Friday, October 12, 2007
State Dept. may limit or phase out use of private security guards in Iraq
(AP) -- The State Department may phase out or limit the use of private security guards in Iraq, which could mean canceling Blackwater USA's contract or awarding it to another company in line with an Iraqi government demand, The Associated Press has learned. Such steps would be difficult given U.S. reliance on Blackwater and other contractors, but they are among options being studied during a comprehensive review of security in Iraq, two senior officials said.
Condoleezza Rice to order the top-to-bottom review from a commission headed by Patrick Kennedy, one of the State Department's most experienced management officials. Kennedy has been told to concentrate on several key issues, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is still under way. Among them:
-Changes to the rules of engagement under which State Department security contractors operate, particularly for approaching suspicious vehicles, which is at the crux of the Sept. 16 incident. Blackwater insists its guards were fired upon, although Iraqi witnesses and the Iraqi government maintain the guards opened fire with no provocation when a vehicle got too close.
-Whether Blackwater's secretive corporate culture, reputed to have encouraged a "cowboy-like mentality," has led to its employees being more likely to violate or stretch the existing rules than those of the two other private security firms, Dyncorp and Triple Canopy, the State Department uses in Iraq.
-Whether it's feasible to eliminate or drastically curtail the use of private foreign contractors to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. And, if so, how to replace them.
Rice is eager for changes and has already accepted and implemented initial steps Kennedy urged in a preliminary report last week. They included improving government oversight of Blackwater by having federal agents accompany convoys and installing video cameras in their vehicles. Officials in the tight-knit world of security operatives in Baghdad said Blackwater was preparing a reorganization and possible downsizing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. The company, based in Moyock, N.C., does not speak publicly about its operations or plans. Calls and e-mail messages left with Blackwater on Wednesday were not returned.
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the AP that Washington was considering the findings of the Iraqi government's report into the incident and calls for reform. "But so far there has been no concrete answer from the U.S. Embassy showing it was definitely going to drop Blackwater," the aide said. The aide said the al-Maliki government told the U.S. Embassy, "We will draft and pass laws that would lift the immunity on these security companies to stop their reckless behavior."
Kennedy has been in Iraq for nearly two weeks with one of three outside experts Rice named to the commission, Eric Boswell, a former diplomat and intelligence official. The other two, retired Army Gen. George Joulwan and former Ambassador Stapleton Roy, were being briefed on the mission at the State Department on Wednesday before heading to Baghdad.
The officials said Kennedy's team was not expected to recommend eliminating all private contractors because it would have a profound impact on how U.S. diplomats work in Iraq. The State Department's own Bureau of Diplomatic Security lacks both the manpower and equipment, notably helicopters, to do the job, they said.
Blackwater is now the biggest of the three firms working for the department in Iraq with about 1,000 employees and handles protection in and around Baghdad, the most dangerous areas of the country. It has been paid as much as $1 billion for its work in Iraq. Dyncorp and Triple Canopy, which work in the north and south, are far smaller and face resource constraints.
Under the terms of the department's Worldwide Personal Protective Security contract, which covers privately contracted guards for diplomats in Iraq, Blackwater, Dyncorp and Triple Canopy are the only three companies eligible to bid on specific task orders there. If Blackwater goes, the slack would almost certainly have to be picked up by one or more other companies, which may require certifying other firms to bid, including non-U.S. ones, the officials said.
Of interest to the department is the possibility of forming Iraqi companies with Iraqi employees to protect U.S. diplomats as local guards do for embassy staff in other countries, they said. That would bring the guards fully under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law but is not a short-term option given inadequate training facilities. The Pentagon has been reluctant to provide security for diplomats but another alternative might be joint State-Defense department patrols. Yet another would be hiring Blackwater and other private guards as temporary U.S. government employees, the officials said.
Condoleezza Rice to order the top-to-bottom review from a commission headed by Patrick Kennedy, one of the State Department's most experienced management officials. Kennedy has been told to concentrate on several key issues, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the review is still under way. Among them:
-Changes to the rules of engagement under which State Department security contractors operate, particularly for approaching suspicious vehicles, which is at the crux of the Sept. 16 incident. Blackwater insists its guards were fired upon, although Iraqi witnesses and the Iraqi government maintain the guards opened fire with no provocation when a vehicle got too close.
-Whether Blackwater's secretive corporate culture, reputed to have encouraged a "cowboy-like mentality," has led to its employees being more likely to violate or stretch the existing rules than those of the two other private security firms, Dyncorp and Triple Canopy, the State Department uses in Iraq.
-Whether it's feasible to eliminate or drastically curtail the use of private foreign contractors to protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq. And, if so, how to replace them.
Rice is eager for changes and has already accepted and implemented initial steps Kennedy urged in a preliminary report last week. They included improving government oversight of Blackwater by having federal agents accompany convoys and installing video cameras in their vehicles. Officials in the tight-knit world of security operatives in Baghdad said Blackwater was preparing a reorganization and possible downsizing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity. The company, based in Moyock, N.C., does not speak publicly about its operations or plans. Calls and e-mail messages left with Blackwater on Wednesday were not returned.
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the AP that Washington was considering the findings of the Iraqi government's report into the incident and calls for reform. "But so far there has been no concrete answer from the U.S. Embassy showing it was definitely going to drop Blackwater," the aide said. The aide said the al-Maliki government told the U.S. Embassy, "We will draft and pass laws that would lift the immunity on these security companies to stop their reckless behavior."
Kennedy has been in Iraq for nearly two weeks with one of three outside experts Rice named to the commission, Eric Boswell, a former diplomat and intelligence official. The other two, retired Army Gen. George Joulwan and former Ambassador Stapleton Roy, were being briefed on the mission at the State Department on Wednesday before heading to Baghdad.
The officials said Kennedy's team was not expected to recommend eliminating all private contractors because it would have a profound impact on how U.S. diplomats work in Iraq. The State Department's own Bureau of Diplomatic Security lacks both the manpower and equipment, notably helicopters, to do the job, they said.
Blackwater is now the biggest of the three firms working for the department in Iraq with about 1,000 employees and handles protection in and around Baghdad, the most dangerous areas of the country. It has been paid as much as $1 billion for its work in Iraq. Dyncorp and Triple Canopy, which work in the north and south, are far smaller and face resource constraints.
Under the terms of the department's Worldwide Personal Protective Security contract, which covers privately contracted guards for diplomats in Iraq, Blackwater, Dyncorp and Triple Canopy are the only three companies eligible to bid on specific task orders there. If Blackwater goes, the slack would almost certainly have to be picked up by one or more other companies, which may require certifying other firms to bid, including non-U.S. ones, the officials said.
Of interest to the department is the possibility of forming Iraqi companies with Iraqi employees to protect U.S. diplomats as local guards do for embassy staff in other countries, they said. That would bring the guards fully under the jurisdiction of Iraqi law but is not a short-term option given inadequate training facilities. The Pentagon has been reluctant to provide security for diplomats but another alternative might be joint State-Defense department patrols. Yet another would be hiring Blackwater and other private guards as temporary U.S. government employees, the officials said.
Labels: Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Army Gen. George Joulwan, Blackwater, DynCorp, Eric Boswell, Nouri Al-Maliki, Patrick Kennedy, Triple Canopy, Worldwide Personal Protective Security contract
Friday, October 05, 2007
Corruption has cost Iraqi govt $18 bn.
Corruption
(Reuters) - Widespread corruption in Iraq stretches into the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, an Iraqi investigating judge told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday, and an American official said U.S. efforts to combat the problem are inadequate. Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, who was named by the United States in 2004 to head the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity, said his agency estimated corruption had cost the Iraqi government up to $18 billion.
Maliki has shielded relatives from investigation and allowed government ministers to protect implicated employees, said the judge, who left Iraq in August after threats against him. He told a Capitol Hill hearing that 31 employees of his agency had been killed. Radhi said he did not have evidence against Maliki personally, but the prime minister had "protected some of his relatives that were involved in corruption."
