Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Turkish parliament may approve sending troops into n. Iraq
Region
(Al Jazeera) - Turkish government has agreed to ask parliament to approve sending troops into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish separatist fighters. The motion, which is expected to be approved by MPs on Wednesday, would provide the legal basis for cross-border military action against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during the next year. "Our wish is that we will not have to use this motion ... but the most painful reality of our country, our region, is the reality of terror," Cemil Cicek, government spokesman, said after a cabinet meeting on Monday.
He stressed that Turkey's sole target, if its troops entered northern Iraq, would be the estimated 3,000 PKK fighters believed to be in the region. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, twice acquired similar authorisations from parliament in 2003, but did not act on them. In response, Baghdad urged Turkey to be "patient" and not to resort to military action. "The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to pursue a diplomatic solution and not a military solution to solve the [problem] of terrorist attacks which our dear neighbour Turkey has witnessed from the PKK," Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraqi government spokesman, said.
He stressed that Turkey's sole target, if its troops entered northern Iraq, would be the estimated 3,000 PKK fighters believed to be in the region. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, twice acquired similar authorisations from parliament in 2003, but did not act on them. In response, Baghdad urged Turkey to be "patient" and not to resort to military action. "The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to pursue a diplomatic solution and not a military solution to solve the [problem] of terrorist attacks which our dear neighbour Turkey has witnessed from the PKK," Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraqi government spokesman, said.
Ahead of the cabinet's decision, a senior Turkish general said that it was too early to discuss the timing or size of a possible incursion."If this duty is assigned to us, we will look at the scale on which it will be carried out. It is not possible to say this right now," General Ergin Saygun, deputy chief of the general staff, said. Ankara says the PKK uses bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks inside Turkey, the latest of which killed 15 soldiers last week. Saygun dismissed suggestions that Nato's second-biggest army had only a limited window of opportunity to attack before winter conditions made such a move impossible.
"The season would be taken into consideration, and other needs as well .... But we cannot say that we'll go to Iraq if it doesn't snow or we won't go if it does," he said. Duran Kalkan, a senior commander in the PKK, said that the Turkish military would suffer a serious blow if it launched such an offensive. According to the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency, he said that Turkey would "be bogged down in a quagmire" in northern Iraq. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid in northern Iraq said on Monday that the situation along the border was quite calm. "There was a night of intense shelling along the border on Saturday but for the last 24 hours it has been calm," she said.
"We all have an interest in a stable Iraq and a desire to see the PKK brought to justice" Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman"We have been travelling backwards and forwards along the border and we have seen some minimal troops movements on the other side. "US officials said last week that there are about 60,000 Turkish troops along the country's southern border with Iraq, but the US military has not seen activity to suggest an imminent offensive.
"The season would be taken into consideration, and other needs as well .... But we cannot say that we'll go to Iraq if it doesn't snow or we won't go if it does," he said. Duran Kalkan, a senior commander in the PKK, said that the Turkish military would suffer a serious blow if it launched such an offensive. According to the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency, he said that Turkey would "be bogged down in a quagmire" in northern Iraq. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel Hamid in northern Iraq said on Monday that the situation along the border was quite calm. "There was a night of intense shelling along the border on Saturday but for the last 24 hours it has been calm," she said.
"We all have an interest in a stable Iraq and a desire to see the PKK brought to justice" Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman"We have been travelling backwards and forwards along the border and we have seen some minimal troops movements on the other side. "US officials said last week that there are about 60,000 Turkish troops along the country's southern border with Iraq, but the US military has not seen activity to suggest an imminent offensive.
On Monday, the US repeated its call for the Turkish military to refrain from crossing the border. "We all have an interest in a stable Iraq and a desire to see the PKK brought to justice," Gordon Johndroe, White House spokesman, said. "But we urge the Turks to continue their discussions with us and the Iraqis and to show restraint from any potentially destabilising actions."'
However, Erdogan had already said that international pressure would not deter Ankara. "The cost has already been calculated," he said. Ankara has also long complained that Washington has not done enough on its own or through the Iraqi government to crack down on the Kurdish separatists. The PKK, which is labelled as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, began an independence struggle in Turkey in 1984 that has left more than 37,000 people dead. Turkey and Iraq last month signed an accord pledging to combat the group, but failed to agree on a clause allowing Turkish troops to carry out "hot pursuit" operations against rebels fleeing into Iraqi territory, as they did regularly in the 1990s.
