Friday, March 02, 2007
Allawi threatens to quit government
Politics
(Middle East Online) The secular party led by former Iraqi interim prime minister Iyad Allawi threatened Thursday to quit the country's embattled government of national unity, accusing officials of sectarian bias. Allawi's Iraqi National List is the only major political party in Iraq to include high ranking members from both the Sunni and Shiite community. It has five ministers and 25 members of parliament.
If Allawi's supporters were to quit Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition, it would strike a blow to attempts to portray the government as a moderate, non-sectarian force in an Iraq increasingly divided by violence and extremism. The List says Maliki's Shiite-led government has failed to honour promises to allow more Sunnis into public service and of persecuting its enemies under the guise of fighting corruption and terrorism.
"We strongly fear that the government's announced security plan will suffer setbacks because of disagreements and clashes between senior officials," the List said, in a statement sent to reporters. "In this context, the Iraqi List feels it will soon no longer be able to accept the responsibility of being in this government, because of its sectarian domination and narrow-mindedness," it warned. "We wouldn't have joined government in the first place but for pressure on us to serve the national interest, but in the last few months the government has done the opposite, and committed despicable acts against many citizens."
The party did not set a deadline for its withdrawal, but party spokesman Ibrahim al-Janabi said that the day would soon be at hand. "This is a final ultimatum to withdraw from the government. The decision has not been taken yet but it will be in the short run rather than the long run. "We put forward a programme to build a national unity government without sectarian and party divides. Now we see that things are taking a completely different shape," he said.
If Allawi's supporters were to quit Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition, it would strike a blow to attempts to portray the government as a moderate, non-sectarian force in an Iraq increasingly divided by violence and extremism. The List says Maliki's Shiite-led government has failed to honour promises to allow more Sunnis into public service and of persecuting its enemies under the guise of fighting corruption and terrorism.
"We strongly fear that the government's announced security plan will suffer setbacks because of disagreements and clashes between senior officials," the List said, in a statement sent to reporters. "In this context, the Iraqi List feels it will soon no longer be able to accept the responsibility of being in this government, because of its sectarian domination and narrow-mindedness," it warned. "We wouldn't have joined government in the first place but for pressure on us to serve the national interest, but in the last few months the government has done the opposite, and committed despicable acts against many citizens."
The party did not set a deadline for its withdrawal, but party spokesman Ibrahim al-Janabi said that the day would soon be at hand. "This is a final ultimatum to withdraw from the government. The decision has not been taken yet but it will be in the short run rather than the long run. "We put forward a programme to build a national unity government without sectarian and party divides. Now we see that things are taking a completely different shape," he said.
Labels: Iraqi National List, Iyad Allawi
$3 million worth of new roads for Ninewa
Reconstruction
(Business Intelligence Middle East) As the decision making for construction projects falls more to the local and regional governments throughout Iraq, Provincial Reconstruction Development Committees seem to be stepping up to the challenge. Eleven concrete road paving projects - at a cost of US$3 million -were recently awarded in the Ninewa Province to ten municipalities. These 11 projects were recommended by the local PRDC in the areas to the North, South and West of Mosul, toward the Syrian border.
Created through the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the PRDC was designed to teach, coach and mentor Iraqi engineers in all aspects of project and reconstruction and development. Committee membership is composed of elected Provincial Council members and Iraqi government engineers, while the PRT representatives serve as advisors to this committee. The US Army Corps of Engineers plays an important role in the overall PRDC process.
Created through the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), the PRDC was designed to teach, coach and mentor Iraqi engineers in all aspects of project and reconstruction and development. Committee membership is composed of elected Provincial Council members and Iraqi government engineers, while the PRT representatives serve as advisors to this committee. The US Army Corps of Engineers plays an important role in the overall PRDC process.
These 11 road projects are funded through the Commander's Emergency Relief Response Programe, one of many funding programmes available to the Multi-National Force in Iraq. CERP was developed to provide commanders with means to respond to urgent humanitarian relief and reconstruction assistance that can be implemented quickly and have an immediate impact on the economy and the Iraqi people.
Scheduled for completion in April 2007, the impact of these roads to the local communities will contribute to the economic activity, emergency response, law enforcement and safer pedestrian travel within Ninewa.
Labels: CERP, Ninewa Province, roads
Iraqi, U.S. forces allowed to set up base in Sadr City
Security
(AFP) Iraqi and US security forces will be allowed to set up a base in the militia bastion of Sadr City, the district's mayor said Friday, but should rein in a controversial special unit. Sheikh Rahim al-Daraji, mayor of the large Shiite district of east Baghdad, said local leaders had held talks with US and Iraqi commanders and that a joint security station would begin operating on March 13.
"Other technical details related to Baghdad security plan have also been agreed on. A place at the entrance of the city shall be used as a first centre," he told AFP in a telephone interview on Friday. But Daraji, who is close to radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement, said local people would not cooperate with what he called the "dirty squad", a US-led Iraqi special unit that has carried out arrests in the area .
US troops have no permanent base inside Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum area, and the area has become a stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army, an illegal militia of black-clad Shiite fighters. Now, after a year of sectarian violence in Baghdad, a joint force of US and Iraqi troops and police has begun an ambitious operation to regain control of the city district by district.
"Other technical details related to Baghdad security plan have also been agreed on. A place at the entrance of the city shall be used as a first centre," he told AFP in a telephone interview on Friday. But Daraji, who is close to radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement, said local people would not cooperate with what he called the "dirty squad", a US-led Iraqi special unit that has carried out arrests in the area .
US troops have no permanent base inside Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum area, and the area has become a stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army, an illegal militia of black-clad Shiite fighters. Now, after a year of sectarian violence in Baghdad, a joint force of US and Iraqi troops and police has begun an ambitious operation to regain control of the city district by district.
Already, 15 fortified outposts known as "joint security stations" have been built in flashpoint districts and Sadr city is one of the next places in line for a permament US military presence. Sadr himself has disappeared from public view -- US and Iraqi officials claim he has gone to Iran but this week he issued statements calling on the Iraqi security forces not to cooperate with the "enemy occupier".
Among the claims of his supporters in Sadr City is that a shadowy force of Iraqi commandos and US advisers has committed abuses during night-time raids. "We have submitted more than seven reports on the violations of this unit but we got no answer. Therefore, we are not committed to cooperate with them," Darraji warned, demanding an investigation into the squad.
The US military regularly reports the results of raids in Sadr City, describing them as operations against "rogue" units of the Mahdi Army suspected of "sectarian murder, torture and kidnapping".
Among the claims of his supporters in Sadr City is that a shadowy force of Iraqi commandos and US advisers has committed abuses during night-time raids. "We have submitted more than seven reports on the violations of this unit but we got no answer. Therefore, we are not committed to cooperate with them," Darraji warned, demanding an investigation into the squad.
The US military regularly reports the results of raids in Sadr City, describing them as operations against "rogue" units of the Mahdi Army suspected of "sectarian murder, torture and kidnapping".
Labels: Sadr City, security forces base, Sheikh Rahim al-Daraji
Shiite cleric targeted in bomb attack
Security
(AP) A roadside bomb exploded yesterday alongside the convoy of a prominent Shiite cleric whose high-level political ties have made him the target of past assassination attempts. The imam was not injured, but several bodyguards were wounded. The attack against Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer came on one of Baghdad's quietest days in months; one fatality and one car bombing were reported.
Sagheer, an ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told the Associated Press that his convoy was attacked in a Sunni area of southwest Baghdad while en route from the airport. "They targeted me again," he said, but declined to point the finger at any specific group. He said several bodyguards were wounded.
Sagheer has had close calls in the past, which he said were linked to his denunciations of Sunni insurgents and foreign jihadists, such as al-Qaeda in Iraq. In June 2006, a shoe bomber killed 10 people during prayers in his mosque in northern Baghdad. Two months earlier, suicide attackers killed at least 85 people as they left the mosque.
Sagheer has had close calls in the past, which he said were linked to his denunciations of Sunni insurgents and foreign jihadists, such as al-Qaeda in Iraq. In June 2006, a shoe bomber killed 10 people during prayers in his mosque in northern Baghdad. Two months earlier, suicide attackers killed at least 85 people as they left the mosque.
Labels: Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, Shiite cleric
No full-time electric power in Baghdad until 2013
Reconstruction
Getting full-time electric power turned on in Baghdad, a key wartime goal toward which the United States has spent $4.2 billion dollars, won't be accomplished until the year 2013, U.S. officials said yesterday, in what others called a significant setback for the new U.S. initiatives to quell Iraq's bloody insurgency.
Power outages in the Iraqi capital are frequent, leaving residents without electricity for an average of 17 or 18 hours a day. For most residents without personal generators, that means not just no lights but dead radios and televisions, heaters, washing machines and water pumps. Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, the senior U.S. military officer overseeing reconstruction efforts, told reporters yesterday via video teleconference that the Iraq government plans to increase power generation "to catch up with demand" for electric power by 2013, "somewhere in around that area."
When President Bush announced in January that he was sending additional troops to Baghdad, he said the initiative must go "beyond military operations." Ordinary Iraqis, Bush said, "must see visible improvements" in their neighborhoods. Reliable electric power is only one such improvement, but it is a critical one, counterinsurgency specialists said.
Having the city regularly plunged into darkness makes it more difficult to sweep neighborhoods for insurgents and maintain security, American combat commanders have said. Continuing shortages of electricity and other vital government services also violate a key provision of the counterinsurgency strategy written by Gen. David Petraeus, the new top military commander in Iraq. That strategy dictates that a government must provide tangible benefits to its citizens in order to attract their loyalty away from the insurgents, in this case the sectarian militias at the center of Iraq's bloody conflict.
Many of the reconstruction projects are unfinished. But the power problem is the most significant to the war effort. "It's critical because electricity is a key measure of how well the government is providing for its people," said Kalev Sepp, a retired U.S. Army special forces officer and a counterinsurgency consultant to the U.S. military command in Baghdad. A key to fighting an insurgency is to convince neighborhood people to provide intelligence on insurgents, Sepp said.
Electricity generation in Iraq today is slightly below prewar levels. According to U.S. State Department data, Iraq was producing 3,958 megawatts per month before March 2003, and as of mid-February, production was running at 3,640 megawatts. Baghdad enjoyed 16 to 24 average hours of power per day, and enjoyed an average of 6.7 hours per day in December, 4.4 hours average per day in January, and 5.9 hours so far in February. American and Iraqi engineers have struggled with rickety power generating and distribution facilities and sabotage by insurgents and scavengers.
The larger problem, Walsh said, is a good-news one: that since 2003, more people are able to buy electric appliances. He said demand for electricity has risen 70 percent since 2003. "We find ourselves constantly chasing increasing demand," Walsh said. Walsh emphasized that distribution of electricity nationwide had increased, under a plan to distribute power equitably among Iraq's regions rather than concentrating it in Baghdad, as was done under the regime of Saddam Hussein. He said "much of the country" is receiving 10 to 12 hours of power a day.
Power outages in the Iraqi capital are frequent, leaving residents without electricity for an average of 17 or 18 hours a day. For most residents without personal generators, that means not just no lights but dead radios and televisions, heaters, washing machines and water pumps. Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh, the senior U.S. military officer overseeing reconstruction efforts, told reporters yesterday via video teleconference that the Iraq government plans to increase power generation "to catch up with demand" for electric power by 2013, "somewhere in around that area."
When President Bush announced in January that he was sending additional troops to Baghdad, he said the initiative must go "beyond military operations." Ordinary Iraqis, Bush said, "must see visible improvements" in their neighborhoods. Reliable electric power is only one such improvement, but it is a critical one, counterinsurgency specialists said.
Having the city regularly plunged into darkness makes it more difficult to sweep neighborhoods for insurgents and maintain security, American combat commanders have said. Continuing shortages of electricity and other vital government services also violate a key provision of the counterinsurgency strategy written by Gen. David Petraeus, the new top military commander in Iraq. That strategy dictates that a government must provide tangible benefits to its citizens in order to attract their loyalty away from the insurgents, in this case the sectarian militias at the center of Iraq's bloody conflict.
Many of the reconstruction projects are unfinished. But the power problem is the most significant to the war effort. "It's critical because electricity is a key measure of how well the government is providing for its people," said Kalev Sepp, a retired U.S. Army special forces officer and a counterinsurgency consultant to the U.S. military command in Baghdad. A key to fighting an insurgency is to convince neighborhood people to provide intelligence on insurgents, Sepp said.
Electricity generation in Iraq today is slightly below prewar levels. According to U.S. State Department data, Iraq was producing 3,958 megawatts per month before March 2003, and as of mid-February, production was running at 3,640 megawatts. Baghdad enjoyed 16 to 24 average hours of power per day, and enjoyed an average of 6.7 hours per day in December, 4.4 hours average per day in January, and 5.9 hours so far in February. American and Iraqi engineers have struggled with rickety power generating and distribution facilities and sabotage by insurgents and scavengers.
