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News archives for the week ending 22nd August 2008

Iraq government turns on Awakening movement

The Shiite-dominated government in Iraq is driving out many leaders of Sunni citizen patrols, the groups of former insurgents who joined the American payroll and have been a major pillar in the decline in violence around the nation.

In restive Diyala Province, United States and Iraqi military officials say there were orders to arrest hundreds of members of what is known as the Awakening movement as part of large security operations by the Iraqi military. At least five senior members have been arrested there in recent weeks, leaders of the groups say. West of Baghdad, former insurgent leaders contend that the Iraqi military is going after 650 Awakening members, many of whom have fled the once-violent area they had kept safe

. While the crackdown appears to be focused on a relatively small number of leaders whom the Iraqi government considers the most dangerous, there are influential voices to dismantle the American backed movement entirely. "The state cannot accept the Awakening," said Sheik Jalaladeen al-Sagheer, a leading Shiite member of Parliament. "Their days are numbered."

The government's rising hostility toward the Awakening Councils amounts to a bet that its military, feeling increasingly strong, can provide security in former guerrilla strongholds without the support of these former Sunni fighters who once waged devastating attacks on United States and Iraqi targets. It also is occurring as Awakening members are eager to translate their influence and organization on the ground into political power.

But it is causing a rift with the American military, which contends that any significant diminution of the Awakening could result in renewed violence, jeopardizing the substantial security gains in the past year.

New York Times, 21/8/08

Partial agreement on US withdrawal

US and Iraqi negotiators have agreed to the withdrawal of all US combat forces from the country by the end of 2011, and Iraqi officials said they are "very close" to resolving the remaining issues blocking a final accord that sets out the terms of the future American military presence here. Iraqi and US officials said several difficult issues remain, including whether US troops will be subject to Iraqi law if accused of committing crimes.

But the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were unauthorized to discuss the agreement publicly, said key elements of a timetable for troop withdrawal once resisted by President Bush had been reached.

The question of immunity for US troops and Defense Department personnel from Iraqi legal jurisdiction - demanded by Washington and rejected by Baghdad - remained unresolved. Troop immunity, one US official said, "is the red line for us."

Officials said they were still discussing language that would make a distinction between on- and off-duty activities, with provisions allowing for some measure of Iraqi legal jurisdiction over soldiers accused of committing crimes while off-duty.

Boston Globe, 22/8/08

US to base missiles 115 miles from Russia

Poland and the United States risked igniting a new missile crisis with Russia as their foreign ministers today signed a deal to station part of an American defence shield on Polish soil, manned by US soldiers, 115 miles from the Russian border.

Russia has refused to believe American reassurances that the 10 interceptor rockets in Poland are part of a defensive shield and say that they would threaten Russian territory. The rockets, combined with a radar complex in the Czech Republic are to form the European end of a global system which according to the US would be aimed at ballistic missiles from Iran or North Korea.

In return for the agreement to host part of the shield, Poland managed to secure a US promise of a battery of Patriot missiles to be permanently based on Polish territory as a defence against possible Russian attack. About 110-120 American soldiers would be deployed at the interceptor base in northern Poland, and US soldiers would also operate the Patriot missiles.

When the deal was announced last week, it drew the threat of possible nuclear strikes against Poland by the deputy military chief of staff in Moscow, who vowed that such an act would "not go unpunished." Last night, the Russian foreign ministry warned that Russia's reaction would go beyond diplomatic protests.

Independent, 20/8/08

'Dirty division' raid Sunni politician

Iraq's prime minister ordered an investigation on Tuesday into a violent government raid in Diyala Province earlier in the day that left one provincial official dead and another under arrest. His rapid response reflected fears that the raid, reminiscent of the sectarian attacks once carried out regularly by Shiite-dominated security forces, could inflame sectarian tensions in the fragile province.

In the raid, Iraqi security forces burst into the Diyala provincial headquarters to arrest a Sunni member of the provincial council but ended up firing at a federal lawmaker and later engaging in a 30-minute gun battle with the local police on the streets of Baquba. The secretary of the provincial governor was killed at the headquarters.

It is still unclear who ordered the raid. Some witnesses, both Sunni and Shiite Muslim, said that some of the troops told witnesses during the operation that they were "the dirty division" and were acting on behalf of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who leads a Shiite-dominated government. Several security officials identified them as a special antiterrorism force.

New York Times, 19/8/08

An escalation of war in Afghanistan

Taliban insurgents mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting in Afghanistan over the last two days, including a coordinated assault by at least 10 suicide bombers against one of the largest American military bases in the country, and another by about 100 insurgents who killed 10 elite French paratroopers.

The attack on the French, in a district near Kabul, added to the sense of siege around the capital and was the deadliest single loss for foreign troops in a ground battle since the United States-led invasion chased the Taliban from power in 2001.

Taken together, the attacks were part of a sharp escalation in fighting as insurgents have seized a window of opportunity to press their campaign this summer - taking advantage of a wavering NATO commitment, an outgoing American administration, a flailing Afghan government and a Pakistani government in deep disarray that has given the militants freer rein across the border.

