Monday, September 10, 2007
Al-Sadr picks 12-man council to reorganise Mahdi Army
Politics, Security
(AP) -- Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia leader is turning to his commanders who distinguished themselves fighting U.S. troops in 2004 to screen fighters, weed out criminals and assume key positions in an effort to build a more disciplined force, two of his key lieutenants say. That suggests the goal of Muqtada al-Sadr's temporary freeze of Mahdi Army activities, announced Aug. 29 following deadly Shiite-Shiite clashes in Karbala, is to bolster the militia to intimidate his Shiite rivals as the anti-American cleric pursues his political ambitions.
A stronger and more efficient Mahdi Army could embolden al-Sadr to take on the rival Badr militia, a move that could fragment and weaken the country's majority Shiites as gunmen battle for control of Shiite towns and cities. Thousands of young, impoverished Shiites flocked to al-Sadr's standard after he founded the Mahdi Army a few months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. But bands of young gunmen used the Mahdi Army's name as a cover for extortion, black marketeering and other crimes.
The task of weeding out militiamen with suspect loyalty and screening new recruits already has begun and will take months to complete, according to the two al-Sadr lieutenants, who also are militia leaders who fought the Americans in Najaf in the summer of 2004 and in Sadr City in the fall. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to share the information with the media and for fear of reprisals. "The (Mahdi) army will be stronger and better organized," said one of them. Both said the screening and reorganization process will be supervised nationwide by a 12-man council hand-picked by al-Sadr.
Under the new procedures, militiamen serving now in the ranks as well as new applicants must prove they have no criminal record, never worked for security agencies under Saddam and must submit written statements from three known community members vouching for their good character."Those who are found to be not telling the truth about their past will be expelled and maybe punished too," the other militia leader said. "Senior commanders who deliberately or unwittingly allow such individuals to slip through and join or retain their place in the militia will be punished too."
If the reorganization goes according to plan, the new Mahdi Army should emerge as a more disciplined and organized force - similar to its main Shiite rival, the Badr Organization, which is linked to the biggest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. Tension between Mahdi and Badr has been steadily rising and a showdown between them is widely expected for domination of the Shiite south, which includes most of the oil wealth and major religious shrines. Control of the shrines brings millions of dollars in donations from Shiites worldwide.
Al-Sadr is not likely to risk a head-on confrontation with the U.S. military as in 2004. But a stronger Mahdi Army would enable him to resist Washington's repeated calls to disband the militias, blamed for the wave of sectarian bloodshed that escalated last year. A Mahdi Army firmly under al-Sadr's control could reduce what the U.S. military says are attacks by rogue Shiite militiamen controlled by Iran.
Last June, those rogue militiamen accounted for nearly 75 percent of the attacks against U.S. troops in the Baghdad area that caused casualties. Both the government of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a one-time close ally of al-Sadr, and the U.S. military welcomed the decision to take the Mahdi Army out of action. However, there are worrying signs that the freeze is only a cover to buy al-Sadr time to overhaul the militia, improving its mobility and combat readiness.
Al-Sadr's supporters in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, did not sign a "charter of honor" reached by representatives of 30 groups and militias there to keep the peace after British troops completed their withdrawal from the city last week. Residents say the Mahdi Army says it is now entitled to Basra, arguing that it was its almost nightly shelling of British bases in the city and other attacks that forced them to leave. Al-Sadr's representatives in Basra have also warned they would fight U.S. troops if they move into Basra in the case of a security vacuum. "They say they fought the British, so Basra is theirs," said Dagher al-Moussawi, a Shiite lawmaker.
In Sadr City, armed Mahdi Army militiamen stayed off the streets soon after al-Sadr made his Aug. 29 announcement but several were seen in the district over the weekend with some carrying what appeared to be U.S.-made M-4 assault rifles, the type used by American troops. There have been reports in the United States that some of the weapons destined for Iraq's security forces have disappeared and remain unaccounted for.
Another Shiite lawmaker, who demanded anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the freeze was designed in part to spare the militia the ongoing campaign by U.S. forces and their Iraqi allies against militiamen suspected of involvement in attacks or sectarian violence. "He wants to save the Mahdi Army by taking it out and use the time to improve it," he said.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters last week that mainstream Mahdi Army fighters were observing al-Sadr's order for a freeze, while U.S. military statements continue to speak of sustained attacks by "extremist" or "criminal" militiamen. "Our assumption is that these groups are not honoring al-Sadr's orders and thus will not be subject to the restraint we have observed for those who are responding to al-Sadr's orders," said a military statement issued Sept. 4.
A stronger and more efficient Mahdi Army could embolden al-Sadr to take on the rival Badr militia, a move that could fragment and weaken the country's majority Shiites as gunmen battle for control of Shiite towns and cities. Thousands of young, impoverished Shiites flocked to al-Sadr's standard after he founded the Mahdi Army a few months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. But bands of young gunmen used the Mahdi Army's name as a cover for extortion, black marketeering and other crimes.
