Archive for the week ending 25th April 2008
Iraq pays no attention to social issues
Nearly 1 million women in Iraq are widows or divorcees, or their husbands are missing, according to Samira al-Mosawi, a Shiite member of parliament who heads the women's affairs committee. She said the number, an estimate reached by several government agencies, includes women who became widows during Iraq's war with Iran in the 1980s.
Mosawi said approximately 86,000 widows are receiving about $40 a month from the government. Aid organizations and government agencies are unable to help more widows because of a lack of funds and the challenges of doing social work in volatile neighborhoods.
"Frankly speaking, there's not much attention paid to the social issues in the country," Mosawi said in an interview. "Attention goes to security and defense."
Washington Post, 23/4/08
UK ignores world's worst crisis
The crisis in Somalia, the result of a dangerously escalating conflict pitting Ethiopian forces and their Somali allies against insurgent groups, is the world's worst, according to the UN. Serious human rights violations and war crimes have been committed by all sides.
Yet the British government consistently downplays both the gravity of the crisis in Somalia and the role of Ethiopian forces there. Among other things, Ethiopia has been accused of indiscriminate bombardment of residential areas of Mogadishu. But in the assessment of Somalia in the Foreign Office's latest annual human rights report there was not a single mention of Ethiopia, let alone the conduct of its troops.
The reasons for Britain's failure to speak out against Ethiopia's abuses are no secret. Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of UK aid in Africa and is judged to be doing well in reducing poverty. Furthermore, Ethiopia is seen by the UK and the United States as a crucial regional ally in counter-terrorism.
Guardian, 23/4/08
Sadr City under seige
Parents are afraid to send their children to school. Once-thriving markets are nearly empty as residents fear being caught up in gunbattles and airstrikes or face intimidation by gunmen who rule the streets.
Sadr City is home to 2.5 million people - nearly half of Baghdad's 6 million population. Tens of thousands more live in neighborhoods around Sadr City's grid-pattern streets, carved out in the 1950s for workers coming from the provinces. This means that - for the moment - a huge segment of Baghdad is effectively held captive to the violence.
Many civilians stay holed up at home, venturing out only to go to work or stock up on supplies. With vehicle traffic limited, many of those who work in other parts of the capital have to walk to bus stops beyond the U.S. and Iraqi checkpoints that control access into the embattled area.
"Life outside Sadr City is normal but not inside Sadr City where we see daily clashes and aerial shelling," said Sabah Mohammed Jassim, a 43-year-old father of four who has lived in an eastern section of the district for nearly 25 years.
At least 315 people have been killed since the clashes began, although no breakdown was available for the number of militiamen, civilians and Iraqi security forces, according Interior Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.
Associated Press, 23/4/08
More forced to stay in US army
The Army has accelerated its policy of involuntary extensions of duty to bolster its troop levels, despite Defense Secretary Robert Gates' order last year to limit it, Pentagon records show.
Gates directed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the service secretaries to minimize mandatory tour extensions, known as "stop loss," in January 2007. By May, the number of soldiers affected by the policy had dropped to a three-year low of 8,540. Since then, the number of soldiers forced to remain in the Army rose 43% to 12,235 in March.
The reliance on stop loss has increased as the military has sent more troops to Iraq and extended tours to 15 months to support an escalation in U.S. forces ordered by President Bush.
USA Today, 22/4/08
Clinton talks tough on Iran
As Pennsylvania went to the polls yesterday, Hillary Clinton sought to burnish her reputation as a hawk by warning Iran that as president she was prepared to "obliterate" the country, should it launch a nuclear attack against Israel.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran [if it attacks Israel], " Mrs Clinton said in an interview with the ABC network.
She has been trying to sow doubts about the ability of her opponent, Barack Obama, a first-time Illinois senator, to lead the US in time of international tension while stressing her ability to handle "the toughest job in the world".
Independent, 23/4/08
Double number of ex-cons join the US army
The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the demands of the Iraq war, allowing sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats, and child abusers into the military, new records released yesterday showed.
The army gave out 511 moral waivers to soldiers with felony convictions last year. Criminals got 249 army waivers in 2006, a sign that the demand for US forces in Iraq has forced a sharp increase in the number of criminals allowed on the battlefield.
