Watching the Warmakers is based in Brighton, England.
Our aim is to support activists in educating themselves in the issues
which confront those struggling for peace and justice.

News archives for the week ending 3rd October 2008

US to fund pro-American propaganda in Iraq

The Defense Department will pay private U.S. contractors in Iraq up to $300 million over the next three years to produce news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements for the Iraqi media in an effort to "engage and inspire" the local population to support U.S. objectives and the Iraqi government.

The new contracts -- awarded last week to four companies -- will expand and consolidate what the U.S. military calls "information/psychological operations" in Iraq far into the future, even as violence appears to be abating and U.S. troops have begun drawing down.

The military's role in the war of ideas has been fundamentally transformed in recent years, the result of both the Pentagon's outsized resources and a counterinsurgency doctrine in which information control is considered key to success. Uniformed communications specialists and contractors are now an integral part of U.S. military operations from Eastern Europe to Afghanistan and beyond.

Washington Post, 3/10/08

Iraq government to absorb former insurgents...

Iraq's government has taken responsibility for about 100,000 former insurgents who were being paid by the US to fight against Al Qaeda.

When the men switched sides, and started fighting for the United States instead of the insurgency, it marked one of the major turning points in Iraq's security situation. But as part of the American withdrawal, their salaries will now be paid by the Iraqi government, which will try to absorb around a fifth of them into the police and the army, while promising civilian jobs and training for the rest.

AC News, Australia, 1/10/08

...or start new round of violence

The commander of the Sunni-led Awakening movement in Baghdad says that attacks by the Iraqi government and government-allied militiamen against Awakening leaders and rank-and-file members are likely to spark a new Sunni resistance movement.

That resistance force will conduct attacks against American troops and Iraqi army and police forces, he says. "Look around," he says. "It has already come back. It is getting stronger. Look at what is happening in Baghdad."

The commander, Abu Azzam laid out a scenario for a new explosion in Iraq, one that would shatter the complacent American notion that the 2007-08 "surge" of American troops in Iraq has stabilized that war-torn country.

The sectarian Shiite government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki views the Awakening movement with extreme suspicion, and the feeling is mutual. According to several Iraqi sources interviewed for this article, there is a grave possibility that the relative calm that has prevailed in Iraq over the past year will be shattered if the Shiite-led government and its allied militia, the Badr Brigade of the pro-Iranian Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, engage in an armed power struggle with the Awakening forces for control of western Baghdad.

CBS News, 2/10/08

Torture victim wins right to see papers

A British resident now held at Guantanamo Bay has won an order in the US courts requiring the country's government to hand over material that might help his defence against terrorism charges, it was revealed at the High Court in London.

Binyam Mohamed, 30, insists that he admitted to plotting a dirty radioactive bomb attack on the United States only after being tortured by having his penis cut with a razor.

Recently his London lawyers won a High Court ruling that David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, should reconsider his refusal to let the Muslim convert's lawyers see papers that might help clear his name. The case revealed how the British security services co-operated with the US in the interrogation of terrorism suspects who were moved from country to country and held in secret locations.

Mohamed's London lawyers say information held by the British security services could support his allegations of torture. They want it disclosed to his US legal team in a bid to prevent a convening authority referring charges against Mohamed to a US military commission at Guantanamo. They say the Foreign Secretary, despite the recent High Court ruling, is still unlawfully failing to disclose information.

Press Association, 1/10/08

US considers 'surge' in Afghanistan

After seven years of trying to stabilize Afghanistan, the Bush administration is redoubling efforts to tame the Taliban and secure peace. Rising military casualties and security incidents have Pentagon planners considering an Iraq-like surge of U.S. troops to restore order.

But whether more troops will be enough to end the war and win over an increasingly frustrated Afghan public is far from certain. As the Washington Post reports, kidnappings, robberies, and drug-related crimes are eroding confidence in the government of President Hamid Karzai; some Afghans even long for the days of relative stability and control under the Taliban.

A new survey illustrates this point: Most Afghans say anger over a shortage of basic needs is fueling the uptick in violence. "It is worrisome and of great concern to see that the Afghan people are starting to lose hope", says Lex Kassenberg, country director of CARE International in Afghanistan.

