#1 Adnan Darwash
Group:Guests
Posted 28 September 2011 - 12:12 PM
According to the 2008 security agreement, all US military personnel should leave Iraq by the end of December 2011. That seems to be a clear-cut and forgone issue. But on the ground, the US started to push its agents in government to confuse and mix files in order to keep 20-30000 heavily-armed US forces, occupying strategic and far away bases, in order to support the activities of an army of civilian contractors, dirty-work squads, DIA and CIA agents and to protect over 3000 ‘diplomats’ in their biggest embassy in the world. This will in practice give the US a tight control on the Iraqi intelligence, the military establishment and the political decisions.
It will also continue to assist the Kurds in their attempt to establishing an Israeli-style state in the North of the country against the will of the majority of Iraqis. Under the cover of protecting Iraq from its neighbours, the Americans have persuaded the Kurdish commander of the Iraqi military to order two squadrons of F-16s fighters defying military logic and opposed by most Iraqi military officers. First, the Americans are not known for being reliable in supplying after-sale- services and or spare parts especially if the planes were to intercept Israeli warplanes. Secondly, the Americans want to use the supply of F-16s as a pretext for their Iraqi agents to ask for 10000 military training staff. The Americans, will soon find out, that whatever signed with the present US-installed government will be considered as null and void by the Iraqi people following the end of the occupation.
There are at least two million armed Iraqis who are ready to move on the Green Zone to dismantle all what the Americans have installed; that is, if the Americans continue to rape Iraqi sovereignty, disregard its interests and to ignore the Iraqi people wishes. When the Iraqis reach their limit, the Americans should not be surprised if their embassy will be taken down brick-by-brick and their Kurdish and other agents will be chased across the mountains of Turkey and Iran. It is highly advisable for the Americans to pack up and leave Iraq dragging behind the remains of their criminal occupation, the way they had done in Vietnam.
The Iraqis haven’t forgotten Abu-Ghraib’s fiasco, the mass killing of thousands of innocent civilians, the destruction of the infrastructure, the looting of its antiquities, the assassination of its scientists using MOSSAD death squads, while thousands of Iraqi children continue to die from cancer caused by the many illegal weapons dropped on a number of its cities. The Americans should apologise and compensate the Iraqis for their losses and to put on trial all those war criminals who committed the biggest crime of the century. Since the war on Iraq was illegal, all killing and destruction are considered as war crimes.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
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The first destruction of Baghdad was in AD 1258 at the hands of the strange-looking and uncivilised Moguls. At the time, the Caliph was killed, women were raped or kidnapped, men were tortured for pleasure, the big palaces were burned down and looted, the scientists slaughtered and the books were thrown into the Tigris River.
Strangely enough, some 745 years later, the strange-looking, dark gogle-wearing American cowboys did exactly what the Moguls have done. Iraqi infrastructure was obliterated, the government buildings were looted, Iraqi antiquities were smuggled out of the country, 355 scientists were assassinated and the Iraqi president was hanged. And like the Moguls who were treasure hunters the American cowboys were after Iraqi wealth and oil resources. That is besides securing the safety of Israel against a potential threat. In other words, the Americans marched on Baghdad in 2003 to Israeli drums raising the flags of corporate America.
Like the Red-Indians before, the Iraqis were de-humanised in order to justify killing them. Scores of Jews and pro-Zionist commentators (Wolfowitz, Albright, Cohen, Simons,Cheney, Perle,Reubin, Cheney, Blair, Rifkin, Straw) were invited to fill the space on US media with exaggerated stories about the immediate dangers of Iraq weapons of mass destruction. After ensuring that Iraq was disarmed, the Americans and their allies went to commit the biggest crimes of the century. Right now, Iraq has four million orphans and one million widows.
There are some four million Iraqis displaced. And after eight years of US direct control of Iraq, the Iraqis get few hours a day of electricity since US-cruise missiles destroyed the power stations. The water purification and the sewage systems continue to show the effects of Rumsfeld‘s shock and awe campaign using penetration bombs and the biggest non-nuclear bombs ever.
It is no wonder that millions of Iraqis will be demonstrating on April 9, 2011, the eighth anniversary of the shameful day of fall of Baghdad to the American savages, calling on the Americans to apologise, compensate the Iraqis and for a total and complete withdrawal of all American soldiers and their foreign and local mercenaries; who brought so much damage and suffering.
I am very proud of the way the Iraqis have resisted the American occupation, as after eight years of direct occupation and killing no American can sit down in a downtown Baghdad café and order a drink. The American biggest embassy in the world will be either pulled down brick by brick or be converted into a teaching institute. No trace should be left of Iraq bitter experience.
How can anyone be on the side of G.W.Bush, the later day Gengis Khan? unlike Bush and the American cowboys who supported him, the Moguls repented, became Muslims and went to build the most beautiful Islamic shrines that stand up today in Tashkent, Buchara, Ghom, India and in Pakistan. The Americans must repent and compensate the Iraqis.
Having a ruthless dictator like Saddam for a leader is no excuse for destroying Iraq or for killing its people. Like Saddam, Bush was a deranged war criminal, but no-one dared to destroy America or to kill its people. As you may know the war on Iraq was illegal as it wasn't authorised by the UN Security Council and was not waged in self defence. Therefore, all killing and destruction are considered as war crimes by default. The Iraqis will never rest until all those responsible for the crimes are brought to justice. In the meantine, the Americans should apologise and pay.
To us Iraqis, there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. They are both on the payroll of corporate America and the Jewish lobby. As a result, both parties have endorsed the illegal war on Iraq.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
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Saving America from its politicians And saving religions from the believers
#1 Adnan Darwash
Posted Today, 10:35 AM
On 4th of July 2011, the US as an independent nation, was established some 235 years ago. In maximising the utilization of its natural and human resources, the USA became a mighty superpower with a colossal economy. But to the hard luck of America, its leaders started to waste valuable assets on non-productive sectors, like weapons, and to fighting wars. While the entire world has been benefiting from the US food production and the highly-developed educational system, many parts of the world have been also suffering from US interference that undermined their sovereignty, exploited local resources and sabotaged the natural course of their political development. Right now, the US government is in$US14 trillion deficit while many observors believe that the US may default before Greece. But if the European Union showed readiness to rescue Greece, albeit temporarily, who will come to rescue America? Is it Red China and making the bones of late President Ronal Reagan to shiver in his grave, or is it the Israelis who have been receiving $trillions in direct or indirect aids. Or is it the Jewish-controlled Wall Street and other financial institutions.
Before this mighty giant collapses, the Americans must put their house in order by stopping their politicians from wasting the nation's resources in order to be re-elected.
Similarly, religions require rescuing too. The message of holy Moses “thy shall not kill” is being translated into torture and assassination of Palestinians by Israeli Rabbis. The message of holy Jesus of “Love and forgiveness” has been converted into killing on industrial scale by American Christians who claim to talk to God. And finally, the message of Mohammed of “equality between people and respect for human dignity” which was thought to be 200 years ahead of its time is being rehabilitated by Muslim fundamentalist into a backward doctrine and preaching practices of 1400 years ago instead of those of the 23rd century. It may be in humanity best interests if America (USA) and all known religions go bankrupt. In General, humanity suffers most when religion and religious people start to control politics in any nation.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
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Then how would you explain that US-led NATO forces bombarding Libya from the air, sea and ground to the shouts of Allahu Akbar? The bearded members of the British, French, Egyptian, Qatari, UAE and Jordanian special forces were arming and training local Islamists. The real fighting was carried out by the special forces leaving the locals dancing and firing in the air infront of foreign media cameras. It is not the first time that CIA and MI-6 recruit and train Islamists. You seems to forget that Bin Laden and the Mujahideen were considered as liberation fighters during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Furthermore, Hamas was created by Israeli MOSSAD, CIA and the Jordanian intelligence service to counter Palestinian organisations led by leftists. And finally, post-Saddam, US-occupied Iraq is currently dominated by religious fundamentalists. It is natural to call for a second Arab revolution.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
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The Arab spring is a winter for everyone
The Americans are leaving Iraq but no-one claiming victory.
For at least 60 years, the 22 Arab countries, from Mauritania to Oman, had been ruled by pro-USraeli tyrannical despots, repressive military dictators, absolute monarchs, autocratic sultans or corrupt emirs. They all owe their regimes longevity((Long duration or continuance, as in an occupation)) to American tacit support as long as they accept to accommodate USraeli interests and designs in the area. It is natural for those who are unaware of the overt(Open and observable; not hidden) and covert USraeli activities and conspiracies to feel happy when ruthless dictators, the likes of Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gheddafi or Saddam are out of the way and that the authorities of President Abdullah Saleh and Bashar Al-Assad have been degraded.
At present, new leaders of the second drawers are being groomed by bribes and or intimidation to continue playing the old game by USraeli rules; albeit under a new attire. The fear of Islamists taking over Egypt, Libya or Tunisia is being hatched by the CIA-MOSSAD offices which had already reached agreements and paid assistance to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood long before the fall of Mubarak. Similarly, the Islamists of Jordan, Tunisia and Libya are being invited for a dialogue where ‘realities’ are being made clear. A proof of this comes from the fact no US-made Islamist has called for supporting Hamas, Hezbullah, Al-Qaeda or Al-Shabab against USraeli crimes and violations.
In North Africa and in the Middle East, the American foreign policy has two main issues: Oil and Israeli security. Military intervention with massive destruction of relevant infrastructure will only take place in countries producing oil so that future re-building will include awarding contracts to US and Western companies, in addition to payment for the cost of the missiles and bombs used. In Iraq, besides the destruction of its infrastructure and the killing of its scientists by CIA-MOSSAD death squads, the country is being fragmented and the US-imported violence will continue long after the last soldier has unceremoniously left. It seems that thousands upon thousands of Arab victims are dying in vain while US-sponsored designs continue to be implemented. The frustration of the young Arabs with so-called Islamists will be translated into second revolutions in Egypt and other countries to establish democratic regimes that serves the interests of Arabs and Muslims away from USraeli control and interference.
Adnan Darwaish, IOT
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TIMELINE-Timeline of Iraq war
21 Oct 2011 22:04
Source: Reuters // Reuters
Oct 21 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday the United States will remove the remainder of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year and that "after nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over." [ID:nN1E79K1FD]
Here is a timeline of major events related to the war.
* Oct. 11, 2002 - The U.S. Congress votes overwhelmingly to authorize President George W. Bush to use force against Iraq, giving him a broad mandate to act against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Bush administration had argued that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed an immediate threat to U.S. and global security. Bush said that "the gathering threat of Iraq must be confronted fully and finally."
* Feb. 6, 2003 - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell sought international backing for military action against Iraq in a presentation before the U.N. Security Council, using satellite photos and communications intercepts to try to show Iraq's deceptions over weapons of mass destruction.
* March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein. The U.S.-led effort crushes the Iraqi military and chases Saddam from power in a span of weeks.
* April 9, 2003 - U.S. troops seize Baghdad. Saddam goes into hiding. Lawlessness quickly emerges in Iraq's capital and elsewhere, with U.S. troops failing to bring order.
* May 1, 2003 - President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended" and that "in the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed." As he spoke aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, a banner behind him stated, "Mission Accomplished."
* Summer 2003 - An insurgency arises to fight U.S.-led forces. U.S. forces fail to find weapons of mass destruction.
* Dec. 13, 2003 - U.S. troops capture Saddam, bearded and bedraggled, hiding in a hole near Tikrit.
* Jan. 28, 2004 - Top U.S. weapons inspector David Kay acknowledges to the U.S. Congress that "we were almost all wrong" about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
* Spring 2004 - Insurgency intensifies with violence in Falluja and elsewhere in the mainly Sunni Muslim Anbar province as well as violence by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in major Shi'ite cities in the south. The United States also faces international condemnation after photographs emerge showing abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib jail.
* Feb. 22, 2006 - Bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra sparks widespread sectarian slaughter, raising fears of civil war between Iraq's majority Shi'ite and minority Sunni Muslims.
* June 7, 2006 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, is killed by U.S. forces.
* Dec. 30, 2006 - Saddam Hussein hanged by masked executioners after receiving a death sentence from an Iraqi court for the killings of 148 men and boys in a northern Iraqi town in 1982.
* January 2007 - Bush formulates and announces a new war strategy including a "surge" of U.S. troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency and pull Iraq back from the brink of civil war.
* June 15, 2007 - U.S. military completes its troop build-up to around 170,000 soldiers.
* Aug. 29, 2007 - Moqtada al-Sadr orders his Mehdi Army militia to cease fire.
* Nov. 17, 2008 - Iraq and the United States sign an accord requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011. The pact gives the government authority over the U.S. mission for the first time, replacing a U.N. Security Council mandate. Parliament approves pact after negotiations 10 days later.
* Feb. 27, 2009 - New U.S. President Barack Obama announces a plan to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010.
* June 30, 2009 - All U.S. combat units withdraw from Iraq's urban centers and redeploy to bases outside.
* Oct. 4, 2011 - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki wins support from political blocs on keeping U.S. troops as trainers, but they reject any deal that would grant U.S. troops immunity as Washington had requested.
* Oct. 21, 2011 - Obama says the United States will complete a withdrawal of all its remaining troops in Iraq by the end of 2011 after the two countries failed to reach a deal to leave several thousand U.S. troops behind. The Pentagon said there have been more than 4,400 U.S. military deaths in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
(Compiled by Will Dunham; Editing by Jackie Frank)
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'No choice for US to stay in Iraq'Sat Apr 9, 2011 8:8PM
An interview with political analyst Ali al-Nashmi
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Iraq's influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has said that resistance against US troops will increase if they do not leave the country by the end of this year.
Press TV has conducted an interview with political analyst Ali al-Nashmi regarding US forces staying after 2011 and the position of the Iraqi people.
Press TV: How do you assess the reaction of the Iraqis in the past eight years to the American presence in Iraq, and how do you see the resistance take form if the Americans stay beyond the 2011 deadline?
Nashmi: I know the Iraqi resistance stopped the majority of their operations against the American forces because of the pact signed between the Iraqi and the American government. That pact states the troops will withdrawal from Iraq by the end of this year. However, any delay or remaining US forces in the area will have broken that pact, and they will perhaps find many ways to attack the American forces and make them withdrawal from Iraq. I think that the Iraqi government, politicians and the Iraqi people understand there is no choice for any American forces to stay in Iraq.
Why would they stay? They said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and they never find anything. There was never any evidence that such weapons were in Iraq. All of their slogans have been abolished, and there is no reason for them to stay. This is a part of the American global policy to attack and force. The Iraqi government and the Iraqi parliament are for the Iraqi people. What's happening now in Bagdad is that all of the people are saying they will not allow the Americans to stay past the end of this year.
Press TV: We have US Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying that Washington would keep its 50,000 troops in Iraq if Bagdad asks for additional help. Do you think the Bagdad government will accept such an offer?
Nashmi: No, Americans cannot stay they were refused yesterday by the Prime Minister Mr. Nouri al-Maliki. The Iraqi government doesn't have the authority to say yes or no. There is the Iraqi parliament. The Iraqi parliament refuses to discuss that request. They don't say the section of security in the Iraqi parliament refuses to discuss this issue. That means nobody in the Iraqi government including Maliki has the choice to accept such an offer. It would mean the end of this government and they will destroy everything they did in these last years with the government. There is no choice at all to accept the American offer.
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Sadr vows to fight US overstaySat Apr 9, 2011 12:38PM
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A supporter of Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds his picture while standing near burning US flags in Mustansiriyah Square in northeast Baghdad on April 9, 2011. AFP PhotoIraq's influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has warned that resistance against US forces will increase if the occupiers fail to leave by their deadline at the end of 2011.
In a statement read at an anti-US demonstration in Baghdad on Saturday, Sadr said that Iraqis will "escalate military resistance" to the US occupation after the deadline, Reuters reported.
Some Iraqis held signs reading, "Occupiers Out" and "No to America," while others burned US, Israeli and British flags.
"They, the Iraqi government, agreed with the occupiers that they would leave within months from this homeland, according to an unfair agreement that we did not and will never accept,” spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi read to tens of thousands of supporters.
“We wait for one thing, their full withdrawal from Iraq, and [the departure of] their last soldier and base from these holy and great lands,” he added.
The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008 mandates the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said Washington will keep its nearly fifty-thousand troops in Iraq if Baghdad asks for additional help. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, however, has rejected the offer.
Sadr, well-known for his anti-US stance, along with his political bloc has vehemently opposed the signing the SOFA with the US, which extends the presence of US troops in Iraq.
Initially the pact was expected to be put to a nationwide vote. However, the Iraqi government, under US pressure, decided against the referendum.
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The US military is leaving Iraq but also remaining! Confusion characterises US foreign policy
Posted Jul12/ 2011, 10:08 AM
President Dwight Eisenhower (1952-1960) warned against the possibility of war mongers, supported by the military-industry complex, taking over the US government. He was also against helping Israel in its nuclear ambition and stood firm in demanding an immediate end to the Israeli, British and French occupation of the Suez Canal and Sinai Peninsula in 1956. But since then, successive US presidents, aside from Jimmy Carter (1976-1980), have increased defence spending and launched wars that killed millions. Furthermore, since the Christian fundamentalist-Zionist alliance occupied Washington D.C.* the US government (s) have been involved in diverting huge military and financial aids to Israel and in fighting Jewish wars. In fact the American march on Baghdad in March 2003 was mainly to eliminate a threat to Israel, which did cost the Americans over $US Three Trillions and the death of 4500 US military personnel and hundred of thousands of Iraqis. But the unlimited spending on weapons and the launching of wars have started to bankrupt the only remaining superpower and its close European allies. Despite the budgetary constraints, the Americans continue to insist that a US military presence in Iraq (20000 combat troops plus 75000 mercenaries) is essential to contain the internal violence and to stop Iran from meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs.
By a mere chance or by design, the Americans have the habit of political miscalculation which has been very costly to all concerned. In trying to keep US forces beyond the end of 2011, as it was stipulated by the security agreement of 2008, the ‘Americans refuse to listen to the Iraqi people but only to those corrupt politicians whom they brought and installed to rule Iraq. If the present US pressure on their agents in government succeeds, then it will not be only remnants of Saddam regime or Al-Qaeda terrorists who resist the US presence, but it will involve Iraqi nationalists from the North to the South, disregarding the Kurdish Tarzani leadership and the manoeuvring of Dr Allawi, Dr Al-Jaafari and P.M. Al-Maliki.
Any objective observer may ask; how a reduced US military presence can stop the violence in Iraq or contain the Iranians, when a huge presence at one time of over 165000 military personnel and 125000 civilian contractors (mercenaries) failed to do so? To add insult to injury, the Americans want to establish military bases around ‘Diplomatic Missions’ (Embassy and Consulates) in order to protect their spying activities, their interference in Iraq internal affairs and their dirty-work squads. In otherwords, the Americans want to establishing occupied zones with diplomatic immunity to all its military and civilian personnel.
No matter how the Americans want to put it, they have in reality failed in every department and Iraq right now is one million times worse than it was when they entered it in 2003. The crumbling infrastructure, the lack of security and the corruption are anything but the Americans can be proud of. I call on the Americans to “Please pack up and go home as the Iraqis want to be free of any foreign dictations or military presence". After apologising and compensating the Iraqis, in the long run, the Americans may be forgiven. Albeit it will be extremely difficult in a country with a deeply-routed revenge culture. In the meantime, the Americans will be hunted down as long as they remain in Iraq.
