Category:
Iraq
September 7, 2007 7:00
Petraeus Open to Partial Troop Withdrawal
Category: Iraq
Seven US soldiers and marines were killed by Iraqi insurgents yesterday in two separate attacks US commanders said today.
The latest casualties comes as General David Petraeus says he is "open" to withdrawing one brigade - approximately 4,000 troops - from Iraq next year but that doesn't mean he's happy about it. Ideally he wants to maintain current Surge troop levels well into next year but is willing to pull some back "in part to assuage critics in Congress," says the New York Times.
Ask most people around the world and they'll tell Petraeus to bring all the troops home now. That's according to a new BBC World Service survey of some 29,000 people worldwide. "Some 39% of people in 22 countries said troops should leave now, and 28% backed a gradual pull-out. Just 23% wanted them to stay until Iraq was safe," says the BBC.
September 6, 2007 7:08
U.S. Air Strike Kills 14 in Baghdad
Category: Iraq
A U.S. air strike has killed 14 people in Baghdad overnight the BBC reports. The military may have been targeting a pocket of the militant Shi'ite Mahdi army.
The latest independent progress report from Iraq, this one compiled by a commission of senior retired officers, says the Iraq Army is improving but won't be able take over internal security from the US military for at least 12 months. The Independent Commission on Security Forces in Iraq has less kind words for the Iraqi Interior Ministry - "dysfunctional and sectarian" and its police force, which should be "disbanded and reorganized".
With Washington at war with itself over how to parse progress in Iraq, and with the Bush Administration's own Surge assessment due this month, Democrats are ready to compromise in order to win some dissident Republicans over to a policy of some "modest troop withdrawals in the coming months," says the New York Times.
When the British Army withdrew from Basra last week it made a point of stressing it was not a beaten force.....maybe just beaten down says the Christian Science Monitor.
September 5, 2007 6:53
GAO Report Fails Iraq
Category: Iraq
A new Government Accountability Office report has delivered yet another critical look at progress in Iraq. The nation has failed to meet 11 of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress earlier this year says the GAO.
Flawed and "factually incorrect" is what the Pentagon thinks of the GAO's findings....because the military thinks the report is too harsh in its assessment of Iraq's security goals.
Away from the military spat, the GAO found that only one of eight political goals - safeguarding minority rights in the Iraqi parliament - had been met, says the Washington Post. Which might explain why President Bush is trying to move the political focus away from the squabbling Baghdad government and instead stress the success of "new American alliances with the tribes and local groups that Washington once feared would tear the country apart," as the New York Times writes.
An old alliance is also holding strong. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has committed his troops to stay the course in Iraq. Someone should tell him that General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq is hinting at pulling troops out.
September 4, 2007 7:04
Bush In Iraq - Mission Not Quite Accomplished
Category: Iraq
President Bush surprised everyone (even Katie Couric) with his visit to Iraq yesterday. Bush used his Anbar Province drop-in - en route to the APEC summit in Australia - as an occasion to suggest that some U.S. troops might come home if the Surge success in this Sunni stronghold could be replicated in other areas of the country.
The Bush desert summit - Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates also joined Katie Couric on the trip - was a "piece of political theatre," says the Economist. But can the success in Anbar translate into longterm security for Iraq? The Washington Post thinks the gains are tenuous and perhaps even illusory.
Paul Bremer is mad at President Bush and is using the New York Times to let the world know. Bremer, Bush's first Iraq envoy, released correspondence to the paper that he says show Bush was told in advance of plans to disband the Iraqi Army....contradicting comments that the President made recently in an interview.
August 31, 2007 6:40
New Report, New Criticisms of Iraq Progress
Category: Iraq
As the Pentagon delivered a rebuke to the GAO's downbeat assessment of Iraq's political progress, along comes another independent report calling for the full overhaul of the Iraqi national police to rid it of corrupt officers and Shi'ite militants.
How about an overhaul of awarding military contracts to corrupt suppliers? The New York Times has another story today about how a U.S.-owned company paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to American officers in order to win a $11 million contract.
Three U.S. senators and one congressman got a real "fact-finding" taste of Iraq action when their plane came under rocket fire while leaving Baghdad. The plane carrying GOP Senators Richard Shelby, James Inhofe and Mel Martinez along with Democratic Rep. Bud Cramer was forced to take evasive action.
Remember that ceasefire called by Moqtada al-Sadr? There might be some strings attached.
