Plenty of trouble afoot in Iraq

[Votingisanillusion]

A few hundred bucks to rebuild a house in Falujah. Impossible. Meanwhile, billions are missing. Or used to build castles...in Texas.

 

[raildogg]

Meet Taji's mayor: Monnesota's Lt. Col. Kevin Gerdes

Meet Taji's mayor: Monnesota's Lt. Col. Kevin Gerdes
Mark Brunswick, Star Tribune
April 6, 2005 TAJI0406


FORWARD OPERATING BASE TAJI, IRAQ -- Take a drive with the mayor of this town and you'll see the usual things that make up a community of 25,000 people.

A new fire station is going up. Land is being leveled for an industrial park. The two cement plants seem to be cranking at full capacity. And the new solid waste treatment plant is struggling through its shakedown phase.

But Kevin Gerdes, the mayor of Taji, has opportunities and challenges you won't find in a typical U.S. city. Not every town can boast a museum of Saddam Hussein memorabilia. Any other city of this size is not likely to face the constant threat of mortar attacks from the neighboring village, or have row after row of rusting Russian tanks lining one side of a major road and unexploded mines lining the other side.
minnesota national guard in iraq
Lt. Col. Kevin Gerdes gathers his "midnight choir."
Richard Sennott
Star Tribune

And airport noise -- in the form of Chinook, Apache and Black Hawk helicopters -- is not only tolerated but appreciated.

It's no joke -- Gerdes, a lieutenant colonel in the Minnesota National Guard, is the mayor of Taji, a title bestowed upon him by the U.S. Army, which believes it better reflects his role at this base, about 20 miles north of Baghdad. In the old days, he would have been known as a garrison commander (continued) ....

Nice to see Taji get much needed reconstruction. More good news.

------------------------

Turkey welcomes Talabani?s election, stresses Iraq?s unity

06/04/2005 AFP
ANKARA, April 6 (AFP) - 15h35 - Turkey on Wednesday welcomed the election of former Kurdish fighter Jalal Talabani as president of Iraq, a landmark move analysts said could dilute Kurdish ambitions for independence and ease Ankara?s concerns.

Turkey has long worried that Iraqi Kurds may capitalize on their post-war gains to break free of Baghdad, and news of Talabani becoming Iraq?s first freely elected head of state were greeted here with calls from Turkish leaders for the preservation of the conflict-torn country?s territorial integrity.

"Talabani is an experienced politician. He is someone who values Iraq?s integrity. Therefore I congratulate him," Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Asked whether he was worried that Talabani might use his presidential powers to press for priviliges for the Kurds, Gul said Talabani is "an Iraqi above all else."

"I am confident (the nation?s) Iraqi identity ... and the unity of the country will be strengthened" by Talabani?s presidency, he said.

:thumbsup:

 

[raildogg]

Iraq Attacks Lowest Since March 2004

By Jim Garamone
AFPS

The number of terrorist incidents in Iraq have dropped to the lowest level since March 2004, defense officials said.

There are between 40 and 60 incidents each day in the country, they said, sharply down from the terrorist effort in the week of the Iraqi elections in January.

Even this doesn?t tell the whole story. Of those incidents, roughly half have no effect. This means terrorists launch an attack, but no lives are lost, nor is any property damaged.

But ?let?s not downplay this,? said a senior defense official. ?Some of the attacks are horrendous, like the attack on the mosque in Hillah that killed more than 100 Iraqis.?

Such terror attacks ? directed solely against innocent Iraqi men, women and children -- are causing many Iraqis who would not normally care to come out against the terrorists. In contrast to the terrorism, average Iraqis see the security effort as heroic.

But the key event was the elections. The Iraqi people ? battered by Saddam Hussein for a generation ? stood up and voted. A people arose from the spiritual ashes of the Hussein regime and took a huge step toward getting back their self-respect.

In Mosul, a city with the most terror attacks in the country, the people have turned against the insurgents. Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers spoke about Mosul?s citizens and their stand against terror during a visit to Arizona March 29. He said that before elections, the Iraqi Joint Coordination Center had one hotline for Iraqis to use to call in a report problems. ?And it wasn?t used all that much,? the chairman said.

Today, the JCC has five hotlines and they need more. Mosulis are taking an active role against the terrorists.