The larger problem, Walsh said, is a good-news one: that since 2003, more people are able to buy electric appliances. He said demand for electricity has risen 70 percent since 2003. "We find ourselves constantly chasing increasing demand," Walsh said. Walsh emphasized that distribution of electricity nationwide had increased, under a plan to distribute power equitably among Iraq's regions rather than concentrating it in Baghdad, as was done under the regime of Saddam Hussein. He said "much of the country" is receiving 10 to 12 hours of power a day.
Labels: electricity, General David Petraeus, reconstruction
Hizbullah denies training Iraqi fighters
Security
(The Daily Star) Hizbullah denied Thursday accusations made by US National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell, who said that the resistance group was training Iraqi fighters in Lebanon and sending them back to Iraq to commit attacks against American troops. In a statement issued by its press office, Hizbullah described McConnell's allegations as "yet another American fabrication." The statement added that such accusations "only highlight the United States' abhorrence of any resistance movement fighting against its hegemony in the region."
Labels: Hizbullah, Lebanon, Michael McConnell, U.S.
80 militants killed, 50 captured in Anbar
Security, Insurgency
(CNN) Eighty militants were killed and 50 were captured in fighting between Iraqi security forces and militants in Anbar province, the violent area west of Baghdad, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said Thursday. Iraqi police and soldiers, along with tribal leaders, battled al Qaeda in Iraq fighters in the Amriyat al-Falluja village, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
A police official in the area, Ahmed al-Falluji, told Reuters news agency that 70 militants died in the fighting, and said three police officers also were killed. The statement from the Interior Ministry gave no information on casualties to Iraqi security forces or police. The fighting started Wednesday afternoon when dozens of militants attacked the village, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Falluja, where local tribes have taken an anti-al Qaeda stance.
Reuters said residents fled the village when the attack began and asked Iraqi security forces for help. Fighting lasted through Wednesday evening. Three foreign fighters were among those captured. American troops were not involved, a U.S. military spokesman in Falluja told Reuters. A major power struggle is under way in the Sunni Arab-dominated province between Sunni tribal leaders and al Qaeda in Iraq militants, according to Reuters.
A police official in the area, Ahmed al-Falluji, told Reuters news agency that 70 militants died in the fighting, and said three police officers also were killed. The statement from the Interior Ministry gave no information on casualties to Iraqi security forces or police. The fighting started Wednesday afternoon when dozens of militants attacked the village, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) south of Falluja, where local tribes have taken an anti-al Qaeda stance.
Reuters said residents fled the village when the attack began and asked Iraqi security forces for help. Fighting lasted through Wednesday evening. Three foreign fighters were among those captured. American troops were not involved, a U.S. military spokesman in Falluja told Reuters. A major power struggle is under way in the Sunni Arab-dominated province between Sunni tribal leaders and al Qaeda in Iraq militants, according to Reuters.
Labels: Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Amriyat al-Falluja, Ministry of Interior, tribal leaders
Justice Ministry official - Interior Ministry no longer runs prisons
Security
(Azzaman)
There are more than 9,000 detainees in prisons administered by the Iraqi government, according to a senior Justice Ministry official. Bosho Ibrahim, the ministry’s undersecretary, said all the prisoners were detained in the light of arrest warrants issued by Iraqi courts. “There are 9,169 prisoners in jails run by the ministry. Of these, 6,175 have been sentenced for committing different crimes.“We do not detain anyone without an arrest warrant or following a court sentence,” Ibrahim said.
He said the prisons which were previously administered by the Interior Ministry have been turned over to the Justice Ministry. The Interior Ministry had its own prisons where some of the worst reported human rights violations in Iraq took place. But a source, refusing to be named, said the Interior Ministry no longer had prisons of its own.
“The task of the organs of the Interior Ministry is confined to the implementation of court orders and transferring convicted persons to the prisons related to the Justice Ministry,” the source said. Ibrahim of the Justice Ministry said U.S. forces notify the ministry at the end of every month of the number of Iraqis languishing in their jails.
U.S. forces administer their own jails and the Iraqi government has no authority over the prisoners held in them. “The prisons under U.S. Jurisdiction are run by the Americans themselves,” Ibrahim said. Ibrahim declined to say how many Iraqi prisoners were held by the U.S. However, sources said the U.S. was holding without trial more than 13,000 Iraqi prisoners. The Justice Ministry runs 19 prisons in Iraq.
There are more than 9,000 detainees in prisons administered by the Iraqi government, according to a senior Justice Ministry official. Bosho Ibrahim, the ministry’s undersecretary, said all the prisoners were detained in the light of arrest warrants issued by Iraqi courts. “There are 9,169 prisoners in jails run by the ministry. Of these, 6,175 have been sentenced for committing different crimes.“We do not detain anyone without an arrest warrant or following a court sentence,” Ibrahim said.
He said the prisons which were previously administered by the Interior Ministry have been turned over to the Justice Ministry. The Interior Ministry had its own prisons where some of the worst reported human rights violations in Iraq took place. But a source, refusing to be named, said the Interior Ministry no longer had prisons of its own.
“The task of the organs of the Interior Ministry is confined to the implementation of court orders and transferring convicted persons to the prisons related to the Justice Ministry,” the source said. Ibrahim of the Justice Ministry said U.S. forces notify the ministry at the end of every month of the number of Iraqis languishing in their jails.
U.S. forces administer their own jails and the Iraqi government has no authority over the prisoners held in them. “The prisons under U.S. Jurisdiction are run by the Americans themselves,” Ibrahim said. Ibrahim declined to say how many Iraqi prisoners were held by the U.S. However, sources said the U.S. was holding without trial more than 13,000 Iraqi prisoners. The Justice Ministry runs 19 prisons in Iraq.
Labels: Bosho Ibrahim, Justice Ministry, Ministry of Interior, prisons
Chalabi back in the limelight
Politics
(AP) Dignitaries gathered last month for a gesture of reconciliation - reopening a Sunni mosque in Shiite Sadr City. As the cameras panned the robes and turbans, there stood Ahmad Chalabi, elegantly attired in an expensive Western suit. The ceremony was largely symbolic. Most of Sadr City's few Sunnis had fled Shiite militiamen. But the coverage gave Chalabi a chance to promote an image of a healer.
In his new post as head of a committee to build public support for the U.S.-Iraqi security operation, Chalabi reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. There's already talk of a Cabinet position later. That would put Chalabi, a Westernized secular Shiite who spent much of his life abroad, back in the halls of power and reinforce his image as Iraq's ultimate political survivor.
"There is a firm belief that he is capable of running a ministry, whether it is linked to services or security," a top adviser to al-Maliki said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss Cabinet plans. His Civil Support Committee, among other things, awards compensation for property damaged during security raids. His role also offers him a voice in security and an opportunity to meet with tribal leaders, including Sunnis, in an attempt to shore up his biggest weakness - a lack of public support.
In one recent report, his committee recommended better background checks on members of the security forces and banning certain Iraqi units from serving in specific neighborhoods. Another of Chalabi's reports bluntly says the government must remind Iraq's mostly Shiite soldiers and police that their job is to fight terrorism, "not to abuse citizens." He is also trying to steer his way through the minefield of Iraq's sectarian politics - a difficult task for a politician whose appeal in Washington and the West stemmed largely from a secular reputation.
"He has recognized the sectarian character of Iraqi politics," said Mustapha Alani, a Dubai-based Iraqi analyst. "So, he changed from being a secular politician to being a sectarian politician." Chalabi's image among Sunnis was poor because of his role as head of the committee that removed former Saddam loyalists from government jobs and politics. That effectively cost thousands of Sunnis their livelihood and fueled the insurgency.
Ali Faisal al-Lami, a close aide, said Chalabi has tightened regulations governing the dismissal of former members of Saddam's Baath party to make sure the purge was limited to top Baath figures. He has allowed about 12,500 former party members to return to their jobs, albeit acting on American pressure. The reinstatement of low-ranking Baathists has been a key U.S. demand to achieve national reconciliation in Iraq, but al-Maliki's government has yet to adopt a draft law offered by Chalabi to make it more difficult to fire Baathists.
In his new post as head of a committee to build public support for the U.S.-Iraqi security operation, Chalabi reports directly to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. There's already talk of a Cabinet position later. That would put Chalabi, a Westernized secular Shiite who spent much of his life abroad, back in the halls of power and reinforce his image as Iraq's ultimate political survivor.
"There is a firm belief that he is capable of running a ministry, whether it is linked to services or security," a top adviser to al-Maliki said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss Cabinet plans. His Civil Support Committee, among other things, awards compensation for property damaged during security raids. His role also offers him a voice in security and an opportunity to meet with tribal leaders, including Sunnis, in an attempt to shore up his biggest weakness - a lack of public support.
In one recent report, his committee recommended better background checks on members of the security forces and banning certain Iraqi units from serving in specific neighborhoods. Another of Chalabi's reports bluntly says the government must remind Iraq's mostly Shiite soldiers and police that their job is to fight terrorism, "not to abuse citizens." He is also trying to steer his way through the minefield of Iraq's sectarian politics - a difficult task for a politician whose appeal in Washington and the West stemmed largely from a secular reputation.
"He has recognized the sectarian character of Iraqi politics," said Mustapha Alani, a Dubai-based Iraqi analyst. "So, he changed from being a secular politician to being a sectarian politician." Chalabi's image among Sunnis was poor because of his role as head of the committee that removed former Saddam loyalists from government jobs and politics. That effectively cost thousands of Sunnis their livelihood and fueled the insurgency.
Ali Faisal al-Lami, a close aide, said Chalabi has tightened regulations governing the dismissal of former members of Saddam's Baath party to make sure the purge was limited to top Baath figures. He has allowed about 12,500 former party members to return to their jobs, albeit acting on American pressure. The reinstatement of low-ranking Baathists has been a key U.S. demand to achieve national reconciliation in Iraq, but al-Maliki's government has yet to adopt a draft law offered by Chalabi to make it more difficult to fire Baathists.
Labels: Ahmad Chalabi, Ali Faisal al-Lami, Civil Support Committee
Turkey's PM and army general clash over Kurdish militants
Turkey, Kurdistan, Politics
(Reuters) Turkey's prime minister and top army general clashed over Iraq on Thursday in a growing row that underscores tensions between the government and the powerful military ahead of presidential elections due in May. During a recent trip to Washington, armed forces' chief Yasar Buyukanit accused Iraqi Kurdish leaders of helping Turkish Kurdish militants hiding in northern Iraq and said Turkey should avoid any contact with them.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government shares the army's concerns that Iraq's Kurds aim to set up an independent state and could fan separatism in Turkey's large Kurdish population. But Erdogan said in an interview with CNN Turk television broadcast on Thursday that the remarks were the "personal" views of Buyukanit, and asserted his government's right to determine Turkish foreign policy.
"(Buyukanit's words) could never be an institutional statement. If it were, it would sow chaos in our democratic, secular, law-based state," Erdogan said, making clear it is not for the generals to decide who Turkey speaks to. "The last word, institutionally speaking, lies with the government," Erdogan added. Later on Thursday however, the military General Staff issued a curt statement saying: "The views expressed by the head of the General Staff are naturally not personal views but those of the General Staff as an institution."
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government shares the army's concerns that Iraq's Kurds aim to set up an independent state and could fan separatism in Turkey's large Kurdish population. But Erdogan said in an interview with CNN Turk television broadcast on Thursday that the remarks were the "personal" views of Buyukanit, and asserted his government's right to determine Turkish foreign policy.
"(Buyukanit's words) could never be an institutional statement. If it were, it would sow chaos in our democratic, secular, law-based state," Erdogan said, making clear it is not for the generals to decide who Turkey speaks to. "The last word, institutionally speaking, lies with the government," Erdogan added. Later on Thursday however, the military General Staff issued a curt statement saying: "The views expressed by the head of the General Staff are naturally not personal views but those of the General Staff as an institution."
Labels: Kurds, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Yasar Buyukanit
Iraq's UN ambassador criticises Syria
Politics, Security
(AP) The Syrians could do more to prevent terrorists from crossing their border into Iraq, an issue that will be on the agenda of an upcoming security conference in Baghdad, Iraq's U.N. ambassador said Thursday. Hamid Al Bayati, speaking at New York University's Center of Global Affairs, said the Syrian government could play an important role in improving the security of Iraq by taking control of monitoring its border. "Most of the terrorists, especially suicide bombers" pass through the Syrian border, he said.
Al Bayati, who became Iraq's U.N. ambassador in April, said the terrorists were from many different countries and did not necessarily come from Syria. The Syrians have claimed that they need surveillance equipment including night vision cameras to better patrol their border with Iraq, Al Bayati said.
