News & Views 11/29/07

Photo: Residents grieve as they walk into a hospital morgue to claim the bodies of their two relatives killed by gunmen in Kirkuk, north of Baghdad, November 29, 2007. (Slahaldeen Rasheed/Reuters)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

Where to find progress in Iraq

My Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is in Dhi Qar Province in southern Iraq. It's a dusty, sparsely populated backwater as far from Baghdad as you can get. It is inhabited by "marsh Arabs," Bedouin tribesmen, and simple peasants, who eke out a subsistence living from the harsh landscape and live in simple one-story structures of adobe bricks, with old cars parked in front. Village boys commonly herd family livestock through the flat, dusty plains. Dhi Qar's story is much different from that of Baghdad. Almost 100 percent Shiite Muslim, its inhabitants participated in two abortive "uprisings" called by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Now instead of calling for uprisings, Mr. Sadr has ordered his Jaish al Mahdi militia to stand down, and violence has dramatically declined. Governance and security there have been in the hands of Iraqis for more than a year. The governor and popularly elected provincial council make policy, construct a provincial budget, and implement development plans, while the Iraqi Army and police maintain order. US Army forces are seldom seen in Dhi Qar, while my PRT pursues projects in the area virtually unmolested.

Returning Iraq refugees begin picking up the pieces

"If I had any chance to go to another country I would leave tomorrow," he said. "But not to Syria. We were not treated well there." Abu Zainad, a 37-year-old Shiite who was driven out of his home in Baghdad's mainly Sunni western neighbourhood of Al-Jihad five months ago with his wife and three young children, also vows never to go back to Syria. "Life was very difficult. We suffered severe shortages," said Zainad, who before he left for Syria worked as a civil servant during the day and ran a farm supply store in the evenings. On leaving Iraq, he rented a small apartment in the city of Hims in western Syria and began looking for work -- in vain. "We suffered far more than the people who stayed behind (in Iraq)," Zainad said. To survive, they sold his wife's gold jewellery and the entire contents of his farm supply store back in Baghdad. When they heard that there had been a drop in violence in Iraq, they decided to pack in their life in exile and return home, joining what the United Nations has described as a "flow" of returning refugees. Zainad arrived home a week ago to find it had been cared for by his neighbours and that violence in his area had subsided. "We are very, very happy to be home," said Zainad, adding that he now was trying to raise the cash to restock his farm supply store. Though he feels safer in Baghdad he is still wary of venturing out on to its dangerous streets. "Security in Baghdad is a relative term," he said.

Iraqi children: Squeezed to survive

Wherever you go in Baghdad's vegetable markets, you find yourself surrounded by scores of children trying to sell you plastic bags and other things to earn a living. Exploring the world of peddlers can be an adventure, especially when it comes to child peddlers. Muhammad Abbas, an 8-year-old boy who receives people at a Baghdad local market with a big smile that encourages them to buy his goods, said that he likes school and is making progress. "I am in the third grade. My father and mother are educated. My dad dropped out of school in the sixth grade and mom in the fifth." When asked about whether he would love to continue his education, the poor child answered, "Yes, why not?!" Another boy approached the scene wheeling his noisy wooden cart and inquired about what we wanted from his colleague. We then knew that child peddlers had adopted a group defense strategy against strangers. A few minutes later, we were surrounded by a dozen boys who competed to tell their stories. ……Jassim, a 13-year-old boy with eyes full of tears and heart filled with pain, refused to tell his story, while another child volunteered to speak on his behalf. "Jassim's father was a builder. He fell off a scaffold and broke his back. He is now crippled and stays at home all the time. After the accident, his mother went out to sell vegetables to provide for her children and she was killed in an explosive charge attack that ripped though the market," the boy said.

Tribal sit-in protest over security conditions in Diala

More than 100 chieftains from Diala staged a sit-in in a hotel in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, protesting the deteriorating security situation in their province, informed sources said on Thursday. "Tribal leaders started their sit-in on Thursday morning in Dananir Hall in central Baghdad's al-Rasheed Hotel, following talks with the government over improvising security conditions in Diala," a spokesman for the protestors, Sheikh Awwad Najm al-Rubaie, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The protestors attended a Baghdad-based conference on Thursday under the auspices of the prime minister's advisor for tribal affairs, Sheikh Fawwaz al-Jarba, which did not yield positive results due to the government's refusal to respond to the chieftains' demands," al-Rubaie indicated. Al-Rubaie, who is also a leading member of the Diala Salvation Council, an anti-Qaeda armed tribal body working in coordination with the Iraqi government, explained that protestors demanded the government to restrict the possession of arms to security personnel and to cancel the popular committees which have been established in the province. The popular committees are armed Sunni militias comprising the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Iraqi Hamas and Salah al-Din groups that turned against al-Qaeda and are fighting it in Diala with encouragement and support from the U.S. forces and the Iraqi government.