The American must rest assured that the Iraqis can defend their country, homes and families without the need for the monster-looking US soldiers parading in their streets. It is far better for the Americans to save their taxpayers money and go to police the streets of Los Angeles, Miami Florida, St Louis, Chicago, Detroit or New York. In conclusion after what they have done to Iraq, the Americans are not wanted in the country, in any shape or form.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times
* Some Senators have called the Senate and the House as Israeli Occupied Territories.
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Iraq's Sadr rallies supporters against US troop extension
26 May 2011 08:47
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Sadr has threatened to revive militia if US troops stay
* Maliki has called for debate over troop presence
* Last 47,000 US soldiers due to leave at year-end
By Khalid al-Ansary and Suadad al-Salhy
BAGHDAD, May 26 (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr brought thousands of Shi'ite supporters onto the streets of Baghdad on Thursday in a show of force against any extension of the U.S. military presence in Iraq past a year-end deadline.
Sadr's threats to revive his Shi'ite militia and protests by his Sadrist bloc are testing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's fragile coalition government over the divisive issue of whether American troops should remain on Iraqi soil.
The remaining 47,000 U.S. troops are due to leave Iraq at the end of the year. But Maliki has called on the country's political leaders to discuss whether a contingent should stay on to support and train local armed forces.
In Sadr's impoverished Sadr City stronghold, his supporters -- wearing uniforms in the red, white and black of Iraq's flag -- marched in orderly blocks down a main street, stamping over U.S., British and Israeli flags painted on the tarmac.
Others waved banners proclaiming "No to the Occupation" and "The people want occupiers out", but the carefully stage-managed event was peaceful despite the fiery rhetoric.
"I came here on the orders of Moqtada al-Sadr to help kick out the occupiers from our country," said Alaa Hussein, 21, a student taking part. "If the government keeps American troops here we will consider them an illegitimate government."^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For a FACTBOX on Iraqi parties, click on: [ID:nLDE74065] For a FACTBOX on Iraq risks [ID:nRISKQ] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sadr, whose Medhi Army militia once fought against U.S. troops in the years following the 2003 invasion, is a powerful member of Maliki's coalition and he controls 39 seats in the 325-member parliament made up of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs.
The cleric has rallied supporters several times since April when he threatened to revive his militia. A Sadr split would severely weaken Maliki, but most other blocs appear to accept there will need to be some continued U.S. military presence.
More than eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, violence has fallen sharply, but bombings, attacks and killings happen daily from a lingering Islamist Sunni insurgency and Shi'ite militias.
U.S. officials say Washington would consider an extension of military presence in the OPEC nation, especially with Iraqi air and naval forces still weak and the White House keen to reassure allies in the region as instability roils the Gulf.
Washington says Iraq must decide within weeks whether it wants U.S. troops to stay on to give the military time to prepare for withdrawal. But U.S. and Iraqi officials have offered no figure on how many troops could end up staying.
U.S. troops have played a role in easing tensions between majority Arabs and minority Kurds in the oil-producing northern Kurdish enclave, and are advising Iraqi forces protecting strategic sites, such as the southern oil port of Basra. (Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Myra MacDonald)
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FACTBOX-Future U.S. military role strains shaky Iraq coalition
26 May 2011 09:14
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Sadr group opposes any continued U.S. military presence
* Premier Maliki sees training role, wants unified position
* Fledgling Iraqi navy, airforce seen needing U.S. support
By Suadad al-Salhy and Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD, May 26 (Reuters) - A debate over whether U.S. troops should stay in Iraq beyond an end-2011 deadline has revealed cracks in the fragile cross-sectarian government coalition headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The around 47,000 U.S. troops that still remain in Iraq eight years after the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein are scheduled to be withdrawn by Dec. 31.
Senior U.S. officials believe Iraq needs some form of continued U.S. military presence beyond 2011 but say the Iraqi government must formally request this.
With at least one key group in Maliki's coalition -- the political bloc of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- openly opposing a continuing U.S. military presence, the prime minister faces a struggle to forge a common Iraqi position. Sadr followers staged a show of force on Thursday. [ID:nLDE74O272]
Here are the main parties involved in the debate and their known stances so far on the future U.S. military presence:
PREMIER MALIKI'S STATE OF LAW GROUP
Maliki and his State of Law parliamentary bloc, which have 89 seats in the 325-seat legislature, have made clear they believe some form of U.S. military presence will be necessary after 2011, to train and advise the Iraqi armed forces.
The prime minister has called for a "mutual and unified national stand" on the issue by Aug. 1 and has criticised other groups in the coalition for either not defining their position or using the sensitive issue to attack him and other groups.
Iraqi's armed forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari and some other military commanders have argued that Iraqi forces are not yet ready to fully secure and defend the national territory without a U.S. presence, at least to help train Iraqis in the use of new U.S.-supplied weapons.
"If I were asked about the withdrawal, I would say to politicians: the U.S. army must stay until the Iraqi army is fully ready in 2020," Zebari said in August last year.
Echoing this national security argument, Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, a leading member of State of Law, said on Tuesday the fledgling navy and airforce cannot defend Iraq from foreign attack and needed U.S. help to develop the capability to protect key oil installations. [ID:nLDE74N1YD]
MOQTADA-AL-SADR AND HIS SADRIST BLOC
Sadr and his Shi'ite followers, who command 39 parliament seats and hold seven ministries, are the only major group so far to have come out clearly and strongly against any continued U.S. military presence in Iraq beyond 2011.
The fiery anti-American cleric, who is friendly with Iran and was key to helping Maliki form his government after last year' inconclusive elections, warned last month he could revive his Mehdi Army militia if U.S. troops did not leave Iraq as scheduled by Dec. 31. He has organised mass protests to press his point and threatened to "escalate military resistance".
Some local security officials say Sadr's militia no longer has the power it wielded during the 2006-2007 sectarian war, when it was blamed by U.S. commanders for widespread bloodshed.
But others say his partisans have been incorporated into the Iraqi security forces, some in high ranks, which means they could still cause damage and disruption if ordered to do so.
A withdrawal by Sadr's bloc from the cross-sectarian government would weaken Maliki's coalition but would not be enough in itself to topple it through a vote of no-confidence.
Sadr's bloc dominates the Shi'ite Iraqi National Alliance, which includes parties close to Iran like the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the Badr Organization, and the Fadhila Party.
But unlike the Sadrists, most of these smaller parties are no longer powerful at street level and it is believed they will not resist if Maliki decides to request the staying on of American troops in a clearly defined training and advisory role.
THE IRAQIYA ALLIANCE OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER IYAD ALLAWI
The Sunni-backed Iraqiya alliance headed by former premier Iyad Allawi, himself a Shi'ite but secular in his approach, won 91 of the 325 parliament seats in last year's elections.
Iraqiya's position on a continued U.S. military presence has not yet been publicly spelled out and could be crucial in deciding an agreement on this future American role.
The bloc's leaders are believed to ultimately support a continued U.S. military presence because this is their best guarantee to ensure that Sunni interests are not threatened by the rival Shi'ites and Kurds.
Iraqiya leaders say they want a realistic assessment of Iraq's defence capability and that this should be done by defence and security ministers which Maliki has not yet named.
They want Maliki to give their group the defence minister's post and it is believed they may seek to use their position on the future U.S. military role as a bargaining chip to try to obtain the key government defence portfolio.
THE KURDISH ALLIANCE
Some lawmakers in the Kurdish alliance, which holds 57 parliament seats and some high-ranking central government posts, have made clear they see the continued presence in Iraq of some U.S. troops -- perhaps as many as 20,000 or more -- as key to maintaining security in volatile and oil-rich northern areas.
Kurds run their semi-autonomous northern region but some of the richest northern areas like Kirkuk, Mosul and Diyala are disputed with the Shi'ites and Sunnis and the U.S. military presence has helped to avoid blowups in contested zones. (Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Myra MacDonald)
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Cop killed, U.S. motorcade attacked in west Baghdad
6/25/2011 9:47 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: An Iraqi policeman has been killed by unknown gunmen early on Saturday, whilst an explosive charge blew off against an American Army Patrol, in two different incidents in Baghdad, a security source reported.
“A group of unknown armed men opened fire from guns, fixed with silencers, against a policeman in west Baghdad’s al-Liqa’a Square, killing him on the spot, whilst the gunmen escaped to an unknown destination,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that “an explosive charge, planted on the main road passing through west Baghdad’s al-Adel district, blew off against a U.S.
Army patrol, but losses were not announced by the American side.”
A bomb explosion on a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad neighborhood of Justice
Dubai - June 25 East: a bomb exploded this morning on a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad neighborhood of Justice. And a police source said he did not know the size of Alkhsaúralepeshria or material left behind by the explosion because the U.S. forces sealed off the area. In Babil province, a police source said the bomb targeted a U.S. convoy as it passed on the highway near the Alexandria area, which led to the destruction of one of the wheels without the knowledge of the convoy casualties ..
The Baghdad Operations Command’s Official Spokesman, Maj-General Qassim Atta, had announced a curfew against motorbikes and bicycles in Baghdad, as from Saturday, as part of a security plan to protect the tomb of Shiite’s Imam Moussa al-Kadhim, taking place mid this week.
==
: No to the rule of ignorant parties
Thugs Dawa al-Maliki's opponents are facing calls for a demonstration of the new executions
Baghdad on the spectrum:
Warned politicians and MPs yesterday of a plan prepared by Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister of using thugs Dawa Party, who demonstrated yesterday in Baghdad for the third time in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad to carry out a campaign of executions of a new Iraq in a new attempt to terrorize his opponents who want him to reform and the provision of services, especially electricity and jobs for the unemployed. At a time when hundreds of student demonstrators in Tahrir Square on the removal of government officials, non-qualified Altssh ruling parties for their leadership and make way for talent to take their role in nation-building and reconstruction, again.
The deputies said, who requested anonymity for (time): Vice President Khudair Khuzaie had received hundreds of death sentences issued against the defendants for ratification before implementation.
He said the demonstrators of young people in chanting and banners that they offered to build the country can not be achieved unless the existence of the minds of bright and competencies of national administration the helm of the country and constructing either a label elements is efficient and describe in leadership positions will not reap the Iraqi people from this only further deterioration and loss of opportunities for construction and waste money. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has delegated authority to sign death sentences for refusing to Khuzaie ratification. Talabani says: the ratification of executions is inconsistent with membership of the Socialist International, which prohibit such sentences.
The sources said it is about to sue the Talabani in Brussels to facilitate the implementation process through its authorization of the Khazaee, who heads the party is one of the interfaces and the Dawa Party, which is headed by Maliki. Khuzai does not carry any academic degrees and has no legal advisory body of law and holds a Ph.D. in interpretation of the Koran, but failed in managing the portfolio of Education during the previous government. The demonstrators demanded that young people make a comprehensive political reforms away from partisanship and abhorrent sectarianism and to achieve genuine national reconciliation for the involvement of all energies in building the country and not to exclude any other party and that the law takes its course to punish those who offended against Iraq and its people away from politicizing the issue.
On the other hand, said an official at the Baiji oil refinery, Iraq's biggest refineries, most of the production units were closed yesterday after an explosion in the main gas pipeline, refinery led to a fire.
The official added the fire under control but the issue will take 48 hours before returning the refinery to full capacity.
The refinery had been closed completely for two days in February when it was attacked by militants, killing four workers and sparked a huge fire.
For its part, the United States condemned the killing of an American expert in Iraq and wounded three others, an explosion targeted a convoy yesterday in the capital Baghdad.
Talabani arrived in Tehran yesterday to participate in the "province of terrorism in the world." The statement added: "The national security adviser, Faleh al-Fayad, and a number of officials traveling with Talabani."
And warned U.S. forces in Iraq from the exploitation of Iran to militias working to their advantage to carry out attacks after the withdrawal of the U.S. military, because those militias to attack the Americans claim the victims were Iraqi civilians. A spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq Jeffrey Buchanan: The Hezbollah Brigades receive support and training directly at the moment by the Quds Force, or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and the leaders of those militias live in Iran. Pointing out that they claim to attack U.S. troops, more Iraqi civilians than their victims.
And distributed to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad issued a statement yesterday, State Department spokesman said Victoria Nuland through it to condemn the U.S. State of the terrorist attack which took place in Baghdad yesterday and killed Dr. Stephen Averhart and wounding three other civilians with him.
Security sources said that the convoy was Averhart to blow up an improvised explosive device after leaving the Mustansiriya University in eastern Baghdad, killing himself and wounding three other civilians who were with him.
The statement said that Averhart a civilian U.S. citizen working for one of the companies executing projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Iraq and one of the leading authorities in international development and finance and economies.
He said he was killed while working in a project the application of new business curriculum at the University of Baghdad as part of a program sponsored by the Ministry of Higher Education in Iraq.
For his part, said a senior Iraqi security official said Everhart was killed in a roadside bomb targeted a private security company's envoy in the north-east of Baghdad. He added that two people were wounded in the blast.
The gunmen stormed the home of a police and killed him and his wife in the middle of the city of Baiji, north-west of Baghdad.
And the kidnapping of children, a doctor from his clinic in late Thursday in the northern Kirkuk.
It was the second kidnapping of a doctor in the city.
==
Facebook campaign to demand compensation from US
6/25/2011 7:15 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Ex-MP Hussein al-Fallouji announced today that he launched a Facebook campaign demanding compensation for the U.S.
war damages afflicted on Iraq since 2003, according to a statement issued.
In the statement, as received by Aswat al-Iraq, he said "the campaign aims at mobilizing popular, media and political efforts in order to have a unified national stand to demand Iraqi rights in all damages incurred by U.S.
and its allies' military operations."
"Iraq suffered from the compensations as a result of their occupation of Kuwait.
Accordingly, the global community should stand to give the lawful rights of the Iraqi people for the damages inflicted against the civilians and country's infrastructure," he added.
================================
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Call to expose fate of 17.5 billion dollars of Iraqi funds - Premier
6/25/2011 7:20 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Premier Nouri al-Maliki gave orders to the Iraqi Funds Protection Committee to expose the fate of more than 17 billion dollars missing from the Iraqi Development Fund.
According to a statement issued by his office, of which Aswat al-Iraq received a copy, he pointed out that "there are several indicators that there are loopholes in the fate of Iraqi funds, estimated at 17.5 billion dollars, since the downfall of the previous regime."
He called on the Iraqi departments and U.S.
government to cooperate in this regard.
===
Iraq’s security situation remains "complex" - U.S. Army
6/25/2011 3:11 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The U.S.
Army has described Iraq’s security situation as “complex,” reiterating that cooperation with the Iraqi Armed Forces shall continue to represent a strong pressure against the armed groups in Iraq, according to a CNN report on Saturday.
"A roadside bomb that struck a U.S.
State Department convoy in Baghdad, killing an American contractor, is believed to be the work of Shiite militias who have stepped up attacks against foreigners in recent months, the U.S.
military said Friday," the report noted.
The Spokesman for the U.S.
Forces in Iraq, Major-General Jeffrey Buchanon, told CNN: "We have not seen a claim of responsibility, but the target and tactics resemble the activities of one of the three main Iranian-backed militias in Iraq: Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib al Haq, and the Promise Day Brigade."
"The security environment remains complex, but with our partners in the Iraqi security forces we are determined to maintain pressure on all groups attempting to destabilize Iraq and cause harm," Buchanan said.
==
Electricity Ministry DG assassinated
6/25/2011 7:37 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Security sources reported today the assassination of the director general at the Ministry of Electricity in southeast Baghdad by guns equipped with silencers.
The source noted that DG Salman Jassim was assassinated by unknown armed group.
No other details were given.
===
Suicide bomber hits Iraq police station, 12 wounded
26 Jun 2011 11:10
Source: reuters // Reuters
BAGHDAD, June 26 (Reuters) - At least 12 people were wounded when a suicide bomber in a wheelchair blew himself up at a police station in the northern outskirts of Iraq's capital on Sunday, a spokesman for the Baghdad operations command said.
Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said the bomber set off his explosives vest in the police chief's office at the station in Tarmiya, 25 km (15 miles) north of Baghdad.
"This is the initial toll and we expect it to rise," Moussawi told Reuters.
He said the 12 wounded included nine policemen and three civilians.
An Interior Ministry source put the toll at two killed and 17 wounded, including nine policemen.
Attacks against Iraqi security forces have been increasing as the country's army and police prepare to take total responsibility for security ahead of a full withdrawal of U.S. troops by December, more than eight years after the invasion.
Insurgents launched at least eight attacks on police in Baghdad and northern Mosul on Wednesday, using a combination of guns and explosives.
Bombings and killings remain a daily occurrence in Iraq as security forces fight a stubborn insurgency, although overall violence has dropped since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006-7. (Reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Louise Ireland)
==
MP to resign, return as interior undersecretary
6/26/2011 5:56 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: National Alliance MP Khalid al-Asadi reported today that MP Adnan al-Asadi will resign from the parliament to return to his previous post as interior undersecretary.
"The resignation is a personal desire to return to his ex-governmental post", Asadi told Aswat al-Iraq.
Asadi has occupied this post for the last eight years.
Premier Nouri al-Maliki nominated him for the post of interior minister, but this nomination met a veto by most of the political entities, including his National Alliance .
==
Sadr warns of building a new dictatorship and the state of the dispute based on confidential reports
Dubai - East June 26 warned Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadrist movement to build a new dictatorship and the state based on confidential reports by Taberhoqal in response to a referendum submitted by one of his followers about forcing some employees to come out demonstrations in support of the local governments and the federal government and threats of punishment for people who reject out what Beware of text to build a new dictatorship and the state based on the dispute and reports confidential. The demonstrations in support of the government came out during the past two weeks to coincide with demonstrations calling for reform, job creation and the elimination of administrative and financial corruption.
==
Different plans to expel occupier - Sadrist MP
6/27/2011 5:29 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Ahrar bloc MP Jawad Al-Jobouri announced that there different plans to be adopted by the Sadrist Trend to expel the occupying forces from Iraq, if their presence is extended, noting that Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr will resort to "organized armed resistance," if the peaceful means did not work "without affecting the lives of the civilians."
The Sadrist Office's Web site reported Jobouri as saying "there are plans, some are announced and some are not."
He added that al-Sadr completely rejects the extension stay of the U.S.
forces after the period stipulated in the security agreement.
Jobouri pointed out that "Ahrar bloc will practice rejection in a political way inside the Iraqi parliament, demonstrations and peaceful people's sit-ins, which all shall call for ousting the occupier."
"If Ahrar bloc is unable to get a national parliamentarian resolution to expel the occupier, then we will have greater pressures, namely the people which constitutes the greatest power that gave legitimacy to the parliament and the government," he added.
Jobour stressed that the Iraqi people want to live freely, which cannot be achieved with the presence of the occupying forces.
U.S.
forces are scheduled to withdraw completely by the end of this year according to the security plan signed between the two countries.
Some circles want and prefer that they extend their stay.
The Iraqi political blocs did not express their views on the stay, but politicians say that a great number of the political entities support the stay until the Iraqi forces are ready, which needs more years to come.
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Call to withdraw confidence from occupation supporters - al-Ahrar
6/27/2011 9:25 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Judge Mushriq Naji of Ahrar political bloc called the government to expose the security agreement on public in order to gain confidence, stressing that the Iraqi public opinion rejects the extension for the American forces stay.
In a statement by the political commission of Al-Sadr Office, Naji stressed that "the government refused to put the security agreement to a public referendum, because it knows that the people reject such extension or the stay of the forces on its soil."
Ahrar bloc is affiliate to the Sadrist Trend.
