Archive for the week ending 11th April 2008
More troops to Afghanistan
The 101st Airborne Division took command of American forces in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, helping to boost U.S. troop levels in the country to their highest number since the 2001 invasion.
In late 2006, on the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, Afghanistan had 40,000 international troops. Today, that number is almost 70,000.
Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2001. The U.N. says more than 8,000 people died in insurgency-related violence, including more than 1,500 civilians.
Unlike in Iraq, where the U.S. provides the vast majority of troops, a 40-nation alliance in Afghanistan contributes half of the overall military force, though only British, Canadian and Dutch troops engage in heavy fighting.
USA Today, 10/4/08
Ramping up pressure on Iran
President Bush warned Iran yesterday that if it did not stop arming and training Shia militia in Iraq then "America will act to protect our interests and our troops".
During a speech in which he ordered an indefinite halt to US troop withdrawals from Iraq this summer, Mr Bush called Iran one of the two greatest threats to America in this century, together with al-Qaeda.
His words echoed testimony from General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, to Congress this week in which he described Iranian-backed Shia groups and the "malevolent" influence of Tehran as the biggest long-term threat to a viable Iraq.
The Times, 11/4/08
Iraq's bloody fifth anniversary
The fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad and the toppling of the statute of Saddam Hussein - a symbol of US victory and might - was marked yesterday by death and destruction across the country and an admission from the White House that projected troop withdrawals would have to be delayed.
The pulling down of Saddam's statue in Firdous Square was supposed to have been an expression of popular joy at the downfall of a tyrant. The "impassioned populace", it turned out later, were people bused in from Sadr City, then called Saddam City.
Ibrahim Khalil, who was in the crowd that day, said yesterday: "If history can take me back, I will now actually kiss the statue of Saddam. I am sorry that I played a part in pulling it down. I think now that was a black day for Baghdad. We got rid of Saddam, but now we have 50 Saddams. In his days we were safe. I ask Bush, 'where are your promises of making Iraq a better country?'"
Abdullah Jawad, another who took part in the destruction of the statue, said: "Let me see what has happened since then, just to me. I have had a brother killed and a niece who has been kidnapped and we have not seen for five months. Our country has been destroyed by foreigners, not just the Americans but the extremists who came to fight them on our soil."
Independent, 10/4/08
US plan for military future in Iraq
A confidential draft agreement covering the future of US forces in Iraq shows that provision is being made for an open-ended military presence in the country.
The draft strategic framework agreement between the US and Iraqi governments, dated March 7 and marked "secret" and "sensitive", is intended to replace the existing UN mandate and authorises the US to "conduct military operations in Iraq and to detain individuals when necessary for imperative reasons of security" without time limit.
Iraqi critics point out that the agreement contains no limits on numbers of US forces, the weapons they are able to deploy, their legal status or powers over Iraqi citizens, going far beyond long-term US security agreements with other countries.
Guardian, 8/4/08
US to 'suspend' reduction of troops...
The top US military leader in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, has recommended a suspension of troop withdrawals after July to protect gains in Iraq.
Gen Petraeus praised "significant" but "uneven" improvements in security and said troop levels would need a period of evaluation over the summer.
He also said the recent Iraqi operation in Basra was "not adequately planned".
BBC News, 8/4/08
...and there's no light at end of tunnel
Petraeus acknowledged that the kind of progress Bush has been looking for had not been achieved:
"We haven't turned any corners, we haven't seen any lights at the end of the tunnel. The champagne bottle has been pushed to the back of the refrigerator. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible."
Guardian, 9/4/08
US deaths on rise in Iraq
Three more U.S. troops were killed Monday as Iraqis struggled to bury their dead amid fierce street battles between Shiite Muslim militias and Iraqi and American soldiers in the nation's capital.
In one of the most intense days of fighting here involving U.S. troops in recent months, American helicopters fired at least four Hellfire missiles and an Air Force jet dropped a bomb on a suspected militia target.
Rockets and missiles launched from militia strongholds pounded U.S. bases around the city, where U.S. troops also came under fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.
Targets included the Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and most Iraqi government buildings are located. The latest American casualties brought to nine the number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq since Sunday.
Los angeles Times, 8/4/08
More civilian deaths in Afghanistan
Afghanistan authorities said Monday they were investigating claims by provincial officials that up to 33 civilians were killed in a weekend offensive by US-led troops.
Mohammad Aleem, deputy governor of the eastern province of Nuristan, told AFP that 33 civilians, including women and children, were killed and dozens more injured in the day-long operation in the mountainous province's Do'aab district.
District chief Qari Daud put the death toll at 28, all of them civilians. The US-led coalition had earlier reported "significant" insurgent casualties during the operation.
AFP, 7/4/08
British exit strategy 'in tatters'
Up to 150 British soldiers are now "embedded" with Iraqi army units in Basra, fighting insurgent groups which now hold power in large areas of the city.
The revelation sparked allegations of "mission creep" and claims the Army has been forced to conduct a "strategic U-turn" following the Iraqi military's failure to defeat the powerful Mehdi Army militia.
