These are the archives for the week ending 3rd February 2006
'Long war' replaces cold war
In the 2007 budget due out next week and a soon-to-be-released long-range plan for reshaping the military, the Defense Department talks about the military's future in terms of its ability to fight a new kind of war. It is one that cannot be won in days or weeks, and will be fought on many fronts and against a vast array of enemies.
Administration officials seem to refer to the "long war" more frequently these days. President Bush mentioned it during his State of the Union address this week. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said the term is a way of telling people the truth about the fight against terrorism. "Just as the Cold War lasted a long time, this war is something that is not going to go away," Rumsfeld said. He said this does not mean U.S. troops will be in Iraq indefinitely, but rather that the U.S. will be fighting violent extremists for many years to come.
"The United States is a nation engaged in what will be a long war," the defense review document says. "Currently the struggle is centered in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will need to be prepared and arranged to successfully defend our nation and its interests around the globe for years to come."
Associated Press, 1/2/06
Sunni bloc threatens revolt
Iraq's main Sunni Arab alliance has threatened to start a campaign of civil disobedience if concerns about attacks on its community are not addressed. The Iraqi Accord Front called for Interior Minister Bayan Jabr to resign, the disbanding of militias and the release of all Iraqi detainees.
The demands came as the governing Shia and Kurdish alliances discussed the formation of a coalition government.
BBC, 1/2/06
Blair unaffected by 100th death
An explosion on Tuesday killed the 100th British soldier of the Iraq war, but British Prime Minister Tony Blair said there would be no backing away from the mission. Blair told Reuters television that Britain would not change course, either in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"Our response has got to be not to walk away from the situation but to redouble our efforts to make sure the people of Afghanistan and Iraq achieve the democracy they want," he said. "In achieving that, we enhance our own security here."
Yahoo News, 31/1/06
Iraqi troops mainly on paper
American commanders said an entire Iraqi brigade, about 2,500 troops, has taken over parts of the nearby city of Khaldiyah and an adjacent agrarian area from U.S. troops. But U.S. military advisers who mentor the Iraqi unit said just over half those assigned Iraqi soldiers were actually present. The Iraqi brigade already was short several hundred soldiers before they deployed to Anbar province from the northern city of Mosul, the advisers said, and about 500 more deserted when they arrived in late August and faced their first insurgent attacks.
Moreover, an Iraqi army policy giving soldiers 10 days of leave each month means even fewer soldiers are available. Fewer than 1,000 Iraqi troops are consistently stationed in this area if the soldiers on leave are deducted - so this brigade was in reality about a third of its size on paper.
"A lot of them, when they were told they were coming to Jazeera and Habaniyah, they quit," said Marine Staff Sgt. Juan Santiago of New York City, speaking of two towns just outside Bidimnah. Santiago saw more than half his trainees quit the Iraqi army over the fall.
Associated Press, 31/1/06
US troops fire at Canadian diplomats
Four Canadian diplomats, including the charge d'affaires to Iraq, escaped injury Tuesday when their vehicle was shot at in Baghdad by U.S. soldiers. The vehicle, reportedly carrying charge d'affaires Stewart Henderson, came under friendly fire after it apparently attempted to pass an American convoy, said U.S. Lt.-Col. Barry Johnson, spokesman for the multinational force in Iraq. The incident happened in what's known as the Green Zone, a heavily fortified area in the centre of Baghdad where coalition and Iraqi government offices are located.
Toronto Star, 1/2/06
Afghanistan Compact
Afghanistan received promises of economic and military support from the international community at a conference in London in return for pledges to fight corruption and the illegal opium trade.
Four years after the U.S.-backed campaign which ousted the hardline Islamist Taliban, Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries and security is a major obstacle to development in the central Asian nation.
The meeting will formalise a five-year plan, known as the Afghanistan Compact, to tackle illegal armed groups, impose the rule of law, work towards the eradication of opium production and enforce a zero-tolerance policy on corruption.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration would seek approval for $1.1 billion of aid for the Afghan people in the next year, on top of aid commitments of nearly $6 billion. British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged 500 million pounds ($885 million) over the next three years.
But a Taliban leader condemned the gathering as an "American drama and stage show" and warned that the Taliban would continue attacking Western forces in the country. Officials have blamed Taliban and al Qaeda militants for a string of attacks, including 13 suicide bombings, since November.
Reuters 31/1/06
Al-Sadr gains ground
The crowd of Moqtada al-Sadr's followers stretched 10 blocks, blanketing a sprawling boulevard in Sadr City, the Baghdad slum. Loudspeakers rattled as a cleric railed against the US occupation. When Iraq's election results are certified this week, Sadr is expected to increase his numbers in parliament by 50 percent. That rise will give significant power to the most rigid and anti-US wing of the Shiite bloc, further complicating efforts for the US to maintain influence in Iraq's emerging government.
