a U.N.-brokered cease-fire ended the war with Iran, Iraq was unable to win debt relief from key allies, including Sunni countries in the Gulf and Russia, its primary weapons supplier. That heightened economic tensions that contributed to Iraq's decision to invade oil-rich Kuwait in 1990."

source
Mufson, Steven & Wright, Robin. (The Washington Post). In a Major Step, Saudi Arabia Agrees to Write Off 80 Percent of Iraqi Debt. April 18, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 22, 2007, 2:33 AM ET

tags: iraq saudi arabia debt

Oil-autonomy increase Turkey-Kurd friction

2007-04-21T04:26:00.000-05:00

"The prime minister on Monday warned Iraqi Kurds against interfering in southeastern Turkey, where the Kurdish majority is fighting Turkish security forces, saying 'the price for them will be very high.'
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was responding to Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq, who said Iraqi Kurds would retaliate for any Turkish interference in northern Iraq by stirring up trouble in southeastern Turkey.
. . . Turkey fears that any moves toward greater independence for Kurds in northern Iraq could incite Turkey's own estimated 14 million Kurds to outright rebellion.
Turkey is especially concerned about Barzani's bid to incorporate the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into his semiautonomous region, fearing that Iraqi Kurds will use revenues from the city's oil wealth to fund a bid for independence.
. . . [T]he Iraqi government decided to implement a constitutional requirement to determine the status of Kirkuk . . . by the end of the year. The plan is expected to turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish control, a step rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and its Turkmen." [1]

"Kurdish boldness also comes at a critical time for Turkey, which is facing a growing threat in its own Kurdish region from separatist guerrillas raiding out of northern Iraq and has a presidential election coming up that could aggravate tensions between Islamist and secular Turks.
The fallout already has shaken relations between the United States and Turkey, a longtime ally increasingly frustrated that the overstretched American military in Iraq cannot crack down on Kurdish guerrillas.
That has the United States in a bind _ 'unwilling to open a new front in northern Iraq. Nor can it afford to lose its support from Iraq's Kurdish population,' said Dr. Andrew McGregor, a security analyst and Kurdish expert in Canada.
. . . [T]he opponents within al-Maliki's administration [to the Kirkuk resettlement program] caved in after the Kurds threatened to resign from the Cabinet _ a move that would have spelled the end of the fragile, U.S.-backed governing coalition.
. . . The Kurds used . . . hardball tactics . . . to win concessions granting them a major say in what companies are granted rights to exploit Iraqi oilfields in Kurdish-controlled areas." [2]

sources
[1] Fraser, Suzan. (The Associated Press). Turkey Warns Iraqi Kurds on Interference. April 9, 2007.
[2] Reid, Robert H. (The Associated Press). Ambitions of Iraqi Kurds Worry Turkey. April 17, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 6:04 AM ET
update: saturday, april 21, 2007, 6:17 AM ET

tags: iraq turkey kurds oil kirkuk

Sunni nations may lessen Iraq's Sunnis' anger

2007-04-21T04:09:00.000-05:00

"[Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri] Maliki faces skepticism from Sunni Arab countries over his government’s close ties with the Shiite government in Iran, as well as doubts about whether his government can bring stability to the country, said a senior American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was speaking before the discussions took place.
American officials are hopeful that by persuading other Arab governments to work closely with Mr. Maliki, they can reduce the hostility for the Iraqi government from Sunnis inside Iraq.
'What we need is for the regional players, like Jordan, and established players in the region, like Egypt, these broadly-based Sunni countries, to show that it recognizes the Maliki government,' the senior official said.
. . . At a regional conference in Baghdad last month, Mr. Maliki appealed for help from his neighbors to stem the violence in Iraq.
But only a few days later . . . the Arab League secretary general, Amr Moussa, said that the Iraqi government was responsible for defusing the sectarian violence, and that Iraq should revise its Constitution and rescind laws that give preferential treatment to Shiites and Kurds."

source
Cloud, David S. (The New York Times). Gates Will Try to Build Support for Iraqi Premier on Mideast Trip. April 17, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 5:25 AM ET

tags: iraq maliki

Sadr withdraws six cabinet members

2007-04-21T03:31:00.000-05:00

"In the first major shake-up of Iraq's fragile coalition government, six ministers loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr pulled out of the cabinet on Monday over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for an American troop withdrawal from Iraq.
The action frees Maliki to pick qualified people to fill ministries that are widely seen as ineffective, corrupt and sectarian. Yet it could also deepen tensions with Sadr within the government and on the streets, which could thwart U.S. and Iraqi efforts to bring about political reconciliation and stability, Iraqi officials and analysts said.
. . . Sadr legislators . . . declared that they wanted Maliki to replace Sadr loyalists in the cabinet with 'independent technocrats' who would not place sect, tribe or religion over the best interests of Iraqis.
. . . 'Maliki doesn't have much time,' said Mithal al-Alusi, an independent Sunni legislator, referring to filling the cabinet. 'Either you make the changes now and deal with the problem. Or else he'll lose everything.' " [1]

"Mr. Sadr . . . went underground at the start of the new Baghdad security plan in February.
. . . Mr. Sadr’s latest call for a timetable for American withdrawal comes as many Democrats and a few Republicans in Congress are pressing President Bush for exactly the same thing.
. . . Mr. Maliki said in a written statement that he 'welcomes the announcement of his eminence Moktada al-Sadr authorizing him the allocation of the six ministries that are held by Sadr’s bloc.' But the prime minister resisted Mr. Sadr’s demand to press the Americans for a timetable, saying that the issue of American withdrawal was dependent on 'the readiness of our armed forces to handle the entire security portfolio in all provinces.'
. . . A senior Sadr legislator, Bahaa al-Aaraji, when asked about the timetable, said American troops should stay in Iraq for two more years at the most, and must ensure that the country has a strong army and police force before leaving.
. . . When the government was formed last year, the 38 ministries were divided up like spoils among the country’s leading political parties." [2]

sources
[1] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Six Sadr Loyalists Quit Cabinet in Challenge to Iraqi Premier. April 17, 2007.
[2] Wong, Edward. (The New York Post). Shiite Cleric Has Six Quit Cabinet in Iraq Shake-Up. April 17, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 5:06 AM ET

tags: iraq sadr maliki

U.S. security contractors in Iraq are outside law

2007-04-21T03:11:00.000-05:00

"[P]rivate security contractors, the hired guns who fight a parallel and largely hidden war in Iraq. The contractors face the same dangers as the military, but many come to the war for big money, and they operate outside most of the laws that govern American forces.
. . . The Pentagon estimates that at least 20,000 security contractors work in Iraq.
. . . Private contractors were granted immunity from the Iraqi legal process in 2004 by L. Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. occupation government. More recently, the military and Congress have moved to establish guidelines for prosecuting contractors under U.S. law or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but so far the issue remains unresolved.
. . . Triple Canopy, a 3 1/2 -year-old company founded by retired Special Forces officers and based in Herndon.
. . . Triple Canopy's 'Milwaukee' project, a contract to protect executives of KBR Inc., a Halliburton subsidiary, on Iraq's dangerous roads. He earned $600 a day commanding a small unit of guards armed with M-4 rifles and 9mm pistols, the same caliber weapons used by U.S. troops." [1]

With these private contractors operating outside the law and at least some of them having Special Forces connections, could some be involved in any conspiracy-type activities?

source
Fainaru, Steve. (The Washington Post). Four Hired Guns in an Armored Truck, Bullets Flying, and a Pickup and a Taxi Brought to a Halt. Who Did the Shooting and Why? April 15, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 4:27 AM ET
update: monday, april 23, 2007, 10:34 AM ET

tags: iraq halliburton triple canopy

U.S. & Qaeda colluding, Iraqi village says

2007-04-21T03:05:00.000-05:00

"Hassan Alwan Said, the mayor of Buhriz, a violent village on the southern edge of Baqubah, said the persistent insurgent power in the city led many residents to fear that al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Americans were secretly colluding.
"They think, 'Why can't the coalition kick out al-Qaeda?' " he said."

source
Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). U.S. Bolstering Force in Deadly Diyala. April 16, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 4:11 AM ET

tags: iraq conspiracy theory

Qaeda's Baghdadi reaches out to insurgents

2007-04-21T02:52:00.000-05:00

"The head of an al Qaeda-linked group in Iraq said the country had become a 'university of terrorism,' producing highly qualified warriors, since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
In an audio recording posted on the Internet on Tuesday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, said his fighters were successfully confronting U.S. forces in Iraq and have begun producing a guided missile called al-Quds 1 or Jerusalem 1.
. . . Addressing insurgent groups such as the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Ansar al-Sunna, Baghdadi said he strongly opposed any fighting between insurgent groups and vowed to take all necessary measures to prevent bloodshed.
'By God, you will not hear or see but good things (from us),' he said.
Ibrahim al-Shemmari, the spokesman of the Islamic Army in Iraq, welcomed Baghdadi's remarks.
'If they want to ... preserve the blood of Sunnis, we would be the happiest people to hear this talk,' he told Al Jazeera television in a telephone interview. 'We want to point out weapons at our enemies' chests and not at each other.' "

source
Sedarat, Firouz. (Reuters). Qaeda group says Iraq a "university of terror." April 17, 2007.

posted: saturday, april 21, 2007, 4:04 AM ET
update: saturday, april 21, 2007, 4:30 AM ET

tags: iraq abu omar al-baghdadi

Insurgent groups splitting from Qaeda

2007-04-15T13:34:00.000-05:00

"An Iraqi militant group has highlighted the split in the ranks of the Iraqi insurgency by having its spokesman give a television interview in which he accuses al-Qaida and its umbrella organization of killing its members and pursuing the wrong policies.
"The gap has widened and the injustices committed by some brothers in al-Qaida have increased," Ibrahim al-Shimmari told Al-Jazeera television in an interview broadcast Wednesday and repeated Thursday.
. . . Al-Shimmari is the spokesman for the Islamic Army in Iraq, a Sunni militant group that first aired its grievances against al-Qaida and umbrella Islamic State of Iraq on its Web site last week.
. . . He accused al-Qaida of killing 30 members of the Islamic Army, and said the Islamic State of Iraq's claim to constitute a state was both inaccurate and incorrect policy.
. . . He was more critical of Iranian influence in Iraq than American, apparently out of opposition to the growing power of Iraq's Shiite majority, a trend that Shiite-dominant Iran supports." [1]

"Key Sunni militant groups are severing their association with al-Qaeda in Iraq.
. . . The Sunni insurgency in Iraq has long been fractious, in part because secular nationalists [and others] . . . have rejected al-Qaeda's tactics, particularly beheadings.
'They have realized that those people are not working for Iraq's interests,' said Alaa Makki, a Sunni member of parliament with close ties to the insurgents.
. . . Insurgent leaders . . . offered different explanations for their split. Many said their link to the al-Qaeda groups was tainting their image as a nationalist resistance force. Others said they no longer wanted to be tools of the foreign fighters who lead al-Qaeda. Their war, they insist, is against only the U.S. forces, to pressure them to depart Iraq.
. . . About three months ago, al-Qaeda fighters began targeting insurgent leaders.
. . . The Sunni groups are also divided over entering the political process, said Makki.
. . . 'If they maintain their independence from each other and each one has its different strategy, there will be chaos on the ground and chaos at the [negotiating] table,' said Tariq al-Hashimi, the Sunni vice president and leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party." [2]

sources
[1] Keath, Lee. (The Associated Press). Group Notes Split Among Iraq Insurgents. April 12, 2007.
[2] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Sunni Factions Split With Al-Qaeda Group. April 14, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 15, 2007, 3:28 PM ET

tags: iraq al qaeda islamic army in iraq

Iraqi Parliament and bridge bombed

2007-04-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

"An umbrella insurgent group that includes Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia claimed responsibility on Friday for a brazen suicide bombing the previous day inside the Parliament building. The attack killed one legislator and wounded at least 22 other people.
The group, the Islamic State of Iraq, has a longstanding goal of toppling the government and driving the Americans from the country.
“A heroic knight of the Islamic State of Iraq, may God bless its men, went inside the crowd of the infidels of the so-called Parliament on Thursday, April 12, 2007,” the group said in an Internet posting, according to a translation from the SITE Institute, which tracks jihadist messages. “God has destroyed the crowds of defectors and infidels.”
. . . Parliament held an emergency session on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, to mourn the death of Muhammad Awad, the legislator who was killed. Mr. Awad was a member of the National Dialogue Front, a Sunni Arab political party." [1]

"In a separate and in some ways equally traumatic attack early in the day, a truck bomb destroyed the beloved 60-year-old Sarafiya bridge across the Tigris and killed six people. The heavily traveled bridge has long been a symbol of Baghdad, illustrated on old postcards and drawings from a more peaceful time.
. . . Several lawmakers said that their guards were often able to bully their way through checkpoints without being searched and that some carried high-level badges that made them and their vehicles exempt from being examined when the entered the zone.
'No one can bring bombs into this zone or this building except the lawmakers and their guards, and some of the lawmakers’ convoys are not searched,' said Wail Abdul Latif, a legislator from the secular Iraqiya bloc led by the former interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi. 'Some of the lawmakers’ guards make trouble at the checkpoints, some of them refuse to be searched. They are not very professional.' " [2]