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, Cemil Cicek, Duran Kalkan, General Ergin Saygun, northern Iraq, PKK, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Joint Iraqi-U.S. committee to investigate Blackwater incident
Security
(RFE/RL) - Ali al-Dabbagh announced on September 19 that a join Iraqi-U.S. committee has been formed to investigate the September 16 killing of 10 Iraqi civilians by contractors working for the U.S.-based security firm Blackwater USA, Iraqi media reported. On September 19, the United States banned diplomats and civilians from leaving Baghdad's Green Zone due to a lack of protection forces. The Iraqi government announced on September 18 that it has revoked Blackwater's license. Adil Barwari, a member of the Council of Representatives' Security and Defense Committee, told state-run Al-Iraqiyah television on September 18 that the committee should seek legal action against the contractors should the investigation warrant prosecution.
Meanwhile, Major General Abd al-Karim Khalaf, the director of the National Command Center at the Interior Ministry, said on September 18 that a preliminary report showed that Blackwater security guards were not ambushed, as they claimed, but rather fired on a car that did not heed a policeman's call to stop, resulting in the death of a couple and their infant, international media reported. He added that the ministry's investigation into the incident includes eyewitness testimonies, including the testimonies of people wounded in the incident.
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, Blackwater, investigation
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
U.S. embassy in Iraq suspends diplomatic convoys across Iraq
Security
(Al Jazeera) - The US embassy in Baghdad has suspended all diplomatic convoys outside the heavily fortified Green Zone and the rest of Iraq. The move comes as the Iraqi government said it would review the status of all private security companies working in the country following a deadly shooting on Sunday involving guards from the US firm Blackwater.
The government announced the investigation on Tuesday, after the interior ministry decided to "halt the licence" of Blackwater, which provides security to US diplomats in Iraq. Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, announced the decision "to review the operations of foreign and local security companies in Iraq". He said: "This came after the flagrant assault conducted by members of the American security company Blackwater against Iraqi citizens."
In a notice sent to Americans in Iraq, the US embassy said it had acted to review the security of its personnel and possible increased threats to those leaving the Green Zone while accompanied by security details after the weekend killing of Iraqi civilians involving Blackwater guards.
"In light of a serious security incident involving a US embassy protective detail in the Mansour District of Baghdad, the embassy has suspended official US government civilian ground movements outside the International Zone [Green Zone] and throughout Iraq," the notice said.
"This suspension is in effect in order to assess mission security and procedures, as well as a possible increased threat to personnel travelling with security details outside the International Zone," said the notice. Blackwater said on Monday that it had received no official notice from Iraq's interior ministry.
The toll from the shooting rose to nine - 10 civilians and one policeman - on Tuesday, according to a local hospital medic. US officials in Baghdad have yet to clarify the legal status of foreign security contractors in Iraq, including whether they could be liable for prosecution by Iraqi authorities. Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military analysis, told Al Jazeera: "Only the party that brought them [the private security firms] into Iraq can take them out of Iraq - and that is the US."
He said that under their contracts "neither Blackwater nor the other [private security] companies are obliged to obtain a licence from Iraq". Kahwaji said: "The chances are they are going to stay. Because a lot of the foreign companies and contractors that are rebuilding Iraq rely totally on these Western, or US-based, security companies. "They don't have any confidence in the Iraqi police and the Iraqi security services."
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, telephoned Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, on Monday to express regret over the death of innocent civilians. US and Iraqi sources said the shooting erupted after a bomb exploded near a US diplomatic convoy, but a US government incident report said armed men fired on the convoy and Blackwater guards responded. "Blackwater's independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday," said a statement from the North Carolina company, reported by CNN on its website.
"Blackwater regrets any loss of life, but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life." Nevertheless, Abdul Sattar Ghafour Bairaqdar, a judge from Iraq's highest court, the Supreme Judiciary Council, said Blackwater could face trial. "This company is subject to Iraqi law and the crime committed was on Iraqi territory and the Iraqi judiciary is responsible for tackling the case," he said.
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader of the al-Mahdi Army militia, added his voice to anger over the incident, urged the government to "cancel this company's work, and the rest of the criminal and intelligence companies".