One of these was a former minister of transportation, Radhi told the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The U.S. official who testified, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, said he also saw a "rising tide of corruption in Iraq." He said U.S. efforts to combat it were "disappointing," lacking funding and focus.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the panel, questioned whether the Maliki government was "too corrupt to succeed" and charged that U.S. efforts to address the problem were in "complete disarray." He criticized what he said was State Department resistance to the panel's investigation, saying the U.S. government apparently was afraid the corruption revelations "might embarrass or hurt our relations with the Maliki government."
Larry Butler, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, declined to publicly answer questions about whether Maliki had obstructed corruption investigations, saying he could only respond in a closed session. Waxman called the request "absurd," but the State Department defended Butler's position. Spokesman Sean McCormack said in corruption investigations it was best to handle matters privately at first to protect the rights of those under suspicion.
Radhi said he did not return to Iraq because of threats to his security, but he also suggested Maliki was behind efforts to prosecute him if he went back. In his statement, he said 31 of his co-workers and 12 of their relatives had been killed because of their work. "This includes my staff member Mohammed Abd Salif who was gunned down with his seven-month pregnant wife," he said. The body of the father of another worker was found on a meat hook, he said. Radhi also said it had been impossible for the commission to adequately investigate oil corruption because Sunni and Shi'ite militias had control of the distribution of Iraqi oil.
Maliki has shielded relatives from investigation and allowed government ministers to protect implicated employees, said the judge, who left Iraq in August after threats against him. He told a Capitol Hill hearing that 31 employees of his agency had been killed. Radhi said he did not have evidence against Maliki personally, but the prime minister had "protected some of his relatives that were involved in corruption."
One of these was a former minister of transportation, Radhi told the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The U.S. official who testified, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, said he also saw a "rising tide of corruption in Iraq." He said U.S. efforts to combat it were "disappointing," lacking funding and focus.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who chairs the panel, questioned whether the Maliki government was "too corrupt to succeed" and charged that U.S. efforts to address the problem were in "complete disarray." He criticized what he said was State Department resistance to the panel's investigation, saying the U.S. government apparently was afraid the corruption revelations "might embarrass or hurt our relations with the Maliki government."
Larry Butler, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, declined to publicly answer questions about whether Maliki had obstructed corruption investigations, saying he could only respond in a closed session. Waxman called the request "absurd," but the State Department defended Butler's position. Spokesman Sean McCormack said in corruption investigations it was best to handle matters privately at first to protect the rights of those under suspicion.
Radhi said he did not return to Iraq because of threats to his security, but he also suggested Maliki was behind efforts to prosecute him if he went back. In his statement, he said 31 of his co-workers and 12 of their relatives had been killed because of their work. "This includes my staff member Mohammed Abd Salif who was gunned down with his seven-month pregnant wife," he said. The body of the father of another worker was found on a meat hook, he said. Radhi also said it had been impossible for the commission to adequately investigate oil corruption because Sunni and Shi'ite militias had control of the distribution of Iraqi oil.
Labels: corruption, Judge Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, Nouri Al-Maliki, Stuart Bowen
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Bin Laden threatens Iraq's Shiites in new video
(AFP) - Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden branded Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki a "traitorous apostate" in new video that threatens the Shiite Muslim majority in the violence-ravaged country. The 81-minute documentary-style video was made public on Thursday by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.
In it, bin Laden talks of a succession of US-backed government in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003 and taunts them for failing to end the US-led occupation of the country. His remarks were made in a documentary style video with English subtitles called "The Power of Truth" in which bin Laden appears in still photographs and video footage.
"We've seen (Iyad) Allawi's government come and go, yet the occupier did not leave; and the (Ibrahim) Jaafari government as well, yet the occupier did not leave. "And there is the traitorous apostate Maliki government taking the same line as the Jaafari government because it is just another face of it." The Al-Qaeda leader, a radical Sunni Muslim, makes a reference to Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims, to which he is virulently opposed, and threatens them with violence.
"It is not possible for such a large number of southerners to participate with American and its allies in violating Fallujah, Ramadi, Baquba, Mosul, Samarra, Qaim and other cities and villages and then in exchange have their region enjoy safety from harm and reaction." Those cities have predominantly Sunni Arab populations.
In it, bin Laden talks of a succession of US-backed government in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003 and taunts them for failing to end the US-led occupation of the country. His remarks were made in a documentary style video with English subtitles called "The Power of Truth" in which bin Laden appears in still photographs and video footage.
"We've seen (Iyad) Allawi's government come and go, yet the occupier did not leave; and the (Ibrahim) Jaafari government as well, yet the occupier did not leave. "And there is the traitorous apostate Maliki government taking the same line as the Jaafari government because it is just another face of it." The Al-Qaeda leader, a radical Sunni Muslim, makes a reference to Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims, to which he is virulently opposed, and threatens them with violence.
"It is not possible for such a large number of southerners to participate with American and its allies in violating Fallujah, Ramadi, Baquba, Mosul, Samarra, Qaim and other cities and villages and then in exchange have their region enjoy safety from harm and reaction." Those cities have predominantly Sunni Arab populations.
Labels: Al Qaeda, Nouri Al-Maliki, Osama bin Laden, video
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Maliki calls for majority government instead of unity government
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki criticized some political parties participating in the Iraqi government, saying that their role does not cope with the concept of the national unity government. He urged the parliament and the government to review the concept of forming the national unity government and forming a majority government instead of it.
The premier's statements came during his word delivered before the Iraqi parliament. Al-Maliki refused to allow reporters to attend the session and allowed only to the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite television to air the parliament's session. He blamed continued objections made by some participating parties in the government for the failure of the national unity government. "The national unity government's main focus should be the constitution and the signed agreements," he affirmed.
The withdrawal of a number of political blocs: the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), the secular Iraqi National List (INL) and the Shiite Sadrists, from Maliki's cabinet caused a big dilemma to the entire political process. "We should establish a partnership government instead of a national unity government which does not abide by rules of the national unity," the premier also said.
Speaking about the quintuple deal singed a few weeks ago by the parties to the four-way agreement plus the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, he described it as a "second step on the road to effectuating the political process and refreshing state institutions' performance in different fields."
He admitted that a stagnant situation faced the political process after the withdrawal of some political blocs.
Maliki attended Monday's session upon an invitation extended by parliament last weekMaliki was supposed to hold his weekly news briefing on Monday but it was cancelled due to his scheduled appearance before parliament today.
The premier's statements came during his word delivered before the Iraqi parliament. Al-Maliki refused to allow reporters to attend the session and allowed only to the state-run al-Iraqiya satellite television to air the parliament's session. He blamed continued objections made by some participating parties in the government for the failure of the national unity government. "The national unity government's main focus should be the constitution and the signed agreements," he affirmed.
The withdrawal of a number of political blocs: the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), the secular Iraqi National List (INL) and the Shiite Sadrists, from Maliki's cabinet caused a big dilemma to the entire political process. "We should establish a partnership government instead of a national unity government which does not abide by rules of the national unity," the premier also said.
Speaking about the quintuple deal singed a few weeks ago by the parties to the four-way agreement plus the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, he described it as a "second step on the road to effectuating the political process and refreshing state institutions' performance in different fields."
He admitted that a stagnant situation faced the political process after the withdrawal of some political blocs.
Maliki attended Monday's session upon an invitation extended by parliament last weekMaliki was supposed to hold his weekly news briefing on Monday but it was cancelled due to his scheduled appearance before parliament today.
Labels: Iraq, Nouri Al-Maliki, politics
Monday, September 10, 2007
19 regional states and organisations meet in Baghdad
Region
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Sunday inaugurated the 2nd conference for Iraq's neighbors in Baghdad with the participation of more than 19 states and organizations, stressing that his government "is resolved to regain security and uproot terrorism in the country. Iraq is resolved to regain security and stability and the government is determined to uproot terrorism," Maliki said in his speech to the participants.