"A suicide bombing in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone and an attack on a landmark bridge yesterday showed that there is still "a long way to go" in securing the Iraqi capital, a senior U.S. general in Iraq said today, but he also pointed to 'steady progress' overall in tamping down the city's rampant violence.
Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, commander of Multi-National Corps - Iraq, also told Pentagon reporters in a video news conference that the military is not yet sure whether it will need to maintain higher troop levels -- resulting from a current 'surge' of reinforcements -- into 2008. He said an initial assessment will be made this summer, probably in July or August,' and we'll make a determination then how long we think we need to maintain the surge."
. . . He said, 'Al-Qaeda wants to make it about one or two events. They want to try to incite chaos.'
Asked what he would say to Iraqi lawmakers who pronounced the security plan dead because of yesterday's bombing, Odierno said they were speaking 'out of frustration.' [3]

sources
[1] Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Qaeda Group in Iraq Says It Led Attack on Parliament. April 14, 2007.
[2] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). 8 Iraqis Killed in Bomb Attack at Legislature. April 13, 2007.
[3] Branigin, William. (The Washington Post). Commander: Baghdad Bombing Shows 'Long Way to Go' for Security. April 13, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 15, 2007, 2:33 PM ET

tags: iraq parliament al qaeda

Maliki on withdrawal / Sadr says US provocateur

2007-04-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Tuesday that he saw no need to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from his country.
His comments came a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, demanding that U.S. forces leave the country. The rally, called by rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can," al-Maliki told reporters while on a four-day trip to Japan. 'To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process.'
. . . Al-Maliki's visit to Japan came two weeks after Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi was in Tokyo and said U.S.-led coalition forces should not be withdrawn until Iraq's army is fully trained and ready to take over security." [1]

"Calling the United States the 'great evil,' radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Sunday accused U.S. forces of dividing Iraq by stoking violence. He also urged his Mahdi Army militiamen and Iraqi security forces to stop fighting each other in Diwaniyah, a southern city where clashes erupted late last week.
. . . Sadr, a fierce nationalist who has long called for a U.S. withdrawal, stopped short of telling his fighters to rise up against the American troops, a move that would severely complicate an ongoing security offensive underway in Iraq.
. . . 'My brothers in the Mahdi Army, and my brothers in the security services: enough fighting and rivalry, because that is only a success for our, and your, enemy,' Sadr said in a statement brimming with emotion and passages from the Koran. 'Infighting between brothers is not right, nor is it right to follow the dirty American sedition, or to defend . . . the occupier.'
Sadr said the 'enemy' wants 'to draw you into a war to end Shiism, or rather Islam,' and he urged Iraq's army and police to remain independent of U.S. forces and to avoid being 'drawn after the occupier, because he is your stark enemy.' [2]

source
[1] Talmadge, Eric. (The Associated Press). Iraqi PM: No Timetable on U.S. Pullout. April 10, 2007.
[2] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Sadr Blames 'Evil' U.S. for Violence. April 9, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 15, 2007, 1:58 PM ET

tags: iraq withdrawal

Should Iraq's oil fields be nationalized?

2007-04-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Maybe if Iraq's oil fields were nationalized, the Sunnis would feel more secure about getting their fair share of oil revenue and wouldn't object to the federalist-autonomous-region preferences of a majority of the Shiites and Kurds. *

Nationalizing the fields might also lessen some of the concerns of Turkey over the possibility of Kirkuk being annexed to Kurdistan.

Iraq's constitution already says that the country's oil belongs to all Iraqis. ** Nationalizing the fields in which that oil lays would just be another step in that same general direction.

footnotes
* In a March 19, 2007 poll by ABC News and others, 59% of Shiites and 79% of Kurds favored either regional states with a federal government or independent states. Only 3% of Sunnis favored either of these two options, favoring a strongly centralized national government instead. (question 14)
** "Oil and gas are the ownership of all the people of Iraq in all the regions and governorates." (Iraqi Constitution, Article 110)
*** I'm having second thoughts about this idea. Nationalization could lead to manipulation or coercion by those controlling Iraq's oil or revenue distribution. (see More thoughts on draft oil law).

posted: wednesday, april 11, 2007, 11:55 PM ET
update: tuesday, may 18, 2007, 6:38 PM ET

tags: iraq oil nationalize

Waiting to see surge effect; need reconciliation

2007-04-09T14:11:00.000-05:00

"While Washington appears headed toward a political endgame on Iraq . . . the war on the ground is at an ebb tide. All sides -- including U.S. military strategists and Iraqi sectarian leaders and insurgents, as well as regional players such as Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are waiting to see whether the new U.S. approach to make the Iraqi capital safer will work.
. . . An official in Iraq warned that executing the new approach will take time. . . . '[T]here is no way we can defeat this insurgency by summer. I believe we can begin to turn the tide by then, and have an idea if we are doing it. To defeat it completely is a five-to-10-year project, minimum.'
. . . In Baghdad . . . [s]ectarian killings are down about 50 percent since the new strategy began, according to U.S military spokesmen. Car bombings are up, but so are tips from Iraqis. It is impossible to know how much of the decrease in violence is attributable to the biggest Shiite militia -- radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army -- deciding to lie low.
. . . The U.S. government keeps pushing for reconciliation, but there are few signs of movement toward that goal. 'Nothing is going to work until the parties are ready to compromise, and I don't see any indicators yet that they are,' said A. Heather Coyne, who has worked in Iraq both as a military reservist and as a civilian. 'Until then, any effect of the surge will be temporary.' " [1]

"The Sunni Arabs . . . want Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a conservative Shiite, to make good on his promise to replace ineffective or corrupt ministers. Mr. Maliki promised the shake-up months ago, but the proposal now appears moribund.
The Sunni Arabs also want the Constitution amended to bring power back to Baghdad and reduce the chance that areas in the oil-rich, Shiite-dominated south will follow the model of Kurdistan and create an autonomous state.
. . . The Sunni Arabs continue to push for a rollback of purges of Sunni Arabs from government.
. . . The ruling Shiites must deal with Sunnis outside the government, in the factionalized insurgency, who can offer few guarantees on any promises to stop bombings against Shiites.
'We talk to people who say they represent the insurgents and they all say the same thing: ‘We oppose the occupation, but we don’t believe in killing civilians, in killing women and children,’ ' a senior adviser to Mr. Maliki said. 'But our people are dying in bombs every day. Who is killing them?' " [2]

sources
[1] Ricks, Thomas E. (The Washington Post). Politics Collide With Iraq Realities. April 8, 2007.
[2] Rubin, Alissa J. & Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Patterns of War Shift in Iraq Amid U.S. Buildup. April 9, 2007.

posted: monday, april 9, 2007, 3:33 PM ET
update: tuesday, april 10, 2007, 10:05 PM ET

tags: iraq surge

Is terrorism the main cause of violence in Iraq?

2007-04-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

In a recent interview on PBS's NewsHour, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said:

"The enemy, al-Qaida in particular, has certainly still sought to and, in fact, carried out sensational attacks at various points, trying to reignite sectarian violence and, in some cases, ethnic violence in, for example, Kirkuk.
Those have generally, almost always, been unsuccessful in reigniting sectarian violence, although that was the case in a horrific incident in Tall Afar in western Anbar province in the northwestern part of Iraq a week or so ago and had to be tamped down by interior ministry, defense officials in the Iraqi army.
So, again, mixed results, to be truthful, some encouraging indicators in Baghdad, but then the enemy seeking to take violence outside of Baghdad. And we've certainly gone after al-Qaida, as they have sought to open new fronts in Diyala province north of Baghdad, in the far north, and in the northeast, around Kirkuk."

And in answer to a question involving more than 5,000 Iraqi civilian deaths in the past seven weeks, Gen. Petraeus said that "al-Qaida is still capable and able to cause significant death of innocent civilians." [1]

Does this mean that al-Qaida is responsible for most of the current violence in Iraq, both directly through acts such as the Tall Afar bombing and through acts of provocation, again like the Tall Afar bombing, that intend to ignite sectarian violence? How much of the violence is the Sunni insurgency responsible for? Are al-Qaida and the insurgency working together at all?

If al-Qaida is responsible for much or most of the current violence, then would it be fair to characterize much or most of the current violence as a result of either direct or indirect terrorism, and not a direct result of sectarianism?

And if al-Qaida terrorism, and not Iraqi sectarianism, is responsible for much or most of the current violence, would that increase the motivation for the U.S. to remain in Iraq at least until Iraq is able to successfully defend itself? The reasons for this would be: 1) The U.S. had dismantled Iraq's previous security forces which would have presumably been able to defend itself against al-Qaida; 2) The U.S. turned Iraq into an al-Qaida target by overthrowing it, a Muslim nation; and 3) The U.S. is apparently motivated to oppose al-Qaida in its so-called war on terror.

Concerning reason #2, some have said that the U.S. is also causing much or most of the violence in Iraq through its continued occupation of that country. If America is causing most of the violence, then it should withdraw, especially if the government and/or people of Iraq formally request this. If its presence is causing much of the violence, then its withdrawal will have to be balanced against how much violence it is preventing through its continued presence. And also, on whether the government and/or people of Iraq have formally asked it to stay or go. *

The U.S. military should also withdraw for reasons #1 and #3 if the government and/or people of Iraq formally ask it to withdraw. Currently, this has not happened. Public pronouncements by many of Iraq's leaders and a recent poll conducted by ABC News and others [2] seem to indicate that both the government and people of Iraq want America to stay at least until Iraq is able to defend itself. I am not aware of any Iraqi leaders outside of Sadr who have requested America's withdrawal before this level of competency has occurred.

The question of who al-Qaida and some of these insurgent groups are, exactly, remains though. At least for me.

footnote
* I'm not sure what America should do if one formally asks it to stay and the other asks it to go, however.

source
[1] The Online NewsHour. Petraeus Cites Areas of Improvement in Baghdad. April 4, 2007.
[2] ABC News. ABC News/USA Today/BBC/ARD poll -Iraq: Where things stand. Ebbing hope in a landscape of loss marks a national survey of Iraq. March 19, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 8, 2007, 11:44 AM ET
update: sunday, april 8, 2007, 3:49 AM ET

tags: iraq david petraeus al qaeda

Secularists want more influence in Iraq

2007-04-08T08:14:00.000-05:00

"The forgotten secularists of Iraq are making political maneuvers they hope will strengthen their voice and position them to seize more power before the next elections."
. . . Iyad Jamaleddin, a Shiite cleric who says that the people of Iraq want a secular government, "has a conference planned for this summer to launch what he calls the Iraqi Democratic Secular Movement. Former interim prime minister Ayad Allawi and former foreign minister Adnan Pachachi, meanwhile, have been barnstorming Iraq and the Middle East in recent weeks to gain support for a proposed coalition of groups both inside the parliament and outside the government that would unite secularists and moderates from different sectarian backgrounds.
. . . Critics of the current Shiite-led government complain that Islamic theology infuses many of its decisions.
. . . 'We want to be very careful not to push the country toward civil war . . . ,' said Hachim Hasani, a secular Sunni member of Allawi's faction. 'It's going to be very difficult. . . . You've got all these different groups who are not in harmony among themselves. I don't know if they're going to be able to build something out of that.' " [1]

There are also bills coming before Parliament like the draft oil law and the draft Baathist law that, if passed, could do much to curb the violence and make it easier for the secularists to get things they want. So while it's important for the so-called secularists to organize and have influence within the Iraqi political structures, they don't want to do things that would harm these important steps towards national reconcilliation.

They might also think about forming a secularly governed, mixed region or province when the new federalism law takes effect in about a year. The Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds have their own regions or provinces from which they can live their lives as they want while still working towards building a better country for all Iraqis. Why can't secularists, who apparently comprise a significant portion of Iraq, have the same thing?

