These are the archives for the week ending 9th December 2005
Torture widespread
After a US raid on a secret Iraqi government jail last month revealed some detainees were tortured and abused there, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr insisted abuse claims were exaggerated and that torture will not be tolerated in the new Iraq. US soldiers and some Iraqi officials disagree. They say not only is prisoner abuse widespread, but that much of it is carried out by Mr. Jabr's subordinates.
Privately, half a dozen US officers have acknowledged to the Monitor that prisoner abuse by Iraqi police is common. Now, one officer is speaking out. Major R. John Stukey, a US Army doctor who served in Baghdad from January to June, frequently visited Interior Ministry facilities on the east side of Baghdad to assess the health of prisoners. He says he personally treated about a dozen men who had been tortured and observed an environment of overcrowding and neglect.
"We did report what we saw, but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a bucket of water,'' says Stukey by telephone at Fort Rucker in Alabama, where he is currently based. "The MPs submitted reports at least several times a week on detention issues. We knew about it, and we tried to change it, but it was just one of those things you had to deal with."
Officials from the 720th, now back at its base in Fort Hood, Texas, did not respond to requests for comment. Coalition troops, fighting a deadly insurgency, say they don't have the manpower to compel better behavior from their Iraqi partners, and that to do so would require them to court frequent conflict with their closest allies inside the country.
Christian Science Monitor, 7/12/05
Stopping torture is not US business
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has questioned a policy that requires US military personnel who witness abuse of detainees in Iraqi custody to take "all reasonable actions" to prevent it, a spokesman said. Rumsfeld seemed taken aback last month when General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, told him at a news conference that all US military personnel had the responsibility to try to stop abuse that they witness.
Since then, Rumsfeld has raised questions about the policy, said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. "Our forces are in a sovereign nation and the law enforcement of that nation is the responsibility of that country," Whitman said.
Yahoo News, 7/12/05
Eastern Europeans leaving Iraq
Some of the former East bloc's largest contingents in the US-led coalition are slated to bow out of fighting after Iraq's parliamentary elections in December. "One of the main reasons [for leaving] was the growing negative public opinion in Ukraine towards the deployment of our troops in Iraq," says Ihor Dolhov, a deputy foreign minister in Ukraine.
The expected exit of Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine signals both an acknowledgment of their citizens' disapproval of the war as well as a diplomatic swing back toward their erstwhile critics in western Europe, who reproached them for joining the 2003 invasion.
Yahoo News, 6/12/05
US losing hearts and minds
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had hoped her visit to Berlin would mark a new start to German-American ties, but her trip has been completely overshadowed by concerns about secret CIA flights. Has America just lost the battle for the hearts and minds of Europe?
That the secretary of state is even forced repeatedly to assure the United State's friends and allies that the country does not violate the most basic human rights is the surest sign that Washington has long since lost the battle for hearts and minds of many Europeans. In Germany and elsewhere, America is simply no longer given the benefit of the doubt.
Der Spiegel, 6/12/05
Hundreds flee Ramadi
Hundreds of families have fled Ramadi, capital of the western Anbar Province, amidst fierce fighting between US military forces and Iraqi insurgents, according to aid agencies. On 2 December, US troops launched an offensive in Ramadi, located some 110 km from the capital, Baghdad, after insurgents were shown on television in apparent control of the city. According to aid agencies, more than 400 families have fled the city since, fearing that the US-led military operation could go on for days or weeks.
Many families have taken refuge in improvised camps some 20 km east of Ramadi, and in abandoned buildings in and around the city of A'ana, 60 km east from Ramadi.On 5 December the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) sent essential supplies to refugees fleeing the city. "We're aware of the situation in the area, and are preparing for the worst," IRCS spokeswoman Ferdous al-Abadi said on Monday. "Food, tents and medicine have already been sent, but much more is needed." She added that the IRCS, which is running low on supplies, was appealing for additional donations of blankets and food.
Al-Abadi described the situation in Anbar province as "critical," saying that repeated offensives in the area had caused distress among the local population and affected access to health facilities and schools. "Many children may lose the academic year because of the need to flee the city," she said.
Sunni clerics, meanwhile, have expressed concern that ongoing fighting in the majority-Sunni province may prevent thousands of eligible voters from casting ballots in parliamentary elections scheduled for 15 December.
Reuters, 6/12/05
Civil rights group protest sex segregation in schools
Civil rights groups have protested new rulings that make segregation of sexes in Iraqi schools compulsory. Education ministry has issued regulations under which mixed teaching even at university level will be forbidden. Already male teachers are not allowed to lecture at high schools and institutes of girls in many provinces in the country.
The rights groups have written to Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari complaining that schools and universities were being pressured by sectarian factions to apply strict Islamic rules. In some universities and schools, girls are forced to wear the veil or scarf and forced to attend classes separately. Mixed education at the primary and tertiary levels was part of the country's secular system until the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country.
