News & Views 11/16/07

Photo: A man reads verses from the Koran near unidentified bodies before their burial in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad November 16, 2007. About 80 unidentified bodies found from different areas of Baghdad for the past months were buried in a cemetery in Najaf on Friday, police said. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ) [An earlier report said that 40,000+ UNIDENTIFIED bodies have been buried at Najaf cemetery since March 2003. – dancewater]

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

Gay death in Iraq: a desperate call for help

I know first-hand accounts on the fate of LGBT Iraqis. One of my close friends is gay Iraqi and through him I met some other members of the community in London. This rare documentary contains real life examples of recent persecutions and murders of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Iraq. The situation described there is horrific, to say the least. They desperately need our support. They desperately need support and attention of international community and international gay community. "We feel deserted by the international gay community. Few people seem to care about our fate," say LGBT Iraqis.

Iraqi Orphans Receive Official Paperwork

Dozens of Iraqi orphans were awarded Iraqi citizenship certificates and official identification cards Friday after the government repeatedly turned down their requests for documents affirming their legal status. Interior Minister Jawad Bolani presented the papers to 26 boys aged 5 to 12 years. They boys wore white shirts with the words "I am Iraqi" emblazoned in them. They were also given applications for Iraqi passports. "We wanted to put a smile on the faces of these orphans who lost their families and subsequently were deprived of the right of Iraqi citizenship," Bolani said. Sameer Jassim, a volunteer working in the "Safe Iraqi House" orphanage, said Iraqi officials had refused for years to grant the boys official documents, which they need to avoid being declared stateless.

In Shiite Iraq, temporary marriages may be rising

At 18, Zahraa Abdulrasool married a man 15 years her senior, a good man, she said, who never refused a day's work. To support his family, he drove a truck from Basra to Baghdad, a perilous journey in these days of war, sectarian violence and lawlessness. "I pleaded with him to stop," she said, " to find some other kind of work, but there was no other work." On a spring day in 2004, he again set off for Baghdad. He never returned. His body was found on the side of a road. He was shot to death, his truck torched and destroyed. At 23, Abdulrasool was a widow. "I lost my husband, father of my two boys and my only support in this world," she said. Alone to raise her family, she fell into despair. Her way out was to remarry, again and again and again. She betrothed herself to men who provided dowries and a sense of security and comfort, if only fleetingly. "It has become a way of life to me," she said. These temporary marriages — called mutaa or "pleasure" marriages — are said to be on the rise in Iraq, where the ravages of war have made widows of thousands of women. Car bombs, snipers, hoodlums and the random chaos that have gripped the country for the past four years have broken thousands of families. "These women find themselves under stress from poverty and need to find some way to provide for their families," said Salma Jabou, who runs a center in Baghdad that helps widows acquire skills and job training.

Suffer the Children

Child mortality in Iraq has spiralled because of the tense security situation, deteriorating health services and lack of medical supplies, say experts. According to a report released in May 2007 by aid agency Save the Children, “Iraq’s child mortality rate has increased by a staggering 150 per cent since 1990, more than any other country.” The report, entitled State of the World’s Mothers 2007, said that some 122,000 Iraqi children - the equivalent of one in eight - died in 2005, before reaching their fifth birthday. More than half of the deaths were among newborn babies in their first month of life. “Even before the latest war, Iraqi mothers and children were facing a grave humanitarian crisis caused by years of repression, conflict and external sanctions,” said the report. “Since 2003, electricity shortages, insufficient clean water, deteriorating health services and soaring inflation have worsened already difficult living conditions.” The study listed pneumonia and diarrhoea as major killers of children in Iraq, together accounting for over 30 per cent of child deaths. “Conservative estimates place increases in infant mortality following the 2003 invasion of Iraq at 37 per cent,” it said. In the capital of Baghdad, there are four paediatric hospitals and three gynaecological hospitals, as well as individual children’s wards in other medical institutions. The city’s central paediatric hospital is in the capital’s Islam neighbourhood - a volatile area which is hard for families and medical staff to reach. The hospitals fall short in providing quality care because they do not have enough medical supplies or staff - who, in many cases, have fled to other countries.

