These are the archives for the week ending 23rd June 2006
Blair: Britain will not pull out
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has again insisted that his country's troops will remain in Iraq despite widespread daily sectarian violence there. Speaking in parliament, Blair replied with a categoric "no" when asked whether it was time to pull out Britain's 7,200-strong contingent from the volatile Gulf state.
To do so, Blair said, would send the wrong signal to the people of Iraq, who, he insisted, wanted British troops to remain. He blamed what he called Iraq's current "difficulties" on "people there who want to terrorise and stop democracy taking root," rather than on failings by either British or Iraqi authorities.
CNN, 22/6/06
Iraqi speaker demands investigation into killings
The speaker of Iraq's parliament asked the U.S. ambassador on Wednesday to investigate the killing by U.S. troops of "many innocent people" at a poultry farm in a village northeast of Baghdad. On Tuesday, the U.S. military said its forces hunting Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaeda killed 15 gunmen in simultaneous raids. Residents of Qaduri Ali al Shahin village 9 miles north of Baquba said the dead were employees of a poultry farm.
Reuters, 21/6/06
US soldiers charged with murder
The military on Wednesday charged seven Marines and a Navy medic with premeditated murder and other crimes in the April 26 killing of an Iraqi civilian in a village west of Baghdad, the U.S. Marine Corps said. All eight men face the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
All were charged with premeditated murder, larceny, conspiracy, housebreaking, assault, kidnapping and obstruction of justice, while five also were charged with making false official statements.
Military investigators examined whether the servicemen fatally took a 52-year-old disabled Iraqi man, identified as Hashim Ibrahim Awad, from his home, shot him in the face, then planted an AK-47 assault rifle and a shovel next to his body to make it appear he was an insurgent placing a roadside bomb.
Reuters, 21/6/06
'Significant fighting' ahead in Afghanistan
Attacks on two military convoys Wednesday in southern Afghanistan left one dead and 13 wounded - including six Canadian soldiers - and the U.S.-led coalition warned that "significant fighting" lies ahead.
The attacks came as the coalition warned that major battles will come as Taliban fighters resist the coalition push to sweep the southern region clear ahead of a security handover to NATO-led International Security Assistance Force later this summer.
"People should expect significant fighting in certain areas of the south over the coming months," said coalition spokesman Col. Tom Collins.
Operation Mountain Thrust began in earnest last week with more than 10,000 Afghan, British, Canadian and American troops deploying throughout four southern provinces to crush a resurgent Taliban force in the largest military operation since the former regime's 2001 ouster.
Forbes 21/6/06
Abduction of 100 Iraqi workers
Gunmen abducted around 100 Iraqi factory workers today as they were being ferried home from work in a fleet of buses just north of Baghdad.
The abduction, prompting fears of another horrific sectarian massacre, came on a brutal day in Iraq in which a senior member of Saddam Hussein's defence team was murdered after men in police uniforms grabbed him from his home.
Officials said that five busloads of employees from an industrial area at Taji, 20 miles north of Baghdad, were commandeered by dozens of gunmen in at least five minibuses. One source put the number abducted at over 100.
Large-scale abductions of Iraqi soldiers, police and civilians have been a feature of sectarian insurgent violence in the past couple of years. Several have resulted in massacres, where those abducted have later been gunned down by the road.
Taji, which is near to a major US air base, hosts two Saddam-era weapons factories and is in an area that has seen substantial activity by Sunni Arab militant
Times online 21/6/06
US campaign against Venezuela
The US has launched a diplomatic campaign to block Venezuela's bid to become a member of the United Nations security council out of concern that Hugo Chavez's government would use its seat to try to block punitive measures against Iran.
Washington has publicly backed Guatemala's rival effort to take the two-year rotating council next year, but it has reportedly also threatened retaliatory action against Latin American countries who support the Venezuelan bid.
Chile is one of the countries under pressure. Washington has agreed to sell the country F-16 war planes, but has warned that Chilean pilots would not be trained to fly them if the government backed Venezuela's bid.
If Latin American countries nominate Venezuela to take the region's seat on the 15-member council, currently held by Argentina, Chavez would not get a UN veto (which are reserved for the 5 permanent members), but his opposition to UN sanctions on Iran could prove a rallying point for other small countries.
US campaign against Venezuela
Iran builds links with China & Russia
Defying US containment efforts, Iran is pursuing its own policy of regional engagement. And to Washington's growing unease, it seems to be working.