And if it is going to truly be a mixed, secularly governed province or region, then its mixed, secular nature should be the foundation of harmony on which it is built, despite differences that the various groups may have. (This new province or region would not be anti-religion.)

source
[1] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Putting Faith in the Masses To Forge New Secular Rule. April 6, 2007.

related posting
Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution? March 06, 2007.

posted: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:02 AM ET
update: sunday, april 8, 2007, 10:20 AM ET

tags: iraq secular federalism iyad jamaleddin

Areas of uncertainty for draft oil law

2007-04-02T18:46:00.000-05:00

"There is concern that foreign oil companies might try to get better terms by playing the provinces against one another.
But some oil experts are skeptical of the significance of the measure.
'It will not mean anything on the ground,' says A.F. Alhajji, an oil economist at Ohio Northern University in Ada. As long as Iraq suffers from political instability, major oil companies will shy away. 'The situation is so bad no one in his right mind wants to go there to be attacked or nationalized a second time.'
. . . One sensitive provision allows 'production sharing agreements' (PSAs) with foreign oil firms. In theory, Iraq would retain ownership and ultimate control of the oil in such a deal. A PSA would merely grant the firm or consortium the right to explore, develop, and sell the oil, while getting a share of the oil extracted. History, however, is full of 'unequal' PSAs highly favorable to oil companies and less favorable to oil nations.
. . . In the future, Iraqi lawyers could . . . argue that any oil deal signed while Iraq was occupied was done under duress and thus was invalid, [said Alhajii]." [1]

"The law grants regions and regional oil companies the right to draw up contracts with foreign companies for exploration and development of new oil fields. It does not specify what kinds of contracts are allowed, thus making room for production sharing agreements (PSAs).
. . . One of its first tasks could be the consideration of the five PSAs signed by the Kurdistan Regional Government and foreign companies, as well as six outstanding PSA contracts between the Saddam regime and companies.
. . . The draft law is a key precursor to international involvement in Iraq's hydrocarbons sector, and many aspects of the law will be attractive to international oil companies (IOCs). Yet, a national framework for contracts and regulation is not sufficient to attract IOCs in the near term.
. . . The per capita distribution of funds will require a politically sensitive census to be undertaken.
. . . The Ministry of Oil and INOC [Iraqi National Oil Company] will struggle to recruit skilled hydrocarbons sector technocrats." [2]

"Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) . . . has been lobbying to have language included in the emergency supplemental war spending bill that will prevent 'United States control over any oil resource of Iraq.'
. . . House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), though, didn't see the bill as pressuring Iraq to privatize. 'Democrats support an Iraqi oil bill that fairly distributes revenues among the Iraqi people in a way that the Iraqi people decide is best for them,' spokesman Drew Hammill said.
. . . [Antonia Juhasz of Oil Change International] said that many Democrats don't seem to understand that pushing Iraq to meet Bush's benchmarks could unwittingly hand international oil companies a victory, a charge echoed by [Congressmembers Dennis Kucinich and Lynn Woolsey].
. . . For John van Schaik, an oil industry analyst with Energy Intelligence, the law is so obscurely written that it's hard to know what to make of it.
'It's written such that it's open to interpretation,' he said. 'Iraq will never accept a law that can be read as a privatization law, no matter how the Americans try to pressure Baghdad.' " [3]

sources
[1] Francis, David R. (Christian Science Monitor). Why Iraq's new oil law won't last. March 5, 2007 (commentary).
[2] Oxford Analytica. Iraq Oil Law Necessary But Not Sufficient. March 7, 2007.
[3] Grim, Ryan. (The Politico). Some Democrats Oppose Forcing Iraq To Accept Foreign Investment in Oil. March 27, 2007.

posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 8:41 PM ET
update: wednesday, april 4, 2007, 4:31 PM ET

tags: iraq oil law antonia juhasz production sharing agreement

American Idol of Mideast contestant unites Iraq

2007-04-02T04:03:00.000-05:00

"In the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, thousands packed into a shopping mall courtyard and stood before a massive screen, shouting for the victory of their candidate: 'Shada! Shada!'
The chestnut-maned object of their obsession was Shada Hassoun, Iraq's contestant on the fourth season of the Lebanese talent show 'Star Academy,' the 'American Idol' of the Arab world. . . . Iraqis everywhere were in a Shada frenzy this week -- causing many to observe that, win or lose, Hassoun, a 26-year-old who professes to love jet-skiing and Antonio Banderas, had managed to engender a sense of national cohesion that has eluded Iraq for years.
. . . Hassoun might seem an unlikely ambassador for Iraq, because she's never been to the country. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, she lays claim to Iraqi nationality through her father.
. . . But what really counts, fans said, is that the beautiful, Paris-educated Hassoun embraced bombed-out, struggling Iraq. Iraq, in turn, embraced her.
'She is doing all the things that all the Iraqi girls cannot do now: singing, dancing, being free. She is representing freedom,' she [an Iraqi anchorwoman] said. 'Vote for Shada and make Iraqis feel happiness again.' "

source
Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Iraqis Unite Behind Their Heroine on Arab 'Idol'. March 31, 2007.

posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 5:25 AM ET

tags: iraq shada hassoun

Kirkuk compensation for voluntary exit

2007-04-02T03:01:00.000-05:00

"The Iraqi government will soon begin relocating Arabs who were moved to Kirkuk under an edict by Saddam Hussein to force Kurds out of the disputed northern city, officials said Saturday.
The controversial step for the oil-rich city could help determine whether it becomes part of an autonomous Kurdish region, but critics warned that it would stoke sectarian tensions.
Iraq's cabinet on Thursday endorsed a committee's recent recommendation to compensate eligible Arabs who voluntarily leave the city, said Sadiq al-Rikabi, a political adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Those who choose to move will receive about $15,000 and a plot of land in their home town. Officials will soon accept applications to determine eligibility, he said.
. . . Abdul Rahman Munshed al-Asi, leader of the Arab advisory council of Kirkuk, said Saturday that many Arabs fear that the repatriation would be voluntary in name but carried out with force by Kirkuk's Kurdish-led security forces." [1]

"Iraq's constitution sets an end-of-the-year deadline for a referendum on Kirkuk's status. Since Saddam's fall four years ago, thousands of Kurds who once lived in the city have resettled there. It is now believed Kurds are a majority of the population and that a referendum on attaching Kirkuk to the Kurdish autonomous zone would pass easily." [2]

source
[1] Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Iraq Prepares to Resettle Arabs Sent to Kirkuk by Hussein Edict. April 1, 2007.
[2] Hurst, Steven R. (The Associated Press). Iraq Endorses Arab Relocation for Kirkuk. March 31, 2007.

posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 4:59 AM ET
update: monday, april 2, 2007, 5:35 AM ET

tags: iraq kirkuk

2005 bill called for move to Iraqi sovereignty

2007-04-02T02:42:00.000-05:00

"The effort to force Bush to change direction in Iraq began in late 2005, when the Senate, in a 79 to 19 vote, passed legislation that called for a 'significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty' in 2006."

source
Murray, Shailagh & Weisman, Jonathan. (The Washington Post). New Perspective, New Unity Among Hill Democrats on Iraq. March 31, 2007.

posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 3:52 AM ET
update: monday, april 2, 2007, 3:54 AM ET

tags: iraq congress

PRT leaders update progress

2007-04-02T02:16:00.000-05:00

Counselor James Knight, Team Leader PRT Ninawa,
Minister Counselor Steven Buckler, Team Leader PRT Salah ad Din,
Counselor John Melvin Jones, Team Leader PRT Diyala
Dr. Charles Hunter, Team Leader PRT Babil

"MR. KNIGHT: Well, you've heard about the (inaudible), the major crimes court. This is probably our greatest recent success. It's resolved, to a great extent, the problem of intimidation of judges which was blocking the pursuit of insurgent trials. We've successfully seen that a process for capital improvement projects both -- are funded both by Iraqi firms and by those provided in the coalition. They are held to a consensual process involving the provincial council's reconstruction committee as well as the Provincial Reconstruction and Development Committee, which deals especially with the coalition funds. We have business programs that are making a difference. We have the Ninawa Business Center which has been a very effective micro-loan program. It has created several hundred jobs in the city of Mosul, hoping to expand the same kind of program to Talafar at the small business center there.
We are also focusing on ways in which international investors can participate in some -- industrial base in Ninawa. And the other side of the rule of law piece is that we are providing significant training in an enhanced crime lab for the Iraqi police in Ninawa. That's a very quick outline of the major things that we've accomplished. I think all of these contribute to a better environment in the province of Ninawa.
Again, going back to the major crimes court, the governor believes that we have reduced the number of security incidents by half since the court has been set up, which has been a period of three months. This is a significant change in quite a short time and I'm quite proud of that.

MR. BUCKLER: On the Major Crimes Court in Salah ad Din province, we're still in the process of trying to construct a building in which the court activities can take place. We recently sponsored a conference of judges, prosecutors and those involved in judicial system in Salah ad Din. To hear back from our rule of law expert, it was really quite astonishing because it's the first time that apparently all of those who are -- who have to coordinate their activities for the rule of law had really sat down and had the opportunities to discuss procedures and court activities together, so he was very pleased with that. It carries forward with what we're trying to do in many cases and that is, bring Iraqi parties together to communicate, to coordinate. This is something that I certainly, during my coming year in Iraq, hope to enhance a great deal, is enabling Iraqis to come together. We want to facilitate that.
I hope this doesn't sound mundane, because it really is of extraordinary satisfaction and importance to us, but this last week, the provincial council approved its capital budget for the year 2007. This kind of proceeding, an elected body, certainly in the United States, we take largely for granted, but at the conclusion of this, our civil affairs officer was absolutely delighted to see how pleased the provincial council was to have done this, to sit down, negotiate, allocate in a fair manner $100 million for the capital budget to province for the coming year was a first-time thing and they were tremendously pleased and so are we. Our next step now is to work with them on spending it wisely.

MR. JONES: In Diyala province, we are a little more basic. We have had a great success with the opening of our radio and television station. In a province, as you know, that has been experiencing a great deal of violence recently, this is a major step in the direction of getting the warring parties to at least sit down and listen to radio stations that broadcast a message of reconciliation. We have five young people who have spent their time at the station, of course guarded by U.S. troops, but they've been able to put together a program that's on the air 23 hours per day and their message is both to the Sunni and the Shia community, and they speak of reconciliation.
This is a major break for us because it, I think for the first time in Diyala province, gets the message out that there is hope for the province.
On a more basic note, we have had success in terms of getting money, for example, from the central bank here in Baghdad up to Baquba so that salaries could be paid to public servants. We've already set in place a process by which we can get fuel oil into the province. And we are working now on a procedure whereby we can get food into the province. So this is an attempt by the PRT and our support brigade to assist the people of Diyala province in spite of all the violence that's going on up there right now.

DR. HUNTER: In Babil we're active in many of the areas you've already heard cited. I've spoken the Arabic remarks about things that we've done in rule of law and to support the provincial council. We're also a largely agricultural province and so there at sometimes a very basic level the team has been active in carrying out projects that both have an immediate impact on people and help build capacity for the future, things like cleaning canals, for instance. It doesn't sound very exciting, but it's really vital for agriculture to be able to flourish there. And the work that we've done this year -- this past year, I should say, 2006 -- has prompted the provincial council to set aside substantially more funds than we had spent to continue those activities for the future, things like providing sheep dip tanks. Again, not very exciting, nor are seed cleaners, but those sorts of things make a real concrete difference in people's lives.
There are quite a few examples of those things. And to be honest, another thing that we're focusing on more and more is simply trying to raise awareness of the partnership that's out there. The simple name of our enterprise has created a lot of expectations, some of it misplaced, about what we're going to be able to do in working here in Iraq because we no longer have the budgets to carry out huge reconstruction projects.
Instead, it's more about building people's capacity, trying to provide skills that can be used far into the future. And so part of our work now is to try to get that message out to people and to do it as much as possible, also through our Iraqi partners in the provincial council, in the government's office, to be educating people about what this partnership is and to manage expectations thereby.
So whether it's me or other people on my team starting to talk with local media to get this message out, that too is an important thing that may not be very tangible or very exciting from the U.S. perspective but I think is making a concrete difference in how the situation is viewed in building appreciation for the partnership that is there. And there is a very substantial partnership. Another way in which that's been critical for us in Babil province is the PRTs work in supporting security forces there. Babil, fortunately, has been a very comparatively secure place and that has in part been because of the strong links that the PRT developed with the security leadership, which in some cases has met making sure that the political leadership in the province fully appreciates what an asset it's got and the importance of protecting it.

. . . QUESTION: I wonder if you could each describe the status of the major reconstruction projects in your areas even if that's not your current focus? How many of them are up and running? How many of them are still awaiting completion?