The coalition and Iraqi security forces are working to apply pressure against insurgents all over the country. In the past, the coalition would confront insurgents in one place and the insurgents would simply move to another area. But with more Iraqi forces available for use, commanders are able to keep the pressure against insurgents up at all parts of the country.

?This will only increase as the number of Iraqi forces increase,? said coalition officials in Baghdad. ?But we have to remember, the enemy will flow to the weakest area.?

It is not just force that pays dividends for coalition and Iraqi forces. The coalition has hired Iraqis to rebuild the neglected infrastructure. In Sadr City, many residents are getting dependable electricity, clear water, sewers and garbage disposal for the first time in their lives. That has cut the number of incidents in the area substantially, officials said.

The same scenario is playing out in other areas of Iraq, such as Fallujah and Mosul and Samarra with, officials hope, the same results.

Officials in the Pentagon and in Baghdad caution that the number of attacks ebbs and flows and the number may increase. They also caution that the Iraqi National Assembly has to name a president, deputy presidents and prime minister and begin the serious work of governing the country and writing a new constitution soon.

But in the meantime, all the trend lines in Iraq are rising, with the exception of attacks.

------------

This is great news. Yes there are attacks in Iraq almost daily, but they are at the lowest level in a year.

More good news.

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: BBond
More good news from "The New Iraq"?.

Nice work.

IRAQ: Compensation for Fallujah residents slow - locals

04 Apr 2005 16:36:14 GMT
Source: IRIN

FALLUJAH, 4 April (IRIN) - Compensation for residents of Fallujah city, some 60 km from the Iraqi capital, is happening at a slow pace, local people say.

Government studies suggest that 70 percent of buildings were destroyed in the city during the last conflict between US troops and insurgents.

This left thousands of families still encamped on the outskirts of the city, waiting for a government solution to their problem.

Two-thirds of the city's population is said to have fled when the fighting started between November 2004 and January 2005. Based on studies, each family will receive a sum of money, depending on the damage and size of their property.

"I cannot return to my home because it has been totally devastated and the government told me that I have to be patient and wait for my name to come up on the list for compensation. But it is going very slowly and my family need a roof over their heads," Kareem Aydan, a resident from Fallujah, camped on the outskirts of the city, told IRIN.

Muhammad Abdul al-A'ani, deputy minister for industry, told IRIN that of the total number of houses damaged in the city, only 90 families had received compensation of around US $1,500 each so far.

He added that $100 million from the Iraqi Relief and Reconstruction Funds (IRRF) had been set aside by the government to compensate and help families to return to their homes.

"We have found that $500 million is required for total compensation in the city but the US [-led] Coalition has just offered us $100 million so far, but they have promised that soon the rest will come into our hands," al-A'ani added.

Doctor Hafid al-Dulaimi, director of the Commission for the Compensation of Fallujah Citizens (CCFC), established by the government, told IRIN that a study had been carried to assess the scale of destruction. He reported 36,000 destroyed homes in all districts of Fallujah, along with 8,400 shops.

Al-Dulaimi pointed out that 60 children's nurseries, primary and secondary schools and colleges were destroyed and 65 mosques and religious sanctuaries were almost demolished by the attack, with 13 government buildings requiring new infrastructure.

"Most of the houses need to be rebuilt from scratch and the government should offer much more for families to enable them to return to their homes and [go back] to what it was like before the conflict started. Some shops have even disappeared and we hope that they stop discussing who will take the new government seats and remember that they have a lot to do here in Fallujah," al-Dulaimi urged.

However, there are some signs of normality returning to the stricken city, as basic facilities such as water pipes and sewage treatment plants are being repaired. Damaged schools are being renovated and new ones are being built by either the Coalition or the government.

According to Ahmed Salah, a senior officer from the public works ministry, two electricity substations, three water purification plants and two train stations were badly damaged, along with the sewage and surface water drainage subsystems throughout the city.

He explained that they were trying hard to meet basic needs. "Families in the city can find potable water in each corner of the city in tanks and through that we can guarantee healthy water until we have finished all our work and we believe that it won't take too long," Salah added.

A retired father of five, Abu Youssef received $1,500, but he said he needs five times more to repair his house and bring back everything they have had before inside it.

