What a surprise.
"Iraq a long way from stability, report says" by Associated Press / January 31, 2011
BAGHDAD — Without more help provided quickly, Iraqi security forces may not be able to protect the fragile nation from insurgents and invaders after American troops leave at the end of the year, according to a US report released yesterday.
Then we can't leave, right?
I never thought we were, have been typing it for months, and now we find out I was right all along despite the media harping on leaving by 2011.
It was just another carrot to get you to shut up, Americans.
The semiannual report by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction also cites data by the US Embassy in Baghdad showing that the nation’s government, economy, legal systems, and basic services like electricity and water remain unstable.
All the rebuilding billions handed to Bechtel and Halliburton for nothing.
The 156-page report forecasts a dim outlook at best for Iraq’s near future as the United States steps back after nearly eight years of war and billions of dollars in aid.
It largely blames corruption in Iraq’s military and police forces for wasted resources and bad planning in running its bases and maintaining its equipment.
Yeah, right, it is all the Iraqis fault and they stole all the money.
Congress is weighing how much money to give Iraqi forces this year.
Good thing we are not suffering bankruptcy over here.
“Several US observers noted real or potential gaps in Iraqi security forces capabilities that could affect its ability to lock in hard-won security gains,’’ the report concluded.
“The US faces the choice of making additional investments to fill essential gaps in Iraqi security forces’ capabilities or accept the risk that they will fall short of being able to fully secure Iraq from internal and external threats by the time US forces depart.’’
Sick of the game yet, 'merican?
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More than 200 Iraqis, mostly security forces and Shi’ites, have been killed over the past two weeks in insurgent attacks that underscore the country’s continuing instability. Still, the report warns that a lack of electricity, water, and sewage pose one of the greatest threats to Iraq’s shaky peace.
“The lack of sufficient basic services will be the most likely cause of future instability in Iraq,’’ it said, adding that power demands probably will not be met until 2014 at the earliest.
That's over three years away!
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Also see: Occupation Iraq: In No Hurry
"Senate report on Iraq raises questions on exit; Foresees need for US troops after drawdown" by Lara Jakes and Donna Cassatay, Associated Press / February 2, 2011
WASHINGTON — American diplomats and other mission employees may not be safe in Iraq if the US military withdraws its remaining 50,000 troops and leaves the volatile country at the end of the year as planned, according to a Senate report released yesterday.
The report by the Foreign Relations Committee puts new pressure on a delicate diplomacy between Washington and Baghdad to decide what role American troops will have in Iraq — if one at all — before they start withdrawing this summer....
If we are there we are occupiers, period.
James F. Jeffrey, ambassador to Iraq, and Army General Lloyd Austin, commander of the US military in Iraq, offered a relatively upbeat assessment about the transition in Iraq from a military mission to a civilian-led effort. They cited progress among security forces, greater stability in the newly formed government, and increased oil production that will generate revenue....
Even thought the outlook is dim, sigh.
The report looks at a compromise plan between a full military withdrawal and keeping combat forces in Iraq, which Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has signaled he will not permit.
Such a compromise could assign a robust military staff to the Embassy’s security office that officials in Baghdad and Washington have said could house between 100 and 800 soldiers.
Then we get ship the private contractors out, right?
But that plan also has drawbacks, the report said, noting that “though such a force would have little interaction with the Iraqi public, it might also be cited as evidence that the United States has no intention of leaving Iraq.’’
I never thought we really did.
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Violence is down, but deadly bombings and shootings in Iraq still occur on a near-daily basis....
And yet I seldom read of them in my morning newspaper.
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What you have to look forward to, soldier:
"At least 170 dead in week of Iraq bloodshed" by Associated Press / January 25, 2011
BAGHDAD — Two car bombs tore through parking lots packed with Shi’ite pilgrims yesterday in an Iraqi holy city, pushing the death toll from a week of attacks to more than 170.
The uptick in violence poses a major test for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s new and somewhat shaky coalition government....
No group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s blast, but car bombs and suicide attacks are the trademark of Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni religious extremists....
Related: Occupation Iraq: "Al-CIA-Duh" Canceled Christmas
Now they are working on the Shi'ite Muslim Holy Days, huh?
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"Car bomb kills 48 in Iraq; Attack brings toll over past 10 days to more than 200" by Kim Gamel, Associated Press / January 28, 2011
BAGHDAD — A car bomb exploded outside a funeral tent yesterday in a mainly Shi’ite area of Baghdad, killing at least 48 people — the latest in a wave of attacks that has triggered fury over the government’s inability to stop the bloodshed.
As ambulances raced to the scene and Iraqi helicopters buzzed overhead, young men enraged over the security lapse pelted Iraqi forces with sticks and stones, prompting skirmishes.
The violence over the past 10 days has mainly targeted the majority Shi’ite community and Iraqi security forces, posing a major challenge for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his fragile coalition government, which was seated last month.
Iraqis have become used to high-profile bombings, often followed by long periods of calm.
But the recent uptick in violence, with more than 200 people killed in near-daily attacks since Jan. 18, has raised new concern about the readiness of the Iraqis to take over their own security.
Some lawmakers and city officials said insurgents were probably trying to undermine the government ahead of an Arab League summit to be held in March in Baghdad. The Iraqi leadership had campaigned to host the two-day meeting to highlight security improvements and mend frayed ties with its Arab neighbors....
