These are the archives for the week ending 12th January 2007
Blair supports US attacks on Somalia
Tony Blair voiced support for the US action yesterday, telling the House of Commons: "We should be there standing up and supporting those who are combating that terrorism and giving people the chance to live in better circumstances."
The reaction from the rest of Europe, however, was overwhelmingly negative. The French foreign ministry said the air strikes "could increase the tensions that are already strong in the country", while Germany said the world's priority should be to stabilise Somalia.
Somali government officials claimed US gunships continued to attack Islamist fighters in southern Somalia yesterday. However, the Pentagon denied having carried out operations in the country since its initial strikes early on Monday. US military sources were quoted as saying that Ethiopian planes may have been in action and mistaken for American aircraft.
Guardian 11/1/07
Escalating the war
President Bush announced tonight that he was sending more than 21,000 American troops to Iraq to quell the sectarian violence there, as he conceded for the first time that he had provided neither enough troops nor enough resources to halt the country's descent into chaos over the past year.
The president described his new strategy as an effort to "change America's course in Iraq," and he gave no indication that the troop increase would be short-lived. Mr. Bush also acknowledged that a renewed effort aimed at bringing security to Baghdad would also bring about more American and Iraqi casualties.
New York Times, 10/1/07
Bush to Maliki: "This has to work or you're out".
Mr. Bush sounded less than certain of his support for the prime minister, who many in the White House and the military fear may be intending to extend Shiite power over the Sunnis, or could prove incapable of making good on his promises. "If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people and it will lose the support of the Iraqi people," Mr. Bush declared.
He put it far more bluntly when leaders of Congress visited the White House earlier on Wednesday. "I said to Maliki this has to work or you're out," the president told the Congressional leaders. Pressed on why he thought this strategy would succeed where previous efforts had failed, Mr. Bush shot back: "Because it has to."
New York Times, 10/1/07
Secret US funding for Lebanon government
The Central Intelligence Agency has been authorised to take covert action against Hizbollah as part of a secret plan by President George W. Bush to help the Lebanese government prevent the spread of Iranian influence. Senators and congressmen have been briefed on the classified "non-lethal presidential finding" that allows the CIA to provide financial and logistical support to the prime minister, Fouad Siniora.
The finding was signed by Mr Bush before Christmas after discussions between his aides and Saudi Arabian officials. Details of its existence, known only to a small circle of White House officials, intelligence officials and members of Congress, have been passed to The Daily Telegraph.
It authorises the CIA and other US intelligence agencies to fund anti-Hizbollah groups in Lebanon and pay for activists who support the Siniora government. The secrecy of the finding means that US involvement in the activities is officially deniable.
Daily Telegraph, 10/1/07
Homicidal soldier returned to streets
An Army private charged with the slaughter of an Iraqi family was diagnosed as a homicidal threat by a military mental health team three months before the attack.
The treatment was several small doses of Seroquel - a drug to regulate his mood - and a directive to get some sleep. The next day, Pfc. Steven D. Green returned to duty in the particularly violent stretch of desert in the southern Baghdad suburbs known as the "Triangle of Death."
On March 12, 2006, Iraqi police reported a break-in at the home of a family in Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles from Baghdad. The intruders shot and killed the father, mother and two young daughters. The older girl, 14-year-old Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, was raped and her body set afire.
The Army believes Green and four other soldiers are responsible. One of them has confessed and provided information to prosecutors; in testimony at his court-martial, the soldier identified Green as the ringleader.
Associated Press, 9/1/07
Battle near the green zone
U.S. jets screamed low over the capital and helicopter gunships swooped in to pound a central Baghdad battleground, supporting Iraqi and American troops in a day-long fight that officials said killed 50 insurgents in a militant Sunni Arab stronghold.
The battle Tuesday raged on Haifa Street about 1½ miles north of the heavily fortified Green Zone - home to the U.S. Embassy and other facilities - on the eve of U.S. President George W. Bush's expected announcement that he would send 20,000 more soldiers to Iraq despite growing opposition on Capitol Hill.
"This area has been subject to insurgent activity which has repeatedly disrupted Iraqi Security Force operations in central Baghdad," said a statement quoting Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multi-National Division Baghdad. He said the U.S. jets buzzing the city did not conduct any airstrikes, but "attack helicopters were used to engage targets in support of the ground forces."
USA Today, 9/1/07
US attack in Somalia
A U.S. air attack on a Somali village occupied by Islamists believed to be sheltering an al Qaeda suspect has left "many dead bodies", a Somali government source said on Tuesday.
In the first known direct U.S. intervention in the Somali conflict, an AC-130 attack plane rained gunfire down on the southern village of Hayo late on Monday, the source told Reuters. "The Americans are saying an al Qaeda heading operations in east Africa is among the Islamists there," the source said.
The Islamists deny any al Qaeda links.
Reuters, 9/1/07
New US general heralds change of strategy
The selection of Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus to serve as the senior American commander in Iraq signals an important turn in United States strategy. As a supporter of increased forces in Iraq, General Petraeus is expected to back a rapid five-brigade expansion, in sharp contrast to his predecessor, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who has been openly skeptical that additional troops would help stabilize the country.
Having overseen the recent drafting of the military's counterinsurgency manual, General Petraeus is also likely to change the American military operation in Baghdad. American forces can be expected to take up positions in neighborhoods throughout the capital instead of limiting themselves to conducting patrols from large, fortified bases in and around the city.