August 29, 2007 6:49
Bush Rails Against Iran's Iraq Meddling
Category: Iraq
President Bush has again warned Iran to butt out of Iraq's affairs in a speech in which he also cautioned that withdrawing from Iraq would create a haven for al-Qaeda (isn't it already?) and destabilize the entire Middle East....even emboldening Iran to build a nuclear bomb.
Bush's ramped-up rhetoric about Iran aiding U.S. troop attacks came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an audience that US political influence in Iraq is "collapsing rapidly" and that his country could fill any power vacuum, and as the White House prepared to request another $50 billion for funding the Iraq war, according to a Washington Post report.
The belief that Ahmadinejad is stirring the pot in Iraq (he had very nice words for Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yesterday) may have prompted the very public arrest of seven Iranians by U.S. troops at a Baghdad hotel yesterday....only for them to be released at the request of the Maliki government this morning.
Iran's increasing influence as the region's Shi'ite power broker has even more resonance given the growing internecine struggle between rival Shi'ite groups in southern Iraq. More than 50 people died in Karbala yesterday when rival Shi'ite militias attacked each other.
August 28, 2007 5:53
Troops Accused of Dirty Business in Iraq
Category: Iraq
The spirit of Milo Minderbender is alive and well in the U.S. army according to today's NYT story about fraud and kickback schemes involving "billions of dollars of weapons, supplies and other matériel to Iraqi and American forces." How high up might this entrepreneurial culture of opportunity reach? "One of the investigations involves a senior American officer who worked closely with Gen. David H. Petraeus in setting up the logistics operation to supply the Iraqi forces when General Petraeus was in charge of training and equipping those forces," notes the NYT.
Petraeus' long-awaited September Surge report is still weeks away but the House has decided to steal a march on things by beginning hearings on two new Iraq progress reports, at least one of which "paints a bleak picture of prospects for Iraqi political reconciliation," says the Washington Post.
British troops are getting out of Basra but that doesn't mean they're pulling out of Iraq anytime soon says Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Saddam Hussein's daughter now lives in Jordan but it looks like she is keeping her hand in when it comes to Iraq. CNN reports that Raghad Hussein has been funding a militant terrorist cell "linked to a series of attacks on coalition forces."
August 27, 2007 6:38
Iraq Government Claims Consensus Success
Category: Iraq
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced a reconciliation deal between the country's Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders. The Shi'ite leader made the announcement easing restrictions on Ba'ath party members on national TV "flanked by Jalal Talabani, the country's Kurdish president, and the Sunni vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi," says the Guardian.
The consensus-building agreement was forged in the wake of a week of political pressure from the White House and U.S. senators including Hillary Clinton, Carl Levin and John Warner. Maliki delivered a "stinging rebuke to Hillary Clinton yesterday, telling her to stop meddling in the affairs of his country as though it was part of America," writes the Independent. He also "accused U.S. forces of committing 'big mistakes' in killing and detaining civilians in the hunt for insurgents, says the LA Times.
Want to know the best way to get more troops into Iraq quickly? Offer new recruits a $20,000 "quick ship" bonus. Ninety percent of the Army's new recruits in the last month have opted for the quick march basic training schedule.
August 24, 2007 7:17
Bush Allies Call for Troops Out
Category: Iraq
Never mind the political prudence of bringing up the V word, nor the historical debate over its relevance, President Bush's Iraq war rallying cry hasn't exactly scored big with his fellow Republican senators or even his top soldier.
First we have GOP Senator John Warner "one of the most influential Republican voices in Congress on national security," notes the Washington Post, calling for US troops to start withdrawing from Iraq by Christmas.
Then there's General Peter Pace, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is expected to advise Bush to "reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half," says the LA Times.
Why all the negative vibes? Check out the latest National Intelligence Estimate that "depicts a paralyzed Iraqi government unable to take advantage of the security gains achieved by the thousands of extra American troops dispatched to the country this year," says the New York Times.
It probably doesn't buoy the Maliki government's morale to know that a "powerhouse Republican lobbying firm [Barbour Griffith & Rogers] with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister," and replace Maliki with former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, according to CNN. But hey, what do we know about diplomacy?
August 23, 2007 6:48
Iraq Will Not Be Vietnam Says Bush
Category: Iraq
President Bush delivered his most rousing defense of the Iraq campaign in many months yesterday when he told veterans that a "free Iraq" is attainable whilst warning the American people that withdrawing U.S. troops prematurely would lead to widespread death and suffering as it did in Vietnam. Insisting that US troops will remain in Iraq for as long as he is president, Bush's "speech was aimed primarily at what White House officials privately describe as the 'Defeatocrats', the Democratic congressmen trying to push Mr Bush into an early withdrawal," writes the Guardian.
Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki hit back at Bush's jibes about his leadership saying "No one has the right to place timetables on the Iraq government. It was elected by its people." Maliki was in Damascus to sign a border security pact with Syria but his riposte shouldn't be interpreted as a show of strength says the Christian Science Monitor. "Maliki now knows that his days are numbered as prime minister because he's no longer valid in the eyes of the Americans ... He now feels emboldened to say what is on his mind," a Syrian political analyst tells the paper.
Iraq's sectarian militias have long been fighting each other for power. Now they're focusing on controlling the power grid it would appear.
August 22, 2007 7:15
14 GIs Die in Iraq Copter Crash
Category: Iraq
Fourteen U.S. soldiers have died in a helicopter crash north of Baghdad. The military suspects mechanical failure in the downing of the UH-60 Blackhawk.
The U.S. deaths come at the same time that 20 Iraqis were killed in a new truck bomb attack and as new figures show that over 500 people perished in last week's quartet of coordinated suicide bombs in a rural area along the Syrian border.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Malaki got the "hang out to dry" treatment from President Bush yesterday, one day after two US senators called for him to be thrown out of office. Expressing "a certain level of frustration" with the Maliki leadership, Bush's words came directly after Iraq ambassador Ryan Crocker called political progress in Iraq “extremely disappointing," notes the New York Times.
Seems Maliki might no longer be "the right guy for Iraq," after all.
August 21, 2007 7:04
Dump Maliki Says US Senator
Category: Iraq
Get rid of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. That's what Carl Levin, Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee urged the Iraqi parliament to do yesterday saying "I hope [they] will have the wisdom to replace [the Maliki government] with a less sectarian and more unifying prime minister and government". That's Maliki golden for another year then.
The tenor of violence in southern Iraq grew more extreme yesterday as a provincial governor was assassinated - a "likely prelude to an even more brutal contest among rival Shiite militias battling for control of some of Iraq's main oil regions," writes the Jerusalem Post.
Muqtada Sadr's Al Mahdi militia is suspected of carrying out the attack, and Sadr's recent claim that UK troops are retreating from Basra has forced the UK authorities to issue a denial.
"The reality is it makes sense, the closer we get to achieving Iraqi control in Basra province, that we reduce our operational footprint in the city and allow the Iraqi security forces to take the lead in policing security of their own city," said Major Mike Shearer.
Translation: Will the last one out turn off the lights....oh nevermind the electricity doesn't work anyway.
August 20, 2007 5:53
France Ventures into Iraq
Category: Iraq
Here comes the cavalry? France's foreign minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Baghdad on Sunday "to express a French message of solidarity with the Iraqi people and to listen to the representatives of all communities." So desperate is the US for a positive spin on Iraq that a White House spokesman said France's interest shows "a growing international desire to help Iraq become a stable and secure country."
Talk about ungrateful. You'd think Basra's Shi'ites would be glad to see the back of the British military but now it seems UK troops might have to fight their way out of Southern Iraq. "I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history," a US military adviser told the Sunday Times.
It seems the US media isn't showing the same interest in Iraq as it did just a few months ago. Tell that to the Daily Show - it sent "correspondent" Ron Riggle (a former major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve no less) on assignment in Iraq last week.
August 17, 2007 4:41
The "Spin" on Iraq
Category: Iraq
Democrats have accused the President of trying to taint his generals' comments on Iraq with "White House spin." The U.S. commander in Iraq, David Petraeus, and the Baghdad ambassador, Ryan Crocker, must both testify to Congress next month about progress made during the Iraq troop surge. But Congressional aides say the White House has proposed limiting that vital testimony to a private hearing. (It will be public, the White House says now.) "Democrats are also angry the assessment on the surge ... will be written at the White House, not personally by Crocker and Petraeus," the AFP reports. Petraeus is expected to tell lawmakers the surge has had good military results, but that political reconciliation is still far away, Reuters reports.
Troop levels will likely hit a record high this fall, the AP reports. American officials plan to boost the force temporarily to 171,000 (up from 162,000) around the same time that Petraeus and Crocker testify. Those officials expect increased insurgent activity to coincide with the Congressional progress report.
The coalition's military death toll in Iraq has hit 4,000 this week. Some 3,700 of the dead were American; more than half of the remaining 300 were Brits.
