Thread: Iraqi/Dinar News before 3-12-2007 7:45PM CentralTimeZone

Iraqi Women Strive To Rebuild Country Despite Obstacles
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Posted GMT 3-9-2007 15:26:25
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Washington -- Iraqi women have made great progress in recent years, but still face obstacles while working to achieve full equality, two Iraqi women activists said March 7.

Wide participation of women in the political process is something new for Iraqi society, said Sundus Abbas, executive director of the Women's Leadership Institute in Baghdad. Iraq. "For more than 35 years Iraqi women were absent from the decision making process," she told USINFO. "Now Iraqi women participate. In spite of this, there is suffering for Iraqi women."

Security problems, a difficult economic situation and the attitudes of some who seek to roll back women's rights and erase the achievements of women make the role Iraqi women more difficult, she said.

"Iraqi women are working hard in spite of all these difficulties, despite all that you have seen in the media," Abbas said.

She said women have the right to participate in the rebuilding of their country, a task too large for only men. "It is our country, and we are all the people rebuilding it," she said.

Shatha Abdul Razzak Abbousi, a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, agreed. Of the 275 council members, 80 are women. Although many of these female members are not the most vocal leaders and often do not speak to the press, they are very active in the council's committees, Abbousi told USINFO.

Iraqi women are working diligently to improve their economy, achieve peace and participate in civil society and other fields, the women said. "Iraqi women are fighting more then one front," Abbas said. Both Abbas and Abbousi have been active on many of these fronts. With the Women's Leadership Institute, Abbas has taught classes on decisionmaking, providing women with leadership skills that better empower them. Abbousi, who is a member of Iraq's Human Rights Committee, has helped introduce and pass human rights legislation.

Women are well qualified to participate in Iraqi society, Abbas said. "Not only in our houses. We can build, we can educate others; we can even make decisions in political and economic situations. ... We deserve as women to take our rights to participate in all decision making positions."

Abbas and Razzak Abbousi were two of 10 women receiving the Award for International Women of Courage from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It is the first time the award has been given.

In celebration of International Women's Day 2007, Rice paid tribute to these women for their commitment to advocating for women's rights. The Award for International Women of Courage recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership.

Both women said they felt their awards were not for them, but rather for all Iraqi women. These awards encourage them to work harder, the activists said.

Iraq and especially the women of Iraq still need the international community's help, Abbas said. "We still need the moral support from all the women of the world. We need them to support us in this difficult and critical time."

State Department

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Team opens sixth water plant
Friday, 09 March 2007
By Master Sgt. Dave Larsen
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs



Al Batha city Mayor Ali Faad Al Shershaab, and Lt. Col. Larry Herke, chief of staff for the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, cut the ribbon marking the official opening of a reverse osmosis water plant in Al Kuaam, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian D. Jesness.CAMP ADDER — Children, community leaders and Coalition Forces attended the opening of a reverse osmosis water-treatment plant in Al Kuaam, Iraq, a small rural farming village of 2,000 people on the south bank of the Euphrates River, Feb. 18.

"We all know how important clean water is to public health, agriculture, and economic development," said Lt. Col. Larry Herke, chief of staff for the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

"The water treatment plant is a great example of the Iraqi Government making progress to restore basic services to the people of Iraq," said Herke.

The water purified by the plant is available to passersby through free faucets on site and distributed throughout the village by water trucks for a fee.

To put this in context, consider conditions before the plant opened: water was delivered from a neighboring city at the price near $3 U.S. for 45 gallons. The average unskilled laborer in Al Kuaam earns about $30 a month. Most families have at least eight members.

At the Red Cross's minimum recommended one gallon per person per day, a typical family's 240-gallon monthly water debt would cost more than half their total budget. Unable to afford clean water, most families drew water from the local rivers. According to UNICEF, 2 million tons of raw sewage is released into Iraqi rivers each day.

Using contaminated water is one of the reasons 80 percent of all patients at the local hospital suffer from waterborne diseases.

"The plant is capable of providing 20,000 liters of water an hour," said Capt. Colin Fleming, deputy civil military operations officer.

The 20,000 liters of water an hour is more than enough water for Al Kuaam. The plant can now provide enough clean water for more than 150,000 people.

The construction of the plant employed more than 45 local contractors and engineers funded by Coalition Forces through the brigade combat team. Since unemployment in the area is a major cause of unrest, the workers and their family members are thankful for the jobs in addition to the safe water.

The event was attended by Italian officials from the Provincial Reconstruction Team and Australian soldiers of the Overwatch Battle Group West 2 Civil Military Cooperation team. The Australian team met with local officials to work towards their own reconstruction projects in Dhi Qar province. Al Kuaam is located 70 miles west of An Nasariyah, the capital of Dhi Qar province in southeast Iraq.