Arrest warrant for journalist who claimed family massacre

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a journalist who claimed that his 11-member family had been slain by unknown gunmen in Baghdad a few days ago. "The issue has been referred to court," an official ministerial spokesman, Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI), in reference to Diaa al-Kawwaz, an Iraqi journalist who claimed that his family had been liquidated and pointed the finger at the security apparatus. "Al-Kawwaz will be sued by the Iraqi court for making false allegations against our security forces," Khalaf added.

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

Iraqi lawmakers protest U.S. guards

Dozens of Iraqi lawmakers walked out of parliament Wednesday to protest what they view as overly aggressive and humiliating treatment by U.S. soldiers as representatives enter Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where the legislature is located. "I and many of my colleagues who live outside the Green Zone face a lot of problems," said Feryad Rawandozi, a high-ranking official with the Kurdish parliamentary bloc. U.S. soldiers "are very arrogant and impolite when they talk to us, especially with those who don't speak English."

Iraq MPs block Maliki nominees for cabinet posts

Iraqi legislators thwarted Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's attempts to get approval for nominees to fill two vacant cabinet posts on Thursday, indicating deep political divisions remain despite falling sectarian violence. Legislators from several parties boycotted the session, ensuring parliament did not have a quorum to vote on nominations for the justice and communications portfolios. Infighting has paralysed both the cabinet and parliament this year, derailing efforts to get major laws passed that the United States considers important to help reconcile majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs. "Those two ministerial nominations were imposed without political consensus and consulting other parliament blocs," Noureddin al-Hayyali, a member of the main Sunni Arab bloc, the Accordance Front, told Reuters.

U.S. sponsorship of Sunni groups worries Iraq's government

The American campaign to turn Sunni Muslims against Islamic extremists is growing so quickly that Iraq's Shiite Muslim leaders fear that it's out of control and threatens to create a potent armed force that will turn against the government one day. The United States, which credits much of the drop in violence to the campaign, is enrolling hundreds of people daily in "concerned local citizens" groups. More than 5,000 have been sworn in in the last eight days, for a total of 77,542 as of Tuesday. As many as 10 groups were created in the past week, bringing the total number to 192, according to the American military. U.S. officials said they were screening new members — who generally are paid $300 a month to patrol their neighborhoods — and were subjecting them to tough security measures. More than 60,000 have had fingerprints and DNA taken and had retinal scans, American officials said, steps that will allow them to be identified later, should they turn against the government. The officials said they planned to cap membership in the groups at 100,000. But that hasn't calmed mounting concerns among aides to Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who charge that some of the groups include "terrorists" who attack Shiite residents in their neighborhoods. Some of the new "concerned citizens" are occupying houses that terrified Shiite families abandoned, they said. It also hasn't quieted criticism that the program is trading long-term Iraqi stability for short-term security gains.

….."Those who fear are the ones who have militias blatantly operating from within the official institutions and law enforcement agencies and outside them," said Omar Abdul Sattar, a leading member of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni group in parliament. Dr. Safa Hussein, Maliki's deputy national security adviser and the head of a committee tasked with reconciling Iraq's rival factions, said the government was increasingly concerned about what would take place once the United States no longer was supervising the "concerned citizens" groups closely. "We have tens of thousands of people who are carrying weapons on a contract basis, and when their contracts are finished where will they go?" he asked. "The Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense can't absorb them all, and the problem is they are growing very rapidly and the Iraqi government doesn't have any control over that."

Hot debate in Iraqi parliament on banning Kurdistan oil contracts

Iraqi parliament's session on Thursday saw hot debates on oil minister's decision to ban production sharing contracts concluded by Iraq's Kurdistan government with some foreign companies. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrstani announced, on Saturday in an interview with Radio Monte Carlo, the cancellation of the oil contracts singed by Iraq's Kurdistan government with foreign companies, blaming it for "impeding reaching an agreeable draft on oil and gas law." Legislators from the Kurdistan alliance, second largest parliamentary bloc, criticized in today's session al-Shahrstani's decision to ban these oil contracts, noting that "the revenues of these contracts will streamline in the Federal Treasury." "The oil minister has made no progress for its ministry and further sought strength from Iraq's neighbor countries on the issue of Kurdistan's oil contracts," lawmaker Saadi al-Barazanchi from the Kurdistan alliance told the session in reference to al-Shahrstani's statement that "Kurdistan region would not be able to transport its oil exports via Iran, Turkey and Syria." Kurdistan region government signed 15 production sharing contracts with 20 foreign companies despite that Baghdad government opposed these contracts before the parliament would have been passed the oil draft into law.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

Hey, they think they will: US to control growth of Iraq neighborhood patrols

The U.S. military will carefully manage the growth of neighborhood police units credited with helping to curb violence in Iraq, aiming ultimately to move many into public work roles, a spokesman said on Thursday. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith said about 50,000 Iraqis had been trained and were manning "concerned local citizens" checkpoints in their own communities and being paid by the U.S. military. Smith said the program would be allowed to grow by another 10-15 percent, although there was no absolute cap on the number. "It's a general guidance, not a final ceiling," he said. "We have been looking at making certain that we have a measured approach as we move into 2008," Smith said in a telephone interview.