August 16, 2007 5:44
Yazidi Attacks Were Iraq's Deadliest
Category: Iraq
The death toll from Tuesday's coordinated suicide attacks continues to rise, as crews uncover more dead bodies in northern Iraq. Even the low estimate, 250, makes the truck-bombings against the Yazidi—a minority religious group—the deadliest attack of the insurgency. CNN now says that many local Iraqi staff claim the death toll is greater than 500.
The U.S. responded with a major airborne assault south of Baghdad Thursday morning, Reuters reports. The planes struck a desert compound believed to house Sunni militants. It's the first strike in the new U.S. offensive announced earlier this week.
The U.S. commander in Iraq, David Petraeus says he's ready to recommend troop cuts when he addresses Congress next month, according to the AP. Petraeus thinks the "horrific and indiscriminate attacks" on the Yazidi may help him persuade lawmakers against rapid withdrawal. But he nevertheless anticipates America's force in Iraq will be "a good bit smaller" in a year's time.
August 15, 2007 6:07
More Than 200 Dead in Iraq Bombings
Category: Iraq
Four simultaneous truck-bomb explosions in northern Iraq killed at least 200 people overnight, Iraqi officials say, with hundreds more injured. (A hospital official put the death toll much higher, claiming he had at least 500 corpses.) The bombings are one of the deadliest attacks of the insurgency, and they seem to have targeted a predominantly Kurdish minority religious group called the Yazidi. The BBC suggests the group was chosen because its members want to join Iraq's semi-autonomous (and relatively peaceful) Kurdish region. The White House condemned the attacks as "barbaric," and the U.S. military said on Wednesday it considers al-Qaeda to be the "prime suspect."
The U.S. Army Chief of Staff says the troop surge is working, however. Gen. George Casey—who is a former U.S. commander in Iraq—told reporters yesterday he saw clear "progress on the security front" during his weekend visit to Iraq. "As complex and as difficult and as confusing as you may find Iraq ... we can succeed there," he said. "And we will succeed there if we demonstrate patience and will." But he said he didn't know when the Army might be able to cut soldiers' tours of duty back to 12 months from 15.
The LA Times reports that Gen. David Petraeus, the current U.S. commander in Iraq, is likely to recommend troop pullbacks when he gives his September status report to Congress. Administration officials—speaking to the LAT on the condition of anonymity—say that pulling troops from secure areas might "persuade Congress to reject pressure for a major U.S. withdrawal." A pullback doesn't necessarily mean the troops would go home, though. They could be reassigned to hotspots, or pooled into a reserve force for rapid response to crises.
August 14, 2007 4:44
A New Iraq Offensive
Category: Iraq
U.S. and Iraqi troops launched a new offensive Monday against "al-Qaeda and 'Iranian-supported' Shi'ite militants across Iraq," Reuters reports. The U.S. military released few other details about the offensive, named Operation Phantom Strike, but U.S. commanders say they anticipate stepped-up insurgent attacks before Congress reviews Iraq policy next month.
The operation took off as Kurdish, Sunni, and Shi'ite leaders held preliminary meetings in Baghdad, preparing for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's emergency political summit. Maliki is desperately trying to repair his governing coalition, crippled by the resignation and boycott of several Sunni ministers. The summit should start today, according to the AP, although as of Monday night it was still no certainty.
The NYT runs a feature today on the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus. The headline more or less says it all: for Petraeus, it's a "mixed blessing" to run a military operation while advising the White House on policy. Petraeus "has become strikingly cautious," the paper reports, "and eludes anything that might signal what broader conclusions he will be carrying to Washington in September."
August 13, 2007 5:08
Emergency Summit in Iraq
Category: Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called an emergency summit of the country's major political factions, starting today or tomorrow. Members of two Sunni factions have resigned or are boycotting the unity government's Cabinet meetings, led by Maliki, and six Cabinet seats remain empty because Parliament hasn't approved any replacements. That's half the Cabinet—17 ministers—gone. But will a summit help? Almost all of dissenters say Maliki, a Shi'ite, is ignoring their demands. The NYT reports: "there are few signs that any of Iraq’s factions will ultimately be willing to compromise. Mr. Maliki suggested that he would not consider bringing any of the ministers back into his government, or even discuss their complaints, until they agreed to act on some of his requests."