He pointed out that the security agreement signed with Iraq stipulated it should be put by a referendum to the public opinion after six months, which matter is a violation of its articles.
Naji called the people to withdraw their confidence from any bloc tries to pass new agreement so the occupation forces will stay for a further period.
==
Iraq military cracks down on militias, arms smuggling
03 Jul 2011 15:59
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Arms smuggling from Iran a target of crackdown
* Attacks on U.S. troops a key motive for operation
By Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD, July 3 (Reuters) - Iraq has launched a military crackdown on smuggling gangs, al Qaeda militants and Shi'ite militias responsible for recent attacks U.S. forces, security officials said on Sunday.
Triggered in part by a spate of attacks on U.S. forces last month, the crackdown aims to staunch the flow of illegal weapons into mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq from Shi'ite neighbour Iran.
In one of the largest offensives, about 3,000 Iraqi troops and police were mobilised against militias and smugglers in southern Maysan province, a provincial official said.
June was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq in three years, and Iraq's police and army have been under increased attack for months as a year-end deadline nears for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
U.S. officials blame Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias for many of the attacks. Maysan shares a long border with Iran.
Major-General Qassim al-Moussawi, the spokesman for the Iraqi military's commander-in-chief, said security forces were arresting militants, searching for weapons caches and stepping up patrols to cut down on rocket and mortar fire on U.S. bases.
"We are implementing a tight security plan including all outlaw groups. Part of this plan is to control Iraq's border perfectly," Moussawi said.
"The entry of illegal arms to Iraq is contributing to undermining security, whether the weapons are used against U.S. or Iraqi troops, in assassination operations or armed robbery."
More than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, the United States still has around 47,000 troops in Iraq. A full withdrawal is expected by year-end in accordance with a joint security pact.
While overall violence has steadily declined since the height of sectarian conflict in 2006-7, gun and bomb attacks still occur daily, often targeting Iraq's army and police.
Attacks against U.S. soldiers appear to be rising as Iraq's leaders discuss the divisive issue of whether to ask Washington to leave some troops beyond December.
DEADLY MONTH
Fourteen U.S. service members were killed in hostile incidents in June, the largest number since June 2008.
Security officials said the offensive is targeting criminal gangs and smugglers in addition to militants linked to Sunni Islamist al Qaeda and members of Shi'ite militias.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a Reuters interview last week, said Iran was "absolutely complicit" in the growing U.S. casualties in Iraq. [ID: nN1E75S29R]
James Jeffrey, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its Qods force special operations unit were supplying "significantly more lethal weapons systems" to some Iraqi militias.
"Of particular concern, at least to me, is the Sadrist movement. The AAH (Asaib al-Haq) and the Kata'ib Hizballah are basically nothing more than thuggish clones of their IRGC Qods force masters," he told reporters in a briefing on Saturday.
Kata'ib Hizballah last month claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on a Baghdad base which killed six U.S. soldiers.
While southern Iraq has been relatively peaceful in recent years compared to restive central Diyala province and the city of Mosul, an al Qaeda stronghold in the north, Maysan is believed to be a key importation point for Iranian weapons.
Abbas al-Bayati, a member of the security and defence committee in parliament, said the crackdown was focused on central and southern provinces.
"The increasing death toll among Iraqis and U.S troops in June is part of the (reason) for this security plan," he said.
A Maysan security official who asked not to be named said Shi'ite militias had protection from political parties in the past, but all the province's political blocs had agreed those involved in arms smuggling had to be hunted down.
"The goal of this operation basically is to prevent the infiltration of weapons which are used to attack U.S troops and Iraqi security forces," the official said. (Editing by Jim Loney; Editing by Jon Boyle)
===
Al-Iraqiya to re-nominate candidate for Defense Minister’s post
7/4/2011 12:58 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Al-Iraqiya bloc, led by Iyad Allawi, intends to re-nominate the candidacy of Khalid al-Obeiy for the vacant Defense Minister’s post in the current cabinet, Legislature for the National Alliance Qassim al-Aaraji reported on Monday.
“There is an initiative by al-Iraqiya bloc to re-nominate the candidacy of Khalid al-Obeidy for the Defense Minister’s post, which is hoped will help to settle the issue of the security ministers in the cabinet,” Aaraji told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that the National Alliance, led by Ibrahim al-Jaafary, “is continuing the process of trimming down the cabinet, to cover Deputy Prime Ministers, Hussein al-Shahristani and Saleh al-Mutlaq, each of whom shall be granted the post of minister in the cabinet.”
Aaraji also said that Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, had been assigned by the National Alliance to carry out dialogue with the other political forces regarding the trimming down of his cabinet.
Noteworthy is that Prime Minister Maliki is keeping the three security ministers posts, covering the posts of Defense, Interior and National Security Ministers, under him on an “acting” basis, pending the final announcement of the candidates for the said posts.
===
Iraqi MPs warn against stay of US force
Tue Jul 5, 2011 5:26AM
File photo of US-led forces in Iraq
Iraqi parliamentarians have petitioned the government against extending the US military presence in the war-torn country.
The appeal, signed by a hundred lawmakers, warns Baghdad against the dire consequences of the continued deployment of American troops beyond the December 31, 2011 deadline stipulated in the US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), said one of the MPs quoted by a Press TV correspondent.
According to an Iraqi government official, the two sides are to renew their bilateral security deal in a manner that a large number of US troopers would be able to remain in five Iraqi provinces until 2016.
American military forces led the invasion of Iraq in 2003 under the false pretext that the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
However, it was later revealed that not only the former Iraqi regime lacked such weapons, but that the American and British leaders, who had insisted on the all-out military action, were fully aware of the non-existence of WMD in the country.
Over one million Iraqis have been killed during the invasion, according to California-based investigative organization, Project Censored.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh has, however, denied the signing of such a deal with the United States.
Also triggering the anger and criticism of Iraqi officials has been a recent demand made by Washington for Baghdad to allocate USD 6.2 billion from its domestic budget to provide security for American troops and embassy in the country.
Speaking to Press TV concerning the American security demand, Iraqi Science and Technology Minister Abdul Karim al-Samarrai said recently that “Iraqi people have expressed doubts about US intentions in Iraq and I agree with them. If the US wants to withdraw its troops, why they have made such a request and want to extend their presence in the country?”
==
This is an undated file photo shows then-al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, in Afghanistan. After Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, the White House released a photo of President Barack Obama and his cabinet inside the Situation Room, watching the daring raid unfold. Hidden from view, standing just outside the frame of that instantly iconic photograph was a career CIA analyst. In the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist, there may have been no one more important. His job for nearly a decade: finding bin Laden. (AP Photo) less
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Two explosions kill at least 27, wound 50 in Iraq
05 Jul 2011 09:45
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Bombs hit government building north of Baghdad
* Toll could rise, officials say
(Adds details, quotes)
BAGHDAD, July 5 (Reuters) - Two explosions at a municipal government building in the Iraqi town of Taji on Tuesday killed at least 27 people and wounded 50 others, officials said.
A car bomb and another explosive detonated in a crowded parking lot of the government building in Taji, about 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, security sources told Reuters.
"It was a double explosion. The first was caused by a car bomb. We have no idea what the second was, whether a suicide bomber or a roadside bomb," said Raad al-Tamimi, the head of the Taji municipality.
"The place was crowded with people who were going to process official papers and with police and employees," he said.
Deputy Health Minister Khamis al-Saad said the blasts killed 27 people and wounded 50. An interior ministry source put the initial toll at 35 dead and 28 wounded.
The bombings followed a series of attacks that targeted Iraqi security forces over the last two days, killing at least ten police and soldiers and wounding 22 others.
(Reporting by Khalid al-Ansary and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Jim Loney; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Civilian killed, 6 others injured in 2 explosions in Taji, north Baghdad
7/5/2011 11:53 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A civilian has been killed and 6 others injured in a booby-trapped car explosion, followed by an explosive charge blast in a garage belonging to the Municipal Council of north Baghdad’s Taji district on Tuesday, a police source reported.
“A booby-trapped car, parked in the garage of the Municipal Council of Taji district, 30 km to the north of Baghdad, blew up on Tuesday morning, followed by an explosive charge blast after the arrival of a police force to the venue of the explosion,” the police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that both explosions have killed a civilian and injured six others, as a preliminary result, adding that the wounded persons were driven to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Victims of northern Baghdad’s Taji blasts raise to 33 killed, 28 injured
7/5/2011 2:11 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The last result of the two explosions that took place in northern Baghdad’s Taji township early on Tuesday, has reached 33 killed and 28 injured, according to a security source.
“The two successive explosions by a booby-trapped car and an explosive charge in the garage of the Municipal Council of north Baghdad’s Taji Township on Tuesday morning killed 33 persons and injured 28 others, including some who remain in serious condition,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The source had stated early in the day that a civilian had been killed and six others injured in a booby-trapped car explosion, followed by an explosive charge blast in the said garage in Taji township, 30 km to the north of Baghdad.
Two persons killed, 8 injured in Katusha attack on fuel store in Baghdad's al-Rashid Hotel
7/5/2011 11:32 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Two persons have been killed and eight others injured of west Baghdad’s 5-star al-Rashid Hotel, due to a fire caused by a Katusha rocket that fell on its fuel store on Monday night, a security source reported on Tuesday.
“The final result of the fire that broke out in a fuel store in al-Rashid Hotel, caused by a Katusha rocket attack on Monday night, were 2 of its employees killed and 8 others injured, along with material damage to the hotel,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
A security source has reported early in the day that a Katusha rocket had fallen on a fuel store, behind al-Rashid Hotel on Monday night, causing a huge fire.
===
Iraq’s Sadrist Trend describes formation of Federals and Regions as plan to divide Iraq
7/5/2011 11:22 AM
NAJAF / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Shiite al-Sadr Trend has denied recent media reports, saying that the Trend supported the division of Iraq, through a general referendum, describing the establishment of federations and regions, a step to divide the country.
“The Sadrist Trend considers heading towards ‘federations and regions’ as a step towards dividing Iraq,” Sheikh Salah al-Obeidy said, saying that “the reason for that had been the escalation of tension, along with the existence of occupation, representing the most serious danger threatening the unity of Iraq.”
He pointed out that some parties and satellite TV channels had distorted Sadr Trend, Muqtada al-Sadr’s statement, that he had called for a referendum to approve the approval of forming Regions, had not been correct, “because we consider any attempt to form such Regions as an attempt that shall lead to the division of Iraq.”
Najaf is 160 km to the south of Baghdad.
==
5 July 2011 Last updated at 07:43 ET
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Iraq: Twin bombing near Baghdad after Green Zone attack
People inspect the scene of rocket attack at a residential complex in Baghdad, 5 July A rocket landed near the Green Zone, killing five
A double bomb attack on a government building in a town near Iraq's capital Baghdad has killed at least 27 people and wounded dozens, officials say.
The first device exploded in the car park of the municipal office in Taji, 20km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, officials told BBC Arabic.
When people rushed to the scene, a car bomb was denoted remotely, they said.
The attack comes after an overnight rocket attack killed five people in the heavily fortified Green Zone.
June has been the deadliest month this year for Iraqi civilians, official figures show, with frequent attacks targeting local government buildings, in addition to targeted strikes on Iraqi police and security personnel.
The government has blamed al-Qaeda for the attacks, but the US military says Iranian-backed militias are responsible for the violence, which also claimed the lives of 14 US soldiers last month.
US celebrations
Map
Iraq's Deputy Health Minister Khamis al-Saad said Monday's blasts in Taji had killed at least 27 people. An interior ministry source has put the initial toll at 35 dead.
Raad al-Tamimi, the head of Taji municipality, said the noon blasts were timed to cause maximum damage: "The place was crowded with people who were going to process official papers and with police and employees," he told Reuters news agency.
In the heart of the capital, a rocket strike on the edge of the Green Zone on Monday night killed three women and two children when it landed on the grounds of the al-Rasheed hotel, Baghdad security spokesman Maj Gen Qassim Atta said.
Ten people were wounded and 25 caravans - occupied by workers at the hotel - were set ablaze. Two men have been arrested, Gen Atta said.
The AP news agency said the rocket attack came as American officials were holding Fourth of July celebrations at the US embassy nearby.
The bombings follow a series of attacks that mainly targeted Iraqi security forces over the last two days, killing at least 10 people.
Overall violence in the country spiked in June, with 271 Iraqi civilians killed, up 34% from May's toll, government figures show.
Fourteen US soldiers were also killed in June, making it the bloodiest month since June 2008 for US troops, who are due to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year.
Are you in the area? Did you witness the blasts? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
==
Iraq
Rocket Hits Baghdad's Green Zone, Kills 4 Iraqis
Published July 05, 2011
| Associated Press
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Baghdad – Iraqi officials say a late night rocket attack on Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone has killed four Iraqis and wounded 10.
A police officer says militants fired a Katyusha rocket late Monday night as Americans were celebrating Fourth of July at the U.S. Embassy, located in the Green Zone. The officer says the rocket hit a residential complex for laborers working at a hotel and sparked a fire.
A doctor at a nearby hospital confirmed the causalities.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.
The sprawling Green Zone houses Iraqi government headquarters and the U.S. and British embassies. It's a favorite target for insurgents' mortar and Katyusha attacks.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/05/rocket-hits-baghdads-green-zone-kills-4-iraqis/#ixzz1REYhbVKQ
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Umm Fawzi reacts, for her slain son, Fawzi Abdullah, 25, at the scene of a rocket attack at a residential complex in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, July 5, 2011. Several Iraqis have been killed and wounded in a late night rocket attack on Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, officials said. (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim) less
==Two people were killed and eight wounded in a rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua Tuesday.
The attack occurred late Monday night when insurgents fired a Katyusha rocket on the zone, which houses some of the Iraqi government offices and foreign embassies, including the U.S. embassy, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The rocket landed on a residential complex for security guards and workers of al-Rasheed Hotel and set on fire many caravans used for their living behind the hotel, the source said.
The rocket was fired from the mainly Shiite neighborhood of al- Zaafaraniyah in southeastern Baghdad, the source added.
The heavily fortified Green Zone has been frequently targeted by insurgents' mortar and rocket attacks. The roughly 10-square-km zone is located on the west bank of the Tigris River, which bisects the Iraqi capital.
==
4 killed, 7 wounded in Baghdad bomb attacks
16:59, July 04, 2011
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Four people were killed, including three policemen, and seven injured in two roadside bomb attacks in Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.
In western Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a police patrol in Mansour district and badly damaged a police vehicle, killing three policemen aboard and wounding another, the source said on condition of anonymity.
Three passers-by were wounded by the blast which also damaged several nearby civilian cars, the source said.
In a separate incident, a roadside bomb ripped through Abu Dsheer neighborhood in southern the capital, killing a civilian and wounding three others, the source added.
Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks continue in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease of violence over the past few years.
==
Earlier on Tuesday, Iraqi officials reported a late night rocket attack on Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which they said killed four and wounded 10.
A police officer said armed men fired a Katyusha rocket launcher late on Monday night as Americans were celebrating independence day at the US Embassy, which is inside the Green Zone. The officer said the rocket hit a residential complex and sparked a fire.
A doctor at a nearby hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information, confirmed the causalities.
The sprawling Green Zone houses the Iraqi government headquarters, as well as the US and British embassies. It is a regular target for mortar and Katyusha attacks by fighters.
==
Iraqi officials rap US money plea
Sun Jul 3, 2011 8:45PM
Iraqi politicians have voiced outrage at the US request from Baghdad to allocate massive chunks of domestic budget to the American troops and embassy in the violence-hit country.
The plea, which has targeted USD 6.2 billion from the Iraqi earmarks, has been made towards the end of the 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of the roughly-50,000-strong United States troops from Iraq.
Speaking to Press TV, Iraqi Science and Technology Minister Abdul Karim al-Samarrai said, “Iraqi people have expressed doubts about the US intentions in Iraq and I agree with them. If the US wants to withdraw its troops, why they have made such request and want to extend their presence in the country.”
“These things have to stop,” said Entifadh Qanbar, a member of the Shia parliamentary front of the Iraqi National Alliance. “[US] President [Barack] Obama was very clear. The new era of the Iraqi-American relationship starting and it has to be non-military, non-security, based on mutual respect, based on exchange of ideas, of culture, of economical benefits,” he said.
Many observers believe that the US having heavily reinforced its military bases in Iraq shows that Washington has no intention of leaving the country any time soon, said our correspondent in Baghdad.
He cited the pundits as saying that the US government now has new plans to move the US Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, which is Washington's biggest military base in the Persian Gulf region, to Iraq.
The decision was made on the grounds that Bahrain -- where the people have been staging protests against the US-backed regime since February -- could no longer be counted upon as a safe haven, Bayati quoted them as saying.
Political analyst Abdul Zahra Al Majid said, “The US wants to play a bigger role in the Middle East and Americans are planning to make their biggest base in the region, where their biggest embassy is located,” referring to the American embassy in Iraq.
“The Iraqi officials stated that the US administration has been interfering in the Iraqi internal affairs since the US-led invasion in 2003 and stated that bringing an end to this intervention is a must,” our reporter said.
===
Ongoing violence may hurt Iraq investment -US general
05 Jul 2011 20:18
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Insurgents still capable of carrying out lethal attacks
* Iraq needs foreign investment to help rebuild after war
By Serena Chaudhry
BASRA, Iraq, July 5 (Reuters) - Failure to curb bombings and attacks by militia groups and insurgents in Iraq could spark a flight of foreign investment from the war-battered country, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Tuesday.
General Lloyd Austin said violent activity by externally supported insurgent groups was threatening security in Iraq as it emerges from the shadow of decades of war and economic sanctions and tries to rebuild.
"Security improvements over the past few years in the south that have encouraged economic development are being threatened by externally supported illegal militias and other extremists," Austin said during a ceremony to mark America's independence and the opening of a U.S. Consulate General in Basra.
"These violent criminal elements if left unchecked will create an environment that forces foreign investors to pull out of the country. ... Violence and economic prosperity cannot co-exist."
Iraq needs investment in almost every sector and although violence has eased from the height of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, daily attacks and killings more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion still rattle some foreign investors.
At least 28 people were killed and dozens more wounded on Tuesday when twin bombs exploded in a crowded parking lot outside a government building north of Baghdad, a day after a series of attacks on Iraqi police and soldiers. [ID:nL6E7I50B3]
June marked the deadliest month for civilians since January, with 155 killed. Fourteen U.S. service members were also killed last month, the highest toll since June 2008.
Attacks against Iraqi and U.S. security forces appear to be mounting in a bid to undermine Iraq's capability to secure itself as its leaders discuss the divisive issue of whether to ask the United States to leave some troops beyond December.
IRANIAN WEAPONS
The southern port city of Basra is a hub for foreign investment, particularly in its vast strategic oilfields, and protecting oil infrastructure is vital as the government tries to increase production and exports.
While the southern oilfields have been relatively peaceful in recent years, two bomb attacks this year have raised concern.
Iraq cracked down recently on Shi'ite militias to try to stem the supply of illegal weapons into its mainly Shi'ite southern areas from Shi'ite neighbour Iran.
"They (weapons) are coming in from Iran. We're certain of that and we're fairly certain of the types of weapons being employed," Austin said, declining to give further details.
"The types of people who are doing this are obviously focused on discrediting the government and trying to prove that the government can't function."
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey said violence had a particular impact on U.S. firms.
"What we haven't seen yet ... is a lot of American investment (in Iraq)," Jeffrey told Reuters in an interview.