"They expected at the beginning for the Americans to give such equipment. They said that the Americans didn't give them such equipment, so they can't guard the borders," he said. Al Bayati said Syria has done some things to halt suspected terrorists from crossing its border with Iraq, but that much needed to be discussed during a March 10 meeting that will include Iraq's neighbors, Egypt, the five permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China, as well as the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Al Bayati, who became Iraq's U.N. ambassador in April, said the terrorists were from many different countries and did not necessarily come from Syria. The Syrians have claimed that they need surveillance equipment including night vision cameras to better patrol their border with Iraq, Al Bayati said.
"They expected at the beginning for the Americans to give such equipment. They said that the Americans didn't give them such equipment, so they can't guard the borders," he said. Al Bayati said Syria has done some things to halt suspected terrorists from crossing its border with Iraq, but that much needed to be discussed during a March 10 meeting that will include Iraq's neighbors, Egypt, the five permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China, as well as the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Labels: borders, Hamid Al Bayati, Syria, terrorists
Government spokesman calls militias outlaws
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) Ali al-Dabbagh told Al-Sharqiyah television that the Iraqi government must deal with militias immediately, the news channel reported on March 1. Calling all militias and groups carrying weapons "outlaws," al-Dabbagh said: "There are some groups that cause a problem...just for the sake of poltiical opposition. To be more frank, the existing Shi'ite militias are fighting each other, but I cannot put these miltiias and Al-Qaeda -- which seeks to destroy the individual, the region, and all that is human -- on the same scale. They are both outlaws; I do not discriminate between them. But if the Bagdhad security plan...fails to find a way to disband the militias, it will be faulty and incomplete. The militias are threatening the poltiical system in Iraq. The situation in Iraq will not stabilize as long as weapons are out of the government's control."
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, militias
Japan to host conference on Iraq
Politics, Security
(RFE/RL) Foreign Minister Taro Aso announced on March 1 that Japan will host a conference for Iraqi lawmakers and Japanese legal experts in Tokyo later this month, Kyodo World Service reported. Japan wants to assist with the development of Iraq's judicial and administrative capacity, officials said. Aso told reporters at the announcement that Japan is determined to deepen its political and economic commitment to Iraq and the region. He cautioned that sectarian violence and extremism could spread across the region if steps are not taken to stop the bloodshed and build national reconciliation in Iraq.
Labels: conference, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Japan
Islamic State of Iraq kidnaps Interior Ministry employees
Security
(SITE) According to a communique published on jihadist forums on Thursday, March 1, 2007, the Islamic State of Iraq has announced the capture of eighteen employees of the Ministry of the Interior in Diyala, Iraq. The communique states that "This blessed operation is in response to the crimes carried out by those apostates in their fight against the Sunnis…including raping our sister in Allah, 'Sabrina al-Janabi.'" Sabrin al-Janabi, a Sunni Iraqi woman, recently claimed she was raped by several Shi'a officers.
The Islamic State of Iraq has given the Iraqi government 24 hours to respond to two demands:
1. "Handing over the officers involved in the heinous act against our pious sister."
2. "The release of all Sunni Muslim sisters from the prisons of the apostate [Ministry of] Interior."
To back up their claim, the Islamic State of Iraq posted ten pictures depicting masked gunman holding 18 blindfolded men, some in army uniforms, hostage.
The Islamic State of Iraq has given the Iraqi government 24 hours to respond to two demands:
1. "Handing over the officers involved in the heinous act against our pious sister."
2. "The release of all Sunni Muslim sisters from the prisons of the apostate [Ministry of] Interior."
To back up their claim, the Islamic State of Iraq posted ten pictures depicting masked gunman holding 18 blindfolded men, some in army uniforms, hostage.
Labels: Diyala, Islamic State of Iraq, kidnapping, Ministry of Interior
Thursday, March 01, 2007
U.S. troop casualties highest in Sunni areas
Security
(McClatchy Newspapers) Sunni Muslim insurgents remain by far the biggest threat to American troops in Iraq, despite recent U.S. claims that Iran is providing Shiite Muslim militia groups with a new type of roadside bomb, a review of American casualty reports shows.
While U.S. military officials have held briefings to publicize their concerns about the potent bombs known as explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) or penetrators, casualty reports suggest that such weapons in the hands of Shiite militias are responsible for a relatively small number of American deaths.
U.S. officials have said that attacks with such weapons increased 150 percent in the past year. But a review of bombings by location shows that less than 10 percent of attacks that killed at least two American service members in the past 14 months were in areas where Shiite militias are dominant.
Those reports show that fewer than half the bomb attacks on heavily armored U.S. vehicles such as Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles were in areas where Shiite militias dominate. While it's difficult to know which armed group planted a bomb, analysts say the casualty numbers show that U.S. officials are exaggerating the importance of EFPs, which military officials say have been used only by Shiites.
"There were relatively few American deaths from explosively formed penetrators until recently, but you can say the same thing about attacks on helicopters or chlorine attacks," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, a policy research group in Arlington, Va. "The fact of the matter is that the insurgents, both Sunni and Shiite, are becoming a lot more sophisticated in their tactics. Explosively formed penetrators are only one part of that, and they are not a particularly important part."
Pentagon officials say the issue is important because the Iranian government appears to be involved. "I think the issue is not whether or not materials and supplies are coming from Iran - they are - but rather how far up the Iranian leadership is involved," said Bryan Whitman, the Pentagon's chief spokesman.
U.S. military officials accuse Iran of supplying Shiite militants with EFPs, which fire a molten slug of metal that can punch through the thickest American armor, including tanks and other vehicles designed to withstand heavy blasts. The officials say the bombs have killed at least 170 U.S. and allied service members and wounded more than 620 since they were first discovered on the battlefield in mid-2004. "Explosively formed penetrators are not some exclusive franchise for the Iranians," Thompson said. "They are fairly common around the world."
Explosively formed penetrators are also known as shaped charges. The warheads were developed after World War I to penetrate tanks and other armored vehicles. Rocket-propelled grenades and antitank missiles are conventional examples. Shaped charges also are used in the oil and gas industry.
John Pike, the executive director of GlobalSecurity.org, an online clearinghouse for military, intelligence and homeland-security information, said that while designing a shaped charge would require expertise, fabricating the devices was simpler, requiring only skill in using metal-machining tools. Asked who'd have the expertise to manufacture a shaped charge, Pike cited "people who had worked with explosives in the petroleum industry." In Iraq, he said, "there would be a fair number of those."
U.S. military officials say EFPs are more dangerous than other types of roadside bombs because they typically produce more casualties. American casualty reports show that the deadliest roadside-bomb attacks of the war have occurred in predominantly Sunni areas or areas with mixed ethnic and religious populations.
While U.S. military officials have held briefings to publicize their concerns about the potent bombs known as explosively formed projectiles (EFPs) or penetrators, casualty reports suggest that such weapons in the hands of Shiite militias are responsible for a relatively small number of American deaths.
U.S. officials have said that attacks with such weapons increased 150 percent in the past year. But a review of bombings by location shows that less than 10 percent of attacks that killed at least two American service members in the past 14 months were in areas where Shiite militias are dominant.
Those reports show that fewer than half the bomb attacks on heavily armored U.S. vehicles such as Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles were in areas where Shiite militias dominate. While it's difficult to know which armed group planted a bomb, analysts say the casualty numbers show that U.S. officials are exaggerating the importance of EFPs, which military officials say have been used only by Shiites.
"There were relatively few American deaths from explosively formed penetrators until recently, but you can say the same thing about attacks on helicopters or chlorine attacks," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, a policy research group in Arlington, Va. "The fact of the matter is that the insurgents, both Sunni and Shiite, are becoming a lot more sophisticated in their tactics. Explosively formed penetrators are only one part of that, and they are not a particularly important part."
Pentagon officials say the issue is important because the Iranian government appears to be involved. "I think the issue is not whether or not materials and supplies are coming from Iran - they are - but rather how far up the Iranian leadership is involved," said Bryan Whitman, the Pentagon's chief spokesman.
U.S. military officials accuse Iran of supplying Shiite militants with EFPs, which fire a molten slug of metal that can punch through the thickest American armor, including tanks and other vehicles designed to withstand heavy blasts. The officials say the bombs have killed at least 170 U.S. and allied service members and wounded more than 620 since they were first discovered on the battlefield in mid-2004. "Explosively formed penetrators are not some exclusive franchise for the Iranians," Thompson said. "They are fairly common around the world."
Explosively formed penetrators are also known as shaped charges. The warheads were developed after World War I to penetrate tanks and other armored vehicles. Rocket-propelled grenades and antitank missiles are conventional examples. Shaped charges also are used in the oil and gas industry.
John Pike, the executive director of GlobalSecurity.org, an online clearinghouse for military, intelligence and homeland-security information, said that while designing a shaped charge would require expertise, fabricating the devices was simpler, requiring only skill in using metal-machining tools. Asked who'd have the expertise to manufacture a shaped charge, Pike cited "people who had worked with explosives in the petroleum industry." In Iraq, he said, "there would be a fair number of those."
U.S. military officials say EFPs are more dangerous than other types of roadside bombs because they typically produce more casualties. American casualty reports show that the deadliest roadside-bomb attacks of the war have occurred in predominantly Sunni areas or areas with mixed ethnic and religious populations.
Labels: EFPs, explosively formed projectiles, Iran, Shiite militias, Sunni insurgents
Halliburton expects extension on LOGCAP contract
Business
(Reuters) Halliburton Co., whose KBR unit is the largest private contractor in Iraq, said on Wednesday it expected the U.S. Department of Defense would announce awards for new Iraq contracts in the second quarter, later than the company expected. The Houston company, which will complete its split off of the engineering and construction business KBR in the coming months, said last month it expected the Pentagon would announce the LogCAP IV contracts by the end of the first quarter.
KBR has so far booked more than $20 billion in revenues from its work in Iraq and has been the target of several investigations into the company's billing practices. It has also faced complaints from some U.S. lawmakers about the company's close ties to the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney formerly served as Halliburton's CEO before taking up his current office.
In its annual 10-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Halliburton said its awards under a new LogCAP contract would reduce its revenues from the Pentagon."We expect our overall volume of work to decline as our customer scales back the amount of services we provide. However, as a result of the recently announced surge of additional troops in Iraq, we expect the decline to occur more slowly than previously expected," Halliburton said in the filing. The LogCAP contract includes logistical services for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq, including transportation, laundry, entertainment and dining services. KBR had also previously held contracts to help rebuild Iraq's damaged oil producing infrastructure.
Labels: contracts, Halliburton, KBR, LogCAP, U.S. Department of Defense
Israeli firm to sell 60 armoured vehicles to the U.S.
Security
(Middle East Times) An Israeli firm is to sell the US 60 armored vehicles for use by its troops in Iraq, army radio said Tuesday.The Golan vehicles, produced by the Rafael firm, are valued at $37 million and will be delivered within three months, it said.The 15-ton armored vehicle is designed to transport 10 soldiers and their equipment. It was first unveiled in September 2006 and four months later the US army ordered 60 of the vehicles, which are not yet used by Israeli forces.The Golan is fitted with a "floating floor" to reduce the effects of exploding mines and is "particularly adapted to operations in densely populated urban zones," according to its manufacturer. Israeli arms producers are already providing US troops in Iraq with drones, rockets, and armor for tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Labels: armoured vehicles, Golan vehicles, Israel, Rafael firm
US Commander - victory in six months or face Vietnam scenario
Security
(The Guardian) An elite team of officers advising the US commander, General David Petraeus, in Baghdad has concluded that they have six months to win the war in Iraq - or face a Vietnam-style collapse in political and public support that could force the military into a hasty retreat.
The officers - combat veterans who are experts in counter-insurgency - are charged with implementing the "new way forward" strategy announced by George Bush on January 10. The plan includes a controversial "surge" of 21,500 additional American troops to establish security in the Iraqi capital and Anbar province. But the team, known as the "Baghdad brains trust" and ensconced in the heavily fortified Green Zone, is struggling to overcome a range of entrenched problems in what has become a race against time, according to a former senior administration official familiar with their deliberations.
"They know they are operating under a clock. They know they are going to hear a lot more talk in Washington about 'Plan B' by the autumn - meaning withdrawal. They know the next six-month period is their opportunity. And they say it's getting harder every day," he said.
By improving security, the plan's short-term aim is to create time and space for the Iraqi government to bring rival Shia, Sunni and Kurd factions together in a process of national reconciliation, American officials say. If that works within the stipulated timeframe, longer term schemes for rebuilding Iraq under the so-called "go long" strategy will be set in motion.
But the next six months are make-or-break for the US military and the Iraqi government. The main obstacles confronting Gen Petraeus's team are: Insufficient troops on the ground, a "disintegrating" international coalition, an anticipated increase in violence in the south as the British leave, morale problems as casualties rise and a failure of political will in Washington and/or Baghdad.
The officers - combat veterans who are experts in counter-insurgency - are charged with implementing the "new way forward" strategy announced by George Bush on January 10. The plan includes a controversial "surge" of 21,500 additional American troops to establish security in the Iraqi capital and Anbar province. But the team, known as the "Baghdad brains trust" and ensconced in the heavily fortified Green Zone, is struggling to overcome a range of entrenched problems in what has become a race against time, according to a former senior administration official familiar with their deliberations.