A student union representative in Baghdad, refusing to be named, said he feared segregation was on its way to be imposed on Baghdad University, the country's largest and most open science institution. "It (education) is slowly turning into a Talaban-like system. The Ministry of Education is already practicing it and we fear it will soon be extend to higher education," the student said.
Azzaman, Iraq, 6/12/05
Iraq Forces Suffer 'Setback' in Training
The training of Iraqi security forces has suffered a big "setback" in the last six months, with the army and other forces being increasingly used to settle scores and make other political gains, Iraqi Vice President Ghazi al-Yawer said Monday. Al-Yawer disputed contentions by U.S. officials, including President Bush, that the training of security forces was gathering speed, resulting in more professional troops.
Al-Yawer, a Sunni moderate, said recent allegations that Interior Ministry security forces - dominated by Shiites - have tortured Sunni detainees were evidence that many forces are increasingly politicized and sectarian. Some of the recently trained Iraqi forces focus on settling scores and other political goals rather than maintaining security, he said.
He said the army - also dominated by Shiites - is conducting raids against villages and towns in Sunni and mixed areas of Iraq, rather than targeting specific insurgents - a tactic he said reminded many Sunnis of Saddam Hussein-era raids.
Associated Press, 6/12/05
US abusing UN mandate
The US military is abusing its United Nations mandate in Iraq by detaining thousands of people without due process of law, a senior UN official said. The Iraqi Government, installed after the US invasion of 2003, is also guilty of major human rights abuses, including holding people without charge in secret jails "littered" across the country, John Pace, human rights chief for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), said. Referring to accusations of corruption among Iraqi justice officials and police, Mr Pace said illegal detentions were fuelling rather than curbing revolt.
The Age, Australia, 6/12/05
US 'mocking world law'
The United States' refusal to confirm or deny allegations the CIA has run secret prisons in Eastern Europe is a mockery of international law, rights group Amnesty International said on Monday. The United States has refused for a month to confirm or deny media reports it has secretly held prisoners in Eastern Europe and covertly transported detainees through airports across the continent.
On Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended the way the United States treats terrorism suspects and told European allies to be trusting as they cooperate to prevent new attacks. But in a lengthy statement before leaving on a trip to Europe, Rice did not directly address the allegation of secret jails.
"We interviewed detainees in Yemen who claimed to have been held in some of these black sites," Amnesty Secretary General Irene Khan said.
"The U.S. government feels in some cases that it's free to use whatever means it can in the pursuit of the war on terror," she added. "It's not just a question of being above the law. It also feels that some people are beneath the law."
Reuters, 5/12/05
Mercenaries above the law
Private security contractors have been involved in scores of shootings in Iraq, but none have been prosecuted despite findings in at least one fatal case that the men had not followed proper procedures. Instead, security contractors suspected of reckless behavior are sent home, sometimes with the knowledge of U.S. officials, raising questions about accountability and stirring fierce resentment among Iraqis. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that there were 60 such firms operating in Iraq with about 20,000 employees.
The contractors function in a legal gray area. Under an order issued by the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority that administered Iraq until June 2004, contractors suspected of wrongdoing are to be prosecuted in their home countries. The contractors have immunity from Iraqi courts and have so far not faced American prosecution, giving little recourse to Iraqis seeking justice for wrongful shootings.
A survey of nearly 200 "serious incident" reports filed by private security firms since November 2004 shows that 11% of the incidents involved contractors firing toward civilian vehicles believed to be a threat. The reports do not indicate whether the shootings were deemed to be justified, and contain limited information about the fate of the vehicle occupants. The reports, filed voluntarily with the Pentagon, say that the contractors received no fire from the vehicles, but shot at them because they were believed to be potential suicide bombers.
About 20% of the reports involved contractors who said they were fired on by U.S. forces in apparent cases of mistaken identity.
Los Angeles Times, 4/12/05
Basra under control of Shiite militias
While the U.S. military and the American public have concentrated on the Sunni-led insurgency in the central part of the country, supposedly more peaceful southern cities such as Basra have fallen under the sway of equally brutal Shiite militias.
Many of them, Western and Iraqi security analysts say, are on the payroll of Tehran. Iran's clout in Basra received widespread attention in August, when U.S. journalist Steven Vincent was kidnapped and assassinated here, apparently in retaliation for exposing the infiltration of Iraqi police forces by Iranian-backed militias such as Thar Allah and the Badr Organization.
A recent visit to the dusty city of 2 million, a vital Iraqi oil port, revealed that little has changed. Frightened political moderates, both Sunni and Shiite, said they were threatened with death for participating in the upcoming elections--not by Sunni extremists, but by pro-Iranian Shiite gunmen.