The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-cannabis-related drug offences, seven convicted of making terrorist threats, and two convicted of indecent behaviour with a child. Waivers were also granted to 500 burglars and thieves, 19 arsonists and nine sex offenders.
Guardian, 22/4/08
Basra operation 'an unmitigated disaster'
The British-trained Iraqi Army's attempt to retake Basra from militiamen was an "unmitigated disaster at every level", British commanders have disclosed.
Senior sources have said that the mission was undermined by incompetent officers and untrained troops who were sent into battle with inadequate supplies of food, water and ammunition. They said the failure had delayed the British withdrawal by "many months".
At one stage during the battle, stories were circulating at the British headquarters that Iraqi troops were demanding food and water from coalition forces at gunpoint. "It was an unmitigated disaster at every level," an officer said.
Gen Mohan Furayji, the Iraqi commander who was in charge of troops during the operation, was described by a senior British staff officer as a "dangerous lunatic" who "ignored" advice.
Daily Telegraph, 21/4/08
Pentagon propaganda exposed
The Pentagon and the US media have been exposed for using pre-programmed "military analysts" to win hearts and minds of Americans over the war in Iraq, torture and detentions in Guantanamo Bay.
Kenneth Allard, an NBC military analyst and teacher at National Defence University, described the propaganda exercise as a "coherent, active," sophisticated information operation."
"Night and day, I felt we'd been hosed," he said. The New York Times revealed that close ties exist between the Bush administration and former senior officers who acted as paid TV analysts on CNN and other channels. The analysts have received private briefings, trips and access to classified intelligence to influence their comments.
Robert Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst, told the newspaper, "It was them (the Bush administration) saying, 'We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.'"
Independent, 21/4/08
US commanders want to target Pakistan
American commanders in Afghanistan have in recent months urged a widening of the war that could include American attacks on indigenous Pakistani militants in the tribal areas inside Pakistan, according to United States officials.
Pakistan's government has given the Central Intelligence Agency limited authority to kill Arab and other foreign operatives in the tribal areas, using remotely piloted Predator aircraft. But administration officials say the Pakistani government has put far greater restrictions on American operations against indigenous Pakistani militant groups.
American intelligence officials say that the threat emanating from Pakistan's tribal areas is growing, and that Pakistani networks there have taken on an increasingly important role as an ally of Al Qaeda in plotting attacks against American and other allied troops in Afghanistan, and in helping foreign operatives plan attacks on targets in the West.
The officials said the American military's proposals included options for limited cross-border artillery strikes into Pakistan, missile attacks by Predator aircraft or raids by small teams of C.I.A. paramilitary forces or Special Operations forces.
New York Times, 20/4 08
al-Sadr threatens all out war
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday threatened an "open war" against the Iraqi government unless it halted a crackdown by Iraqi and U.S. security forces on his followers.
The specter of a full-scale uprising by Sadr sharply raises the stakes in his confrontation with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has threatened to ban the anti-American cleric's movement from political life unless he disbands his militia.
A rebellion by Sadr's Mehdi Army militia -- which has tens of thousands of fighters -- could abruptly end a period of lower violence at a time when U.S. forces are starting to leave Iraq.
Reuters, 19/4/08
Brown and Bush united on Iran
US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have offered stern warnings about Iran's nuclear program, with Mr Brown holding out the prospect of extended European sanctions to block outside investment.
On a day when the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Tehran was making only slow progress towards production of material suitable for nuclear weapons, Mr Bush and Mr Brown were keen to confront Iran with a united stand.
"They have proven themselves to be untrustworthy," Mr Bush said. Added Mr Brown: "Iran has not told the truth to the international community about what its plans are."
Although Mr Brown and Mr Bush lack the chemistry that the US President developed with Tony Blair, their banter at a news conference suggested an easy relationship, marred by few if any policy differences.
The Age, Australia, 19/4/08
US partitioning Sadr City
Trying to stem the infiltration of militia fighters, American forces have begun to build a massive concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.
The construction, which began Tuesday night, is intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green Zone into a protected enclave, secured by Iraqi and American forces, where the Iraqi government can undertake reconstruction efforts.