"It (violence) has a certain, particular impact on American investments because of the specific targeting of American entities and firms and kidnappings." (Editing by Peter Cooney)
===
Two Katusha rockets fall on military airport in Amara
7/6/2011 11:33 AM
MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: Two Katusha rockets fell on al-Buteira Military Airport north of Amara, the center of southern Iraq’s Missan Province on Tuesday night, causing no human or material losses, a Missan security source reported on Wednesday.
“The Buteira Military Airport, 10 km to the northwest of Amara city, had been garget for two Katusha rockets late Tuesday night, that caused no human or material losses,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The security source gave no further details, but said that an Iraqi Army force had inspected the areas around the venue of the attack, to discover the area, where the rockets were launched from.
The Buteira Military Airport is used by the Iraqi Army’s 38th Brigade of the 10th Division, and had been target for several Katusha rocket raids, launched by unknown armed men.
Amara, the center of Missan Province, is 390 km to the south of Baghdad.
===
Tomorrow's meeting for US withdrawal and government slimming - MP
7/8/2011 12:55 PM
MISSAN / Aswat al-Iraq: State of Law MP Mohammed Saadoun Al-Sayhood disclosed today that tomorrow's political meeting will discuss the preparedness of Iraqi forces following the U.S.
withdrawal, as well as the topics related to slimming the present government.
Sayhood told Aswat al-Iraq that the meeting will be held under the auspices of President Jalal Talabani.
"The meeting will find a vent for political problems and the differences among the big blocs that hinder the work of the government", he added.
He added that "there is misunderstanding that the differences are between the main two blocs of State of Law and Iraqiya, but in reality there differences among all".
According Sayhood, Premier Nouri al-Maliki will submit a detailed report on the preparedness of Iraqi security forces and will listen to viewpoints to be presented by all political blocs, as well as presenting another report on slimming the government.
Since March 2010 elections, the country is witnessing political crises in addition to mistrust, particularly between the main two government partners (State of Law and Iraqiyah blocs), where the latter calls for the implementation of Arbil accords that paved the road to the formation of the government, including the distribution of security posts and the National Council for Higher Strategic Policies.
Differences concentrated between the two bloc on the implementation of Arbil accords and the choice of personalities suitable for security posts, which complicated the political scene and led to Friday's demonstration that demanded eradication of corruption, better services and reforms.
Amara, center of Missan province, lies 390 km south of the capital, Baghdad.
===
Aswat Al Iraq / Wassit , Security
No casualties in US Delta Base in Kut
7/8/2011 4:59 PM
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: Close sources to U.S.
forces in Wasit province said today that the rockets directed to their military base west of Kut resulted in no harm for the Americans and Iraqis present there.
The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the Delta military base was targeted yesterday night with three Katyusha rockets, which fell in adjacent areas.
He pointed out that the base comprises a number of Iraqi police units, border and air force units, in addition to US forces.
Unknown armed group shelled three rockets towards the base, 7 km west of Kut.
Kut, center of Wassit province, lies 180 km south east of the capital, Baghdad.
===
US may act unilaterally vs Iran-armed Iraq militias
11 Jul 2011 19:07
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Panetta wants Iraqi decision on keeping US troops
* Shi'ite militias blamed for surge in U.S. troop deaths
(Updates with talks, Maliki, Panetta comments)
By Phil Stewart
BAGHDAD, July 11 (Reuters) - The United States will take unilateral action when needed to deal with the threat to American troops in Iraq from Shi'ite militias armed by Iran, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Monday.
Panetta's comments came during his first trip as defense secretary to Iraq, where he also vented frustration over Baghdad's failure to decide whether it wanted to keep some of the remaining 46,000 U.S. troops in the country beyond an end-year deadline for their withdrawal.
U.S. forces officially ended combat operations in Iraq last August but have come under increasing fire in recent weeks. A senior U.S. defense official described it as part of a campaign by militants to "bloody our noses on the way out."
Fourteen U.S. service members were killed in hostile incidents in June, the highest monthly toll in three years. At least three more have been killed in July, including one on Sunday, the day Panetta arrived in Baghdad.
"We are very concerned about Iran and the weapons they are providing to extremists here in Iraq," the former CIA director said in an address to U.S. troops in Baghdad.
"In June we lost a hell of a lot of Americans as a result of those attacks. And we cannot just simply stand back and allow this to continue to happen ..."
Panetta said Washington's first effort would be to press Iraq to go after Shi'ite groups responsible for the attacks, a point he raised in a meeting with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani.
"Secondly, to do what we have to do unilaterally, to be able to go after those threats as well, and we're doing that," he said, referring to the right of U.S. forces to defend themselves on Iraqi soil.
U.S. officials blame Shi'ite militias armed by Iraq's Shi'ite neighbour Iran for most of the recent attacks and U.S. military explosives experts showed reporters travelling with Panetta pieces of rockets used for attacks in Iraq that they linked to Iran.
General Lloyd Austin, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, declined to comment on what specific measures unilateral action might involve.
"I think what the secretary was pointing to was we'll do what's necessary to protect ourselves and that could include a host of things ... so we'll just leave it at that," he said.
MAKE A DECISION!
During his talks, Panetta stressed that the clock was ticking for Baghdad to decide whether it would ask some troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2011, a Pentagon official said.
But Maliki's office offered little clarity, saying in a statement that the decision was "up to the national consensus and what the political parties and parliament agree on."
Panetta, unafraid of blunt, colorful language, made no secret earlier on Monday about his frustration with Iraq's failure to come to a decision -- even as he acknowledged that the delays were part of the country's democratic process.
"Do they want us to stay? Don't they want us to stay? ... Dammit, make a decision," Panetta told U.S. troops. "So it gets frustrating. But that's the nature of democracy ...it's that kind of debate, that kind of dialogue goes on."
Earlier on Monday, militants fired three Katyusha rockets into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the massive U.S. embassy complex and Iraqi government buildings, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry source.
Panetta, who as CIA director helped oversee the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden, said his number one priority since becoming defence secretary was to defeat al Qaeda. He has estimated there are around 1,000 al Qaeda fighters in Iraq.
In language reminiscent of the Bush era, he appeared to link the Iraq war to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in his comments to troops.
"The reason you guys are here is because on 9/11 the United States got attacked, and 3,000 ... innocent human beings got killed because of al Qaeda," Panetta said. "And we've been fighting them as a result."
He told reporters he was not talking about the justification for the 2003 invasion -- intelligence, later proved wrong, that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Instead, he said it was the fact that in the years since then, "al Qaeda had really developed a presence here."
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Writing by Jim Loney and Phil Stewart; editing by Tim Pearce)
===
Reference to Najaf, calling for the division of Iraq on Friday preachers San !!!!!
That the religious authority in Najaf calling for the federal federal division of Iraq and on the lips of preachers of Friday, including Mr. Mohammed al-Haidari told The Imam of Mosque Khilani and did not believe these words, YOU NEED claim the text of the sermon for last week Yes, this Alfrhah that Vriqaha Osama al-Najafi, namely (a federal our Sunni brothers) Bammer from the White House when he visited her and said an official source and Houalemla Nazim Jubouri a leader of the infidels and those who split off from al-Qaeda to join the Awakening of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Zarqawi was said in a statement known at the time made by the Mujahideen Shura Council in 2006 for the federal The detection expert on al Qaeda that this project was not born Allhzhao the current situation, but had arranged, in secret by a group of Iraqi traders influential on politicians known and some religious symbols, which betrayed the Iraqi people and so to please their masters from the Americans and Iranians, who counted themselves on Islam and those who entered across the Iraqi border illegally and was able to thanks to the religious authority and where it is legitimate cover her Ttsr under the cloak of religious authority to have a significant role in the political process in Iraq and the extension of influence by the religious authority in Najaf and the fact that the only project that serves the State of Israel and the Zionist lobby and the target is the tearing and unity among the Iraqi people and all its components and I'm God and to Him we return
==
Can Sistani ???!!!!!!!!!!
After years and years of poverty, hunger and deprivation, murder, deportation and rape, and desecration of holy sites and the confiscation of freedoms and waste of dignities, Wu ..., and after that took control of ignorance, silence, silence and submission and surrender because of Opioids anesthesia Almusharana and justification, scrolling, and cunning, deception and slogans lies and hypocrisy and promises of vanity and laugh at the deception that satisfy .. . The body of Iraq, and after that woke up the people of Iraq and clear the dust of silence and decided to raise their voices and demand their legitimate rights and works to evaluate the government, which grabbed the neck of the Iraqis (the blessing of Sistani, who Aojib the people elect the lists of major Shi'ite which today is controlled by the government) and reform and the eradication of cancer rampant corruption in them through peaceful means a civilized democracy guaranteed by the Constitution and all laws of legitimacy and status, and having strangled and Ahtdhart government traitorous smell of corruption and injustice, and was shocked voice of the masses Almentvdh and shake the throne empty and Tlvdt breathing her last and yellowed faces Chkhosa and trembled Fraúsm and took control of themselves, cause panic and confusion, weakness and collapse, and after 've had the signs of victory, change and reform and the elimination of corruption and the corrupt in the horizon .., after all this and that moved the magic wand and a safety valve government and Khvha the hippocampus and the safe haven and protector and backer of reference Sistani to abortion demonstrations and prevent and eliminate the flimsy excuses and hanger worn tired of people fired its opinion and denied the peaceful demonstrations of Tejept people's expectations, and failing them, abandon them and return the soul to the body of the government traitor after it was dying, and the event happened was what happened and passed out the Hundred Days and Beyond and the state of Iraq and its people interpreted from bad to worse Vdmua orphans are still pouring down and cries of widows and mothers of martyrs and missing persons and prisoners who Taataftr him deaf Chiakhid still Imlye Alkhafiqin of no avail, and Naah bereaved plays Balhanh sad to Uttar clues the night dark, and the whine of hungry, the disadvantaged and the poor and the needy hand in the skies of Iraq, dark, and the sound of explosions tore the promise of morning, the Iraqis, and pistols Alkatm harvested Aaroahamm, and hip-summer heat grilling their skin in the absence of electricity, and the stomachs apt the poor and their livers Taatzy Habhh and their eyes on the bounties and wealth of their country which they were deprived the plunder their enemies, and reference Sistani in sleep and silence about what is going on and going from the oppression and injustice, destruction and loss was the main reason for the occurrence,
Sistani is to blame for the government traitorous and omissions and failures, corruption, and injustice in all respects because it is something people elect the lists of major Shi'ite control of the government, as recognized by the Bashir, Pakistan's one of the references of the four, which is the main reason preventing people from demonstrating a main instigator of all parties, particularly the treacherous Maliki's government which has worked to weaken abortion demonstrations in various ways, and cheap methods of repression and gagged and the fight against national figures, which were leading the demonstrations in all the battle Suh, freedom, and parents,
Will Sistani sponsor this government, which was still supporting her and defending her and was standing to her side against the Iraqi people ???!!!!
Can Sistani believes that the demonstrators honorable national water and electricity, medicine, jobs and Altaan ???!!!!
Can Sistani that provides protection for the lives of the demonstrators from kidnapping, murder and detention ???!!!!
Can Sistani to eradicate corruption and corrupt ???!!!!
Can Sistani to stop Iran's blatant interference in Iraq ???!!!!
Is Bsttia Sistani put an end to the looting and the date of the wealth of Iraq by Iran and its occupation of the Iraqi wells ???!!!!
Can Sistani to stop abuses Kuwaiti oil wealth of Iraq ???!!!!
Is ... ???!!!! Is ... ???!!!! Is ... ???!!!!
We Anstagdi attitudes of Sistani, but the legal mandate and the humanitarian imperative and the site Atqms impose upon it especially since it is the main reason for the domination of this treacherous government led by al-Maliki of Iraq, its people and their survival ...
===
FEATURE-Iraq Shi'ite militia splinters into hit squads, gangs
21 Jul 2011 10:13
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Mercenaries split from Shi'ite Mehdi Army-officials
* Cleric Sadr repudiates "criminal" Mehdi Army factions
* Officials say Iran supports assassination groups
By Suadad al-Salhy
BAGHDAD, July 21 (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army has spawned(Offspring occurring in numbers; brood.
A person who is the issue of a parent or family.) dozens of renegade splinter groups which frequently assassinate Iraqi officials on behalf of foreign sponsors, Sadrist and security officials say.
The Mehdi Army, which fought against U.S. troops after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has fractured into small, well-trained and well-armed criminal gangs involved in contract killings, kidnapping and extortion from homeowners, businessmen and government agencies, particularly in Baghdad.
A popular Shi'ite cleric who leads the militia as well as his own political bloc, Sadr has repudiated the splinter groups, describing them as "murderers" and "criminals", and has called on Iraqi security forces and tribes to expel them.
"They have turned into mercenary groups which have no ideology or specific agenda. They are more like contract killers," said Major-General Hassan al-Baidhani, chief of staff for Baghdad's security operations command.
"They have no connection with Sadr offices or Moqtada al-Sadr," Baidhani said.
Sadr disarmed his militia after Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's troops -- backed by American forces -- defeated it in Baghdad and southern cities in 2008.
His Sadrist movement has become a force in mainstream politics. But many of his fighters have had a difficult time adjusting to normal life, sources said.
"They are accustomed to the killing and the power and can't let go," said Kamal, a Mehdi Army leader who asked that his surname not be used because of his militant past.
At the height of Iraq's 2006-2007 sectarian slaughter, the Mehdi Army was seen by Washington as one of the biggest threats to security with its young fighters toting rocket launchers and battling U.S. and Iraqi troops in the streets.
Violence has fallen sharply since then, and the Sunni Islamist al Qaeda group is routinely blamed for attacks.
Security forces have made strides against the insurgency, but militants have stepped up attacks to destabilise the government as U.S. troops prepare to leave by the end of the year, more than eight years after toppling Saddam Hussein.
THE KILLING BUSINESS
Both Shi'ite and Sunni groups carry out killings but a recent spree targeting police and army officers in Baghdad was the work of Shi'ite militias concerned about a return of Saddam's outlawed Baath party, security officials told Reuters.
Iraqi officials say the militias are well-trained and have access to government cars, badges and other equipment.
"The Interior Ministry, Defence Ministry and National Security Ministry are infiltrated completely by the leaders of these groups," said a senior police officer who declined to be named. "Unfortunately, they can catch anyone in Baghdad."
Officials said the splinter groups have teams for surveying and catching targets, killing and documentation. Drive-by hit squads consist of a driver, a passenger-seat sniper and a gunman to protect the shooter.
Baidhani said the assassination squads must prove their kills. The documentation groups are responsible for video of the crime scene and the victim's body before disposal.
"This has become a business earning cash," he said.
THE HAND OF IRAN
Washington has 46,000 troops in Iraq and Iraqi leaders are debating the divisive question of whether to ask some to stay.
June was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in three years. U.S. officials blame Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias.
James Jeffrey, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, said recently that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its Qods force special operations unit were supplying "significantly more lethal weapons systems" to some Iraqi militias.
Tehran has denied such accusations in the past.
While the well-known Asaib al-Haq and Kata'ib Hizballah are the biggest Mehdi Army splinter groups, dozens of others have appeared, working as mercenaries and killing for sponsors inside and outside Iraq, Sadrist and Iraqi security officials said.
"They have become an intelligence tool employed by Iran to terminate its opponents in Iraq," said a senior Sadrist leader close to Moqtada al-Sadr who asked not to be identified.
Sadrist sources said the groups are funded and trained by Iran and use weapons similar to those of the Iraqi security forces -- M16 rifles and Glock pistols.
"The problem ... is that Sayed Moqtada does not order their termination. He fears the (rebellion) that will be created between the sons of the same sect," the Sadrist leader said.
"Also he does not want to collide with the Iranians now. The (Sadrist) movement still needs them," he said.
SADR CITY TIME BOMB
Sadr recently said the Mehdi Army militia would remain "frozen" even if U.S. troops stayed beyond the year-end deadline, due to an increase in "evil acts" among those "who claim they belong to the Mehdi Army".
He was pointing at the vast Shi'ite slum of Sadr City in east Baghdad, bastion of the Mehdi Army and its splinters. Most of the hit squad members live and work there, officials say.
Last month, Mehdi Army factions fought gun battles in Sadr City. Sadrist and security officials said most such clashes result from turf wars between groups extorting contractors, government agencies and home- and shop-owners who are forced to pay millions of dinars to preserve their lives and property.
"Sadr City has turned into a time bomb that could blow up at any minute," the Sadrist leader said. (Editing by Jim Loney and Alistair Lyon)
===
Baghdad: More of the Basics
July 21, 2011 Mousa Baraka Leave a comment Go to comments
I spent most the first few weeks trying to meet new people, find out about new perspectives. I’ve learnt a lot of things. But once again, I’ll begin with the basics.
Eating out everyday can get very tiresome. Takeout food is rarely very good, and there is a real lack of variety, especially at dinner. I like having falafel, with auberjines, potatoe and amba, but that’s looked down upon by most people. Otherwise its kebab or dijaj, or both. There are new western-style takeout places that do pizza, burgers or doner. Even if they don’t taste bad (and sometimes they really do) it’s easy to get bored of them after a week, especially if you’ve had them at lunch already.
It’s actually better that the food isn’t great, because it’s very difficult to get any exercise done in Iraq. The concept of jogging randomly on the street is unheard of, and the one time I tried it people kept asking me where I was going. When I said I was jogging for the sake of it, they looked at me as if I was crazy. This is especially the case in the scorching heat. Most of your time is confined indoors, and sadly I’m not one of those people who can jog on the spot and wave my arms around while watching someone doing it on the tv in front of me. The importance of exercise and a healthy diet hasn’t entered the consciousness of average Iraqi, and this is compounded by the sheer number of people that smoke. I hope to write about the public health system that has to tackle these issues soon.
But these are far from being the most frustrating things in Iraq. In my opinion, the most annoying thing about being in Iraq, from the perspective of a British Iraqi – the thing that can really get under your skin – is people’s attitude towards time. If you think Iraqis in London are always late, come meet Iraqis in Baghdad. There seems to be only four times to arrange a meeting during the day:
1) Morning/before Dhuhr (8:00am – 12:00pm)
2) After Dhuhr/ before Asr (12:00pm – 4:00pm)
3) Asr/before Maghrib (4:00pm – 8:00pm)
4) After Maghrib/Evenin (8:00pm – 12:00pm)
There are of course those who give you a time, but rarely do they come anywhere close to it. It seems like people wear watches as a fashionable accessory, no more. Sometimes people have good reasons for being late, like the file they needed to get from X ministry took 3 hours longer than expected, there was a car bomb on the way, or simply the Baghdad traffic with all the security checkpoints. But that makes it no less frustrating. People are just used to a much slower pace of life here. The day usually finishes by mid-afternoon, and productivity drops significantly after then. It makes for a good social life, but if you’re used to a London-city lifestyle where every hour must be accounted for, and where you hope to achieve 10 things in one day, then forget about it.
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INTERVIEW-Iraqi forces wary of major Baghdad attack
22 Jul 2011 09:46
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Local security forces braced for major assault
* Al Qaeda affiliates still seen as capable force
By Suadad al-Salhy
BAGHDAD, July 22 (Reuters) - Improved security in Baghdad and a lull in assassinations in the last three weeks may merely signal that armed groups are preparing a major attack in the Iraqi capital, a senior official said.
Violence has dropped sharply overall since the height of Iraq's sectarian conflict in 2006-2007, but both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim groups remain responsible for killings, bombings and attacks that usually happen almost daily.
May was the most violent month in Baghdad this year with 72 attempted assassinations -- of which 28 were fatal -- mostly targeting police, army and officials. In the last three weeks there were just five such assassinations in the capital.