"Thank God I have received something. There are thousands of families that are still waiting for the compensation. But still, this amount of money is not enough to rebuild my house again," he told IRIN.

The Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said that people in Fallujah had at least started to receive their monthly ration parcels, including those still camped in areas around the city.

Nearly 90,000 people had returned to the city, with another 200,000 families still waiting to enter, according to Lt. Gen. John Satler, a senior officer in the US Marines.

"Some families have started to be compensated and hospitals and schools have started to be opened. Soon Fallujah will be open to the people [in a] much better [condition] than before," Satler told IRIN.

Freedom is bringing the money in next week.

 

[conjur]

.

 

[raildogg]

President-Elect Promises to Restore Security in Iraq

President-Elect Promises to Restore Security in Iraq
By Anadolu News Agency (aa)
Published: Wednesday 06, 2005
zaman.com

Jalal Talabani, who was elected as the interim President of Iraq earlier today, has said that he will restore security in Iraq.

The newly elected President has also asked for help from neighboring countries to contribute to their efforts in fighting foreign militants trying to inflitrate Iraq. "Our people are patient but their patience has a limit," he added.

Born in 1933, Talabani studied law. After the differences of opinion with Mustafa Barzani, the leader of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the 1960s, he quit this party and formed the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in 1975.

The first Kurdish leader elected as President, Talabani will take the oath tomorrow (April 7).

In Iraqi national elections held on January 30, Kurds won 75 seats from the 275-seat parliament. For weeks following the elections, work has continued to establish the new government.

The Iraqi National Assembly is expected to prepare the Constitution by August 15 and present it to a referendum and there are plans for a general election in December to bring a permanent government into power to the rule the country.



I wish him the best of luck.

------------------

Myers: Troops in Iraq, Afghanistan Doing Well

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

PORTSMOUTH, Virginia, April 5, 2005 ? Though he got only a few minutes to chat with them during his recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said ?the troops are doing well.?

The Joint Chiefs chairman provided this assessment to reporters after his keynote address to defense industry representatives here today at the Joint Force Command/National Defense Industrial Association Industry Days 2005.

?It never fails, when you go to Iraq or Afghanistan (or the) Horn of Africa, that the troops know exactly what it?s about,? Myers said. ?They understand the importance of the mission and I?d say morale was extremely high. It has been from the start.?

Myers said issues remain in carrying out the mission, such as how the forces are structured in the 21st century. One element that needs addressing is rebalancing the reserve component-active force mix. Myers said the balance as it is right now hampers force agility and flexibility.

That and other issues will be addressed during the upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review, he said.

The Army is doing a terrific job, the chairman said. ?They are, of all the services, the one that is probably the busiest,? Myers said, referencing deployment tempo. ?They are also involved in transforming themselves.?

He noted the service is transforming to a modular concept. With a modular force, Myers pointed out, commanders can pick and choose the building blocks desired to come up with the most effective combat unit for the job.

?They decided the basic unit of combat will be the brigade,? Myers said.

With this decision comes the increase in the number of brigades from 33 to 43 with very little increase in end-strength. Some of those new brigades are already on-line and serving in Iraq.

This kind of action is truly transformation, he said.

?Don?t think of transformation as a new ship or plane or tank. That?s not what it is,? he said. ?It?s how do we organize ourselves ? lead ourselves? What?s our doctrine?

?This is a big deal. And they?ve done it very well,? the general said.

Myers said there are a myriad of reasons why people to join the military.

?I?m convinced that clearly one of the reasons people want to join now is that they understand that this nation is at risk right now. The stakes are very high and they want to do their part,? the chairman said. ?In many respects, this is the next ?Greatest Generation.??

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: raildogg
Guess some people believe in only news that fit their agenda.

If you have an agenda, then, for the third time, create YOUR OWN THREAD.

This thread is one *I* created to show the continuing chaos in Iraq and that Bush is full of sh*t in saying America and the world are safer with Saddam behind bars. I don't like hypocrisy and I will expose it.

Now, for the last time, ah heck off.

<ahem>

Per your agreement via PM.

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: raildogg
Guess some people believe in only news that fit their agenda.

If you have an agenda, then, for the third time, create YOUR OWN THREAD.

