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

Zerdahal Village Enjoys state Electric Power

Zerdahal Village of Biyara sub-district is inhabited by more than 70 inhabitants .The village now enjoys state electric power after more than 10 years of depending on a 120 KV generator.

Regarding this Saaid Mohamed, director of Hallabja power office told Kurdistani Nwe: “The power has been provided to the village with cooperation between director of Biyara sub-district and the in charge of social affaires in Shahrazur area.

PUKmedia :: English - Zerdahal Village Enjoys state Electric Power

Iraq Rail Link Near Completion

With the completion of the Iran-Iraq railroad by March 2008, the Caspian Sea, Caucasian and Central Asian states will be connected to the Mediterranean Sea.

The first phase of the project, which extends 15 kilometers from Khorramshahr to Shalamcheh in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, is nearing completion, IRIBNews reported.

The second phase extending 35 kilometers from Shalamcheh to Basra in Iraq, will be completed in the next five months.

The most important sector of the second phase is the bridge over Arvandroud River which is being implemented by Iranian companies at a cost of $110 million.

The railroad will link Iran, Iraq and Syria making cargo transit possible between the Caspian and Mediterranean seas.

Iran’s consul general in Basra, Mohammad-Reza Nasser-Baghban, said the railroad project is a part of Iran’s one-billion dollar projects in Iraq.

He explained that once the railroad is constructed, Iraq can export goods to Pakistan and Central Asia.

The construction of railroad will also bolster the mutual ties, he concluded.

Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 09/25/07

Iraq Rail Link Near Completion

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Monday said the shooting deaths of Iraqi civilians — allegedly at the hands of Blackwater USA security guards — and other prior incidents involving the company pose "serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq" and cannot be accepted.

"The Iraqi government is responsible for its citizens and it cannot be accepted for a security company to carry out a killing," he said, speaking in his New York hotel suite ahead of his appearance at the UN General Assembly.

Noting that Blackwater has been linked to at least seven incidents involving gunfire on Iraqi civilians, he added "There are serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq." However, Mr Maliki left open the possibility that Iraq and the United States would work toward a solution to the problem of Blackwater.

"We have coordinated with the American side to establish a joint committee to ascertain the facts and hold accountable" those responsible, he said.

In the interview, Mr Maliki defended his government and spoke up for the rights of Iraqis to manage their own affairs.

He said that his country is making progress toward political reconciliation and that 2008 would be a year of reconciliation and reconstruction for Iraq.

The September 16 killing of at least 11 civilians near a square in central Baghdad has highlighted the practices of foreign security contractors.

The Asian Age - Enjoy the difference

Iraq ready for oilfield deals before new law

Iraq's oil ministry hopes to sign contracts with international firms before the year-end even if a new oil law governing the sector has not been passed by parliament, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said on Monday.

Shahristani told Reuters in an interview that the new contracts will be in line with rules and guidelines contained in the landmark draft oil law, which he said had been delayed by political infighting. "As a responsible ministry, we cannot keep waiting. There is no legislative vacuum. The current laws allows the oil ministry to negotiate with firms and to sign contracts," he said.


"We are going to commit ourselves to the draft (oil law) in signing contracts by having free competition and total transparency and announce contracts which achieve the best interests for Iraq." Iraq's cabinet first agreed a draft law for dividing up the world's third largest oil reserves in February, but disputes with the regional government in Kurdistan, as well as objections from some Shi'ite and Sunni Arab politicians, have hobbled its progress.

Major oil companies such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil have been positioning themselves to gain access to Iraq's prized oilfields, especially those in the south.

While the industry generally prefers long-term production sharing contracts to develop larger investments, the Iraqi oil minister signalled more restrictive service contracts may be the way forward. "We have explored fields whose reserves and production rates we know very well so ... this only needs service contracts," Shahristani said. "For super giants like northern and southern Rumaila and Zubair, we may only need service contracts," he added.
He said he hoped the tender process for developing oilfields could begin before the end of the year. "We have (also) formed a new office, which is called the office of oil contracts and licenses, and it has prepared contract models and a plan for developing fields," he said. Which fields will be listed in the first round and which in the second is under final review. We will begin the first round before the end of this year.

TODAY'S ZAMAN

Turkey concerned about developments in Kurdish northern Iraq

Turkish Land Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug said on Monday that Turkey was very concerned about the developments in northern Iraq's Kurdish region.

Speaking at the beginning of the 2007-2008 academic year at the Turkish Military Academy, Basbug said "it is a fact that the developments in north of Iraq has given political, legal, military and psychological strength to Kurds living in the region as they have never had or experienced before in the past."

"We must be careful about the developments in north of Iraq as these may give some of our citizens a feeling of belonging to that region," added Basbug.