The Al Kuaam plant is the sixth of its kind opened during the deployment of the 1/34 BCT.

The Minnesota National Guard 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division includes soldiers from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, New Jersey, Georgia, and California plus several active-duty units.

Stations broadcast throughout Iraq
Friday, 09 March 2007
From Multi-National Division - North
Public Affairs Office

DIYALA — The Independent Radio and Television Network in Diyala is now transmitting broadcasts throughout the province, as well as to Baghdad, Fallujah, Tikrit, Al Kut, Balad and other areas throughout Iraq after three months of virtually no local media in the area.

The radio station broadcasts on 99.2 FM, while the television station broadcasts on UHF Channel 34. These stations will broadcast a mixture of popular music and TV programming, news, information and educational programming, and religious discussion.

One of the premier new shows, "Common Ground," will feature four Iraqi friends, two Sunni and two Shia, one of whom is a woman, talking about the world they share. They will discuss common and different customs, all within the context of living together in peace.

Additionally, the Balad Ruz and Khanaqin radio stations continue to transmit daily to their local populations, while an ongoing project is under way to restart the printing of the Al Parlaman newspaper.

"These changes represent positive steps toward ending the culture of fear and rumor that enables terrorists to intimidate the people," said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander and senior U.S. Army officer in Diyala.

The availability of these networks is important, as the government of Diyala and the Iraqi Security Forces are able to inform their people of efforts and progress in the province.

Governor Ra'ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tanimi, the Provincial Governor, said he will provide information and perspective to his people through interviews and statements to these stations. Media that focuses on Diyala is critical to a transparent and representative government and security force.

In the past two weeks, Ra'ad has conducted three media engagements discussing his plans for security and support to the region.

"These stations are important because they allow the people to see their government at work," added Sutherland. "The Provincial Council will be able to show the people of this province their work on various issues such as the Provincial Budget and reconstruction projects. These stations represent a tremendous source of news and information for the people of Diyala, and a way to end unwarranted hysteria."

Marines dispose of weapons, explosives
Friday, 09 March 2007
By Staff Sgt. T.G. Kessler
2nd Marine Division



Marines with the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Battalion Landing Team 2/4 are shown the proper way to prepare ordnance for disposal by explosive ordnance disposal Marines. EOD performs various functions for the battalion such as disposal of improvised explosive devices, weapons and post blast analysis. USMC photo by Staff Sgt. TG Kessler.CAMP ELLIS — Explosive Ordnance Disposal Marines attached to the California-based Battalion Landing Team 2nd Marines, 4th Marine Regiment have supported current operations in the Barwanah area by disposing of weapons and explosives found in caches throughout the area.

To date, EOD has disposed of more than 2,000-plus pounds of weapons and explosives since operations began here in late November.

According to Gunnery Sgt. Aaron M. Salyi, EOD chief from Combat Logistics Battalion 15 attached to BLT 2/4, the weeks in Barwanah have not slowed much since the beginning of operations.

Though the weapons caches have become smaller due to the efforts of Marines on sweeping operations, calls still come in on a daily basis keeping Salyi and his Marines busy.

Salyi explained, even though the caches being found are smaller, they are new. What this means for Marines working in the area is the amount of weapons and explosives that would be used by anti-Iraqi forces are being depleted.

“I’d say overall the weeks haven’t really slowed down for us. The quantity of calls we’ve done have declined, but we still go out nearly every day. Usually the stuff that we find is minimal now. But it is new, meaning it has recently been brought into this area,” said Salyi, a San Diego, native.

A typical cache usually consists of some type of ammunition, usually for an AK-47 assault rifle, the most commonly used weapon of AIF. Aside from ammunition, rifles and munitions such as mortar and artillery rounds are typically found, said Salyi.

Long range cordless phones are another item has been found in several of the caches throughout the area. These give insurgents the ability to detonate improvised explosive devices from remote locations, he said.

Though IEDs and weapons caches are common, the way the weapons are being employed has changed dramatically, Salyi said. Believing that the AIFs surplus of weapons are being used up, and with the IED builders being captured or leaving the area, many of the items being found recently have been imported into the region by new AIF personnel.

“This area has matured greatly in the planning and ability to employ IEDs. Now, they don’t have the ordnance left or the people to manufacture them. But what they are getting into this area of operations and what they are able to do has changed dramatically,” said Salyi.

“We have found IEDs that were wired to accept two form of initiation, electric blasting caps for pressure plate (IEDs) and a tail of detonating cord primed in to the nose, so they could use that in conjunction with a land mine to enhance the explosion. The part that makes this significant is that no one has seen those here before,” said Salyi.

