Thread: Archive Latest News - Think Tank - 16/08/07 - 03/11/07

Originally Posted by Seaview

Interpol seeks Saddam's VP, daughter

BAGHDAD, Aug. 18 Executed Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's daughter and his former vice president have been placed on Interpol's wanted list.

Kuwait's KUNA news agency said Ezzat Al-Duri was named in an arrest warrant issued by the Iraqi government and was being sought by Interpol, an international law enforcement agency. The arrest alert was issued a day after a similar notice went out for Saddam's daughter, Raghad, who is wanted on terrorism charges.

Al-Duri was once Hussein's vice president and is now suspected of providing financial assistance to holdouts from the formerly ruling Baath Party. Baathists are suspected of playing a role in the ongoing Iraqi insurgency.

Al-Duri also took part in crushing revolts against Saddam in the Kurdish north in 1988 and 1991.

Interpol seeks Saddam's VP, daughter : World

I wonder why it has taken this long to go after this pair. Its not like we didn't know that they have been involved...

Originally Posted by TerryTate

I wonder why it has taken this long to go after this pair. Its not like we didn't know that they have been involved...

All part of the gradual, time consuming process in democratization Iraq is catching up with...(accused and charged with supporting documented proof) they may hide but they can't keep running for long....

General: 'Surge' to last into next year

U.S. reveals plan for Iraq force level

WASHINGTON - If the Bush administration does not change strategy, the U.S. troop "surge" in Iraq will continue until this time next year, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the second-highest-ranking commander in Iraq, said Friday.

As the White House and Congress gear up to renew the debate over U.S. strategy in Iraq next month, Odierno outlined current military plans, saying the first of the extra "surge" forces would begin returning home next April. The last of the units that are part of the buildup would leave Iraq in August 2008 as the U.S. force returns to its previous level of about 132,000.

Speaking by videoconference Friday to reporters at the Pentagon, Odierno favored sticking to that plan. But the administration and Congress will begin debate on the troop commitment next month when the top U.S. commander, Army Gen. David Petraeus, delivers his assessment.

Odierno favors extending the buildup as long as possible and then slowly reducing the size of the force. He said that approach "significantly reduces the risk" that U.S. and Iraqi forces would lose areas to militants after pulling out.

But the withdrawal of the five combat brigades that comprise the "surge" is based less on conditions in Iraq than on the simple unavailability of fresh troops. In April, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reluctantly extended troop deployments in Iraq from 12 to 15 months to maintain troop levels at 162,000. At the time, Gates said the extension of combat tours "upholds our commitment to decide when to begin any drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq solely based on conditions on the ground."

Since then, however, senior military leaders -- including Adm. Michael Mullen, incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- have acknowledged that the "surge" effectively will end in April because there are no fresh replacements. What Odierno provided Friday were new details on the rate of withdrawal, which many in Congress have urged be done more quickly and with deeper reductions.

Odierno's assessment was a preview of what Petraeus will deliver formally to the White House and to Congress on Sept. 10-11. It will be accompanied by an assessment of the political situation in Iraq by the U.S. ambassador, Ryan Crocker.

Senior U.S. officials have been careful not to rule out deeper cuts in U.S. force levels in Iraq next year.

While the U.S. military command does not intend to "backfill" or replace the departing troops, Odierno said, any further troop withdrawals will depend on local security conditions.

Citing those conditions and statistics on captured militants and insurgent attacks, Odierno said he was "cautiously optimistic" that U.S. forces were making gains. Roadside bomb attacks have declined for the past two months and attacks against civilians are at a six-month low, he said.

The general said U.S. forces had begun a series of military operations to target extremists through quickly executed raids designed to degrade their supply routes and destroy staging areas.

"Al Qaeda's forced to undertake its spectacular events in more remote parts of the country, rather than the capital," he said, "and we no longer see the cycle of sectarian revenge that plagued Iraq last year."

One operation against militants late Thursday and Friday led to a firefight at a Sunni mosque that left a U.S. soldier, 13 Iraqi gunmen and a young boy dead, the military reported in Baghdad. The town, Tarmiya, has become a vicious frontline in the U.S.-led campaign against alleged allies of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the military reported in Baghdad.

The clashes in Tarmiya, about 30 miles north of Baghdad, were sparked by an attack on a U.S. patrol from the roof of a mosque. Two gunmen firing from the roof killed one soldier and wounded another, triggering the exchange of gunfire, military officials said.