…..In hospitals throughout the country, it is not uncommon to hear the wails of grieving mothers, such as 30-year-old Zaineb Mohammed, whose two-month-old baby died after she failed to get him to hospital in time. She told IWPR that en route to the hospital in the impoverished Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, her family was repeatedly stopped at roadblocks and checkpoints erected to combat security problems there. The delays caused the child’s condition to worsen and when they finally arrived there weren’t paediatric specialists to treat her. Mohammed has vowed not to have another child. "I don’t think that I can bear to lose another baby to the poor health and public services in Iraq," she said.

When night falls, the assassins gather in Hayaniya Square

Hayaniya Square in Basra is a busy intersection leading to a poor and run-down neighbourhood. On one side of the piazza, sewage water flows through what was once a dried-up river bed, filling the air with an oppressive smell. On the other side, a pair of kebab stalls send columns of smoke from skewers of burning meat into the warm air. Two sheep, whose fate lies on those skewers, stand tethered to a nearby telegraph pole. The square is dominated by a painting of six men dressed in casual trousers and jackets, behind whom loom the faces of Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi army, and his father, Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr. The six men, described on the mural as martyrs, are Mahdi army commanders who were killed by the British. At night, when traffic in the square slows, a group of men gather. These are the sakkaka, or assassins. Their Toyota saloons, chosen for the voluminous boots that can accommodate two bodies with room to spare, stand parked nearby.

Halabja Women Victims Complain of Neglect

Women who suffered chronic illnesses in the wake of a horrific chemical attack nearly 20 years ago say they have been largely neglected. Of those who survived Saddam Hussein’s chemical attacks against the town of Halabja in 1988, many developed ovarian or cervical cancer - and have since died; or suffer from depression or psychiatric-related problems. In addition, some became infertile, while others gave birth to handicapped and stillborn babies. “I have difficulties sleeping at night,” said Mahbooha Faraj, a 47-year-old woman who survived the attack. She now suffers from respiratory and eye problems, and believes that the attack made her infertile. “One of my eyes is getting weak, and I have not been able to give birth,” she said. Faraj, like many of Halabja’s victims, has been told that she requires treatments outside of Iraq, yet no one has helped her to receive medical aid. In March 1988, Saddam’s military dropped a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and nerve agents sarin, Tabun and possibly VX, on Halabja, a town of about 80,000 people near the Iranian border. The attack, which occurred at the end of the Iran-Iraq war killing 5,000 people and injuring thousands more, is considered the largest-scale chemical weapons attack against a civilian population. The US, which supported Saddam during the war, at first blamed Iran, and later held Saddam responsible.

NPR Radio: Ethnic Tensions Stoke Insurgency in Mosul

While insurgent violence is down in Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi forces continue to face a tough fight in Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq. The surge of American forces into Baghdad pushed some insurgents northward into the Mosul area. U.S. commanders say the influx of Sunni fighters, so far, has been manageable. But, they say, the cornerstone of any long-term stability remains elusive: political cooperation between Kurds, who dominate the regional government, and Sunnis, who continue to feel disenfranchised. ….. The vast majority of Iraqi soldiers on this raid are Kurds. They take the Sunni Arab suspects away handcuffed and blindfolded. Richardson apologizes to the family for smashing down their front gate and moves out. "Sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate you staying calm while we're here," he says through a translator. "Stay safe and God bless." …… Prosser is asked if he thinks aggressively moving into Sunni areas with an entire battalion of U.S. soldiers and bashing down doors might end up fueling the insurgency they're trying to counter. "I understand that it's not going to be perfect, even with the Iraqi army," Prosser says. "Try to put it in perspective of what if someone was in America doing the same thing, how would I feel? It might create a sense of distrust or whatever amongst them. But it keeps our soldiers safe and it helps enforce security." [Sure it does. This narrative goes along with the fiction that “insurgents” are anti-Iraqis or maybe not Iraqis at all. It does not cover what the Iraqis are thinking or feeling at all. – dancewater]