Iran's latest success came at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a pan-Asian economic and security grouping dominated by China and Russia. Iran hopes to win full SCO membership soon.
"Shanghai was a big success" said Vahid Karimi of the government-funded Institute for political and international studies. "We are successful in building up relations. That is why the American position is changing.....They thought we were encircled because of Iraq and Afghanistan. But we're not. That's why they want to talk to us now".
Iran has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world, and is second only to Saudi Arabia in Opec as an oil exporter.
Guardian 20/6/06
North Korea warned over weapons
North Korea was warned yesterday not to go ahead with a 'provocative' weapons test amid growing concern about reports that it had fuelled a long-range missile that could be capable of reaching America's west coast.
"It would be a very serious matter, and indeed a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile" the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, said.
Amid the multiple warnings, it was not clear what action might be taken if North Korea did go ahead with the test.
At the United Nations, consultations were under way among security council members to try to arrive at a joint response. John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN said it was too soon to say whether there would be a move to impose sanctions.
Guardian 20/6/06
Waste oil dumps threaten Iraqi towns
An environmental disaster is brewing in the heartland of Iraq's northern Sunni-led insurgency, where Iraqi officials say that in a desperate move to dispose of millions of barrels of an oil refinery by-product called "black oil," the government pumped it into open mountain valleys and leaky reservoirs next to the Tigris River and set it on fire.
The resulting huge black bogs are threatening the river and the precious groundwater in the region, which is dotted with villages and crisscrossed by itinerant sheep herders, but also contains Iraq's great northern refinery complex at Baiji.
Exactly how far those pollutants will travel is unknown, but the Tigris passes through dozens of population centres from Baghdad to Basra.
Iraq's refineries will grind to a halt if the black oil does not go somewhere. "Unless we find a way of dealing with the fuel oil, our factories will not work," said Shamkhi H. Faraj, director of economics and marketing at the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
The dumping and burning has embarrassed ministry officials and exposed major gaps in the American-designed reconstruction program, even as President Bush appeals to the international community for much more rebuilding money in the wake of his visit to Baghdad.
New York Times 19/6/06
US-led forces push into Iraq city
US and Iraqi troops have pushed further into the western Iraqi city of Ramadi.
Helicopter gunships provided air cover as troops and armoured vehicles pushed into the east of the city, one of the strongholds of the insurgency.
The operations are an effort to extend patrols into areas where militants have frequently carried out attacks, US officials say.
BBC News 19/6/06
3 US soldiers charged
The U.S. military said on Monday three U.S. soldiers had been charged in the deaths of three male prisoners on May 9.
It said the soldiers faced charges including "murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice".It was not clear whether all three faced the murder charge.
"Three members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the deaths of three male detainees," the U.S. military said in a statement.
Reuters 19/6/06
Protests as Algerians deported
An Algerian terrorism suspect described as a senior member of a group linked to Osama bin Laden was deported yesterday, ahead of what is expected to be a wave of forced expulsions which are expected to raise fresh questions over human rights.
Campaigners say the man sent back yesterday and another who was deported to Algeria on Friday are at risk of torture there.
Previously, Algerians have not been forcibly deported because of human rights considerations.
The deportee, who has a conviction for credit card fraud believed to be linked with terrorist fundraising, has denied having any link with terrorism.
Observer 18/6/06
Bechtal awarded CBE
It has emerged that Riley Bechtel, billionaire boss of the US-based Bechtel Corporation, which has won big transport and nuclear contracts in Britain and made a fortune from the Iraq war, was secretly awarded a CE in 2003.
According to the Foreign Office list the Queen approved Bechtel's honour for 'services to UK-American commercial relations' on 25 April 2003 - just a week after the company won a bumper £430m contract to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure after the invasion.
Observer 18/6/06
Baghdad explosions
A series of explosions ripped through Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 23 people and dealing a shattering blow to the new Iraqi government's attempts to impose a security blanket on the capital.
The seven separate blasts at locations across the city are likely similarly to frustrate the efforts of the White House to demonstrate a degree of progress in Iraq since the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi earlier this month, and the surprise visit to Baghdad last Monday by President George Bush.
Independent, 18/6/06
Iraq war is Blair's worst mistake
Two-thirds of Labour's remaining members want Tony Blair to stand down by the autumn conference next year, and believe he does not trust the party sufficiently to involve members in policy making.