As a result, this year is on pace to be the deadliest in the Afghan war so far, as the insurgent attacks show rising zeal and sophistication.

New York Times, 19/8/08

Musharraf's resignation weakens US influence

The resignation of President Musharraf removes from Pakistan's political stage the leader who for nearly nine years served as one of the United States' most important - and ultimately unreliable - allies. And it now leaves American officials to deal with a new, elected coalition that has so far proved itself to be unwilling or unable to confront an expanding Taliban insurgency determined to topple the government.

A main challenge for Washington now will be to fix the attention of the two leaders of the coalition parties, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, on the raging Taliban insurgency that not only threatens American soldiers in Afghanistan but also threatens to destabilize Pakistan itself.

The campaign against the militants is unpopular here in Pakistan because it is seen as an American conflict foisted on the country.

New York imes, 18/8/08

British troops kill 4 Afghan civilians...

Four civilians, including two children, were killed in a rocket attack by British troops in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said last night. The MoD has launched an investigation into the incident, which left two other children seriously injured.

Troops on a routine patrol fired rockets after intercepting a radio message calling for insurgents to converge on the area, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

"Isaf deeply regrets the tragedy of this incident, when women and children were killed and injured as a result of an imminent insurgent attack from a position where they would have known women and children were present. The enemies of Afghanistan have yet again shown a complete disregard for the lives of the innocent, who they claim to fight for."

Guardian, 18/8/08

...and plan to extend 'decapitation' strategy

Britain's special forces are to play a key role in a newly-planned "surge" against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. SAS and SBS troops are to be used to dramatically expand the Army's "decapitation" strategy working alongside US Marines against the Taliban leadership.

The operation will coincide with an increase in troop numbers in the country. American forces are expected to expand by a third while the numbers of British troops will also rise as more forces are pulled out of Iraq.

The plans reflect deep unease in Washington and London at the political turmoil in Pakistan under its fractured four-month-old civilian government, which could now deepen with the power struggle expected to follow the resignation of the President, Pervez Musharraf.

According to senior defence sources, all the intelligence and analysis points to a further "implosion of security" in Pakistan, allowing Islamist groups to use the frontier area to step up attacks into Afghanistan.

The former military leader had been a key ally of the West in the "war on terror" and had turned a blind eye to American air strikes on insurgents inside Pakistan. He stepped down yesterday before he could be impeached.

The "decapitation" strategy is aimed at destroying the Taliban leadership after Nato commanders realised that killed or captured foot soldiers were being replaced by indoctrinated "fighters" from madrasas in Pakistan.

Independent, 19/8/08

Exhausted US slow to respond on Georgia

So far, reaction in the US to Russia's invasion of Georgia has been all Vladimir Putin could have wished. Exhausted in every way by its experience in Iraq (a failure not much mitigated by recent progress there), its authority and sense of purpose quite depleted, the US looked slower and less decisive than Europe in its initial response, and that is saying something.

It is easy to account for this lassitude and lack of self-confidence. The US feels anything but strong these days. Iraq has strained its armed forces to such a point that it cannot commit adequate resources even to its struggle to stabilise Afghanistan, which would otherwise be an immediate and high priority. Aside from the human cost of the Iraq mission, Americans are also preoccupied with its enormous fiscal burden. Just last week, Barack Obama's campaign again underlined how much it is counting on savings from a withdrawal from Iraq to pay for expanded domestic spending. The country has a new set of priorities.

Even more telling, though, is the erosion of its moral assurance and sense of purpose in the world. The instant reaction of many of the administration's critics was to say: "We invaded Iraq without justification. We have no standing to object if Russia does the same to Georgia." Andrew Sullivan, a prominent conservative blogger and a one-time supporter of the Iraq war, wrote: "Maybe we should start complaining when as many Georgians have perished as Iraqis - and when Putin throws thousands of innocent Georgians into torture chambers."

Financial Times, 17/8/08

Iraq to abandon short-term oil contracts

Iraq is likely to abandon plans to sign up to $3 billion in short-term oil contracts, a U.S. diplomat said, putting in doubt deals that would give foreign oil firms their first major foothold in the country for decades.

"It appears that on present form (the Iraqi government) probably won't proceed with most of these or all of them," Charles Ries, coordinator for Iraq's economic transition at the U.S. embassy, told reporters in Baghdad on Sunday.

Ries declined to speculate when the law, which he described as a "a major political challenge, not a technocratic question", might finally be passed.

"The process of moving from a state-controlled sector to a sector that is a mixed one, allowing for participation for foreign investors in some form or fashion, has been slower and more halting than we would have liked," he said.

Reuters, 17/8/08

Blackwater guards may face trial

Iraq has said that it reserves the right to try six guards working for the private security firm Blackwater USA for their alleged role in the killing of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad last year.

"There is information that half a dozen Blackwater guards who have been accused of shooting and killing 17 Iraqis are to be tried in Washington," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said. "The Iraqi Government stresses its rights and that Blackwater guards have committed crimes against Iraqi victims. The Government reserves the right to prosecute them,"Mr Dabbagh said.

On September 16, the Blackwater guards shot dead 17 Iraqi civilians while escorting an American diplomatic convoy through Baghdad. Blackwater says its guards were acting in self-defence.