Listen up or those death squads will start again: Top US official urges political progress in Iraq

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has said Iraq's leaders need to build on security gains by making more political progress, especially in passing key laws to boost national reconciliation. With violence sharply down in Iraq, attention has focused on whether the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki can reach an accommodation with former foes. Negroponte told a news conference in the Kurdish north of Iraq late on Wednesday the U.S. government welcomed what he called a marked improvement in security in the country. ….The key laws Washington wants passed include measures to reform a law banning former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party holding office, agreeing how to equitably share Iraq's oil wealth and setting a date for provincial elections.

Lying again: US not seeking permanent Iraq bases: White House

IRAQI REFUGEES

IRAQ-JORDAN: New chance of education for Iraqi asylum seekers

Thousands of Iraqi asylum-seekers who were denied education as a result of the turmoil in their own country will now have a chance to finish their studies: Jordan's government has decided to launch new education projects for asylum seekers, according to officials and activists. "The Ministry of Education has prepared all legal documents to allow thousands of Iraqis who cannot study in regular schools to do home schooling that can be officially recognised," said Mohammad Ekour, director of students’ affairs at the Ministry of Education. According to the programme, to be officially announced in the coming few weeks, students will be able study in their homes and sit for final examinations in public schools. "Any student, including Iraqis, can study at home until they sit the high school examination," said Ekour, noting that the project will be implemented in early 2008.

How to Help Iraqi Refugees

ANOTHER Way to help: The Collateral Repair Project

COMMENTARY

The spineless Democrats will let him go on deciding: Bush isn't the only decider

Despite the show at Annapolis, this week's main diplomatic initiative has concerned Iraq, not Israel. Without any fanfare, the Bush administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki announced that the United States and Iraq will begin negotiating a long-term agreement that will set the terms of Washington's Iraq policy for "coming generations." President Bush is again in legacy mode. His White House "czar" on Iraq, Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, explained that the administration intends to reach a final agreement between the two countries by July 31, 2008. In describing the negotiations, he made a remarkable suggestion: Only the Iraqi parliament, not the U.S. Congress, needs to formally approve the agreement. Lute's suggestion does not even pass the laugh test. American presidents do have unilateral authority to make foreign agreements on minor matters. But the Constitution requires congressional approval before the nation can commit itself to the sweeping political, economic and military relationship contemplated by the "declaration of principles" signed by Bush and Maliki to kick off the negotiations.

Let Iraq weigh in on Blackwater

Specifically, the U.S. government should take four steps: First, establish a process by which Iraqis can formally request the prosecution -- in U.S. courts and under U.S. law -- of U.S. contractors accused of crimes in Iraq. This would increase accountability by ensuring direct, high-visibility communication with U.S. prosecutors. Second, give the Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Justice a reasonable opportunity to promptly investigate alleged contractor misconduct and question suspects. Third, create a standing joint commission of Iraqi and U.S. representatives, to discuss pending allegations and prosecutions and coordinate with the FBI and Iraqi Ministries of Interior and Justice. Fourth, provide the Iraqi government with a timely written explanation if U.S. officials decline to act on an Iraqi request to prosecute a U.S. contractor. The Department of Justice does not traditionally publicize decisions not to prosecute, but in Iraq, we have a unique need to show we take Iraqi concerns seriously. It is unrealistic at this juncture to assume Iraqi courts could deal fairly with a foreigner caught in the middle of multiple sectarian civil wars. The best solution for now is to provide a responsive legal structure under which the U.S. can retain jurisdiction and Iraqis can investigate and present their allegations. That way, we can assure fair treatment of Americans charged with criminal conduct, increase our perceived legitimacy, and demonstrate our respect for Iraqi lives.

Wish it were true: Editorial: Congress must oppose Bush's Iraq power grab

The Bush presidency has been one long effort to increase the power of the presidency at the expense of Congress and the judiciary, to the detriment of checks and balances in our constitutional system. Now comes along the mother of all power grabs. On Monday, President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki signed a U.S.-Iraq Declaration of Principles for a "long-term bilateral relationship," an attempt to lock in Bush's policies for a permanent U.S. presence in Iraq. While the Bush administration describes these principles as a nonbinding "mutual statement of intent," they are the first step toward formal negotiation of a "strategic framework agreement" by July 2008, according to Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the assistant to the president for Iraq and Afghanistan. Lute made it clear that the Bush administration has no intention of consulting with Congress: "We don't anticipate now that these negotiations will lead to the status of a formal treaty which would then bring us to formal negotiations or formal inputs from the Congress." If Congress doesn't raise a ruckus over this, Americans should question why we have a Congress and a system of checks and balances at all.

Quotes of the day: The White House said on Thursday that the US government is not seeking permanent military bases in Iraq. – I guess it all depends on what the definition of “is” is. - dancewater