The average size cache here, according to Staff Sgt. Daniel Thibeault, an EOD Marine with CLB-15 in support of BLT 2/4, is typically about 100 pounds of explosives or ordnance. The largest cache that he recalls destroying consisted of approximately 1,100 pounds.

“The biggest one we’ve (destroyed) was about 1,100 pounds which was located south (of here) and with the high explosive we put on it, it was about a 1,400 pound shot,” he said.

Having been on more than 80 calls, Thibeault explained, the first weeks were busy. But due to their arduous work, a sizeable dent has been made in the amount of weapons and explosives being found.

“We’ve done four or five missions in one day, but it just depends on the day (that dictates) how busy you are,” said Thibeault, a Lewiston, Maine, native. “I mean, whenever the phone rings we’re wondering ‘are we going or not.’”

The EOD carries an array of tools to ensure the job gets done right and done safely, explained Thibeault. Loaded down robots, explosives, a bomb suit and a sniper rifle, the team has several options on hand to deal with each situation as necessary.

For Thibeault, the job is relatively safe approximately 50 percent of the time. Most of the time when he and the rest of the team are called out, it is simply to destroy a cache of weapons. It’s not until the occasional IED is found the job becomes tricky.

“The scary part is when it comes to IEDs. I’m not going to lie. I don’t like going on the IED calls much. But as long as we get there and do a thorough search of our area, then it’s a relatively safe environment because anything we do to that IED is going to be done remotely,” said Thibeault.

BLT 2/4 is currently deployed to Iraq as part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit and has been operating in the Barwanah area since late November.



The end result of the work done by explosive ordnance disposal Marines attached to the California-based Battalion Landing Team 2/4. EOD performs various functions for the battalion such as disposal of improvised explosive devices, weapons and post blast analysis. USMC photo by Staff Sgt TG Kessler.

Petraeus: Security first step to rekindling hope in Baghdad
Friday, 09 March 2007

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commanding general of MNF-I, speaks about ongoing security operations and changes that are too come. Photo by Spc. Scott Kim, Combined Press Information Center.BAGHDAD — The commander of Multi-National Force-Iraq discussed his first month on the job at a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center in the International Zone here Thursday.
U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commanding general of MNF-I, provided an update and spoke about some impressions of his activities since assuming command in February.

“We are, in any event, still in the early days of this endeavor: an endeavor that will take months, not days or weeks, to fully implement, and one that will have to be sustained to achieve its desired effect,” said Petraeus.

One major event Petraeus commented on was Operation “Fardh Al-Qanoon,” an ongoing operation several weeks into its initial stages.

“Iraqi and Coalition forces are steadily building their strength to support the operation in Baghdad,” he said. “This buildup will continue throughout the spring, with all U.S. and Iraqi forces dedicated to the mission in place by early June.”

The buildup of military strength wasn’t the only effort made in support of Operation Fardh Al-Qanoon.

“A complimentary effort will be carried out on the civilian side in the form of a joint Department of State/Department of Defense initiative to double the number of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Iraq from 10 to 20,” said Petraeus. “These PRTs will draw on civilian and military expertise to help Iraqis build capacity in the provinces and support local initiatives.”

Petraeus also pointed out a few encouraging signs of the operation in progress.

“While it is too early to discern significant trends, there has been a few encouraging signs,” he said. “Sectarian killings have been lower in Baghdad over the past several weeks, and there also appears to have been less sectarian displacement in the past month.

“In fact, some families have returned to the neighborhoods from which they were displaced, although in small numbers so far,” he said.

Petraeus also pointed out the amount of extremists and weapons caches intercepted last month.

“Iraqi and Coalition forces have uncovered stockpiles of explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) in Diyala province and in Baghdad with 96 weapons caches found in the Multi-National Division-Baghdad area alone in the past two weeks,” he said. “Additionally, two major car bomb factories have been destroyed on the outskirts of Baghdad.

“Hundreds of extremists have captured or killed, including some mid-level members of al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists groups, and we have destroyed several trucks equipped with heavy machine guns used for engaging our aircraft,” he continued, listing feats accomplished in the past few weeks.

Petraeus also spoke of improvement in areas beyond Baghdad and a breakthrough in moving forward in legislation.

“A number of tribes in the al-Anbar province have in recent months finally said, ‘enough,’ and begun to link arms against extremist operatives,” Petraeus said.

“Meanwhile, Iraqi leaders have moved forward on the draft National Hydrocarbon Law, which treats Iraq’s petroleum revenues as a national asset to be shared equitably among Iraq’s provinces and regions,” he said. “The government of Iraq has made several budgetary advances as well.”