The military situation looks slightly brighter. USA Today reported Sunday that the number of "al-Qaeda-style attacks"—high-profile bombings hitting soft targets like markets and mosques—have dropped by about half since the U.S. boosted troop levels earlier this year. Today, however, a U.K. parliamentary committee released a report that states the surge is likely to fail. Mixed messages? Maybe not. Those members of Parliament just don't believe the military can succeed while the government stumbles. "We believe that the success of this strategy will ultimately ride on whether Iraq's politicians are able to reach agreement on a number of key issues," they wrote, according to the Telegraph. Good news then, perhaps, that the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to approve an expanded U.N. role in Iraq, promoting reconciliation among the various sectarian groups.
And the Italians may have averted some trouble. Anti-Mafia police have uncovered and halted a shipment of some 105,000 rifles en route to Baghdad. "The consignment appears to have been ordered by the Iraqi interior ministry," the Guardian reports. "The U.S. high command in Baghdad admitted that it had no knowledge of any such order, even though the ministry is supposed to inform the Americans before making any arms purchases."
August 10, 2007 4:28
Iran: Get U.S. Troops Out of Iraq
Category: Iraq
Iranian officials say Iraq will only be stable once U.S. troops have left, Reuters reports. "Iran fully backs Iraq's popular government," Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the visiting Iraqi PM on Thursday. The religious head added that "Iraq's biggest problem is the presence of American forces there." Not surprisingly, the U.S. didn't take kindly to the remarks. In the White House, President Bush reiterated his view that Iran is a destabilizing force in the MidEast and a "very troubling nation." Relations between Shi'ite-dominated Iran and Iraq have improved since Saddam Hussein—a Sunni who waged war with Iran through the 1980s—was deposed in 2003.
But the Bush Administration still hopes Iraq's neighbors can help bolster support for the beleaguered Iraqi government. An ambassador said yesterday that the U.S. is pushing for U.N.-brokered talks in Baghdad between Iraq, the U.S., and neighboring states (including Iran). The regional strategy is based on the relative success of similar meetings rebuilding post-invasion Afghanistan.
Back in the U.S., charges have been dropped against two of the Marines accused of involvement in the Haditha massacre in 2005, in which 24 Iraqi civilians were killed. One of the two Marines had been charged with shooting three people; the hearing officer for the case said last month that those charges relied on contradictory, barely credible witness accounts. The other Marine had been charged with improperly reporting facts after the killings; the general overseeing the case said he did not feel the accused man's errors rose "to the level of criminal behavior." Still, the staff sergeant on duty at Haditha that day remains charged with premeditated murder and making false statements.
August 9, 2007 5:33
Airstrike Against Sadr City
Category: Iraq
American military sources say a U.S. airstrike yesterday killed 32 people in Sadr City, a Shi'ite-controlled district in Baghdad. The attack targeted an insurgent network smuggling weapons from Iran. Iraqi police claim just 17 were killed.
U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ordered an "urgent review" of the plight of 91 Iraqi translators when Britain pulls out of Iraq, the Times of London reports. Britain has a policy—inherited from PM Tony Blair—not to offer special treatment to Iraqis who aid the troops. But translators say they'll be killed if the Brits abandon them. And the U.K. did grant asylum in April to one translator who fled via Syria, the Guardian reveals today. Judges ruled then that the translator would "be regarded by insurgents as a [coalition] collaborator" and would face "a real risk of persecution."
A growing number of former Sunni insurgents are joining forces with the Americans, the WPost reports. They're not particularly enamored of the U.S., sources say—but they're disenchanted with foreign al-Qaeda operatives and now worry they're losing political clout in Iraq to the majority Shi'ites. "Across Iraq, a variety of Sunni insurgent groups, political parties and tribes are coming forward to help provide fighters for local policing efforts, with an estimated 5,000 having been rallied in Baghdad alone in recent months," the WPost says.
August 8, 2007 5:20
Bringing the U.N. Back to Iraq
Category: Iraq
The U.N. is prepared to boost its role in Iraq, the Secretary-General's top political adviser told the Security Council yesterday. That's the first such statement since 2003, when the U.N. scaled back after a suicide attack killed its main envoy there. The U.S. has pushed hard for an expanded U.N. role, and the U.S. and Britain will ask the Security Council this week to approve a resolution authorizing a greater role to promote political reconciliation. Not everyone thinks that's such a hot idea, however. The BBC reports that the U.N.'s staff union is calling for a complete withdrawal from Iraq until security improves.
Roadside bombs supplied by Iran are killing ever-higher numbers of U.S. troops, the U.S. military tells the NYT. The devices—explosively formed penetrators—were used in 99 attacks during July, an all-time high, and were responsible for a third of combat deaths among U.S.-led forces in Iraq.