War News Radio: Getting the Scoop

This week on War News Radio, we hear from Iraqi fixers, who have helped western reporters in Iraq do their job. We also learn about the Kurdish parliament’s new media law. And, in Iraq 101, we find out more about the controversy surrounding Chemical Ali’s prolonged trial. Finally, in our A Day in the Life series, we hear from a chef in Baghdad who tells us what it’s like to work in an Iraqi restaurant. [They do a much better job than NPR. – dancewater]

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

Iraqis Demand US Troop Withdrawal

Head of the United Iraq Coalition stresses the nation's demand for the swift withdrawal of occupying US forces from the war-torn country. “There is no way for the Iraqi nation to accept US military presence in Iraq,” said Ayatollah Sayyed Abdel Aziz Hakim in a Friday meeting with Ayatollah Sayyed Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani in Qom. He also noted that Iraqi infrastructure including water and electricity installations are now in a better condition compared to the past. "A high-profile committee headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is overseeing the reconstruction of the holy al-Askariya shrine. With the help of UNESCO the job has been given to a Turkish company," Sayyed Abdel Aziz Hakim said putting the initial restoration costs at $ 4 million.

Gougings and killings

In a surprise move, Nuri Al-Maliki decided to integrate 18,000 militiamen into the army and security services. Iraqi sources say that the militiamen are from Al-Maliki's Daawa Party and the Badr Brigade of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). The militiamen have been given posts at the interior, defence, and national security ministries with ranks ranging between lieutenant and major. The move followed a four-way agreement signed recently by the Daawa Party, SCIRI, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Several political parties and blocs, including the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) of Adnan Al-Duleimi and the Iraqi List of Iyad Allawi voiced their opposition to the integration of militiamen into military and security institutions, noting their previous involvement in criminal atrocities. A former senior police officer said that he resigned in protest against frequent violations committed by militiamen integrated into the security services. He added that most security personnel accused of corruption and torture originally came from the militia.

Iraqi Kurds' Oil Deals Provoke Conflict with Baghdad

Kurdish authorities signs multiple deals; creating "facts on the ground" in legal dispute with central government. Iraq warned on Thursday that foreign oil companies which signed deals with the autonomous Kurdish regional government will be barred from doing business in the country and from exporting oil. "Any company that has signed contracts without the approval of the federal authority of Iraq will not have any chance of working with the government of Iraq," Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani said. "We warned the companies that there will be consequences… that Iraq will not allow its oil to be exported," Shahristani told reporters on the sidelines of OPEC meetings in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Last week, the Kurdish authorities signed seven production-sharing contracts with a number of foreign oil companies in defiance of the Iraqi central government and before approving a controversial federal oil law. The latest contracts bring to 15 the number of deals finalised by the Kurdish regional government since it passed its own oil law in August. The regional administration said 85 percent of the returns from the foreign deals would be for Iraq and the rest would go to the contractor.

Iraqi Kurdistan govt. says oil minister's threats "illegal"

The Iraqi Kurdistan region's government said on Friday that statements attributed to Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani in which he threatened to ban oil companies' contracts dealing with the autonomous government were "illegal and won't intimidate companies that have contracts with the region's government." "The companies dealing with the region's government will go ahead with their contracts," the spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdistan government, Jamal Abdullah, said in statements published on the autonomous Kurdish government on Friday. "Shahrestani's statements were neither legal nor responsible," said Abdullah. The mass media on Thursday quoted Shahrestani as saying that oil companies that have contracts with the government of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region without the prior approval of Iraq's central government would be prohibited from practicing their activities in Iraq and oil exporting. "The Iraqi government had warned these companies from the consequences – that is Iraq will never allow them to export oil to be extracted from their oilfields," Shahrestani was quoted by the mass media on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hosted by the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