The task of weeding out militiamen with suspect loyalty and screening new recruits already has begun and will take months to complete, according to the two al-Sadr lieutenants, who also are militia leaders who fought the Americans in Najaf in the summer of 2004 and in Sadr City in the fall. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to share the information with the media and for fear of reprisals. "The (Mahdi) army will be stronger and better organized," said one of them. Both said the screening and reorganization process will be supervised nationwide by a 12-man council hand-picked by al-Sadr.
Under the new procedures, militiamen serving now in the ranks as well as new applicants must prove they have no criminal record, never worked for security agencies under Saddam and must submit written statements from three known community members vouching for their good character."Those who are found to be not telling the truth about their past will be expelled and maybe punished too," the other militia leader said. "Senior commanders who deliberately or unwittingly allow such individuals to slip through and join or retain their place in the militia will be punished too."
If the reorganization goes according to plan, the new Mahdi Army should emerge as a more disciplined and organized force - similar to its main Shiite rival, the Badr Organization, which is linked to the biggest Shiite party, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. Tension between Mahdi and Badr has been steadily rising and a showdown between them is widely expected for domination of the Shiite south, which includes most of the oil wealth and major religious shrines. Control of the shrines brings millions of dollars in donations from Shiites worldwide.
Al-Sadr is not likely to risk a head-on confrontation with the U.S. military as in 2004. But a stronger Mahdi Army would enable him to resist Washington's repeated calls to disband the militias, blamed for the wave of sectarian bloodshed that escalated last year. A Mahdi Army firmly under al-Sadr's control could reduce what the U.S. military says are attacks by rogue Shiite militiamen controlled by Iran.
Last June, those rogue militiamen accounted for nearly 75 percent of the attacks against U.S. troops in the Baghdad area that caused casualties. Both the government of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a one-time close ally of al-Sadr, and the U.S. military welcomed the decision to take the Mahdi Army out of action. However, there are worrying signs that the freeze is only a cover to buy al-Sadr time to overhaul the militia, improving its mobility and combat readiness.
Al-Sadr's supporters in Basra, Iraq's second largest city, did not sign a "charter of honor" reached by representatives of 30 groups and militias there to keep the peace after British troops completed their withdrawal from the city last week. Residents say the Mahdi Army says it is now entitled to Basra, arguing that it was its almost nightly shelling of British bases in the city and other attacks that forced them to leave. Al-Sadr's representatives in Basra have also warned they would fight U.S. troops if they move into Basra in the case of a security vacuum. "They say they fought the British, so Basra is theirs," said Dagher al-Moussawi, a Shiite lawmaker.
In Sadr City, armed Mahdi Army militiamen stayed off the streets soon after al-Sadr made his Aug. 29 announcement but several were seen in the district over the weekend with some carrying what appeared to be U.S.-made M-4 assault rifles, the type used by American troops. There have been reports in the United States that some of the weapons destined for Iraq's security forces have disappeared and remain unaccounted for.
Another Shiite lawmaker, who demanded anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the freeze was designed in part to spare the militia the ongoing campaign by U.S. forces and their Iraqi allies against militiamen suspected of involvement in attacks or sectarian violence. "He wants to save the Mahdi Army by taking it out and use the time to improve it," he said.
Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, told reporters last week that mainstream Mahdi Army fighters were observing al-Sadr's order for a freeze, while U.S. military statements continue to speak of sustained attacks by "extremist" or "criminal" militiamen. "Our assumption is that these groups are not honoring al-Sadr's orders and thus will not be subject to the restraint we have observed for those who are responding to al-Sadr's orders," said a military statement issued Sept. 4.
Labels: Badr Corps, Basra, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sadr City
Monday, September 03, 2007
Al-Sadr aide - Mahdi Army freeze could end if arrests and raids don't stop
Security
(AP) -- Muqtada al-Sadr's surprise decision to stand down his Mahdi Army for up to six months was designed to stop a Shiite-Shiite rift from spiraling out of control and to weed out infiltrators in his militia's ranks, according to aides of the radical Shiite cleric. Al-Sadr issued his surprise declaration last Wednesday following two days of deadly clashes in the holy city of Karbala between his Mahdi Army and the rival Badr militia of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the country's largest Shiite party and a U.S. partner.
Involvement in inter-Shiite fighting has hurt the image of al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army, chipping away at the young cleric's reputation as an uncompromising nationalist leader seeking to restore Iraq's full sovereignty and undermining his bid to become a national leader. Al-Sadr also realizes that a full-fledged fight against Badr and the Iraqi security forces is likely to draw the Americans into battle, threatening his Mahdi Army with a rout similar to that of 2004 when thousands of his militiamen were killed.
For all those reasons, it was better for al-Sadr to take a principled stand for Shiite unity and suspend his militia's activities - at least for the time being. To promote unity, it is better to blame the Americans than rivals in the Shiite community. Sheik Salman al-Feraiji, al-Sadr's chief representative in Baghdad's Sadr City district, said the suspension was meant to foil an "American plot" to sow division within Iraq's majority Shiites.
