Thursday, October 04, 2007
UIA condemns recruitment of Sunni tribesmen into Iraqi police force
Security, Tribal, Politics
(Washington Post) - The largest Shiite political coalition in Iraq demanded Tuesday that the U.S. military abandon its recruitment of Sunni tribesmen into the Iraqi police, saying some are members of "armed terrorist groups" and are engaged in killing, kidnapping and extortion under the guise of fighting the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The statement by the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite bloc of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is the most direct rebuke to a policy that U.S. military officers hold up as one of their most important achievements over the past year.
U.S. forces have given wide support to thousands of Sunni tribesmen across the country who have pledged to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. officials describe the effort as promoting grass-roots reconciliation that brings disenfranchised Sunnis into the government and provides protection for their neighborhoods. U.S. officials acknowledge that many of the recruits have been involved with various Sunni insurgent groups; expressions of antipathy toward the Iraqi security forces and government are common among them.
"We condemn and reject embracing those terrorist elements which committed the most hideous crimes against our people," the United Iraqi Alliance statement said. It also condemned "authorizing the groups to conduct security acts away from the jurisdiction of the government and without its knowledge." The statement went on: "We demand that the American administration stop this adventure, which is rejected by all the sons of the people and its national political powers."
The U.S. military credits the partnerships with local Sunnis, a concept developed in Anbar province and replicated in many Sunni areas in and around Baghdad, as a primary factor in the declining violence over the past several months. In Washington on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, described these partnerships as a "success story" and said 1,700 volunteers from the town of Abu Ghraib graduated last week after a month of police academy training. "Anbar now stands as an inspiring example to the rest of the country for what is possible, as citizens come together to reject extremist behavior," Odierno said.
But some Iraqi and U.S. officials have long expressed reservations about whether the experience in Anbar province, which is largely Sunni, could be repeated in areas with mixed populations, such as Baghdad. "Now the problem is that the American Army has started to arm some Sunni groups . . . and give them salaries, and they've enabled them to control some mixed areas," Humam Hamoudi, a senior Shiite leader in the coalition, said in a recent interview. "This has provoked astonishment, rejection and rage."
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, said there are insufficient U.S. and Iraqi troops to defeat the extremists, so the local tribes provide an important supplement. He said the recruits should be accountable to the Iraqi security forces. "At this particular moment, we need these tribes. It might be for a short period," he said in an interview. "I can't understand the fears. Frankly, it's people talking nonsense, that these tribes might turn into militiamen the next day and be a threat to the Shias and attack whomever."
The statement by the United Iraqi Alliance, the Shiite bloc of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is the most direct rebuke to a policy that U.S. military officers hold up as one of their most important achievements over the past year.
U.S. forces have given wide support to thousands of Sunni tribesmen across the country who have pledged to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. officials describe the effort as promoting grass-roots reconciliation that brings disenfranchised Sunnis into the government and provides protection for their neighborhoods. U.S. officials acknowledge that many of the recruits have been involved with various Sunni insurgent groups; expressions of antipathy toward the Iraqi security forces and government are common among them.
"We condemn and reject embracing those terrorist elements which committed the most hideous crimes against our people," the United Iraqi Alliance statement said. It also condemned "authorizing the groups to conduct security acts away from the jurisdiction of the government and without its knowledge." The statement went on: "We demand that the American administration stop this adventure, which is rejected by all the sons of the people and its national political powers."
The U.S. military credits the partnerships with local Sunnis, a concept developed in Anbar province and replicated in many Sunni areas in and around Baghdad, as a primary factor in the declining violence over the past several months. In Washington on Tuesday, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, described these partnerships as a "success story" and said 1,700 volunteers from the town of Abu Ghraib graduated last week after a month of police academy training. "Anbar now stands as an inspiring example to the rest of the country for what is possible, as citizens come together to reject extremist behavior," Odierno said.
But some Iraqi and U.S. officials have long expressed reservations about whether the experience in Anbar province, which is largely Sunni, could be repeated in areas with mixed populations, such as Baghdad. "Now the problem is that the American Army has started to arm some Sunni groups . . . and give them salaries, and they've enabled them to control some mixed areas," Humam Hamoudi, a senior Shiite leader in the coalition, said in a recent interview. "This has provoked astonishment, rejection and rage."
Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni, said there are insufficient U.S. and Iraqi troops to defeat the extremists, so the local tribes provide an important supplement. He said the recruits should be accountable to the Iraqi security forces. "At this particular moment, we need these tribes. It might be for a short period," he said in an interview. "I can't understand the fears. Frankly, it's people talking nonsense, that these tribes might turn into militiamen the next day and be a threat to the Shias and attack whomever."
Labels: Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Sunni tribesmen, Tariq al-Hashimi, UIA
Friday, May 11, 2007
Speaker adjourns session after heated argument over deteriorating security situation
Politics
(Voices of Iraq) - The Iraqi House Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani adjourned Thursday's session until this Saturday half an hour after its start following a heated argument between Iraqi parliamentarians over a report on a sit-in staged by Diala residents in the Shiite city of Karbala, protesting the deteriorating security situation in their province and a demand by a woman legislator who branded the government as "weak" to summon the Prime Minister to attend the parliament session for deteriorating security in Iraq.
According to a parliamentary committee assigned to write a report on the situation following a field visit to Karbala, residents of Diala held a sit-in in the street linking the shrines of the third Shiite Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas, calling on the government to improve the security situation in Diala.
The report submitted to the parliament revealed that during one year 11,200 people were killed, 9,500 families displaced, 8,250 women widowed, 16,500 children orphaned, 66 Shiite tombs destroyed, 350 groves set on fire and an equal number looted. The report blamed the U.S. forces for the deteriorating situation in Diala.
Legislator Shatha al-Mousawi, from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition, asked the House Speaker to summon Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki along with interior and defense ministers to attend a special parliamentary session on the deteriorating security situation in Diala province and elsewhere in Iraq. She said the government is "weak." Diala is located in central Iraq, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, whereas Karbala, the second Shiite city after Najaf, is 110 km southwest of Baghdad.
According to a parliamentary committee assigned to write a report on the situation following a field visit to Karbala, residents of Diala held a sit-in in the street linking the shrines of the third Shiite Imam Hussein and his brother Abbas, calling on the government to improve the security situation in Diala.
The report submitted to the parliament revealed that during one year 11,200 people were killed, 9,500 families displaced, 8,250 women widowed, 16,500 children orphaned, 66 Shiite tombs destroyed, 350 groves set on fire and an equal number looted. The report blamed the U.S. forces for the deteriorating situation in Diala.
Legislator Shatha al-Mousawi, from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition, asked the House Speaker to summon Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki along with interior and defense ministers to attend a special parliamentary session on the deteriorating security situation in Diala province and elsewhere in Iraq. She said the government is "weak." Diala is located in central Iraq, 57 km northeast of Baghdad, whereas Karbala, the second Shiite city after Najaf, is 110 km southwest of Baghdad.
Labels: Diala, Karbala, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, politics, security, Shatha al-Mousawi, UIA
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Talabani - U.S. withdrawal will result in Kurdish-Shia military rule
Politics
(Al-Ra'y) President Jalal Talabani told the Amman-based "Al-Ra'y" in an interview published on March 13 that Iraq needs a reorganization of its political forces. "There are sectarian, nationalist, and ethnic camps in Iraq. This is not ideal. We need a national camp instead of having Sunni Arabs in a certain bloc and Shi'ite Arabs in another bloc. We need a national bloc that comprises all parties," he said.
Talabani added that the Kurdistan Coalition attempted to form an "alliance of moderates" comprising the two main Kurdish parties, the Iraqi Islamic Party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and the Iraqi National Accord, "but we did not succeed." "If we manage to unite a group of forces to form a national Iraqi front away from sectarian and nationalist blocs...that will be a great victory for Iraq," Talabani said. Asked about the withdrawal of Al-Fadilah from the Shi'ite-led United Iraqi Alliance, Talabani said it would not lead to the dismantling of the alliance, because the "Shi'a are united," though they may change from a coalition to a front in the future.
President Talabani told "Al-Ra'y" that a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq would result in Kurdish-Shi'ite military rule in Iraq. "The Kurds and the Shi'ites are prepared and they have hundreds of thousands of armed men and they can quickly control all of Iraq. I do not want to see Kurdish-Shi'ite despotism in the Iraqi military sphere," Talabani said.