On the political front, Odierno urged the Iraqi government to take better advantage of the security improvements and suggested progress continued to lag.

"We understand that our recent tactical successes will only add up if Iraqis take advantage of them, and ultimately, the government of Iraq is the key to progress," Odierno said.

Throughout the American troop buildup, critics of the strategy have pointed out that the extra forces were supposed to give the Iraqi government time to make tough political compromises. But few of those deals are near completion.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/n...,6808017.story

Mortar shelling, kidnappings in Baghdad - raids in Baquba - Summary

Baghdad - A mortar shelling that left 12 dead and a kidnapping of 15 men at gunpoint were reported in Baghdad Sunday, while in Baquba at least 76 militants were reported killed. A massive joint raid by Iraqi and US army killed the 76 and arrested 58 more gunmen in the different areas of Baquba, capital of the northern Diyala province, during the early hours of Sunday.

Large quantities of arms and ammunition were seized, an Iraqi official told the independent Voices of Iraq news agency. A hideout where explosives and car bombs were made was also dismantled.

In Baghdad, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and 31 wounded in a mortar shelling near the Shiite enclave known as Sadr City, a hotbed of followers of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the Arab broadcaster al-Arabiya reported.

In central Baghdad, 15 gunmen were reported kidnapped from a bus. Police sources told Voices of Iraq that the bus was intercepted by ten masked men in Bab al-Muaazam district.

At the political level, five-way meetings among leaders including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki continued without the participation of Ayad Allawi's Iraqi National List, which has 25 seats in parliament.

The meetings, going on since last Tuesday, have so far produced a new "moderate" government coalition,but have seen continuing differences between different political blocs.

The coalition excluded the Sunnis, as well as radical Shiites and secular forces.

It was not clear whether the move could save al-Maliki's government which is under fire from Sunnis and members of the Sadr faction, who both had walked out of the government leaving it with mostly Kurds and Shiites.

Mortar shelling, kidnappings in Baghdad - raids in Baquba - Summary : Middle East World

Alawi Calls American Administration for Changing al-Maliki's Government

Washington Post news paper published an article for Iraqi former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi with the title “A Plan for Iraq”, calling the American administration to speedup in making changes in the Iraqi government presidency represented by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Alawi accused al-Maliki of hindering the modification of al-Baath eradication law and the promoting of sectarianism policy in the country.

He also said that the US is not responsible for the recent Iraqi crisis, and he pointed with the accusing fingers to the recent Iraqi government in particular.

His plan for saving Iraq includes the announcement of the emergency state, merging of militant elements in the governmental institutes, giving the UN and the Arab states a bigger role in the security dossier and reconstruction of the country and starting a gradual pull out of US forces in the next coming two years.

Alawi stated that the American recent strategy will not succeed in bringing stability to Iraq without changing the Iraqi government head.

PUKmedia :: English - Alawi Calls American Administration for Changing al-Maliki's Government

Iraq sets $300 million bid price in mobile licenses

Iraq has set $300 million as the starting price for three 15-year mobile licenses that five consortiums will bid for in Amman from Thursday, the communications minister said.

"The price will start from a certain level which is $300 million plus 18 percent revenue sharing," Communications Minister Mohammed Allawi told Reuters on Thursday ahead of the auction.

The 15-year licenses replace three short-term contracts awarded soon after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.The bidders include current operators Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Holdings (ORTE.CA), Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co MTC , and AsiaCell, said Siyamend Othman, head of the National Communications and Media Commission.

Depending on the offers, the bids will rise $50 million at each round with the minimum 18 percent revenue sharing set in the auction possibly rising, Allawi said.

Revenue sharing is currently 13 percent, he said.

Allawi said the winning bidders would be announced on Aug 20 in a two-day process.

Iraq was not considering more licenses beyond the existing three, he added.

"At the end of the day we want three companies...The winners could be newcomers or the same old ones or a combination of both," Allawi added.

The other two bidders are leading Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell (TCELL.IS) and Korek Telecom, which operates in Erbil, Othman told Reuters.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraq sets $300 million bid price in mobile licenses

Iraqi leaders meet in bid to end political paralysis
BAGHDAD -- UPDATE: Iraq's fractious leaders Sunday agreed on the agenda for a political summit called by embattled Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki in a bid to salvage his crumbling unity government.

The breakthrough came on the second day of preparatory talks involving the country's most senior political leaders, Vice-President Tareq Al Hashemi said in a statement.