Mr Dabbagh's comment came after the Washington Post reported yesterday that six Blackwater guards had received "target letters" from the US Justice Department in a probe of the shootings. Such letters are often considered a prelude to indictment, the report said, adding the guards were former US military personnel.

Despite strong opposition, the US Department of State earlier this year renewed a contract with Blackwater to protect American officials in Iraq.

Foreign security companies at present are not subject to Iraq law, but at the same time are not governed by US military tribunals, effectively allowing them to operate with impunity.

Among the sticking points in complex negotiations aimed at striking a new US-Iraqi security deal has been the issue of whether and what immunity US troops should continue to have.

News.com.au 17/8/08

British troops to leave in Iraq next year

The vast majority of British troops serving in Iraq will be withdrawn in the next nine months, senior defence sources have revealed. Just a few hundred soldiers will remain after spring 2009 effectively bringing to an end this country's involvement in Iraq after six years of fighting.

The Ministry of Defence insisted the move was backed by the US which it said is "intimately involved" in discussions about the British withdrawal. There are still currently more than 4,000 British troops stationed in southern Iraq despite pledges from the Prime Minister that numbers would have reduced by now. Mr Brown has been careful over the past few months not to put a timetable on British withdrawal but sources gave the clearest indication yet that our involvement is poised to end.

However, many soldiers are set to be redeployed quickly in Afghanistan where fighting has intensified against the Taliban. Col Tim Collins, who commanded an infantry battalion during the 2003 invasion, said for Britain to win back the respect and trust of the Americans after the "defeat" in Basra it would need to "step up to the mark" in Afghanistan.

Daily Telegraph, 15/8/08

US blocks Iranian oil deal with Turkey

Turkey delivered a humiliating snub to Iran's visiting president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, yesterday by backing out of a lucrative energy deal under pressure from the US government, which feared it would enhance Iranian nuclear ambitions.

Signing the £1.87bn agreement to provide Turkey with Iranian natural gas - on which memoranda of understanding had already been agreed - was to have been the crowning achievement of Ahmadinejad's two-day visit to Istanbul, which Turkish officials had agreed to after intense Iranian lobbying.

Iran is Turkey's second-biggest energy supplier after Russia and has been seeking to woo Turkish investment in its South Pars gas fields. But as Ahmadinejad met his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, it emerged that US intervention had effectively torpedoed a deal.

Turkish officials had earlier cited Iranian pricing and investment conditions as a reason for stalling. However, that appeared to be a smokescreen aimed at disguising Turkish deference to American demands. A western diplomatic source told the Guardian that Turkey had pledged not to sign any major energy deals with Iran in return for Washington's blessing for Ahmadinejad's visit after Bush administration officials privately criticised it.

Guardian, 15/8/08

Georgia war puts more pressure on US in Iraq

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, is being forced to grapple with one of the unexpected byproducts of the conflict in Georgia: His plan to withdraw American forces in Iraq was predicated on all partner nations keeping their troop levels intact.

With nearly 2,000 Georgian troops returning home in the midst of the crisis there, the coalition has lost what one senior military official called one of the largest and most capable contributions to the Iraq effort. As a result, the official said, Petraeus is now assessing whether he will have to change his plans, including possibly delaying the return home of some U.S. forces this year.

Los Angeles Times, 15/8/08

Bomb kills 26

A woman suicide bomber struck Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 26 people and wounding scores of others after the government announced new measures to protect worshippers ahead of a major religious festival.

At least 75 people were wounded in the blast, according to a senior provincial security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. He said police believed the bomber was a woman based on witness reports.

The fact that such a brazen attack could take place in an area where U.S. and Iraqi officials had touted major security improvements is an ominous sign of the risks still posed by extremists.

Associated Press, 15/8/08

Britain to leave 'booming' Basra

The majority of British troops serving in Iraq will be withdrawn by the middle of next year because the southern port city of Basra - where they are based - is booming, it was claimed today.

Major General Barney White-Spunner, who has just returned from commanding British forces in southern Iraq, told the Guardian the UK was "getting close to what we set out to achieve". And he painted a rosy picture of life in Basra, with house prices rocketing, restaurants opening and foreign investors beginning to move in.

But Major General White-Spunner's assessment differs from that given by recent visitors to the area, including journalist John Humphrys. Last month Humphrys described the city as "hell on earth".

Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said: "Talk of reconstruction rings hollow when you drive through the streets of this shattered city, stumble on the broken pavements, curse yet another power cut, recoil at the brown sludge that appears when you turn on a tap."

Major General White-Spunner said Basra's port of Umm Qasr was "booming", with major international oil companies lining up to invest in the region.

Independent, 15/8/08

Abuse of detainees continues

Six sailors working as prison camp guards in Iraq face courts martial for abusing detainees, some of whom were sealed in a cell with pepper spray, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday.

Seven other sailors were given non-judicial punishments over the incident, which took place on May 14 at Camp Bucca, the vast desert camp in southern Iraq where the U.S. military houses 18,000 of its 21,000 prisoners.

Reuters, 14/8/08