Chicago Tribune, 4/12/05
Ex RUC head to advise on Iraqi police
The government will begin a review of policing in the UK-controlled southern Iraqi city of Basra to weed out militia who have infiltrated the local force, Defence Secretary John Reid said on Sunday. Reid has asked Ronnie Flanagan, a former Northern Ireland chief constable, to assess policing in Basra and report back early next year on how to speed up progress in building an effective, neutral and reliable police force.
"There's a problem with the police in terms of split loyalties running from sympathy for the local people, right through to infiltration with the militia. That's why we are now redoubling our efforts to make sure that these people are rooted out," Reid told the BBC.
Reuters, 4/12/05
Further 'trophy videos' show attacks on civilians
Nine further "trophy videos" showing private security contractors randomly shooting Iraqi civilians have been posted on the internet, it is claimed. The videos' existence has sparked concern that private companies, not subject to regulation in Britain or Iraq, may be responsible for killing scores of innocent Iraqis.
Aegis Defence Services Ltd, set up three years ago by Lt Col Tim Spicer, a former Scots Guards officer, said that it was co-operating with the United States military to investigate the source of the video images. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, has ruled out an investigation and says the videos are a matter for the Iraqi government.
Sunday Telegraph, 4/12/05
Resistance is local
Iraqis, rather than foreign fighters, now form the vast majority of the insurgents who are waging a ferocious guerrilla war against United States forces in Sunni western Iraq, American commanders have revealed. Their conclusion contradicts the White House message that outsiders are the principal enemy in Iraq. Of 1,300 suspected insurgents arrested over the past five months in and around Ramadi, none has been a foreigner.
Col John Gronski, senior officer in the town, Anbar's provincial capital, said that almost all insurgent fighting there was by Iraqis. The insurgents have the support of most locals. "They have the ability to move freely around the city," said Capt Twain Hickman, the commander of India Company of the 3/7 US Marines battalion. "That means they can attack at a time of their choosing."
Col Gronski said the local nature of the insurgency meant that even the few civic leaders prepared to work with the Americans view the fighters as legitimate. "They see them as resistance. They don't view these local guys placing IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and firing mortars at us as insurgents."
Sunday Telegraph, 4/12/05
Sunnis and Shiites protest
Hundreds of Shiite and Sunni Muslims prayed together Friday then staged a joint demonstration in central Baghdad to denounce military and police raids and widespread arrests of suspected insurgents. The show of unity comes ahead of potentially divisive parliamentary elections.
ABC News, 2/12/05
Resistance as strong as ever
Despite US claims of progress in quelling the insurgency in Iraq, it remains as robust as ever and could grow a good deal stronger, according to a new study. The study by two veteran defense analysts working for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy also said the US operation in Iraq was at a "tipping point" that will last for six to nine months.
"I think the outcome of this tipping period is probably going to dictate whether or not the US effort in Iraq succeeds or fails," analyst Jeffrey White said. The study said the insurgency, comprised of nationalists, members of Saddam Hussein's toppled regime and foreign Islamic fighters, showed no sign of losing steam 32 months after the US-led invasion. "Although thousands of insurgents have been killed and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been detained ... incident and casualty data reinforce the impression that the insurgency is as robust and lethal as ever," it said.
Yahoo News, 1/12/05
Reality contradicts Bush
Bush, in his speech at the U.S. Naval Academy, spoke of progress toward independence, of land restored to Iraqi control, of gains in stability and democracy, and of the "skill and courage" of newly trained Iraqi security forces. But on the streets of Baghdad, such optimistic rhetoric contrasts sharply with the thunder of suicide bombs, the scream of ambulance sirens, the roar of racing police cars bearing men with masks and machine guns, and the grim daily reports of assassinations, murders and hostage-taking.
On the same day Bush spoke, nine farmworkers were killed when gunmen opened fire on a bus near Baqubah, snipers fired on the office of a National Assembly member in the capital, and three Iraqi army officers were wounded when a bomb went off near their patrol. In Fallujah, 20,000 people marched in a funeral for a Sunni cleric shot while leaving prayers. For Iraq, that was a quiet day.
The horror stories of Iraqis are supported by the tabulations gathered from police blotters and daily reports. Statistics are slippery here, but almost every attempt to quantify the violence shows a grim trend. Multiple-death bombings reached an all-time high of 46 in September, a record likely to be broken this month. More than 400 people have died in bombings this month, compared with 91 a year ago. Every day, according to an estimate by the Brookings Institution in Washington, there are roughly 100 attacks, double the rate of a year ago, and each month between 200 and 300 Iraqi policemen and soldiers are killed. Ninety-three U.S. troops died in October, the fourth-highest monthly toll since the invasion of Iraq.
Washington Post, 1/12/05