"We reached agreement on a number of issues," the statement said. "The most important is the agenda for the summit, and who will attend the meeting."

Talks involving Maliki, Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Hashemi, who is a Sunni, Shiite Vice-President Adel Abdel Mehdi, and Masud Barzani, president of the northern Kurdish region, began Saturday and continued into Sunday, an official from Talabani's office said.

No date has yet been set for the summit, but the official said it would probably take place "in a couple of days."

He described the weekend talks as "preparatory" for the summit of political leaders across the spectrum, which was called by Maliki August 12 after a number of political blocs, including the main Sunni grouping, the National Concord Front, walked out of his unity cabinet.

The boycotts have left Maliki, a Shiite, with just 23 ministers in his 40-member cabinet, leading to delays in the passage of crucial laws aimed at rebuilding the country. </STRONG>

Iraq's political leaders held a second day of talks Sunday aimed at patching up the fractured unity government of Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki, who is under pressure from Washington to find an end to the political paralysis.

The meeting comes after Iraq's top Shiite and Kurdish leaders formed a new political alliance Thursday, but without rival Sunni leaders.

Talks involving Maliki, Kurdish President Jalal Talabani, Sunni Vice-President Tareq Al Hashemi, Shiite Vice-President Adel Abdel Mehdi, and Masud Barzani, president of the northern Kurdish region, began Saturday and were continuing Sunday, an official from Talabani's office said.

"Yesterday, the three-member presidency, the prime minister, and Mr. Masud Barzani held a meeting to look into ways of solving outstanding issues and to decide on the summit," he said, referring to a political summit proposed by Maliki at a date still to be specified.

"Today there are more meetings between the leaders. The summit will be held a couple of days later," the official said, describing the weekend talks as "preparatory."

Maliki's government has been debilitated by a decision August 1 of the main Sunni political bloc - the National Concord Front - to withdraw its ministers from the cabinet over a power-sharing dispute with Maliki's Shiite supporters.

The walkout means nearly half Maliki's cabinet has quit or is boycotting meetings, leading to delays in the passage of crucial legislative laws aimed at rebuilding the country.

Maliki is under growing pressure from Washington to end the infighting, concerned that it could torpedo efforts to reconcile the warring factions, and undermine the work of 155,000 American troops to end the conflict.

On Thursday, Talabani and Maliki announced the formation of an alliance grouping the Shiite Dawa party and Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, and the Kurdish factions of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and Kurdish Democratic Party (PDK).

But the National Concord Front, the main Sunni Arab political bloc in the country's 275-member parliament, slammed the new tie-up as a "futile" exercise.

US President George W. Bush Saturday expressed concern at lack of reconciliation in the Iraqi government, which is still deeply divided along sectarian lines.

"Americans can be encouraged by the progress and reconciliation that are taking place at the local level," Bush said in his weekly radio address.

However, he added, "political progress at the national level had not matched the pace of progress at the local level."

The top US military commander in the country, General David Petraeus, and US ambassador Ryan Crocker are scheduled to report to Congress by mid-September on whether efforts to halt sectarian violence and return Iraq to viable self-governance were bearing fruit.

The US government is hoping that before then, progress will be made on 18 benchmarks it has set for continued US support for the Iraqi government.

These include sustainable progress in national reconciliation, the passage of an oil revenue-sharing law, and a review of de-Baathification laws to allow former military officers to serve in the new army.

In a report submitted to Congress last month, the White House said satisfactory progress had been achieved only on eight of the 18 benchmarks.

An unfavorable report by Petraeus and Crocker would be leapt upon by Bush's Democratic opponents, who are demanding a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

The New York Times reported Saturday that, next month, Bush intended to announce plans for gradual troop reductions from Iraq - but at levels far short of those sought by his congressional critics.

Since the US-led invasion of March 2003, Iraq has plunged into an abyss of overlapping civil conflicts that have divided its rival religious and ethnic communities, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of its civilians.

Iraqi leaders meet in bid to end political paralysis - Region - Middle East Times

12 killed in Baghdad mortar attack
BAGHDAD -- At least 12 people were killed and 31 were wounded in an intensive mortar bombardment of an eastern Baghdad suburb Sunday, security and medical officials in Iraq said.

An interior ministry official said the attack came during heavy clashes in the mainly Shiite suburb of Obeidi between the US military and militiamen.

"Many mortars were fired. The area has been sealed off," the official said.

A security official said at least five mortar shells landed in the suburb, and that all those killed were civilians.

