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News archives for the week ending 4th July 2008

Bush to send more troops to Afghanistan

Grappling with a record death toll in an overshadowed war, President Bush promised Wednesday to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan by year's end. He conceded that June was a "tough month," in fact, the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began.

Bush said it was a tough month too for the Taliban. But the once-toppled Islamist regime in Afghanistan has now rebounded with deadly force. More U.S. and NATO troops have died in the past two months in Afghanistan than in Iraq, a place with triple the number of U.S. and coalition forces.

In June, 28 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan. That was the highest monthly total of the entire war, which began in October 2001. For the full U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan the death toll was 46, also the highest of the war.

The Pentagon predicts the pace of attacks in Afghanistan by a resurgent Taliban is likely to rise this year, despite U.S.-led efforts to capture key leaders.

Associated Press, 3/7/08

Obama backtracks on Iraq withdrawal

What will most strike - and disappoint - those outside the United States, those who have been all but panting in their excitement at the prospect of an Obama presidency as a break from the Bush era, is the Democrat's march rightward on foreign policy.

His signature stance, which propelled him from obscurity into challenging the mighty Clinton, was his opposition to the Iraq war and his promise to bring the troops home. Now, though, the talk is not of immediate withdrawal but of pulling out one or two "combat" brigades a month, a pledge so vague it leaves acres of wriggle room.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, had been concerned that Obama would withdraw US forces too hastily, but came away from a long phone call with the candidate "reassured" that a President Obama would not do anything too "drastic".

Guardian, 2/7/08

Cheyney behind Iran attack push...

Seymour Hersh's latest New Yorker article describes an expansion of covert operations inside Iran and provides more evidence of Vice President Cheney's zeal to address the Iranian nuclear threat -- possibly by force -- before he and President Bush leave office.

On CNN yesterday, Hersh said: "I do have some access into some of the thinking, particularly in the vice president's office. They do not want -- Bush and Cheney do not want to leave Iran in place with a nuclear program, with, they believe, a nuclear weapons program. They simply don't believe the National Intelligence Estimate that came out late last year that said they haven't done anything in nuclear weapons since '03. They just don't believe it. "

"So they believe that their mission is to make sure that, before they get out of office next year, either Iran is attacked or it stops its weapons program."

Washington Post, 30/6/08

...as White House threats push up oil price

But the Bush administration's greatest contribution to rising oil prices is its steady stream of threats to attack Iran, if it does not back down on the nuclear issue. The Iranians have made it plain that they would retaliate by attempting to block the flow of Gulf oil and otherwise cause turmoil in the energy market.

Most analysts assume, therefore, that an encounter will produce a global oil shortage and prices well over $200 per barrel. It is not surprising, then, that every threat by Bush/Cheney (or their counterparts in Israel) has triggered a sharp rise in prices.

This is where speculators enter the picture. Believing that a U.S.-Iranian clash is at least 50 per cent likely, some investors are buying futures in oil at $140, $150 or more per barrel, thinking they'll make a killing if there's an attack and prices zoom past $200.

Toronto Star, 29/6/08

700 Afghan civilians killed so far this year

Nearly 700 Afghan civilians have lost their lives in crossfire between insurgents and foreign troops this year, the United Nations said.

About 255 people were killed during operations by Afghan, NATO- and US-led forces against militants while 422 others lost their lives in attacks by rebels targeting government and military forces, UN's Relief Coordinator Sir John Holmes told reporters. It was not known how another 21 people died, he added.

The figures show a sharp rise in the civilian deaths compared with 430 in the same period last year, Holmes said.

AFP, 30/6/08

'They wanted a share of the oil'

Iraq said on Monday that it had failed to sign technical support deals with global oil majors hoping to cash in on boosting the war-torn country's extensive but underexploited oilfields.

Iraq is still negotiating with Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total, and a consortium of other smaller oil companies, to develop six oil blocks and two gas fields, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani told a press briefing.