Already Sadr has pushed the Shiite coalition and other Iraqi politicians to take a more intransigent stance on key issues. Agreement to his 14-point code of honor was his precondition to join the Shiite slate. The code demands a short-term timetable for US withdrawal, recognizes the right of armed resistance should it stay, and rejects ties with Israel. Along with his fellow Shiites, some 200 Iraqi politicians signed on to the document. This support that Sadr has attracted could erode the traditional alliance between other Shiite politicians and the US - a relationship that has helped legitimize the continued American presence in Iraq.
Yahoo News, 30/1/06
Iraqis believe US plans permanent bases
A new poll found that nearly half of Iraqis approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces, and most favor setting a timetable for American troops to leave. The poll also found that 80 percent of Iraqis think the United States plans to maintain permanent bases in the country even if the newly elected Iraqi government asks American forces to leave. Researchers found a link between support for attacks and the belief among Iraqis that the United States intends to keep a permanent military presence in the country.
Seventy percent of Iraqis favor setting a timetable for U.S. forces to withdraw, with half of those favoring a withdrawal within six months and the other half favoring a withdrawal over two years. According to the poll's findings, 47 percent of Iraqis approve of attacks on American forces, but there were large differences among ethnic and religious groups. Among Sunni Muslims, 88 percent said they approved of the attacks. That approval was found among 41 percent of Shiite Muslims and 16 percent of Kurds. Ninety-three percent of Iraqis oppose violence against Iraqi security forces, and 99 percent oppose attacks on Iraqi civilians.
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, 30/1/06
US army forces 50,000 to extended service
The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called "stop-loss," but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have fallen flat. The policy applies to soldiers in units due to deploy for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Army said stop-loss is vital to maintain units that are cohesive and ready to fight. But some experts said it shows how badly the Army is stretched and could further complicate efforts to attract new recruits.
Under the policy, soldiers who normally would leave when their commitments expire must remain in the Army, starting 90 days before their unit is scheduled to depart, through the end of their deployment and up to another 90 days after returning to their home base. With year long tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, some soldiers can be forced to stay in the Army an extra 18 months.
Reuters, 29/1/06
British casualty figures false
The Ministry of Defence has admitted that it issued misleading figures for the number of British soldiers injured in Iraq after a Scotsman investigation found that they were wildly inaccurate. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, last week claimed that about 230 UK personnel had been wounded in action in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003. The new figure was substantially smaller than previous estimates and would mean British troops had a ratio of deaths to injuries of roughly 1:3, compared with the US ratio of 1:7.
The MoD admitted yesterday that hundreds more may have been injured in combat and that it was unlikely that injuries sustained by soldiers during the war itself had been included in the total. The spokesman said there were problems in defining when a soldier had been injured in combat and he said that during the war itself, staff were too busy to record how many soldiers were treated and in what circumstances.
Scotsman, 30/1/06
A reshuffle in the 'war on terror'
The British deployment in Afghanistan is part of a major reshuffle in the "war on terror". Britain is taking the leading role as Nato's International Security Assistance Force assumes responsibility for the whole country and steps up its forces from 9,000 to about 15,000. The United States will run down its forces in south-east Afghanistan, giving it more resources for Iraq.
An extra 3,300 British troops will join the 1,100 already in Afghanistan and 1,950 announced earlier. The mission will last three years and is expected to cost £1bn.
Independent, 29/1/06
US talking to resistance
American officials in Iraq are in face-to-face talks with high-level Iraqi Sunni insurgents. Americans are sitting down with "senior members of the leadership" of the Iraqi insurgency, according to Americans and Iraqis with knowledge of the talks (who did not want to be identified when discussing a sensitive and ongoing matter). The talks are taking place at U.S. military bases in Anbar province, as well as in Jordan and Syria.
"Now we have won over the Sunni political leadership," says U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. "The next step is to win over the insurgents." The groups include Baathist cells and religious Islamic factions, as well as former Special Republican Guards and intelligence agents, according to a U.S. official with knowledge of the talks. Iraq's insurgent groups are reaching back. "We want things from the U.S. side, stopping misconduct by U.S. forces, preventing Iranian intervention," said one prominent insurgent leader from a group called the Army of the Mujahedin, who refused to be named because of the delicacy of the discussions. "We can't achieve that without actual meetings."
They have much to discuss. For one, Americans and Iraqi insurgent groups share a common fear of undue Iranian influence in Iraq.