"The rate of assassinations dropped to its lowest and the rate of attacks using improvised explosive devices dropped a lot and car bombs almost disappeared," Major General Hassan al-Baidhani, chief of staff for the Baghdad operations command, told Reuters in an interview this week.
"Such indications reflect the enemy plans to carry out a major operation, a large scale operation," Baidhani said.
Iraqi forces are taking over full responsibility for security as remaining U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from the country at the end of 2011, more than eight years after the invasion that toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.
Baidhani said Iraqi security forces have carried out operations targeting Baghdad murder squads, arresting mostly members tied to al Qaeda-affiliated organisations. But surviving members and their rivals remain a threat.
"These organisations are positioning themselves to take to the street to carry out the assassinations," he said.
Iraqi officials acknowledge local armed forces face some gaps in their capabilities as they tackle an al Qaeda-linked Sunni Islamist insurgency and Shi'ite militias which Washington says are backed by neighbouring Iran.
Iraqi has many illegal armed groups, from the al Qaeda-linked Sunni Islamic State of Iraq or ISI, others tied to Saddam's outlawed Baath party and dozens of splinter organisations formed around the Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia.
Until this month's drop in killings, a spree of attacks targeting senior police and army officers in Baghdad was carried out by Shi'ite militias concerned about a resurgence of the Baath party when U.S. troops leave, security officials told Reuters.
COMPLICATING THE SECURITY PICTURE
While Iraqi and U.S. forces have made progress, militants have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police this year as they try to destabilise the government while U.S. troops pack up.
Violence by Shi'ite groups complicates the security picture at a time when the U.S. military is deciding how quickly it can safely withdraw. U.S. officials have blamed Iranian-backed militants for a rise in attacks on their troops.
Baidhani said he believed organisations affiliated to al Qaeda remain the most likely and capable of carrying out attacks after 2011, while former Baath party organisations are confined to certain areas in the capital which can be controlled.
"Defunct Baath organisations are a mixture of al Qaeda and other groups," Baidhani said. "They are still working along the banks of the Tigris, starting from western Baghdad up into northern Baghdad and cannot leave this area," he said.
Baidhani said the U.S troop drawdown this year will not leave a security gap. But he said maintenance trips by U.S. forces between their bases had become a burden on Iraqi land forces, who are responsible for securing their routes.
"Every day we have been protecting 40 U.S. convoys," he said. "The Americans are now a burden on Iraqi units. When they start to move it has to be with our knowledge and the area has to be fully secured by our units." (Writing by Suadad al-Salhy, Editing by Patrick Markey and David Stamp)
===
Disputes among Basra Council on US Forces
7/22/2011 2:37 PM
BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: The media director of Basra's Council announced that a dispute occurred among the council's members and the head of the security commission, where the members permitted the entrance of U.S.
forces into the premises, while the latter refused to do so.
Hashim Li'aibi told Aswat al-Iraq that the head of Basra's Council prevented the entrance of the forces according to a previous decision in this regard, but the head of the security commission permitted them to hold a meeting with the members of the council.
This created a state of division among the members, where the Sadrist Trend and Al-Fadhila (Chastity) party threatened to make drastic measures in this regard.
A fortnight ago, Basra's Council adopted a number of resolutions on the U.S.
forces, the first was to prevent them entering the town, leaving Basra airport, and compensating citizens for their military operations.
===
Disputes among Basra Council on US Forces
7/22/2011 2:37 PM
BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: The media director of Basra's Council announced that a dispute occurred among the council's members and the head of the security commission, where the members permitted the entrance of U.S.
forces into the premises, while the latter refused to do so.
Hashim Li'aibi told Aswat al-Iraq that the head of Basra's Council prevented the entrance of the forces according to a previous decision in this regard, but the head of the security commission permitted them to hold a meeting with the members of the council.
This created a state of division among the members, where the Sadrist Trend and Al-Fadhila (Chastity) party threatened to make drastic measures in this regard.
A fortnight ago, Basra's Council adopted a number of resolutions on the U.S.
forces, the first was to prevent them entering the town, leaving Basra airport, and compensating citizens for their military operations.
===
Kuwaiti minister discusses Gulf security and US withdrawal
7/22/2011 6:13 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Sabah is discussing with his British counterpart William Haig in London the security of the Gulf and the situation in Iraq after US military withdrawal, as reported by the Kuwaiti Al-Qabas daily.
The paper, in its issue of today, reported that Al-Sabah stressed the importance of Iraqi stability and security, as well as the political process including the respect for human rights, international law and good neighborliness.
It added that the talks concentrated on the Iraqi Hizb Allah's threats against Kuwait.
Al-Sabah stressed the importance of countering these inclinations and preventing terrorist organization from using Iraqi territories to endanger the regional gulf security and stability, as the paper added.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat daily reported last Monday that Iraqi Hizb Allah warned the companies working in Mobarak port from continuing their functions there.
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Explosive charge blows up against U.S. patrol, six wanted men detained in Basra
7/25/2011 12:17 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: An explosive charge blew off against a U.S.
Army patrol in southern Iraq’s
City of Basra on Sunday night, but losses were not known, whilst police forces arrested six wanted men,
One of them wanted for terrorist acts, a Basra police source reported on Monday.
“An American patrol, heading for Shueiba, 35 km to the west of Basra, has become target for an explosive
Charge on its road, but results were not known,” the policed source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
In another incident, the same source said that Iraqi forces have detained six wanted men, one of them charged with terrorist acts.
Basra, the center of the Province carrying the same name, is 590 km to the south of Baghdad.
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Author profith View Profile | Add to favourites | Ignore
Date posted today 20:19
Subject Re: BIRs + Deeper drill targets View parent message
Votes for this Posting Voted UP 12 times.
Message
for me this is getting frighteningly massive,
(Todd did say this may be too big for us, but were growing into it)
if gkp's finds do turn out to be the next kirkuk ( having already found oil in shaiken and either side in AB and SA) and still BB to drill,
when we do get bought out, bet we'll all look back in years too come and think we were bought out far too cheaply.
What did give me a boost this W/E was too see were sponsoring the next oil kurdistan oil conference ,and with the KRG alongside feel far less vunerable.
- looking at some of the big oil co's featuring at the conference .WOW.
my feeling is that many co's want to be the first to bid for GKP but are frightened too do so as it'll be like a shark feeding frenzy.
put into perspective by spikeys post this am
World's next great oil power.
Kirkuk is a 'land mine' where all sides want U.S. to stay
Province has great potential for civil war, and U.S. has tools to help in many roles
By Roy Gutman
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: Sunday, Jul. 24, 2011
A soldier is trained at Contingency Operating Site Warrior. U.S. military planners have said they need to know by July 30 what the Iraqis want.
KIRKUK, Iraq If civil war were to resume in Iraq, which could mean the breakup of the world's next great oil power, Kirkuk is the likely epicenter.
It doesn't take much for ethnic tensions to boil in the oil-rich province of 850,000, also named Kirkuk, which Kurds consider their Jerusalem but which Arabs and Turkmen also claim. An altercation on a street in the city of Kirkuk, a riot in a nearby Arab town and a car bombing shook the peace in the first half of this year, pitting Kurds against Arabs in a manner that Sunni Arab extremists are too eager to exploit.
"Kirkuk is different from anywhere else in Iraq," said Col. Michael Pappal, the U.S. military commander at Contingency Operating Site Warrior, the American base at Kirkuk airport that's soon to be turned over to Iraqi forces. "Does it have the most violence? No. The most lethal violence? No. Is this where the civil war is going to start? There's a potential for that."
Or, as Tahseen al-Shaikhli, an Iraqi government spokesman, put it: "Kirkuk is like a land mine on a lake of oil."
Nowhere, Iraqi and U.S. officials say, is the argument for keeping American troops in Iraq past Dec. 31 stronger than in Kirkuk.
"We are the glue that brings people together, that facilitates cooperation," said Pappal, a Creekside, Pa., native who commands the U.S. 1st Advise and Assist Task Force of the 1st Infantry Division, about 4,000 troops. "We're also the nuclear control rod that keeps things from going to critical mass. It's the two things together."
Remove the control rod, and "you have a reaction that potentially could get out of control."
Iraq's political leaders are struggling with whether to ask the United States to keep some troops in the country after this year, when an agreement the two countries signed in 2008 dictates that they be gone. The Obama administration has said it would consider such a request, but time is short and the decision is caught up in a logjam of competing Iraqi interests - including the appointment of ministers to run the country's Defense and Interior ministries.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appears to favor a continued U.S. presence, but other members of his coalition are opposed. They include anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose disarmed Mahdi Army militia until recently appeared prepared to attack American troops if they remained.
U.S. military planners warn that the pace of withdrawal for the last 46,000 Americans is picking up, and they've said they need to know by July 30 what the Iraqis want.
"Nobody will touch the Kirkuk problem for the time being, nor reach within 100 feet of it," Shaikhli said. "The American troops are the balance of everything there."
That view is widely shared in Kirkuk.
"The Iraqi security forces do not have the ability to secure Iraq's borders, its airspace or its sole seaport in Basra," said Najmeldeen Kereem, the Kurdish governor of the province. The U.S. is needed, he added, "not just for their military role and advice, but for mediation during crises."
Even Sunni Arabs who want the U.S. to leave acknowledge the role of its troops in keeping competing sides apart.
"Occupation forces are never good for any country. Their presence is not right, and I believe that they should go," said Husein Ali Salih, a member of the Kirkuk provincial council. But, he added, "their withdrawal may tip the scales in favor of any side. Who knows which?"
As with most of the American troops still in Iraq, the mission of Pappal's 4,000-member "Devil Brigade" is training Iraqi police and soldiers to combat violent extremists.
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Parl't called to stop US unilateral military operations - MP
7/26/2011 6:45 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A Sadrist affiliated Al-Ahrar bloc MP said today that the U.S.
forces are conducting unilateral military operations in implementation of the threats made by U.S.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Panetta threatened that the US forces will undertake unilateral military operations against the powers or groups that endanger these forces.
MP Maha al-Douri added, during today's parliamentary session, that since Panetta's threats, the U.S.
forces are carrying out unilateral military operations.
She demanded that parliament should take drastic action to prevent such operations, which were conducted in Diala, Mosul, Nassiriya, Diwaniya, Wassit, and the capital, Baghdad.
"We need strong action to prevent these operations.
The Iraqi forces should take actions to prevent these acts," she confirmed.
U.S.
Defense Secretary Panetta paid an unannounced visit to Baghdad two weeks ago in a sudden and unannounced visit.
The visit came ten days after Panetta was appointed to the post, replacing Robert Gates.
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Any US military stay is occupation - Ahrar Bloc
7/27/2011 8:23 PM
KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: The Sadrist affiliated Ahrar Trend's leading member and MP Jawad al-Hasnawi stated today that any agreement with the American side that stipulates an extension of their forces in Iraq will be regarded as new occupation, calling on the Iraqi government to abide by Iraqi public opinion and the text of the agreement that says the withdrawal shall be comprehensive.
Hasnawi told Aswat al-Iraq that "we hear announcements here and there on the stay of the U.S.
forces, but we believe that any training or protection pretexts shall be regarded as new occupation."
"As Al-Ahrar political bloc, we reject such a possibility," he confirmed.
He called on the Iraqi government to listen to the public opinion.
The agreement signed between Iraq and the U.S.
in 2008 stipulated the final withdrawal of American forces by the end of this year.
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Secret accord exists between Kurdistan Coalition and U.S. to keep part of latter’s troops in Kirkuk, MP charges
7/28/2011 1:33 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: A Legislature from Al-Ahrar Bloc, belonging to the Shi-ite Al-Sadr Trend, has said on Thursday that a secret agreement existed between the Kurdistan Region and the American side to keep part of the U.S. forces in north Iraq’s Kirkuk Province.
“There is a secret agreement between the American side and the government of Kurdistan Region on possibility to keep American troops in Kirkuk, being an area of conflict,” Legislature Ali al-Tamimy stated on Thursday, charging that “Kurdistan Region strives to capture the city of Kirkuk, after splitting it from Iraq.”
The oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 255 km to the northeast of Baghdad, is among the areas in conflict between the Federal Government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.
Noteworthy is that the U.S.
combat troops had withdrawn from Iraq at the end of August last, according to the Strategic Agreement, signed between Baghdad and Washington at end of 2008, whilst the remaining U.S.
non-combat troops, estimated at 50,000, would withdraw by the end of December this year.
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-implementation of erbil initiative meeting saturday.
- U.S. stay or go decisions saturday.
- possible approval of oil and gas amendments tuesday.
- and possible defence minister saturday.
slightly o/t but you'd think choosing a defence minister for iraq would be one of the first things being concluded by a new gov, but here we are a year or so later and this is the first time i can recall malikis approval of defence minister candidates.
a big gla....
p.s. then theirs all of our news due ( nearly forgot)
Iraqi List: Maliki grants approval for defense minister candidates; Allawi to attend Saturdays meetingPosted: July 27, 2011 by THE CURRENCY NEWSHOUND -
Iraqi deputy reveals Maliki granted the approval of the defense ministers of his list and one by proxy and vote on the political council of parliament
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 17:13
MP for the Iraqi List, Ahmed Jubouri for “the approval of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to give the Ministry of Defence and Minister of one of his list by proxy.”
He told all of Iraq [where] that “the President told the head of the list Iyad Allawi during his visit last night that the Prime Minister has agreed to assign the portfolio of the Ministry of Defense Agency to a minister of the Iraqi List, provided that the chosen is one of them until they agree on a candidate to the ministry.”
He added, “Talabani told Allawi, Maliki also approved the formation of the National Council for the strategic policy and be executive and vote in Parliament.”
He Jubouri that “Allawi expressed his willingness to attend the meeting of leaders of political blocs next Saturday after listening to these approvals by al-Maliki”.
http://bit.ly/qGmUDB
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Iraqi leaders agree to talks with US on training mission
03 August 2011 | 01:09 | FOCUS News Agency
Home / World
Baghdad. Iraqi political leaders have agreed to allow the government to begin negotiations with the United States on a training mission lasting beyond the end of 2011, when American troops were due to withdraw, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP on Wednesday, AFP reported.
"The political blocs have agreed to let the government start negotiations with the American side only on the issues of training," he said, following an hours-long closed door meeting of Iraqi politicians, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"This is a declaration of intent to let the government start the negotiations," added Zebari, who took part in the meeting, before noting that there were as yet "no details about the numbers or about new agreements."
The decision comes after a visit to Iraq by Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he insisted US forces needed a decision "now".
"Time is quickly running out for us to be able to consider any other course," Mullen told reporters at a news conference at the US military's Victory Base Camp on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital Tuesday morning.
He insisted, however, that any deal would require parliamentary approval stating that US soldiers stationed in Iraq would enjoy immunity from prosecution.
Around 47,000 American troops remain stationed in Iraq, all of whom must currently withdraw from the country by year-end under the terms of a 2008 bilateral security pact.
==
Iraqi PM Hopes For Tuesday US Troop Deci...
Arundallio
8UP
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 at 2:40 pm UTC Posted 2 minutes ago
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he hopes lawmakers can reach a final decision on a possible extension of the U.S. military presence in the country at a meeting on Tuesday.
He made the comments in a statement posted on his website late Monday ahead of a meeting of the country's political blocs at President Jalal Talibani's residence.
U.S. forces are scheduled to withdraw from Iraq at the end of the year, but both U.S. and Iraqi officials have expressed concern about Baghdad's ability to cope with security after the withdrawal.
The United States has grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of a decision from Iraq on whether it will seek an extension.
Joint Chiefs of Staff head Admiral Mike Mullen said Tuesday that he understands there are difficult political challenges associated with a potential deal, but repeated that Iraqi leaders need to decide “as soon as possible.â€
Mullen told reporters there will come a time when it is too late to reverse a planned withdrawal, and all of the U.S. troops will have to leave.
He also said any agreement to keep American troops in Iraq beyond the deadline must include guarantees of legal immunity for U.S. forces.
The joint chiefs chairman commented after a meeting with Mr. Maliki in Baghdad. He also accused neighboring Iran of interfering in Iraq. He said Tehran had been arming militants who carried out attacks on Iraqi soil.
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Parliament Speaker, US Ambassador, discuss fate of U.S. forces in Iraq
8/16/2011 1:46 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Parliament Speaker, Usama al-Nujeify, has discussed with the U.S.
Ambassador to Baghdad, James Jeffery, and the Commander of the U.S.
Forces in Iraq, General L.
Austin, the fate of the American forces in Iraq, according to a statement by Nujeify’s office on Tuesday.
“The Parliament’s Speaker has received at his office on Tuesday the American Ambassador to Baghdad, James Jeffery and the Commander of the U.S.
Forces in Iraq, General L.
Austin, with both sides discussing the political situation in Iraq and means for strengthening it,” the statement, copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.
“Both sides have discussed the impacts of the Regional circumstances on the general conditions in Iraq, as well as the discussion of the fate of the American Forces in Iraq, along with means for boosting the bilateral relations between both countries,” the statement stressed.
The Strategic Agreement, signed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008, had confirmed that the American forces would withdraw from Iraq by the end of December this year.
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Monday's attacks attempts to show "muscle" - US command
8/16/2011 1:28 PM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The American side has considered the attacks that took place on Monday against a number of Iraqi cities as an attempt by what it described as “Rebels” to show their muscles and to undermine the potential of Iraq’s security forces.
“The rebels in the country are trying to show their power and undermine the potential of the Iraqi security forces to protect security, press on them and force them to submit,” the Commander of the U.S.
Forces in southern and central Iraq, Colonel Scott Yeflin, told a news conference in the Calso Base in Hilla city on Tuesday.
“I saw during the period of my presence here that the strength of the Iraqi Security Force and its firmness and flexibility; and I’m confident that this Force won’t allow such events,” he said.
On his part, Major Mark Miller, the Executive in Charge of the 6th Brigade of the 1st Cavaliers Division, said: “We had offered our support for the Iraqi Forces, but they wanted to take the command in their hands this time.”
A number of Iraqi cities had witnessed on Monday a series of explosions, the first of their type for more than 2 months, most of them in the Provinces of Wassit, Karbala, Salahal-Din, Najaf and Kirkuk, that killed over 60 people and injured about 250 others, according to security sources.
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U.S. carried out unilateral air strikes in Iraq
16 Aug 2011 22:35
Source: reuters // Reuters
* June was deadliest month for US in Iraq since 2008
* Monday was Iraq's deadliest day so far this year
* Latest attacks in Iraq blamed on al Qaeda affiliate
By Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. military carried out two unilateral air strikes in Iraq in June that did not involve Iraqi forces, both of them in self-defense to prevent attacks, the main U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said on Tuesday.
The air strikes are another sign of how the United States is being forced to sometimes respond directly to militant threats a year after it formally ended its combat mission in Iraq and just months before the scheduled withdrawal of all of its troops.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned during a trip to Iraq last month that the United States would take unilateral action when necessary to deal with Iran-backed militants who made June the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2008.
Still, U.S. officials have appeared reluctant recently to detail unilateral operations, something Major General Jeffrey Buchanan did to an extent during a briefing with reporters. He stressed that U.S. forces had a right to self-defense under the security pact with Iraq that expires at the end of this year.
Buchanan detailed a June strike by a team of Apache attack helicopters against militants launching rockets at a U.S. base adjacent to the Basra international airport.
"They engaged and killed them. That was a unilateral action, but it was also self-defense. There (were) no Iraqi security forces involved in the situation," he said.
The second example involved two militants who last month planned to detonate a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy.