Anger over yesterday’s attack in the former Shi’ite militia stronghold of Shula stemmed from the fact the booby-trapped car had been parked several yards from one end of the long, hangar-like tent.
News footage showed broken plastic chairs overturned inside the tent. Broken tea cups and other debris covered the patterned rugs on the floor. A mourner held up a torn, blood-soaked dishdasha, traditional clothing worn by Iraqi men.
At least 48 people were killed and 121 wounded, said police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information. Several cars and houses were damaged.
Hours later, troops fired in the air to disperse a crowd gathered for a demonstration to demand better protection, and some protesters set tires on fire. Security forces imposed a curfew in Shula, prompting complaints from some residents that they were unable to visit wounded loved ones who were taken to hospitals elsewhere in the capital....
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"Bombings kill 7 in oil-rich Iraqi city with ethnic tensions; Up to 80 injured as six-month lull in violence ends" by Yahya Barzanji and Lara Jakes, Associated Press / February 10, 2011
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq — A suicide bomber posing as a dairy deliveryman struck a Kurdish security headquarters yesterday, setting off a series of rapid-fire attacks against the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk that killed seven and wounded as many as 80 people and ending a six-month lull in violence in a city rife with simmering ethnic tensions 180 miles north of Baghdad.
How can they be simmering after a six month lull?
This whole attack stinks to high heaven.
Kirkuk is divided between Kurds, Turkomen, and Sunni and Shi’ite Arabs, and has long been feared to be a possible new flashpoint in Iraq....
Just as we were supposed to be leaving! Every single time!!
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kirkuk’s police chief, Major General Jamal Tahir, said the Arab militant group Ansar al-Sunna threatened last week to target Kurdish security forces and political parties in Kirkuk....
Which western intelligence agency chose that name?
Tahir said Kirkuk police will investigate how the bombers got past security precautions to launch the attacks.
Once again the SMELL of an INSIDE JOB!
In addition to being an epicenter for ethnic tensions, Kirkuk also sits on top of one-third of Iraq’s estimated $11 trillion in oil reserves, and Arabs fear the Kurds want to annex the city to their northern autonomous region.
Hey, the world stood by as Israel did it to Palestine and Syria.
Last summer, General Ray Odierno, who was then the top US military commander in Iraq, said UN peacekeeping forces might need to replace departing US troops in disputed regions if the feud between Arabs and minority Kurds continues through this year.
Occupied one way or another.
His comments underscored the fragility of the area’s security — and the dangers if it is disrupted — although UN officials have not embraced his suggestion....
The regional tensions have stalled a long-awaited national census that would determine the real numbers of the country’s religious and ethnic groups. The count also could inflame the larger dispute over territory and oil between Iraq’s central government and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the north....
Violence across Iraq has dropped dramatically from just a few years ago, but bombings and shootings still occur almost every day. In Tal Afar, about 135 miles northwest of Kirkuk, two Iraqi Army soldiers were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb yesterday afternoon.
But Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, the spokesman for Baghdad security forces, said the capital is safe enough in many places to take down more of the thick concrete blast walls that line streets. The next place the barriers will be taken down is in the northeast Shi’ite neighborhood of Sadr City.
Sadr City was long a target for Sunni insurgents seeking to ignite sectarian warring in Baghdad.
And CUI BONO?
Moussawi’s comments came a few hours after a bomb outside al-Ansar Shi’ite mosque in Sadr City wounded two bystanders.
A second bombing a few miles away wounded two policemen about 15 minutes later, officials said.
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Related:
"Foes decry wide powers ruling gave to Iraqi leader" by Liz Sly, Washington Post / January 27, 2011
BAGHDAD — The ruling, sought by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in an unpublicized case brought in December and posted without fanfare on the court’s website late last week, went largely unnoticed for several days because it coincided with a major Shi’ite holiday. But as the holiday winds down, opposition is building, with critics denouncing the ruling as further evidence that Maliki, a Shi’ite, is bent on consolidating power at the expense of democratic institutions....
I've noticed that since Sadr swung the government to Maliki the AmeriKan media has turned on him a bit.
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Behaving more like a dictator every day, huh?
"Iraq urges $400m settlement for US victims" by Associated Press / February 3, 2011
BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government called on Parliament yesterday to approve a $400 million settlement for Americans who claim they were abused by Saddam Hussein’s regime....
So how much are Iraqis going to get from us?
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And some things never change:
"Group warns of abuse in Iraqi prisons" by Associated Press / February 9, 2011
BAGHDAD — A report by human rights watchdog Amnesty International concluded yesterday that widespread abuse in Iraqi prisons will probably continue under the new government as leaders are distracted by violence, the stagnant economy, and poverty.
The 12-page report offered a grim view of prison conditions in Iraq, describing state-run detention cells as breeding grounds for systematic torture and for sickness.
Abuse has long been a part of Iraq’s prisons system, going back to Saddam Hussein’s regime before he was ousted in 2003 by the US-led invasion. Amnesty said it has since continued, even in American-run prisons, most notably at the Abu Ghraib detention center outside Baghdad.
But US forces turned over full control of prisoners to Iraq’s government last year, “without any guarantees that they will be protected,’’ the Amnesty report states. “There is every likelihood that torture and ill-treatment will remain widespread,’’ it concluded....
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Also see: Occupation Iraq: Slow Torture on a Saturday
Occupation Iraq: Moving In on Maliki
Someone trying to move him out.