"They drove a wedge between Shiites and Sunnis and now they want a Shiite-Shiite rift," al-Feraiji said as he sat late Saturday in a large tent to receive condolences for the Karbala victims. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, al-Sadr's spokesman in Najaf, also said the suspension was aimed at preventing rifts among Shiites, which exploded in Karbala. Al-Obeidi said the freeze would allow time to rid the Mahdi Army of "groups working for foreign security agencies." He did not elaborate. "These groups deliberately left traces that led back to the Mahdi Army. We do not want what happened in Karbala to spread to the rest of the country," he said.
In announcing his decision, al-Sadr did not say explicitly whether his fighters would suspend attacks on Americans. Some aides said they would halt such attacks, but others disputed that interpretation of the order.
Al-Sadr's anti-American policies have kept his movement together as a nationalist force, unlike most other Shiite parties that are closely tied to Washington. To maintain that nationalist stand, al-Sadr apparently avoided an explicit, public ban on attacking U.S. and other foreign troops.
A firebrand who burst on the political scene in 2003, al-Sadr has a track record of making ambivalent statements or leaving out key details. Sometimes that has been interpreted as a sign of his movement's lack of a comprehensive political vision. In some cases, it has been seen as a deliberate bid to give him leeway to change policies. However, in the four days since he made his announcement, Mahdi Army militiamen have been lying low and the number of bodies of sectarian violence victims - often blamed on the militia - has dramatically dropped.
The U.S. military welcomed al-Sadr's move. But it appears the U.S. has no plans to reciprocate, continuing raids to capture suspected Mahdi militants that American commanders say are linked to Iran or involved in sectarian violence. The raids led to a stern warning late Saturday by one of al-Sadr's prominent lawmakers, Bahaa al-Araji, who told Alhurra television that the "freeze" could end "within a day or two" if the raids and arrests did not stop.
Involvement in inter-Shiite fighting has hurt the image of al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army, chipping away at the young cleric's reputation as an uncompromising nationalist leader seeking to restore Iraq's full sovereignty and undermining his bid to become a national leader. Al-Sadr also realizes that a full-fledged fight against Badr and the Iraqi security forces is likely to draw the Americans into battle, threatening his Mahdi Army with a rout similar to that of 2004 when thousands of his militiamen were killed.
For all those reasons, it was better for al-Sadr to take a principled stand for Shiite unity and suspend his militia's activities - at least for the time being. To promote unity, it is better to blame the Americans than rivals in the Shiite community. Sheik Salman al-Feraiji, al-Sadr's chief representative in Baghdad's Sadr City district, said the suspension was meant to foil an "American plot" to sow division within Iraq's majority Shiites.
"They drove a wedge between Shiites and Sunnis and now they want a Shiite-Shiite rift," al-Feraiji said as he sat late Saturday in a large tent to receive condolences for the Karbala victims. Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, al-Sadr's spokesman in Najaf, also said the suspension was aimed at preventing rifts among Shiites, which exploded in Karbala. Al-Obeidi said the freeze would allow time to rid the Mahdi Army of "groups working for foreign security agencies." He did not elaborate. "These groups deliberately left traces that led back to the Mahdi Army. We do not want what happened in Karbala to spread to the rest of the country," he said.
In announcing his decision, al-Sadr did not say explicitly whether his fighters would suspend attacks on Americans. Some aides said they would halt such attacks, but others disputed that interpretation of the order.
Al-Sadr's anti-American policies have kept his movement together as a nationalist force, unlike most other Shiite parties that are closely tied to Washington. To maintain that nationalist stand, al-Sadr apparently avoided an explicit, public ban on attacking U.S. and other foreign troops.
A firebrand who burst on the political scene in 2003, al-Sadr has a track record of making ambivalent statements or leaving out key details. Sometimes that has been interpreted as a sign of his movement's lack of a comprehensive political vision. In some cases, it has been seen as a deliberate bid to give him leeway to change policies. However, in the four days since he made his announcement, Mahdi Army militiamen have been lying low and the number of bodies of sectarian violence victims - often blamed on the militia - has dramatically dropped.
The U.S. military welcomed al-Sadr's move. But it appears the U.S. has no plans to reciprocate, continuing raids to capture suspected Mahdi militants that American commanders say are linked to Iran or involved in sectarian violence. The raids led to a stern warning late Saturday by one of al-Sadr's prominent lawmakers, Bahaa al-Araji, who told Alhurra television that the "freeze" could end "within a day or two" if the raids and arrests did not stop.
Labels: Badr Corps, Bahaa Al-Araji, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, Sheik Salman al-Feraiji, SIIC
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Kidnapped deputy oil minister was in charge of Iraq's oil exploration and production
Kidnapping
(UPI) -- The Iraqi oil official kidnapped with four others Tuesday was in charge of Iraq’s exploration and production, a key role especially for a Sunni, and a stark reminder that even the most needed aspect of Iraq’s economy -- oil and the wealth it brings in -- is not immune from the horror of today’s Iraq. Abdel-Jabar al-Wagaa, a deputy minister and top assistant to the oil minister, was taken by a group of men in official uniforms and vehicles.