This thread is one *I* created to show the continuing chaos in Iraq and that Bush is full of sh*t in saying America and the world are safer with Saddam behind bars. I don't like hypocrisy and I will expose it.

Now, for the last time, ah heck off.

<ahem>

Per your agreement via PM.

ok, I understand.

But I have a condition.

Please rename the thread to "only bad news about Iraq thread" so you'll be more specific. By the way, I'm only posting news and facts about Iraq, not much different from what you're posting.

<ahem>

There was no agreement, I simply requested you to rename the thread so it'll be a bit more specific.

 

[conjur]

And I explained the thread title says all it needs to say.

Now, again, I'm asking politely. STOP.

 

[conjur]

US soldier killed in Baghdad ambush
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1339610.htm

A US soldier was killed when insurgents ambushed a patrol in Baghdad with a roadside bomb and small arms fire early Wednesday, the US military said in a statement.

"A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed when his patrol hit an improvised explosive device and took small arms fire from anti-Iraqi forces," the statement read.

Large Blast Hits Bus Carrying Iraqi Soldiers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28309-2005Apr5.html

TALL AFAR, Iraq, April 5 -- A huge bomb exploded near a bus filled with Iraqi soldiers returning from leave Tuesday, killing at least three and wounding at least 44 in an attack that showed how even a payroll issue in Iraq can turn deadly.

The Iraqi soldiers were en route to a U.S. base here from the city of Sinjar, where they had dropped off their monthly pay. Because Iraq's banking system cannot accommodate direct deposits, recruits are given a week's leave each month to carry their money home -- a system that has created chronic security problems and hampered the U.S. military's efforts to develop Iraq's new army.

The bus, carrying nearly 50 soldiers, was surrounded by several trucks mounted with guns to fend off an attack by insurgents. But as the bus neared a checkpoint in the late afternoon on the west side of Tall Afar, a violent city of about 250,000 near the Syrian border, the bomb exploded close to its left side.

"I think knew that this was our day to come back," said Capt. Ismail Simmo, who said he was riding in one of the gun trucks when the bomb exploded. "We thought we were safe."

Thought they were safe? Yeah...with Saddam behind bars I can see why.

 

[fornax]

Bad day today: 16-18 killed in Afghanistan (helicopter crash), and eight soldiers killed in Iraq.

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: fornax
Bad day today: 16-18 killed in Afghanistan (helicopter crash), and eight soldiers killed in Iraq.

Man, how many have to die...

 

[raildogg]

Originally posted by: Darkhawk28

Originally posted by: fornax
Bad day today: 16-18 killed in Afghanistan (helicopter crash), and eight soldiers killed in Iraq.

Man, how many have to die...

Are you against the war in Afghanistan too?

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: raildogg

Originally posted by: Darkhawk28

Originally posted by: fornax
Bad day today: 16-18 killed in Afghanistan (helicopter crash), and eight soldiers killed in Iraq.

Man, how many have to die...

Are you against the war in Afghanistan too?

Actually, I wasn't... until it was used as a leaping off point to go into Iraq.

 

[MCWAR]

Originally posted by: CONJUR
Quote:
This thread is one *I* created to show the continuing chaos in Iraq and that Bush is full of sh*t in saying America and the world are safer with Saddam behind bars. I don't like hypocrisy and I will expose it.

Now, for the last time, ah heck off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damn! Last time I checked this was a political discussions forum. I guess free speech is only for the left and the anti-American.

Good job RAILDOG, dont let that whiner, I mean lefty tell you where you can and cant post. Watch out though, he might come up with one of his clever one liners like "asshat" or somthing.

You can look up old news storys and reports and find the same "its the end of the world" from during the time we were rebuilding Japan and Germany. War is horrible. Its just a fact of life that there will always be insurgents and liberals to try and derail any hope for victory and peace.

 

[Grabo]

Did any of you ever read anything this person posted? (gary brecher)
http://www.exile.ru/2004-November-13/war_nerd.html

And no, he doesn't seem to be a liberal, either. Just a very freaky man.

 

[conjur]

I've seen exile.ru before. Seems a bit whacky.

Dahr Jamail, otoh:

http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/archives/interviews/000229.php#more

ER-MEANWHILE, ONE of the things missing from the U.S. media is reporting on the increasingly frequent bombing of Iraq by the U.S.