The government announced the investigation on Tuesday, after the interior ministry decided to "halt the licence" of Blackwater, which provides security to US diplomats in Iraq. Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, announced the decision "to review the operations of foreign and local security companies in Iraq". He said: "This came after the flagrant assault conducted by members of the American security company Blackwater against Iraqi citizens."
In a notice sent to Americans in Iraq, the US embassy said it had acted to review the security of its personnel and possible increased threats to those leaving the Green Zone while accompanied by security details after the weekend killing of Iraqi civilians involving Blackwater guards.
"In light of a serious security incident involving a US embassy protective detail in the Mansour District of Baghdad, the embassy has suspended official US government civilian ground movements outside the International Zone [Green Zone] and throughout Iraq," the notice said.
"This suspension is in effect in order to assess mission security and procedures, as well as a possible increased threat to personnel travelling with security details outside the International Zone," said the notice. Blackwater said on Monday that it had received no official notice from Iraq's interior ministry.
The toll from the shooting rose to nine - 10 civilians and one policeman - on Tuesday, according to a local hospital medic. US officials in Baghdad have yet to clarify the legal status of foreign security contractors in Iraq, including whether they could be liable for prosecution by Iraqi authorities. Riad Kahwaji, director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military analysis, told Al Jazeera: "Only the party that brought them [the private security firms] into Iraq can take them out of Iraq - and that is the US."
He said that under their contracts "neither Blackwater nor the other [private security] companies are obliged to obtain a licence from Iraq". Kahwaji said: "The chances are they are going to stay. Because a lot of the foreign companies and contractors that are rebuilding Iraq rely totally on these Western, or US-based, security companies. "They don't have any confidence in the Iraqi police and the Iraqi security services."
Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, telephoned Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, on Monday to express regret over the death of innocent civilians. US and Iraqi sources said the shooting erupted after a bomb exploded near a US diplomatic convoy, but a US government incident report said armed men fired on the convoy and Blackwater guards responded. "Blackwater's independent contractors acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack in Baghdad on Sunday," said a statement from the North Carolina company, reported by CNN on its website.
"Blackwater regrets any loss of life, but this convoy was violently attacked by armed insurgents, not civilians, and our people did their job to defend human life." Nevertheless, Abdul Sattar Ghafour Bairaqdar, a judge from Iraq's highest court, the Supreme Judiciary Council, said Blackwater could face trial. "This company is subject to Iraqi law and the crime committed was on Iraqi territory and the Iraqi judiciary is responsible for tackling the case," he said.
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader of the al-Mahdi Army militia, added his voice to anger over the incident, urged the government to "cancel this company's work, and the rest of the criminal and intelligence companies".
Labels: Abdul Sattar Ghafour Bairaqdar, Ali al-Dabbagh, Blackwater, Condoleezza Rice, diplomatic convoys, Green Zone, Moqtada Al-Sadr, private security companies, U.S. embassy Iraq
Monday, July 30, 2007
Al-Maliki to visit Turkey
Regional
(AP) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will visit Turkey next month to discuss security issues as the Turkish government weighs a possible offensive into northern Iraq to thwart Kurdish separatists. Al-Maliki will travel to the Turkish capital Ankara in the second week of August, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Saturday. He declined to give a more specific date for security reasons.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued the invitation to al-Maliki earlier this month and warned of an incursion if the United States and Iraqi leaders failed to stem the Kurdish guerrillas operating from bases in northern Iraq. Erdogan's party won a new mandate last Sunday, but it faces pressure from opposition parties that say it lacks determination to stage an incursion, a move that could seriously strain ties with Iraq and Turkey's NATO ally, the United States.
"This visit will be a security and political one as there are many important issues between the two neighboring countries like the presence of PKK in northern Iraq," al-Dabbagh said, referring to the acronym for the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party.
"The Iraqi government is keen to develop bilateral relations after the elections and is looking forward to have Turkey as an important partner to Iraq," he added. Turkey has been fighting PKK rebels since 1984 in a war that has killed tens of thousands.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued the invitation to al-Maliki earlier this month and warned of an incursion if the United States and Iraqi leaders failed to stem the Kurdish guerrillas operating from bases in northern Iraq. Erdogan's party won a new mandate last Sunday, but it faces pressure from opposition parties that say it lacks determination to stage an incursion, a move that could seriously strain ties with Iraq and Turkey's NATO ally, the United States.