There is no confirmation on the assailants, including whether these were from any Iraqi security force or militias dressed up. Militias carried out a similar raid earlier this year at the Iraqi Finance Ministry. Tuesday’s raid occurred in the afternoon, taken from their neighboring apartments in a housing complex of the State Oil Marketing Organization, where the other officials worked.
Former Oil Minister Issam al-Chalabi told UPI Wagaa, named deputy minister in 2004, may be a target because of his position, because he’s a Sunni and not a Shiite Arab, or because of the tribe he hailed from, the Jibouri tribe from Mosul. “Nobody can tell but it could be a combination of all these reasons,” Chalabi said. “This is really bad,” a U.S. official familiar with Iraq oil issues told UPI on condition of anonymity. “This is a blow to the Oil Ministry. He was one of the few remaining Western-educated technocrats.”
As a Sunni, Wagaa was in the minority in the new Shiite-dominated government in Iraq. Shiites make up the majority population in the country but were deprived of respective leadership roles under Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. Sunnis have been routed out and excluded from the government, despite their expertise in technical issues, especially oil.
Wagaa’s position in the ministry was of heavy importance. The senior deputy minister in charge of upstream, all production, exploration, drilling and the North and South Oil Cos. were under his watch. He also had a role in the ongoing training sessions of oil officials and workers with international oil companies. Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- much of which are not being pumped -- and experts believe nearly as much to be discovered.
At least three of the four others kidnapped held high-level roles in the Iraqi company that sells the crude, the SOMO. Iraq sent an average 1.6 million barrels per day of oil to international market last year, bringing in more than $31 billion, which filled more than 90 percent of the federal budget. Mahdi al-Naqib was in charge of researching what type of crude was available and who it should be sold to; Salah Abdul Qadar was the director general for selling oil to Europe; and Kamel al-Ob’eidy was a top-level SOMO public relations official. UPI could not determine the identity of the fourth abductee.
No one has officially taken responsibility for the act. Media accounts and officials are hinting at blaming the Mahdi Army, or rogue factions of it, which are led by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr. The incident took place near Sadr City, a poor Baghdad neighborhood of millions. But it could be a cross sect hit, by Sunnis, or any number of actors in the violent power struggle unfolding in Iraq and other parts of the country. Details remain sketchy still. The uniforms may be police or Interior Ministry forces, both of which are infiltrated by loyalists to Shiite militias of the Badr Corps, the armed wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, one of the most powerful political parties in Baghdad and partner to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party.
Considering the high profile of those captured, it likely was not a random snatch. The perpetrators could have been allowed into the compound because they appeared to be official, or bribed their way in. Less than three months ago armed men in police uniforms took five Britons from a Finance Ministry building, which is near the SOMO compound. They’re still missing, as are many taken in a mass kidnapping Nov. 14, when the Mahdi Army was blamed for donning Interior Ministry garb and invading the Ministry of Higher Education. Wagaa’s kidnapping is the highest-profile job since last year, when in two separate instances the directors general of both the North Oil Co. and State Oil Projects Co. were kidnapped. Neither has been found.
Labels: Abdel-Jabar al-Wagaa, Badr Corps, Deputy Oil Minister, Issam al-Chalabi, Jibouri tribe, Kamel al-Ob’eidy, Mahdi al-Naqib, Mahdi Army, Salah Abdul Qadar, SOMO, State Oil Marketing Organization
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Diyala police dept. run by SIIC
Security, Politics
(IPS) - Militia from the Shia organisation Badr have taken over the police force in Diyala province north of Baghdad, residents say. The government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is believed to have backed such infiltration, and this has reportedly led to clashes with U.S. military leaders. The Daily Telegraph in London has reported that Maliki and General David Petraeus, U.S. commander of the multi-national force in Iraq, have clashed over moves by the U.S. general to arm some Sunni groups.
Sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims has grown amidst Iraqi government policies seen as supportive of Shias. Maliki is from the Dawa Party backed by Shia Iran. In Baquba, 50km northeast of the capital, and capital of Diyala, residents say the Shia Badr Organisation, the armed wing of the politically dominant Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), has been dominant in the province since the early months of the occupation. The Badr Organisation managed to fill leadership positions in city and province, while Sunni Iraqis remained largely unrepresented.
In this set-up, many sectarian killings have been carried out by the Badr Organisation, often under cover of the local police, residents told IPS. The SIIC and the Dawa Party of the Prime Minister are politically affiliated. Maliki is secretary-general of the Dawa Party, and spent time in exile in Iran after leading insurgent groups against former president Saddam Hussein. Maliki came to be Prime Minister after political pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former British foreign secretary Jack Straw forced former Iraqi prime minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, also from the al-Dawa Party, to resign.