The Prime Minister added "the Iraqi government is making progress in all fields and is working to invest the country's riches properly." Maliki received recently heavy criticism from U.S. officials and congressmen on the stalled progress towards passing what they described as "essential draft laws for achieving national reconciliation and wealth sharing."
"Iraqi institutions nowadays work according to the constitution that was approved by the Iraqi people in a general referendum. Among the major principles mentioned in that constitution are establishing good relations with neighbors, non-interfering in other countries' internal affairs, adopting dialogue as a means to solve problems and combating common challenges," Maliki told the conference.
The Iraqi premier who appreciated the presence of the participating delegations said "holding the 2nd conference in Baghdad has many implications, chiefly among them, showing support to Iraq and desire to establish sincere ties with it." Maliki expressed his government's keenness on overcoming the challenges posed by what he branded as "forces of evil, terrorism, gunmen and militias."
"The Iraqi government acts towards rebuilding the country's economy after the damage sustained due to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991," Maliki also said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari, on his part, urged, in his address, Iraq's neighbors to exert more efforts to help regain security and stability in the war-torn country. The conference was scheduled to be attended by 22 states and organization but the delay in the arrival of some delegations caused it to convene with the participation of delegations representing 19 states and organizations.
The Prime Minister added "the Iraqi government is making progress in all fields and is working to invest the country's riches properly." Maliki received recently heavy criticism from U.S. officials and congressmen on the stalled progress towards passing what they described as "essential draft laws for achieving national reconciliation and wealth sharing."
"Iraqi institutions nowadays work according to the constitution that was approved by the Iraqi people in a general referendum. Among the major principles mentioned in that constitution are establishing good relations with neighbors, non-interfering in other countries' internal affairs, adopting dialogue as a means to solve problems and combating common challenges," Maliki told the conference.
The Iraqi premier who appreciated the presence of the participating delegations said "holding the 2nd conference in Baghdad has many implications, chiefly among them, showing support to Iraq and desire to establish sincere ties with it." Maliki expressed his government's keenness on overcoming the challenges posed by what he branded as "forces of evil, terrorism, gunmen and militias."
"The Iraqi government acts towards rebuilding the country's economy after the damage sustained due to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991," Maliki also said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari, on his part, urged, in his address, Iraq's neighbors to exert more efforts to help regain security and stability in the war-torn country. The conference was scheduled to be attended by 22 states and organization but the delay in the arrival of some delegations caused it to convene with the participation of delegations representing 19 states and organizations.
Labels: Nouri Al-Maliki, regional conference
Al-Maliki admits Iraqi troops aren't ready to take over security
Security, Politics
(CNN) -- Iraq's prime minister Monday touted his government's efforts in thwarting "sectarian war" and acknowledged that Iraqi troops are not yet ready to fully take over security duties from the U.S.-led coalition.
"We have succeeded in preventing Iraq from going into sectarian war -- which threatened our dear Iraq -- and I am fully confident that national reconciliation is our only way that takes Iraq into safety in spite of all the destabilizing actions by local and international groups," said al-Maliki, who addressed the country's parliament, the Council of Representatives.
"Despite the security improvement, we still need more efforts and time in order for our armed forces to be able to take over security control in all Iraqi provinces from the multinational forces that helped us in a great way in fighting terrorism and outlaws" he told parliament.
Al-Maliki's comments came hours before U.S. Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker were to appear before Congress to deliver reports on military and political progress in Iraq. Both men have expressed disappointment in the al-Maliki government's efforts to foster national reconciliation and are expected to underscore their concerns about the environment in Iraq, which has been wracked by insurgent violence and sectarian civil warfare.
At the same time, they are expected to tout some military strides, including more support from Sunni tribes against al Qaeda in Iraq and more security in Baghdad. Al-Maliki said there has been a 75 percent drop in violence in Baghdad and nearby areas since the beefed-up Baghdad security plan started early in the year. "The key to reconstruction, economic development and improving peoples' standard of living is security," he said.
The prime minister's comments about Iraqi troop readiness jibes with last week's report from the Independent Commission on Security Forces in Iraq, headed by retired Gen. James L. Jones, the former top United States commander in Europe. It said that while there will be "continued improvement" in the "readiness and capability" of Iraqi security forces in the next 12 to 18 months, they still will not be able to "operate independently."
"We have succeeded in preventing Iraq from going into sectarian war -- which threatened our dear Iraq -- and I am fully confident that national reconciliation is our only way that takes Iraq into safety in spite of all the destabilizing actions by local and international groups," said al-Maliki, who addressed the country's parliament, the Council of Representatives.
"Despite the security improvement, we still need more efforts and time in order for our armed forces to be able to take over security control in all Iraqi provinces from the multinational forces that helped us in a great way in fighting terrorism and outlaws" he told parliament.
Al-Maliki's comments came hours before U.S. Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker were to appear before Congress to deliver reports on military and political progress in Iraq. Both men have expressed disappointment in the al-Maliki government's efforts to foster national reconciliation and are expected to underscore their concerns about the environment in Iraq, which has been wracked by insurgent violence and sectarian civil warfare.
At the same time, they are expected to tout some military strides, including more support from Sunni tribes against al Qaeda in Iraq and more security in Baghdad. Al-Maliki said there has been a 75 percent drop in violence in Baghdad and nearby areas since the beefed-up Baghdad security plan started early in the year. "The key to reconstruction, economic development and improving peoples' standard of living is security," he said.
The prime minister's comments about Iraqi troop readiness jibes with last week's report from the Independent Commission on Security Forces in Iraq, headed by retired Gen. James L. Jones, the former top United States commander in Europe. It said that while there will be "continued improvement" in the "readiness and capability" of Iraqi security forces in the next 12 to 18 months, they still will not be able to "operate independently."
Labels: Iraqi security forces, Nouri Al-Maliki
Friday, September 07, 2007
Ayatollah Al Sistani Demands To Remove Weapons From The Holy Cities
(Al Bayyna Newspaper) - 6 SEP - Yesterday, Prime Minister, Nuri Al Maliki, visited Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani and informed him of the recent progress in the political process. Also, Ayatollah Al Sistani demanded to remove weapons from the holy cities such as Karbala, Najaf and other cities. These cities need to be safe zones. Al Maliki said that he will meet with the Karbala and Najaf Provincial Councils. He confirmed that the vacant ministries will not remain empty. The government will choose ministers for these vacancies.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Karbala, Najaf, Nouri Al-Maliki, safe zones
Al-Maliki determined to flush out Mahdi Army from Najaf, Karbala shrines
Politics
(Azzaman) - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is determined to clear the holy shrines of Najaf and Karbala of armed supporters of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, sources in Maliki’s party al-Daawa said. They said Maliki made the pledge in a meeting with the country’s top Shiite clergyman, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Sadr has a political movement with a powerful military wing, the Mahdi Army, whose fighters have had until recently a dominant role among the multifarious Shiite militia groups in southern Iraq. But Sadr has ordered a six-month halt to operations targeting U.S. and Iraqi troops and his supporters are now rarely seen with arms in the streets of the two cities.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Maliki is considering a plan to ‘uproot’ Sadr supporters similar to the policy of debaathification under which members and supporters of the former regime have been prevented from holding government posts. But it is not clear how Maliki would carry out such a pledge amid reports that the popularity of the young cleric and his Sadr movement is growing, particularly among the Shiites in Bagdad and major towns in southern Iraq. The movement which has 30 deputies in parliament and has the right to fill five ministerial posts has frozen its participation in the government in protest against Maliki’s policies.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Maliki is considering a plan to ‘uproot’ Sadr supporters similar to the policy of debaathification under which members and supporters of the former regime have been prevented from holding government posts. But it is not clear how Maliki would carry out such a pledge amid reports that the popularity of the young cleric and his Sadr movement is growing, particularly among the Shiites in Bagdad and major towns in southern Iraq. The movement which has 30 deputies in parliament and has the right to fill five ministerial posts has frozen its participation in the government in protest against Maliki’s policies.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Karbala, Mahdi Army, Najaf, Nouri Al-Maliki
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Al-Maliki seeks Sistani's advice on filling empty ministerial posts
Politics
(Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met on Wednesday with the reclusive leader of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, to discuss a government crisis in which nearly half his cabinet has quit. Sistani is the sponsor of the prime minister's ruling United Alliance and rarely leaves his home in the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
Speaking after the meeting, Maliki told reporters he had come to Najaf to seek Sistani's advice on filling empty ministerial posts and to get his thoughts on the possibility of reforming the government. "I discussed with him the case of the government. I asked his help in forming a government and nominating new ministers, or if there is the possibility to form a new government based on technocrats," he said.