It is understood Gordon Brown approved the move following pressure from the United States, whose military chiefs feared the restive southern city was on the brink of falling under the control of the Shia militias.
The move comes days after Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, announced plans to withdraw 1,500 soldiers from southern Iraq this spring had been shelved.
Senior defence sources have disclosed Britain's entire exit strategy is now in "tatters", and no further troop reductions would take place for at least 12 months.
Daily Telegraph, 7/4/08
Official: Blackwater staying is 'bad news'
The U.S. State Department's renewal of Blackwater's contract to provide security in Iraq "is bad news," an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.
Blackwater guards shot and killed 17 people, including women and children, last September, prompting an outcry and protest from Iraqi officials.
"This is bad news," al-Maliki adviser Sami al-Askari said. "I personally am not happy with this, especially because they have committed acts of aggression, killed Iraqis, and this has not been resolved yet positively for families of victims."
About 25,000 private contractors from three companies protect diplomats, reconstruction workers and government officials in Iraq. Under a provision put into place in the early days of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, security contractors have immunity from Iraqi prosecution.
CNN, 5/4/08
Even the Green Zone is no longer safe for US
Three US service personnel have been killed and 31 wounded by rocket attacks on the Green Zone and a base elsewhere in Baghdad, the US military has said.
The rocket attack on the Green Zone, which houses government offices and foreign embassies, killed two personnel and wounded at least 17. A separate attack at the same time on a forward operating base in the Rustamiya district killed one and injured 14.
The attacks came after fighting between US and Iraqi forces and a Shia militia.
BBC News, 6/4/08
Iraq progress 'halting and superficial'
The United States faces the risk of a costly, open-ended quagmire in Iraq because of a lack of political progress in the divided country, a report by US experts said.
"Political progress is so slow, halting and superficial, and social and political fragmentation so pronounced, that the US is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago," said the US Institute of Peace study released Sunday.
The US commitment to Iraq "carries a massive cost, both human and financial," in addition to the global interests the US is sacrificing, it added.
The report was produced by the same experts who advised the earlier Iraq Study Group, which delivered its findings to US President George W. Bush and Congress in December 2006.
AFP, 6/4/08
Brown backs military training in schools
Controversial plans for pupils in comprehensive schools to sign up for military drills and weapons training are being backed by Gordon Brown in an attempt to improve the relationship between the public and the armed forces.
A major review of the military's role in British society says that encouraging more state secondary school pupils to join the cadet corps would improve discipline among teenagers while helping to improve the public perception of the army, navy and air force.
However, anti-gun campaigners say that teaching teenagers to shoot would exacerbate the growing problem of gun crime among youngsters.
The Observer, 6/4/08
US laying ground for Iran attack
A strong statement from General David Petraeus about Iran's intervention in Iraq could set the stage for a US attack on Iranian military facilities, according to a Whitehall assessment.
In closely watched testimony in Washington next week, Gen Petraeus will state that the Iranian threat has risen as Tehran has supplied and directed attacks by militia fighters against the Iraqi state and its US allies.
"Petraeus is going to go very hard on Iran as the source of attacks on the American effort in Iraq," a British official said. "Iran is waging a war in Iraq. The idea that America can't fight a war on two fronts is wrong, there can be airstrikes and other moves," he said.
"Petraeus has put emphasis on America having to fight the battle on behalf of Iraq. In his report he can frame it in terms of our soldiers killed and diplomats dead in attacks on the Green Zone."
Tension between Washington and Tehran is already high over Iran's covert nuclear programme. The Bush administration has not ruled out military strikes.
Daily Telegraph, 5/4/08
Despite killings, Blackwater contract renewed
The State Department said yesterday that it would renew its contract with Blackwater Worldwide, the controversial private security contractor, to provide security for U.S. diplomats in Baghdad for another year, but said it could cancel it at any time.
The company is under investigation by the FBI in connection with a Sept. 16 incident in which its security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad. Questions have been raised about whether the shootings were justified and if they violated the rules under which contractors may use deadly force in Iraq.
Blackwater has received more than $1 billion in federal business since 2000, according to Eagle Eye, a research company that monitors contract spending. Its agreement to provide security for U.S. diplomats, and bodyguards and armed drivers to escort government officials outside Baghdad's Green Zone, was set to expire next month.
Washington Post, 5/4/08
US lawmakers profit from war
Members of the U.S.Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department, earning millions since the start of the Iraq war, according to a new study by a nonpartisan research group.
The review of lawmakers' 2006 financial disclosure statements, by the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, suggests that members' holdings could pose a conflict of interest as they decide the fate of Iraq war spending.
Several members who earned the most from defense contractors have plum committee or leadership assignments, including Democratic Sen. John Kerry, independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and House Republican Whip Roy Blunt.
Overall, 151 members hold investments worth $78.7 million to $195.5 million in companies that receive defense contracts that are worth at least $5 million . These investments earned them anywhere between $15.8 million and $62 million between 2004 and 2006, the center concludes.
International Herald Tribune, 3/4/08