"We did not finalise any agreement with them because they refused to offer consultancy based on fees as they wanted a share of the oil," he said.

The widely expected arrangement was to pave the way for global energy giants to return to Iraq 36 years after Saddam Hussein threw them out, and was seen as a first step to access the earth's third largest proven crude reserves.

AFP, 30/6/08

Bush signs $162 billion war budget law

US President George W. Bush on Monday signed into law a 162-billion-dollar spending bill funding the Afghanistan and Iraq wars well into 2009 -- roughly six months into his successor's term.

The war remains vastly unpopular, and part of the reason that Bush's job approval sits at record lows, with roughly two out of three Americans in recent opinion polls saying the March 2003 US-led invasion was a bad idea.

But while Democrats won the US Congress in November 2006 partly on pledges to end the war, they have failed to set a timetable for bringing home the roughly 150,000 US troops in Iraq.

"I appreciate that Republicans and Democrats in Congress agreed to provide these vital funds without tying the hands of our commanders and without an artificial timetable of withdrawal from Iraq," Bush said.

AFP, 30/6/08

Money running out for pro-US mercenaries

The "Sons of Iraq" are the estimated 80,000 fighters - mostly Sunni tribesmen and former insurgents - recruited and paid by the U.S. military to help fight al-Qaida and maintain security in neighborhoods, including this Sunni farming community west of Baghdad.

The program has been a remarkable success, helping reduce violence across the country by 80 percent since early 2007 at the cost of $216 million to date. Nearly two years into the program, however, the U.S. is gradually handing over responsibility for the Sons of Iraq to the Shiite-led government.

By January, the military hopes to turn the entire program over to the Iraqis.But the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been reluctant to absorb large numbers of armed Sunnis into the Shiite-dominated security forces. American officials fear that many of the U.S.-backed fighters may turn their guns on the government unless jobs can be found for them.

A top al-Maliki aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said he is still worried about the loyalty of the Sons of Iraq. "They are like mercenaries," he said. "Today, they are paid by the Americans. Tomorrow they can be paid by al-Qaida."

Some of those concerns are shared by residents in some parts of Baghdad who complain that Sons of Iraq members are branching out into extortion and protection rackets.

Associated Press, 30/6/08

UK death toll in Afghanistan nears record high

The death of another British soldier in Afghanistan has raised the toll from the past four weeks to 13, making June the second bloodiest month since the US-led invasion of the country six-and-a-half years ago.

His death takes the total number of British forces killed in the country since 2001 to 110. June's death toll has only been exceeded in September 2006 when 19 servicemen died, including 14 killed in a Nimrod aircraft crash.

Sunday Telegraph, 29/6/08

al-Maliki angry as US kills relative

Iraqi officials in the home town of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki are calling for an investigation into a reported raid by the U.S. military Friday that resulted in the death of a man identified by some Iraqi officials as a relative of the prime minister.

The raid was carried out shortly after midnight in the town of Hindiyah, 50 miles southwest of Baghdad in Karbala Province. "We are shocked by the news of the raid," Karbala Gov. Aqeel al-Khazaly said.

Karbala is one of nine Iraqi provinces where the U.S. military has handed over responsibility for security to local officials. Al-Khazaly, who has been a U.S. ally, said Iraqi officials were not notified about the operation and called it a violation of the handover agreement.

Haider al-Ebaidi, a senior member of parliament from Dawa, the prime minister's party, said Saturday night that Maliki "was very angry."

The reported raid occurred as U.S. and Iraqi officials are negotiating the terms under which U.S. troops would be allowed to operate in Iraq after the U.N. mandate that regulates their presence expires in December. Ebaidi said the incident was likely to hinder the negotiations.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 28/6/08

US increases military aid to Israel...

The US Congress has approved a 170 million dollar increase in security assistance to Israel as part of its new 10-year, 30 billion dollar defense aid commitment to the Jewish state.

The package was unveiled by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on July 30 as part of a new military pact with US allies in the Middle East in a bid to "counter the negative influences" of militant groups Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah as well as arch enemies Iran and Syria.

The aid includes a 20 billion dollar weapons package for Saudi Arabia, a 13 billion dollar package for Egypt, and reportedly arms deals worth at least 20 billion dollars for other Gulf states.

The military aid to Israel reflected an increase in value of more than 25 percent, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said, describing the package as a considerable improvement and very important element for national security.

AFP, 27/6/08

...and plans covert operations against Iran

U.S. congressional leaders agreed late last year to President George W. Bush's funding request for a major escalation of covert operations against Iran aimed at destabilizing its leadership, according to a report in The New Yorker magazine published online on Sunday.

Funding for the covert escalation, for which Bush requested up to $400 million, was approved by congressional leaders, according to the article, citing current and former military, intelligence and congressional sources.

Clandestine operations against Iran are not new. U.S. Special Operations Forces have been conducting crossborder operations from southern Iraq since last year. These have included seizing members of Al Quds, the commando arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and taking them to Iraq for interrogation, and the pursuit of "high-value targets" in Bush's war on terrorism, who may be captured or killed.

But the scale and the scope of the operations in Iran, which include the Central Intelligence Agency, have now been significantly expanded, the article said, citing current and former officials.

Reuters, 29/6/08

Taliban 'a resilient insurgency'

The Taliban has regrouped after its initial fall from power in Afghanistan and the pace of its attacks is likely to increase this year, according to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old war.

Noting that insurgent violence has climbed, the report said that despite U.S. and coalition efforts to capture and kill key leaders, the Taliban is likely to "maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008." The Taliban, it said, has "coalesced into a resilient insurgency."

Vast problems - corruption, the illegal poppy trade, human rights abuses and slow progress in reconstruction - were detailed, as well as the struggle to train and equip the Afghan Army and police.

The report described a dual terror threat in Afghanistan that includes the Taliban in the south, and "a more complex, adaptive insurgency" in the east. That fragmented insurgency is made up of groups ranging from al-Qaida and Afghan warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's radical Hezb-i-Islami group to Pakistani militants such as Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Associated Press, 28/6/08

Congress agrees to keep troops in Iraq until end of Bush's term

The Democratic-controlled US Congress late yesterday agreed to keep the military in Iraq until George Bush leaves office while also giving $62bn in new education benefits to veterans of the war.

The massive war bill faced little opposition after Bush reached a deal with Democrats, exchanging unrestricted war money for the veterans' education as well as 13 extra weeks of employment benefits for Americans hit by a faltering economy.

The war bill gives the Pentagon $162bn to continue Iraq operations well into next year.

Guardian, 27/6/08

Baghdad's walls keep peace but feel like prison

Baghdad hasn't been this quiet in years. But the respite from bloodshed comes at a high price. Up to 20 feet high in some sections. Rows after rows of barrier walls divide the city into smaller and smaller areas that protect people from bombings, sniper fire and kidnappings. They also lead to gridlock, rising prices for food and homes, and complaints about living in what feels like a prison.

Baghdad's walls are everywhere, turning a riverside capital of leafy neighborhoods and palm-lined boulevards where Shiites and Sunnis once mingled into a city of shadows separating the two Muslim sects. The walls block access to schools, mosques, churches, hotels, homes, markets and even entire neighborhoods - almost anything that could be attacked. For many Iraqis, they have become the iconic symbol of the war.

In some areas of Baghdad, the walls delay the movement of food and other essential supplies, raising prices. Where successful in preventing attacks and reducing crime, the walls push up the prices of homes.

The U.S. military defends the walls, crediting them with disrupting the movement and supply routes of the Sunni militants of al-Qaida in Iraq and the Shiite militiamen of the so-called special groups. It also disagrees with the notion that the walls are dividing the city alongside sectarian lines.

Associated Press, 27/6/08