Maliki did not say how Sistani responded, and the cleric's office declined to comment. One of the biggest blocs in the United Alliance, the movement of fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, pulled out of the government in April in protest at Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for a U.S. troop timetable.
The biggest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, the Accordance Front, has also pulled out its ministers, accusing Maliki of sectarianism. The walkouts have dealt a blow to efforts to bridge the deep divide between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni Arab communities and reach agreement on laws seen by Washington as vital to fostering national reconciliation.
Amid calls by some Democrats in Washington for his ouster, Maliki is under growing pressure to show political progress to match the military gains that have been made in certain areas. Maliki also said he was considering a proposal to declare Iraq's holy cities, which are home to some of the most important shrines in Shi'ite Islam, weapons-free zones, with only the military entitled to be armed.
Speaking after the meeting, Maliki told reporters he had come to Najaf to seek Sistani's advice on filling empty ministerial posts and to get his thoughts on the possibility of reforming the government. "I discussed with him the case of the government. I asked his help in forming a government and nominating new ministers, or if there is the possibility to form a new government based on technocrats," he said.
Maliki did not say how Sistani responded, and the cleric's office declined to comment. One of the biggest blocs in the United Alliance, the movement of fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, pulled out of the government in April in protest at Maliki's refusal to set a timetable for a U.S. troop timetable.
The biggest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, the Accordance Front, has also pulled out its ministers, accusing Maliki of sectarianism. The walkouts have dealt a blow to efforts to bridge the deep divide between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni Arab communities and reach agreement on laws seen by Washington as vital to fostering national reconciliation.
Amid calls by some Democrats in Washington for his ouster, Maliki is under growing pressure to show political progress to match the military gains that have been made in certain areas. Maliki also said he was considering a proposal to declare Iraq's holy cities, which are home to some of the most important shrines in Shi'ite Islam, weapons-free zones, with only the military entitled to be armed.
"I am considering that holy shrines and sacred cities be peaceful places and disarmed of weapons and under the protection of the Iraqi army," Maliki said, without elaborating. The proposal follows fierce fighting near the Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines in Kerbala last week in which dozens of people were killed. The fighting disrupted a major religious festival and forced hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to flee. The gun battles appeared to involve Sadr's Mehdi Army militia and the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, a rival Shi'ite faction whose armed wing controls police in much of the south.
Labels: Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Najaf, Nouri Al-Maliki
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Al-Maliki to finalise nomination of new ministers
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Monday that he would finalize nominating ministers instead of the ministers of Sadrist bloc and Iraqi National List (INL), who withdrew from the government, while he did not replace the ministers of the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front hoping that they would return to the cabinet.
Speaking at a press conference in Baghdad, the premier said that "we waited for enough time and gave enough chances for all of those who walked away. I will wait for resumption of the parliament's sessions on Tuesday and within a week a list of names nominated for the vacant portfolios will be ready after consultations with other blocs and partners in the political process and then I will submit the list to the parliament," he also said.
The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) announced last month its withdrawal from the government and the resignation of five ministers in addition to Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zawbaie. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List (INL) also withdrew from the government on August 24. The INL portfolios included justice, communications, science and technology, human rights and a minister of state. The government consists of 37 ministers, including six state ministers.
The prime minister said that he finished only naming ministers instead of the Sadrist bloc's ministers. He said that he hoped the ministers of the IAF would return once again to the government, denying that he asked any bloc to nominate names instead of the IAF's ministers.
Speaking at a press conference in Baghdad, the premier said that "we waited for enough time and gave enough chances for all of those who walked away. I will wait for resumption of the parliament's sessions on Tuesday and within a week a list of names nominated for the vacant portfolios will be ready after consultations with other blocs and partners in the political process and then I will submit the list to the parliament," he also said.
The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) announced last month its withdrawal from the government and the resignation of five ministers in addition to Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zawbaie. Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List (INL) also withdrew from the government on August 24. The INL portfolios included justice, communications, science and technology, human rights and a minister of state. The government consists of 37 ministers, including six state ministers.
The prime minister said that he finished only naming ministers instead of the Sadrist bloc's ministers. He said that he hoped the ministers of the IAF would return once again to the government, denying that he asked any bloc to nominate names instead of the IAF's ministers.
Labels: Iraqi Acc, Iraqi National List, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sadrist bloc
Bush in attempt to highlight Al Anbar 'success' story
Security
(Al Jazeera) - US military tactics in Iraq's al-Anbar province are working and troop levels could be cut if similar "successes" are repeated across the country, the US president has insisted. George Bush spoke during a surprise Iraq visit on Monday before a key military report is presented to the US congress on the increase in American troop levels.
Amid a rising death toll among US soldiers, currently estimated at 3,700, and growing calls from the Democratic party and some fellow Republicans for a troop withdrawal, Bush is under increasing pressure to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The US president told marines at al-Asad air base: "Anbar is a huge province. It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq."
However, David Isenberg, a national security expert based in Washington, said: "Any place can be saved temporarily if you pump enough troops into it. "Anbar province has had a reduction in violence but that has very little to do with the 'surge'." Bush said any troop reduction would be based on "a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground" and "made from a position of strength".
At the air base, Bush also held what he called "good, frank" talks with leaders of Iraq's Shia Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, including Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and Jalal Talabani, the president. Bush's trip to Iraq coincided with the withdrawal of British troops from their last base in the southern city of Basra amid tensions between Washington and its main ally over their policy in Iraq.
Isenberg said: "Factions still run the city [Basra] - there is no rule of law. "People feel compelled to join factions for their own safety. The region is still essentially a Wild West." The US president departed from Iraq shortly before 20:00 GMT on Monday, Cynthia Bergman, a White House spokeswoman, said.
Bush made the trip primarily to hold a "war council" with senior US and Iraqi officials before a report by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, on the effect of the "surge" in US troop levels. "You are denying al-Qaeda a safe haven from which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against the United States of America," he told US soldiers who roared their approval.
He landed in al-Anbar province, once a Sunni Arab fighter stronghold now seen by the US military as a success story. The drop in violence in al-Anbar has been attributed to Sunni Arab leaders joining forces with the US military to combat al-Qaeda fighters. But security officials said that shortly before Bush's arrival, two car bombs went off in Ramadi, the provincial capital, killing four people and wounding 10. In Baghdad, police found 15 corpses of men shot dead.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said it would be political suicide for Bush to begin a real troop withdrawal in Iraq. "The US cannot withdraw from the Iraq because it will be humiliating for the American empire."
Amid a rising death toll among US soldiers, currently estimated at 3,700, and growing calls from the Democratic party and some fellow Republicans for a troop withdrawal, Bush is under increasing pressure to withdraw American troops from Iraq. The US president told marines at al-Asad air base: "Anbar is a huge province. It was once written off as lost. It is now one of the safest places in Iraq."
However, David Isenberg, a national security expert based in Washington, said: "Any place can be saved temporarily if you pump enough troops into it. "Anbar province has had a reduction in violence but that has very little to do with the 'surge'." Bush said any troop reduction would be based on "a calm assessment by our military commanders on the conditions on the ground" and "made from a position of strength".