He noted that Kurds could "take control of Mosul and the Arab areas there within hours" if given the opportunity. "This, however, is not in the interest of Iraq. There must be an Iraqi force that is made up of the main entities of the Iraqi people," he added. Asked about the return of former army officers to the military, Talabani said 80,000 officers who were members of the Ba'ath Party but not Saddam Hussein supporters were returned to service. "The Saddamists do not believe in elections and ballot boxes but in coups. Therefore we should not give them a chance to carry out such coups," he said.
Labels: Iraqi Islamic Party, Jalal Talabani, Kurds, SCIRI, UIA
Monday, March 12, 2007
Kurds express interest in joining Allawi's Iraqi National Front
Politics
(Al Hayat) Iraqi Kurds are considering abandoning their alliance with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shia-dominated coalition and instead forming a new coalition, the Iraqi National Front (INF), led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqi List and recently including the Shia Fadhila Party. Prominent Kurdish leader Mahmud Uthman told news agencies that the Kurds were interested "if it is confirmed that the coalition that Iyad Allawi is trying to form can bring together diverse parties capable of bringing about change in Iraq." The article also noted that there was speculation that the new coalition was being supported by the United States, as U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Allawi together visited Kurdistan recently just as Fadhila was withdrawing from the United Iraqi Alliance.
The same article also reports on a separate incident of special note regarding Iran. Kurdish authorities have declared martial law in the border area around Najwin and closed the border with Iran due to the infiltration of Iraqi territory by members of the terrorist Ansar al-Sunna Army (jaish ansar al-sunna). The article notes that members of the Kurdish border patrol have reported repeated attacks from Sunni terrorists coming from Iranian territory.
ThreatsWatch has reported on the formation of this new coaltion twice in the past two weeks. While I downplayed the significance of Fadhila's actions in these previous reports because of its limited influence outside its base in Basra, the potential addition of the Kurds is much more important. The Kurdish parties have been Maliki's only reliable non-Shia partners, and the defection of both Fadhila and the Kurds would deprive the government of its majority in parliament. This is all still somewhat speculative since the Kurds seem to be conditioning their inclusion on Allawi forming the rest of the coalition first, but an Allawi-led Sunni-Kurd-Fadhila coalition would force the prime minister to make radical changes in order to maintain any kind of governing coalition at all.
The association of Khalilzad with the formation of this new coalition, whether accurate or not, could have a negative affect on U.S. relations with the Maliki government if Maliki comes to believe that the U.S. is conspiring against him. There are potential positives that come from this news, but for the U.S. to be associated with attempts to form a new ruling coalition will backlash by reinforcing rampant accusations that the Iraqi government is an American puppet. This is even more true because Allawi was once funded by the CIA.
The same article also reports on a separate incident of special note regarding Iran. Kurdish authorities have declared martial law in the border area around Najwin and closed the border with Iran due to the infiltration of Iraqi territory by members of the terrorist Ansar al-Sunna Army (jaish ansar al-sunna). The article notes that members of the Kurdish border patrol have reported repeated attacks from Sunni terrorists coming from Iranian territory.
ThreatsWatch has reported on the formation of this new coaltion twice in the past two weeks. While I downplayed the significance of Fadhila's actions in these previous reports because of its limited influence outside its base in Basra, the potential addition of the Kurds is much more important. The Kurdish parties have been Maliki's only reliable non-Shia partners, and the defection of both Fadhila and the Kurds would deprive the government of its majority in parliament. This is all still somewhat speculative since the Kurds seem to be conditioning their inclusion on Allawi forming the rest of the coalition first, but an Allawi-led Sunni-Kurd-Fadhila coalition would force the prime minister to make radical changes in order to maintain any kind of governing coalition at all.
The association of Khalilzad with the formation of this new coalition, whether accurate or not, could have a negative affect on U.S. relations with the Maliki government if Maliki comes to believe that the U.S. is conspiring against him. There are potential positives that come from this news, but for the U.S. to be associated with attempts to form a new ruling coalition will backlash by reinforcing rampant accusations that the Iraqi government is an American puppet. This is even more true because Allawi was once funded by the CIA.
Labels: al-Maliki, Fadhela party, Iran, Iraqi National Front, Iyad Allawi, Kurds, Mahmud Uthman, UIA, United Iraqi Alliance
