These are the archives for the week ending 4th August 2006
UK ambassador warns of Iraq civil war
Britain's outgoing ambassador in Baghdad has warned that civil war is the most likely outcome in Iraq, according to a report. In a confidential memo to ministers, William Patey also predicted the break-up of Iraq along ethnic lines.
Mr Patey wrote: "The prospect of a low intensity civil war and a de facto division of Iraq is probably more likely at this stage than a successful and substantial transition to a stable democracy."
He went on: "Even the lowered expectation of President Bush for Iraq - a government that can sustain itself, defend itself and govern itself and is an ally in the war on terror - must remain in doubt."
Independent, 3/8/06
Block on ceasefire 'driven by Blair alone'
Tony Blair is ignoring the advice on the Lebanon war from not only the Foreign Office but from foreign affairs specialists within Downing Street, according to Whitehall officials.
One said the government's policy of resisting calls for an immediate ceasefire had been "driven by the prime minister alone".
Guardian, 3/8/06
UK exports arms to Israel
The government must explain why it continues to approve the sale of arms to Israel in apparent breach of its own guidelines, a cross-party committee of senior backbenchers demand today. In a hard-hitting report, MPs from four Commons committees say arms sales are regularly approved to countries the government itself censures because of their poor human rights record.
The report also exposes loopholes which allow companies to sell products - often via the internet - that are officially banned, including equipment such as "thumb cuffs" and "wall cuffs" used in torture.
The government last year approved £22.5m worth of arms-related exports to Israel, almost twice the amount in 2004. They included components for combat helicopters, aircraft radars and air-to-surface missiles. British companies also make crucial parts for US-made Apache helicopters and display units for US F-16s, both used by Israeli forces in Lebanon and the occupied territories.
Guardian, 3/8/06
Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib chief honoured
Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who commanded the Guantanamo prison and helped shape detention practices at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, retired from the U.S. military on Monday with a top honor and praise from the Army. Miller headed the prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from 2002 to 2004 and was sent to Iraq in 2003 to help extract more information from prisoners there. He oversaw all detention operations in Iraq for nine months in 2004.
During a ceremony presided over by Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's No. 2 officer, Miller was presented with the Distinguished Service Medal, the Army's fourth-highest award, before a crowd of 200 people in the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes. Cody called Miller a "role model, innovator and leader" who was asked to "tackle two of the toughest jobs in the global war on terror."
Washington Post, 31/7/06
US soldiers killed 24 at Haditha
Evidence collected on the deaths of 24 Iraqis in Haditha supports accusations that U.S. Marines deliberately shot the civilians, including unarmed women and children, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. The decision on whether to press criminal charges ultimately will be made by the commander of the accused Marines' parent unit.
The case is one of several involving alleged unjustified killings of Iraqi civilians that have emerged this year, damaging the military's reputation for humane treatment of civilians and triggering calls by some Iraqi leaders to end the arrangement under which U.S. troops are immune from prosecution by Iraqi authorities.
Associated Press, 2/8//06
US soldiers smiled before killing prisoners
An American soldier told a military tribunal in Iraq yesterday how his comrades smiled before shooting dead three handcuffed Iraqi prisoners and threatened to kill him if he told anyone what they had done.
The murder charges, already controversial for a military prosecuting cases of massacre, rape and murder by its troops in Iraq, has been made all the more difficult for the Army by the accused soldiers' defence that they were following orders to kill all military-aged males.
Times, 3/8/06
British deaths in Afghanistan
Britain will stay the course in Afghanistan and Iraq despite the deaths of four British soldiers in insurgent attacks in the two countries, Defense Secretary Des Browne vowed. The deaths of three soldiers in southern Afghanistan in particular stirred unease in London about whether Britain was clear about its aims after sharply increasing its military presence there in the last few months.
Nine British troops have now been killed in combat this year in southern Afghanistan, where NATO is embarking on what it calls its most challenging mission yet to defeat a resurgent Taliban. Only half a dozen British troops were killed in Afghanistan prior to the new deployment this year.
Yahoo News, 2/8/06
Rumsfeld: Iraq not yet civil war
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said sectarian violence has reached a high level in Iraq but is not yet a "classic civil war." "Clearly, there's sectarian violence. People are being killed. Sunnis are killing Shia; Shia are killing Sunnis. Kurds seem not to be involved," he told reporters.
"Does that constitute a civil war?" Rumsfeld asked. "I guess you can decide for yourself. And we can all go to the dictionary and decide what you want to call something. "But it seems to me that it is not a classic civil war at this stage," he said.
AFP, 2/8/06
Blair returns to face UK critics
Tony Blair has flown back to the UK from America amid growing debate over his policy in the Middle East.
During his four day trip to America, Mr Blair held talks with US President George Bush, addressed top executives from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and met Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But it was his speech on Tuesday to the World Affairs Council which has attracted the most headlines.