At the air base, Bush also held what he called "good, frank" talks with leaders of Iraq's Shia Muslim, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, including Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, and Jalal Talabani, the president. Bush's trip to Iraq coincided with the withdrawal of British troops from their last base in the southern city of Basra amid tensions between Washington and its main ally over their policy in Iraq.
Isenberg said: "Factions still run the city [Basra] - there is no rule of law. "People feel compelled to join factions for their own safety. The region is still essentially a Wild West." The US president departed from Iraq shortly before 20:00 GMT on Monday, Cynthia Bergman, a White House spokeswoman, said.
Bush made the trip primarily to hold a "war council" with senior US and Iraqi officials before a report by General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, on the effect of the "surge" in US troop levels. "You are denying al-Qaeda a safe haven from which to plot and plan and carry out attacks against the United States of America," he told US soldiers who roared their approval.
He landed in al-Anbar province, once a Sunni Arab fighter stronghold now seen by the US military as a success story. The drop in violence in al-Anbar has been attributed to Sunni Arab leaders joining forces with the US military to combat al-Qaeda fighters. But security officials said that shortly before Bush's arrival, two car bombs went off in Ramadi, the provincial capital, killing four people and wounding 10. In Baghdad, police found 15 corpses of men shot dead.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said it would be political suicide for Bush to begin a real troop withdrawal in Iraq. "The US cannot withdraw from the Iraq because it will be humiliating for the American empire."
Bush was accompanied by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, and Stephen Hadley, his national security adviser. Waiting for them at the air base were Robert Gates, the defence secretary, and General Peter Pace, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Geoff Morrell, a Pentagon spokesman, said: "This is the last big gathering of the president's military advisers and the Iraqi leadership before the president decides on the way forward."
Next week, Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, are to testify before congress. They will focus on the impact of Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Iraq, a so-called "surge" that increased force numbers to 160,000.Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must hand legislators by September 15, is expected to determine the next phase of US military involvement in Iraq.
Next week, Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador in Baghdad, are to testify before congress. They will focus on the impact of Bush's decision to send an additional 30,000 US soldiers to Iraq, a so-called "surge" that increased force numbers to 160,000.Their assessment of the conflict, along with a progress report the White House must hand legislators by September 15, is expected to determine the next phase of US military involvement in Iraq.
Labels: Al Anbar, car bombs, General David Petraeus, George Bush, Jalal Talabani, Nouri Al-Maliki, Ryan Crocker
Monday, September 03, 2007
Al-Sadr threatens to take matters into own hands if Karbala investigation is not launched
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, has ordered an investigation into the deadly clashes surrounding a Shia religious celebration in Karbala last week. Sunday's announcement came after Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, called on the government to investigate the violence, which many have blamed on his own Mahdi Army militia. Al-Sadr's followers threatened to take action if the government rejected its demand, and criticised recent raids on Mahdi Army members by US and Iraqi forces.
Clashes in Karbala near the shrine of Imam Abbas saw more than 50 people killed and hundreds injured. Al-Maliki blamed "outlawed armed criminal gangs from the remnants of the buried Saddam regime" for the violence. He did not detail the make-up of the committee, but said that it would perform its duties "neutrally and professionally without being biased to any side". No specific time-frame for the investigation was given, but the statement said it would be concluded "as soon as possible".
Al-Sadr, who has denied that the Mahdi Army provoked the confrontation, announced a surprise six-month suspension of the militia's activities on Wednesday in an apparent bid to deflect criticism. Al-Maliki's office said the al-Sadr movement was "considered one of basic political blocs in Iraq and will remain an active and a real partner in the political process". A statement from al-Sadr called that comment "just ink on a pen".
On Sunday, al-Sadr threatened to take matters into his own hands if the government didn't open an investigation. In Najaf, Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr, said: "After the procrastination we had seen in the past two days, we warn the Iraqi government and the executive authorities in Karbala if they don't open a fair, neutral and quick investigation, the Sadr office will be obliged to take unspecified measures.
"We are trying our best to save the blood of Muslims to stem the strife."
A statement from al-Sadr's office said that more than 200 of his followers had been detained by Iraqi security forces in the past three days in Karbala. Iraqi government has said 72 people had been detained, and that al-Sadr's followers were not being targeted. Jawad al-Hasnawi, an al-Sadrist member of Karbala's provincial council, said al-Maliki had promised to stop detaining people in connection with the incident but "despite the promises ... detentions are still going on". He said: "They have taken us back to the era of the former dictatorship."
Clashes in Karbala near the shrine of Imam Abbas saw more than 50 people killed and hundreds injured. Al-Maliki blamed "outlawed armed criminal gangs from the remnants of the buried Saddam regime" for the violence. He did not detail the make-up of the committee, but said that it would perform its duties "neutrally and professionally without being biased to any side". No specific time-frame for the investigation was given, but the statement said it would be concluded "as soon as possible".
Al-Sadr, who has denied that the Mahdi Army provoked the confrontation, announced a surprise six-month suspension of the militia's activities on Wednesday in an apparent bid to deflect criticism. Al-Maliki's office said the al-Sadr movement was "considered one of basic political blocs in Iraq and will remain an active and a real partner in the political process". A statement from al-Sadr called that comment "just ink on a pen".
On Sunday, al-Sadr threatened to take matters into his own hands if the government didn't open an investigation. In Najaf, Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr, said: "After the procrastination we had seen in the past two days, we warn the Iraqi government and the executive authorities in Karbala if they don't open a fair, neutral and quick investigation, the Sadr office will be obliged to take unspecified measures.
"We are trying our best to save the blood of Muslims to stem the strife."
A statement from al-Sadr's office said that more than 200 of his followers had been detained by Iraqi security forces in the past three days in Karbala. Iraqi government has said 72 people had been detained, and that al-Sadr's followers were not being targeted. Jawad al-Hasnawi, an al-Sadrist member of Karbala's provincial council, said al-Maliki had promised to stop detaining people in connection with the incident but "despite the promises ... detentions are still going on". He said: "They have taken us back to the era of the former dictatorship."
Labels: Karbala, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Iraq's parliament will not hold a vote of no confidence
Politics
(Stratfor) - Iraq's parliament will not hold a vote of no confidence for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government yet, but could do so if the government continues to splinter and loses majority support, Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdel Mahdi said in an interview with Reuters late Aug. 28 while visiting Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Abdel Mahdi is one of two vice presidents and could be a successor to al-Maliki, though he denies having ambitions for the position.
Labels: Adel Abdel Mahdi, Iraqi government, Nouri Al-Maliki
Sistani aides kidnapped in Mahdi Army controlled area of Karbala
Security
(KUNA) -- Angered by Tuesday's clashes between policemen of Karbala City and the Shiite militia of Al-Mahdi's Army, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki decided Wednesday to sack commander of police operations' center Major General Saleh Khazal Al-Maliki and run the center by himself. He also fired 1,500 other police officers. Al-Maliki's decree sacking the police chief and other police officers was meant to blame them of professional incompetence, Spokesman of Iraqi Ministry of Defense Staff Major General Mohammad Al-Askari told KUNA here.
The Prime Minister visited the embattled city earlier in the day to defuse the two-day riots and chaos among Iraqis during religious Shiite rites. Soon after his arrival in Karbala, Al-Maliki convened with Minister of Defense Mohammad Abdul-Qader Al-Ubaidi and National Security Advisor Mowaffaq Al-Rubaiei as well as local military and civilian leaders. He imposed a curfew as of Wednesday morning pending further notice and ordered the arrest of anyone who breaks his instructions. Al-Maliki held "criminal gangs" and "remnants of Al-Baath Party" responsible for the riots and attacks against visitors of the holy city. He vowed to track down the perpetrators and culprits of the riots that left 55 dead and some 300 others injured.