MR. KNIGHT: I'm not sure that's a fair question. There have been projects going in now for four years and the ones that were funded and have been completed are the vast majority of that. There is a significant fuel problem and electricity problem in Ninawa which is blocking those -- many of the ones that have been more recently completed from being fully effective.
As the PRT, we don't reconstruct anything. What we do is facilitate the process of allocation contracting and follow-up. But I can say that process is working quite well. The money flowing from the Government of Iraq now dwarfs anything coming through the coalition forces. The coalition funding is less than 10 percent of what goes in. The process worked quite well last year. It's something that we will expect it to work equally well this year. But again, the issue in Ninawa right now is getting the economy moving. Economic recovery has now slowed enormously by the energy problems we have there."

source
U.S. Department of State. On-the-Record Briefing With Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Leaders on Iraq. March 30, 2007.

posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 3:38 AM ET

tags: iraq provincial reconstruction team

Bush says arbitrary deadline is bad

2007-03-31T18:17:00.000-05:00

"The House bill would impose restrictions on our commanders in Iraq, as well as rigid conditions and arbitrary deadlines on the Iraqi government. It would mandate a precipitous withdrawal of American forces, if every one of these conditions is not met by a date certain. Even if they are met, the bill would still require that most American forces begin retreating from Iraq by March 1st of next year, regardless of conditions on the ground.
It's unclear what the military significance of this date is. What is clear is that the consequences of imposing such a specific and random date for withdrawal would be disastrous. If the House bill becomes law, our enemies in Iraq would simply have to mark their calendars. They'd spend the months ahead picking how to use their new -- plotting how to use their new safe havens once we were to leave. It makes no sense for politicians in Washington, D.C. to be dictating arbitrary time lines for our military commanders in a war zone 6,000 miles away.
. . . You know, following World War II, after we fought bitter enemies, we lifted up the defeated nations of Japan and Germany and stood with them as they built their representative governments. We committed years and resources to this cause. And the effort has been repaid many times over in three generations of friendship and peace. After the Korean War, had you predicted that Korea would have been a major trading partner in the world, or Japan would have been a major trading partner and vibrant economy, or China would be developing an open market, and the Far East would be relatively peaceful, they'd have called you a hopeless idealist. And yet, because of America's presence and influence, the Far East has emerged as I've described it.
The stakes are high in the efforts we're undertaking in Iraq. It's a part of a long ideological struggle against those who spread hatred, and lack of hope, and lack of opportunity. But I believe, with patience and resolve we will succeed. The efforts we're undertaking today will affect a generation of Americans who are coming up in our society.
. . . If we stand by the Iraqi people today and help them develop their young Iraqi-style democracy, they're going to be able to take responsibility for their own security. And when that day comes, our forces can come home. *
. . . It's tough work, but it's necessary work -- work the United States has done before, and work the United States will complete now."

footnote
* President Bush also said that after Iraq is able to handle its own security it can "be an ally in this global struggle against those who would do us harm." I would add that Iraq should voluntarily choose to be this ally and not feel pressured to make this choice.

source
Bush, George. (The White House). President Bush Discusses Economy, War on Terror During Remarks to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. March 28, 2007.

posted: saturday, march 31, 2007, 7:40 PM ET
update: wednesday, april 4, 2007, 4:38 PM ET

tags: iraq bush national cattlemen's beef association

Withdrawal bill passes Senate. Bush says veto.

2007-03-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

"Issuing a stinging challenge to President Bush, the Senate on Thursday approved a spending measure that provided more than $97.5 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but ordered troop withdrawals from Iraq to begin within 120 days and set a goal of removing most armed forces within a year.
Democrats, preparing for a veto fight, immediately sought to paint the president as obstinate in the face of broad public sentiment against the war. They said he would be the one abandoning American forces should he reject a final bill that lawmakers expected to produce in a few weeks.
. . . But Mr. Bush was not wavering. He stood on the North Portico of the White House, flanked by Republican House leaders, and delivered his veto threat one more time."

source
Hulse, Carl & Zeleny, Jeff. (The New York Times). Defying Bush, Senate Passes Iraq Spending Measure. March 30, 2007.

posted: saturday, march 31, 2007, 5:47 PM ET

tags: iraq senate withdrawal

Revenge killings in Tal Afar after bombings

2007-03-31T16:20:00.000-05:00

"One of the bloodiest chapters in Iraq’s sectarian strife unfolded over the past two days in the northern city of Tal Afar where gunmen, some of them apparently police officers, participated in the revenge killings of scores of Sunnis in the aftermath of a huge double suicide bombing in a Shiite area.
Two hours after the explosion of truck bombs, which killed 83 people and wounded more than 185, the gunmen — some of whom witnesses recognized as police officers — went house to house in a Sunni neighborhood, dragged people into the street and shot them in the head, witnesses and local leaders said. The killing went on for several hours before the Iraqi Army intervened. The police are mostly Shiites." [1]

" 'The car bombs are aimed at Shia, and when they see it so one-sided and it keeps carrying on, without any government action, I think it's a matter of time before they come back for revenge,' said Haider al-Ebaidi, a Shiite lawmaker. To Ebaidi, the progress of the security plan, which U.S. and Iraqi forces began implementing in the middle of February, 'so far has been very slow, and the longer it takes, the more pressure there will be on the people to seek help from militias, and this is very dangerous.'
But U.S. military officials cautioned that the attacks in Tall Afar and south of Baghdad did not necessarily add up to a resurgence of Shiite militias.
. . . 'Whether we can say that some group is back or some militia is back after two isolated events in two different parts of the country is probably too early to say,' said Lt. Col. Christopher C. Garver, a U.S. military spokesman.
. . . Tall Afar had as many as 200,000 residents several years ago, although U.S. military officials say the population has declined to 80,000. Most residents are ethnic Turkmen, about 70 percent of them Sunni and 25 percent Shiite." [2]

sources
[1] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). 70 Killed in Wave of Revenge in Northern Iraq. March 29, 2007.
[2] Partlow, Joshua. (The Washington Post). Gunmen Go On Rampage In Iraqi City. March 29, 2007.

posted: saturday, march 31, 2007, 5:39 PM ET

tags: iraq tall afar

Draft Baath law approved

2007-03-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

"Iraq's prime minister and president have approved a draft law allowing many former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to return to their government jobs, and it could be voted on this week, officials said Monday.
The legislation, seen by the United States as crucial to pacifying Iraq, will go to parliament as soon as it is reviewed by cabinet officials, said Ahmed Shames, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
. . . Under U.S. pressure, Maliki agreed last year to readdress the issue of former Baathists by early this year. Some U.S. officials had recently warned that the efforts were stalled.
The draft, which was released by the U.S. Embassy early Tuesday, would let all but the three highest levels of Baathists return to their jobs, provided they had not been involved in criminal activity. All those who lost their jobs would collect a pension." [1]

"[T]housands more former Baathists would be allowed to hold government jobs than under the current law. Former Baathists who return to government work would have to sign a pledge that they would refrain from making political statements about the current government.
The law would also set a three-month time limit for Iraqi citizens who have complaints against former Baathists to bring a claim. Then the courts would have six months to rule. Any claims brought subsequently would be thrown out.
The goal of the new law is to take a step toward reconciling Sunnis and Shiites, said Dr. Sadiq al-Raqadi, a political adviser to Mr. Maliki.
'The reason for the new law is that the government wants to finish these cases; they want to close the files of the Baathists,' he said. 'This is an effort to find a solution for the problem of the Baathists.' " [2]

source
[1] Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Proposed Iraqi Law Would Restore Jobs For Baath Members. March 27, 2007.
[2] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). Iraqis Announce New Steps Aimed at Reconciling Sunnis and Shiites. March 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 28, 2007, 12:56 AM ET
update: thursday, march 28, 2007, 12:59 AM ET

tags: iraq baath maliki

Sunni and Shia Baghdad compared

2007-03-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

"[I]n Adhamiya, a [Baghdad] community with a Sunni majority, any semblance of normal life vanished more than a year ago.
. . . Anyone who works with the government, whether Shiite or Sunni, is an enemy in the eyes of the Sunni insurgents, who carry out attack after attack against people they view as collaborators. While that chiefly makes targets of the Shiite-dominated Iraqi Army and the police, the militants also kill fellow Sunnis from government ministries who come to repair water and electrical lines in Sunni neighborhoods.
. . . It adds up to a bleak prognosis for Sunnis in Baghdad. Until the violence is under control, there is unlikely to be any progress. But it is hard to persuade Sunnis to take a stand against the violence when they seem to receive so little in return.
. . . The head of the district council was gunned down 10 days ago; three months earlier his predecessor was killed the same way.
The council had been a beacon for beleaguered Adhamiya residents, its offices busy from early morning. But its members are under attack, and it is unclear how long they will be willing to continue to take the risks that come with helping their neighbors." [1]

In Baghdad's Sadr City, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's "influence is everywhere. His representatives run the hospitals, the Islamic courts, the police, the municipal offices and the mosques. He pays for funerals and school books. He builds houses and controls inflation. He punishes the corrupt and those whose activities taint Islam or his privileged name.
. . . Yet Sadr's stronghold remains one of Baghdad's poorest areas. Banners proclaiming the Sadr name overlook open sewage canals, unpaved roads and crumbling buildings.
Revitalizing his city, Sadr representatives say, is a key motive behind the cleric's uneasy cooperation with his arch adversary, the U.S. military, in recent weeks. Several reconstruction projects, some U.S.-funded, are already underway.
. . . The area is home to fighters linked to death squads who have driven thousands of Sunnis from their houses. Yet children and young men play soccer here in parks with manicured grass. Crowds mingle in open-air bazaars without fear of a suicide bomber. Women walk alone to shop, while men have long conversations in outdoor cafes, a sign of normalcy that has vanished from most of Baghdad.
. . . Now, as sectarian strife transforms the nation, cleansing mixed areas, Sadr City is perhaps the best indicator of the Baghdad that is emerging from chaos. Here, Shiites walk, pray and converse, largely with other Shiites, basking in the trust afforded by mingling with their own sect." [2]

source
[1] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). Sunni Baghdad Becomes Land of Silent Ruins. March 26, 2007.
[2] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). An Enclave of Normalcy in Fearful Baghdad. March 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 28, 2007, 12:43 AM ET

tags: iraq shiite sunni

Khalizad met insurgents / Constitution regions bad, critics say

2007-03-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

"The senior American envoy in Iraq, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, held talks last year with men he believed represented major insurgent groups in a drive to bring militant Sunni Arabs into politics.
'There were discussions with the representatives of various groups in the aftermath of the elections, and during the formation of the government before the Samarra incident, and some discussions afterwards as well,' Mr. Khalilzad said in a farewell interview on Friday at his home inside the fortified Green Zone.
. . . An American official said it was difficult to determine whether the people Mr. Khalilzad met with really were influential representatives of insurgent groups, as they claimed.
. . . The most complex legacy of Mr. Khalilzad — and arguably the most divisive — is the Constitution, passed in a national referendum in October 2005. Sunni Arab voters overwhelmingly rejected it, but most Shiites and Kurds, who make up 80 percent of the population, supported it. That paved the way for full-term elections in December 2005.
. . . Mr. Khalilzad and his colleagues, the critics say, were so fixated on meeting the political timetable laid out by the White House that they pushed through a document that may have inflamed the Sunni-led insurgency by enshrining strong regional control. The Constitution reaffirms Sunni Arab beliefs that Shiites and Kurds want oil and territory." [1]

The new draft oil law hasn't fixed that? And what about that charge that the oil law is cheating Iraq out of much or most of its oil revenue?

source
[1] Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). U.S. Envoy Says He Had Meetings With Iraq Rebels. March 26, 2007.

related posting
Is draft oil law cheating Iraq out of revenue? March 14, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 29, 2007, 12:19 AM ET
update: thursday, march 29, 2007, 12:22 AM ET

tags: iraq zalmay khalilzad federalism oil

Students' Iraq play silenced

2007-03-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

"Student productions at [Connecticut's] Wilton High School range from splashy musicals like last year’s 'West Side Story,' performed in the state-of-the-art, $10 million auditorium, to weightier works like Arthur Miller’s 'Crucible,' on stage last fall in the school’s smaller theater.
For the spring semester, students in the advanced theater class took on a bigger challenge: creating an original play about the war in Iraq.
. . . [But] the school principal last week canceled the play, titled 'Voices in Conflict,' citing questions of political balance and context.
The principal, Timothy H. Canty, who has tangled with students before over free speech, said in an interview he was worried the play might hurt Wilton families 'who had lost loved ones or who had individuals serving as we speak.'
. . . At least 10 students involved in the production, however, said that the principal had told them the material was too inflammatory, and that only someone who had actually served in the war could understand the experience. . . . and [they said] that the principal barred the class from performing it even after they changed the script to respond to concerns about balance."

source
Cowan, Alison Leigh. (The New York Times). Play About Iraq War Divides a Connecticut School. March 24, 2007.

posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 9:56 PM ET
posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 11:08 PM ET

tags: iraq play free speech wilton high voices in conflict

Sectarianism began with US-picked Council, Makiya says

2007-03-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

" 'There were failures at the level of leadership, and they’re overwhelmingly Iraqi failures,' he [Iraqi intellectual Kanan Makiya] said. Chief among the culprits, he added, were the Iraqis picked by the Americans in 2003 to sit on the Iraqi Governing Council, many of them exiles who tried to create popular bases for themselves by emphasizing sectarian and ethnic differences.
'Sectarianism began there,' he said.
Mr. Makiya said he preferred not to name names. But it is well known that he had a falling out with Mr. [Ahmad] Chalabi after Mr. Chalabi began courting Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric, in order to win support in Iraq’s first national elections. For years before the war, Mr. Makiya had toiled with Mr. Chalabi to organize the Iraqi exiles who, despite disparate ideologies, stood united in their hatred of Mr. Hussein.
Then there is the small issue of American policy. 'Everything they could do wrong, they did wrong,' Mr. Makiya said. 'The first and the biggest American error was the idea of going for an occupation.' "

source
Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Critic of Hussein Grapples With Horrors of Post-Invasion Iraq. March 24, 2007.

posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 9:34 PM ET

tags: iraq kanan makiya moktada al-sadr ahmed chalabi

PRT diplomats coming to Iraq

2007-03-26T20:09:00.000-05:00

"Ten veteran diplomats and four representatives of the Agency for International Development will depart for Iraq in coming days as the civilian core of 10 new provincial reconstruction teams, the first step in what the Bush administration has promised will be a significant increase in efforts to accelerate local economic and political development.
. . . Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meeting with the new reconstruction team members on Friday, said, “I do believe that we learned an important lesson during our time in Iraq, which is that we don’t want to just try and build, and help the Iraqis build a stable, democratic society from the top down, but also from the bottom up.
“And that means that they have to have good local and provincial leadership, that they have to have good local and provincial governance, economic development. They have to be able to respond to the needs of their people. This is not a country that has had a concept of local governance and local leadership but rather one that was very much all centered in Baghdad, and we’re now trying to help them to build that.”

source
Shanker, Thom & Glanz, James. (The New York Times). Iraq Reconstruction Teams to Receive Needed Support. March 24, 2007.

posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 9:20 PM ET

tags: iraq provincial reconstruction team condoleezza rice

Sunni deputy PM bombed by insurgents

2007-03-26T19:29:00.000-05:00

"One of Iraq's deputy prime ministers was seriously wounded Friday in a bombing that highlighted the ability of insurgents to breach heightened security in the midst of a U.S.-led crackdown in Baghdad.
The attack against Salam Z. al-Zobaee, one of the highest-ranking Sunni Arabs in the Shiite-led government, killed at least six people . . . Brig. Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman for the Baghdad security plan, said at a news conference.
. . . Zobaee, whose lungs and stomach were punctured by shrapnel, underwent surgery at the U.S. military-run Ibn Sina Hospital in the fortified Green Zone, officials said. . . . The Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent umbrella network that includes the group al-Qaeda in Iraq, asserted responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement [in a translation on the SITE Institute], saying Zobaee was a 'betrayer' for joining the government.
'We ask Allah . . . that this betrayer vagabond who sold his religion and his people for a small price not be safe. We say to all betrayers of the infidel al-Maliki government . . . wait for what will hurt you,' the statement said. . . . The authenticity of the statement could not be confirmed." [1]

"Mr. Zubaie is from a tribe that is part of the Anbar Salvation Council, a group of tribal leaders that has taken a stand against Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the most militant of the Sunni groups in the insurgency against the Americans and the Shiite-led Iraqi government." [2]

source
[1] Brulliard, Karin & al-Izzi, Saad. (The Washington Post). Maliki Deputy Wounded in Blast. March 24, 2007.
[2] Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). 9 Die as Assassins’ Blasts Wound Sunni Deputy Premier. March 24, 2007.

posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 9:02 PM ET
update: monday, march 26, 2007, 9:09 PM ET

tags: iraq salam z. al-zobaee al qaeda

Withdrawal bill passes House; Bush says veto

2007-03-26T19:05:00.000-05:00

"A deeply divided House of Representatives voted Friday to bring most American combat troops home from Iraq next year.
. . . The legislation aimed at accelerating an end to the war passed on a vote of 218 to 212, with all but two Republicans opposing. . . . Mr. Bush dismissed the action as 'political theater' and promised to veto attempts to manage the war from Capitol Hill.
. . . A two-thirds vote of each house of Congress would be required to override the presidential veto that Mr. Bush has threatened, and Democrats have conceded that they could not meet that target.
. . . Several lawmakers derided the total of nearly $24 billion in domestic spending — benefiting spinach growers and shrimp fishermen and peanut storage, among others — that Democrats put into the bill to make it more palatable to its members.
. . . But Democrats disagreed, saying they were simply financing projects that Republicans failed to address when they were in control of Congress. And they pointed to the money devoted to caring for troops when they return from Iraq."

source
Zeleny, Jeff. (The New York Times). House, 218 to 212, Votes to Set Date for Iraq Pullout. March 24, 2007.

posted: monday, march 26, 2007, 8:27 PM ET

tags: iraq congress

Pakistan tribes want modernity, not Taliban

2007-03-25T00:51:00.000-05:00

Along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, (aka, Talibanistan), "tribal leaders interviewed by TIME say they do not support the aims of the jihadists. But the Taliban's campaign of fear has worn down local resistance. Malik Sher Muhammad Khan, a tribal elder from Wana, says, 'The Taliban walk through the streets shouting that children shouldn't go to school because they are learning modern subjects like math and science. But we want to be modern.' "

source
Baker, Aryn. (Time). The Truth About Talibanistan. March 22, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 25, 2007, 2:39 AM ET

tags: al qaeda taliban talibanistan

Sunnis skew poll down; federalism good for Sunnis; U.S. criticized, but still wanted

2007-03-23T16:33:00.000-05:00

In most of the questions in a poll of Iraqis by ABC News and other news organizations, the nationwide "net" percentages (Shiite-Sunni-Kurd combined) for these questions seem to be skewed downward by the highly negative responses of the Sunnis. For example, in question 1 on how life is going these days, it is said that 39% of the nationwide "net" responded that life was good. But in the sect breakdown portion of the question, 53% of Shiites (who comprise around 60% of Iraqis) and 68% of Kurds (15-20% of Iraqis) said that life was good. A mere 7% of Sunnis (15-20% of Iraqis), on the other hand, said that life was good. So the "net" percentage gets skewed way down to 39%, even though 53% of the Shiites and 68% of the Kurds, said that life was good. And this type of skewed "net" percentage is the percentage that often gets reported.

Wouldn't a more accurate description be that a majority of Iraqis say life is good with the exception being the Sunnis, comprising 15-20% of Iraqis, who overwhelmingly say that life is not good? Not only is it more clear and accurate, but it allows one to focus on potential problem areas and solutions.

Most news accounts of the poll point out this disparity between Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish responses. But I think the point should be made more strongly and pervasively. And as I said before, most of the questions in the poll seem to follow this pattern.

From the poll results, it also appears that autonomous, semi-autonomous or independent regions are gaining favor, at least among Shiites and Kurds. In question 14, 59% of Shiites and 79% of Kurds supported either regional states with a federal government or separate independent states. Only 3% of Sunnis favored either of these choices. The other choice was a "unified Iraq with central government in Baghdad" which 97% of Sunnis favored as opposed to 41% of Shiites and 20% of Kurds.

I'm not sure why the Sunnis still so strongly favor this highly centralized form of government. It seems that Iraq has been trying this type of government since the fall of Saddam and according to the poll, the Sunnis are pretty miserable on most counts. Only 24% of Sunnis have confidence in the police and only 8% have confidence in the national government. Even with their local leaders, only 12% of Sunnis have confidence. This is contrasted with 57% of Shiites and 80% of Kurds who have confidence in their local leaders with similar high percentages for the police and the national government.

And who exactly do the Sunnis want to put in charge of this highly centralized government? Saddam and most of his inner circle are either dead, in prison or in hiding. The Sunnis have no faith in their current local leaders. They don't trust the current majority Shiite national institutions. They certainly don't like the Americans. So who's left?

The Sunnis' current view of their situation seems pretty hopeless. (Perhaps a reflection of their dire situation.) It's possible that the remaining Baathists could take charge, but the Shiites and Kurds seem reluctant to letting Baathists back into most positions of power, let alone letting them run the country again.

On the other hand, with an autonomous, semi-autonomous or independent region, the Sunnis could possibly let the Baathists run things in their Sunni region, if they wanted, as long as they weren't hostile towards the Shiite and Kurdish regions. (They would have to do a better job of chosing their leaders than they are apparently doing now, however. Perhaps they could get some help in this area.) But the possibility of some level of autonomy doesn't seem to appeal to the Sunnis.

But it should since the future looks good for a cooperative, accommodating Sunni population. The oil law seems like it has a good chance of passing, so the Sunnis would have all that oil revenue coming in to build any type of relatively peaceful region they wanted with their own trusted security forces and providers of basic services. It doesn't appear that Iraq is going to break into independent states anytime soon, so there would still be a central, federal government that they could turn to if they needed help. And based on their similar population numbers, the Sunnis would have as much power on the federal level as the Kurds who seem to be satisfied with their current power level. And having federalized regions doesn't mean that the different regions have to be isolated from one another either. They could be as close or as distant as they chose to be, respecting basic rights at all times, of course. Why wouldn't the Sunnis want that for themselves? Why is that such a bad choice?

One thing the poll says that Sunnis and Shiites generally agree on is their negative impression of America's role in Iraq. Though they still apparently would like the U.S. to stay until the security situation improves. The Kurds support the U.S.

source
ABC News. ABC News/USA Today/BBC/ARD poll -Iraq: Where things stand. Ebbing hope in a landscape of loss marks a national survey of Iraq. March 19, 2007.

posted: friday, march 23, 2007, 8:36 PM ET
update: monday, march 26, 2007, 11:38 PM ET

tags: iraq usa today bbc ard abc poll sunni federalism

Qaeda threat from Afghan-Pakistan, not Iraq

2007-03-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

"Attacking the United States clearly remains on bin Laden's agenda. But the likelihood that such an attack would be launched from Iraq, many experts contend, has sharply diminished over the past year as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has undergone dramatic changes. Once believed to include thousands of 'foreign fighters,' it is now an overwhelmingly Iraqi organization whose aims are likely to remain focused on the struggle against the Shiite majority in Iraq, U.S. intelligence officials said.
. . . [O]fficials estimated that Iraqis make up 90 percent of AQI's several thousand fighters.
. . . [B]in Laden appears to have regained his stature among Muslim extremists and bolstered his ability to draw recruits. 'As people around the world sign up to fight jihad,' the intelligence official said, 'before they were always going to Iraq. Now we see more winding up in Pakistan.'
As al-Qaeda recoups its numbers and organizational structure in the lawless and inaccessible territory along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, it is seen as having little need for major bases in western Iraq, where the flat desert topography is ill-suited for concealment from U.S. aerial surveillance."

source
DeYoung, Karen & Pincus, Walter. (The Washington Post). Al-Qaeda in Iraq May Not Be Threat Here. March 18, 2007.

posted: monday, march 19, 2007, 11:12 PM ET
update: friday, march 23, 2007, 8:49 PM ET

tags: iraq al qaeda osama bin laden

Detainees escape when imposters take their place

2007-03-19T21:49:00.000-05:00

"Ten Iraqis being held in a British military detention center in Basra carried out an audacious escape plan over the past several days: they switched places with visitors, British authorities said Friday.
An 11th detainee was missing, but no one appeared to have been substituted for him, British authorities said. The detention center is at a British base on the outskirts of Basra.
The escape came to light on Thursday, when it became apparent that 'one person was not who he said he was,' said a spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. The military began to investigate and found that nine other detainees were also substitutes. The real ones had walked out the door, apparently after swapping clothes with their willing stand-ins, British officials said.
The substitutions were carefully plotted, and the imposters “were remarkably well prepared,” the spokesman said.
'They looked the same,' he said. 'They knew the stories of the people they were substituting for. It was quite a sophisticated effort, very carefully planned.' "

source
Rubin, Alissa J. (The New York Times). 10 Detainees Pull Off Escape as Visitors Take Their Place. March 17, 2007.

posted: monday, march 19, 2007, 10:58 PM ET

tags: iraq imposter

PRT-backed Mosul court seen as possible model

2007-03-18T07:37:00.000-05:00

"Last year, the criminal justice system here [in Mosul] had nearly ground to a halt. Intimidated judges were refusing to hear trials. Some judges were allowing suspected insurgents to go free.
Then American advisers in this northern Iraqi city made a proposal: The Iraqis should bring in judges from Baghdad who would serve anonymously. And local officials and the chief judge in Baghdad agreed.
Now U.S. military officers and State Department officials here tout the Mosul program as a major success and a model for the rest of the country.
. . . [T]he judges depend on the United States to help them with matters as basic as traveling safely from Baghdad . . . [American officials, banned from the courts,] meet with the judges in military-style 'after-action reviews' that last an hour or so a few times a week.
. . . In its first three months, [the court] . . . handed down 12 death sentences and prison terms ranging from three years to life. They also acquitted 33 detainees.
. . . '[The judges have] been extremely courageous,' [Provincial Reconstruction Team leader James] Knight said. 'This is the keystone achievement of this PRT.' "

source
Murphy, Bill Jr. (The Washington Post). Mosul Court Is Americans' Exhibit A. March 16, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 18, 2007, 8:55 AM ET
update: sunday, march 18, 2007, 9:10 AM ET

tags: iraq court provincial reconstruction team

Counterinsurgency takes 11 years, Abazaid says

2007-03-18T07:28:00.000-05:00

" 'Insurgencies are not easily solved by foreign troops,' he [retiring Centcom commander Gen. John Abizaid] warns. Only Iraqi security forces can stabilize the country in a lasting way, and America's mission is training and advising those forces. That's where patience comes in: America is four years into a process that, by Abizaid's reading of counterinsurgency history, takes an average of about 11 years. On that timetable, less than halfway through, he thinks the United States is doing okay in Iraq -- assuming it has the patience to finish the mission."