"This visit will be a security and political one as there are many important issues between the two neighboring countries like the presence of PKK in northern Iraq," al-Dabbagh said, referring to the acronym for the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party.
"The Iraqi government is keen to develop bilateral relations after the elections and is looking forward to have Turkey as an important partner to Iraq," he added. Turkey has been fighting PKK rebels since 1984 in a war that has killed tens of thousands.
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, Nouri Al-Maliki, PKK, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Iraqi parliament to debate amended draft oil law
Oil
(BBC) - The Iraqi government has approved an amended draft law on how to share the country's oil wealth, officials say. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said parliament would begin debating the bill on Wednesday. There are no details about changes to the original draft, which Kurdish groups objected to.
Correspondents say distribution of oil revenues is a key concern for Sunni Arab groups, who live in areas which are mostly without oil reserves. The original draft, approved by the cabinet in February, stipulated that a state oil company would take control of oilfields away from regional governments. But Kurdish organisations said such moves were unconstitutional.
They reached agreement with the government in June that the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan would receive 17% of all oil revenues. The United States has been pressing Iraq to pass an oil law, as part of several legislative measures to promote reconciliation among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups. Iraq's known oil reserves have been estimated at 115 billion barrels, but production has fallen since the US invasion from 3.5 million to two million.
Correspondents say distribution of oil revenues is a key concern for Sunni Arab groups, who live in areas which are mostly without oil reserves. The original draft, approved by the cabinet in February, stipulated that a state oil company would take control of oilfields away from regional governments. But Kurdish organisations said such moves were unconstitutional.
They reached agreement with the government in June that the authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan would receive 17% of all oil revenues. The United States has been pressing Iraq to pass an oil law, as part of several legislative measures to promote reconciliation among Iraq's religious and ethnic groups. Iraq's known oil reserves have been estimated at 115 billion barrels, but production has fallen since the US invasion from 3.5 million to two million.
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, draft oil law, Iraqi parliament
Friday, April 27, 2007
Iraqi govt. spokesman criticises senate decision on troop withdrawal
Politics, Security
(AP) - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1. "We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives to the political process," Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.
He spoke after the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and President Bush has promised a veto. The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January. "Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."
He spoke after the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would require the start of troop withdrawals from Iraq by Oct. 1. The House passed the same bill a day earlier, and President Bush has promised a veto. The legislation is the first binding challenge on the war that Democrats have managed to send to Bush since they reclaimed control of both houses of Congress in January. "Coalition forces gave lots of sacrifices and they should continue their mission, which is building Iraqi security forces to take over," al-Dabbagh said. "We see (it) as a loss of four years of sacrifices."
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, U.S. senate, U.S. troop withdrawal
Friday, April 06, 2007
Iraq Compact to be held in early May
International, Reconstruction
(Reuters) - A high-level meeting to launch a five-year international reconstruction plan for Iraq will be held in early May, Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Friday. Dabbagh declined to say where the meeting, which is expected to involve numerous governments and international agencies, would take place.
But the timing coincides with a separate conference between Iraq, its neighbors and world powers that Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday would convene in the first week in May. He also declined to give the location of the gathering. The International Compact with Iraq would see Iraq given international support, financial, political and technical, in return for political, security and economic reforms.
"The Iraq Compact will be held in early May," Dabbagh said. The reconstruction plan was unveiled by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi last month. The compact outlines targets for Iraq to hit during the next five years, including annual economic goals. It also includes legislation the government hopes to pass by the end of 2007.
But the timing coincides with a separate conference between Iraq, its neighbors and world powers that Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Thursday would convene in the first week in May. He also declined to give the location of the gathering. The International Compact with Iraq would see Iraq given international support, financial, political and technical, in return for political, security and economic reforms.
"The Iraq Compact will be held in early May," Dabbagh said. The reconstruction plan was unveiled by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi last month. The compact outlines targets for Iraq to hit during the next five years, including annual economic goals. It also includes legislation the government hopes to pass by the end of 2007.
Labels: Ali al-Dabbagh, Hoshyar Zibari, Iraq Compact
Friday, March 02, 2007
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