Sound like a good vacation spot? The three semi-autonomous, relatively secure, and predominantly Kurdish states in northern Iraq are trying to counter their country's image as a no-go zone, Reuters reports. With 417 employees, the Ministry of Tourism is working hard to attract investors and tourists—especially Europeans intrigued by the exotic location and Arabs interested in the region's mountains and lax alcohol laws. Meanwhile, the Kurd-dominated region was top of the agenda yesterday for Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki as he met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The pair signed a counterterrorism pact, agreeing to work together to stop Kurdish nationalist rebels in Iraq from launching attacks against Turkey.
August 7, 2007 4:45
From Bad to Worse, Iraq's Political Crisis
Category: Iraq
Five more Iraqi Cabinet ministers announced Monday they would boycott government meetings, the AP reports. The move, just days after the resignation of five other ministers and a deputy PM, leaves Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with no members of Sunni factions left in his unity government. As the LA Times notes, "Almost half the members of Maliki's Cabinet—17 ministers—have withdrawn or boycotted, citing the prime minister's unwillingness to include them in major decisions or to meet demands to curb Shi'ite Muslim militias and release Sunni Arab prisoners held without charges."
Maliki is in Turkey today, and "is expected to promise cooperation on security and may agree to classify the [Kurdistan Workers Party] as a terrorist organization," Reuters reports. Turkish officials have complained that Kurdish rebels are crossing the border from Iraq to attack both military and civilian targets. Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan has not ruled out military action against Iraq.
In the country's south, Basra—once a paragon of coalition success in Iraq—has rapidly deteriorated since British troops began their withdrawal, the WPost reports in a front-page feature. With British forces on hand in 2003, Basra remained relatively secure and trade flourished. Today, the WPost says, Shi'ite militias and criminal gangs control the city. "The British have basically been defeated," an anonymous U.S. intel officer tells the Post.
August 6, 2007 5:33
Weapons Missing in Iraq
Category: Iraq
About 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols have gone missing in Iraq, according to the WPost. The figures, released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, mean the Pentagon can no longer account for some 30% of the weapons it distributed to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. At least some of the missing arms are likely now in the hands of insurgents.
The Guardian reports Iraq's power shortages are now at their worst since 2003. A spokesman for the electricity authority told the newspaper there had been four nationwide black-outs in the previous two days. It's a source of frustration and discontent in a country where summer temperatures typically run above 110 F (43 C).
Some better news for the Pentagon: Coalition troops have killed Haitham Sabah al-Badri, mastermind of the February 2006 bombing of Samarra's al-Askariya mosque. The mosque is one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest site, and the 2006 attack was the spark for a firestorm of sectarian fighting. "Eliminating al-Badri is another step in breaking the cycle of violence instigated by the attack," one U.S. officer told CNN.
August 3, 2007 4:52
Iraq's Political "Mistrust"
Category: Iraq
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the U.S. likely underestimated how hard it would be to get political reforms in Iraq, perhaps failing to appreciate Iraqis' "depth of the mistrust" for each other and "how difficult it would be for these guys to come together on legislation." Still, a senior Iraqi parliamentarian told Reuters on Thursday that some politicians are hopeful the main Sunni bloc, whose five Cabinet ministers and deputy prime minister resigned earlier this week, can be coaxed to rejoin the unity government.
The U.S. and Britain presented the U.N. with their draft resolution for a beefed-up U.N. role in Iraq. If approved, the resolution would extend the U.N.'s mandate one year beyond its current Aug. 10 expiration date. The mission would have expanded powers to advise Iraq on a number of areas linked to political reconciliation.
The NYT takes its own look at Iraq's internal divide from the vantage point of Saddam Hussein's grave—a well-maintained site that the paper claims no other Western reporter has reached since the burial in 2003. "The grave site, humble as it is, reflects something more than a hometown’s determination to honor a fallen son, something that seems irreducible in the politics of Iraq: the refusal of the Sunni minority, who ruled Iraq for centuries until Mr. Hussein’s overthrow, to reconcile themselves to the assumption of power by the Shiite majority," the NYT writes.
August 2, 2007 5:17
Sunnis Quit Iraq's Cabinet
Category: Iraq
Iraq's main Sunni political bloc, the Accordance Front, quit the governing coalition on Wednesday, Reuters reports. The group's five ministers and deputy minister are all resigning—throwing the Cabinet into turmoil—because, they say, the PM did not meet their demands for greater authority on security. "This is probably the most serious political crisis we have faced since the passage of the constitution," said the remaining deputy prime minister, Barhim Salih, a Kurd. The U.S., however, played down the news, according to the AFP. White House spokesman Tony Snow noted the parties are still talking, and called the move "internal politicking."