New York Times, 6/1/07
Former minister flees to US
A former Iraqi Cabinet minister who escaped from a Baghdad prison last month defended his jailbreak and said Monday he was planning to return to his home in the United States. Former Minister of Electricity Ayham al-Samaraie, who holds U.S. and Iraqi citizenship, had been serving time for corruption when he escaped mid-December.
Al-Samaraie said he fled because he feared being killed or kidnapped. He said he would return to his home outside Chicago as long as he receives assurances that he will not face U.S. legal problems related to his offenses in Iraq. "I am going home next week," al-Samaraie said at a news conference in a Dubai hotel. "I didn't break any U.S. laws."
The former minister said Americans were involved in his jailbreak, but none were affiliated with the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He declined to say whether any of his American accomplices worked for the U.S. government.
Associated Press, 8/1/07
US supply line under threat
At this dusty border crossing in northern Kuwait, more than 200 18-wheelers wait to cross into Iraq. Braving Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias, and criminal gangs, these trucks are vital links in the supply chain that keeps some 130,000 US military personnel in Iraq afloat.
Multinationals such as the Kuwait-based Public Warehouse Company that transport fuel, food, and water receive first priority to the limited number of convoys escorted by the US military. Fuel is then distributed to army bases around Iraq by Halliburton-subsidiary KBR, also under US military protection. Smaller logistics operators often depend on organizations such as Crescent Security Group.
A Pakistani logistics operator says, however, that his drivers often don't like to travel with private security companies and prefer US military escorts. "[The private groups] use ... Silverados or F-350s, while the Army has fully armored gun trucks and Humvees."
"The supply line from Kuwait is absolutely crucial. You cannot supply the level that is required by air," says Paul Rodgers, professor of peace studies at Bradford University in West Yorkshire, England.
Professor Rodgers says that a more substantial US combat presence in Iraq could cause insurgents to avoid direct confrontation and intensify attacks on supply lines. "In the longer term, they [insurgents] may respond [to a troop surge] by attacking the supplies, rather than the troops themselves," he says.
Christian Science Monitor, 8/1/07
UK 'out of step with allies'
British policy in Afghanistan is seriously damaging Western efforts against the Taliban, diplomats from allied countries have warned. Officials from the United States and European members of Nato have told The Daily Telegraph that Britain is increasingly at odds with its coalition partners over its policy of making arbitrary peace deals with the Taliban, while at the same time declining to put pressure on Pakistan to stop providing sanctuary to the Taliban leadership.
Diplomats in Kabul and Islamabad say Britain's "go it alone policies" are threatening military preparations for a major Taliban offensive expected next month.
Western officials have strongly criticised a peace deal in Musa Qala, Helmand, where thousands of British fought daily battles with a resurgent Taliban. British commanders say the deal was struck with tribal elders, but it has been claimed that the agreement was actually made with the Taliban, who controlled the town. British officers deny the claim.
Daily Telegraph, 6/1/07
The spoils of war
Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days. The US government has been involved in drawing up the law. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.
Oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers, is state controlled.
Opponents say Iraq, where oil accounts for 95 per cent of the economy, is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty.
Independent on Sunday, 7/1/07
Democrats: nuclear Iran is not an option
Iran with nuclear weapons is unacceptable, new House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told The Jerusalem Post hours after entering the party leadership position. The Maryland Democrat said the view is shared by his party, rejecting assertions that the Democrats would be weaker than the Republicans on Iran. He also said that the use of force against Teheran remained an option.
Jerusalem Post, 7/1/07
Israel plans nuclear strike on Iran
Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons. Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear "bunker-busters", according to several Israeli military sources. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said.
Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack.
Sunday Times, 7/1/07
al-Maliki calls for US withdrawal from Baghdad
Sami al-Askari, an al-Maliki political adviser, told The Associated Press on Friday that al-Maliki had not acquiesced to the reported White House plan to send as many as 9,000 more U.S. troops to Baghdad alone. "President Bush told the prime minister he was ready to send additional troops, but al-Maliki said he would have to talk that over with his senior military officers to see if they were needed."
In his discussions with Bush, al-Maliki continued to press for a rapid U.S. withdrawal from the capital to bases "on the outskirts of Baghdad," al-Askari said.
Houston Chronicle, 5/1/07
No courts-martial for British soldiers
British soldiers who were videotaped beating Iraqi civilians in 2004 will not face courts-martial, although two soldiers may be subject to other disciplinary proceedings, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday. The video, made in 2004, came to light last year and was widely broadcast. It showed British soldiers beating several Iraqi youths in the city of Amarah, about 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, on a day when British forces clashed with protesters.
Following an inquiry by the army's Special Investigation Branch, nine men from the 1st Battalion, Light Infantry were referred to the Army Prosecuting Authority. The authority said there was enough evidence to charge two of the soldiers with assault, but the six-month deadline for bringing a charge had passed. Two other soldiers could face military discipline for their part in the violence - one who allegedly kicked the body of a dead Iraqi, and another who was heard speaking on the video, apparently encouraging his comrades.
"These charges do have a realistic prospect of conviction, but the APA took the view that the public interest did not require them to be tried by court-martial," the authority said.
Associated Press, 4/1/07