"They know they are operating under a clock. They know they are going to hear a lot more talk in Washington about 'Plan B' by the autumn - meaning withdrawal. They know the next six-month period is their opportunity. And they say it's getting harder every day," he said.
By improving security, the plan's short-term aim is to create time and space for the Iraqi government to bring rival Shia, Sunni and Kurd factions together in a process of national reconciliation, American officials say. If that works within the stipulated timeframe, longer term schemes for rebuilding Iraq under the so-called "go long" strategy will be set in motion.
But the next six months are make-or-break for the US military and the Iraqi government. The main obstacles confronting Gen Petraeus's team are: Insufficient troops on the ground, a "disintegrating" international coalition, an anticipated increase in violence in the south as the British leave, morale problems as casualties rise and a failure of political will in Washington and/or Baghdad.
Labels: General David Petraeus
Abductions curbed by military operations
Security
(Gulf News) The wave of kidnappings that had swept the Iraqi capital till a few days ago has been restricted after the implementation of the 'Imposing Law' security plan, according to citizens. The captors are facing difficulties in carrying out their missions in Baghdad's suburbs, crowded with military and security barricades, they added. The motives behind abductions ranged from the common demand for heavy ransom to assassination of the detainees, according to Iraqi residents.
Some of the abductions aim to sponsor armed groups. In the Sunni-majority city of Al Adhamiya, kidnapping has another aspect. Captors tell the potential victim that if he doesn't pay the jihad payment, he will be abducted and then the bargains will start between them and his family.
Except Al Qaida in Iraq, which is led by Abu Hamza Al Muhajir, and the Shiite militias, the sole purpose of the kidnappings is to turn the hostage before a court that issues the death sentence to him. Money, therefore, has no place in these groups' minds. As in the case of Al Muhajir organisation, Shiite armed militias and specifically the Mehdi Army, have specific goals unless the kidnapped has Shiite roots.
Some of the abductions aim to sponsor armed groups. In the Sunni-majority city of Al Adhamiya, kidnapping has another aspect. Captors tell the potential victim that if he doesn't pay the jihad payment, he will be abducted and then the bargains will start between them and his family.
Except Al Qaida in Iraq, which is led by Abu Hamza Al Muhajir, and the Shiite militias, the sole purpose of the kidnappings is to turn the hostage before a court that issues the death sentence to him. Money, therefore, has no place in these groups' minds. As in the case of Al Muhajir organisation, Shiite armed militias and specifically the Mehdi Army, have specific goals unless the kidnapped has Shiite roots.
Labels: Abu Hamza Al Muhajir, Al Qaeda in Iraq, hostages, kidnapping, operation Imposing Law, Shiite militias
Save the Children pulls out of Iraq after 15 years
Humanitarian
(The Guardian) The last major British charity working in Iraq pulled out of the country yesterday because the security situation has made it impossible to protect staff. Save the Children UK announced the closure after 15 years in the country because it can no longer reach the Iraqi children it wants to help.
"It was not an easy decision but it became more and more difficult for staff to get around all parts of the country," said Paul Roberts, the charity's Iraq programme director. "It's been hard to keep track of local partners' day to day work and their safety has been jeopardised. In practical terms it just became impossible."
Mr Roberts is based in Jordan along with the charity's other international staff but has made monthly trips to Iraq to try to monitor work with Save the Children's local partners. He said the security situation was getting worse, which made the decision to quit all the harder. "The main focus in Iraq is around conflict and 'terrorism' but sadly that masks a huge humanitarian issue that's arising. Children can't go to school, there are problems accessing clean water."
Children in Iraq form nearly 50% of the population and around 8% are estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition. Although their needs are desperate, Mr Roberts said the charity was unable to ensure help reached them or maintain organisational standards. The charity repaired and re-equipped schools and hospitals in the aftermath of the war and successfully lobbied for children's rights to be included in the new Iraqi constitution. Mr Roberts said they were proud of that legacy and would continue to support work by local partners to form a national children's rights network.
Many other British charities have already pulled out of the country. Three years ago Oxfam stopped direct aid and switched to arms-length work through local partners in Iraq. Care International closed its operations there in 2005 after the abduction and murder of Margaret Hassan, its director in Iraq. The Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross is still active in the country, providing medical aid and visiting detainees to check on their welfare.
"It was not an easy decision but it became more and more difficult for staff to get around all parts of the country," said Paul Roberts, the charity's Iraq programme director. "It's been hard to keep track of local partners' day to day work and their safety has been jeopardised. In practical terms it just became impossible."
Mr Roberts is based in Jordan along with the charity's other international staff but has made monthly trips to Iraq to try to monitor work with Save the Children's local partners. He said the security situation was getting worse, which made the decision to quit all the harder. "The main focus in Iraq is around conflict and 'terrorism' but sadly that masks a huge humanitarian issue that's arising. Children can't go to school, there are problems accessing clean water."
Children in Iraq form nearly 50% of the population and around 8% are estimated to suffer from acute malnutrition. Although their needs are desperate, Mr Roberts said the charity was unable to ensure help reached them or maintain organisational standards. The charity repaired and re-equipped schools and hospitals in the aftermath of the war and successfully lobbied for children's rights to be included in the new Iraqi constitution. Mr Roberts said they were proud of that legacy and would continue to support work by local partners to form a national children's rights network.
Many other British charities have already pulled out of the country. Three years ago Oxfam stopped direct aid and switched to arms-length work through local partners in Iraq. Care International closed its operations there in 2005 after the abduction and murder of Margaret Hassan, its director in Iraq. The Swiss-based International Committee of the Red Cross is still active in the country, providing medical aid and visiting detainees to check on their welfare.
Labels: NGO, Save the Children UK
Brothers of Iraqi Accordance Front spokesman killed
Security, Politics
(VOI) Unidentified gunmen killed on Wednesday two brothers of the parliament member and spokesman for the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, Salim al-Juburi, a police source said. "Unidentified gunmen shot and killed on Wednesday morning two brothers of parliament member Salim al-Juburi in al-Mualmen neighborhood in Muqdadiya district," a police source said.
The mainly Sunni district of Muqdadiya, Diala province, is 100km northeast of Baghdad. Later, Al-Juburi told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) over the phone that his brothers were killed in Muqdadiya district when unidentified gunmen attacked them there. "They died on the spot", he added. Al-Juburi has a doctorate in law and worked as a law professor in Diala University. Al-Juburi is the spokesman for the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), which has 44 seats out of 275-member parliament.
Labels: Iraqi Accordance Front, Muqdadiya, Salim al-Juburi
Iraqi authorities - bomb detection devices to be imported
Security
(VOI) Iraqi authorities will import technical devices for detecting bombs and trapped cars, spokesman for the chief commander of Iraqi armed forces said on Wednesday, noting that the new devices would be used in Baghdad security plan. "The forces will remove all concrete barriers that block the streets and hinder the movement of military vehicles", Brigadier Qassem Atta told reporters in Baghdad."More troops from defense and interior ministries will gradually take part in Baghdad security crackdown", he added. Baghdad districts witnessed on Wednesday intensified deployment of military forces.
Labels: bomb detection, Brigadier Qassem Atta
Curfew in Mosul following surge in violence
Security
(Azzaman) Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew and conducted a search of insurgents in the northern city of Mosul. U.S. armored vehicles are reported to be rumbling in Mosul streets along with Iraqi troops. Many streets are impassable due to the heavy military presence and residents say it is difficult to cross any of the five bridges over the Tigris River bisecting the city.
The curfew comes following an upsurge in violence in which several car bombs have been detonated. There are reports of attacks by suicide bombers. Anti-U.S. rebels have increased their attacks in their traditional strongholds in central and northern parts of the country. The attacks are apparently in response to the mounting pressure they are under in Baghdad due to a joint U.S. and Iraqi military campaign to pacify the capital.
During the U.S. attack on Falluja, the insurgents overwhelmed Iraqi troops in Mosul and had the city under their total control for several days. The government has dispatched a full army division to Mosul and substantially increased police presence in the city. U.S. troops are called in when fighting with insurgents intensifies.
The curfew comes following an upsurge in violence in which several car bombs have been detonated. There are reports of attacks by suicide bombers. Anti-U.S. rebels have increased their attacks in their traditional strongholds in central and northern parts of the country. The attacks are apparently in response to the mounting pressure they are under in Baghdad due to a joint U.S. and Iraqi military campaign to pacify the capital.
During the U.S. attack on Falluja, the insurgents overwhelmed Iraqi troops in Mosul and had the city under their total control for several days. The government has dispatched a full army division to Mosul and substantially increased police presence in the city. U.S. troops are called in when fighting with insurgents intensifies.
Iran threatens to cross into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels
Iran, Kurdistan, Security
(Bloomberg) Iran's forces may cross into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish rebels if the government in Baghdad can't expel the militants from border areas, an Iranian military commander said. "I warn Iraq's Kurdish movements and anti-revolutionary armed insurgents who are linked with foreigners that Iraq's government must oust them from the region," Iran's state-run Mehr News agency quoted Yahya Rahim Safavi, who leads the country's Revolutionary Guards, as saying today.
"Otherwise the Revolutionary Guards, to protect the security of the country and Iranian people, will consider it as their right to chase and neutralize them beyond the borders," Safavi said. The Revolutionary Guards are the military unit most loyal to the Shiite Muslim clerics who control the Iranian government.
Iran's armed forces have regular clashes with Kurdish rebels in the northwest of the country, mainly with members of the Party of Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK. Iranian forces killed three local PJAK chiefs Feb 26., Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. "PJAK, which calls for official recognition for Iranian Kurds, in 2005 reportedly killed at least 120 Iranian soldiers inside Iran," Control Risks, a London-based company advising businesses on investment hazards, said in an e-mailed note to investors today. "The group in 2006 launched attacks from both northern Iraq and Iran that are likely to have caused higher casualties," Control Risks said.
Fourteen Iranian military personnel died when their helicopter crashed last week during an operation against rebels close to the Turkish border, AFP said. Safavi made his comments at a ceremony in West Azerbaijan province to honor the personnel who were killed. PJAK has links with Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Iran and Turkey signed an accord in 2004 to combat the PKK and an armed Iranian opposition group in Iraq called the People's Mujahedeen.
"Otherwise the Revolutionary Guards, to protect the security of the country and Iranian people, will consider it as their right to chase and neutralize them beyond the borders," Safavi said. The Revolutionary Guards are the military unit most loyal to the Shiite Muslim clerics who control the Iranian government.
Iran's armed forces have regular clashes with Kurdish rebels in the northwest of the country, mainly with members of the Party of Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK. Iranian forces killed three local PJAK chiefs Feb 26., Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. "PJAK, which calls for official recognition for Iranian Kurds, in 2005 reportedly killed at least 120 Iranian soldiers inside Iran," Control Risks, a London-based company advising businesses on investment hazards, said in an e-mailed note to investors today. "The group in 2006 launched attacks from both northern Iraq and Iran that are likely to have caused higher casualties," Control Risks said.
Fourteen Iranian military personnel died when their helicopter crashed last week during an operation against rebels close to the Turkish border, AFP said. Safavi made his comments at a ceremony in West Azerbaijan province to honor the personnel who were killed. PJAK has links with Turkey's outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Iran and Turkey signed an accord in 2004 to combat the PKK and an armed Iranian opposition group in Iraq called the People's Mujahedeen.
Labels: Iran, Kurdistan, People's Mujahedeen, PJAK, PKK, Revolutionary Guards, Yahya Rahim Safavi
Tentative date for Baghdad regional security conference
Region, Security, Politics
(AP) Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, have agreed to join U.S. and British representatives at a regional conference here on the Iraqi security crisis, government officials said Wednesday. Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abawi told The Associated Press that Russia and France were studying the invitation, but "I don't see any sign they will refuse."
"Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, even the U.S and Britain have informed us they will participate," he said, although Tehran has said publicly it has made no decision. Abawi also said China had agreed to attend. Abawi said the date would be set within two days. Iraqi state TV said the tentative date was March 10.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's adviser, Sami al-Askari, also said neighboring countries had agreed to come. Iran has publicly said it is studying the invitation. "The conference will be important. It will prove that Iraq is politically capable of holding such a conference. It will send a message to the world," Abawi said. Al-Askari said it would allow countries such as the U.S., Iran and Syria "to sit down together without paying a political price."