Until those politics are a bit more harmonious, Britain and the U.S. are looking for a bigger U.N. role in Iraq, the BBC reports. Reps from the two countries circulated a draft resolution yesterday to give the U.N. a wider mandate—including improving sectarian relations, promoting human rights, and resettling refugees. The current mandate expires Aug. 10.
Looks the West could use an image boost in Iraq, after all. Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, a U.S. Marine, was found guilty yesterday of conspiracy in the 2006 kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania.
August 1, 2007 4:57
GI Deaths Drop in Iraq
Category: Iraq
Could the Surge be yielding results? The latest US military death toll statistics show "73 U.S. troops were killed in July, a striking drop from earlier this year when spring brought the worst three-month period for U.S. troop deaths since the war began," CNN reports.
Even this mild optimism was tempered though by the nominee for the military's top job. Testifying at his confirmation hearing to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael G. Mullen warned, "American military efforts in Iraq would fail unless Iraqi leaders did more to bridge sectarian divides," while at the same time cautioning, "A rapid exit of American troops could turn Iraq into a 'cauldron' for broader Middle East strife," writes the New York Times. Mullen also noted the strain that Iraq was placing on US forces and added that unless Iraqi politicians start making real progress, "no amount of troops in no amount of time will make much of a difference."
And then there is the continuing agony for Iraq's civilian population. At least 15 people were killed this when a suicide car bomb exploded in central Baghdad.
July 31, 2007 5:14
Bush and Brown's Outward Display of Unity on Iraq
Category: Iraq
President Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stood firm but at a clear distance from each other as they pledged continued support for the mission in Iraq yesterday. Most heartening for the Bush camp, Brown made no indication of a quick withdrawal from Iraq and pledged that any "future British decision to reduce troops and cede control of a sector to the Iraqis 'will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground,'" reports the New York Times. The Guardian read this a little differently, observing, "British government sources stressed that Mr Brown will make his decision on British troop deployments in Iraq solely on the basis of the advice of the British military, and implicitly not in order to meet any request from the US to stay alongside American troops".
Sure, everyone needs a summer vacation but the Bush administration is tearing its hair out over the Iraqi parliament's decision to go ahead with a month long recess, dashing "hopes that the 275-member Council of Representatives will pass laws sought by American officials as evidence that the country is making progress toward stability," writes the NYT. Despite entreaties from the US to stay in session in the run up to the important September Surge report to the US Congress, lawmakers said there was no point as the Iraqi "government had yet to present them with any of the laws," reports the Washington Post.
Finally in Iraq news, to the victor comes the spoils. The Asian Cup-winning national soccer team got a free ride home from Bangkok yesterday when "the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates sent his own plane to pick them up" and whisked them off to a surprise party in Dubai before they head home to Iraq.
July 30, 2007 6:40
Soccer Succor for Iraq
Category: Iraq
Harmony in Iraq scored a rare victory (geddit?) yesterday as the Iraqi national soccer team (aka the Lions of Mesopotamia and made up of Shi'ites, Sunni and Kurds) won its first ever Asia Cup, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0. "What weeping, shouting, horn-honking, flag-kissing, Kalashnikov-firing Iraqis will remember is that their team.....overcame virtually insurmountable sporting and societal odds on Sunday to vanquish the land of the Two Holy Mosques," is how the New York Times captured the celebrations.
President Bush will dispatch Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to meet with top Saudi officials this week to shore up the Kingdom's support for Iraq (it's the radical Shi'ites, not the soccer loss they can't stand). Despite offering Saudi Arabia a multi-billion dollar arms package, the Bush administration is pretty ticked off that the King & co. seem keen on fomenting Sunni militancy in Iraq. "At times, some [Persian Gulf nations] are not only not helping (but) are doing things that (are) undermining the effort to make progress" in Iraq," says Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
A soccer triumph may offer a glimpse of hope but, as the BBC reports this morning, "nearly a third of the population of Iraq is in need of immediate emergency aid, according to a new report from Oxfam". The war masks the extent of the humanitarian disaster and the Iraqi government is failing to "provide basic essentials such as water, sanitation, food, and shelter for up to eight million people," says the BBC.
