Archive for the week ending 21st March 2008
Election law passes after Cheyney visit
Iraq's three-member presidency council on Wednesday approved a draft law to hold provincial elections, after lifting objections which it had raised last month, the council said.
"The presidency council has withdrawn its objections to the provincial elections law," it said in a statement, without explaining the apparent change of heart.
The breakthrough came a day after US Vice President Dick Cheney left Iraq following a surprise visit during which he was reported to have pressed the council to approve the law.
The presidency had objected to the provincial elections law on the grounds that some aspects of the legislation were in contradiction with the Iraqi constitution.
AFP, 19/3/08
US may only be at 'midpoint' of Iraq war
Here at the U.S. Military Academy, Army cadets study the shifting tactics of Iraqi insurgents for a battle they will inherit. With the war entering its sixth year, their youthful resolve raises a lingering question: How much longer?
Most likely, the war will go on for years, say many commanders and military analysts. In fact, it's possible to consider this just the midpoint. The U.S. combat role in Iraq could have another half decade ahead - or maybe more, depending on the resilience of the insurgency and the U.S. political will to maintain the fight.
Iraq, experts say, is no longer a young war. Nor is it entering an endgame. It may still be in sturdy middle age.
"Four years, optimistically" before the Pentagon can begin a significant troop withdrawal from Iraq, predicted Eric Rosenbach, executive director of the Center for International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School, "and more like seven or eight years" until Iraqi forces can handle the bulk of their own security.
Dallas morning news
Bush has no regrets on Iraq
President George W. Bush said on Wednesday he had no regrets about the unpopular war in Iraq despite the "high cost in lives and treasure" and declared that the United States was on track for a major victory there.
Marking the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion with a touch of the swagger he showed early in the war, Bush said in a speech at the Pentagon, "The successes we are seeing in Iraq are undeniable."
Reuters, 19/3/08
US kills more Afghan civilians
Six civilians have been killed during a raid by US-led coalition forces in south-eastern Afghanistan, government officials and villagers said.
Two children and a woman were killed in the raid in a village in the Khost province, according to a spokesman for the local governor. The coalition said a woman, a boy and "several militants" had died.
Last week, four Afghan civilians were killed in an air strike by British forces in southern Helmand province.
BBC News, 19/3/08
Britain reneges on withdrawal of troops
Last year the Government announced to great fanfare that troop levels would be reduced to 2,500 this spring. However, following advice from senior generals over continued instability in the country, it has been forced to renege on the pledge.
The news will come as a blow to the 1,500 servicemen and women who had been told they would be home next month.
The about-turn has been forced by continued rocket attacks on the base at Basra airport and the reliance of the inexperienced Iraqi army on British support.
Daily Telegraph, 19/3/08
Walkouts at Iraq unity meeting
Major Sunni and Shiite political blocs Tuesday boycotted a national conference aimed at reconciling Iraq's rival communities - underscoring the deep divisions tearing at the country despite a decline in violence.
The two major Sunni blocs - the Iraqi Accordance Front and the Front for National Dialogue - refused to attend, saying the Shiite-dominated government had failed to meet Sunni demands.
Sunni leaders have complained that al-Maliki has failed to release detainees not charged with specific crimes, has not disbanded Shiite militias and has not sufficiently included Sunni lawmakers in decision-making on security issues.
Members of the Shiite bloc loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr walked out following the opening ceremonies, which took place in the U.S.-protected Green Zone.
Nassar al-Rubaie, head of the pro-Sadr faction in parliament, said his group did not want to appear hostile to reconciliation but "we don't want our presence to be ceremonial or sit like guests of honor."
Associated Press, 19/3/08
British troops 'doing nothing' in Iraq
Iraq's foreign minister poured scorn on British forces in southern Iraq on Monday, saying they were "doing nothing" and had allowed the city of Basra to be overrun by militants.
Hoshiyar Zebari said foreign troops needed to stay engaged if Iraq was to be stabilised after five years of "rivers of blood". Zebari said British troops had "disengaged" in Basra, the country's second largest city and major port, and that "the militia, the organised crime, is actually making havoc in the city".
Britain has around 4,500 troops based in southern Iraq, almost all of them hunkered down on a fortified encampment at Basra air base just outside the city.
Reuters, 17/3/08
Blair's 'lack of thought of consequences of war'
The government did not fully consider the implications of the Iraq invasion, a former senior aide to Tony Blair has admitted.
Ex-Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell said the preparation was for the "wrong kind of aftermath". Mr Powell told BBC1's Andrew Marr show:
"We made lots of preparations for humanitarian disaster, for the lack of water and that kind of thing. "What we hadn't, in my view, really thought through was the long-term nature of this."
He added: "I think we probably hadn't thought through the magnitude of what we were taking on in Iraq."
BBC News, 16/3/08
US attacks in Pakistan fuel tensions
At least 18 people were killed in a missile strike in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, according to witnesses and officials.
American and Pakistani military officials have steadfastly declined to speak publicly about the airstrikes in the tribal regions, because such strikes would be considered an impingement on Pakistani sovereignty.
But U.S. military strikes inside Pakistan -- launched as part of American-led counterterrorism efforts -- have become an increasing source of tension between the two allies.
Pakistani military officials lodged a formal complaint with U.S.-led coalition forces in the region after artillery fire from Afghanistan on Wednesday killed two women and two children in North Waziristan.
Washington Post, 17/3/08
Bush thinks Afghanistan 'romantic'...