Petraeus also commented on the recent attacks on schools, health clinics, and marketplaces.

“Coalition and Iraqi Soldiers and Police have had some tough days, [but] will work together to reduce [the number of extremists and attacks] in the months ahead, recognizing some sensational attacks inevitably will continue to take place,” he said.

“We [the Coalition] and our Iraqi partners recognize that improving security for the Iraqi people is the first step in rekindling hope,” he added. “As citizens feel safer, conditions will be set for the resumption and improvement of basic services.”

“If we can do this, and I believe we can, then the Iraqi government will have the chance it needs to resolve some of the difficult issues it faces,” Petraeus said. “The people of Iraq will finally enjoy what they so richly deserve after years of hardship: a just government who truly serves all Iraqis.”

(Story by Spc. Carl N. Hudson, Combined Press Information Center.)

Iraq: Hopes High For Baghdad Security Conference

Nuri al-Maliki (file photo)
(epa)
March 8, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says he hopes an international conference hosted by Baghdad will help build a regional consensus on how to end violence in his country.


The Baghdad security conference starts on March 10 and will include representatives from neighboring countries as well as the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

"This conference will be the basis for the regional dialogue that we hope will lead to international and regional accordance and reconciliation, and to the support of the Iraqi government," al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki's stress on the need for regional dialogue is shared by many of Iraq’s neighbors -- including Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Meanwhile, the U.S. alleges that Iran is interfering in Iraq, and that Syria is failing to stop cross-border activities which fuel the conflict.

Iraq's Neighbors Concerned

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said it worries that violence in Iraq could escalate into a sustained sectarian-based conflict.

If so, the Sunni-Shi’ite confrontations in Iraq could spill across the border into the Saudi kingdom -- an officially Sunni state with a Shi’ite minority in its oil-rich eastern region.

That is one reason Saudi officials stressed during recent talks with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad that both Saudi Arabia and Iran see sectarian strife as the biggest threat to Muslims.

The Saudis and Iran have both vowed to fight that threat. Saudi Arabia and many other Arab states support Iraq’s Sunnis -- at least morally and, according to some reports, financially. So, the Saudis will watch what commitments Tehran is ready to make in Baghdad to help rein in Iraqi Shi’ite militias.

Iran is officially a Shi’ite state. According to Washington and Britain, Tehran also provides military expertise, weapons, and financial support to Iraq's Shi'ite militia.

Officials in Turkey are concerned that escalating civil strife could weaken Iraq's central government and, if uncontained, even lead to the breakup of the country.

In the short-term, that raises concerns in Ankara of the Kurdish-administered area of northern Iraq being transformed into an independent state on Turkey's eastern border.

Ankara fears that a neighboring Kurdish state would increase demands by Turkey's own Kurdish minority for autonomy. Kurdish separatists have been fighting a low-level guerilla war in southeastern Turkey for decades.

Russia Blames Washington

Russia, too, is watching Iraq with concern. Moscow blames Washington for trying to impose what the Kremlin calls a "unipolar order" on the world. Speaking last month in Munich, Russian President Vladimir Putin said violence in Iraq is a symptom of U.S. unilateralism.

Vladimir Putin (file photo)"Everything that is going on this world today is a consequence of attempts to implement a unipolar concept of the world," Putin said. "And what is the result of that? Unilateral, often illegitimate actions have not resolved one single problem. On the contrary, they have caused new human tragedies and more tension. You can judge for yourself: the number of wars, local or regional conflicts has not decreased. And more people -- significantly more people -- are dying in such conflicts now.”

Analysts say Moscow may see the Baghdad conference as a chance to position itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran -- the two powers now at odds with each other over deteriorating security in Iraq.

In the past, Russia has sought without success to play a mediating role in the crisis over Iran's controversial nuclear program.

A prominent role as a mediator at the Baghdad conference would help Moscow roll back what Putin describes as Washington's "unipolar concept of the world.”

As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia also will have a representative at the Baghdad talks. So, too, will Britain and France.

British Withdrawal Plans

Britain is now preparing to withdraw 1,600 of some 7,000 troops from Iraq in the coming months.

With British troops deployed in Iraq's Shi’ite-majority south, London puts a premium on assurances that improved security that will allow that partial withdrawal to go forward. That makes any regional consensus that includes Iran a high priority to London.

France, which opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq without a UN mandate, says the Baghdad security conference offers both challenges and opportunities.

French President Jacques Chirac said in January that the 2003 invasion and its repercussions have destabilized the Middle East. He said the priority now, "more than ever," is to "return sovereignty to the Iraqis.”