Residents of this violence-plagued city told IPS that it is common for Iraqi police and army forces, most of whom are militiamen with the Badr Organisation, to raid homes of Sunnis during the night, and take away men who are later found dead in the street. As a result, groups have begun to set up blocks to prevent police patrols from entering their districts at night. There have been several clashes in these districts between residents and people wearing police uniforms attempting to enter. "All the attacks on the Iraqi police and army have been a reaction to the sectarian orientation of the police and Iraqi army," Ali Juma'a, a retired Iraqi army officer told IPS. "They (Badr Organisation affiliated Iraqi police) targeted the officers of the previous Iraq army, military pilots who took part in the Iraq-Iran war, members of the Ba'ath party (of Saddam Hussein) and others."
"Police vehicles are often accompanied by civilian cars," a resident said, declining to give his name. "These cars are driven by civilians who are new to the city, we never saw them here in the past." Many residents say they have seen such cars at the police headquarters in Diyala. The IPS correspondent saw one such car near an Iraqi Army checkpoint – the car like others that residents describe, was a 1993-94 Toyota super saloon. In the back seat were two blindfolded civilians with their hands tied behind their backs.
Day after day, trust in the Iraqi government and its security forces diminishes. This is in the face of increasing popular support for the Iraqi resistance. Local support for the resistance, particularly in Sunni areas, has risen as resistance groups began to protect residents from Badr Organisation death squads. The death squads are notorious for using checkpoints to look at identity cards of drivers, who are then disappeared if they are of the 'wrong' sect.
The chief commander of police is from Khirnabat village whose residents are all Shia. The commander was nominated by the SIIC. "Coalition forces received complaints about the checkpoint at Jamhoriya Bridge (in the centre of Baquba, 100 metres from the police headquarters), and later they found a prison in the villages Khirnabat and Huwaider (also a Shia village) and freed all the Sunni prisoners," local resident Hadi Hassan told IPS. IPS spoke with a Sunni man named Ammar al-Samaraee who had been arrested at the checkpoint and sent to Huwaider village. His father is a well-known figure in the community and managed to have Ammar released after paying 15,000 dollars in ransom. Ammar suffered a broken shoulder and bruises up and down his body.
A Sunni man held prisoner inside the central prison for Diyala province spoke with IPS on condition of anonymity. "There were more than 250 prisoners with me in the prison and all of them were Sunni except one man named Hussein, who was Shia, and was charged with killing his nephew." Shia men who were imprisoned would often be freed by a Shia clerk at the prison, he said. "The entire Iraqi police department for Diyala province is run and controlled by the SIIC and not by the government," the former prisoner added. "And 95 percent of the staff are Shia."
Labels: Badr Corps, Baqouba, Dawa party, Diyala, Iraqi Police Force, SIIC
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Iraq's Interior Ministry - "a federation of oligarchs"
Government
(Los Angeles Times) - Iraq's Ministry of Interior — the balkanized command center for the nation's police and mirror of the deadly factions that have caused the government here to grind nearly to a halt. The very language that Americans use to describe government — ministries, departments, agencies — belies the reality here of militias that kill under cover of police uniform and remain above the law.
Until recently, one or two Interior Ministry police officers were assassinated each week while arriving or leaving the building, probably by fellow officers, senior police officials say. That killing has been reduced, but Western diplomats still describe the Interior Ministry building as a "federation of oligarchs." Those who work in the building liken departments to hostile countries. Survival depends on keeping abreast of shifting factional alliances and turf.
On the second floor is Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, a former national police commander. Last year, U.S. and Iraqi troops found 1,400 prisoners, mostly Sunnis, at a base he controlled in east Baghdad. Many showed signs of torture. The interior minister blocked an arrest warrant against the general this year, senior Iraqi officials confirmed.
The third- and fifth-floor administrative departments are the domain of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group. The sixth, home to border enforcement and the major crimes unit, belongs to the Badr Organization militia. Its leader, Deputy Minister Ahmed Khafaji, is lauded by some Western officials as an efficient administrator and suspected by others of running secret prisons.
The seventh floor is intelligence, where the Badr Organization and armed Kurdish groups struggle for control. The ninth floor is shared by the department's inspector general and general counsel, religious Shiites. Their offices have been at the center of efforts to purge the department's remaining Sunni employees. The counsel's predecessor, a Sunni, was killed a year ago."They have some bad things on the ninth," says the colonel, a Sunni who, like other ministry officials, spoke on condition of anonymity to guard against retaliation.
The ministry's computer department is on the 10th floor. Two employees were arrested there in February on suspicion of smuggling in explosives, according to police and U.S. military officials. Some Iraqi and U.S. officials say the workers intended to store bombs there. Others say they were plotting to attack the U.S. advisors stationed directly above them on the top floor.
The factionalization of the ministry began quickly after Saddam Hussein's fall. As with most Iraqi government departments, deputy ministers were appointed to represent each of the country's main political parties. Deputies then distributed jobs among party stalwarts. The initial winners were the Kurdish Democratic Party and the two Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which sponsors the Badr Organization. The Kurdish party is one of two factions that control Iraq's northern provinces.
Sadr's Al Mahdi militia started late in the patronage game but has made significant inroads, particularly among the guard force that surrounds the ministry compound.Parties representing the Sunni minority, which controlled Iraq in Hussein's day, have been almost entirely purged from the ministry in the last two years. Three of the ministry's longest-serving Sunni generals have been killed in the last year.
Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a Shiite leader who took office last summer, has attempted to repair the ministry's reputation. He has removed the leaders of eight of nine national police brigades and 17 of 27 police battalions, which have been accused of killings and mass kidnappings. But change has come slowly. "There is a lot of pressure, there is influence from everywhere, from everyone: political parties, religious groups, the government itself, from familial and tribal influences," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who supervised the U.S. advisors to the national police until last month. "It would be very difficult for anybody to operate as a leader in this environment, and the Iraqis do," Pittard said.
No floor has posed more of a challenge than the seventh, which houses the intelligence division. In theory, the intelligence office should be key to tracking and combating the insurgents who bomb Iraq's streets and marketplaces and attack U.S. soldiers. Instead, the division has been hobbled by a power struggle between two of America's nominal allies in Iraq, the Kurds and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council. The fight came to a head earlier this year with a death threat against the Kurdish deputy minister in charge of intelligence, Hussein Ali Kamal.
The Kurdish leader, who controls the eastern wing of the floor, was battling for control of the intelligence apparatus with his deputy, a Badr militia commander who dominates the western side. Several months ago, U.S. advisors warned Kamal that his life was in danger, most probably from the Badr militia, and advised him to stay in the Green Zone, away from the ministry building in east Baghdad. He stayed out of the ministry for several weeks. The Shiite deputy, Basheer Wandi, better known as Engineer Ahmed, was appointed in the spring of 2005. Around the same time, Shiite militias began aggressive efforts to target and kill Sunnis in Baghdad, often using police cover to detain Sunnis in secret prisons and carry out assassinations.
Kamal, the Kurdish deputy minister, says he believes the ministry has started reining in Shiite militias but knows suspect figures still operate openly in the ministry, including Gen. Gharrawi on the second floor. Even the remaining Sunni members of the police force respect Bolani for trying to rein in the ministry. But they know he depends on a web of fragile political alliances and wonder whether any political figure can undo the effects of several years of recruiting hard-line militia members to the ministry. "Even if they brought the prophet Muhammad or Jesus, they couldn't control them," said a senior ministry official. "They have an agenda. They follow their parties."
Labels: Ahmed Khafaji, Badr Corps, Basheer Wandi, Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, Dawa party, Engineer Ahmed, Gen. Mahdi Gharrawi, Hussein Ali Kamal, Jawad Bolani, KDP, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, SIIC
Monday, July 02, 2007
The triad which holds the fate of Iraq in its hands
Security
(Azzaman) - There are three groups which hold the fate of Iraq in their hands. American invaders, despite their mighty military power, are not part of it. Sadly enough, all the three are a direct or indirect product of the U.S. invasion and administration of the country. The three were almost non-existent prior to the U.S. presence in the country.
The abduction of five Britons throws much light on who really has Iraq’s destiny in their hands. There have been three versions of who has been behind the kidnapping. The government, ruling out al-Qaeda, has pointed the finger at Mahdi Army, the militia group run by Shiite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Sadr movement has blamed its rival, the Badr corps, the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Council. Badr and Mahdi army are influential within the government currently ruling the country and Qaeda is a terrorist group mounting devastating attacks that target U.S. invaders, government troops and Iraqi Shiites.
So the government has distanced Qaeda from the kidnapping, blaming the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army accuses Badr Corps. Badr Corps says the abduction was for sure carried out by Mahdi army as it occurred within army’s zone of influence.
The accusations and counter accusations provide a good picture of the situation in the country. It shows that there are three groups of note in Iraq which hold its destiny in balance. These three groups – Qaeda, Mahdi Army and Badr Corps – are the most active and vibrant in Iraq. No one in Iraq can ignore their existence or responsibility for the calamities that began descending on Iraq with the advent of the Americans.
This bloody triad which rules the Iraqi street is the cause for the destruction of Iraq and the liquidation of any hope for the creation of a modern state. But while Qaeda is being chased and fought, the other two groups are inside the government which is turning a blind eye on their actions. Qaeda is a disease, a cancerous tumor that must be removed, but it is sad to see that two more tumors are being nurtured despite their devastating consequences.
The abduction of five Britons throws much light on who really has Iraq’s destiny in their hands. There have been three versions of who has been behind the kidnapping. The government, ruling out al-Qaeda, has pointed the finger at Mahdi Army, the militia group run by Shiite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Sadr movement has blamed its rival, the Badr corps, the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Council. Badr and Mahdi army are influential within the government currently ruling the country and Qaeda is a terrorist group mounting devastating attacks that target U.S. invaders, government troops and Iraqi Shiites.
So the government has distanced Qaeda from the kidnapping, blaming the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army accuses Badr Corps. Badr Corps says the abduction was for sure carried out by Mahdi army as it occurred within army’s zone of influence.
The accusations and counter accusations provide a good picture of the situation in the country. It shows that there are three groups of note in Iraq which hold its destiny in balance. These three groups – Qaeda, Mahdi Army and Badr Corps – are the most active and vibrant in Iraq. No one in Iraq can ignore their existence or responsibility for the calamities that began descending on Iraq with the advent of the Americans.