'Turkish tanks move toward N. Iraq'

Turkish tanks have been reportedly moving towards the northern Iraqi borders to hunt down the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebels. "More than 17 Turkish tanks on Friday drew near 3 kilometers from the district of Zakho, close to the Iraqi-Turkish borders in the Kurdish autonomous region," the independent Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency quoted Colonel Hussein Tamr as saying.

U.S. Troops Accused of Slaughtering Iraqi Allies

Leaders of a Sunni tribal group in Iraq formed to fight al-Qaeda say dozens of their men were killed by US forces in a battle north of the capital, Baghdad. One of the leaders of the Taji Awakening Council said airstrikes killed 45 of his pro-US fighters. The US military said coalition forces killed 25 suspected insurgents in the Taji area at the same time in an operation targeting al-Qaeda leaders. A US statement said arms, including anti-aircraft weapons, had been found.

Iran halts flow of bombs into Iraq, U.S. general says

Iran appears to be honoring an informal pledge to halt the smuggling of bombs into Iraq, contributing to a drop of such attacks by nearly half since March, a senior U.S. general told reporters today. "We have not seen any recent evidence that weapons continue to come across the border into Iraq. We believe that the initiatives and the commitments that the Iranians have made appear to be holding up," Army Maj. Gen. James Simmons said. Bomb attacks have dropped from 3,239 in March to 1,560 last month, the lowest level since September 2005, he said. Most of the attacks are taking place north of Baghdad, from the town of Taji just outside the capital to the provinces of Nineveh and Tamim, he said. Simmons defined attacks as bombs that exploded or those that were found before they detonated.

U.S. officer charged with bribery in Iraq

A U.S. Army captain was brought before a federal magistrate in Tacoma, Wash., Friday to answer charges he took bribes for construction work in Iraq. Capt. Cedar Lanmon, who is stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., also was charged with taking a piece of ancient pottery, which was unearthed at a site believed to the home of biblical figure Abraham.
The U.S. Attorney's office said in a statement Friday that Lanmon allegedly accepted "tens of thousands of dollars in bribes" from three individuals in return for construction work performed on U.S. bases in Iraq. The money allegedly came from two Iraqi contractors and an Albanian. Some of the money was wired home to Lanmon's wife or to purchase expensive furniture and rugs that he allegedly later planned to sell, prosecutors said.

Iraqi attorneys urge GOP to change detainee policy

The president of the Iraqi bar association hand-delivered a letter to House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Arlen Specter (Pa.) Wednesday calling for better treatment of detainees in Iraq and criticizing the U.S. government for not doing enough to build Iraq's legal system. Aswad al-Minshidi and a group of prominent Iraqi lawyers have sent the same letter to President Bush. On Tuesday, they shared their concerns in a private meeting with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. They also met with Emmet Flood, special counsel to the president. The lawyers are primarily concerned about the length of time - ranging from three months to two years - Iraqis rounded up in broad security sweeps must wait behind bars before seeing authorities with power to adjudicate their cases, said a State Department source familiar with their views. Most of the suspects rounded up on suspicion of having ties to insurgents are let go, but they often have to wait months to trickle through the legal process. In many cases, their families have little idea of what happened to them. "We all have an interest in justice and as American lawyers tell us, justice delayed is justice denied," wrote al-Minshidi, the Shiite president of the bar association. "Moreover, a people's respect for the rule of law, which is the keystone of a lawful society, is also affected by the mere appearance of injustice. "We ask that more resources be made available to expedite the investigation and trial of all prisoners held by multinational forces in Iraq," he wrote.