By Washington Post columnist David Ignatius.

source
Ignatius, David. (The Washington Post). Abizaid's Long View. March 16, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 18, 2007, 8:36 AM ET

tags: iraq abizaid counterinsurgency

Some militias allowed to patrol own Baghdad areas

2007-03-18T07:11:00.000-05:00

"[I]n Baghdad, American officials seem increasingly willing to tolerate some of those Shiite militias as long as they patrol their own neighborhoods."

source
Cooper, Helene & Sanger, David E. (The New York Times). Iraqis’ Progress Lags Behind Pace Set by Bush Plan. March 15, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 18, 2007, 8:25 AM ET

tags: iraq militia

Is draft oil law cheating Iraq out of revenue?

2007-03-14T20:12:00.000-05:00

"The [Bush] administration has highlighted the law’s revenue sharing plan, under which the central government would distribute oil revenues throughout the nation on a per capita basis. But the benefits of this excellent proposal are radically undercut by the law’s many other provisions — these allow much (if not most) of Iraq’s oil revenues to flow out of the country and into the pockets of international oil companies.
The law would transform Iraq’s oil industry . . . into a commercial industry, all-but-privatized, that is fully open to all international oil companies.
The Iraq National Oil Company would have exclusive control of just 17 of Iraq’s 80 known oil fields, leaving two-thirds of known — and all of its as yet undiscovered — fields open to foreign control.
. . . Iraqis may very well choose to use the expertise and experience of international oil companies. They are most likely to do so in a manner that best serves their own needs if they are freed from the tremendous external pressure being exercised by the Bush administration, the oil corporations — and the presence of 140,000 members of the American military."

Op-ed by Antonia Juhasz, "an analyst with Oil Change International, a watchdog group." [1]

Ms. Juhasz raises a troubling possibility. I know little about oil or business, but why would Iraq agree to be cheated out of its oil revenue? While the Bush administration's ties to the oil industry are well-known, Congress and pundits from all sides had also been pushing Iraq to pass an oil law. What was their motivation?

I read through the oil law and it seemed OK. It had provisions for transparency, competitive bidding, royalties, taxes, etc. Article 9 said that model contracts would honor "national control," "ownership of the resources," and "optimum economic return for the country." But like I said, I know little about oil or business.

I look forward to another Op-ed piece (or adjustments to the draft oil law) that will address Ms. Juhasz's concerns.

source
Juhasz, Antonia. (The New York Times). Whose Oil Is It, Anyway? March 13, 2007.

resource
Draft Iraq Oil and Gas Law. February 15, 2007. (via the Oil Change International website).

posted: thursday, march 15, 2007, 2:12 AM ET
update: thursday, march 15, 2007, 2:23 AM ET

tags: iraq oil antonia juhasz

Afghanistan needs time, ambassador says

2007-03-14T19:50:00.000-05:00

"The departing American ambassador to Afghanistan, Ronald E. Neumann, said Monday that he did not see the Taliban as the big threat it appeared to represent a year or two ago, and that he was leaving feeling 'reasonably optimistic' about the state of the insurgency and the country’s progress.
. . . The ambassador said that the Afghan Army, which initially had been envisioned as a light force reliant on American allies, was being strengthened, with a goal of building it to 70,000 troops, and that it was being supplied with armored vehicles, aircraft and body armor.
The program to develop a police entity was two years behind that of the army, he said, but current plans also call for more support for the police.
. . . Mr. Neumann said people in Afghanistan and abroad should understand that it would take considerable time to see results in the country. It had taken four years to set up a military justice system for the Afghan National Army — from drafting the law to training legal personnel — before the army could hold its first court-martial, he said. Plans to train a civilian judiciary are proceeding, but the effects will not be felt on the ground even in a year’s time, he said."

source
Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). U.S. Diplomat ‘Optimistic’ About Afghanistan. March 13, 2007.

posted: wednesday, march 14, 2007, 9:09 PM ET

tags: afghanistan

Iraq vs. Afghan withdrawal

2007-03-13T19:56:00.000-05:00

"President Bush approved 8,200 more U.S. troops for Iraq and Afghanistan on top of reinforcements already ordered to those two countries, the White House said Saturday, a move that comes amid a fiery debate in Washington over the Iraq war." [1]

Why aren't people demanding that the U.S. exit Afghanistan like they are Iraq? It seems like many of the same objections would apply to both situations. Death and injury to American soldiers, imposing America's system of government on another country, the length of time, the expense. Where's the fiery debate over the Afghan war, or any debate, for that matter?

source
Baker, Peter. (The Washington Post). Additional Troop Increase Approved. March 11, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 13, 2007, 9:14 PM ET

tags: iraq afghanistan

New descriptor: "zombie idea"

2007-03-13T19:12:00.000-05:00

"Staffers in the [U.S.] embassy's economic section called Commerce's plan to end the [Iraqi's monthly food] rations a 'zombie idea.'
'It was one of those bad ideas that you think is dead, but it keeps coming up every nine to 12 months,' the embassy official said. 'And each time it comes up, the plan gets worse.' "

source
Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. (The Washington Post). Agencies Tangle on Efforts to Help Iraq. March 11, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 13, 2007, 8:23 PM ET
update: tuesday, march 13, 2007, 8:24 PM ET

tags: iraq zombie

Iraq's draft oil law should get more attention

2007-03-13T18:58:00.000-05:00

"The recent hydrocarbon law, approved after much wrangling by Iraq's council of ministers, deserves a great deal more praise than it has been receiving. For one thing, it abolishes the economic rationale for dictatorship in Iraq. For another, it was arrived at by a process of parley and bargain that, while still in its infancy, demonstrates the possibility of a cooperative future. For still another, it shames the oil policy of Iraq's neighbors and reinforces the idea that a democracy in Baghdad could still teach a few regional lessons.
To illustrate my point by contrast: Can you easily imagine the Saudi government allocating oil revenues so as to give a fair share to the ground-down and despised Shiite workers who toil, for the most part, in the oil fields of the eastern region of the country? Or picture the Shiite dictatorship in Iran giving a fair shake to the Arab-speaking area of Khuzestan, let alone to the 10 percent of Iranians who are both Sunni and Kurdish? To ask these questions is to answer them. Control over the production and distribution of oil is the decisive factor in defining who rules whom in the Middle East."

source
Hitchens, Christopher. (Slate). Blood and Oil. March 12, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 13, 2007, 8:09 PM ET

tags: iraq oil

Petreaus press conference (video)

2007-03-12T03:51:00.000-05:00

"General Petraeus repeatedly stressed the long-term nature of the troop increase.
. . . He said there were no 'looming' requests for additional troops and that he had not yet taken a position on an assessment by the second-ranking commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, that the greatly enlarged American force remain until February 2008.
But he added, 'If you’re going to achieve the kinds of effects that we probably need, it would need to be sustained certainly for some time well beyond the summer.'
Military officials in Iraq have indicated that they would need a large American troop presence for at least a year and probably far longer to achieve lasting stability. For now, Congress seems persuaded to give General Petraeus’s strategy a year to yield results, setting the summer of 2008 as a deadline for the return of all troops.
General Petraeus’s open-ended strategy appeared to be an effort to avoid a repeat of the pattern that has doomed past American efforts to halt the insurgency. In hot spots including Tal Afar and Diyala, United States soldiers have cracked down on insurgents and then reduced the American presence only to see insurgents retake old ground." [1]

Q: "A number of people that we spoke to yesterday were lamenting the fact that Mahdi Army wasn't there to help. That in the past, security has been much better for the pilgrims. . . . Do you think that there is role for Mahdi Army in this sort of manner?
. . . GEN. PETRAEUS: Well, you know, ultimately, that's a question for -- truly for the Iraqi government, for its authorities and certainly its security force leaders.
You know, many of our -- of the coalition countries have a variety of auxiliary police or other functions. The challenge, of course, is that some of these organizations have participated in true excesses, and they have been responsible, some of them, some the extremist elements of them -- and I think that the challenge has been to determine, you know, how do you incorporate those who want to serve a positive -- in a positive way, and as neighborhood watches, let's say, but unarmed in our own communities, but without turning into something much more than that?
. . . I must tell you that I was taken aback by what I saw in driving around Ghazalia, parts of Adhamiya, parts of Mansour, parts of East Rashid, the Dura area and so forth. And some of that certainly, clearly, is the result of extremist sectarian militias. And I think that is the concern about employing them." [2]

Gen. Petraeus also said, "I was heartened by what I saw in Ramadi, by what I've heard described about in Hit, where again Anbaris, the members of those tribes, have said, enough, and have banded together, raised their hand, joined the police forces and in fact are standing and fighting against al Qaeda Iraq. And you can start to see, by the way, for what it's worth, an identity emerging among them that is, again, very heartening to someone who has been here since the beginning off and on and watched things go up and down in Anbar province -- frankly, mostly down during a variety of periods. So that's, again, a very, very interesting development in that regard." [2]

source
[1] Oppel, Richard A. Jr. (The New York Times). New U.S. Commander in Iraq Won’t Rule Out Need for Added Troops. March 9, 2007.
[2] Federal News Service. Multinational force Iraq press conference with General David Petraeus, U.S. Army, Commanding General. MNF-1. March 8, 2007. (no link).

video source
The Pentagon Channel. Gen. David Petraeus. March 8, 2007. (enter "petraeus" in search box).

posting: monday, march 12, 2007, 5:32 AM ET
update: monday, march 13, 2007, 9:52 PM ET

tags: iraq petraeus mahdi army video press conference

Fadhila to exit Shia bloc, wants to be nonsectarian

2007-03-12T02:41:00.000-05:00

"[A] growing number of politicians publicly declared that they embraced the idea of a cross-sectarian political movement that has been gaining strength this week. It was not yet clear the form the front would take, but if successful it would have broad implications for parliamentary divisions and the way government ministries are apportioned: they are currently handed out to parties, most of which have clear sectarian sympathies.
Most significantly, the Fadhila Party, a faction of the united Shiite bloc, the largest group in Parliament, announced it was leaving the bloc.
A spokesman for Fadhila suggested there was frustration with sectarian politics.
'We want to try to build a new politics that is not sectarian that will include all of Iraqi society,' said Bassim Sharif, a leader of the Fadhila party. However, he stopped short of saying that they would join the new bloc. 'For now we will try to work alone to prove there is a Shiite party that can work in a nonsectarian way.' But, he added, 'this is the first step to save Iraq from this crisis.' " [1]

Regarding Fadhila leaving the Shiite bloc, "[o]ne possible scenario in coming weeks would be an alliance between Fadhila and the Iraqi National List, a group led by secular Shiite and former prime minister Ayad Allawi, which has 25 seats.
. . . Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker, said he interpreted the move as evidence of growing disapproval of Maliki and the ruling alliance.
"These changes show that neither the Shiite coalition nor the government has been able to improve things and that they are gradually growing weaker," Othman said.
Mithal al-Alusi, a Sunni parliament member, said it is too early to tell how the party's withdrawal will alter Iraq's political landscape. But he said the development should be seen as evidence that democracy has taken root in Iraq." [2]

"Shiite parties under the umbrella of the United Iraqi Alliance now hold 113 seats. Kurdish parties have 53 seats and Sunni groups have 44. The remaining 50 members are independent or do not belong to sectarian groupings." [2]

source
[1] Rubin, Alissa. (The New York Times). Attacks on Shiite Pilgrims Continue. March 8, 2007.
[2] Londono, Ernesto. (The Washington Post). Shiite Bloc in Parliament Diminished by Defection. March 8, 2007.

posted: monday, march 12, 2007, 4:50 AM ET

tags: iraq fadhila

8-month sentence for not serving in Iraq

2007-03-09T13:55:00.000-05:00

"A U.S. Army medic who jumped out a window of his base housing and fled to California to avoid a redeployment to Iraq was convicted of desertion Tuesday at a court-martial. He was sentenced to eight months in prison _ far short of the maximum seven-year sentence.
Spc. Agustin Aguayo, 35, who refused to return to Iraq because he believes war is immoral, admitted the less serious charge of being absent without leave but was unsuccessful in contesting the more serious desertion charge.
. . . Since Aguayo has been jailed for 161 days awaiting trial, he could be free within a few weeks. [The judge, R. Peter] Masterton also ordered that Aguayo be reduced in rank to private, forfeit his pay, and receive a bad conduct discharge at the end of his sentence.
Aguayo, who was not the first soldier to be convicted of desertion for refusing to serve in Iraq, said he enlisted in 2002 to earn money for his education. Though military operations in Afghanistan were under way and discussions about Iraq were ongoing, he said he never thought he would have to fight."