This bloody triad which rules the Iraqi street is the cause for the destruction of Iraq and the liquidation of any hope for the creation of a modern state. But while Qaeda is being chased and fought, the other two groups are inside the government which is turning a blind eye on their actions. Qaeda is a disease, a cancerous tumor that must be removed, but it is sad to see that two more tumors are being nurtured despite their devastating consequences.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Badr Corps, British hostages, Mahdi Army
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Abducted Brits - the word on the street in Baghdad
Security
(Unconfirmed) In Iraq, rumors travel through the streets quickly and are accepted by many, educated and uneducated alike, to be the absolute truth. In fact, during Saddam’s reign, he had a department in his intelligence service dedicated to spreading various rumors throughout Iraqi society. The word on the street should not be ignored as simple hearsay, even though much of it is obviously false. It helps shape Iraqi opinions and perceptions. The following information on the abducted Britons was collected.
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1. The five Brits who were kidnapped this week were separated after the initial kidnapping and were moved to Kut within three hours of the kidnapping.
2. On Thursday, there were several new checkpoints setup in eastern Baghdad which were established to find the five kidnapped Brits.
3. The Palestine Street area is under the control of Badr due to its proximity to the MOI. Based on the involvement of MOI Commandos and the fact that the five Brits were taken from a Finance Ministry facility, most Iraqis are sure that the five Brits were kidnapped by the order of Bayan Jabr Solagh who wants to trade the five Brits for the five Iranians detained by the US in Irbil. Solagh wants to replace Al Hakim as Iran’s influence broker in Iraq.
Who Kidnapped The Five British Citizens?
The entire group, Sunni and Shiite, agreed that most likely this act was carried out by MOI elements by the order of Bayan Jabr Solagh, who may or may not have been responding to instructions from Iran. The group believes that the reason for the kidnapping is to trade the five Brits for the five Iranians who are being detained by the US after they were captured in Irbil.
The group stated that they believe the above because the area where this crime occurred is known to be heavily controlled by Badr Corps and the kidnapping occurred at a facility under Solagh’s control. He is also believed to have created the MOI Commandos to be an arm of Badr during his tenure as the Interior Minister.
The entire group also agreed that Mahdi Army could NOT have carried out this kidnapping because of the area where it occurred.
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1. The five Brits who were kidnapped this week were separated after the initial kidnapping and were moved to Kut within three hours of the kidnapping.
2. On Thursday, there were several new checkpoints setup in eastern Baghdad which were established to find the five kidnapped Brits.
3. The Palestine Street area is under the control of Badr due to its proximity to the MOI. Based on the involvement of MOI Commandos and the fact that the five Brits were taken from a Finance Ministry facility, most Iraqis are sure that the five Brits were kidnapped by the order of Bayan Jabr Solagh who wants to trade the five Brits for the five Iranians detained by the US in Irbil. Solagh wants to replace Al Hakim as Iran’s influence broker in Iraq.
Who Kidnapped The Five British Citizens?
The entire group, Sunni and Shiite, agreed that most likely this act was carried out by MOI elements by the order of Bayan Jabr Solagh, who may or may not have been responding to instructions from Iran. The group believes that the reason for the kidnapping is to trade the five Brits for the five Iranians who are being detained by the US after they were captured in Irbil.
The group stated that they believe the above because the area where this crime occurred is known to be heavily controlled by Badr Corps and the kidnapping occurred at a facility under Solagh’s control. He is also believed to have created the MOI Commandos to be an arm of Badr during his tenure as the Interior Minister.
The entire group also agreed that Mahdi Army could NOT have carried out this kidnapping because of the area where it occurred.
Labels: Badr Corps, Bayan Jabr Solagh, Iranian detainees, kidnapped Brits, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
PBS Frontline documentary on the training of an Iraqi security force
Media
Worth watching:
Gangs of Iraq tracks the struggle to create a loyal and national Iraqi force from the earliest months following the invasion. It provides a chronological timeline of events and offers much needed context for the news that you see today, as well as explaining the complex situation and illustrating how Iraq has reached this point.
In Gangs of Iraq, a joint production of FRONTLINE and the "America at a Crossroads" series, FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith and producer Marcela Gaviria spent two months embedded with American forces taking a hard look at how the training effort is faring. Their report draws on interviews with U.S. advisers and military commanders charged with training a new security force, including Gen. David Petraeus, and interviews with Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
In addition to sectarian bloodshed, one of the chief problems American trainers are working hard to address is the divided loyalties within the Shi'ite-dominated police and army where Iraqis are loyal not so much to the Iraqi state, but to sheikhs or clerics -- in particular, the powerful rival clerics Moqtada al-Sadr, who has his own 60,000-man militia, the Mahdi Army, and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Shi'ite SCIRI Party and its armed wing, the Badr Brigade.