The findings, the first substantial poll of party members for a decade, are remarkable for disclosing the depths of disenchantment even among many of the party's remaining 200,000 - presumably most loyal - members.
Asked to name the party's six worst mistakes, Iraq comes top, cited by 52%. Subservience to the US comes second (49%), relying on privatisation in the public services (46%) comes third, and refusing to raise the top rate of income tax (36%) comes fourth.
Guardian 17/6/06
'Many killed' in Afghan fighting
The US military says coalition and Afghan forces have killed 40 insurgents in an operation in a remote mountain province in south-east Afghanistan.
The deaths came during air and ground strikes in Paktika province in an operation on Wednesday and Thursday. One coalition member was killed in the fighting.
Hundreds of suspected Taleban fighters and militants have been killed in fierce fighting in the past two months, mainly in the south and east.
Several thousand Afghan and coalition troops were deployed in the operation against rebel forces in the south. It began early on Wednesday with an air strike targeting insurgents in a remote mountain stronghold, the US military says.
"The operation in Paktika province is in support of Operation Mountain Thrust," spokesman Maj Gen Erik Zenk said, referring to what US forces say is one of the biggest coalition counter-insurgency drives since the Taleban were ousted in 2001.
BBC News 16/6/06
U.K. Leaders: Iraq Handover Won't Be Swift
British officials said Friday there will be no swift repatriation of British troops in Iraq despite the Iraqi government's assertion that its forces could begin taking over southern provinces from coalition forces next month.
Iraqi security forces hope to assume responsibly for Muthana province -where Britain has 150 soldiers -within weeks.
Britain's defense ministry denied Japanese news reports that coalition troops would withdraw from all four southern provinces within weeks.
"It's 100 percent inaccurate," said a defense ministry spokeswoman. "We will not be withdrawing from southern Iraq in the coming weeks."
However, Britain's Defence Secretary Des Browne has acknowledged Muthana is likely to be handed over soon, followed by Maysan - where Britain has 1,000 troops.
Two other coalition-controlled southern provinces - Basra and Dhiqar - are less likely to see a quick exchange of authority.
Washington Post 16/6/06
US fails to learn lessons
Despite the recent killing of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, some military officials and experts worry that the United States has not learned the lessons of counter-insurgency warfare in Iraq and that, as a result, a significant improvement in the fighting may not be around the corner.
In confronting a frustratingly resilient insurgency, the United States is relying heavily on precision bombing, which can kill civilians and inevitably destroys buildings and generates ill-will.
Tactics used in house clearings have led to incidents such as an alleged massacre by Marines in the town of Haditha. Massive incursions into cities like Fallujah and Ramadi have bred dissatisfaction among ordinary Iraqis, violating a cardinal principle of counter-insurgency.
Many specialists in counter-insurgency, including recently retired military officers, worry that key lessons have not been learned three years into the war.
Even as the military targets al-Zarqawi's apparent successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, they say, killings of insurgent leaders will have a limited effect at best.
"It's about the will of the American people and the trust of the Iraqi people, and situations like Haditha attack both," said T.X. Hammes, a retired Marine colonel and Iraq veteran whose book on counter-insurgent warfare, "The Sling and the Stone," is considered a "must-read" among younger officers in Iraq. "Fighting insurgents is about not making any more enemies."
Mercury News 16/6/06
A majority in US wants withdrawal timetable...
A majority of Americans - 53 percent - favors setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, with 47 percent saying the deadline should be in a year or less, according to a CNN poll released Friday.
CNN, 16/6/06
...but Congress votes against
The US house of representatives voted today against setting a timetable for pulling American troops out of Iraq, passing a resolution that rejects an "arbitrary date" for withdrawal and explicitly links the conflict to anti-terrorism efforts.
Guardian, 16/6/06
Official: Iraqi prisons overrun by militias
Iraq's prisons are overrun by Shia militias who abuse and kill inmates, the Iraqi deputy justice minister has said.
"Our jails are infiltrated by the militias from top to bottom, from Basra to Baghdad," Pusho Ibrahim Yei said, adding that of special concern were the prisons run by Iraq's interior ministry that house 1,797 inmates, 90% of whom are Sunni Arabs.
He also said the government had suspended the transfer of prisons and prisoners from US to Iraqi control. "We cannot control the prisons. It is as simple as that," he said on Friday.
Aljazeera, 16/6/06