Another anti-war option. And only 8 months.

source
Frey, George. (The Associated Press). Army Medic Is Found Guilty of Desertion. March 6, 2007.

related
Hawley, Charles. (Spiegel). Aguayo Follows His Conscience to the Brig. March 6, 2007.

posted: friday, march 9, 2007, 2:19 PM ET
update: saturday, march 10, 2007, 9:43 AM ET

tags: iraq desertion Agustin Aguayo

Police allowed Hilla bombings, survivors say

2007-03-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

"In the chaotic aftermath of the Hilla blasts [which killed at least 77], survivors not only accused Sunni terrorists of carrying out the attacks but also blamed the Iraqi police and American forces for allowing them too happen.
Enraged, they said Iraqi policemen had stopped the Shiite marchers from searching unfamiliar people nearby.
'We hold the police responsible,' said Khudair Abbas, 67, a survivor. 'We were searching the pilgrims to look for terrorists, and a police force came and prevented us from searching, saying that it is their job to do. A few minutes after the police left, the explosion happened!'
Ahmad Hassan, 22 . . . said it appeared the police were intent on breaking up any effort by the Mahdi Army, the large militia controlled by anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, to impose its own security on the march, as in past years.
'But there was no Mahdi Army among us,' Mr. Hussain said. 'We were all locals from the same area.' " [1]

"Abdul Razak al-Nadawi, a spokesman for Sadr, denounced the attacks as 'a criminal act' and blamed the government for not protecting the pilgrims. Sadr representatives, he added, had asked the government to allow the Mahdi Army to help provide security along the route from Baghdad to Karbala, but the government did not take them up on the offer.
'Last year, when the Mahdi army was involved in securing the road, no attacks occurred, but this year we have seen the breaches that happened,' Nadawi said in a telephone interview from the southern city of Najaf. 'The government should have been more alert and better prepared to deal with the situation.'
Nadawi said that the Sadrists would not be pressured to retaliate against the Sunni insurgents. 'We are still committed and comply with the words of our leader, Moqtada Sadr, which call for calm and self-restraint,' he said." [2]

Would it be a bad idea to let the Mahdi Army do purely defensive security? And if the public wants to participate in their own security, it seems like they should be encouraged, especially if the ultimate goal is to build a democratic society. Supporting the public in their efforts also seems like an opportunity for the U.S. to build good relations with the Iraqi people. It might also be an opportunity to find good recruits for future local police officers as opposed to the current police force which seems to have a history of controversy. Not that the public should be allowed to become vigilantes, but their showing of initiative should be seen as a positive, hopeful sign and not something to be suppressed.

source
[1] Oppel, Richard A. Jr. (The New York Times). Attacks Across Iraq Kill at Least 109 Shiite Pilgrims. March 7, 2007.
[2] Londono, Ernesto & Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). 118 Shiite Pilgrims Killed in Iraq Attacks. March 7, 2007.

posted: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 10:56 PM ET
update: saturday, march 10, 2007, 9:02 AM ET

tags: iraq mahdi army police

Afghan opium farmers & traffickers support Taliban / Afghan people support government, NATO spokeswoman says

2007-03-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

"In its largest offensive yet, thousands of NATO troops moved Tuesday into the mountains of southern Afghanistan where hundreds of hardcore Taliban insurgents hold sway -- an operation in the world's biggest opium-producing region aimed at winning over a population long supportive of militant fighters.
. . . Helmand is the world's biggest producer of opium, and a new U.N. drug assessment indicates this year's poppy harvest could be higher than last year's record output. The U.N. says Taliban fighters protect poppy farmers and tax the crop, deriving money for their insurgency -- perhaps as much as hundreds of millions of dollars.
Aside from offering protection, the Taliban also derives its strong local support from ethnic and tribal ties.
. . . U.S. intelligence officials say Taliban fighters have flooded into Helmand over the last several months, and there are now more fighters there than anywhere else in the country." [1]

"NATO said the offensive was aimed at countering the Taliban insurgency, which has joined forces with drug traffickers to make Helmand the most lawless province in Afghanistan.
. . . 'We know there are hundreds of foreign fighters' in southern Afghanistan, Colonel Collins said. 'They are from Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.' He said hard-core Taliban, who number in the 'high hundreds,' are able to recruit young men in the districts and are supported by militias trafficking in narcotics." [2]

"Lt. Col. Angela Billings, a spokeswoman for NATO forces, said the time is right to try to break the insurgents' grip on the area.
'Afghanistan is a different place than it was nine months ago. The local population is tired of the unrest,' Billings said. 'They're definitely behind [NATO forces] and the Afghan national security forces. They believe in the government, and they want to be supportive.' " [3]

source
[1] The Associated Press. NATO Launches Offensive Against Taliban. March 6, 2007.
[2] Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). NATO Mounts Largest Attack on Taliban in the South. March 7, 2007.
[3] Witte, Griffe. (The Washington Post). NATO Offensive Targets Taliban In S. Afghanistan. March 7, 2007.

posted: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 8:45 PM ET
update: thursday, march 7, 2007, 12:04 AM ET

tags: afghanistan drug

Refugee camps can cause problems, too

2007-03-07T20:01:00.000-05:00

"Humanitarian agencies are already drawing up plans for huge refugee camps inside and around Iraq's borders, although many are concerned they will only add to the country's problems.
'When refugees and displaced persons start collecting in camps,' [Brookings Institute's Carlos] Pascual said, 'you get a vulnerable population -- and a lot of unemployed men -- who are subject to attack, recruitment and internal violence. This is where you often get further radicalization, and the camps themselves become a source of the problem.' "

source
DeYoung, Karen & Ricks, Thomas E. (The Washington Post). No U.S. Backup Strategy For Iraq. March 5, 2007.

posted: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 8:32 PM ET
update: wednesday, march 7, 2007, 8:11 PM ET

tags: iraq refugee

Mixed marriages targeted: Is mixed region a solution?

2007-03-06T17:34:00.000-05:00

"As U.S. and Iraqi forces attempt to pacify the capital, mixed couples who symbolize Iraq's once famous tolerance are increasingly entangled by hate.
. . . 'In the absence of security, Iraqis are protecting themselves by turning to their sects and their tribes,' said Zina Abdul Rasul, a U.N. human rights worker who herself is a product of a mixed marriage. 'It is becoming normal to hear about mixed families breaking down.'
. . . While there are no official statistics, sociologists estimate that nearly a third of Iraqi marriages are unions between members of different sectarian or ethnic communities. In the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, many Iraqis argued that the prevalence of such unions showed that Iraqis cared more about their Arab or national identity than their sect, which would spare the country a civil war.
But Iraq's sectarian strife has risen sharply since the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra by Sunni militants a year ago. Since then, more than 500,000 Iraqis have fled their homes, a number that is growing by 50,000 every month, according to the United Nations. The vast majority have left mixed areas, the main battlefields of the sectarian war." [1]

Could a mixed, secular province or region be a solution? If 1 in 3 marriages are mixed marriages, then it seems that they would make up a significant number of people. If you add other possible inhabitants such as family members of the mixed marriages, non-sectarian secularists, minority groups, artistic/creative types, other targeted groups or individuals, or people who would just enjoy living in a mixed, secular area, the number would be even larger. *

Last year's federalism law is due to take effect in a little over a year. It will allow provinces to vote on whether to form semi-autonomous provinces or join with other provinces to form semi-autonomous regions. There's no reason that a mixed, secular province or region could not be formed when this law takes effect.

Of course, having a country where one could live peacefully in any location would probably be the preference. But considering all the violence over the past years, this sort of countrywide peace, if ever achieved, may be an uneasy peace at best for awhile. And even with relative peace, there is no guarantee that mixed marriages and others will not continue to be targeted. So the formation of a mixed, secular province or region with security designed especially for its inhabitants seems like it would be a desirable goal.

footnote
* Christians might also be included among these groups unless they succeed in forming their own area.

source
[1] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Marriages Between Sects Come Under Siege in Iraq. March 4, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 6:30 PM ET
update: saturday, march 10, 2007, 9:10 AM ET

tags: iraq federalism mixed marriage

Reality over perception needed for Iraq success

2007-03-06T17:03:00.000-05:00

" 'The administration has been so focused on perception that it has frequently missed the point' of Iraq's complex realities, says Qubad Talabani, Washington representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government. 'If how it looks in Washington becomes more important than how it works out in Baghdad, we all lose.'
That is a caution that applies to war critics who insist on unrealistic benchmarks or deadlines as well as to war supporters who insist on Bush's freedom of action. Both tend to overestimate U.S. ability to manage withdrawal -- or escalation -- on its own terms, relegating Iraqis and others in the region to the status of bit players in an American political drama.
The addition of 17,500 troops into Baghdad that Bush announced Jan. 10 smacked initially of being another gimmick, of resembling an exit-covering escalation, as in an old Western where the gunslinger backs out the saloon door with guns blazing.
But the impression of impending crisis has either prompted or helped Maliki to develop a political initiative of his own to accompany the surge -- and has encouraged U.S. officials to give him more room to maneuver."

By Washington Post columnist Jim Hoagland

source
Hoagland, Jim. (The Washington Post). Desperation Helps Out In Baghdad. March 4, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 5:32 PM ET

tags: iraq surge

Afghan people still don't support U.S.?

2007-03-06T16:55:00.000-05:00

"The shooting [of 16 civilians] will be a setback for American forces in Afghanistan, who have been working to contain the continuing insurgent attacks, in particular roadside bombs and suicide attacks, and win the support of the people with reconstruction and development projects. Deadly riots shook Kabul last May after American troops were involved in a fatal car crash and then opened fire on the crowd."

source
Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). 16 Civilians Die as U.S. Troops Fire on Afghan Road. March 5, 2007.

posted: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 5:03 PM ET

tags: afghanistan

Draft oil law details

2007-03-04T21:03:00.000-05:00

"· Reaffirms that oil and gas resources are owned by all the people of Iraq and contains a firm commitment to revenue-sharing among regions and provinces on the basis of population.
· Establishes a predictable framework and processes for federal-regional cooperation that demonstrate the government's commitment to democracy and federalism.
· Creates a principal policymaking body for energy -- the Federal Council on Oil and Gas -- that will have representatives from all of Iraq's regions and oil-producing provinces.
· Ensures that all revenue from oil sales will go into a single national account and that provinces will receive direct shares of revenue, thereby significantly increasing local control of financial resources.
· Establishes international standards for transparency and mandates public disclosure of contracts and associated revenue and payments. This is essential to build confidence in the new political order and to counter corruption.
. . . It also requires best practices in environmental protection and field management and development."

Op-ed by Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

source
Khalilzad, Zalmay. (The Washington Post). A Shared Stake in Iraq's Future. March 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 4, 2007, 9:12 PM ET

tags: iraq oil zalmay khalilzad

Maliki to replace Sadr allies, officials say

2007-03-04T20:50:00.000-05:00

"Iraq's prime minister [Nuri al-Maliki] said Saturday he will reshuffle his Cabinet within two weeks and pursue criminal charges against political figures linked to extremists.
. . . The prime minister did not say how many Cabinet members would be replaced. But some officials said about nine would lose their jobs, including all six Cabinet members loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, an al-Maliki ally.
. . . Last month, U.S. and Iraqi troops arrested Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili, an al-Sadr ally, for allegedly diverting millions of dollars in government funds to the Mahdi Army and allowing death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings.
During the interview, al-Maliki said other top officials would face prosecution for ties to insurgents, sectarian militias and death squads _ including members of parliament."

source
Reid, Robert H. & Abdul-Zahra, Qassim. (The Associated Press). Iraq PM Vows Cabinet Shakeup in 2 Weeks. March 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 4, 2007, 9:02 PM ET
update: sunday, march 4, 2007, 9:32 PM ET

tags: iraq sadr maliki

Surge update: Sunnis violent, Shiites quieter, Baghdad violence down

2007-03-04T20:36:00.000-05:00

"In recent months, al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni groups have begun to use more sophisticated tactics, downing U.S. helicopters and staging large attacks that have claimed the lives of hundreds of Iraqi civilians.
Meanwhile, the Mahdi Army, the largest and most violent Shiite militia, headed by anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has faded from neighborhoods it once visibly controlled. Sadr, whose forces have fiercely battled U.S. troops, appears to be cooperating with the security plan, although a statement attributed to him and released Sunday warned that the plan 'will not be good if it is controlled and ruled by our enemies, the occupiers.'
Mahdi Army militiamen 'have certainly reduced their activities in the past couple of weeks,' said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a U.S. military spokesman. 'What is their long-term intention? It is absolutely too early to tell.' " [1]

"The new Baghdad security operation . . . has led to a sharp drop in violence in the capital." [2]

source
[1] Raghavan, Sudarsan. (The Washington Post). Sunni Insurgents Ascendant in Iraq's Caldron of Violence. March 3, 2007.
[2] Reid, Robert H. & Abdul-Zahra, Qassim. (The Associated Press). Iraq PM Vows Cabinet Shakeup in 2 Weeks. March 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 4, 2007, 8:48 PM ET
update: sunday, march 4, 2007, 9:40 PM ET

tags: iraq shiite sunni surge

Autonomous region proposal for W. Sahara

2007-03-04T20:23:00.000-05:00

"Neighboring Algeria helped create and then lent armed support to the Polisario Front, a guerrilla group that resisted Moroccan rule [in the Western Sahara].
. . . For many years there was fierce fighting, from which tens of thousands of families fled, and eventually came under the care of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Though the violence concluded with a United Nations-brokered cease-fire in 1991, the Western Sahara’s inhabitants remain caught in the unresolved conflict.
. . . After a year-long national discussion, Morocco is to propose, at the United Nations in April, a plan to establish the Western Sahara as an autonomous region under Moroccan sovereignty. Autonomy would provide effective self-determination for the Sahrawis, allowing for local decision-making and control over economic, social, linguistic and cultural issues. Successful autonomy regions like this exist elsewhere. The Trentino-Alto Adige region in Italy and the autonomous region of Madeira in Portugal are examples, as are Catalonia and the Basque Provinces in Spain. The creation of these quasi-states has unlocked longstanding disputes once thought resolvable only by force."