July 27, 2007 6:21
Clashes Kill 8 US Troops in Iraq
Category: Iraq
Eight US troops were killed earlier this week in bomb attacks and small arms combat the military has confirmed. The US military death toll since the war began in 2003 now stands at 3638.
Iran isn't only Iraq neighbor causing the US problems. Saudi Arabia, America's foremost ally in the region, is playing a "counterproductive roll in the Iraq war," reports the NYT. The Saudis are "deeply skeptical" of Iraq's Prime Minister Maliki who they view as an "Iranian agent" and are said to be providing financial support to some of his opponents. US officials also complain that Saudi Arabia is doing little to stem the increasing flow of Saudi nationals who are joining Sunni militant groups in Iraq.
It was the Shi'ite militias of the Mahdi Army that were the focus of US military attention today. AFP reports that fighting erupted between the two forces in Karbala early this morning leaving nine people dead.
July 26, 2007 6:06
Bombers Attack Iraq Soccer Fans
Category: Iraq
Baghdad bombers targeted soccer fans yesterday, killing at least 50 and wounding 135 as they celebrated their national team's victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup. Thousands of fans had filled the streets of the capital after Iraq made the final of the tournament for the first time.
The House of Representatives has emphatically rejected any plans to establish long-term military bases in Iraq. Voting 399 to 24 the House adopted a resolution that would limit federal spending intended to build permanent bases or "to exercise United States economic control of the oil resources of Iraq," writes the NYT. House Republicans went along with the resolutions as it they said it essentially reflected current law and Bush administration policy. "But they criticized Democrats for what they said was meaningless legislation since the administration had not called for permanent bases," says the NYT.
More than two million Iraqis have fled their country since the 2003 invasion and the UN estimates about 50,000 more people leave Iraq each month, mainly arriving in Jordan and Syria. Now Iraq's neighbors are looking for increased aid to help cope with the flood of refugees and they seek "some assurance that the Iraqis will either eventually return to their homeland or be resettled elsewhere," reports the BBC.
July 25, 2007 7:05
Bush Starts his Sell the War Roadshow
Category: Iraq
President Bush took the battle to hawk the Iraq War to South Carolina yesterday, part of a seven week tour where "the commander in chief becomes salesman in chief," writes USA Today. Calling Al-Qaeda in Iraq "Public Enemy No. 1," Bush sought to shoot down the critics who say he has created links between Al-Qaeda and Iraq that don't exist and who employ the "flawed logic that terror is caused by American actions," says CNN. Bush cited the "founding of Al Qaeda in Iraq by a Jordanian, Abu Musab Zarqawi, who had 'long-standing relations with senior Al Qaeda leaders'" writes the LAT. But says CNN's Michael Ware, "it makes one wonder why the president is hammering this point home when he glosses over the fact this war is creating more al Qaeda jihadis rather than reducing their number".
Iran and the US traded accusations in their second meeting in Baghdad yesterday reports the New York Times. US ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, said Iran was providing weapons and training for Shiite militias to attack American-led forces while his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi-Qumi, said Iraqis were “victimized by terror and the presence of foreign forces” in their country. Despite the ongoing spat, the US and Iran did agree to form a security committee, with Iraq, to focus on containing Sunni insurgents, says the BBC.
President Bush might be increasing isolated at home but at least he's got someone to have a regular chat with. The NYT reports that every couple of week, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have an hour long chat with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "They talk about the challenges they face being leaders,” an administration official tells the NYT.
July 24, 2007 6:15
US Troops to Remain in Iraq Until 2009 - Report
Category: Iraq
US troops are set to remain in Iraq until at least 2009. That's what the New York Times is reporting based on a classified report prepared by US commanders in Baghdad. The plan aims at "restoring security in local areas, including Baghdad, by the summer of 2008. 'Sustainable security' is to be established on a nationwide basis by the summer of 2009," says the NYT, adding the "goals in the document appear ambitious, given the immensity of the challenge".
What a relief then that Iran is on at hand to help out. The US envoy to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, sat down in Baghdad today for their second round of meetings on improving security in Iraq. It could be a frosty exchange. Yesterday the US State Department fired a new salvo at Tehran saying it "had not taken any steps to bring about a stable Iraq since the [last round of] talks in May," reports the BBC. "We are going to raise the need for Iran to match its actions with its words in seeking strategic stability in Iraq," said spokesman Sean McCormack.
Finally, plus ca change....."a wave of car bombs targeting civilians and police in central Baghdad on Monday killed at least 16 people and wounded 40 others," CNN