In fact, that is a goal officially subscribed to all by all the participants in the Baghdad conference. How much each country does to make that goal a reality will be the most closely watched issue.

U.S. TO SEND IRAQ COORDINATOR, AMBASSADOR
The United States will be represented at the Iraq neighbors' meeting by State Department Special Coordinator on Iraq David Satterfield and outgoing U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, according to Western media reports. Satterfield told reporters on March 8 that Washington will not rebuff Iran and Syria at the conference if the two states wish to talk about Iraq, Reuters reported the same day. "If we are approached over orange juice by the Syrians or the Iranians to discuss an Iraq-related issue that is germane to this topic -- stable, secure, peaceful, democratic Iraq -- we are not going to turn and walk away," Satterfield said. He suggested what Washington expects from Iran and Syria, saying: "No arms crossing its border, no contributions to violence, whether that violence is directed against coalition forces or innocent Iraqis, a halt to...training for elements in Iraq who are engaged in fomenting or conducting acts of violence." KR

WHILE RUSSIA WILL DISPATCH AMBASSADOR
Russian Ambassador to Iraq Vladimir Chamov will represent his government at the March 10 Iraq neighbors' meeting in Baghdad, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on March 9, according to Interfax. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have been invited to attend the conference, along with Iraq's six neighbors and Egypt, and representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. KR

China reactivates talks to develop Iraq's al-Ahdab oil field


BEIJING, March 9, 2007 (AFP) - China and Iraq have restarted talks over the 1.3-billion-dollar contract to develop the al-Ahdab oil field that was signed between the two countries in 1997, state media reported Friday.

Chinese officials arrived in Baghdad on March 6 to hold talks with their Iraqi counterparts on the contract, the China Oilnews, a industry newspaper owned by China's leading oil firm China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) said, citing an official from Iraq's Oil Ministry.

In 1997, China negotiated the contract for the al-Ahdab oil field with then president Saddam Hussein and in 2001 it was in talks to develop the much larger Halfayah field.

But cooperation was then suspended due to continued violence and UN sanctions against Baghdad.

In late February, the Iraqi cabinet endorsed a draft oil law, aiming to distribute revenues from crude oil exports equitably across 18 provinces and to open the sector to foreign investors.

The law is a stepping stone to secure foreign investment in Iraq's oil reserves, the China Oilnews said.

Iraq's proven oil reserves, estimated at 115 billion barrels, are thought to be among the largest in the world behind Saudi Arabia.

str/ph/bmm

China-Iraq-energy-oil

(Voice of Iraq) - 09-03-2007

Source : Iraqi government requested the convening of the conference outside the Green Zone

Baghdad (March 9) and the agency (Lucky) Italian government source Anbaouaaln high ranking, that all States that have been invited to attend the Conference of the States Iraq's neighbors, to be held tomorrow, Saturday, in Baghdad, has announced its agreement to attend without exception. The source, who did not wish to mention his name, in a dialogue on the phone with (Lucky), "the representation of the presence of these countries will be through the involvement of agents of foreign ministers or high-level officials where they will be authorized, in their countries, the signing of the decisions taken by the Conference or any other issue, which covered the agenda will be one day, but "did not rule out" extended for another day if necessary. " He added that "the conference will be held at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is located outside the Green Zone, at the desire of a number of countries participating" The source said : "The arrival or imminent arrival of most of the participants, as well as the completion of all the technical preparations and the security required to ensure the protection of the region in coordination with the ministries of Interior and Defense, as well as the multinational force that will support these preparations, ground and air troops, "and explained that" the conference would discuss all means will contribute neighboring countries to help Iraq out of its current crisis, which threatens the future of the entire region in the event not to be addressed quickly, and this requires the convergence efforts of all parties ", and say" Iraq hopes that the presence of some of the conflicting parties, in issues accused Iraqi affair, the beginning of a solution to the problems of the bilateral parties, but will not interfere in this matter and leave it to these estimates States, which welcomed if enable the conference, putting them through, of bringing them, which is therefore in favor. ".It is noteworthy that the invitations attendance had been sent to all the neighboring countries of Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, as well as the States the five permanent members of the Security Council and the European Union, the Arab League and Organization of the Islamic Conference, Egypt and Bahrain as the current Chairman of the Arab Summit. It is well known that relations between the United States and each of Syria and Iran, suffered from differences in decades has renewed these differences, after Washington accusations directed to Damascus and Tehran, with the support of the rebellion and violence inside Iraq.

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...p%3Fid%3D47861

As with everything that happens in Iraq..be prepared for this meeting to be drug-out!

Cheers!
DayDream