DJ-THAT?S A very important point. It definitely is one of the most underreported things in Iraq. Daily, there are many, many air missions being flown, and huge amounts of bombs being dropped. In fact, the vast majority of Iraqi civilians killed have died as a result of U.S. warplanes dropping bombs.

For example, in Falluja, it?s pretty safe to say that a large percentage of the estimated 3,000 people killed there were killed by U.S. warplanes. I can?t tell you how many reports I heard from refugees discussing how entire houses, entire blocks of houses, were bombed to the ground by U.S. warplanes. Even to this day, bodies lay under the rubble of houses because of this.

This is without a doubt the leading cause of the civilian casualties. They think that they?re bombing fighters, and they think that by doing this, they?re sending a message that if you continue to resist the occupation, you will be bombed, and anyone around you will be bombed.

It?s a form of collective punishment, and it is definitely intended to send a clear message that if you mess with the U.S. military, you and anyone around you is going to be blown out of existence. More often than not, it?s the case that when these bombs drop, it?s civilians who are caught in them, not the fighters.

For example, several people reported to me that the way the U.S. military was getting its intelligence on where to bomb in Falluja prior to the siege of the city in November was that any Iraqi could literally go up to the U.S. base outside of Falluja and say, ?Yes, in this house, there?s a fighter.? They were paid between $100 and $500, and then that house was bombed. So this was a method that many people used to settle old scores and make some cash.

On the flip side, of course, sometimes, they were right. Sometimes, there were fighters there, and they would be killed. But more often than not, as you can imagine, that wasn?t the case.

And there's this:
USS Carl Vinson F/A-18s Strike Insurgents in Iraq
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=17818

ABOARD USS CARL VINSON, At sea (NNS) -- Strike fighter aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, flying from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the Persian Gulf, attacked an enemy insurgent location east of Baghdad, Iraq, April 4.

F/A-18 Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 154 and 147 dropped two 500-pound laser-guided bombs, striking the enemy position in support of Iraqi and coalition forces."

Shock and awe wasn't enough?

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: conjur
I've seen exile.ru before. Seems a bit whacky.

Dahr Jamail, otoh:

http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/archives/interviews/000229.php#more

ER-MEANWHILE, ONE of the things missing from the U.S. media is reporting on the increasingly frequent bombing of Iraq by the U.S.

DJ-THAT?S A very important point. It definitely is one of the most underreported things in Iraq. Daily, there are many, many air missions being flown, and huge amounts of bombs being dropped. In fact, the vast majority of Iraqi civilians killed have died as a result of U.S. warplanes dropping bombs.

For example, in Falluja, it?s pretty safe to say that a large percentage of the estimated 3,000 people killed there were killed by U.S. warplanes. I can?t tell you how many reports I heard from refugees discussing how entire houses, entire blocks of houses, were bombed to the ground by U.S. warplanes. Even to this day, bodies lay under the rubble of houses because of this.

This is without a doubt the leading cause of the civilian casualties. They think that they?re bombing fighters, and they think that by doing this, they?re sending a message that if you continue to resist the occupation, you will be bombed, and anyone around you will be bombed.

It?s a form of collective punishment, and it is definitely intended to send a clear message that if you mess with the U.S. military, you and anyone around you is going to be blown out of existence. More often than not, it?s the case that when these bombs drop, it?s civilians who are caught in them, not the fighters.

For example, several people reported to me that the way the U.S. military was getting its intelligence on where to bomb in Falluja prior to the siege of the city in November was that any Iraqi could literally go up to the U.S. base outside of Falluja and say, ?Yes, in this house, there?s a fighter.? They were paid between $100 and $500, and then that house was bombed. So this was a method that many people used to settle old scores and make some cash.

On the flip side, of course, sometimes, they were right. Sometimes, there were fighters there, and they would be killed. But more often than not, as you can imagine, that wasn?t the case.

And there's this:
USS Carl Vinson F/A-18s Strike Insurgents in Iraq
http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=17818

ABOARD USS CARL VINSON, At sea (NNS) -- Strike fighter aircraft from Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, flying from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the Persian Gulf, attacked an enemy insurgent location east of Baghdad, Iraq, April 4.

F/A-18 Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 154 and 147 dropped two 500-pound laser-guided bombs, striking the enemy position in support of Iraqi and coalition forces."