He, meanwhile, expressed worries about the terrorist organization in the region, urging the United States to take action against the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

He underlined that the U.S. must understand that the presence of the PKK in northern Iraq is a serious threat to Turkey.

The general also highlighted the importance of Turkey's help in stabilizing its volatile neighbor, saying "The U.S. must understand that a solution reached without Turkey's support in Iraq won't be a lasting one."

Turkish military's concerns over the Kurdish region in Iraq are running deep as it was granted an all-time autonomy.

The PKK, a Kurdish group in Turkey aiming at an independence Kurdistan state, launched an armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in the mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking decades of strife that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.

The group has increased attacks on Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey in recent months, which led to rising Turkish demands for an incursion into northern Iraq to crush the rebels based there.

People's Daily Online - Turkey concerned about developments in Kurdish northern Iraq

KRG Expresses Its Concern upon the Closure of Border Gates

After the arrest of an Iranian official namely Mahmud Farhadi, by the US forces in Sulaimani Palace Hotel, the Iranian officials closed all the border gates with Iraqi Kurdistan region as a reaction. KRG expressed its concern on the issue as well as expressed its concern about closure of the border gates.

Regarding that, Mr. Jamal Abdullah, the official spokesman of KRG, told PUKmedia: “Decision of closing the border gates with Kurdistan region was made formally by the Iranian officials as a reaction of arresting Mr. Mahmud Farhadi by the US forces, but we in KRG reassure that such a step by the Iranian officials is not in interest of the bilateral economic, commercial and historical relations between the people of Kurdistan, KRG and the Iranian people and the Islamic republic of Iran.

When Iran conducts such a measure against people of Kurdistan and KRG on an issue _the operation of arresting Mr. Mahmud Farhadi-which we as people of Kurdistan and KRG neither done it nor had any role in it, but in contrary we expressed our deep concerns afterwards on the arrest, tried and go on trying that Mr. Mahmud Farhadi will be set free. But unfortunately the Iranian officials decided to close the border gates, however they say that it is a temporary decision; surly they are aware of the way Mr. Mahmud Farhadi being arrested and know that the only role we had was trying to let Mr. Mahmud Farhadi be set free, lest the incident have negative effects on the bilateral ties between KRG and Iran .We also tried via the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad, as Kurdistan region is a part of the federal Iraq, to negotiate with the Iranian embassy in Baghdad and to try to persuade Iran to cancel its decision because it will have negative impacts not only to people of Kurdistan, but to tradesmen, people of Iran and our bilateral friendly ties with Iran. We reassure that we pay the price of an action we haven’t done, the US forces arrested him but we pay the price .We hope that such an action will not be done again because the only victim is people of Kurdistan particularly in this sacred Ramadan month and the coming feast.”

PUKmedia :: English - KRG Expresses Its Concern upon the Closure of Border Gates

Kurdistan Governor: Iran will not Open Border with Kurdistan Region until “Farhadi” be Set Free

“Borders with Kurdistan region will not be opened until Mr. Farhadi, who is an official of Kirmashan province and who was arrested recently by the US forces, will be set free.” Ismail Najar, governor of the Kurdish Iranian province of Kurdistan told Iranian state run Mihr news agency today.

“Farhadi, who was working in department of border commerce in Kirmashan province, visited Sulaimani for discussing ways of promoting bilateral commercial ties between both sides upon an official invitation of KRG , but the US forces arrested him .We informed KRG officials about the decision of closing borders Kurdistan region .” he added.

PUKmedia :: English - Kurdistan Governor: Iran will not Open Border with Kurdistan Region until “Farhadi” be Set Free

Uncharted territory: Iraq's Kurdish region tries to rebuild its economy

Billboards in Kurdistan's capital boast that luxury malls and hotels are on the way, but banking and insurance systems barely function. Cranes loom over building sites, but few government inspectors check the quality of construction. This is economic development, on the fly. A sign at the office of a trade association sums up the freewheeling business environment in the part of Iraq controlled by a Kurdish administration. "Please leave your gun at reception," it says. The Kurdish zone north of Baghdad is mostly peaceful, while much of the rest of Iraq is a patchwork of factions at war with U.S.-led troops or one another. Development occurs because security is relatively good, but the economy is weak, dependent on imports, and prone to political uncertainty, institutional pitfalls and a lack of transparency. Some investors are diving into this poor region full of untapped oil wealth, taking risks that would be unacceptable in a Western-style business environment. They include Kurdish businessmen based in Europe and the United States, Turks, Gulf Arabs, and a smaller number of Europeans and Americans.