On Wednesday night, huge cranes slowly lifted heavy concrete blocks into place under a moonless sky. The barriers were implanted on Al Quds Street, a major thoroughfare that separates the Tharwa and Jamilla districts to the south from the heart of Sadr City to the north.
The avenue was quiet except for the whirring sound of the cranes and thud of the barriers as they touched the ground. Contractors operated the cranes, but American soldiers transported the barriers on trucks and directed their placement.
The team building the barrier was protected by M-1 tanks, Stryker vehicles and Apache attack helicopters.
New York Times, 18/4/08
Brown under attack in US for Iraq policy
Gordon Brown has been forced to defend his Iraq policy during a trip to America.
The New York Times reported that the refusal of British ground troops to help Iraqi forces struggling to regain control of Basra was "deeply embarrassing for Britain". It said that Mr Brown's decision to order soldiers out of the city and his announcement that troop numbers will be halved by the spring had "prompted barely muted disdain in some quarters of the Bush administration".
Behind the scenes, the US is putting pressure on for a more aggressive stance in Basra. However, the Pentagon is also making preparations for the US to deploy in the city.
Nile Gardiner, of the Washington think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, said: "US officials say that Brown doesn't have the stomach and the US is going to have to carry the burden."
Daily elegraph, 18/4/08
US lacks a Pakistan plan
The Bush administration has failed to develop a governmentwide plan to combat terrorism in Pakistan's unruly tribal areas, even though top American officials concede that Al Qaeda has regenerated its ability to attack the United States and has established havens in that border region, government auditors said Thursday.
In a searing report, the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, sharply criticized the administration for relying too heavily on Pakistan's military to achieve American counterterrorism goals, while paying only token attention to economic development and improving governance.
Nearly $6 billion of the $10.5 billion in aid that Washington has provided to Pakistan since 2001 has been directed toward combating terrorism in the tribal areas, the report said. But about 96 percent of that aid has gone to reimburse Pakistan for its use of 120,000 troops in counterterrorism missions in that area that have shown little success.
In a rare acknowledgment, senior officials at the United States Embassy in Islamabad told the government auditors that they had received no strategic guidance from Washington on designing, carrying out, financing and monitoring a coordinated American strategy, the report said.
New York Times, 18/4/08
Suicide bomber kills 49 at funeral
A suicide bomber struck a funeral in northern Iraq today, killing 49 mourners and wounding 50 in an attack that suggests militants have launched a new campaign of violence in the north.
One wounded mourner said the funeral had been for two members of a US-backed neighbourhood security unit who were killed recently. Blame is likely to fall on Sunni Islamist al-Qa'ida, which has vowed to target the neighbourhood units because they work with US forces.
The attack was one of the deadliest in Iraq for months and underscored the ability of militants to wreak havoc despite overall falls in violence that has prompted the United States to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Independent, 17/4/08
US veterans struggle with war stress
The latest and most comprehensive study of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has concluded that nearly 1 in every 5 veterans is suffering from depression or stress disorders and that many are not getting adequate care.
An estimated 300,000 veterans among the nearly 1.7 million who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are battling depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. More than half of these people, according to the study conducted by the Rand Corp., are slipping through the cracks in the bureaucratic system, going without necessary treatment.
The study underscores one of the lessons of modern counterinsurgency conflicts: Such wars may kill fewer troops than traditional fighting but can leave deeper psychological scars.
Los Angeles Times, 18/4/08
British sailors were seized in disputed waters
Fifteen British sailors and Marines were seized by Iran in internationally disputed waters and not in Iraq's maritime territory as Parliament was told, according to new official documents.
The Britons were seized because the US-led coalition designated a sea boundary for Iran's territorial waters without telling the Iranians where it was, internal Ministry of Defence briefing papers reveal.
Iran always claimed that it had arrested the Britons for violating its territorial integrity. Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, repeatedly told the Commons that the personnel were seized in Iraqi waters.
The MoD, in a televised briefing by Vice-Admiral Charles Style, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, produced a map showing a line in the sea called "Iraq/Iran Territorial Water Boundary". A location was given for the capture of the Britons inside what the chart said were "Iraq territorial waters". But the newly released top-level internal briefing accepts that no such border exists.
The Times, 17/4/08