FEATURE-In badlands south of Baghdad, US says surge working

The small U.S. base southeast of Baghdad had been under sporadic attack all morning from insurgents firing mortar bombs from hideouts in the palm groves and ruined buildings nearby. As Lynch arrived with Reuters journalists in two Black Hawk helicopters, another wave of attacks began. Insurgents with AK47s opened fire on the Black Hawks, and as they landed in a swirl of sand, more mortar blasts rent the air. Lynch -- and the Reuters team -- hastened towards safe cover. "We always know we're in the right place when this happens," said Colonel Wayne Grigsby, who leads the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, part of Lynch's 3rd Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in the provinces south of Baghdad. "It just irritates the hell out of them that we're here." The U.S. response is swift and devastating -- mortars and heavy-calibre machine guns are fired from the base and an A-10 "Warthog" plane passes overhead spitting shells from its Gatling gun. Three insurgents on a water tower are reported killed. It's a typical confrontation in the Iraq war -- insurgents with low-tech weaponry emerging from hiding to launch pinprick attacks, and then trying to slip back into the shadows before the U.S. military can hit back with vastly superior firepower.

US launches assault on Iraqi Qaeda stronghold

About 600 U.S. troops launched a pre-dawn assault south of Baghdad on Friday against al Qaeda fighters linked to the kidnapping of two soldiers six months ago, the U.S. military said. F-16 warplanes dropped two 500-lb bombs on potential escape routes while helicopters flew the U.S. troops, along with about 150 Iraqi soldiers, into the Sunni Arab villages of al-Owesap and al-Betra west of the Euphrates River. Two U.S. soldiers have been missing since their patrol was ambushed on May 12 near Mahmudiya, about 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad in a Sunni Arab insurgency stronghold known as "the triangle of death". Four other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were killed in the attack, responsibility for which was claimed by al Qaeda-led Islamic State in Iraq. A third U.S. soldier was abducted but his body was found in the Euphrates almost two weeks later. "The group of al Qaeda that we believe to be operating in that area, we suspect they had involvement in the May 12th attack," said U.S. military spokeswoman Major Alayne Conway. There was no immediate information about whether any militants had been killed or detained in the early stages of Operation Marne Courageous, which began at around 4 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Friday, she said.

COMMENTARY

The (White) House of Shame

It’s been three years since President George W. Bush experienced what he called his “accountability moment,” i.e., his re-election. And it’s a year now since American voters sent a Democratic majority to the House and Senate on the delusional assumption they’d hold this administration responsible for what it’s done to the United States and the world. We know how that hasn’t happened. So why would the folks in the Bush White House be the least bit perturbed by publicity about the mind-boggling long-term costs of the war in Iraq that they rushed to wage? I don’t think they are, and I wouldn’t expect them to be. This is an administration that admits no guilt and knows no shame, and in that it is a perfect reflection of what America and Americans look like to the rest of the world. [This came from Newsweek magazine, which of course, helped get this war on. And the author of this piece, Christopher Dickey did raise some alarms about how all of Europe was reacting to the planned invasion, but then he wrote stuff like the article link below. No shame from any of them either. – dancewater]

The Iraqi Dictator Has Proved That He Has Evil Intent, And No Compunction Against Using The World's Most Deadly Weapons. He Cannot Be Given Another Chance.

By Christopher Dickey | NEWSWEEK – January 13, 2003

Saddam Hussein knows what he wants: Domination of the Arab world with all its oil. Elimination of Israel. Vengeance on the United States. His record is so clear on all these points that only those who refuse to see could be blind to the danger he presents to Americans and their vital interests. Does he have the means to act? Possibly. Should he be allowed even the slimmest chance to use them? Never. The road to hell is paved with Saddam Hussein's intentions.