Washington Post, 1/10/08

Iraq 'locked in conflict'

The US defence department says the fundamental character of the conflict in Iraq remains unchanged, despite dramatic security improvements there. In its quarterly report to Congress, it said Iraq remained locked in a communal struggle for power and resources.

The Pentagon also expressed concern at the pace at which members of Sunni militias were being integrated into the armed forces or other government jobs.

The US military has increased its reliance on Iraqi troops and its allies among Sunni fighters to take the lead in security operations, which is reflected in the death tolls from the last month. The number of Iraqi security forces killed in September rose by nearly a third to 159 compared with the same period last year, while US troop deaths for the same period fell by nearly 40% to 25.

BBC News, 1/10/08

Financial crisis won't reduce US military spending

Defense Secretary Robert Gates predicted on Monday that growth in U.S. military spending would level off in the coming years but not face severe cutbacks, despite the current economic crisis.

"While there's a lot of debate over Iraq, there really is very broad bipartisan support for a strong defense and support for our men and women in uniform in the Congress," Gates said at the National Defense University in Washington.

"Despite the current economic problems that we're facing ... there have been some important lessons learned subsequent to the end of the Cold War," Gates said. "I think the fact that the world does remain a complicated and dangerous place is further incentive not to cut capabilities."

President George W. Bush submitted a base defense budget of more than $500 billion for the fiscal year that begins next month. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing some $160 billion a year on top of that.

Under Bush, basic defense spending has risen by more than 40 percent. Including war costs, defense spending will have grown more than 60 percent under Bush, according to the nonpartisan Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington.

Reuters, 29/9/08

UK troops could face charges for handing prisoners to US

British troops who hand over prisoners in Iraq to US military personnel could find themselves facing prosecution, according to a legal opinion compiled for parliament. The finding has led to calls for the British government to rethink its current policy and investigate how the US treats its prisoners, and whether torture is employed against them.

Andrew Tyrie, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee which commissioned the report, said there had been a number of allegations that UK forces had been capturing people and handing them over to US authorities, knowing that these detainees were at risk of being tortured or mistreated.

"I commissioned a legal opinion to establish whether the UK acted unlawfully when they were handed over," said Tyrie. "I now have the answer. The UK remains legally responsible for the subsequent treatment of anybody who has been detained by the UK. It is likely that British policy on this area is not only ethically questionable but is also unlawful. The government now needs to radically rethink its policy on this issue."

Clive Stafford Smith, director of the legal action charity Reprieve, also welcomed the findings. "We are delighted that the all-party parliamentary group has recognised the illegality of British troops handing over prisoners to US custody in Iraq, " he said.

"These prisoners promptly disappear into an unaccountable prison network in which over 20,000 prisoners are held for illegal interrogation and torture. If it is confirmed that this has been happening, the British government must immediately reveal how many people have been handed over, where they are now, and what has been done to them."

Guardian, 29/9/08

'Sons of Iraq' fear handover

First Lt. Justin John, 6-foot-4 and built like a linebacker, plopped down on a sofa in front of Ibrahim Suleiman al-Zoubaidi, one of the leaders of the mainly Sunni armed groups that have helped the U.S. military quell violence in Iraq since last year.

Zoubaidi, a small man armed with a revolver, had one thing on his mind: This week officials of Iraq's Shiite-led government will assume authority over the groups, which have been backed by the United States.

"They will kill us," Zoubaidi declared. "One by one."

Across Baghdad, leaders of the groups speak about the transition in similarly apocalyptic terms. Some have left Baghdad, saying they fear that the Iraqi government will conduct mass arrests after the handover. Others are obtaining passports and say they will flee to Syria.

Washington Post, 30/9/08

Official: US will stay in Iraq and Afghanistan for years

The United States will not likely launch another regime-changing war "anytime soon," but American troops will remain in Iraq and Afghanistan for years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday.

Failure in either nation "would be a disastrous blow to our credibility, both among our friends and allies and among potential adversaries," Gates said.

Speaking at the National Defense University in Washington, Gates addressed President Bush's recent decision to pull 8,000 troops out of Iraq and send 4,500 troops to Afghanistan. Gates predicted even more troops would be sent to Afghanistan next year.

"Given its terrain, poverty, neighborhood and tragic history, Afghanistan in many ways poses an even more complex and difficult long-term challenge than Iraq -- one that, despite a large international effort, will require a significant American military and economic commitment for some time," Gates said.