Shock and awe wasn't enough?

So how many innocent men, women and children were blown to pieces just to get a few "insurgents"?

 

[conjur]

Collateral damage? Doesn't matter. Ends justify the means. Which means civil war is also ok.


US fears civil war in Kirkuk
American officers have warned that giving all senior positions to the Kurds in Kirkuk would lead to rioting by the Arab and Turkomen communities.
http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/317774.asp

April 7? The US military has warned that ethnic tension in the oil rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk has reached flashpoint, according to a report carried by the Knight Ridder news agency.

The report cited US officers as saying that while attention was being focused on the formation of the central Iraqi government Kirkuk was becoming a powder keg.

Speaking to the agency Colonel Anthony Wickham said that in the post election period Kurds had seized all senior positions in this region and that Arabs and Turkomens were arming and could stage an uprising.

?The worst scenario is a civil war,? Wickham said, adding that this would damage the stability of all Iraq.

The agency also reported that Kurdish migration to the city was continuing at full scale, adding that after some Kurdish police were killed in an attack last month two Turkomen street salesmen had been badly tortured in the town.

 

[conjur]

Evolution in Iraq's insurgency
Attacks on US troops are down 22 percent since January, but some are more sophisticated.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0407/p06s01-woiq.html

BAGHDAD ? After the lowest monthly US casualties in a year, insurgents have come back this week with widespread strikes, killing several Americans and pulling off a sophisticated attack on Abu Ghraib that showed an evolution in planning and tactics.

Attacks on US forces have dropped 22 percent since the Jan. 30 election, to about 40 a day, about the rate they were a year ago. In March, 36 US troops were killed, the lowest figure in a year, according to icasualties.org, which tracks casualties announced by the government.

But this week, four soldiers and a marine were killed - and Saturday's well-organized attack on Abu Ghraib prison, in which 40 US troops and 12 prisoners were injured, suggests that fighters may be shifting to fewer but better executed operations, including ones that directly engage US forces.

Iraq's political process will have more impact on the strength of the insurgency than any military operation. That effort got a boost Wednesday when the national assembly voted Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani president. That step enables the rest of the government to be formed, a process that could take up to six weeks but is expected to be finished in the next week or so.

Despite excitement over the naming of the president, the rest of the government will have to be named quickly and produce tangible improvement in daily life if it is to erode support for the insurgency.

"Counterinsurgency is about governance," said Col. Thomas X. Hammes, an insurgency expert at the National Defense University in Washington. "You have to prove to the people you can govern them fairly and effectively - then they will tell you who the bad guys are."

Still, the insurgency's trends indicate that even at an average pace, the tough guerrilla warfare seen today is likely to continue for many years. "Don't expect solutions now. We're two years into this," Hammes says. "We're at the top of the third inning and this is a nine-inning game."

Iraqi targets

During the past few months, attacks on Iraqi forces and civilians have increased, the US military says, although they don't keep exact figures.

The trend is something Iraqi special forces soldier Ali Jabbar al-Aibi has observed from behind his truck-mounted machine gun. During his frequent nighttime operations, he is attacked almost every time.

The sense that insurgents are increasingly targeting him and his colleagues was confirmed to Mr. Aibi and his team of soldiers two weeks ago when they found a fatwa issued by a radical cleric during a raid in Samarra. It ordered jihad on Iraqi forces instead of American troops because the Iraqis are easier to attack.

Despite the increased dangers to Iraqis, the election has inspired more people to come forward with information about insurgents, says Aibi.

Those tips are prompting raids that are yielding insights on the state of the insurgents. Iraqi troops, for example, are finding fewer large weapons caches, something Aibi takes as a sign that the fighters are having supply problems.

"There's no comparison between before and now," he says, noting that they used to find stacks of dynamite, rockets, large machine guns, and mortars. "You couldn't believe it. A room this size full of weapons.... Now it's different."

Telltale signs

Overall, analysts point to what seems like a classic insurgency, one that is expected to increase in sophistication by learning from past mistakes and less capable fighters are killed off.

American forces have been responding like a typical conventional force, slowly recognizing the insurgency and gradually bringing in leaders and drawing up plans that can deal with it effectively.

All that usually takes about 10 years to end the fighting, according to Hammes.