In it, Mr Blair said: "There is an arc of extremism now stretching across the Middle East and touching countries far outside that region." And he called for a policy re-think, to deal with a war "of a completely unconventional kind".
"It is in part a struggle between what I will call reactionary Islam and moderate, mainstream Islam. But its implications go far wider.
"We are fighting a war, but not just against terrorism but about how the world should govern itself in the early 21st century, about global values," said Mr Blair.
"We... have to empower moderate, mainstream Islam to defeat reactionary Islam," he said.
Mr Blair said Syria and Iran were miscalculating if they continued to support terrorism and said they would "be confronted".
During his trip Mr Blair has continued to avoid calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon - instead sticking to the form of words that he wants an end to hostilities and a proper plan for longlasting peace.
Former Conservative Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said it was "either naive or over-simplistic" of the prime minister to say conflicts such as those in Chechnya or Kashmir were part of a "world battle against terror".
"In Chechnya it's not a battle between freedom and terrorism, it's between Russian nationalism and Chechnya nationalism.
"In Kashmir, it's between India and Pakistan and to try and just draw all these threads in and simplify it in a rather foolish way indicates that the prime minister has become totally bereft of original thinking."
He added: "The single greatest triumph of what he (Mr Blair) calls Islamic terrorism has been in Iraq, which is a direct consequence of his own policy and that of George Bush."
BBC News 2/8/06
Irish refused re-arming flights
Bombs destined to be used by Israel are being flown via Scotland only because the Irish government refused to allow them to land on its soil. Scotland on Sunday can reveal that after the conflict in Lebanon began three weeks ago, Ireland turned down a United States request for planes carrying 600lb so-called bunker busters to refuel at Shannon airport in Co Clare.
As a result, cargo planes carrying the bombs, which the Israeli army is using in its offensive against the Hezbollah, are being flown via Prestwick airport in Ayrshire.
Scotland on Sunday, 30/6/06
Corruption in Iraq is 'a pandemic'
Corruption is "a virtual pandemic in Iraq," threatening rebuilding efforts, international aid and citizen confidence needed for a fledgling democracy, a government report said Tuesday. One Iraqi official has estimated that corruption costs the country $4 billion annually.
A recent survey indicated a third of Iraqis polled had paid a bribe to get products or services in the past 12 months and that they had a "core mistrust" of the army and police. The details are cited in the quarterly report by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
"Unless reforms are put in place, corruption may jeopardize the political stability of the new government," said an audit included in the report.
Yahoo News, 1/8/06
Baghdad in turmoil
Gunmen opened fire on municipal street sweepers in Iraq's capital on Monday, killing one and injuring two, while a senior intelligence official died in a drive-by shooting. Also Monday, gunmen wearing military fatigues kidnapped 25 employees and customers from a mobile phone store in the main shopping area of the capital, Baghdad, police said.
The gun-wielding kidnappers barged into the shop around noon and bundled the staff and employees into 15 cars they had arrived in, said police Lt. Thair Mahmoud. The whole operation lasted 10 minutes, he said. The identity of the gunmen, who were wearing military uniforms, was not immediately known, said Mahmoud.
Associated Press, 31/7/06
23 killed south of Baghdad
Gunmen killed at least 23 Iraqis on Sunday on a highway south of Baghdad, commandeering three minibuses and herding their occupants into nearby palm groves, where they were lined up and shot, according to police and a witness.
The three Kia minibuses were carrying pilgrims to the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 90 miles south of Baghdad. Such attacks on Shiite pilgrims bound for Najaf are relatively common, according to an ambulance driver who identified himself only as Abu Sajad. He said his uncle had been killed in a similar incident a month ago.
Washington Post, 31/7/06
Re-arming Israel via the UK
US flights carrying weapons to Israel will continue to call at British airports, including Prestwick, a minister said yesterday. David Cairns, a Scotland Office minister, is the first member of the government to confirm publicly the UK will authorise more military deliveries.
Scotsman, 1/8/06
War, not peacekeeping, in Afghanistan
The way Canadian soldiers operate in southern Afghanistan under NATO won't differ from how they're working under Operation Enduring Freedom, Canadian military officials said. NATO will take over command of security operations in areas surrounding Kandahar this week from the U.S.-led coalition.
In the past, Canadians operating under the NATO umbrella in Afghanistan, as part of the International Security Assistance Force - or ISAF - carried out missions that could best be described as peacekeeping. Under Operation Enduring Freedom, however, they have been heavily involved in dangerous combat missions. That role will continue, with troops engaging in combat and NATO commanders able to order pre-emptive strikes against suspected Taliban fighters, Lt.-Col. Brian Irwin said.
"I don't expect to see significant change under NATO," said Lt.-Col. Irwin, who is responsible for getting the next rotation of Canadians into Kandahar. The rules of engagement for the Canadian and other international forces under NATO, which cannot be made public, won't change much from those used by the U.S.-led troops, he added.