The malicious design targeting the stability in the holy city and the safety of its citizens was aborted, the prime minister asserted, adding that the situation was brought under full control of the security forces after the arrival of military backup. The militants targeted to occupy the two holy shrines and topple Al-Maliki's government, Al-Rubaiei said. Commandoes took part in normalizing the situation in the southern Iraqi city, he added.
However, local sources told KUNA two secretaries of the Shiite cleric Al-Sistani; Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalaei and Ahmad Al-Safi were still seized in areas adjacent to the two holy shrines of the city which are under full control of Al-Mahdi Army.
Labels: Ahmad Al-Safi, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Karbala, Mahdi Army, Major General Saleh Khazal Al-Maliki, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalaei
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Iranian acts force Kurds to flee homes as the Iraqi govt is blamed for not taking action
Security, Kurdistan
(Voices of Iraq) - Hundreds of panicky Kurdish families inhabiting border areas with neighboring Iran had to flee their homes after Iranian shelling targeted villages at the foot of Mount Qandeel in Sulaimaniya province, 364 km northeast of Baghdad. The families are now living in groups in tents near rivers and wells, waiting for the government's helping hand that is never outstretched.
Iran has been shelling border areas in Qalaat Daza, 135 km northewest of Sulaimaniya; Haj Omran, 147 km northeast of Arbil; and Banjwin district, 96 km northeast of Sulaimaniya for two weeks now under the pretext of tracking down PJAK fighters. Turkey, also, was shelling border areas in the northern Iraqi province of Duhuk under the pretext of fighting members of imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Kurdish sources said the shelling caused damage to property and fires in Kurdish forests.
Iran has been shelling border areas in Qalaat Daza, 135 km northewest of Sulaimaniya; Haj Omran, 147 km northeast of Arbil; and Banjwin district, 96 km northeast of Sulaimaniya for two weeks now under the pretext of tracking down PJAK fighters. Turkey, also, was shelling border areas in the northern Iraqi province of Duhuk under the pretext of fighting members of imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Kurdish sources said the shelling caused damage to property and fires in Kurdish forests.
PJAK (Partiya Jiyana Azada Kurdistanê in Kurdish or Kurdistan Free Life Party) is a Kurdish military opposition group founded in 2004, said to be linked to the PKK. PJAK, although a newly established organization, continuously launches militant operations against Iranian army forces, so that in 2005, in less than 6 months, it killed 120 Iranian police and wounded tens more.
Homeless families complain of a lack of humanitarian relief from any organization, in light of immense material losses, as the shelling sets their lands on fire. Each of the villages of Maradawa, Arka, Aki, Sirw, Sora Kola, Spilka, Eleih and Rash have received more than 50 Iranian artillery shells. Hundreds of acres of orchards were burnt. The attacks caused no casualties.
In the village of Sora Kola, life seems to have come to a standstill. Only seven houses were still standing and all were vacant except one, where the men of the village gathered together. Their families had fled scores of kilometers away. "We hold (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki responsible for the burnt orchards and gardens. These incidents took place only after his (recent) visits to Syria, Iran and Turkey," 56-year-old Hamad Hassan told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) while leaning on his pillow and sadly looking at the burnt fields.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdistan region's security force (Peshmerga) had held the central government in Baghdad responsible for any decision representing "a reply to Iranian shelling." "The problem is occurring on international borders. It is Baghdad's responsibility," the Peshmerga spokesman Jabbar Yawir, said.
In one of the PJAK strongholds Amir Kerimi, a member of the Kurdish group's administrative body, said "Iran's attacks began right after Maliki visited Syria, Turkey and Iran and made agreements with those countries." On concerns that Mount Qandeel might turn into a haven for al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq if the PJAK and PKK fighters withdraw, Kerimi replied "No force can ever take Mount Qandeel from us."
PJAK is a splinter group of the PKK. It separated from it after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was imprisoned in Turkish jails. The nearly 3,000 PJAK fighters then started their armed struggle against the Iranian authorities, with the aim of "building federalism for Iran's Kurdistan."
Homeless families complain of a lack of humanitarian relief from any organization, in light of immense material losses, as the shelling sets their lands on fire. Each of the villages of Maradawa, Arka, Aki, Sirw, Sora Kola, Spilka, Eleih and Rash have received more than 50 Iranian artillery shells. Hundreds of acres of orchards were burnt. The attacks caused no casualties.
In the village of Sora Kola, life seems to have come to a standstill. Only seven houses were still standing and all were vacant except one, where the men of the village gathered together. Their families had fled scores of kilometers away. "We hold (Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri) al-Maliki responsible for the burnt orchards and gardens. These incidents took place only after his (recent) visits to Syria, Iran and Turkey," 56-year-old Hamad Hassan told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) while leaning on his pillow and sadly looking at the burnt fields.
A spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdistan region's security force (Peshmerga) had held the central government in Baghdad responsible for any decision representing "a reply to Iranian shelling." "The problem is occurring on international borders. It is Baghdad's responsibility," the Peshmerga spokesman Jabbar Yawir, said.
In one of the PJAK strongholds Amir Kerimi, a member of the Kurdish group's administrative body, said "Iran's attacks began right after Maliki visited Syria, Turkey and Iran and made agreements with those countries." On concerns that Mount Qandeel might turn into a haven for al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq if the PJAK and PKK fighters withdraw, Kerimi replied "No force can ever take Mount Qandeel from us."
PJAK is a splinter group of the PKK. It separated from it after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was imprisoned in Turkish jails. The nearly 3,000 PJAK fighters then started their armed struggle against the Iranian authorities, with the aim of "building federalism for Iran's Kurdistan."
Labels: Duhuk, Iran, Mount Qandeel, Nouri Al-Maliki, Peshmerga, PJAK, PKK, Sulaimaniya province, Turkey
52 dead in Karbala as rival Shiite militias battle for power
Security
(Al Jazeera) - Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, has ordered an indefinite curfew in Karbala, Iraqi state TV says, a day after fighting left at least 52 people dead during an annual Shia pilgrimage. A spokesman for al-Maliki said on Wednesday that he had arrived in Karbala to inspect the situation. Al-Maliki said on Wednesday that his troops had restored calm to the city and blamed "outlawed armed criminal gangs from the remnants of the buried Saddam regime" for the violence.
However, the violence among rival Shia factions appeared to have spread overnight. Fighters attacked the offices of a powerful Shia party in at least five cities, setting many of them ablaze. In a separate incident on Wednesday in Mosul to the north, armed men raided an Iraqi police checkpoint on Wednesday and killed five policemen and a civilian, police said.
Al-Maliki, in a statement on Wednesday, said: "The situation in Karbala is under control after military reinforcements arrived and police and military special forces have spread throughout the city to purge those killers and criminals." Sporadic and occasionally sustained gunfire could still be heard after dawn in the city, coming from the area around the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas.
The fighting killed 52 people and wounded 206 on Tuesday, a senior security official in Baghdad said. The general director of the al-Hussein hospital in Karbala, 110km south of the capital, said it had received 34 bodies and treated 239 wounded. Ali Kadhum, an official at the shrines' media office, said the two shrines had been slightly damaged, with bullets hitting their domes and minarets and an electric power station ruined.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered in the city to mark the birthday of the 12th and last Shia imam. The interior ministry accused al-Mahdi army, a militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, of attacking government forces in Karbala, the site of two shrines under the control of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC). Al-Sadr's forces are vying with the SIIC for power in the regions south of Baghdad.
Al-Sadr called for calm on Tuesday night but police said SIIC buildings were torched overnight in Baghdad's Kadhimiya neighbourhood, in the city of Kufa, in Iskandariya and in al-Hamza district of Babil province. Another SIIC headquarters was struck by rocket-propelled grenades in the centre of Najaf.