The first national elections, in January 2005, only fueled the sectarian dynamic. It brought to power an alliance of Shi'a religious parties which moved quickly to secure control of the Sunni-headed Ministry of the Interior. The ministry, in charge of all of Iraq's police, includes the elite units known as the Commandos. The ministry's new head, Bayan Jabr, a top deputy to Shi'ite cleric al-Hakim, began re-staffing commando units with commanders in Badr Corps, the militia loyal to Hakim. Soon, many bodies -- many of them of Sunni civilians -- started turning up on the streets.
Allegations of death squads, secret torture centers and infiltration by militia forces were leveled at the Ministry of Interior. In a revealing interview with Jabr, Smith confronts the former minister with the charges. Jabr vigorously defends his record, but then concedes that abuses have taken place. "I cannot correct the ex-officers of Saddam which work with us," Jabr says. "There is a culture."
In addition to sectarian bloodshed, one of the chief problems American trainers are working hard to address is the divided loyalties within the Shi'ite-dominated police and army where Iraqis are loyal not so much to the Iraqi state, but to sheikhs or clerics -- in particular, the powerful rival clerics Moqtada al-Sadr, who has his own 60,000-man militia, the Mahdi Army, and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Shi'ite SCIRI Party and its armed wing, the Badr Brigade.
The first national elections, in January 2005, only fueled the sectarian dynamic. It brought to power an alliance of Shi'a religious parties which moved quickly to secure control of the Sunni-headed Ministry of the Interior. The ministry, in charge of all of Iraq's police, includes the elite units known as the Commandos. The ministry's new head, Bayan Jabr, a top deputy to Shi'ite cleric al-Hakim, began re-staffing commando units with commanders in Badr Corps, the militia loyal to Hakim. Soon, many bodies -- many of them of Sunni civilians -- started turning up on the streets.
Allegations of death squads, secret torture centers and infiltration by militia forces were leveled at the Ministry of Interior. In a revealing interview with Jabr, Smith confronts the former minister with the charges. Jabr vigorously defends his record, but then concedes that abuses have taken place. "I cannot correct the ex-officers of Saddam which work with us," Jabr says. "There is a culture."
Labels: Badr Corps, documentary, Iraq, Iraqi security forces training, Mahdi Army, SCIRI
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Security developments across Iraq on Monday 9 April
(AP) - A log of developments from across the country on fourth anniversary of Baghdad's fall. A total of 25 people were killed or found dead in Iraq on Monday, according to police and morgues. Follow link for full events.
-4:30 a.m. Clashes erupted again in Buhriz, about 35 miles north of Baghdad, between gunmen and al-Qaida in Iraq fighters. Thirty civilians and gunmen were wounded, Diyala provincial police said. Al-Qaida casualties were not known.
-10 a.m. Diwaniyah police south of Baghdad said U.S troops raided the Badr Brigade militia office and detained four guards. The militia is the military wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the most powerful Shiite political party in the country, with deep links to Iran. U.S. and Iraqi forces continued patrols of two Diwaniyah neighborhoods in the fourth day of an operation there to clear it of Mahdi Army militia forces loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
-10:30 a.m. A mortar round hit Baghdad's southern Dora district near the al-Sadreen Shiite mosque, killing one person and wounding two others, a Dora police officer said.
-10:30 a.m. Baqouba police reported finding the body of Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim, the imam at the al-Twubaa Sunni mosque. Police said the sheik was shot in the head and chest and had been tortured.
-1 p.m. The demonstration in Kufa and Najaf ends without incident after three hours.
-3:20 p.m. Diwaniyah police said the toll from the U.S.-Iraqi operation there against the Mahdi Army was 14 dead and 47 wounded since Friday. The figure includes both militants and civilians but gives no breakdown.
-5 p.m. Drive-by shooters killed Sheik Gelan Abdullah, member of Khalis city council and the preacher at the Sunni mosque. He was killed near his home in Hibhib, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, police said.
-10:03 p.m. Col. Tariq Yousif Theeyab, head of security forces in Anbar province, said 12 trucks loaded with chlorine gas have been seized at the border with Syria. Nine trucks carrying ammonium oxide also were held. The truck manifests said the chemicals were for the Ministry of Water Resources, but because of a series of suicide truck bombings using chlorine, the shipments were impounded while further checks were made.
Labels: al-Sadreen mosque, Badr Corps, Baqouba, Buhriz, chlorine gas trucks, Khalis, Mahdi Army, Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim, Sheik Gelan Abdullah
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Seized weapons caches appear on black market
Security
(Azzaman) The Ministry of Interior has launched an inquiry into how the weapons its forces capture during military operations find their way to black market again. A ministry source, refusing to be named, said the investigation was started following reports that Iraqi police officers resell the illegal weapons they seize. The source said initial findings point to covert links between gunmen and militia groups with ministry police forces. He said several officers have already been detained but declined to give further details.
COMMENT: The Iraqi security forces have for a long time been infiltrated by militia groups such as the Badr Corps (linked to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq) and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. It isn't hard for these groups to redirect the seized weapons to the black market. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Badr Corps, Iraqi Army, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq
