These are the archives for the week ending 20th October 2006
UK refuses to back cluster bomb ban
Britain has joined the US, China and Russia to block a proposed ban on cluster bombs in the wake of extensive use of the weapons during the war in Lebanon.
A group of countries, led by Sweden, is urging a worldwide ban on cluster bombs at arms talks in Geneva.
Israeli forces dropped an estimated 1m cluster bomblets in southern Lebanon - 90% of which were dropped in the last three days of the conflict, according to a new report from Landmine Action.
The weapons have left a trail of unexploded munitions that is killing between three to four civilians each day and impeding relief work.
Richard Moyes, from Landmine Action, said Britain's refusal to back a ban was 'incredible'. "Unfortunately it is not surprising because the UK has been one of the biggest users of the munitions, in Kosovo and in Iraq" he added.
Guardian 19/10/06
US strategy is 'to win'
The White House said that a steep spike in US deaths on Iraq, including 10 killed in a single day, would not lead to a reassessment of the US strategy there. "The strategy is to win," spokesman Tony Snow said. "As everybody says, correctly, we've got to win. And that comes at a cost."
Snow declined to say whether radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose forces have at times battled US troops and Iraqi soldiers, was an enemy or an ally, and flatly rejected talk of dividing Iraq into three regions.
"We have considered partition. Again, you consider every possible option. But we've also determined that it is not, for a series of reasons, a wise option for the stability of Iraq or for the region," he said.
AFP, 18/10/06
60% unemployment puts millions of Iraqis into absolute poverty
Mounir Zeid, 32, says he likes to remember the good old days before the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Then, most people were employed and his income was enough to afford holidays abroad. Today, however, poverty has struck and he finds himself sharing one room with his four brothers. Zeid is typical of millions of Iraqis struggling to cope with rising levels of poverty, largely as a result of unemployment.
"Nearly 5.6 millions Iraqis are living below the poverty line, according to our most recent studies. At least 40 percent of this number is living in absolute and desperate deteriorated conditions," said Sinan Youssef, a senior official in the strategy department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, adding that this level of poverty is a 35 percent increase over the level before 2003.
Local officials and NGOs put the unemployment rate countrywide to be more than 60 percent. In particularly troubled areas such as Anbar Governorate, this rate could be much higher. Compounding the unemployment problem is the fact that the price of basic necessities in Iraq has skyrocketed over the past year. A report by NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) suggests a 70 percent rate of inflation from July 2005 to July 2006.
Reuters, 17/10/06
Millions of Iraqi children missing school
Thousands of students have been forced to stay at home due to escalating violence across the country. Attendance rates for the new school year, which started on 20 September, are a record low, according to the Ministry of Education.
Recently released statistics from the Ministry indicate that only 30 percent of Iraq's 3.5 million students are currently attending classes. This compares to approximately 75 percent of students attending classes the previous year, according to UK-based NGO Save the Children.
Reuters, 18/10/06
Iraq's bunker government
Washington is increasingly looking to the Iraqi Government to take more responsibility for the country's security. Yet its writ barely extends beyond the blast walls of the green zone in central Baghdad, let alone on to the streets of the capital.
In the US-protected fortress, Iraq's Government huddles, riven by sectarian splits and cut off from its terrified people. Inside their bubble ministers live in comparatively luxurious compounds, each sectarian bloc divided from the next by barricades. They are hard to reach by telephone. Some spend more time outside the country than in it.
After just four months in office, the administration of Nouri al-Maliki, the Shia Prime Minister, has become a virtual Government-in-exile in its own country. Even the cautious optimism of Western diplomats who never set foot outside a highsecurity compound is being tested. "I don't pretend there is effective Government all over Iraq. Is that a result of the security situation or low capacity inside the ministers? Well, a bit of both - but quite a lot of the latter," one told The Times.
The Times, 18/10/06
Iraqi parliament wants press censorship
A statement by the Iraqi parliament urges Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki to close down Azzaman newspaper. The statement also asks Maliki to ban Al-Sharqiya television, the nation-wide network operated in coordination with Azzaman newspaper.
The statement issued Monday cites what the parliament describes the outlets' coverage of a recent draft law the legislators passed on turning the country into a federal state. Both the newspaper and al-Sharqiya television were critical of the law, warning that it represents a prelude to the division of the country on sectarian and ethnic grounds.
Azzamman is Iraq's most read newspaper. Al-Shariqiya is the most viewed television network in the country. It is not clear whether Maliki will heed the parliament's request which is not binding.
Azzaman, 17/10/06
US saw Balad killings as 'test' for Iraqis
American military units joined with Iraqi forces on Monday in maintaining a fragile peace between Sunni and Shiite communities in Balad, a rural town north of the capital where an explosion of sectarian violence over the weekend left dozens dead.
In the aftermath of the reprisals, some residents of Balad asked why American troops had not intervened when the killings began in earnest on Saturday. One of the largest American military bases in Iraq, Camp Anaconda, which includes a sprawling air base that serves as the logistical hub of the war, is nearby.
"People are bewildered because of the weak response by the Americans," said one Balad resident who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. "They used to patrol the city every day, but when the violence started, we didn't see any sign of them."
American military commanders reviewing what happened over the weekend concluded that the situation in Balad was best dealt with by the Iraqi armed forces, a senior American military official said. The senior officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the subject, said that American commanders viewed the upheaval in Balad as a new test for the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
New York Times, 17/10/06
Iraq war cost years in Afghanistan
The decision to divert forces to invade Iraq cost the West years of progress in Afghanistan, the outgoing commander of British forces in Afghanistan said on Tuesday.
The comments by Brigadier Ed Butler, who returned this week from commanding the British contingent, were the second implicit criticism of government policy on Iraq from the military's top brass in less than a week.
Britain still has more than 7,000 troops in Iraq, while in Afghanistan it has 4,500 and is providing the overall NATO headquarters as well as the task force for Helmand province.
Reuters 17/10/06
35% increase in level of poverty since 2003
In Iraq unemployment is rising and more and more children are leaving school to work and supplement their parents' income.
"Nearly 5.6 million Iraqis are living below the poverty line, according to our most recent studies. At least 40 percent of this number is living in absolute and desperate deteriorated conditions," said Sinan Youssef, a senior official in the strategy department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, adding that this level of poverty is a 35 percent increase over the level before 2003.
Local officials and NGOs put the unemployment rate countrywide to be more than 60 percent. In particularly troubled areas this rate could be much higher.
Compounding the unemployment problem is the fact that the price of basic necessities in Iraq has skyrocketed over the past year. A report by NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq (NCCI) suggests a 70 percent rate of inflation from July 2005 to July 2006.
In addition to unemployment, violence and new economic measures causing rising inflation, the NCCI attributes several other factors to the rise in poverty in Iraq over the past three years: reconstruction money being lost to corruption, an exodus from the country of skilled workers and a decrease of investment in the country.
Reuters 17/10/06
Occupation provoked civil war
The only problem about Sir Richard Dannatt's comments on Iraq is that they did not go far enough. He rightly said that "our presence exacerbates the security problem". In other words, foreign military occupation provokes armed resistance in Iraq as it would in most countries. But it is seldom realised that the US and Britain have largely provoked the civil war now that is raging across central Iraq.
The present slaughter in Iraq is taking place because the existing ethnic and sectarian hostilities have combined with animosities that have been created by the occupation. For instance, a Sunni ex-army officer supporting the resistance now sees a Shia serving in the Iraqi army or police force not just as the member of a different Islamic sect but as a traitor to his country who is actively collaborating with the hated invader.
The last excuse for the occupation was that at least it prevented civil war, but this it very visibly is not doing. On the contrary it de-legitimises the Iraqi government, army and police force, which are seen by Iraqis as pawns of the occupier. When I've asked people in Baghdad what they think of their government, they often reply: "What government? We never see it. It does nothing for us."
In the eyes of Iraqis, the occupation goes on despite the supposed handover of power to Iraq in June 2004. Baghdad is full of signs of this. For instance, the main government intelligence service, essential in fighting a guerrilla war, has no Iraqi budget because it is entirely funded by the CIA.
Independent, 15/10/06
Reconciliation conference postponed indefinitely
The unremitting wave of sectarian violence that has greeted the Muslim holy month of Ramadan claimed scores more Iraqi lives at the weekend, as authorities in Baghdad announced the indefinite postponement of a conference of political leaders seen as crucial to quickly diminishing hopes for national reconciliation.
In a terse statement from the ministry for national dialogue, the government said the reconciliation conference, which had been scheduled for this Saturday in Baghdad, would be delayed until further notice for "emergency reasons". The cancellation is a further blow to the credibility of the national unity government of Nuri al-Maliki.
Guardian, 16/10/06
Coalition death toll reaches 3,000
The death toll for coalition military forces in Iraq hit 3,000 Monday. The combined death toll includes 2,759 U.S. troops and seven American civilian contractors of the military. Other coalition deaths include 119 British, 32 Italians, 18 Ukrainians, 17 Poles, 13 Bulgarians, and 11 Spaniards, as well as service members from Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Holland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Romania, Salvador, Slovakia, and Thailand.
CNN, 17/10/06
British SUV destroyed
Unidentified assailants have destroyed a British diplomatic vehicle in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. The armoured SUV was empty and was parked in central Basra when hit. A member of the private security company hired to protect British Foreign Office staff was wounded in the blast, which totally destroyed the vehicle. A British embassy spokeswoman said that the security guard had been standing nearby when the rocket hit and was taken for treatment of "minor injuries".
Following the attack local youths threw stones at the abandoned jeep, flashed "V for victory" signs and posed for press photographers.
AFP, 16/10/06
Maliki's position in question
Iraq's fragile democracy, weakened by mounting chaos and a rapidly rising death toll, is being challenged by calls for the formation of a hardline "government of national salvation". The proposal, which is being widely discussed in political and intelligence circles in Baghdad, is to replace the Shi'ite-led government of Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, with a regime capable of imposing order and confronting the sectarian militias leading the country to the brink of civil war.
Dr Saleh al-Mutlak, a prominent Sunni politician, travelled to Arab capitals last week seeking support for the replacement of the present government with a group of five strongmen who would impose martial law and either dissolve parliament or halt its participation in day-to-day government.
Other Iraqis dismissed the idea that a unilateral change in the leadership would be desirable or even possible. "The only person who can undertake a coup in Iraq now is General George Casey (the US commander) and I don't think the Americans are inclined to go in that direction," said Ahmed Chalabi, head of a rival political party.
Any suspension of the democratic process would be regarded as a severe blow to American and British policy. However, Anthony Cordesman, an influential expert on Iraq at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said there was a "very real possibility" that Maliki could be toppled in the coming months. "Nobody in Iraq has the military power to mount a traditional coup, but there could be a change in government, done in a backroom, which could see a general brought in to run the ministry of defence or the interior," Cordesman said.
Sunday Times, 15/10/06
Call for half British troops to leave Iraq
Military planners have been urging senior commanders to seek the pullout of up to half their troops from Iraq in order to bolster the battle against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Their hope is for a withdrawal of 'between one-third and a half' of the 7,000 British troops in Iraq by May next year, and reflects a growing concern over the pressures on an increasingly stretched army.
The call reportedly emerged from a major planning review earlier this year, shortly before the then Defence Secretary, John Reid, sent the first major part of a currently 5,500-strong army contingent to Afghanistan. The pressure for a significant early withdrawal of some troops from Iraq is understood to have been strengthened in recent months by the unexpected ferocity of the fighting in Afghanistan.
Before the deployment to the country's Helmand province, Reid had voiced hopes that the mission might even be completed without British forces having to fire a shot.
Observer, 15/10/06
Shiites want British to leave
Many Shiites in this southern port city say they want British troops to leave, though the region is still bloodied by a persistent grind of killings, including Sunni insurgent bombings and Shiite-on-Shiite slayings amid a competition for political control. Several prominent Basra leaders on Friday agreed with an assessment by Britain's army chief that the British presence only worsens the violence and the soldiers should withdraw soon.
It's a change in attitude from early in the Iraqi conflict, when Shiites across the country welcomed U.S.-led coalition troops that toppled Saddam Hussein, who had persecuted the Shiite majority. British troops in Basra were even praised for taking a gentler approach to policing the region than American troops further north, who were seen as heavy-handed.
But with the violence wearing on, anti-U.S. sentiment has been growing among Shiites across Iraq, and with it the feeling that international troops should go. The militia of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which deeply opposes the U.S.-British presence, has been growing in power.
Associated Press, 13/10/06
40,000 a month are leaving Iraq
Iraq is suffering from a "steady, silent exodus" of more than 40,000 people a month fleeing violence and the flow of refugees towards Europe is growing, the UN refugee agency has said. Asylum claims by Iraqis in mainly European industralised countries in the first six months of the year grew by more than 50 percent compared to the first half of 2005 to reach 8,100, Ron Redmond, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Friday.
Iraqis are now the largest single national group seeking asylum in European countries, he told journalists. About 1.6 million Iraqis are now abroad. UNHCR staff monitoring the border say that at least 40,000 Iraqis are crossing into Syria every month, reversing a previous trend of returns.
AFP, 13/10/06
Army chief calls for British withdrawal...
The head of the British army has said UK troops in Iraq are acting as a catalyst to violence and should be withdrawn soon. General Sir Richard Dannatt said British troops should get out "sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems".
Gen Dannatt, who became Chief of the General Staff in August, told a newspaper: "We are in a Muslim country and Muslims' views of foreigners in their country are quite clear. As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren't invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time. The military campaign we fought in 2003 effectively kicked the door in."
"Whatever consent we may have had in the first place, may have turned to tolerance and has largely turned to intolerance."
ITV News, 13/10/06
..in a warning to next prime minister
BBC political editor Nick Robinson described Sir Richard's remarks as "quite extraordinary". He said the new head of the British army's comments "directly contradicted so much of what the government had said". Sir Richard might be issuing a "very public warning" to the next prime minister, our correspondent added.
BBC News, 13/10/06
US plans four more years of war
Gunmen killed nine staff at a television studio and bomb attacks rocked Baghdad as Pentagon officials said plans had been laid to allow US forces to stay in Iraq until 2010 if needed.
Coalition spokesman Major General William Caldwell confirmed that, as US officials predicted, there had been a "tremendous spike" in violence in Iraq since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan two weeks ago. "Ramadan has been a violent period," he said. "We assume it will still get worse before its get better. We expect violence to continue to increase over the next two weeks, until the end of Ramadan."
In Washington, army chief of staff General Peter Schoomaker confirmed Wednesday that contingency plans were being drawn up to have enough troops ready to maintain current force levels in Iraq until 2010. Schoomaker said the army had scheduled troop rotations "at exactly what we have today" through the next four years, but said the actual number deployed will depend on conditions on the ground.
AFP, 12/10/06