British occupying forces in Malaysia, for example, only began gaining control over the insurgency in the late 1940s and early 1950s at the two-year mark, he says.

Iraqi authorities are using unconventional tactics as well. One of the most effective efforts so far on that front has turned out to be insurgent TV.

Interviews with captured insurgents are televised every night at 9 p.m. on state television and has become wildly popular since beginning about three months ago. Prisoners, often with visible bruises and cuts, sit behind a table and confess the gruesome details of their crimes. An anonymous offscreen military or police commander harangues them and lectures them about what jihad really means. One has even taken to reciting patriotic poetry he wrote himself.

Aibi says the show has made people more willing to report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods and help turn some against the insurgency.

"There is a huge difference because the people know who those guys really are. Before it was kind of a mystery. It also helps the ones that are close minded to rethink," he says.

The insurgents counter, however, with their own campaign of large, spectacular attacks. An insurgency doesn't expect to militarily defeat its larger, better-equipped foe, but rather make it so politically costly that they are forced to withdraw. A massive attack like the one in Abu Ghraib or the car bomb that killed more than 100 people in Hilla in February are effective in spreading fear in Iraq and a sense abroad that things are out of control.

A decrease in attacks on US forces, while touted as a victory by US officials, doesn't mean the insurgents aren't still reaching their goals. It's a frustrating dynamic for US officials.

"People see a spectacular attack and they think everything is going badly but that's not the case," said Lieut. Colonel Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the military in Iraq.

Another measure of the strength of the insurgency is how safe is it to be a Westerner on the street. Foreign women try to disguise themselves in Muslim head scarves, and foreign men grow beards. Walking the street isn't safe unless one blends in completely and foreigners cannot travel outside of Baghdad.

Even as Aibi revels in telling stories of big arrests he has made and how ferociously his fellow soldiers fight insurgents, he has to carry his uniform in a bag when he leaves his house so no one will know who he works for. His mother begs him to quit his job every day, he says, because she is afraid of the insurgents.

So, attacks on U.S. forces are down but they are up against Iraqi forces. Makes sense since the U.S. is beginning to put Iraqis in charge of more portions of the country's security. But, the insurgency is far from going away.

 

[Votingisanillusion]

<< Even as Aibi revels in telling stories of big arrests he has made and how ferociously his fellow soldiers fight insurgents, he has to carry his uniform in a bag when he leaves his house so no one will know who he works for. His mother begs him to quit his job every day, he says, because she is afraid of the insurgents. >>

Outside of the Green Zone, the resistance rules.
Nothing has changed.

 

[raildogg]

France confirms wish to help rebuild Iraq

Apr. 8, 2005 0:46
France confirms wish to help rebuild Iraq
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

France sent its congratulations to Iraq's new presidential council, sworn in on Thursday, and reiterated its wish to help rebuild the violence-racked country.

Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was chosen for the largely ceremonial job of president on Wednesday, while Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, and current interim President Ghazi al-Yawer, a Sunni Arab, were elected vice presidents. Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari was named interim prime minister, the most powerful post.

France offered its "wishes of success," and reiterated its "determination to help the Iraqi people and work with their representatives," the Foreign Ministry said. Paris also confirmed its wish to contribute to rebuilding Iraq, on the European level and nationally, the statement said.

The appointment of the council is an important step in Iraq's political transition, the statement said.

We need all the help we can get. Thanks France.


Iraq's new female politicians negotiate

raq's new female politicians negotiate


By Beth Potter
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Baghdad, Iraq, Apr. 7 (UPI) -- More than 90 percent of Iraq's newly elected female politicians wear headscarves, and at least half of them are covered in traditional head-to-toe black coverings called abayas.

Although many of the women's ideas match their conservative dress, others sound more progressive. Iraq's new women politicians met Thursday before the National Assembly, the country's parliament, convened to name the country's new prime minister.

Women want to be allowed to work, to travel and to enjoy personal freedom as long as those freedoms don't conflict with Islam, said Imam Khalil al-Sadi, leader of the women's organization Dialogue for Democracy, which ran on the winning United Iraqi Alliance list. Under Islamic rules, women must ask their husbands to be allowed to work and must be accompanied by a man when they travel.