This week's Shia pilgrimage was to have reached its high point on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Thousands thronged the city to mark the12th imam's birthday. Pilgrims had earlier complained about the level of security - which they said was so high it made movement frustratingly slow near the Imam al-Hussein mosque. Security was high as pilgrims have been killed in previous years by suicide bombers.
Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said al-Maliki had dispatched more troops to the area from Baghdad and the surrounding areas. Khalaf described the armed men as "criminals" and said that the curfew was imposed because of fears for the large mass of pilgrims. He said: "The situation now is under control, but what is worrying is that the pilgrims are in huge numbers."
However, the violence among rival Shia factions appeared to have spread overnight. Fighters attacked the offices of a powerful Shia party in at least five cities, setting many of them ablaze. In a separate incident on Wednesday in Mosul to the north, armed men raided an Iraqi police checkpoint on Wednesday and killed five policemen and a civilian, police said.
Al-Maliki, in a statement on Wednesday, said: "The situation in Karbala is under control after military reinforcements arrived and police and military special forces have spread throughout the city to purge those killers and criminals." Sporadic and occasionally sustained gunfire could still be heard after dawn in the city, coming from the area around the shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas.
The fighting killed 52 people and wounded 206 on Tuesday, a senior security official in Baghdad said. The general director of the al-Hussein hospital in Karbala, 110km south of the capital, said it had received 34 bodies and treated 239 wounded. Ali Kadhum, an official at the shrines' media office, said the two shrines had been slightly damaged, with bullets hitting their domes and minarets and an electric power station ruined.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had gathered in the city to mark the birthday of the 12th and last Shia imam. The interior ministry accused al-Mahdi army, a militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia leader, of attacking government forces in Karbala, the site of two shrines under the control of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC). Al-Sadr's forces are vying with the SIIC for power in the regions south of Baghdad.
Al-Sadr called for calm on Tuesday night but police said SIIC buildings were torched overnight in Baghdad's Kadhimiya neighbourhood, in the city of Kufa, in Iskandariya and in al-Hamza district of Babil province. Another SIIC headquarters was struck by rocket-propelled grenades in the centre of Najaf.
This week's Shia pilgrimage was to have reached its high point on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Thousands thronged the city to mark the12th imam's birthday. Pilgrims had earlier complained about the level of security - which they said was so high it made movement frustratingly slow near the Imam al-Hussein mosque. Security was high as pilgrims have been killed in previous years by suicide bombers.
Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said al-Maliki had dispatched more troops to the area from Baghdad and the surrounding areas. Khalaf described the armed men as "criminals" and said that the curfew was imposed because of fears for the large mass of pilgrims. He said: "The situation now is under control, but what is worrying is that the pilgrims are in huge numbers."
COMMENT: Tensions are high in southern Iraq as the Mahdi Army and the Badr Organisation (the militia arm of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council - SIIC) fight for power. These tensions could easily escalate. Several issues have added to the hostilities between the rival groups; the recent assassinations of two SIIC governors, and the power vacuum left in Basrah as the British have decreased their presence. The security forces in karbala are also heavily infiltrated by the Badr Organisation. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Badr Organisation, curfew, Karbala, Mahdi Army, Major-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sha'abaniya, Shiite pilgrims, SIIC
Ahmadinejad says Iran is ready to fill power vacuum in Iraq
Region, Politics
(Gulf News) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that US political influence in Iraq is "collapsing rapidly" and said his government is ready to help fill any power vacuum. The hard-line leader also defended Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, a fellow Shiite Muslim who has been harshly criticised by American politicians for his unsuccessful efforts to reconcile Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.
"The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a news conference, referring to US troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation."
Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on his remarks, an unusual declaration of Iran's interest in influencing its neighbor's future. The mention of a Saudi role appeared aimed at allaying the fears of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim nations that Iran wants to dominate in Iraq. Even though Saudi Arabia and Iran have not cooperated in the past, it "doesn't mean it can't happen," Ahmadinejad said.
Iran fought a brutal eight-year war with Saddam Hussein's regime and welcomed the elimination of a deeply hated enemy. But Iran also strongly objects to the presence of America, another rival, over its eastern and western borders in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Occupation is the root of all problems in Iraq," Ahmadinejad said. "It has become clear that occupiers are not able to resolve regional issues. They rudely say (the Iraqi) prime minister and the constitution must change," Ahmadinejad said of US critics. "Who are you? Who has given you the right" to ask for such a change, he added.
Ousting Al Maliki, a longtime Shiite political activist, would require a majority vote in the 275-member Iraqi parliament. As long as the Kurdish parties and the main Shiite bloc back al-Maliki, his opponents lack the votes for that. Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of any US military action against Iran, saying Washington has no plan and is not in a position to take such action.
"The political power of the occupiers is collapsing rapidly," Ahmadinejad said at a news conference, referring to US troops in Iraq. "Soon, we will see a huge power vacuum in the region. Of course, we are prepared to fill the gap, with the help of neighbors and regional friends like Saudi Arabia, and with the help of the Iraqi nation."
Ahmadinejad did not elaborate on his remarks, an unusual declaration of Iran's interest in influencing its neighbor's future. The mention of a Saudi role appeared aimed at allaying the fears of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim nations that Iran wants to dominate in Iraq. Even though Saudi Arabia and Iran have not cooperated in the past, it "doesn't mean it can't happen," Ahmadinejad said.
Iran fought a brutal eight-year war with Saddam Hussein's regime and welcomed the elimination of a deeply hated enemy. But Iran also strongly objects to the presence of America, another rival, over its eastern and western borders in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Occupation is the root of all problems in Iraq," Ahmadinejad said. "It has become clear that occupiers are not able to resolve regional issues. They rudely say (the Iraqi) prime minister and the constitution must change," Ahmadinejad said of US critics. "Who are you? Who has given you the right" to ask for such a change, he added.
Ousting Al Maliki, a longtime Shiite political activist, would require a majority vote in the 275-member Iraqi parliament. As long as the Kurdish parties and the main Shiite bloc back al-Maliki, his opponents lack the votes for that. Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of any US military action against Iran, saying Washington has no plan and is not in a position to take such action.
Labels: Iran, Iraq, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Nouri Al-Maliki, Saudi Arabia, U.S.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Sunni politicians have doubts on political deal
Politics
(Al Jazeera) - Iraq's Sunni politicians have expressed doubt that the US-backed prime minister will deliver on goals set down in an agreement hammered out by the country's top leaders over the weekend. Under intense US pressure, Nuri al-Maliki and four other senior leaders declared on Sunday that they had reached a consensus on a number of issues. These included freeing detainees held without charge, easing the ban on former Saddam Hussein supporters in government posts, regulating the oil industry and holding provincial elections. No details were released, and most measures require parliamentary approval.
Some key Sunni figures on Monday dismissed the agreement as a stalling tactic by al-Maliki to ease pressure from Washington. "Our position is that this meeting represents a new phase of procrastination and does not honestly aim at solving the problems quickly," Khalaf al-Ilyan, a leader of the Sunni bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, said. "I think that no real or practical solution will come out of this."
Another Front leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said the accord included "good decisions that would serve the whole Iraqi people". "But we doubt that they will be implemented," he said. "All our experience with al-Maliki indicates that this is another new set of delaying measures. They give you a glimmer of hope, but at the end of the day you get nothing but promises."
Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, has expressed frustration over the lack of movement towards political reconciliation among the Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions, but called Sunday's accord an "important step forward for political progress, national reconciliation and development". He attended Sunday's meeting with al-Maliki along with Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the Shia vice-president, Tariq al-Hashemi, the Sunni Arab vice-president, Massoud Barzani the head of the northern autonomous Kurdish region and President Jalal Talabani, who is also a Kurd.
But the deal did not convince the main Sunni Arab political bloc to take back the government posts they abandoned this month over differences with al-Maliki, a Shia. The Sunni walkout has paralysed the government ahead of a crucial report to the US congress by Crocker and General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq. In a step towards implementing the deal, US and Iraqi officials announced on Monday that US-led forces would increase the number of detainees released during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in September. They did not say how many would be freed.