Washington's willingness to attend the conference marked a diplomatic turnabout after months of refusing dialogue with Tehran over calming the situation in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that the United States would join the meeting and that Washington supported the Iraqi government's invitation to Iran and Syria. The Bush administration waited to embrace the idea until Iraq had made progress on a law governing national distribution of oil revenue. "We did work with them on the precise timing of the announcement," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, even the U.S and Britain have informed us they will participate," he said, although Tehran has said publicly it has made no decision. Abawi also said China had agreed to attend. Abawi said the date would be set within two days. Iraqi state TV said the tentative date was March 10.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's adviser, Sami al-Askari, also said neighboring countries had agreed to come. Iran has publicly said it is studying the invitation. "The conference will be important. It will prove that Iraq is politically capable of holding such a conference. It will send a message to the world," Abawi said. Al-Askari said it would allow countries such as the U.S., Iran and Syria "to sit down together without paying a political price."
Washington's willingness to attend the conference marked a diplomatic turnabout after months of refusing dialogue with Tehran over calming the situation in Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that the United States would join the meeting and that Washington supported the Iraqi government's invitation to Iran and Syria. The Bush administration waited to embrace the idea until Iraq had made progress on a law governing national distribution of oil revenue. "We did work with them on the precise timing of the announcement," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
The Iranian state IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that "Americans should amend their policy" in Iraq because the current one is "wrong." A Tehran state radio commentary also said the U.S. should change its Iraq policy if Washington expects the conference to produce a "rational conclusion."
Labels: Baghdad security conference, draft oil law, Iran, Sami al-Aaskari
U.S. military spokesman disputes killing of 18 children
Security
(AP) A report that 18 boys were killed this week in a car bombing in Ramadi is "false," a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday. Iraqi state television reported Tuesday that the attack occurred that day in the Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. Iraqi police and military confirmed the account, but later said the bombing took place Monday. The offices of the president and prime minister had also denounced the reported attack.
The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about violence targeting children. But Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said "the allegation was false" and suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by U.S. forces caused injuries in Ramadi.
On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-threatening, it added. "There was no second blast," Fox told reporters, "and there was no 18 children killed."
The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about violence targeting children. But Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said "the allegation was false" and suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by U.S. forces caused injuries in Ramadi.
On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-threatening, it added. "There was no second blast," Fox told reporters, "and there was no 18 children killed."
Labels: children, Mark Fox, Ramadi
Security forces capture chlorine bomb cell
Security, Insurgency
(RFE/RL) Iraqi security forces have captured a terrorist cell responsible for producing chlorine bombs in the Al-Anbar Governorate, London-based "Al-Sharq al-Awsat" reported on February 27. An unidentified Interior Ministry source told the daily that the cell members were arrested in Al-Fallujah earlier this week. The official said information indicates that a similar cell is operating in the Diyala Governorate north of Baghdad. The official added that some 1,500 insurgents have fled from Baghdad to Diyala, and many of the insurgents have links to the outlawed Ba'ath Party. He also contended that the Ba'athists are cooperating with Al-Qaeda to manufacture chemical bombs.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baathists, chlorine bombs, Diyala, Fallujah
Gul accuses Barzani of 'irresponsible' statement
Security, Politics, Kurdistan, Turkey
(RFE/RL) Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul labeled remarks by Kurdistan Region President Mas'ud Barzani "irresponsible," the Anatolia news agency reported on February 27. Barzani told NTV Online in an interview published on February 26 that "Iran and Turkey should get used to the idea that the Kurds have a right" to their own independent state. "It is impossible for us [Kurds] to accept a cross-border operation or to remain a spectator in such an operation. We put emphasis on the sovereignty of our country as much as Turkey puts emphasis on its sovereignty, and we safeguard our sovereignty," the Kurdish leader said when asked about the possibility of Turkish military intervention in Iraq against the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants holed up in the mountainous area along the border.
In response, Gul told reporters: "While the region, and especially Iraq, has been passing through a critical period, and while Turkey is following a constructive and embracing policy, making such statements are examples of irresponsibility." Turkish political leaders have called for possible talks with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in recent days, while Turkey's military leadership has threatened military intervention in Iraq.
Labels: Abdullah Gul, Kurdistan, Mas'ud Barzani, Turkey
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Unions protest new oil law skewed in favour of foreign firms
Oil
(IPS) The U.S.-backed Iraqi cabinet approved a new oil law Monday that is set to give foreign companies the long-term contracts and safe legal framework they have been waiting for, but which has rattled labor unions and international campaigners who say oil production should remain in the hands of Iraqis. Independent analysts and labor groups have also criticized the process of drafting the law and warned that that the bill is so skewed in favor of foreign firms that it could end up heightening political tensions in the Arab nation and spreading instability. For example, it specifies that up to two-thirds of Iraq's known reserves would be developed by multinationals, under contracts lasting for 15 to 20 years.
According to local labor leaders, transferring ownership to the foreign companies would give a further pretext to continue the U.S. occupation on the grounds that those companies will need protection. This policy would represent a u-turn for Iraq's oil industry, which has been in the public sector for more than three decades, and would break from normal practice in the Middle East.
According to local labor leaders, transferring ownership to the foreign companies would give a further pretext to continue the U.S. occupation on the grounds that those companies will need protection. This policy would represent a u-turn for Iraq's oil industry, which has been in the public sector for more than three decades, and would break from normal practice in the Middle East.
Union leaders have complained that they, along with other civil society groups, were left out of the drafting process despite U.S. claims it has created a functioning democracy in Iraq. Under the production-sharing agreements provided for in the draft law, companies will not come under the jurisdiction of Iraqi courts in the event of a dispute, nor to the general auditor. The ownership of the oil reserves under this draft law will remain with the state in form, but not in substance, critics say. On Feb. 8, the labor unions sent a letter in Arabic to Iraqi President Jalal Talbani urging him to reconsider this kind of agreement.
The law was prepared by a three-member Iraqi cabinet committee, dominated by the Kurds and the Shiites. It is now expected to be ratified by parliament because the powerful faction leaders in the government have cleared it. The first draft was seen only by the committee of the Iraqi technocrat who penned it, nine international oil companies, the British and the U.S. governments and the International Monetary Fund. The Iraqi parliament will get its first glimpse next week.
Labels: draft oil law, foreign firms, privatisation, unions
Attempt on VP's life could have been inside job
Security, Politics
(AFP) Police probing how a bomb was smuggled into a Baghdad ministry in a bid to kill Iraq's Shiite vice president believe the attack was carried out by an insider, a security official said yesterday. "Thirty-five employees of the public works ministry are now under interrogation by the interior ministry about how the bomb was brought into the building," the official said on condition of anonymity.
"Most of them are bodyguards and ministry security men," he said, adding that those wounded in the explosion will be questioned once they recover. Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi escaped with little more than a few scratches when a bomb exploded Monday next to a room in the ministry where he was attending a function, but five people were killed. State television described Monday's bombing as an assassination attempt while the security official said it appeared that high explosive was used.
"Employees were told a day before that the vice president was going to attend the ceremony. So the person who planted the bomb was already aware that he was going to be present," the security official said. "They started preventing visitors from entering the ministry a day earlier, so the criminal must be from inside. Early investigations indicate that an employee ... smuggled TNT into the building," he said.
"Most of them are bodyguards and ministry security men," he said, adding that those wounded in the explosion will be questioned once they recover. Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi escaped with little more than a few scratches when a bomb exploded Monday next to a room in the ministry where he was attending a function, but five people were killed. State television described Monday's bombing as an assassination attempt while the security official said it appeared that high explosive was used.
"Employees were told a day before that the vice president was going to attend the ceremony. So the person who planted the bomb was already aware that he was going to be present," the security official said. "They started preventing visitors from entering the ministry a day earlier, so the criminal must be from inside. Early investigations indicate that an employee ... smuggled TNT into the building," he said.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, assassination attempt
Iraq aviation, electricity and security summit to be held in London
Reconstruction
(AME Info FZ LLC) Iraqi government officials will discuss security and civil aviation in Iraq at a conference in London from 28-29 March. The Iraq Aviation, Electricity and Security summit is part of a series of conferences on Iraq's reconstruction. Defence and transport ministers will also give an overview of current infrastructure rebuilding progress.
For more information: http://www.new-fields.com/iraq7/index.php
Labels: London, reconstruction, summit
Fadhela party denies formation of new alliance
Politics
(Al-Sabaah) Mohammad al-Khazqali, leader of Fadhela party and member of Iraqi parliament, has described press statements about the formation of a new alliance including Iraqi lest bloc, Fadhels party and Sunni figures, as untrue statements. He added that the Fadhela party works now to support and reinforce the government, to unite its vision in a national direction and to correct its work road with opining on all other political forces in or outside the government.
Labels: Fadhela party, Mohammad al-Khazqali
Al-Sadr reiterates calls for foreign troops to leave
Politics, Security
(VOI) The Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr reiterated on Tuesday calls for ending the presence of foreign armed forces in Iraq, underlining that the new security plan would not succeed. Al-Sadr said in a statement "the security crackdown now in place would not work because U.S. forces were involved." He hailed what he branded "noble resistance", adding that "it has led to the withdrawal of British and Danish forces from Iraq."
The outspoken Shiite leader called, in a statement on Tuesday received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), for "pulling back foreign troops according to a timetable". U.S. and Iraqi officials had announced that the Shiite leader left Iraq to Iran, however figures in Sadr movement denied these reports, underlining that he was in Najaf. Al-Sadr in his statement also addressed Iraqi security forces saying "you are able to protect Iraq without any help of any occupier. I'm certain that no security plan will work and no good will come of any occupier," al-Sadr said in the statement. The Shiite cleric urged Iraqi forces to "make your own Iraqi plans independent".
Labels: foreign troop withdrawal, Moqtada Al-Sadr
Car import tax slashed
Commerce
(Azzaman) The government has slashed tariffs on imported cars to 16 percent from 30. The head of the State Tax Commission, Mushen Abu-Juaila, said the decision to reduce the tariffs by nearly 50 percent was in line with the government’s measures to encourage foreign trade. He said the decision also meets the commission’s eventual target of lowering tax levels in the country particularly those related to exports and imports. Abu-Juaila said Iraqi traders and entrepreneurs should expect further reductions in taxes related to their activities. He did not elaborate.
Labels: car import tax
Kirkuk referendum put off for two years
Politics, Region
(Azzaman) Iraq and Turkey have agreed to put off a contentious referendum on the fate of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk for two years. The referendum was scheduled to occur in July and was expected to decide whether the city and its giant oil fields will be annexed to the semi-independent Kurdish entity in the north.
Non-Kurdish communities in the Province of Tameen, of which Kirkuk is capital, had threatened to use all options including violence in order not to let Kirkuk slip away from the control of the central government in Baghdad. The decision to have the referendum postponed was taken during a recent visit by Vice-president Adel Abdulmahdi to Ankara.
The Turkish authorities had warned that they might resort to military force if the Kurds went ahead with plans to annex Kirkuk. The city has a sizeable Turkish community known as Turkmen and the majority apparently rejects the bid by Kurds to own the city.
Under the country’s provisional institution conditions in Kirkuk will have to be normalized which means that the tens of thousands of Arabs moved to the city under the former regime should be resettled in their original areas. The Kurds who were forced to evacuate the city should be given the opportunity to return. But it seems it is almost impossible to apply the measure amid the mounting violence and lack of security. Kirkuk itself is seen as one of the most restive areas in Iraq. The agreement with Ankara to postpone the referendum is bound to allay Arab and Turkmen’s fears, albeit temporarily, of an imminent Kurdish move to control the city.
Non-Kurdish communities in the Province of Tameen, of which Kirkuk is capital, had threatened to use all options including violence in order not to let Kirkuk slip away from the control of the central government in Baghdad. The decision to have the referendum postponed was taken during a recent visit by Vice-president Adel Abdulmahdi to Ankara.
The Turkish authorities had warned that they might resort to military force if the Kurds went ahead with plans to annex Kirkuk. The city has a sizeable Turkish community known as Turkmen and the majority apparently rejects the bid by Kurds to own the city.
Under the country’s provisional institution conditions in Kirkuk will have to be normalized which means that the tens of thousands of Arabs moved to the city under the former regime should be resettled in their original areas. The Kurds who were forced to evacuate the city should be given the opportunity to return. But it seems it is almost impossible to apply the measure amid the mounting violence and lack of security. Kirkuk itself is seen as one of the most restive areas in Iraq. The agreement with Ankara to postpone the referendum is bound to allay Arab and Turkmen’s fears, albeit temporarily, of an imminent Kurdish move to control the city.
Labels: Kirkuk, referendum, Turkey
Corruption out of control in Kurdistan
Corruption
(Kurdish Media) The head of Kurdistan Toilers Party Mr Qadir Aziz has told Kurdish independent weekly Medya that if the situation in south Kurdistan continues without a radical improvement, he thinks there will be major uprising against the rule of the two dominant parties. He says: "What is happening in Kurdistan has gone far beyond corruption. What is happening now is the official control of the two parties over all the wealth and property of people."
He says: "Corruption is something that happens discreetly. But what is happening in Kurdistan is a stark aggression of the two parties against people and their property." He adds: "The appropriation of so many public buildings, property and land by political parties and their ownership of innumerable companies, hotels and people's property have gone far beyond corruption. He says that he does not believe that KDP and PUK can improve the current situation. There will be a social breakdown. And then only the Islamic parties will exploit and benefit from this situation. "This is already happening", he says.