The Al Sadr ho****al in the sprawling Sadr City slum reported receiving 12 bodies and 18 wounded people, while the Ibn Nafees ho****al in central Baghdad said 13 wounded had been taken there for treatment.

In another incident, one person was killed and five wounded when a bomb hidden in a motorcycle exploded in the busy Shorjah market close to the city center, a security official said.

Shorjah is the oldest and largest market in the Iraqi capital.

Separately, one person was killed and three were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in central Baghdad's Mishin area, which is home to numerous tyre dealerships, a security official said.

The US military, meanwhile, said American-led forces killed three suspected militants and detained 21 others in a series of operations Sunday aimed at Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Two suspected militants were killed in a raid targeting the leader of an Al Qaeda in Iraq cell near the town of Muqdadiyah in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, a military statement said.

The two were gunned down by snipers when they refused to leave a building, and were perceived by US troops to be a "hostile threat," the statement said.

In the town of Tarmiyah, just north of the capital, US-led forces conducted an operation to "disrupt a foreign terrorist facilitation network that safeguards senior leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq," the statement said.

One man who had been rounded up during the operation "made threatening movements" and troops shot him in "self-defense," the statement said, adding that Iraqis on the scene identified him as a member of Al Qaeda in Iraq, which the US blames for much of the violence in the country.

Seven suspected militants were arrested during the operation, the statement said.

More suspected militants were arrested in a series of raids in other parts of Iraq, including in northern Salah Ad Din province, the US military said.

12 killed in Baghdad mortar attack - Region - Middle East Times

Istanbul hosts 40 Iraqi trainees banker

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Istanbul hosts 40 Iraqi trainees banker


يقيم . The Bank assesses the Iraqi Trade Bank is a government training course outside Iraq for staff of ministries and government bodies by the bank to open documentary credits and afford the full costs, including the session and travel and subsistence expenses of candidates for advanced cadres of ministries and state entities involved in opening documentary credits and contracts. . This trend comes from the Bank's approach to improving the functioning of the government cadres working and cope with global banking. And nearly forty candidates participated in the training session held yesterday, Sunday, in Istanbul for a week. Will the number of cadres universally specialized training and lectures to the participants. It is noteworthy that There are other courses to the candidates and State entities will be trained at a later date with reference to the Bank's approach to the building of such courses have received the support of the Committee for Economic Affairs of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Financ
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...hp%3Fid%3D5046

Meetings of the political blocs will release the crisis and the reactions of some natural

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Meetings of the political blocs will release the crisis and the reactions of some natural

بغداد/نينا Baghdad / Nina

. Deputy Kamal Sa'idi said that the meetings of the political blocs, the summit will contribute to the achievement of Five breakthrough in the political crisis. واضافمناسبة لها. He added : that there are political problems between the political blocs and governmental failure, the government will be discussed and arrive at appropriate solutions. . The Sa'idi : that the work program agreed by the leaders discussed in the meeting of the five political forces which will be held after the summit. . He continued : "There are certain issues in the law of accountability and justice, or dismissed as it is known from earlier quarters are covered Balajtthath and how to deal with them and other things in addition to the oil and gas law which there is agreement in principle, but there are some problems which are treated as participation. . The Sa'idi : that the points of disagreement is not deep, there is agreement on some issues and differences will be discussed to find solutions.
. And in relation to the counting of the member of the House Sheikh Jalal Al-Din small criticisms made by some political blocs about the four-party alliance questions naturally disappear at a later time. علن. He said : "These criticisms and reactions that have emanated from some political quarters is normal and we expect that these actors and parties is the Quadripartite Agreement something unknown and the confidentiality agreements outside that declares. . His subtitle : that the Quadripartite Agreement reassure all the political parties and we are satisfied that these concerns will disappear after it is up to the work of this Agreement. الامام . He pointed out : "These four forces that signed the agreement on mutual cooperation wanted to pay the political process forward. ة. The subtitle : The Committee of Five discussed in its meeting held existence of the opposition parties formed last four controversial issues and found that the opposition parties that this alliance will highlight a series of political reforms.
. He continued : "The Secretary-General of the Islamic Party Tariq Hashemi expressed great satisfaction stating : a meeting was held yesterday to the Council's political crystallize what has been agreed. . And some political parties expressed fears of the four-party alliance was formed which included four new parties in the political process, the President is the Supreme Council and the Al-Dawa Party and the Kurdish Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...hp%3Fid%3D5039