"We attacked and killed them rather than waiting (for the convoy) to drive through the ambush and get attacked," he said. He did not say whether there were other strikes in June.
He added that joint U.S.-Iraq operations were the first choice, but were not always possible.
The United States is due to withdraw all of its 46,000 forces from Iraq by the end of the year unless negotiations with Baghdad end with an agreement to keep some forces there on a slimmed-down training mission.
Legally-binding guarantees for remaining U.S. forces are expected to be part of any future deal to keep some troops in Iraq, but whether an agreement will include the right for U.S. forces to defend themselves is an open question.
WHO'S THE TOP THREAT?
Although violence in Iraq is down from the height of the sectarian killings in 2006-07, a spate of recent attacks has shown that the militant threat could still pose a serious challenge to Iraqi forces if all U.S. troops depart.
Suicide bombers, car bombs and roadside explosives hit more than a dozen Iraqi cities and towns on Monday, killing around 70 people, in the highest number of killings on a single day in Iraq this year.
It was a deadly reminder that al Qaeda affiliates can still stage complex, coordinated attacks. [ID:nN1E77F1MU]
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in both Sunni and Shi'ite areas, but authorities blamed the al Qaeda affiliate, the Sunni Islamist Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Buchanan also said the attacks appeared to fit the pattern of an al Qaeda strike.
Still, the senior U.S. military official said he did not believe al Qaeda posed the same kind of danger as Iranian-backed militias, who he saw as the bigger threat to the Iraqi state.
"The reason is because of the support (Iran-backed militias) are getting on a daily basis from Iran," he said, adding they were "beholden" to Iran's elite al-Quds force, which specializes in foreign operations for Iran.
Buchanan estimated there were about 800 to 1,000 al Qaeda personnel in Iraq, including everyone from a militant "media guy" to those coordinating the group's finances.
"From my perspective, al Qaeda in Iraq doesn't represent the existential threat to the state that it once did," he said.
"They are still dangerous. They are still capable and will continue from time to time to rear their ugly head and conduct very terrible, vicious attacks." (Reporting by Phillip Stewart; Editing by Anthony Boadle)
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Iraq Shiite Sadrist Member condemns U.S. forces intrusion in Karbala district.
8/17/2011 11:04 AM
KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A Member of Iraq’s Shiite Sadrist Trend in southwestern Karbala Province’s Council has condemned an intrusion by the U.S. forces of Karbala city’s Military District, 4 km to the southwest of the city center, considered one of the Trend’s areas.
“We condemn the American troops breaking through of our district, where it spent about 6 hours on Wednesday, without arresting anybody,” Tareq al-Khekany told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
“We condemn the said ‘terrorist’ operation, which stood counter to the Security Agreement, signed between Iraq and the United States, demanding the Federal Iraqi government to carry out an immediate investigation about the incident,” Khekany said.
The Iraqi Parliament had approved on Nov.
27, 2008, the Security Agreement concluded between Iraq and the United States, along with the issuance of a “Reform Document,” according to which the government had committed itself to achieve political and economic reforms, including the improvement of the public conditions and to stop political chasings and to release detainees.
The said Strategic Agreement had settled the legal basis for the U.S.-led forces to act in Iraq, according to which the American forces would withdraw from Iraqi cities by the end of June, 2009 and the complete withdrawal of those forces from Iraq at the end of this year.
Karbala, the center of Karabala Province, is 108 km to the southwest of Baghdad.
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U.S. Army in Iraq vows to take Hizbullah threats against Kuwait into serious consideration
8/20/2011 11:05 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Spokesman for the American Army in Iraq, General Jeffery Buchanan, has vowed on Saturday to take the threats by Hizbullah detachments in Iraq to attack Kuwait seriously, pointing out that those detachments have had a bad record in killing Iraqis and Americans.
“The threats by Hizbullah detachments to attack Kuwait shall be taken seriously into consideration,” the U.S.
General told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper on Saturday, confirming the existence of “possibility to destroy the majority of those illegal militias, through intelligence information, in order to launch an offensive against all members of the said (Hizbullah) network, which had a bad past in killing Iraqis and Americans.”
“We don’t possess any information about the above topic, or whether those (Hizbullah) detachments possess rockets or not,” he said.
General Buchanan said “that supporting any terrorist group in this country or any other country, preparing to attack the neighboring states is incorrect,” calling on Iraq’s neighboring states to “respect Iraq’s sovereignty, through the exchange of viewpoints among governments, instead of exchanging fire across their borders.”
The underground Hizbullah detachments in Iraq had warned the companies working in Kuwait’s Mubarak Port, to stop working there, calling on the Iraqi government to take necessary decisions to stop the works for building the said Kuwaiti Port.
===
Aswat Al Iraq / Politics , Baghdad
Iraq’s Shiite Leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, presents mediation to settle the Syrian crisis
8/20/2011 10:22 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Leader of Iraq’s Shiite Sadr Movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, has expressed readiness to mediate to settle the Syrian crisis, saying that he took his position due to the “flagrant” American interference, demanding Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to resign from his post, according to a statement by Sard’s office on Saturday.
“Despite fact that I had stood on the hill for a long time towards the Syrian crisis, but I decided not to continue that, after the clear American interference, by the Leader of evilness, (US President) Obama and others,” the statement quoted Muqtada al-Sadr as saying.
“God bless the Syrian people, supporting the resistance and standing against America, and God-damn all its supporters, while we condemn “Obama’s interference in the Syrian crisis,” Sadr said, expressing readiness to “interfere to achieve reforms, if both sides in Syria agree to that.”
U.S.
President, Barrack Obama, has called on Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, to resign, at a time when the majority of European states, with the exception of Russia, were preparing to impose new sanctions against the Syrian regime, in the background of its attacks against protesters that took place over the past few months.
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URGENT: Maliki: “Presence of experts, trainers during weapons purchasing, natural, but foreign forces will leave Iraq by the end of the year.”
9/30/2011 10:28 AM
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has said on Thursday that the presence of foreign experts and trainers during the purchase of weapons is a natural thing, reiterating that the presence of the US troops in his country would end by end of the current year
“The presence of the American troops is settled and shall end by the end of the current year, according to an agreement between both sides, and there won’t remain a single foreign soldier in the country,” a statement by the Prime Minister’s office reported.
But Prime Minister Maliki said that the “resence of foreign experts and trainers during the process of purchase of weapons is something natural and is followed in other parts of the world.”
“Iraq has managed to become a democratic state, enjoying freedom of politics and mass media; and it is witnessing nowadays a movement in all political, economic and social fields, following the stability that took place in the security situation,” the statement quoted Maliki as saying.
He pointed out that “everybody is striving to settle the current problems, thing that must take place according to the Constitution, and the important thing is that they have discovered that there can’t be proper living and the state’s administration, unless by agreement of all parties.”
“The government’s trend is now directed towards the development of the economy and better investment of fortunes, along with their distribution in a just form, as well as the accelerated rising of development in all fields,” Maliki said.
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Iraq NATO deal may let US troops stay on-lawmakers
05 Oct 2011 19:35
Source: Reuters // Reuters
By Suadad al-Salhy
BAGHDAD, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Iraqi lawmakers on Wednesday said they were discussing a deal to extend a NATO training mission that could allow U.S. troops to stay as trainers beyond the year-end deadline for withdrawal, with the type of legal protections demanded by Washington.
Negotiations on keeping U.S. troops in Iraq to train its security forces have been complicated by questions over whether Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government will give U.S. troops immunities from prosecution in the country.
The plans to keep a U.S. military presence eight years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein have also met strong opposition from anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a key parliamentary ally of Maliki's coalition.
Lawmakers said parliament was discussing a draft bill that could allow U.S. troops to operate with the NATO mission, allowing them to be under U.S. legal jurisdiction if they commit certain crimes on duty or on bases.
"The option is on the table is that they work under NATO's agreement," Sami al-Askari, a senior lawmaker in Maliki's State of Law coalition, told Reuters.
"Other options put forward are to rely on other countries to get trained, but the most practical option is to rely on NATO because they were already working in Iraq and have the experience needed by Iraqi forces," he said.
The draft has only had one reading and will get a second reading soon before lawmakers debate and vote on it.
It was not clear whether Washington or other NATO countries would welcome the arrangement.
The U.S. embassy in Baghdad had no immediate comment, a spokesman said.
U.S. officials have said they want the same type of legal protections as they have under the current Iraqi security deal.
The NATO bill presented by the Iraqi parliamentary defense and security committee suggests foreign trainers will be prosecuted under their own country's jurisdiction in the case of certain crimes committed on duty both within or outside agreed bases and areas of operation.
But the Iraqi government would have jurisdiction over the NATO trainers in the case of certain crimes of negligence committed outside the facilities and agreed areas while on duty.
DRAWN-OUT NEGOTIATIONS
Negotiations over a U.S. troop presence have dragged on for months, and Baghdad and Washington must still decide over how many troops will stay on, how long they will stay, and over the tricky issue of jurisdiction, which would afford American soldiers the kind of legal protections they have elsewhere.
"Sure, Americans will benefit from this agreement 100 percent, the United States is part of the NATO and one its prominent leaders," Iraqiya lawmaker, Kadhim al-Shimary said.
The NATO draft also proposes the formation of a common committee to rule on crimes of intent and serious negligence crimes. The committee will be formed from military personnel and civilians, grouped under the NATO.
NATO, which has 160 staff on its Iraq training mission, said last month that it will continue in the country until the end of 2013. Its small mission has provided expertise in areas such as logistics and policing to local forces.
Violence in Iraq has declined sharply since the bloody days of sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007 when Shi'ite and Sunni extremists killed thousands. But bombings, attacks and assassinations still occur daily.
Around 44,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, mostly assisting and advising Iraqi forces after halting combat operations last year.
Iraqi and U.S. officials agree that local armed forces are able to contain the stubborn but weakened insurgency, but they say Iraq needs trainers to help the military fill some of its capability gaps, especially in maritime and air defense. (Reporting by Suadad al-Salhy; Editing by Patrick Markey)
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UPDATE 2-Eni fears largest Libyan oilfield is in ruins
05 Oct 2011 19:42
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Libyan ops manager: volunteer took pictures of the mess
* Cannot promise Elephant to restart before end of year
* Eni spokeswoman in Italy: not aware of heavy damage (Adds Eni spokeswoman comment)
By Jessica Donati
TRIPOLI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Italian oil major Eni
"One volunteer went with a squad of 10 rebel fighters, who escorted him on a two-to-three-hour survey in which he took pictures of the mess," Eni's Libyan operations manager, Mustafa Abougfeefa, said in an interview.
The field, which pumped 130,000 barrels of oil per day before the war, was found in ruins, with its airport completely destroyed along with crucial monitors and key electronic structures, he said.
"We cannot promise the field will start producing before the end of the year. Gaddafi's militia destroyed everything," Abougfeefa said.
The process could take even longer because the area remains a hotbed where clashes between rebel fighters and troops of former leader Muammar Gaddafi continue.
An Eni spokeswoman in Italy later said the group had no information of any serious damage to the Elephant field.
"We are still carrying out checks at the field but to date we are not aware of any heavy damage," she told Reuters.
The scale of damage discovered at El Feel, known as the Elephant field for its size, was a stark contrast to the conditions of Eni's smaller Abu Attifel and Wafa fields, which have already started production at a combined rate of 76,000 bpd, around 30 percent below their pre-war output levels.
Gas production at those fields is also ramping up, with flows from Abu Attifel near full at 180 MMScf/d and flows from Wafa at 315 MMScf/d, around 60 percent of pre-war output, according to a document emailed to Reuters.
The Bouri field is due to restart production of both oil and gas by the end of the month, the operations manager said.
STRUGGLE
Attacks by Gaddafi loyalists, food shortages and accidents were a few of the risks braved by a team of locals at the Abu Attifel field, where a minimal amount of oil was pumped throughout most of the war in an effort to preserve the facilities.
"We gave them all the support that was possible at the time, but there was no communication between the east and western parts of the country," said Abougfeefa.
Eni's managers now must deal with reviving contracts, a new visa system and confusion over trade sanctions.
Eni is side-stepping immigration issues by making provisions for foreign workers to operate out of Malta, but shipping continues to be a problem as waters used for commercial purposes are still classified as a war zone, keeping insurance rates high.
Two executives are already based in Tripoli to help deal with the task of reviving the business over the next few weeks.
"The administrative issues should have settled down by the end of the year," said Abougfeefa, adding that key foreign workers had already returned and that a schedule for bringing the others back into the country was in place. (Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes in Milan; Editing by Jane Baird and Tim Dobbyn)
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EXCLUSIVE-Iraq's Maliki says US military trainers might stay
10 Oct 2011 08:25
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Maliki sees options open for U.S. troops
* Talks should be concluded on mid-November
* Less than 3,400 U.S. troops needed - Maliki
By Suadad al-Salhy
BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said U.S. troops might still be able to stay in Iraq as trainers beyond a 2011 withdrawal date, even though the country's political blocs have rejected giving immunity to any American soldiers.
Maliki last week won backing from Iraq's leaders for U.S. troops to stay on for training, but without the legal immunity demanded by Washington as part of an accord for an American military role in Iraq more than eight years after the invasion.
Maliki told Reuters U.S. troops could be attached to the existing U.S. embassy training mission, or join a broader NATO training group, rather than seek a bilateral deal requiring U.S. immunity that would fail to pass Iraq's parliament.
"Since the need for training exists and all the political blocs acknowledge that, we have a number of choices. Now there is a dialogue between us and the Americans," Maliki said in an interview at his presidential residence in Baghdad.
"We are heading toward securing trainers and experts for the American weapons we purchased, but without immunity and without going to parliament."
Washington had said no training deal could go ahead without U.S. troops receiving similar legal protections they have under the current agreement, which essentially keeps troops under U.S. jurisdiction for certain crimes committed on duty or on base.
It was unclear whether alternatives proposed by Maliki would be acceptable to Washington as U.S. officials have said any training in the field that puts U.S. troops at risk of attack would require the type of protections approved in parliament.
"You could say withdrawal and immunity might be seen negatively, but we and the Americans understand this positively, we understand our two countries cooperate closely," Maliki said.
After ending combat operations last year, the last 44,000 U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of the year, handing over bases to Iraqi forces when a security pact expires.
Violence has fallen sharply since the height of sectarian bloodletting in 2006-2007 when Shi'ite-Sunni attacks killed thousands. But Islamist insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and radical Shi'ite militias still carry out attacks.
Legal immunity is a sensitive issue in Iraq, where many still have memories of abuses committed by U.S. troops and contractors during the worst of the violence.
Maliki said discussions were still under way on how many American troops Iraq might need, but he said Iraq expects that the number of U.S. soldiers required would be less than the initial American request for around 3,000 soldiers.
He said he expected talks over the troop trainers should be concluded by mid-November.
"The last number proposed by the Americans... was 3,400. We do not need such a large number," he said.
"We are negotiating on this matter, but as I have said, the most serious part of negotiations is over (legal) cover."
TEST FOR COALITION
The question of whether U.S. troops stay on in Iraq has also tested Maliki's fragile power-sharing coalition among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs in a country where sectarian tensions simmer not far below the surface.
Anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is a key part of Maliki's alliance, opposes any American military presence, and that could complicate any attempt to get a deal with immunity through the Iraqi parliament.
The U.S. embassy already has military trainers attached to its Office for Security Cooperation in Iraq, where uniformed military, as attaches, could come under diplomatic protection of the U.S. State Department.
NATO, which now has only 160 staff in Iraq, has a small training mission that will stay through 2013 providing expertise in logistics and policing.
Iraqi lawmakers are discussing an extension of the NATO mission which would allow trainers in many cases to come under their own country's legal jurisdiction for certain crimes.
Iraqi and U.S. officials say while local armed forces can contain the insurgency, they need training in air and maritime defence, intelligence gathering, logistics and shifting from counter-terrorism to conventional warfare tactics.
Iraq will also already receive civilian trainers as part of as package of U.S. weapons it is buying, including F-16 fighter jets, naval patrol boats, Abrams tanks and artillery pieces.
Iraq has already made an initial down payment on the first deliveries of 18 F-16 warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to bolster its weak air defences. Maliki said earlier this year that Iraq plans to buy a total of 36 of the fighters.
Maliki said Iraq is also considering purchasing some of the radar systems operated by U.S. forces in Iraq, as a way to efficiently bolster its air defences. He said Iraq was also buying aircraft from France, Russia and other countries.
"We are not planning to build an army of aggression or intervention, but a defensive army," Maliki said. (Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
===============
Iraqis fret about security after US withdrawal
21 Oct 2011 21:12
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Iraqis worry over security without US troops
* Political infighting still hampers government
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Iraqis fretted about the ability of their armed forces to protect them from violence after U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday all U.S. troops would withdraw by the end of the year.
Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on the issue of immunity for U.S. forces after months of talks over whether American soldiers would stay on as trainers more than eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Obama's announcement prompted worries among Iraqis over the stability of their country and a possible slide back into sectarian violence.
"I would be very happy with this withdrawal if our military and security forces are ready to fill the gap of the American forces. But I don't believe they are. We can't deceive ourselves," said Baghdad shoe shop owner Ziyad Jabari.
"Our forces are still not capable of facing our security challenges. I'm afraid this withdrawal will allow al Qaeda and the militias to return."
A stubborn Sunni insurgency tied to al Qaeda and Shi'ite militia still carry out lethal attacks in Iraq, where bombings and killings happen daily even though violence has dropped from the height of sectarian fighting in 2006-2007.
At least 70 people were killed last week as a series of attacks rocked the capital Baghdad.
In September, 42 Iraqi police and 33 soldiers were killed, according to government figures.
Iraqi security forces have been the prime target of attacks this year as insurgents seek to undermine security in the country ahead of the scheduled U.S. withdrawal by year-end.
"As an Iraqi citizen, I say to Mr. Obama, you will leave Iraq without accomplishing your mission," said Munaf Hameed, a 47-year-old account manager at a private bank.
"No security, an unstable political regime, sectarian tensions and weak security forces, that's what America will leave behind," he said.
POLITICAL STABILITY
Some Iraqi leaders say in private they would like a U.S. troop presence as a guarantee to ward off sectarian troubles and keep the peace between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds in a dispute over who controls oil-rich areas in the north.
Iraqi and U.S. forces have said Iraq needs trainers beyond 2011 to develop its military capabilities, particularly its air and naval defences.
The country's power-sharing coalition made up of Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish blocs is also caught in a political stalemate many Iraqis fear could worsen without a U.S. buffer.
"I think the fighting between the political blocs will increase because the U.S. presence was a safety valve for security and political issues," said Muntadhir Abdel Wahab, 44, a Baghdad merchant.
But some Iraqis applauded the decision by Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and said the withdrawal of U.S. troops would help stabilise the country's fragile political situation and quell sectarian tensions.
Many Iraqis still have memories of abuses committed by U.S. troops and contractors during the more violent years of Iraq's conflict. That made securing immunity tricky for Maliki.
Iraqi lawmakers backing anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose political bloc is a key part of Maliki's coalition government, said they would disrupt the power-sharing government if he agreed to keep U.S. forces.
"Iraq's people will realise the necessity of living together in one country despite differences in religion, sect and nationality," said engineer Mahdi Salim, who was visiting family in Kirkuk. "America tried to drag us into civil war." (Additional reporting by Muhanad Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Mustafa Mahmoud in Kirkuk; Writing by Serena Chaudhry)
==============
Clinton warns Iran not to exploit US Iraq pullout
23 Oct 2011 13:36
Source: Reuters // Reuters
WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday the United States will maintain a strong security relationship with Iraq despite the scheduled pullout of all U.S. troops and warned Iran not to try to exploit the situation.