No Good At Nation-Building

A bus full of 15 Iraqi lawyers carrying a four-page, single-spaced letter to President Bush arrived at the White House on Tuesday. Their mission was to request less U.S. help in building prisons and more in establishing the rule of law. There was no immediate official response, and the experiences of the past four years indicate nothing will be done.
Aswad al-Minshidi, president of the Iraqi Bar Association, led the delegation. The lawyers had hoped to confer with White House counsel Fred Fielding, with perhaps a drop-in by George W. Bush. But the president was campaigning in New Albany, Ind., and the Iraqis had to be content with meeting Special Counsel Emmet Flood, a staffer well down the chain of command. He could promise only that the letter pleading for overdue help would be conveyed to Fielding. "America's rule of law effort in Iraq has focused almost entirely on police, prisons and prosecution," said the letter to Bush, which was signed by Minshidi. In post-Hussein Iraq, detained terrorism suspects are still in jail after being cleared by the courts, and the lawyers complained about "a policeman and prosecutor's definition of what rule of law means." Today it means a policy limited to law enforcement.

This faulty allocation of U.S. funds is part of a broader problem in Iraq: Americans are not good at nation-building. The huge embassy in Baghdad is run by Foreign Service officers on the same model as U.S. missions worldwide whose function is reporting, not managing. Similarly, legal policy in Iraq is handled by assistant U.S. attorneys who focus on arrest and detention. The Iraqi lawyers wrote Bush that "the number of Iraqi citizens in detention by Iraqi police and prisons as well as the detention centers of the Multinational Forces in Iraq is large and still growing." They did not mention it in the letter, but they are appalled that the United States has allocated $125 million to build prisons while more modest amounts needed to build a legal system are denied. I talked to some of these lawyers, who told me of their frustration when Iraqi courts release prisoners and the authorities - Iraqi and American - ignore the judges. The letter requested U.S. funds for "the investigation and trial of all prisoners held by Multinational Forces in Iraq. It is in your fundamental interest that justice prevail in Iraq, and appear to prevail, in all matters associated with your troops and the American people. Needless to say that the Iraqi people will long remember how you approached justice." Between the lines, the lawyers were politely telling President Bush that he had failed to establish the rule of law in Iraq. For an hour on Tuesday, the Iraqi lawyers presented their pleas to Flood, who made no comment. Flood assured them that Fielding, but not necessarily the president, would see the letter. They then returned to the bus, which transported them to the Supreme Court. There, much to the Iraqis' surprise, they were given 45 minutes by Chief Justice John Roberts for a substantive discussion. "This was much better than the White House," exclaimed an Iraqi lawyer, who can only hope that President Bush gets interested in building the rule of law in Iraq.

RESISTANCE

We Support the Troops Who Oppose the War

On the weekend of 13-15 March, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War will assemble history's largest gathering of US veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Iraqi and Afghan survivors. They will provide first hand accounts of their experiences and reveal the truth of occupation. We support Iraq Veterans Against the War and their Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan Investigation. Join us in supporting the effort to reveal truth in the way that only those who lived it can.

Please go to this website to sign the petition.

Army Desertion Rate Highest Since 1980

Soldiers strained by six years at war are deserting their posts at the highest rate since 1980, with the number of Army deserters this year showing an 80 percent increase since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. While the totals are still far lower than they were during the Vietnam war, when the draft was in effect, they show a steady increase over the past four years and a 42 percent jump since last year. According to the Army, about nine in every 1,000 soldiers deserted in fiscal year 2007, which ended Sept. 30, compared to nearly seven per 1,000 a year earlier. Overall, 4,698 soldiers deserted this year, compared to 3,301 last year. The increase comes as the Army continues to bear the brunt of the war demands with many soldiers serving repeated, lengthy tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military leaders — including Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey — have acknowledged that the Army has been stretched nearly to the breaking point by the combat. And efforts are under way to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps to lessen the burden and give troops more time off between deployments.

Quote of the day: "We reached the airport," she said. "We're waiting for the plane. Yes, we left Basra safely. It's a miracle." – from article When night falls, the assassins gather in Hayaniya Square