He says: "Corruption is something that happens discreetly. But what is happening in Kurdistan is a stark aggression of the two parties against people and their property." He adds: "The appropriation of so many public buildings, property and land by political parties and their ownership of innumerable companies, hotels and people's property have gone far beyond corruption. He says that he does not believe that KDP and PUK can improve the current situation. There will be a social breakdown. And then only the Islamic parties will exploit and benefit from this situation. "This is already happening", he says.
Labels: corruption, KDP, Kurdistan, PUK
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Iran training Iraqis in Lebanon - U.S. intelligence
Security
(Reuters) Iran is training Iraqi Shi'ites to use armor-piercing munitions inside Iran and at camps in Lebanon run by the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, the top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, newly installed U.S. intelligence chief Mike McConnell said it was "probable" that Iranian leaders including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were aware that weapons known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, had been supplied to Iraqi Shi'ites.
The Pentagon blames EFPs for the deaths of 170 U.S. troops since 2004. But McConnell, in his first congressional testimony as the U.S. director of national intelligence, stopped short of saying Iran was directing the EFP attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. "We know there are Iranian weapons manufactured in Iran. We know that Quds Forces (of Iran's Revolutionary Guards) are bringing them (into Iraq)," McConnell said at a panel hearing on world threats facing the United States.
"Is there a direct link from Quds Forces delivering weapons, to the most senior leadership in Iran?" he said. "I would phrase it as 'probable' but, again, no direct link ... I am comfortable saying it's probable." McConnell took over the intelligence chief's job a week ago to replace John Negroponte, who is now deputy secretary of state.
"Is there a direct link from Quds Forces delivering weapons, to the most senior leadership in Iran?" he said. "I would phrase it as 'probable' but, again, no direct link ... I am comfortable saying it's probable." McConnell took over the intelligence chief's job a week ago to replace John Negroponte, who is now deputy secretary of state.
Labels: Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Michael McConnell, training
Iraqi media round-up
Baghdad Security Plan Working
(Al-Mada) President Jalal Talabani said Baghdad’s security plan has been largely successful due to the cooperation of citizens with security forces and the heavy deployment of troops in neighbourhoods around the capital. The president was speaking at a press conference also attended by the president of Kurdistan region Masood Barzani. Barzani confirmed that no Peshmerga took part in the Baghdad operation and said that any Kurdish forces were from the ministry of defense. (Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada institution for Media, Culture and Arts.)
Nasiriya Provincial Council Meets Maliki
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) The governor of Nasiriya and 15 members of the provincial council met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to discuss problems in the province. Nasiriya’s support of the government security plan was also on the agenda. Maliki promised increase protection for Nasiriya’s oil pipeline and to set up an oil company in the province similar to the one in the south. (Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily paper.)
Arab League To Attend Neighboring States Conference
(Al-Ittihad) The Arab League has denied reports it will not participate in the Iraqi neighboring states conference to be held in Baghdad next month. An aide to the secretary general said the league supports Iraq’s attempts to end the current chaos and instability. (Al-Ittihad is published daily by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.)
Mujahideen Army claim downing of Black Hawk in video
Insurgency
(SITE) The Mujahideen Army, an insurgency group in Iraq, issued a 11:33 minute video on Monday, February 26, 2007, depicting the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter in the area of al-Niba’i, north of Baghdad. This operation, named as “The Attack of the Wind of Anger”, is indicated to be an act of revenge for Muslim women and a response to “Al-Maliki’s masters and his dogs of the governmental forces”. The date of the attack is unclear; a message introducing the availability of the video explains that the downing occurred at sunrise following dawn prayer, but does not give the date. On Wednesday, February 21, the Mujahideen Army claimed the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter in al-Taji, also north of Baghdad. In that communication the group announced forthcoming details. It is unknown if this video depicts the attack.
The video shows the Mujahideen preparing an ambush for two Black Hawk helicopters, setting up their anti-aircraft weapons and concealing its position with leaves and cloth. As the aircraft fly overhead the Mujahideen open fire, shouting “Allah is Great”, until ultimately, one of the helicopters is hit. Another scene shows the wreckage of the Black Hawk helicopter, the other aircraft flying at a distance.
The video shows the Mujahideen preparing an ambush for two Black Hawk helicopters, setting up their anti-aircraft weapons and concealing its position with leaves and cloth. As the aircraft fly overhead the Mujahideen open fire, shouting “Allah is Great”, until ultimately, one of the helicopters is hit. Another scene shows the wreckage of the Black Hawk helicopter, the other aircraft flying at a distance.
Labels: Black Hawk, Mujahideen Army, video
U.S., Iraqi forces raid Sadr City
Security
(AP) US and Iraqi forces staged raids in Baghdad’s main Shia militant stronghold Tuesday as part of politically sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Al Sadr. Troops have held back on broad sweeps through the teeming Sadr City slums since a major security operation began earlier this month targeting militant factions and sectarian death squads that have ruled Baghdad’s streets.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Labels: Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, raid, Sadr City, security forces
Bombers kill 18 children as U.S. spy chief admits to civil war in Iraq
Security
(AFP) Bombers slaughtered 18 Iraqi children playing football on Tuesday as a relentless bombing spree snuffed out dozens more lives and a US spy chief acknowledged that the crisis amounts to "civil war". The children, aged between 10 and 15, died when a car parked next to a football pitch in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi exploded while they were playing, an Iraqi defence official told AFP. Around 20 more children were wounded in the latest attack in the restive western city, a hotbed of the anti-US insurgency which is fast also becoming a battlefront between rival Sunni factions, the official said.
In another bloody bomb attack, a suicide bomber rammed a truck into the Sheikh Fathi police station in the main northern city of Mosul and detonated explosives, killing at least six policemen, police said. A spate of bomb and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad killed 16 more people, including two civilians who died when a hidden bomb ripped through a budget restaurant frequented by Shiite labourers.
In Washington, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told senators that the crisis was "moving in a negative direction" and that "the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12-18 month time frame ... we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
More arrests followed on Tuesday in a separate part of the security plan when Iraqi army special forces and US advisers swooped on suspected Shiite militia hideouts in the east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
In another bloody bomb attack, a suicide bomber rammed a truck into the Sheikh Fathi police station in the main northern city of Mosul and detonated explosives, killing at least six policemen, police said. A spate of bomb and mortar attacks in and around Baghdad killed 16 more people, including two civilians who died when a hidden bomb ripped through a budget restaurant frequented by Shiite labourers.
In Washington, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told senators that the crisis was "moving in a negative direction" and that "the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict. Unless efforts to reverse these conditions gain real traction during the 12-18 month time frame ... we assess that the security situation will continue to deteriorate at rates comparable to the latter half of 2006," he said.
More arrests followed on Tuesday in a separate part of the security plan when Iraqi army special forces and US advisers swooped on suspected Shiite militia hideouts in the east Baghdad suburb of Sadr City.
Labels: civil war, Michael McConnell, Ramadi
Iraq ICT & education summit begins in Sharjah
Trade
(Iraq Development Program) A special summit is taking place in Sharjah, UAE this week to strengthen Iraq's crucial and fast emerging ICT and education sectors. The summit, held on 27-28 February 2007, is organised to determine Iraq’s strategy for building relationships with leading global companies to bring best-in-breed technology, training and management skills to the country, welcoming a delegation of senior level officials from the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The aim of the summit is to decide on how best to meet a number of key ministerial objectives identified by Iraq’s new government. These objectives include the establishment of computer and electronic communication standards, secure networks, the development of crucial mobile telecommunications infrastructure and equipment, modernising Iraq’s information technology infrastructure, procurement, computer training for government employees and the establishment of Iraq's IT programmes.
The attending ministers and their officials are giving a series of presentations over the two days before making themselves available for private meetings with attending company executives. Other senior figures attending the summit include the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO), with their designated officials for both the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Education giving keynote presentations and making themselves available for meetings over the course of the event, as well as expert participation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Iraqi Education Programme.
The aim of the summit is to decide on how best to meet a number of key ministerial objectives identified by Iraq’s new government. These objectives include the establishment of computer and electronic communication standards, secure networks, the development of crucial mobile telecommunications infrastructure and equipment, modernising Iraq’s information technology infrastructure, procurement, computer training for government employees and the establishment of Iraq's IT programmes.
The attending ministers and their officials are giving a series of presentations over the two days before making themselves available for private meetings with attending company executives. Other senior figures attending the summit include the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office (IRMO), with their designated officials for both the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Education giving keynote presentations and making themselves available for meetings over the course of the event, as well as expert participation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO) Iraqi Education Programme.
Labels: Iraq Information Communication Technology and Education Summit (ICTE), IT
Spokesman says al-Sadr statement 'misinterpreted'
Politics, Security
(Al-Sharqiyah TV) The text of a report by Dubai-based Iraqi private Al-Sharqiyah TV on 27 February reported that an aide to Iraqi clergyman Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr has stressed that Al-Sadr has not withdrawn his support for the security plan implemented by the Iraqi Government and the US forces in Baghdad. Al-Ajili accused the media of misinterpreting the statement because Al-Sadr trend continues to strongly support the plan.
[The above announcer-read report is followed by a video report citing Salih Al-Ajili, spokesman for Al-Sadr's political movement, as saying: "The statement Al-Sadr made on Sunday was intended to encourage the Iraqi forces to act independently from the US Army in Baghdad, adding that the media misinterpreted the statement since Al-Sadr trend continues to strongly support the plan. He added that what was mentioned in the statement was an advice to the Iraqi security forces which are capable of achieving better results without US assistance."]
[The above announcer-read report is followed by a video report citing Salih Al-Ajili, spokesman for Al-Sadr's political movement, as saying: "The statement Al-Sadr made on Sunday was intended to encourage the Iraqi forces to act independently from the US Army in Baghdad, adding that the media misinterpreted the statement since Al-Sadr trend continues to strongly support the plan. He added that what was mentioned in the statement was an advice to the Iraqi security forces which are capable of achieving better results without US assistance."]
Labels: Moqtada Al-Sadr, operation Imposing Law, US Army
Committee to meet on constitution amendment next month
Politics
(VOI) The committee reconsidering items in the Iraqi constitution will hold its coming meeting next March, a Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) member of parliament said on Monday."Most members of the committee are now attending workshops outside Iraq over constitutional matters," Sami al-Aaskari told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) by telephone.The forthcoming meeting, he added, will "envisage proposals tabled by different parties on amendments of certain items in the Iraqi constitution." In light of these recommendations there will be consultations among political blocs in this respect, he said.
The Iraqi Parliament had set up a committee in November 2006 to reconsider certain constitutional items and that it should finalize its work in a period not more than four months, not including the legislative recess.The committee is composed of 29 members representing the Iraqi political and ethnic spectrum. The members elected Sheikh Hammam Hammoudi of the UIC as chairman, Fouad Maasoum of the Kurdistan Coalition, the second largest parliamentary bloc, as vice chairman and Abbas al-Bayyati of the UIC as rapporteur.
Labels: amendment, constitution, Sami al-Aaskari, UIC
MNFI in talks with Mahdi Army
Security
(Asharq Al-Awsat) Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the Multi-National forces in Iraq, has affirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Multi-National forces are holding talks with commanders of Muqtada al-Sadr's Al-Mahdi Army with the "Iraqi Government's blessing." Caldwell also stated that talks are not limited to the commanders of the Al-Mahdi Army, but also include several Iraqi armed groups, as part of the implementation of the political part of the new Baghdad security plan.
Caldwell noted that the Multi-National forces have divided the armed groups in Iraq into two groups: "either reconcilable or irreconcilable." He explained that the second group includes "al-Qaeda and Shiite extremists." Caldwell added that Muqtada al-Sadr "is not in Iraq and has not been in Iraq for some time. He is currently in Iran."
Caldwell noted that the Multi-National forces have divided the armed groups in Iraq into two groups: "either reconcilable or irreconcilable." He explained that the second group includes "al-Qaeda and Shiite extremists." Caldwell added that Muqtada al-Sadr "is not in Iraq and has not been in Iraq for some time. He is currently in Iran."
He noted that the Multi-National forces and the Iraqi forces have launched "an intense operation against the death squads, and we have detained 700 elements of these squads until now." He drew attention to the relative success of the security plan against the death and assassination squads. He explained that during the past two weeks, murders and assassinations in Baghdad declined by 46 percent, but the number of car bombs increased. He added that this is al-Qaeda's way of imposing its presence in Iraq.
Caldwell added that the Iraqi and Multi-National forces are trying to deal with the new wave of bombings, particularly through the establishment of "joint security stations," which now have reached 14 stations in Baghdad and expected to increase to between 30 and 40 stations in the coming few weeks. He added that the existence of these stations meant that the American forces do not need to return to their large camps, but remain with the Iraqi forces to protect the civilians and track what takes place in the neighborhoods.