Globe and Mail, Canada, 30/7/06
More British troops to Afghanistan
The government is preparing to reinforce British troops in Afghanistan for the second time in a month to deal with the unexpectedly fierce resistance of Taliban militiamen. A 600-strong battalion has been put on five days' standby to fly out if the situation in the south of the country deteriorates. The step will be seen by critics as an admission that reinforcements announced earlier this month by Des Browne, the defence secretary, may prove insufficient.
The challenge facing British troops was highlighted by Lieutenant-General David Richards, who takes over command of forces in southern Afghanistan tomorrow. He told a conference at the Royal United Services Institute that the forces were short of equipment and were "running out of time" to win over the Afghan people. Six British soldiers have died in combat.
Richards is understood to believe that not only are there too few frontline troops but they do not have enough troop-carrying helicopters. Among the gaps highlighted by the general was the lack of medical evacuation systems and life-saving equipment. The shortages are forcing commanders to send wounded soldiers to Pakistan, defence sources said.
Sunday Times, 30/7/06
UK protests arms flights
Human rights activists are preparing to protest at a British airport against the refuelling of a US plane believed to be carrying bombs to Israel. A US-chartered plane bound for Tel Aviv is scheduled to touch down on Sunday in Prestwick airport, near Glasgow, Scotland, a day after a similar flight used the same airport.
George Bush has apologised for two earlier flights that stopped at Prestwick and had failed to declare they were carrying missiles to Tel Aviv, the British prime minister's official spokesman said. Prime Minister Blair has denied that Britain has acted inappropriately and dismissed critics who have called for a ban on US military aircraft landing on British airfields.
''If what people are saying is that we should impose an arms embargo on Israel or indeed on the US, I think that would be very curious indeed,'' he told the BBC.
Aljazeera, 30/7/06
Blair stands by Bush....
Speaking in the East Room of the White House, Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair presented a united front as they pushed a position that was at odds with European and Arab allies who have been calling for an "immediate cease-fire."
On the eve of Mr. Blair's trip here, there was widespread speculation in the news media that the prime minister - who has paid a steep political toll for siding so strongly with Mr. Bush on foreign policy - would distance himself from the president by joining that call. But he stood right by Mr. Bush's side as he has so many times.
New York Times, 29/7/06
...as US shrugs at Blair's influence
Mr Bush and Mr Blair have been resisting calls for an immediate ceasefire in every international forum for the past fortnight. This has been seen by their critics in Europe and the Middle East as an implicit green light to Israel to carry on its military offensive against Hizbullah.
US officials privately shrugged at the suggestion, eagerly promoted by their British counterparts, that Mr Blair's visit had accelerated movement towards a ceasefire.
Guardian, 29/7/06
Iraqi bank system in crisis
Praised by the United States as a success story as recently as a few months ago, the Iraqi bank system has quickly become a wild landscape of clandestine cash runs, huge hauls by robbers dressed as police officers and soldiers, kidnappings of bank executives with ransoms as high as $6 million, American allegations of tie-ins with insurgent financiers, and legitimate customers turned away when they go to pick up their savings and flee the country.
"It is a crisis," said Wisam K. Jamil, managing director of Iraq's oldest private bank, the Bank of Baghdad, which lost $1.5 million in a literal case of highway robbery by men wearing police uniforms last December.
The banks' troubles have had a ripple effect. Iraqi companies, already struggling in a devastated economy, cannot get enough cash to meet their payrolls, said Hashim T. Atrikchi, acting manager of the Iraqi Federation of Industries and chairman of the Arab Federation of Plastic Manufacturers.
New York Times, 29/7/06
Troop levels in Iraq increase
The Pentagon announced yesterday that it was increasing the number of US forces in Iraq to 135,000, dashing the hopes of the Bush Administration that they would be able to reduce the number by tens of thousands ahead of the Congressional elections in November.
Officials said that there were already 16 Army and Marine brigades in Iraq, two more than the level several months ago. The total troops there had already reached 132,000, and would climb in the coming weeks, buoyed by the decision to delay the scheduled return home this month of an Alaskan Army brigade.
Times, 29/7/06
US breaks promises on health
Construction of a children's hospital championed by first lady Laura Bush has been put on hold after it fell behind schedule and went over budget, one of dozens of halted or delayed U.S. health projects, Iraqi health officials said Friday. The high-tech, two-story children's hospital in Basra was intended to provide state-of-the-art care in Iraq's second-largest city. The first lady and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke highly of the project and lobbied Congress for the money.
Dr. Chasib Latif Ali, executive director of the Health Ministry, said the Basra hospital was just one example of health projects that the U.S. had promised but failed to deliver. "The Americans have made a lot of promises to us, but not even 10 percent of them have materialized," Ali said. He said that, of nearly 180 medical facilities promised by the U.S., contracts were awarded for 142. Only six have been completed and turned over to the Iraqis and those "are not even fully complete."
Associated Press, 28/7/06