US President George W Bush says he would fight in Afghanistan if he was younger. President Bush spoke of his dream to work on the frontline in Afghanistan during a video conference with US military and civilian personnel in the war-torn country.
"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.
"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," President Bush said.
Melbourne Herald-Sun, 14/3/08
...and Cheyney thinks Iraq war 'successful'...
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday declared the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a "successful endeavour" during a visit to Baghdad, on the same day a woman suicide bomber killed 40 people.
"If you look back on those five years it has been a difficult, challenging but nonetheless successful endeavour ... and it has been well worth the effort," Cheney, an architect of the invasion, said after meeting Iraqi leaders.
Reuters, 17/3/08
...but Iraq humanitarian crisis 'among most critical in world'
Millions of Iraqis have little or no access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare, five years after the US-led invasion, according to the Red Cross.
The Swiss-based agency says Iraq's humanitarian situation is "among the most critical in the world". Healthcare in Iraq was "now in worse shape than ever" and the services that are available are too expensive for many people, the report said.
The report also says that tens of thousands of Iraqis had effectively disappeared since the start of the war.
"Many of those killed in the current violence have never been properly identified, because only a small percentage of the bodies have been turned over to Iraqi government institutions," it said.
BBC News, 17/3/08
Weak Afghan government riddled with corruption
Billions of dollars into the U.S.-led effort to keep the country from again becoming a haven for terrorists, Afghanistan is in a stalemate-and the biggest challenge is not necessarily Taliban-led insurgents, problems with the NATO alliance nor the slow pace of reconstruction.
Instead, it is the U.S.-backed Afghan government, which analysts and some government officials say is not only weak but rife with corruption, from local police in the remote provinces to high-level ministers in Kabul. The central government appears unable or unwilling to stem corruption and the drug trade or to establish rule of law, causing some people in the south to turn to the strict Taliban for justice instead of the slow-moving and often corrupt judiciary.
"What kind of proof in this country do we need to say there are problems?" asked Daoud Sultanzoy, a parliament member who until recently was an ally of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "It is not the strength of the Taliban that has won over people and hundreds of villages in this country. It is the weakness of the government."
Chicago Tribune, 16/3/08
Dozens arrested in Kut
Iraqi police arrested dozens of members of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia on Saturday, hours after two policemen were killed in gunbattles in the southern city of Kut, police said.
Clashes this week between Iraqi security forces and the militia in Kut, 105 miles southeast of Baghdad, have raised fears a ceasefire called by Sadr may unravel, although the violence has so far been confined to Kut.
It is the first major violation of the seven-month-old truce, which has been credited by the U.S. military with helping to reduce violence between majority Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims that has killed tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Sadr clarified the conditions of the truce last week, telling followers they could defend themselves if attacked, an apparent response to complaints among his fighters that U.S. and Iraqi forces were exploiting the ceasefire to target them.
Reuters, 15/3/08
Al-Qaida in Iraq to stay
Al-Qaida is in Iraq to stay, according to military leaders and other officials. By most U.S. accounts, the militants are weakened, battered, and maybe even desperate.
But officials tell The Associated Press that the militants are far from being "routed," as Defense Secretary Robert Gates claimed last month. The officials say al-Qaida is still there, still active and deadly -- and is likely to remain in Iraq far into the future.
ABC News13, 14/3/08
UK commitment to Iraq 'absolute'
UK Defence Secretary Des Browne has said in Baghdad that the UK commitment to Iraq remains "absolute". But he said at a press conference in the Iraqi capital that the nature of that commitment was changing, with more focus on economic development.
He described the economic and developmental potential of southern Iraq as "almost limitless". It was an economic imperative to develop the oil resources and the infrastructure, he said.
In December, an MPs' report suggested that Basra was dominated by militias and the police contained corrupt elements. Asked about the current levels of violence in Basra, Mr Browne said: "I don't deny there are continuing problems in Basra."
BBC News, 13/3/08
US increases pressure on Venezuela
The Bush administration is ramping up its tough talk against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, while at the same time praising its South American allies for holding strong against terrorism.
The latest rhetoric, including discussion of whether Venezuela should be designated a state sponsor of terror, is aimed at isolating Chavez and building stronger alliances inside Latin America at a time U.S. foreign policy remains deeply unpopular throughout the world.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to visit Chile after her stop in Brazil during a two-day trip, using the opportunity to engage leaders who the administration says have been helpful to U.S. economic and anti-terrorism efforts. Left out of Rice's itinerary are those countries that have been critical of the U.S., including Argentina.
Associated Press, 13/3/08
Teachers told to rewrite history on Iraq
Britain's biggest teachers' union has accused the Ministry of Defence of breaking the law over a lesson plan drawn up to teach pupils about the Iraq war. The National Union of Teachers claims it breaches the 1996 Education Act, which aims to ensure all political issues are treated in a balanced way.
At the heart of the union's concern is a lesson plan commissioned by an organisation called Kids Connections for the Ministry of Defence aimed at stimulating classroom debate about the Iraq war.
In a "Students' Worksheet" which accompanies the lesson plan, it stresses the "reconstruction" of Iraq, noting that 5,000 schools and 20 hospitals have been rebuilt. But there is no mention of civilian casualties.
In the "Teacher Notes" section, it talks about how the "invasion was necessary to allow the opportunity to remove Saddam Hussein" but it fails to mention the lack of United Nations backing for the war. The notes also use the American spelling of "program".
Independent, 14/3/08