Gates said not to expect troops to leave Iraq after the upcoming U.S. election. "No matter who is elected president in November," he said, "there will continue to be some kind of American advisory and counterterrorism effort in Iraq for years to come."

CNN, 29/9/08

US supplies Israel with advanced radar

The US has supplied Israel with a powerful long-range radar system that would provide an extra early warning in case of an Iranian missile attack, it was confirmed yesterday. Israeli officials said the equipment was flown in last week along with 120 American staff and has been set up at an air force base in the southern Negev desert.

It is believed to be the first time American personnel have been stationed in Israel since the 1991 Gulf war, when Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed - to little effect - against Iraq's Scud missiles. In spite of the close strategic relationship between the two countries, Israel has traditionally preferred to staff its own defences and not depend on foreigners.

Ephraim Kam, an analyst at Tel Aviv University's institute for national security studies, called the radar system an "important addition" to Israel's defences and told AP he believed the US was sending a message that "they are against any attack by Israel on Iran's nuclear facilities at this time but cannot leave us without protection".

Guardian, 29/9/08

World-wide poll sees "war on terror" as failure

US-led efforts to tackle the al-Qaeda group are not regarded as successful, an opinion poll carried out in 23 nations for the BBC World Service suggests.

Some 29% of people said the "war on terror" launched by President George W Bush in 2001 had had no effect on the Islamist militant network. According to 30% of those surveyed, US policies have strengthened al-Qaeda.

BBC News, 29/9/08

Iraqi christians protest election law

Crowds of Iraqi Christians protested on Sunday against a newly approved provincial election law, saying the legislation failed to represent the interests of the minority community.

Protestors shouted slogans against Baghdad's Shiite-led government and against the law in the town of Al-Kosh near the restive northern city of Mosul, carrying Iraqi flags and banners that said "No! No! to dictatorship".

Last week, Iraq's parliament passed controversial legislation setting a January 31 deadline for elections in 14 provinces, excluding the three Kurdish provinces and the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Leaders of Iraq's Christian community claim the law does not provide for their representation in the councils that would be formed after the vote. Iraq has around 400,000 Christians, a number that has shrunk in half since US-led forces invaded in 2003.

AFP, 29/9/08

US to step up attacks on Pakistan

The Pentagon has ordered that raids on suspected terrorist targets within Pakistan be stepped up to pressurise al-Qaeda leaders and distract them from preparing attacks on American targets elsewhere.

"The aim is to disrupt their scope for planning and keep their leaders on the move so that it is more difficult for them to co-ordinate complicated plots," a senior US intelligence official told The Sunday Telegraph.

The operations launched from neighbouring Afghanistan have led to sharply increased tensions with Pakistan's armed forces since President George W.Bush recently authorised assaults involving "boots on the ground" without prior approval by Pakistan's government, a supposed US ally.

Sunday Telegraph, 28/9/08

Security Council to reaffirm Iran sanctions...

A draft resolution on Iran's nuclear programme has been agreed by foreign ministers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Diplomats said there were no new sanctions in the resolution but it reaffirmed three earlier rounds of UN sanctions and pushed for compliance.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: "We look forward to that resolution being passed, and we also look forward to full engagement by the government of Iran with the very significant offer that is on the table to them."

BBC News, 26/9/08

...as US rewards India with nuclear deal

The House overwhelmingly gave final approval yesterday to a landmark civil nuclear agreement with India, putting the Bush administration in reach of a substantial foreign policy achievement.

The deal, which has been fiercely opposed by nuclear proliferation experts, would give New Delhi access to U.S. nuclear technology for the first time since it conducted a nuclear test in 1974. Since then, India has been barred from the worldwide nuclear trade, leaving it without advanced uranium-enrichment and plutonium-reprocessing technology that is superior to India's homegrown methods.

The administration has argued that the deal would bring a substantial portion of India's nuclear industry -- though not the facilities that produce materials for weapons -- under international observation and would forge ties between two large democracies that have had an antagonistic relationship in the past.

But critics say the deal undermines efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons because it rewards a country that violated nonproliferation norms by building bombs with material from civilian reactors.

Washington Post, 28/9/08