"We don't object to students at the university wearing dresses that show their legs," said al-Sadi, who wore a plain black scarf and abaya. "I follow Islam, but I don't want to have it in the government."

Iraq appears to be getting more conservative even as women as al-Sadi try to explain how they feel they have more rights. Female students at Basra University who did not cover their heads were beaten by conservative Islamists at a picnic a few weeks ago. Students protested the beatings, but some politicians in the oil-rich southern city said the action was justified because the picnic took place during a holy period on the Muslim calendar.

New Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari is considered to be a conservative Muslim who says he respects women's rights but also says Islamic rules must govern Iraq society.

"Women under Islam are not women under the Taliban (the ultra-conservative Islamists who ruled in Afghanistan)," said another new female Assembly member, a 35-year-old who declined to be named. "We are working through Islam."

Women make up 30 percent of the new National Assembly. Iraqi women lobbied U.S. authorities who governed the country before sovereignty was handed back to Iraqis in June 2004. That means women in Iraq wield about the same clout, if they work together as a bloc, as the Kurdish group of politicians do. The Kurds just negotiated Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani's presidency.

Talabani is joined by a Shiite Muslim and a Sunni Muslim as vice presidents. No woman has been named to a post in the new government so far.

"We are fighting for eight ministerial positions," al-Sadi said. "The new government respects people's viewpoints."

Ala Noori Fakharadeen, 36, a new Kurdish assembly member educated in Sweden, said the new women politicians are eager to learn. At the same time, however, most have little training either in the work world or as politicians, she said.

"We are not talking about sensitive issues now, just about basic rights," Fakharadeen said. "We need to tackle the basic issues first."

At the same time, new Assembly members expect to address a variety of issues in coming weeks. Some Kurdish Assembly leaders want to move from their cities Arabs who were sent there under former president Saddam Hussein, said Furhat Awni, a new Kurdish Assembly member.

We're trying to remove what Saddam did," Awni said. "We need to bring back rights to those who were deported by force."

Already, an estimated 40,000 or more people live in and around a soccer stadium in the northern ethnically mixed Kirkuk, after they were pushed out of their houses, allegedly by returning Kurds.

Now that Jaafari has been named prime minister, he has two weeks to choose his Cabinet, leaders said Thursday. The Assembly is not expected to meet again until Sunday amid calls for the newly elected leaders to move more quickly to fix the country's poor infrastructure and jump-start the ailing economy.

Leaders are still negotiating on key positions, including who will be oil minister, defense minister and interior minister, said Juwad al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Alliance. Along with writing a new constitution, the new government also will focus on trying Saddam Hussein and others in jail.

Women's rights must improve and I hope al-Jaafari realizes that. Progress is being made and having more and more women joining the Iraqi government is a great thing.

 

[cwjerome]

WHAT! You mean to tell me that through an occupation, transition, and formation of a new nation there's been trouble afoot?? Sweet Jesus... that's a shocker! And for a second I thought everything was supposed to be peaches and cream :roll:

Congratulations. As Iraq is slowly transformed, as the Middle East is slowly transformed, and as the world moves into a better condition, you will have succeeded in fully bitching and whining about every speck of possible "problem" every step of the way... just like you predecessors did during the 80s with Reagan's actions towards the Soviets. No wonder the Liberal hawks left the Dems. History is written with broad strokes, not with your petty contrivances. You're a one-way back-alley into despair, shamelessly nit-picking Bush and his actions solely for political points, but guess what? You lost this game a long time ago and didn't even realize it Take a hint from your ideological ally: MoveOn baby!

 

[kogase]

Originally posted by: cwjerome
WHAT! You mean to tell me that through an occupation, transition, and formation of a new nation there's been trouble afoot?? Sweet Jesus... that's a shocker! And for a second I thought everything was supposed to be peaches and cream :roll:

Well, that's what we were told it would be when this whole thing was getting started.

 

[Darkhawk28]

Originally posted by: kogase

Originally posted by: cwjerome
WHAT! You mean to tell me that through an occupation, transition, and formation of a new nation there's been trouble afoot?? Sweet Jesus... that's a shocker! And for a second I thought everything was supposed to be peaches and cream :roll:

Well, that's what we were told it would be when this whole thing was getting started.

Where are the flowers? What happened to being in and out within six months? Where are the WMD's?