Labels: Al-Qaeda, Mahdi Army, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, MNFI
Iranian, Syrian envoys likely to join in Baghdad security talks
Region, Politics, Security
(AP) Envoys from the West and Islamic nations - including Iran, Syria and the United States - are expected to attend a conference next month on efforts to stabilize Iraq, a diplomatic adviser said Tuesday. The meeting, planned for mid-March in the Iraqi capital, is an attempt by the U.S.-backed government to seek greater regional assistance in fighting insurgents and addressing tensions between Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims and Sunnis.
Some nations had expressed reservations about taking part in the conference because of security worries and political sensitivities. Some of Iraq's Sunni neighbors are wary about being seen as lending too much support to the Shiite-led government. But Labed Abbawi, an adviser to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, said "there has been positive responses" from nearly all the nations and groups invited, which include Iraq's neighbors, the Arab League and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members. "We believe all will attend," he said. No date has been set.
Some nations had expressed reservations about taking part in the conference because of security worries and political sensitivities. Some of Iraq's Sunni neighbors are wary about being seen as lending too much support to the Shiite-led government. But Labed Abbawi, an adviser to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, said "there has been positive responses" from nearly all the nations and groups invited, which include Iraq's neighbors, the Arab League and the five permanent U.N. Security Council members. "We believe all will attend," he said. No date has been set.
Labels: Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Iran, security talks, Syria, U.S.
Sharp drop in execution syle killings
Security
(AP) Execution-style killings have fallen sharply in Baghdad since the security crackdown began this month, the No. 2 U.S. commander said Tuesday. Figures compiled by The Associated Press from police reports show that the number of bullet-riddled bodies found in the streets this month totaled 628 as of Monday night. That was down from the 1,079 in January and 1,379 in December.
Such killings have generally been attributed to sectarian death squads - including Shiite militiamen, Sunni insurgents or rogue elements within the mostly Shiite army and police. The security crackdown officially began Feb. 14, although some U.S. and Iraqi units had been stepping up patrols and searches since earlier in the month.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the operational commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, suggested the drop could be due to more security forces on the streets but added it may be only temporary. "We have had short periods of time before when there's been some success and then it changes," he said. Many of the killings were believed to be the work of the Mahdi Army, led by the anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The cleric is a political ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who pressured him to pull his fighters off the streets to avoid a confrontation with the Americans.
Such killings have generally been attributed to sectarian death squads - including Shiite militiamen, Sunni insurgents or rogue elements within the mostly Shiite army and police. The security crackdown officially began Feb. 14, although some U.S. and Iraqi units had been stepping up patrols and searches since earlier in the month.
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the operational commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, suggested the drop could be due to more security forces on the streets but added it may be only temporary. "We have had short periods of time before when there's been some success and then it changes," he said. Many of the killings were believed to be the work of the Mahdi Army, led by the anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The cleric is a political ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who pressured him to pull his fighters off the streets to avoid a confrontation with the Americans.
Odierno, the operational commander for U.S. forces in Iraq, suggested the drop could be due to more security forces on the streets but added it may be only temporary. Although sectarian assassinations are down, the capital has been hit by a series of deadly bombings that have killed scores of people. Most target Shiite civilians and appear to be part of the sectarian violence. Many Shiites have complained that the Mahdi Army's absence has left them vulnerable to such attacks by Sunni extremists.
Labels: Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, Mahdi Army, sectarian assassinations
Iraqi cabinet approves draft oil law
Oil, Politics
(CNN) Iraq's government has agreed on a plan to divide the country's oil wealth and open the industry to international investment, a move seen as necessary to a political settlement of the nearly four-year-old war, ministers announced Monday. "This law will guarantee for Iraqis -- not just now, but for future generations, too -- complete national control over this natural wealth," Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. The draft law still faces a vote in Iraq's parliament, but the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad hailed Monday's agreement as a step toward a national settlement of the country's divisions. Iraq's Constitution, adopted in 2005, declares that oil and gas reserves are "owned by all the people of Iraq."
But nearly all of that oil is concentrated in the Kurdish north and Shiite south, raising fears in the Sunni Arab provinces of northwestern and central Iraq -- the heart of the insurgency that has raged since 2003 -- that Sunni Iraqis would be shut out of the country's wealth. "This law affirms ... all the revenues will be shared at the federal level and redistributed equitably among all Iraqis," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told CNN.
Deciding how to distribute the proceeds of the country's oil industry was a key political benchmark laid out by U.S. officials trying to broker a settlement of the country's political differences. "This is the first time since 2003 that all major Iraqi communities have come together on a defining piece of legislation," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Baghdad. "This law is a major pillar of a national compact among Iraqis."
But nearly all of that oil is concentrated in the Kurdish north and Shiite south, raising fears in the Sunni Arab provinces of northwestern and central Iraq -- the heart of the insurgency that has raged since 2003 -- that Sunni Iraqis would be shut out of the country's wealth. "This law affirms ... all the revenues will be shared at the federal level and redistributed equitably among all Iraqis," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told CNN.
Deciding how to distribute the proceeds of the country's oil industry was a key political benchmark laid out by U.S. officials trying to broker a settlement of the country's political differences. "This is the first time since 2003 that all major Iraqi communities have come together on a defining piece of legislation," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing U.S. ambassador in Baghdad. "This law is a major pillar of a national compact among Iraqis."
Labels: draft oil law, Hussain al-Shahristani
Muslim Scholars Association criticises Baghdad security plan
Security, Politics
(RFE/RL) The Sunni-led Muslim Scholars Association has criticized the Baghdad security plan, claiming in statements posted on its website on February 24 that U.S. forces have killed scores of civilians in security sweeps in Sunni Arab neighborhoods. The association pointed to one such operation in the Al-Mashahidah district, calling the bombing of a house there a "barbaric massacre" of civilians; Iraqi Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Khalaf said the operation targeted members of the insurgent group Islamic Army in Iraq.
The association also claimed that Iraqi security forces, in collaboration with militiamen from Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Imam Al-Mahdi Army, are carrying out what it called sectarian displacement operations. One statement implied that the Iraqi government is aware of such operations, but chooses to remain silent. The association also claimed that Interior Ministry forces targeted the Al-Amil neighborhood in a series of raids, pointing out that the neighborhood is the home of a Sunni Arab woman who claimed she was raped by Interior Ministry forces.
Labels: Al-Amil, Al-Mashahidah, Interior Ministry forces, Islamic Army in Iraq, Mahdi Army, Muslim Scholars Association
Monday, February 26, 2007
More Kurdish soldiers arrive in Baghdad
Security
(AP) About 130 fresh Iraqi troops from Irbil flew into Baghdad on Sunday to join the fight for the nation's capital — with the promise of a $200 bonus, nearly a month's pay. The troops represented a fraction of the expected influx of some 8,000 Iraqi reinforcements from the north, the Shiite south and the insurgent stronghold of Anbar province west of Baghdad. The drafting of troops from the north — mostly former Kurdish guerrillas who fought for decades against Saddam Hussein's regime — to participate in the security crackdown in the capital has raised concerns as many speak no Arabic and are unfamiliar with the territory and urban warfare.
Many Kurds also refused to leave their autonomous region to fight in far-off Baghdad. But Lt. Gen. Ali Ghadan, Iraq's ground forces commander, said the Kurds and other troops coming from outside Baghdad had a powerful incentive. Each would receive a $200 bonus in addition to their regular salaries and would only be deployed for three months, then allowed to go home.
The minimum salary for Iraqi soldiers is nearly $300 per month, although some get food allowances, according to the Defense Ministry. Ghadan said the troops would get another bonus of the same amount if they signed on for another tour after their first deployment. A brigade from Sulaimaniyah, also in the Kurdish north, has reached Baghdad, but it is only 1,000-men strong, not the expected 3,000.
Many Kurds also refused to leave their autonomous region to fight in far-off Baghdad. But Lt. Gen. Ali Ghadan, Iraq's ground forces commander, said the Kurds and other troops coming from outside Baghdad had a powerful incentive. Each would receive a $200 bonus in addition to their regular salaries and would only be deployed for three months, then allowed to go home.
The minimum salary for Iraqi soldiers is nearly $300 per month, although some get food allowances, according to the Defense Ministry. Ghadan said the troops would get another bonus of the same amount if they signed on for another tour after their first deployment. A brigade from Sulaimaniyah, also in the Kurdish north, has reached Baghdad, but it is only 1,000-men strong, not the expected 3,000.
Labels: Baghdad, Kurdish soldiers, Lt. Gen. Ali Ghadan
Al-Hashemi - security plan failed so far
Security, Politics
(AP) Iraq's Sunni vice president said Monday the Baghdad security plan has so far failed to respect human rights and treat all groups equally, which he described as flaws that doomed the two major crackdowns in the capital last year. Tariq al-Hashemi also told The Associated Press that the publicity that preceded the operation cost the authorities the element of surprise.
U.S. officials also have said they believed many Shiite militiamen and Sunni insurgents left the city after President Bush announced plans to send 21,500 U.S. reinforcements, most of them to Baghdad. The operation began Feb. 14 but the last of the U.S. military units earmarked for Iraq are not due here until May.
Although sectarian death squad killings appear to have fallen sharply, violence remains high. During an interview in his Green Zone headquarters, al-Hashemi said he had not expected a marked improvement in security in the capital "simply because the requirements of the plan are not in place."
"Up to now, legal procedures have not been observed," he said. "The human rights of Iraqis have not been respected as they should be. In this regard, this plan is being implemented in the same way the previous ones were. This is surely regrettable. Al-Hashemi and other Sunni leaders have complained that military operations have been centered on Sunni neighborhoods while the Sadr City stronghold of radical anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been largely spared.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been blamed for much of the sectarian violence, which surged after the bombing last year of a major Shiite shrine in the Sunni city of Samarra. "The problem is will the plan be implemented equally on all Iraqis? Will it respect human rights," al-Hashemi asked.
He also said the weeks before Bush's announcement and the arrival of the first new U.S. and Iraqi units had given extremists time to prepare. "I was hoping that the security plan would be announced along with all the requirements for success," he said. "One of those requirements for success is the element of surprise, that the plan should start without advance notice so that justice can reach militia leaders, terrorists, death squads and those involved in organized crime." He added: "This very regretfully did not happen."
U.S. officials also have said they believed many Shiite militiamen and Sunni insurgents left the city after President Bush announced plans to send 21,500 U.S. reinforcements, most of them to Baghdad. The operation began Feb. 14 but the last of the U.S. military units earmarked for Iraq are not due here until May.
Although sectarian death squad killings appear to have fallen sharply, violence remains high. During an interview in his Green Zone headquarters, al-Hashemi said he had not expected a marked improvement in security in the capital "simply because the requirements of the plan are not in place."
"Up to now, legal procedures have not been observed," he said. "The human rights of Iraqis have not been respected as they should be. In this regard, this plan is being implemented in the same way the previous ones were. This is surely regrettable. Al-Hashemi and other Sunni leaders have complained that military operations have been centered on Sunni neighborhoods while the Sadr City stronghold of radical anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been largely spared.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been blamed for much of the sectarian violence, which surged after the bombing last year of a major Shiite shrine in the Sunni city of Samarra. "The problem is will the plan be implemented equally on all Iraqis? Will it respect human rights," al-Hashemi asked.
He also said the weeks before Bush's announcement and the arrival of the first new U.S. and Iraqi units had given extremists time to prepare. "I was hoping that the security plan would be announced along with all the requirements for success," he said. "One of those requirements for success is the element of surprise, that the plan should start without advance notice so that justice can reach militia leaders, terrorists, death squads and those involved in organized crime." He added: "This very regretfully did not happen."
Labels: Operation Law and Order, Tariq al-Hashemi
Iraqi oficial - Iran no longer providing weapons to Iraq
Security, Politics, Iran
(Reuters) Iranians have stopped training and providing weapons to Iraqi militants in Iraq in the last few weeks to allow a U.S.-backed security plan in Baghdad to succeed, a senior Iraqi official said on Sunday. National Security Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie told CNN there was some evidence that Iranians had been supporting some Shi'ite militia groups fighting U.S. troops in Iraq.
"There is no doubt in my mind that recently in the last few weeks they have changed their position and stopped a lot of their tactics and interference in Iraq's internal affairs," Rubaie said in an interview. It was unclear if he was talking of the Iranian government. Washington accuses Shi'ite Iran of fuelling violence in Iraq.
U.S. officials said this month that the Quds Force, a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was supplying weapons to Shi'ite militia groups in Iraq. Washington has been particularly concerned about the so-called explosively formed penetrators, a sophisticated Iranian made roadside bomb that the U.S. military says has killed 170 U.S. soldiers in Iraq since 2004.
"Recently the Iranians have changed their positions and we have some evidence that they have stopped supplying arms or creating any of these shaped mines in the streets of Baghdad," Rubaie said. He said the Iranians had also advised some of their Shi'ite allies in Iraq to "change their position and support the government to give the Baghdad security plan a good chance of success."