Some key Sunni figures on Monday dismissed the agreement as a stalling tactic by al-Maliki to ease pressure from Washington. "Our position is that this meeting represents a new phase of procrastination and does not honestly aim at solving the problems quickly," Khalaf al-Ilyan, a leader of the Sunni bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, said. "I think that no real or practical solution will come out of this."
Another Front leader, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said the accord included "good decisions that would serve the whole Iraqi people". "But we doubt that they will be implemented," he said. "All our experience with al-Maliki indicates that this is another new set of delaying measures. They give you a glimmer of hope, but at the end of the day you get nothing but promises."
Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, has expressed frustration over the lack of movement towards political reconciliation among the Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions, but called Sunday's accord an "important step forward for political progress, national reconciliation and development". He attended Sunday's meeting with al-Maliki along with Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the Shia vice-president, Tariq al-Hashemi, the Sunni Arab vice-president, Massoud Barzani the head of the northern autonomous Kurdish region and President Jalal Talabani, who is also a Kurd.
But the deal did not convince the main Sunni Arab political bloc to take back the government posts they abandoned this month over differences with al-Maliki, a Shia. The Sunni walkout has paralysed the government ahead of a crucial report to the US congress by Crocker and General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq. In a step towards implementing the deal, US and Iraqi officials announced on Monday that US-led forces would increase the number of detainees released during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in September. They did not say how many would be freed.
Labels: Adnan al-Dulaimi, Iraqi Accordance Front, Khalaf al-Ilyan, Nouri Al-Maliki, politics
A move towards national reconciliation
Politics
(The Guardian) - Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, and fellow leaders in the country have reached consensus on key areas of national reconciliation, under mounting US pressure to demonstrate political progress on the eve of a key report to Congress on the Baghdad security "surge". The Shia prime minister appeared on television flanked by Jalal Talabani, the country's Kurdish president, and the Sunni vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi, to announce a deal on easing restrictions on former members of the Ba'ath party joining the civil service and military.
Easing de-Ba'athification laws passed after the 2003 US invasion has long been seen as a vital step if disenchanted Sunnis, who formed the backbone of Saddam Hussein's regime and, since its fall, of the insurgency, are to be persuaded to take part in Iraqi political life. Agreement was also reported on holding provincial elections and releasing detainees held without charge across the country, two more of the "benchmarks" set by the Bush administration for political movement it hopes will stave off mounting congressional demands for a withdrawal from Iraq.
It was not immediately clear how, or when, these moves would be implemented and how far they would go to reversing the almost total Sunni boycott of the cabinet - the centre of Mr Maliki's difficulties. The beleaguered prime minister, facing mounting criticism from within the Bush administration, announced earlier that Mr Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic party was about to join with the four Shia and Kurdish parties which recently forged an alliance.
Mr Maliki said a committee formed by the parties had reviewed the current political stalemate and "accomplished some solutions". Last week a US national intelligence report cast doubt on Mr Maliki's ability to heal the country's sectarian divide and predicted "the Iraqi government will become more precarious over the next six to 12 months".
There were further signs of Mr Maliki's weakening grip on power when the former temporary prime minister, Ayad Allawi, removed his faction from the "unity" government on Saturday and put himself forward as an alternative. The growing pressure on the Iraqi leader comes at a sensitive moment in relations between Washington and Baghdad. The American commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, will soon present Congress with his analysis of the success or otherwise of the so-called "surge".
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence said last night that British forces have withdrawn from a base in Basra that they had shared with Iraqi police in the first phase of a plan to move all troops out of the city centre. A small number of troops had been stationed at the provincial joint coordination centre where they had been helping to train Iraqi police. Control of the facility has now been handed over to the Iraqi army.
Easing de-Ba'athification laws passed after the 2003 US invasion has long been seen as a vital step if disenchanted Sunnis, who formed the backbone of Saddam Hussein's regime and, since its fall, of the insurgency, are to be persuaded to take part in Iraqi political life. Agreement was also reported on holding provincial elections and releasing detainees held without charge across the country, two more of the "benchmarks" set by the Bush administration for political movement it hopes will stave off mounting congressional demands for a withdrawal from Iraq.
It was not immediately clear how, or when, these moves would be implemented and how far they would go to reversing the almost total Sunni boycott of the cabinet - the centre of Mr Maliki's difficulties. The beleaguered prime minister, facing mounting criticism from within the Bush administration, announced earlier that Mr Hashemi's Iraqi Islamic party was about to join with the four Shia and Kurdish parties which recently forged an alliance.
Mr Maliki said a committee formed by the parties had reviewed the current political stalemate and "accomplished some solutions". Last week a US national intelligence report cast doubt on Mr Maliki's ability to heal the country's sectarian divide and predicted "the Iraqi government will become more precarious over the next six to 12 months".
There were further signs of Mr Maliki's weakening grip on power when the former temporary prime minister, Ayad Allawi, removed his faction from the "unity" government on Saturday and put himself forward as an alternative. The growing pressure on the Iraqi leader comes at a sensitive moment in relations between Washington and Baghdad. The American commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, will soon present Congress with his analysis of the success or otherwise of the so-called "surge".
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence said last night that British forces have withdrawn from a base in Basra that they had shared with Iraqi police in the first phase of a plan to move all troops out of the city centre. A small number of troops had been stationed at the provincial joint coordination centre where they had been helping to train Iraqi police. Control of the facility has now been handed over to the Iraqi army.
Labels: Basra, British forces, debaathification, detainees, Jalal Talabani, national reconciliation, Nouri Al-Maliki, provincial elections, Tariq Al Hashemi
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Al-Sadr - Maliki's government is on the brink of collapse
Politics
(AP) - A top Iraqi Shiite militia leader predicted Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's government was nearing its end because it has been tainted by its close work with American forces, a British newspaper reported on Monday. Cleric Moqtada Al Sadr told The Independent newspaper that Al Maliki's government was on the brink of collapse, despite efforts to bolster its base of support.
"Al Maliki's government will not survive because he has proven that he will not work with important elements of the Iraqi people," the cleric was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "The prime minister is a tool for the Americans, and people see that clearly. It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation."
Al Sadr had been among Al Maliki's strongest supporters. Early this year, Al Sadr agreed to government appeals to tone down his anti-American rhetoric and not directly challenge the waves of US soldiers trying to regain control of Baghdad.
However, he broke with Al Maliki, a fellow Shiite, in April and withdrew his five supporters from the Iraqi Cabinet to protest the prime minister's refusal to demand a timetable for the pullout of US forces from Iraq. During the interview, conducted in the southern Iraqi city of Kufa, Al Sadr also declared that British forces had been defeated in Iraq and would be forced to pull out sooner than they planned.
He said resistance and a rising death toll among troops had forced a withdrawal. "The British have given up and they know they will be leaving Iraq soon," Al Sadr was quoted as saying. "They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt."
"Al Maliki's government will not survive because he has proven that he will not work with important elements of the Iraqi people," the cleric was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "The prime minister is a tool for the Americans, and people see that clearly. It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation."
Al Sadr had been among Al Maliki's strongest supporters. Early this year, Al Sadr agreed to government appeals to tone down his anti-American rhetoric and not directly challenge the waves of US soldiers trying to regain control of Baghdad.
However, he broke with Al Maliki, a fellow Shiite, in April and withdrew his five supporters from the Iraqi Cabinet to protest the prime minister's refusal to demand a timetable for the pullout of US forces from Iraq. During the interview, conducted in the southern Iraqi city of Kufa, Al Sadr also declared that British forces had been defeated in Iraq and would be forced to pull out sooner than they planned.
He said resistance and a rising death toll among troops had forced a withdrawal. "The British have given up and they know they will be leaving Iraq soon," Al Sadr was quoted as saying. "They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that, they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt."
Labels: government, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Nouri Al-Maliki