"No one should miscalculate America's resolve and commitment to helping support the Iraqi democracy," Clinton said on the NBC program "Meet the Press." "We have paid too high a price to give the Iraqis this chance. And I hope that Iran and no one else miscalculates that."
Clinton, speaking on the program "Fox News Sunday," added that Iraq "is a sovereign, independent nation with whom we have very good relations. And we expect to have a continuing strong security relationship for many years to come."
After months of negotiations with officials in Baghdad failed to reach an agreement to keep possibly thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq as trainers, U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Friday he would stick to plans to pull out the remaining force of 40,000 American troops by year's end. [ID:nN1E79K1FD]
The announcement was a milestone more than 8 1/2 years after the Bush administration led the invasion to topple Saddam Hussein based on warnings of weapons of mass destruction that turned out not to exist.
"What we've agreed to is a support and training mission similar to what we have in countries from Jordan to Colombia. And we will be working with the Iraqis. We will also have a very robust diplomatic presence," Clinton said.
Iran already is at odds with Washington and other Western governments over its nuclear ambitions and Clinton warned Tehran against trying to exert its influence in neighboring Iraq.
"Iran would be badly miscalculating if they did not look at the entire region and all of our presence in many countries in the region," she said on the CNN program "State of the Union" from Uzbekistan.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott)
============
US forces withdrew elements to Kuwait
10/27/2011 5:30 PM
THI QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: US forces in Thi Qar province announced participating in the withdrawal process by transporting 700 soldiers and 100 military equipment to Kuwait , according to military spokesman.
Major Harold Huff told Aswat al-Iraq that "we are fully confident with the ability of Iraqi forces to control security and we will continue enhancing our partnership".
He confirmed that the US forces will leave Iraq by the end of this year.
The US forces are stationed in Talil base, 18 km south Nassiriya city, which contains about 4000 soldiers and administers operations in Basrah, Muthanna, Misan and Thi Qar provinces.
The base extended support to the security forces and local governments through Provincial Reconstruction Teams.
Nassiriya, center of Thi Qar, lies 365 km south of the capital,
====
Iraq can't defend itself fully before 2020-general
30 Oct 2011 15:49
Source: Reuters // Reuters
BAGHDAD, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Iraq's defence chief has said his military will not be fully ready to defend Iraq from external threats until 2020 to 2024, according to a U.S. inspector's report released on Sunday.
Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari has repeatedly warned that Iraq's security forces, rebuilt after the 2003 invasion that ousted strongman Saddam Hussein, would not be ready for years.
U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Oct. 21 that American troops would fully withdraw from Iraq by year-end, as scheduled under a 2008 security pact between the two countries.
Both Iraqi and U.S. military leaders have said the army and police are capable of containing internal threats from Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militias that launch scores of attacks monthly, but that they lag in external defence.
"General Zebari suggested that the MOD (Ministry of Defence) will be unable to execute the full spectrum of external-defence missions until sometime between 2020 and 2024, citing ... funding shortfalls as the main reason for the delay," said the report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).
Zebari said the air force would not be able to defend Iraqi airspace until 2020 and is not capable of supporting ground combat operations, citing a long-delayed deal to buy F-16 warplanes from the United States, the SIGIR report said.
"An army without an air force is exposed," the report quoted Zebari as saying.
Iraq delayed its purchase of F-16s earlier this year to divert money to social programmes.
Officials said in late September that Iraq had signed a deal to buy 18 of the combat jets. [ID: L5E7KQ3WQ]. The first delivery is not expected for several years.
Washington has around 39,000 troops still in Iraq, down from a peak of about 170,000 during the war. Violence has dropped sharply from the sectarian bloodbath of 2006-07 when tens of thousands died.
As it tries to reintegrate itself into the region after years as a pariah, Iraq is warily eying neighbours such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Syria.
Iraqi leaders have accused neighbours of meddling, and U.S. military officials say Iran arms Shi'ite militias in Iraq.
"While we have no enemies, we also have no real friends," the SIGIR report quoted Zebari as saying of the Iraqi government's relations with its neighbours. (Reporting by Jim Loney; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
================
Sadr says to resist any U.S. presence in Iraq
03 Nov 2011 20:44
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Shi'ite cleric says rejects U.S. civilian presence
* Sadr's Mehdi Army once battled U.S. troops
* All U.S. forces to withdraw by year-end
By Waleed Ibrahim
BAGHDAD, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Thursday he would resist any American presence in Iraq, including a civilian one, beyond year-end when all U.S. forces depart nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia once battled U.S. and Iraqi troops, has opposed any U.S. military footprint and his bloc is a key part of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's fragile coalition.
"We do not accept any kind of U.S. presence in Iraq, whether it is military or not," Sadr said in an interview aired on al-Arabiya television.
"If they stay in Iraq, through a military or non-military (presence) ... we will consider them an occupation and we will resist them whatever the price will be. Even a civilian presence, we reject it," the cleric said.
United States President Barack Obama said on Oct. 21 all remaining U.S. troops, currently around 33,000, would be withdrawn from Iraq by Dec. 31 after Washington and Baghdad failed to agree on immunity for American soldiers.
But a huge U.S. embassy will be maintained in Baghdad along with consular operations in Arbil in the northern Kurdish zone and in the southern oil city Basra.
Thousands of private contractors will also work as guards and trainers for Iraqi troops using U.S. hardware such as tanks and F-16 fighters.
Sadr galvanised anti-U.S. sentiment after the overthrow of Sunni dictator Saddam and led two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004.
His Mehdi Army was crushed by Maliki in 2008 and has for the most part been demobilised, although U.S. officials say splinter groups have continued to attack U.S. soldiers.
In September, Sadr called on his followers to suspend attacks against U.S. troops to ensure they leave Iraq by the year-end deadline.
Although overall violence in Iraq has fallen from the peak of sectarian fighting in 2006-7, Iraqi security forces continue to battle a stubborn Sunni insurgency and Shi'ite militias still capable of lethal attacks.
October was the bloodiest month this year, with 161 civilians, 55 police officers and 42 soldiers killed in a series of major attacks.
On Thursday, six people were killed and dozens wounded when two bombs exploded in the northern city of Baquba while 12 people died and at least 70 others were wounded in triple explosions in Basra late on Wednesday. (Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Sophie Hares)
=================
Iraqi cleric: US seeking to 'occupy' Mideast
By LARA JAKES - Associated Press | AP – 8 hrs ago
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BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. plans to station troops across the Mideast after withdrawing from Iraq amount to occupying other Islamic countries, Iraq's most outspoken anti-American cleric said in an interview broadcast Thursday.
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said he's not satisfied with President Barack Obama's pledge to pull all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, calling it a partial withdrawal because of the thousands of diplomats and security guards who will stay behind.
"The American occupation will stay in Iraq under different names," al-Sadr told Al-Arabiya TV in his first interview since Obama announced the troop pullout last month.
Al-Sadr noted the Pentagon's recent reminders that it will keep an estimated 40,000 troops across the region.
"America is not only occupying Iraq but also other Islamic countries," he said. "Occupying Iraq means occupying what is around Iraq, and then to control the Middle East."
The Pentagon is preparing to boost the number of U.S. forces just across the Iraqi border in Kuwait and across the region to prevent a power vacuum when the tens of thousands of U.S. forces who have served in Iraq are gone.
There are currently 33,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the chief American military spokesman in Iraq, told a news conference Thursday that U.S. troops stationed around the Mideast are there as part of a partnership with their host nations.
Al-Sadr's political followers wield heavy influence in Iraq's parliament. His militia has been bent on driving the U.S. out of Iraq with rocket attacks, backed with Iranian funds and training.
Over the last year, and since returning from exile in Iran, he has sought to present himself as something of a statesman promoting Iraqi nationalism.
In the interview, he said his followers have slowed their attacks on U.S. forces in recent months "in order not to give them a pretext for staying."
"I say to the American soldier: Get out for good," al-Sadr told the TV channel.
The U.S. still plans to train Iraqi security forces after the withdrawal, although almost entirely with civilian contractors working with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
A spate of bombs targeting security forces that killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens Thursday served as a reminder of how vulnerable the country remains.
In the deadliest attack, a pair of near-simultaneous blasts killed six security guards who were waiting in line to pick up their paychecks outside an Iraqi military base near Baqouba, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. At least 35 people were wounded in the double bombing, said Diyala Health Directorate spokesman Faris al-Azawi.
All of the dead were members of Sahwa, or Awakening Councils, a Sunni militia that sided with U.S. forces against al-Qaida in a major turning point of the war. The Sahwa have since been targeted by insurgents, who call them traitors.
An Iraqi army intelligence officer said authorities have reliable intelligence that al-Qaida sleeper cells plan to launch attacks as U.S. troops withdraw and afterward. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the intelligence is confidential, said al-Qaida aims to show Iraqis it is still able to strike.
Officials long have said that al-Qaida's main goal in Iraq is to destabilize the Shiite-led government. Among the terror group's top targets have been government and security officials.
Later Thursday, a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad's upscale and mostly Shiite neighborhood of Karradah, killing two passers-by. Police who rushed to the scene were hit with a second blast, killing two policemen and wounding three others. Also, four passers-by were wounded.
The casualties were confirmed by a medic at Ibn al-Nafis hospital. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
The attacks were examples of the low-scale but deadly violence that persists across Iraq on a near daily basis, although violence has dropped dramatically across the country since 2007, when the country teetered on the brink of civil war. Some officials have warned of an increase in attacks as the U.S. troops leave.
___
Associated Press writers Mazin Yahya and Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad, and Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, contributed to this report.
================================================
What will, and will not, happen if US leaves Iraq
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/fea....dreyfuss.html
Apocalypse Not
Much of Washington assumes that leaving Iraq will lead to
a bigger bloodbath. It’s time to question that assumption.
By Robert Dreyfuss
The Bush administration famously based its argument for invading Iraq on best-case assumptions: that we would be greeted as liberators; that a capable democratic government would quickly emerge; that our military presence would be modest and temporary; and that Iraqi oil revenues would pay for everything. All these assumptions, of course, turned out to be wrong.
Now, many of the same people who pushed for the invasion are arguing for escalating our military involvement based on a worst-case assumption: that if America leaves quickly, the Apocalypse will follow. “How would [advocates of withdrawal] respond to the eruption of full-blown civil war in Iraq and the massive ethnic cleansing it would produce?” write Robert Kagan and William Kristol in the Weekly Standard. “How would they respond to the intervention of Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran, Syria, and Turkey? And most important, what would they propose to do if, as a result of our withdrawal and the collapse of Iraq, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups managed to establish a safe haven from which to launch attacks against the United States and its allies?”
Similar rhetoric has been a staple of President Bush’s recent speeches. If the United States “fails” in Iraq—his euphemism for withdrawal—the president said in January, “[r]adical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions … Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people.”
This kind of thinking is also accepted by a wide range of liberal hawks and conservative realists who, whether or not they originally supported the invasion, now argue that the United States must stay. It was evident in the Iraq Study Group, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton, which, participants say, was alarmed by expert advice that withdrawal would produce potentially catastrophic consequences. Even many antiwar liberals believe that a quick pullout would cause a bloodbath. Some favor withdrawal anyway, to cut our own losses. Others demur out of geostrategic concerns, a feeling of moral obligation to the Iraqis, or the simple fear that Democrats will be blamed for the ensuing chaos.
But if it was foolish to accept the best-case assumptions that led us to invade Iraq, it’s also foolish not to question the worst-case assumptions that undergird arguments for staying. Is it possible that a quick withdrawal of U.S. forces will lead to a dramatic worsening of the situation? Of course it is, just as it’s possible that maintaining or escalating troops there could fuel the unrest. But it’s also worth considering the possibility that the worst may not happen: What if the doomsayers are wrong?
The al-Qaeda myth
To understand why it’s a mistake to assume the worst, let’s begin with the most persistent, Bush-fostered fear about post-occupation Iraq: that al-Qaeda or other Islamic extremists will seize control once America departs; or that al-Qaeda will establish a safe haven in a rump, lawless Sunnistan and use that territory as a base, much as it used Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The idea that al-Qaeda might take over Iraq is nonsensical. Numerous estimates show that the group called Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and its foreign fighters comprise only 5 to 10 percent of the Sunni insurgents’ forces. Most Sunni insurgents are simply what Wayne White—who led the State Department’s intelligence effort on Iraq until 2005—calls POIs, or “pissed-off Iraqis,” who are fighting because “they don’t like the occupation.” But the foreign terrorist threat is frequently advanced by the Bush administration, often with an even more alarming variant—that al-Qaeda will use Iraq as a headquarters for the establishment of a global caliphate. In December 2005, Rear Admiral William D. Sullivan, vice director for strategic plans and policy within the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered a briefing in which he warned that al-Qaeda hoped to “revive the caliphate,” with its capital in Baghdad. President Bush himself has warned darkly that after controlling Iraq, Islamic militants will “establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia.”
The reality is far different. Even if AQI came to dominate the Sunni resistance, it would be utterly incapable of seizing Baghdad against the combined muscle of the Kurds and the Shiites, who make up four fifths of the country. (The Shiites, in particular, would see the battle against the Sunni extremist AQI—which regards the Shiites as a heretical, non-Muslim sect—as a life-or-death struggle.)
Nor is it likely that AQI would ever be allowed to use the Sunni areas of Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks on foreign targets. In Afghanistan, al-Qaeda had a full-fledged partnership with the Taliban and helped finance the state. In Iraq, the secular Baathists and former Iraqi military officers who lead the main force of the resistance despise AQI, and many of the Sunni tribes in western Iraq are closely tied to Saudi Arabia’s royal family, which is bitterly opposed to al-Qaeda. AQI has, at best, a marriage of convenience with the rest of the Sunni-led resistance. Over the past two years, al-Qaeda-linked forces in Iraq have often waged pitched battles with the mainstream Iraqi resistance and Sunni tribal forces. Were U.S. troops to leave Iraq today, the Baathists, the military, and the tribal leaders would likely join forces to exterminate AQI in short order.
It’s also worth questioning whether the forces that call themselves Al Qaeda in Iraq have any real ties to whatever remains of Osama bin Laden’s weakened, Pakistan-based leadership. Such ties, if they exist, have always been murky at best, even under the leadership of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. With al-Zarqawi’s elimination in 2006 and his replacement by a collegial group, these ties are even muddier. Although it’s convenient for the Bush administration to claim that al-Qaeda is a Comintern-like international force, it is really a loose ideological movement, and its Iraq component is fed largely by jihadists who flock to the country because they see the war as a holy cause. Once the United States withdraws, Iraq will no longer be a magnet for that jihad.
The Sunni-Shiite civil war
The doomsayers’ second great fear is that the Sunni-Shiite sectarian civil war could escalate further, reaching near-genocidal levels and sucking in Iraq’s neighbors. “The biggest danger as we draw down is that the Shiites will run roughshod over the Sunnis,” says Brian Katulis of the Center for American Progress, whose exit strategy, “Strategic Redeployment 2.0,”
is a blueprint for many Democrats on Capitol Hill. Similarly, Wayne White, who advised the Baker-Hamilton ISG, says that because of Baghdad’s importance, both Sunni and Shiite forces would probably rush to fill a vacuum in the capital if the United States withdraws.
In fact, it’s hard to find an analysis of the Iraq crisis that doesn’t predict an expanded Sunni-Shiite war once the United States departs. But let’s look at the countervailing factors—and there are many.
First, the United States is doing little, if anything, to restrain ethnic cleansing, either in Baghdad neighborhoods or Sunni and Shiite enclaves surrounding the capital. Indeed, under its current policy, the United States is arming and training one side in a civil war by bolstering the Shiite-controlled army and police.
In theory, Baghdad is roughly divided into Shiite east Baghdad on one side of the Tigris River, and Sunni west Baghdad on the other side. But in isolated neighborhoods such as Adhamiya, a Sunni part of east Baghdad, and Kadhimiya, a Shiite enclave in west Baghdad, ugly ethnic cleansing is proceeding apace. The same is true along a necklace of Sunni towns south of the capital, in an area that is predominantly Shiite; in mixed Sunni-Shiite towns such as Samarra, the largest city of predominantly Sunni Salahuddin Province, north of Baghdad; and in Diyala Province, northeast of Baghdad. In these areas, it is facile to assert that U.S. troops are restraining the death squads and religiously inspired killers on both sides. And it would be impossible for us to do so even with a much greater increase in American troops than the president has called for.
Second, although battle lines are hardening and militias on both sides are becoming self-sustaining, the civil war is limited by physical constraints. Neither the Sunnis nor the Shiites have much in the way of armor or heavy weapons—tanks, major artillery, helicopters, and the like. Without heavy weaponry, neither side can take the war deep into the other’s territory. “They’re not good on offense,” says Warren Marik, a retired CIA officer who worked in Iraq in the 1990s. “They can’t assault positions.” Shiites may have numbers on their side. But because the Sunnis have most of Iraq’s former army officers, and their resistance militia boasts thousands of highly trained soldiers, they’re unlikely
to be overrun by the Shiite majority. Equally, the minority Sunnis won’t be able to seize Shiite parts of Baghdad or major Shiite cities in the south. Presuming neither side gets its hands on heavy weapons, once you take U.S. forces out of the equation the Sunnis and Shiites would ultimately reach an impasse.
Even if post-occupation efforts to create a new political compact among Iraqis fail, the most likely outcome is, again, a bloody Sunni-Shiite stalemate, accompanied by continued ethnic cleansing in mixed areas. But that, of course, is no worse than the path Iraq is already on under U.S. occupation.
A third fear is that Iraq’s neighbors will support their proxies in this fight. Indeed, they probably will—but within limits. Iran, which is already assisting various Shiite parties (especially the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq), would continue to do so. And Sunni Arab states like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan would line up behind Iraq’s Sunnis. Even so, neither Shiite Iran nor the Sunni Arab countries would likely risk a regional conflagration by providing their Iraqi proxies with the heavy weapons that would enable them to wage offensive operations in each other’s heartland.
The only power that could qualitatively worsen Iraq’s sectarian civil war is the United States. Washington continues to arm and train the Shiites, although so far it has resisted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s pleas to provide Iraq’s Shiite-led army and police with heavy weapons, armor, and an air force. Only if that policy changed, and the United States began to create a true Shiite army in Iraq, would the Sunni Arab states likely feel compelled to build up Iraq’s Sunni paramilitary militias into something resembling a traditional army.
Thus, even if we assume that Iraq’s parties cannot achieve some sort of reconciliation as the United States withdraws, an American pullout is hardly guaranteed to unleash unbridled chaos. On the contrary, each year since 2003 that American troops have remained in Iraq, the violence has escalated steadily.
A Kurdish power grab?
The third major concern about a post-occupation Iraq—although it gets less attention than it deserves—is the possibility of a crisis triggered by a Kurdish power grab in Kirkuk, the city at the heart of Iraq’s northern oil fields. Since 2003, the Kurds have been waging a systematic, ugly round of ethnic cleansing, packing Kirkuk with Kurds, kidnapping or driving out Arab residents (many of them settled there by Saddam), and stacking the city council with Kurdish partisans.
Though Kurdish Iraq is mostly quiet and relatively prosperous under the Kurdistan Regional Government that controls three northeastern provinces, the Kurds may be tempted to expand their territory and secede from Iraq. Under the occupation-imposed constitution, the Kurds have the right to hold a referendum in Kirkuk later this year that would probably put that oil-rich area under the control of the KRG; the Baker-Hamilton ISG called the referendum “explosive” and recommended that it be postponed. Alternatively, the Kurds might opt to take advantage of the Sunni-Shiite civil war to seize Kirkuk by force. Either way, most Kurds know that a Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk is an essential precondition for their ultimate independence from Iraq.