Newsweek, 29/1/06
Tension grows between Iraqis and British
The governor of Basra said Friday that he would stop cooperating with British forces on security and other issues in the southern province unless they released five Iraqi policemen currently in British custody. The standoff comes at a time of mounting unrest in what was once one of Iraq's most tranquil regions. Friday morning in the city of Basra, the provincial capital, an improvised bomb exploded in a market, killing a young girl and injuring four people.
A steadily deteriorating relationship between British troops and a police force dominated by Shiite Muslim militia groups has led to an increase in violence in recent months, including occasional clashes between the Iraqi and British forces jointly responsible for the province's security. British troops this week detained at least 14 policemen in a series of raids in the Shiite-majority city, provoking hundreds of residents to take to the streets in protest. Nine detainees were later released.
"The local government of Basra is going to use all the available means to release the detainees," Mohammed Wall, the provincial governor, said in a telephone interview, adding that a large rally was planned for Sunday near the city's British consulate. "The British are trying to cover their mistakes here by accusing our police for more instability in the town."
Washington Post, 28/1/06
US won't keep reconstruction promises
The US government will complete just a fraction of the planned massive reconstruction projects in Iraq before $18.4 billion in federal funding runs out next year, according to a government audit released yesterday. The audit by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, which oversees the rebuilding budget, states that only 49 of 136 planned water projects will be finished by 2007, the deadline Congress has set for the allocation. About 300 of 425 electricity projects will be done by then, according to the audit.
In a nation where power is rationed and blackouts are common, the United States will fall well short of its target of adding 3,400 megawatts of electricity to the system, and half of the money set aside for water projects has been diverted to other priorities, according to the audit. As a result, the goal of bringing clean water to 4 million Iraqis has been reduced to about 2.75 million; about 40 percent of Iraq's 26 million people didn't have access to clean water in 2004, the audit said.
In all, about a third of the $18.4 billion appropriated by Congress in November 2003 is being spent for something other than what it was originally intended, the audit said. Billions of US dollars were siphoned away from infrastructure projects to bolster security and pay for the promotion of democracy.
Boston Globe, 27/1/06
US kidnapped suspects' wives as 'leverage'
The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show. In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a U.S. intelligence officer reported. In the case of a second detainee, one American colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him "to come get his wife."
Associated Press, 27/1/06
Oil exports still low
Sabotage and storms have demolished Iraqi hopes of lifting oil exports from their lowest level since the U.S.-led invasion and highlighted the scale of the challenge facing a new government and oil minister. Insurgents blew up pipelines from Iraq's northern fields on Wednesday, halting the flow of oil to Turkey. On Thursday high winds and swells stopped loadings in the south. That means another month of exports grinding along near one million barrels per day, robbing Iraq, which sits on the world's third biggest oil reserves, of badly needed revenue to rebuild.
Confusing the picture is a new constitution that hands power over oil to emergent regions with a sectarian or ethnic bias that may be at odds with the government in Baghdad. Many parties have their eyes on the oil portfolio in talks on a grand coalition.
Oil multinationals are waiting until a new investment code is in place before pumping cash into Iraq. International oil firms are eyeing its giant and largely underdeveloped oilfields. The new parliament is expected to pass new investment laws.
Reuters, 26/1/06
Blackouts created by US mistakes
Power shortages are a crucial issue for ordinary Iraqis, and for the credibility of their government. As Muhsin Shlash, Iraq's electricity minister, said last week, "When you lose electricity the country is destroyed, nothing works, all industry is down, and terrorist activity is increased."
So why is power scarcer than ever, almost three years after Saddam Hussein's fall? Sabotage by insurgents is one factor. But the blackouts are also the result of some incredible missteps by U.S. officials. Most notably, during the period when Iraq was run by U.S. officials, they decided to base their electricity plan on natural gas: In order to boost electrical output, American companies were hired to install gas-fired generators in power plants across Iraq. But, as The Los Angeles Times explains, "pipelines needed to transport the gas" - that is, to supply gas to the new generators - "weren't built because Iraq's Oil Ministry, with U.S. encouragement, concentrated instead on boosting oil production."
Meanwhile, in the early days of the occupation U.S. officials chose not to raise the prices of electricity and fuel, which had been kept artificially cheap under Hussein, for fear of creating unrest. But as a first step toward their dream of turning Iraq into a free-market utopia, they removed tariffs and other restrictions on the purchase of imported consumer goods. The result was that wealthy and middle-class Iraqis rushed to buy imported refrigerators, heaters and other power- hungry products, and the demand for electricity surged - with no capacity available to meet that surge in demand. This caused even more blackouts.
Denver Post, 27/1/06