"There is no doubt in my mind that recently in the last few weeks they have changed their position and stopped a lot of their tactics and interference in Iraq's internal affairs," Rubaie said in an interview. It was unclear if he was talking of the Iranian government. Washington accuses Shi'ite Iran of fuelling violence in Iraq.
U.S. officials said this month that the Quds Force, a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was supplying weapons to Shi'ite militia groups in Iraq. Washington has been particularly concerned about the so-called explosively formed penetrators, a sophisticated Iranian made roadside bomb that the U.S. military says has killed 170 U.S. soldiers in Iraq since 2004.
"Recently the Iranians have changed their positions and we have some evidence that they have stopped supplying arms or creating any of these shaped mines in the streets of Baghdad," Rubaie said. He said the Iranians had also advised some of their Shi'ite allies in Iraq to "change their position and support the government to give the Baghdad security plan a good chance of success."
Labels: Adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iran, Quds Force, weapons
630 displaced families return to Baghdad
Humanitarian
(Gulf News) Hundreds of displaced Iraqi families are moving back to their homes, a week after implementation of the new security plan "Imposing Law", a week ago. Brigadier Qasim Al Mussawi, Baghdad security plan spokesman, said more than 630 families have returned to their homes accompanied by Iraqi military troops after fleeing from the sectarian violence and ethnic cleansing. According to the Iraqi Ministry of Immigration and Immigrants' statistics, more than 35,000 Iraqi families were displaced after receiving threats from terrorists.
Labels: Brigadier Qasim Al Mussawi, displaced people
Iraq to join WTO
Trade
(Voices of Iraq) Iraq's government has fulfilled all requirements and procedures to apply for the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a USAID official in Baghdad said on Saturday. "The Iraqi government is now getting ready to have its first dialogue with WTO in April 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland," Greg Howell, Director of Private Sector Development at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said in a press conference.
Howell said "Iraq had applied in 2004 to obtain WTO membership. A task force was set up to study the application and coordinate with the Iraqi government over reforms in trade policies and requirements for accession."
"Iraq's WTO membership would guarantee Iraqi commodities and services undistinguished access to global markets and it would also give a strong sign to re-merge Iraq into the international community," the USAID official noted. He said this membership would also bring Iraq more stable trade relations, enhanced income, stimulated economic growth, more jobs and less corruption.
Howell said "Iraq had applied in 2004 to obtain WTO membership. A task force was set up to study the application and coordinate with the Iraqi government over reforms in trade policies and requirements for accession."
"Iraq's WTO membership would guarantee Iraqi commodities and services undistinguished access to global markets and it would also give a strong sign to re-merge Iraq into the international community," the USAID official noted. He said this membership would also bring Iraq more stable trade relations, enhanced income, stimulated economic growth, more jobs and less corruption.
Labels: World Trade Organization
Confusion between Kurds and Oil Ministry on draft oil law
Oil
(The Guardian) The Oil Ministry cast doubt Sunday on statements indicating the Kurds had agreed to support a draft oil law that would divide revenues among all Iraqi factions and meet a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government had promised to enact a new oil law by the end of 2006 but missed the deadline due to objections from the Kurds.
Many of Iraq's vast oil reserves can be found in the Kurdish north and the Shiite south, and the Kurds wanted a greater role in awarding contracts and administering the revenues. Massoud Barzani, president of the self-governing Kurdish administration in the north, said Saturday that he and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, had discussed the latest draft law by telephone with al-Maliki and "the results were good.''
Barzani made the comments in a joint press conference with Talabani after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in the northern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. "We reached a final agreement,'' Barzani said, without elaborating. "We accept the draft.'' An Oil Ministry spokesman, however, stressed that the draft law still needed to be discussed at the Cabinet level. "Today, we got confirmation that Barzani said that they support the draft law but he mentioned nothing about agreeing to it,'' ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. "The discussions and the negotiations are still ongoing.''
It was unclear if Barzani was saying he supported the idea of a law or the draft as currently worded. Kurdish officials could not be reached for clarification.
Barzani made the comments in a joint press conference with Talabani after a meeting with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad in the northern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah. "We reached a final agreement,'' Barzani said, without elaborating. "We accept the draft.'' An Oil Ministry spokesman, however, stressed that the draft law still needed to be discussed at the Cabinet level. "Today, we got confirmation that Barzani said that they support the draft law but he mentioned nothing about agreeing to it,'' ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. "The discussions and the negotiations are still ongoing.''
It was unclear if Barzani was saying he supported the idea of a law or the draft as currently worded. Kurdish officials could not be reached for clarification.
Labels: draft oil law, Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, Oil Ministry
Large weapons cache seized
Security
(AP) U.S. and Iraqi forces have seized a large weapons cache that includes parts for sophisticated roadside bombs that are believed to originate in Iran, U.S. military investigators said. Details of the find were expected to be announced Monday at a news conference in Baghdad. But military officials told The Associated Press that the arsenal is one of the biggest found north of the Iraqi capital and contains components for so-called EFPs, explosively formed projectiles that fire a slug of molten metal that can penetrate armored vehicles.
The U.S. military has said elite Iranian corps are funneling EFPs to Shiite militias in Iraq for use against American troops. The area where the cache was found is dominated by Sunni insurgents but also includes pockets of Shiites. An informant tipped off Iraqi police to the weapons stash Saturday, the military said in a statement to the AP. It was discovered near Baqouba, the provincial capital of Diyala province, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Along with the EFPs, the weapons cache contained more than two dozen mortars and 15 rockets. There were enough metal disks to make 130 EFPs, the military said. The origin of the weapons seized Saturday was being investigated, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, spokesman for Multinational Division-North. A statement from the U.S. military Monday said that 63 weapons caches have been discovered during major U.S.-Iraqi security sweeps around Baghdad that began Feb. 14. The arsenals included anti-aircraft weapons, armor-piercing bullets, bomb components and mortar rounds, the statement said.
The U.S. military has said elite Iranian corps are funneling EFPs to Shiite militias in Iraq for use against American troops. The area where the cache was found is dominated by Sunni insurgents but also includes pockets of Shiites. An informant tipped off Iraqi police to the weapons stash Saturday, the military said in a statement to the AP. It was discovered near Baqouba, the provincial capital of Diyala province, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Along with the EFPs, the weapons cache contained more than two dozen mortars and 15 rockets. There were enough metal disks to make 130 EFPs, the military said. The origin of the weapons seized Saturday was being investigated, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, spokesman for Multinational Division-North. A statement from the U.S. military Monday said that 63 weapons caches have been discovered during major U.S.-Iraqi security sweeps around Baghdad that began Feb. 14. The arsenals included anti-aircraft weapons, armor-piercing bullets, bomb components and mortar rounds, the statement said.
Labels: Baqouba, EFPs, Iran, weapons cache
Al-Sadr criticises Baghdad security plan
Security, Politics
(Al Jazeera) Moqtada al-Sadr has bitterly criticised the continuation of car bombs in Iraq and withdrew his support for a security crackdown in Baghdad. The move by al-Sadr, an anti-American cleric, is a blow for Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, who had expressed optimism about the US-backed offensive. Until now, al-Sadr has supported the plan, seen as a last ditch attempt to halt all-out civil war in Iraq.
Al-Sadr said the crackdown would not work because US forces were involved. "There is no benefit in this security plan because it is controlled by the occupiers," said an aide to Sadr, reading a statement from the cleric in front of thousands of chanting supporters in the firebrand's stronghold of al-Sadr City. "(The United States) is watching car bombs explode, taking the souls of thousands of innocent Iraqi people."
Al-Sadr led his Mahdi Army militia in two uprisings against US forces in 2004. The militia has avoided any confrontation with US forces this time and there was no indication in al-Sadr's statement that this position would change. They control the College of Administration and Economics, where most of Sunday's deaths occured, the day after al-Maliki said sectarian killings had fallen as a result of the security crackdown.
Al-Sadr said the crackdown would not work because US forces were involved. "There is no benefit in this security plan because it is controlled by the occupiers," said an aide to Sadr, reading a statement from the cleric in front of thousands of chanting supporters in the firebrand's stronghold of al-Sadr City. "(The United States) is watching car bombs explode, taking the souls of thousands of innocent Iraqi people."
Al-Sadr led his Mahdi Army militia in two uprisings against US forces in 2004. The militia has avoided any confrontation with US forces this time and there was no indication in al-Sadr's statement that this position would change. They control the College of Administration and Economics, where most of Sunday's deaths occured, the day after al-Maliki said sectarian killings had fallen as a result of the security crackdown.
Labels: College of Administration and Economics, Moqtada Al-Sadr, operation Imposing Law
Talabani in stable condition in Jordan
(Al Jazeera) Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, is in stable condition and in good spirits after having suffered from extreme exhaustion and dehydration, a day after he was flown to Jordan for medical tests, his office has said. A statement on Monday said that Talabani was fully conscious after he was admitted to the King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman.
The statement said Talabani fell ill due to a heavy workload. Talabani, who is in his early 70s, denied media reports he had had a heart attack. A US official in Washington said on Sunday that Talabani had been taken to the Jordanian military hospital on a medically equipped US military transport aircraft.
Earlier a doctor in Sulaimaniyah, Talabani's hometown, told AP that the president was unconscious when an ambulance rushed him to a hospital there. Talabani, a Kurd, appeared in public on Saturday in Sulaimaniyah where he met with Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, and Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
The statement said Talabani fell ill due to a heavy workload. Talabani, who is in his early 70s, denied media reports he had had a heart attack. A US official in Washington said on Sunday that Talabani had been taken to the Jordanian military hospital on a medically equipped US military transport aircraft.
Earlier a doctor in Sulaimaniyah, Talabani's hometown, told AP that the president was unconscious when an ambulance rushed him to a hospital there. Talabani, a Kurd, appeared in public on Saturday in Sulaimaniyah where he met with Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador, and Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Labels: health, Jalal Talabani
Female suicide bomber kills 41 at university
Security
(AP) Meanwhile Sunday, a female suicide bomber triggered a ball bearing-packed charge, killing at least 41 people at a mostly Shiite college whose main gate was left littered with blood-soaked student notebooks and papers amid the bodies. Witnesses said a woman carried out the attack at the business school annex to Mustansiriyah University. Interior Ministry officials said they were still investigating those reports.
Besides the college blast, at least 18 people were killed, mostly in Shiite districts, in bombings and rocket attacks in the Baghdad area. Security guards at the Mustansiriyah University annex scuffled with the bomber before the blast, witnesses said. Most of the victims were students, including at least 46 injured, said police. Suicide bombings by women are unusual but not unprecedented in Iraq's chaos. The main campus at Mustansiriyah, about 1 1/2 miles away, was the target of twin car bombs and a suicide blast last month that killed 70 people. The school is located in a mostly Shiite district of northeast Baghdad, but does not limit enrollment to that group.
OTHER VIOLENCE
In the northern city of Mosul, U.S. troops killed two gunmen in a raid and captured a suspected local leader of the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq, the military said. Additional details were not immediately available. Iraq's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, raised the toll from a suicide truck bombing in the violence-wracked Anbar province on Saturday to 52 dead and 74 injured. The attack on worshippers leaving a mosque in Habbaniyah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, was believed linked to escalating internal Sunni battles between insurgents and those who oppose them.
In the northern city of Mosul, U.S. troops killed two gunmen in a raid and captured a suspected local leader of the insurgent group al-Qaida in Iraq, the military said. Additional details were not immediately available. Iraq's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, raised the toll from a suicide truck bombing in the violence-wracked Anbar province on Saturday to 52 dead and 74 injured. The attack on worshippers leaving a mosque in Habbaniyah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad, was believed linked to escalating internal Sunni battles between insurgents and those who oppose them.
Labels: female suicide bomber, Habbaniyah, Mosul, Mustansiriyah University
Abdul-Mahdi survives apparent assassination attempt
Security, Politics
(AP) The Iraqi vice president escaped an apparent assassination attempt Monday but suffered bruises and was taken a hospital to be examined, an aide said, after a parked car bomb exploded near a building where he was attending a conference. At least 10 people were killed and 18 wounded in the blast targeting a municipalities office in western Baghdad.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite and one of two Iraqi vice presidents, fell during the blast and was taken to the hospital to undergo an examination, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. The aide said the vice president was giving a speech when the blast occurred. The conference, which included municipal and public works officials, was in the upscale Mansour neighborhood that houses many embassies and has been the scene of kidnappings blamed on militants.
Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite and one of two Iraqi vice presidents, fell during the blast and was taken to the hospital to undergo an examination, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media. The aide said the vice president was giving a speech when the blast occurred. The conference, which included municipal and public works officials, was in the upscale Mansour neighborhood that houses many embassies and has been the scene of kidnappings blamed on militants.
Labels: Adel Abdul-Mahdi, assassination attempt, Mansour