It’s hard to exaggerate the dangers inherent in a Kurdish grab for Kirkuk. Such a move would inflame Iraq’s Arab population (both Sunnis and Shiites), impinge on other minorities (including Turkmen and Christians), and provoke an outburst of ethnic cleansing in the city. Iraq’s two-sided civil war would become a three-sided affair.
But although this scenario sounds alarming, the reality is that, in the event of an American withdrawal, the Kurds would find it exceedingly difficult either to take Kirkuk or to declare independence. An independent Kurdistan would be landlocked, surrounded by hostile nations, and would possess a weak paramilitary army incapable of matching Iran, Arab Iraq, or Turkey. If Kurdistan were to secede without gaining Kirkuk’s oil, it would not be an economically viable nation. Even with the oil, the Kurds would have to depend on pipelines through Iraq and Turkey to export any significant amount. Nor would Turkey, with its large Kurdish minority, stand for a breakaway Kurdish state, and the Kurds know that the Turkish armed forces would overwhelm them.
Conversely, under the U.S. occupation—or, perhaps, because of it—the Kurds apparently feel emboldened to press their advantage in Kirkuk, despite the dire consequences. And if the United States were to adopt the idea floated by some in Washington of building permanent bases in Kurdistan, it would embolden the Kurds further. (The threat of a Turkish invasion is the chief deterrent to any move by the Kurds against Kirkuk, but as long as the United States maintains a presence in Kurdistan, the Turks will be reluctant to check the Kurds, for fear of running into U.S. troops.) Thus, by staying or by creating bases in Kurdistan, the United States is more likely to foster a Kurdish-Arab civil war in Iraq.
Will the center hold?
Not only is the worst-case scenario far from a sure thing in the event of an American withdrawal, but there is also a best-case scenario. Precisely because the idea of all-out civil war and a regional blowup involving Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey is so horrifying, all the political forces inside and outside Iraq have many incentives not to go there.
Certainly, four years into the war, passions on all sides have been inflamed, communal tensions bared, and the secular, urban Iraqi middle class has either fled or been decimated. The mass terror perpetuated by armed gangs of extremists now occupies center stage. The broken Iraqi state has ceased to exist outside the Green Zone, the economy is devastated, and unemployment is believed to be hovering around 50 percent.
Yet the neoconservatives and the Bush administration weren’t entirely wrong in 2003 when they expressed confidence in the underlying strength of the Iraqi body politic. Though things have gone horrendously awry, there are many factors that could provide the glue to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Contrary to the conventional wisdom in Washington, Iraq is not a make-believe state cobbled together after World War I, but a nation united by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, just as the Nile unites Egypt. Historically, the vast majority of Iraqis have not primarily identified themselves according to their sect, as Sunnis or Shiites. Of course, as the civil war escalates, more Iraqis are identifying by sect, and tensions are worsening. But it is not too late to resurrect some of the comity that once existed. The current war is not a conflict between all Sunnis and all Shiites, but a violent clash of extremist paramilitary armies. Most Iraqis do not support the extremists on either side. According to a poll conducted in June 2006 by the International Republican Institute, “seventy-eight per cent of Iraqis, including a majority of Shiites, opposed the division of Iraq along ethnic and sectarian lines.”
In addition, the country’s vast oil reserves, conceivably the world’s largest, could help hold Iraq together. Iraqi politicians are currently devising a law that would ratify the central government’s control of all of the country’s oil wealth. Even the corruption that now cripples Iraq tethers Iraqi political leaders to the central government and to the idea of Iraq as a nation-state.
“None of the big players really want civil war,” says an Iraqi military official closely affiliated with Ahmad Chalabi’s Iraqi National Congress. “None of them want to give up the regular flow of funds that they get now from corruption.”
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FEATURE-Doubts, fears nag Iraqis as U.S. pulls out
14 Dec 2011 23:33
* Last few U.S. troops out by year-end
* Sectarian worries never far from surface
* Many fret over security worsening
By Patrick Markey
BAGHDAD, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Zahora Jasim lost two brothers to bombs and gunmen in the years of turmoil and violence that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Now, as the troops leave for home, the Baghdad housewife fears her country's troubles are not over and wonders, like many Iraqis, if their fragile democracy will slide back into sectarian strife.
"The only images I have in my mind from these nine years are the deaths of my brother and his wife, of being forced from our homes, and the death of another brother in a bombing," she said.
"I don't think anything will really change. There will still be bombings, we will still have assassinations, and the government will not be able to do anything."
The U.S. military departure evokes mixed emotions. Some feel gratitude to the Americans for overthrowing dictator Saddam Hussein in the 2003 invasion. For others, a sense of sovereignty is tainted by sadness over lost relatives and memories of U.S. violations like the abuse of inmates in Abu Ghraib prison.
The last U.S. troops are rolling out of the country across the Kuwaiti border as President Barack Obama winds up the most unpopular war since Vietnam.
But Iraq remains uncertain in many ways. A power-sharing deal includes Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish parties, but the government struggles with sectarian tensions. Violence is down sharply but bombings and attacks remain part of daily life.
From the Shi'ite-dominated south to western Sunni strongholds, sectarianism bubbles just below the surface, and many are unsure their security forces can contain al Qaeda-linked insurgents and rival militias without U.S. help.
Bombings and attacks have eased since American and Iraqi security forces weakened insurgents. But roadside bombs, car bombs and assassinations still kill and maim almost every day.
A frail economy, constant power shortages, scarce jobs and discontent with political leaders all fuel uncertainty among Iraqis.
"Thanks to the Americans. They took us away from Saddam Hussein, I have to say that. But I think now we are going to be in trouble," Malik Abed, 44, a vendor at a Baghdad fish market. "Maybe the terrorists will start attacking us again."
SECTARIAN WORRIES
With the fall of a Sunni dictator, Iraq's Shi'ite majority has risen and a fragile power-sharing government is led by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But for some Sunnis, there is no sharing.
"I think sectarianism will return, the struggle between Sunni and Shi'ite. It is clear from the struggle the government has," said security guard Mohammed Ibrahim. "I feel marginalized as a Sunni, there are no jobs for us in the government."
Falluja, the site of bloody urban fighting during the height of the war, has a distinct view of the American presence, with many questioning the massive U.S. military operations there.
Sitting in the Sunni heartland, Falluja was once the heart of al Qaeda operations in Iraq. U.S. troops used overwhelming troop force, gunships and jets to crush the insurgency there. Many still seek compensation.
A group of Falluja residents burned and stamped on U.S. flags on Wednesday in celebration over the withdrawal. Others waved pictures of dead relatives.
"No one trusted their promises, but they said when they came to Iraq they would bring security, stability and would build our country. Now they are walking out, leaving behind killings, ruin and mess," said Ahmed Aied, a Falluja grocer.
Even as their country shakes off the worst of its violence, memories of war leave old and young alike fretting over peace and stability.
"I was just a young girl when the Americans came. I used to walk with the U.S. soldiers and take pictures with them and they talked with me. They gave me pencils, and school books," said Roua Mansour, a young mother in Baghdad
"Now I am always scared. I prefer to stay inside at home. There was once a big bomb at the Sheraton Hotel and since then I have been frightened. A mortar landed in our garden once. I hope it gets better, but security still worries me." (Additional reporting by Aref Mohammed and; Fadhel al-Badrani; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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PREVIEW-U.S. military chapter in Iraq draws to a close
14 Dec 2011 23:32
* Last 5,500 U.S. troops set to leave Iraq
* Iraqis worry over sectarian tensions, violence
* Power-sharing government still fragile
By Patrick Markey
BAGHDAD, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Nearly nine years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq ousted Saddam Hussein, American troops are pulling out and leaving behind a country still battling insurgents, political uncertainty and sectarian divisions.
Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis lost their lives in a war that began with a "Shock and Awe" campaign of missiles and bombs pounding Baghdad, but later descended into a bloody sectarian struggle between long-oppressed majority Shi'ites and their former Sunni masters.
Saddam is dead and the violence has ebbed, but the U.S. troop withdrawal leaves Iraq with a score of challenges from a stubborn insurgency and fragile politics to an oil-reliant economy plagued by power cuts and corruption.
Iraq's neighbours will keep a close watch on how Baghdad will confront its problems without the buffer of a U.S. military presence, while a crisis in neighbouring Syria threatens to upset the region's sectarian and ethnic balance.
U.S. President Barack Obama, who made an election promise to bring troops home, told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that Washington will remain a loyal partner after the last troops roll across the Kuwaiti border.
"The mission there was to establish an Iraq that could govern and secure itself and we've been able to do that," U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told troops at a U.S. base in Djibouti this week.
"That doesn't mean it's going to be easy."
Iraq's Shi'ite leadership presents the withdrawal as a new start for the country's sovereignty, but many Iraqis question which direction the nation will take once U.S. troops leave - sectarian strife or domination by one sect over another?
Will al Qaeda return to sow terror in the cities? Will ongoing disputes between Kurds in their northern semi-autonomous enclave spill into conflict with the Iraqi Arab central government over disputed territories.
Violence has ebbed since the bloodier days of sectarian slaughter when suicide bombers and hit squads claimed hundreds of victims a day at times as the country descended into tit-for-tat killings between the Sunni and Shi'ite communities.
In 2006 alone, 17,800 Iraqi military and civilians were killed in violence.
Iraqi security forces are generally seen as capable of containing the remaining Sunni Islamist insurgency and the rival Shi'ite militias U.S. officials say are backed by Iran.
But for those enjoying a sense of sovereignty, security is still a major worry. Attacks now target local Iraqi government offices and security forces in an attempt show that the authorities are not in control.
"I am happy they are leaving. This is my country and they should leave," said Samer Saad, a soccer coach. "But I am worried because we need to be safe. We are worried because all the militias will start to come back."
SECTARIAN TENSIONS
The fall of Saddam opened the way for Iraq's Shi'ite majority community to ascend to positions of power after decades of oppression under his Sunni-run Baath party. But nine years after the invasion Iraq remains a splintered country, worrying many that the days of sectarian slaughter are not over.
Even the political power-sharing in Maliki's Shi'ite-led government is hamstrung(
by sectarian divides. The government at times seems paralysed as parties split along sect lines, squabbling over every decision.
That has hampered economic development as infrastructure projects and key laws wait for approval. Iraq needs investment in almost all areas - the power grid still provides only a few hours of electricity a day.
Sunni Iraqis fear marginalisation or even a creeping Shi'ite-led authoritarian rule under Maliki. A recent crackdown on former members of the Baath party has fueled those fears.
Sectarian divisions leave Iraq still vulnerable to meddling by neighbours trying to secure more influence, especially as Sunni-controlled Arab nations view any Iranian involvement as an attempt to control Iraq's Shi'ite parties at the cost of Sunni communities.
Iraq's Shi'ite leadership frets the crisis in neighbouring Syria could eventually bring a hardline Sunni leadership to power in Damascus, worsening Iraq's own sectarian tensions.
U.S. troops had acted as a buffer in another dispute between Kurds in Iraq's semi-autonomous region and the Iraqi Arabs in the central government. Some fear the two regions could clash over oil and territory rights in disputed areas.
"WAS IT WORTH IT?"
U.S. troops were supposed to stay on as part of a deal to train the Iraqi armed forces. Washington had asked Iraq for at least 3,000 troops to remain in the country. But talks over immunity from prosecution for American soldiers fell apart.
Memories of U.S. abuses, arrests and killings still haunt many Iraqis and the question of legal protection from prosecution looked too sensitive for Iraq's political leadership to push through a splintered parliament.
At the height of the war, 170,000 American soldiers occupied more than 500 bases across the country. Now only two bases and 5,500 troops remain in the country. All will be home before the end of the year when a security pact expires.
Only around 150 U.S. soldiers will remain in Iraq after Dec. 31 attached to the huge U.S. Embassy that sits near the Tigris River. Civilian contractors will take on the task of training Iraqi forces on U.S. military hardware.
Every day hundreds of trunks and troops trundle in convoys across the Kuwaiti border as U.S. troops end their mission.
"Was it worth it? I am sure it was. When we first came in here, the Iraqi people seemed like they were happy to see us," said Sgt 1st Class Lon Bennish, packing up at a U.S base and finishing the last of three deployments in Iraq.
"I hope we are leaving behind a country that says 'Hey, we are better off now than we were before.'" (Editing by Paul Casciato)
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TIMELINE-Invasion, surge, withdrawal; U.S. forces in Iraq
15 Dec 2011 06:11
Dec 15 (Reuters) - The last American forces pack up and leave Iraq before the end of the year, and are now in the final days of a costly, nearly nine-year military engagement.
Washington invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam Hussein. Violence has dropped since sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007, but Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia still mount attacks.
Here is a timeline on U.S. forces in Iraq since 2003:
March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein.
-- About 125,000 U.S. and British soldiers and Marines are in Iraq. By the end of April, U.S. says it will add 100,000 more soldiers to the U.S.-led invasion force.
April 9 - U.S. troops take Baghdad, Saddam goes into hiding.
May 1 - President George W. Bush declares hostilities over.
-- Between March 20 and May 1, 138 U.S. troops are killed.
Dec. 13 - U.S. troops capture Saddam near Tikrit.
Feb. 22, 2006 - Bombing of Shi'ite shrine in Samarra sparks widespread sectarian slaughter, raising fears of civil war.
Feb. 14, 2007 - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launches U.S.-backed crackdown in Baghdad aimed at pulling Iraq back from brink of civil war.
-- Five U.S. combat brigades plus supporting troops, about 30,000 soldiers, are sent to Iraq between February and mid-June 2007. Besides reducing violence, Washington wanted to create a "breathing space" for Iraqi leaders to make progress on laws seen as critical to fostering national reconciliation.
June 15 - U.S. military completes its troop build-up, or "surge", to around 170,000 soldiers.
-- From April to June 2007, 331 U.S. soldiers are killed, the deadliest quarter of the war for the U.S. military.
Aug. 29 - Anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr orders his Mehdi Army militia to cease fire.
Sept. 10 - U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, recommends cutting troops by more than 20,000 by mid-2008.
July 22, 2008 - The U.S. military says the last of five extra combat brigades sent to Iraq in 2007 have withdrawn, leaving just under 147,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
Nov. 17, 2008 - Iraq and the United States sign an accord requiring Washington to withdraw its forces by the end of 2011. The pact gives the government authority over the U.S. mission for the first time, replacing a U.N. Security Council mandate. Parliament approves pact after negotiations 10 days later.
Feb. 27 - New U.S. President Barack Obama announces plan to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, but says he will leave up to 50,000 troops to train Iraqi forces.
June 4, 2010 - U.S. military says there are 88,000 troops in Iraq.
June 30 - All U.S. combat units withdraw from Iraq's urban centres and redeploy to bases outside.
Aug. 31 - Troops levels in Iraq are reduced to 49,700 after a major draw down is completed.
April 26, 2011 - U.S Congressional Budget Office says the cost of Iraq operations totals around $752 billion since 2003.
May 3 - A "small, residual" U.S. force should remain in Iraq beyond the end of 2011, after the scheduled withdrawal, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner says.
June 6 - In the biggest single loss of life since 2009, six U.S. soldiers are killed in a rocket attack on a Baghdad base.
Oct. 4 - Maliki wins support from political blocs on keeping U.S. troops as trainers, but they reject any deal that would grant U.S. troops immunity as Washington had requested.
Oct. 21 - Obama says he will pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq at the end of 2011, dashing U.S. hopes of leaving a few thousand troops to buttress a still shaky Iraq, after the failure of negotiations on keeping some there as trainers.
Nov. 23 - About 700 U.S. trainers, mainly civilians, will help Iraqi security forces when American troops leave, Iraqi and U.S. officials say.
Dec. 2 - The U.S. military vacates Victory Base Complex, its vast main base near Baghdad airport that was once the hub of the American war operation.
Dec. 12 - NATO says it will end its seven-year troop training mission in Iraq at the end of December, to coincide with the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
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Panetta to formally shut down US war in Iraq
AP – U.S. Army soldiers make final preparations before leaving Operating Site Echo, in Diwaniyah, 120 kilometers …
BAGHDAD – After nearly nine years, 4,500 American dead, 32,000 wounded and more than $800 billion, U.S. officials prepared Thursday to formally shut down the war in Iraq — a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.
Panetta stepped off his military plane in Baghdad Thursday as the leader of America's war in Iraq, but will leave as one of many top U.S. and global officials who hope to work with the struggling nation as it tries to find its new place in the Middle East and the broader world.
He and several other U.S. diplomatic, military and defense leaders will participate in a highly symbolic ceremony during which the flag of U.S. Forces-Iraq will officially be retired, or "cased," according to Army tradition.
During several stops in Afghanistan this week, Panetta made it clear that the U.S. can be proud of its accomplishments in Iraq, and that the cost of the bitterly divisive war was worth it.
"We spilled a lot of blood there," Panetta said. "But all of that has not been in vain. It's been to achieve a mission making that country sovereign and independent and able to govern and secure itself."
That, he said, is "a tribute to everybody — everybody who fought in that war, everybody who spilled blood in that war, everybody who was dedicated to making sure we could achieve that mission."
Panetta has echoed President Barack Obama's promise that the U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region.
As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and about 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq — a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by President George W. Bush in 2007, when violence and raging sectarianism gripped the country. All U.S. troops are slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.
The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is a bit premature for the still maturing Iraqi security forces, who face continuing struggles to develop the logistics, air operations, surveillance and intelligence sharing capabilities they will need in what has long been a difficult neighborhood.
U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.
Still, despite Obama's earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas, at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops will be able to help finalize the move out of Iraq, but could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.
Obama met in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier this week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship. Ending the war was an early goal of the Obama administration, and Thursday's ceremony will allow the president to fulfill a crucial campaign promise during a politically opportune time. The 2012 presidential race is roiling and Republicans are in a ferocious battle to determine who will face off against Obama in the election.
Panetta acknowledged the difficulties for Iraq in the coming years, as the country tries to find its footing.
"They're going face challenges in the future," Panetta said Wednesday during a visit with troops in Afghanistan. "They'll face challenges from terrorism, they'll face challenges from those that would want to divide their country. They'll face challenges from just the test of democracy, a new democracy and trying to make it work. But the fact is, we have given them the opportunity to be able to succeed."
The ceremony, which will take place at Baghdad International Airport, will feature remarks from Panetta, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Austin is likely to get special credit for leading the massive logistical challenge of shuttering hundreds of bases and combat outposts, and methodically moving more than 50,000 U.S. troops and their equipment out of Iraq over the last year — while still conducting training, security assistance and counterterrorism battles.
During the ceremony, the U.S. Forces-Iraq flag will be furled — or wrapped — around a flagpole, covered and then brought back to the United States.
Over the coming days, the final few thousand U.S. troops will leave Iraq in orderly caravans and tightly scheduled flights — a marked contrast to the shock and awe that rocked the country on March 20, 2003, as the U.S. invasion began.
Saddam Hussein has been ousted, the reports of weapons of mass destruction largely laid to rest. And the future of a nascent democracy awaits.
"You will leave with great pride — lasting pride," Panetta told the troops Thursday, in remarks prepared for delivery during the ceremony. "Secure in knowing that your sacrifice has helped the Iraqi people to cast tyranny aside and to offer hope for prosperity and peace to this country's future generations."
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