Op-ed by Frederick Vreeland, former U.S. ambassador to Morocco

sources
[1] Vreeland, Frederick. (The New York Times). Will Freedom Bloom in the Desert? March 3, 2007.

posted: sunday, march 4, 2007, 8:34 PM ET
update: tuesday, march 6, 2007, 11:27 PM ET

tags: morocco federalism

Twisted branches (photos)

2007-03-02T07:55:00.000-05:00

More Twisted Branches pics.

posted: friday, march 2, 2007, 8:18 AM ET

tags: branch photo

U.S. to attend meeting that includes Iran & Syria

2007-03-01T10:58:00.000-05:00

"American officials said Tuesday that they had agreed to hold the highest-level contact with the Iranian authorities in more than two years as part of an international meeting on Iraq.
The discussions, scheduled for the next two months, are expected to include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Iranian and Syrian counterparts.
. . . Iraqi officials had been pushing for such a meeting for several months, but Bush administration officials refused until the Iraqi government reached agreement on pressing domestic matters, including guidelines for nationwide distribution of oil revenue and foreign investment in the country’s immense oil industry, administration officials said.
. . . [The talks] will include Britain, Russia, and a host of international organizations and Middle Eastern countries."

source
Cooper, Helene & Semple, Kirk. (The New York Times). U.S. Set to Join Iran and Syria in Talks on Iraq. February 28, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 1, 2007, 11:19 AM ET

tags: condoleezza rice iraq iran syria

American public wants out, poll says

2007-03-01T01:19:00.000-05:00

"This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone February 22-25, 2007, among a random national sample of 1,082 adults."

7. "Do you think (the United States should keep its military forces in Iraq until civil order is restored there, even if that means continued U.S. military casualties); OR, do you think (the United States should withdraw its military forces from Iraq in order to avoid further U.S. military casualties, even if that means civil order is not restored there)?" (Stay 42%; Withdraw 56%)

8. "Do you support or oppose Bush's proposal to send approximately 22,000 additional U.S. military forces to Iraq?" (Support 32%; Oppose: 67%)

9a. "Would you support or oppose Congress trying to block Bush's plan by creating new rules on troop training and rest time that would limit the number of troops available for duty in Iraq?" (Support 58%; Oppose 39%)

9b. "Would you support or oppose Congress trying to block Bush's plan by restricting funding for the war?" (Support 46%; Oppose 51%)

10. "Who do you blame more for failing to control the violence in Iraq - (the United States), or the (Iraqi government?)" (US 18%; Iraqi govt 70%; both (vol.) 8%; neither (vol.) 3%) *

11. "Would you support or oppose reducing U.S. military and financial support for the Iraqi government if the Iraqis fail to make progress toward national unity and restoring civil order?" (Support 66%; Oppose 30%)

footnote
* I'm not sure what "vol." means. Maybe they volunteered that response on their own.

source
The Washington Post. Washington Post-ABC News Poll. February 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 1, 2007, 1:47 AM ET
update: thursday, march 1, 2007, 1:52 AM ET

tags: iraq poll surge withdrawal

VPs Cheney and Abdul-Mahdi get bombed

2007-03-01T00:52:00.000-05:00

"A suicide bomber blew himself up on Tuesday morning outside the gate of the United States air base near Kabul where Vice President Dick Cheney was staying, killing at least 23 people. The vice president heard the blast from a mile away.
. . . A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility, and said in a telephone call to the Reuters news agency that the attack had been aimed at Mr. Cheney." [1]

"An explosion inside the Ministry of Public Works on Monday wounded an Iraqi [Shiite] vice president and the public works minister and killed at least five people, in what officials described as a possible assassination attempt.
. . . Adel Abdul-Mahdi, one of Iraq’s two vice presidents, was approaching a conference room lectern to address ministry employees at the time of the blast, which tore through walls and hurled him to the ground, witnesses said. His guards threw themselves on top of him, and he was immediately taken to an American-run hospital inside the Green Zone where witnesses said he was received in a wheelchair, covered in dust but smiling.
Statements from several offices of the Shiite-led Iraqi government later said he was released and had returned to work.
The public works minister, Reyad Ghareeb, was seriously wounded, news agencies reported. It was not clear if his wounds were life-threatening." [2]

sources
[1] Wafa, Abdul Waheed & Gall, Carlotta. (The New York Times). A Mile From Cheney, Afghan Bomber Kills at Least 23. February 28, 2007.
[2] Cave, Damien. (The New York Times). Bombing at Iraqi Ministry Wounds 2 Top Officials. February 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 1, 2007, 1:18 AM ET

tags: iraq afghanistan dick cheney adel abdul-mahdi

U.S. money shipments to Iraq was success, not failure

2007-03-01T00:34:00.000-05:00

"The currency that was shipped into Iraq in the days after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government was part of a successful financial operation that had been carefully planned months before the invasion. Its aims were to prevent a financial collapse in Iraq, put the financial system on a firm footing and pave the way for a new Iraqi currency. Contrary to the criticism that such currency shipments were ill advised or poorly monitored, this financial plan was carried out with precision and was a complete success.
The plan, which had two stages, was designed to work for Iraq’s cash economy, in which checks or electronic funds transfers were virtually unknown and shipments of tons of cash were commonplace.
. . . This success paved the way for the second stage of the plan. In only a few months, 27 planeloads (in 747 jumbo jets) of new Iraqi currency were flown into Iraq from seven printing plants around the world. Armed convoys delivered the currency to 240 sites around the country. From there, it was distributed to 25 million Iraqis in exchange for their old dinars, which were then dyed, collected into trucks, shipped to incinerators and burned or simply buried.
The new currency proved to be very popular. It provided a sound underpinning for the financial system and remains strong, appreciating against the dollar even in the past few months. Hence, the second part of the currency plan was also a success."

Op-ed by John B. Taylor, "under secretary of the Treasury from 2001 to 2005"

source
Taylor, John B. (The New York Times). Billions Over Baghdad. February 27, 2007.

posted: thursday, march 1, 2007, 12:50 AM ET
update: thursday, march 1, 2007, 12:52 AM ET

tags: iraq money

Draft oil law approved by Iraq cabinet

2007-02-27T11:12:00.000-05:00

"Iraq's cabinet approved draft legislation Monday that would enable the government to manage the country's vast oil resources and distribute revenue throughout the country, a step toward meeting a U.S. demand that the country's parliament pass such a law.
. . . The draft oil law, approved by Iraq's cabinet after months of intense negotiations, must still be approved by parliament. Ministers agreed to a goal of enacting the legislation by May, a senior Iraqi official said on condition of anonymity.
'If this law is enacted, it is truly an important breakthrough to establishing the political economy of what we want to see: an Iraq that is democratic, federal and united,' Barham Salih, one of Iraq's two deputy prime ministers, said in an interview.
The draft law calls for oil revenue throughout the country to be deposited in a federal government account and redistributed to Iraq's 18 provinces, most likely on a per capita basis, said Salih, the chairman of the negotiating committee working on the legislation. A secondary piece of legislation will address in more detail the mechanisms of revenue distribution, he added." [1]

"Distributing revenue by population is not guaranteed to placate the feuding parties because no accurate census exists.
. . . The minority Sunni Arabs, who ruled Iraq for decades before the toppling of Saddam Hussein and are now leading the insurgency, have chafed at rule by the Shiites and Kurds partly because they fear that those two groups might hoard oil wealth for themselves. Sunni Arab leaders have resisted attempts by the Kurds and some Shiite politicians to create laws allowing for greater regional autonomy.
The draft law says that all revenues from current and future oil fields will be collected by the central government and redistributed to regional or provincial governments by population, in theory ensuring an equitable distribution of profits. That method could help assuage Sunni Arabs hostile to Kurdish and Shiite autonomy.
The attitudes of Sunni Arabs could also soften if more oil exploration is done on their land. Iraqi officials recently increased their estimates of the amount of oil and natural gas deposits in Sunni Arab territory." [2]

sources
[1] Partlow, Joshua & Londono, Ernesto. (The Washington Post). Iraq's Cabinet Backs Contentious Oil Measure. February 27, 2007.
[2] Wong, Edward. (The New York Times). Iraqis Reach an Accord on Oil Revenues. February 27, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 11:58 AM ET

tags: iraq oil federalism

Anti-Qaeda mosque bombed; Habbaniyah resists al-Qaeda's strict Islam

2007-02-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

"During what turned out to be the last Friday prayer he led, Imam Mohammad al-Marawi urged worshipers at a Sunni mosque in the western city of Habbaniyah to stand firmly against al-Qaeda in Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group that has a strong following in the area.
. . . Less than 24 hours later, someone in a Mercedes truck drove up next to the mosque and detonated explosives hidden under a load of stone and marble.
. . . [W]itnesses said that unlike other large attacks, this one did not appear to have been driven by sectarian rivalries . . . but rather was probably carried out as a warning from Sunni extremists to Sunnis who support the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.
Tribal leaders in Habbaniyah and other Sunni insurgent strongholds in volatile Anbar province have tried to mobilize civilians against al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has sought to impose strict Islamic code in several regions and has frequently attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces.
. . . Despite warnings from Sunni insurgents, women in Habbaniyah are not forced to cover their hair with the traditional hijab, and residents are free to use the Internet and cellphones."

source
Londono, Ernesto. (The Washington Post). At Least 40 Die in Bombing At Sunni Mosque in W. Iraq. February 25, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 11:11 AM ET
update: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 12:02 PM ET

tags: iraq al qaeda sunni islam federalism

Iraq diverted U.S. from Afghanistan and al Qaeda

2007-02-27T10:46:00.000-05:00

"Almost five and a half years ago, America — united by the shock of 9/11 — understood exactly what it needed to do. It had to find, thwart and take down the command structure of Al Qaeda, which was responsible for the deaths of 3,000 innocent people on American soil. Despite years of costly warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, America today is not significantly closer to that essential goal.
At a crucial moment, the Bush administration diverted America’s military strength, political attention and foreign aid dollars from a necessary, winnable war in Afghanistan to an unnecessary, and by now unwinnable, war in Iraq. Al Qaeda took full advantage of these blunders to survive and rebuild. Now it seems to be back in business.
. . . American intelligence and counterterrorism officials believe that Al Qaeda has rebuilt its notorious training camps, this time in Pakistan’s loosely governed tribal regions near the Afghan border. Camp graduates are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq — and may well be plotting new terrorist strikes in the West."

source
The New York Times. (Editorial). Al Qaeda Resurgent. February 25, 2007.

posted: tuesday, february 27, 2007, 10:58 AM ET

tags: iraq afghanistan al qaeda

PRTs understaffed, underqualified

2007-02-25T02:15:00.000-05:00

"In Diyala, the vast province northeast of Baghdad where Sunnis and Shiites are battling for primacy with mortars and nighttime abductions, the U.S. government has contracted the job of promoting democracy to a Pakistani citizen who has never lived or worked in a democracy.
The management of reconstruction projects in the province has been assigned to a Border Patrol commander with no reconstruction experience. . . . The post of agriculture adviser has gone unfilled because the U.S. Department of Agriculture has provided just one of the six farming experts the State Department asked for a year ago.
. . . The provincial reconstruction teams like those in Diyala are often understaffed and underqualified -- and almost unable to work outside the military outposts where they are hunkered down for security reasons. Today, there are just 10 of the 30-person teams operating in all of Iraq.
. . . The teams are supposed to be up and running by next month."

source
Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. (The Washington Post). Iraq Rebuilding Short on Qualified Civilians. February 24, 2007.

posted: sunday, february 25, 2007, 3:02 AM ET
update: sunday, february 25, 2007, 3:09 AM ET

tags: iraq provincial reconstruction team