Uncharted territory: Iraq's Kurdish region tries to rebuild its economy - , - news.uk.msn.com

Weapons left by US troops 'used as bait to kill Iraqis'

US soldiers are luring Iraqis to their deaths by scattering military equipment on the ground as "bait", and then shooting those who pick them up, it has been alleged at a court martial. The highly controversial tactic, which has hitherto been kept secret, is believed to have been responsible for the deaths of a number of Iraqis who were subsequently classified as enemy combatants and used in statistics to show the "success" of the "surge" in US forces.

The revelation came in court documents, obtained by The Washington Post , related to murder charges against three US soldiers who are alleged to have planted incriminating evidence on civilians they had killed. In a sworn statement, Captain Matthew Didier, the officer in charge of a sniper platoon, said: "Basically we would put an item out there and watch it. If someone found the item, picked it up and attempted to leave with the item, we would engage the individual as I saw this as a sign they would use the item against the US forces."

Capt Didier, of the 1st Battalion 501st Infantry Regiment, said members of the US military's Asymmetric Warfare Group visited his unit in January and later supplied ammunition boxes filled with "drop items" to be used " to disrupt the AIF [Anti-Iraq Forces] attempts at harming coalition forces and give us the upper hand in a fight."

Within months of the introduction of the strategy, three snipers in Capt Didier's platoon were charged with murder for allegedly using the "baits " to try to cover up unprovoked shootings. Spe******t Jorge Sandoval and Staff Sgt Michael Hensley are accused of placing a spool of wire, sometimes used to detonate roadside bombs, in the pocket of a man who had been cutting grass with a rusty sickle after he was killed on 27 April this year.

Sgt Evan Vela is accused of shooting an Iraqi prisoner twice in the head with a 9mm pistol on the orders of Staff Sgt Hensley. The two soldiers told investigators that the man was carrying an AK-47 rifle. Other soldiers have testified that the rifle was planted next to the Iraqi after he was shot.

In earlier testimony Pte David Petta said he believed that "classified" items were to be placed on people killed by the sniper unit "if we killed somebody that we knew was a bad guy but didn't have the evidence to show for it".

The court martial of Spc Sandoval is due to start in Baghdad this week. His father, Curtis Carnahan, accused the US military of holding the proceedings in a war zone to try to minimise publicity.

"I feel you can't prosecute our soldiers for acts of war and threaten them with years and years of confinement when this ["bait"] programme, if it comes to the light of day, was clearly coming from higher levels."

A US military spokes-man said: "We don't discuss specific methods of targeting enemy combatants. The accused are charged with murder and wrongfully placing weapons on the remains of Iraqi nationals. There are no classified programmes that authorise the murder of local nationals and the use of 'drop weapons' to make killings appear legally justified."

A US military source said "baits" had been left by a number of units. "The guys picking them up are sometimes bad guys. But how do you know each time?"

Robert Emerson, a British security analyst, said: "This seems a highly arbitrary and suspect way of carrying out counter-insurgency operations."

Weapons left by US troops 'used as bait to kill Iraqis' | Iraq Updates

Blackwater status hinges on probe outcome, says government spokesman

The position to be adopted by the Iraqi government towards the U.S. security firm Blackwater depends on the outcome of investigations by a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee into the Baghdad's Sahat al-Nosur incident, said a government spokesman.

The Iraqi government "will take all necessary legal procedures against Blackwater in light of the results of the current investigations," according to a cabinet statement quoting Ali al-Dabbagh, received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

Dabbagh, who was speaking on Sunday from New York where he is attending with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki the meetings of the UN General Assembly, stressed that "the souls and dignity of the Iraqi people are above any other consideration for us."

Personnel from the private American security company allegedly opened random fire on Sunday after two mortar shells fell near a U.S. embassy motorcade that was passing in Sahat al-Nosur area, western Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding 12 others.

The incident drew extreme indignation on the Iraqi streets as the Iraqi parliament called for restricting the work of private security companies in Iraq and also for amending a decision by the former U.S. civil administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer that grants these firms legal immunity.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice contacted al-Maliki on Monday, one day after the incident, saying she had ordered "a comprehensive review" of the way security tasks are met.

Maliki had ordered a freeze on the company's work in Iraq and said on Wednesday that he would not condone "the killing of Iraqis in cold blood." However, Blackwater returned to its activities in Iraq five days after the Sahat al-Nosur incident.

The civil spokesman for the Fardh al-Qanoon security plan in Baghdad, Tahseen al-Shekheli, warned during a conference on Friday of a "security vacuum" if the Iraqi government expelled Blackwater immediately.

Blackwater is a private military company and security firm founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. It is based in the U.S. state of North Carolina, where it operates a tactical training facility that it claims is the world's largest.

The company trains more than 40,000 people a year from all the military services and a variety of other agencies.

It markets itself as being "The most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping and stability operations company in the world." At least 90% of its revenue comes from government contracts, two-thirds of which are non-bid contracts.

Blackwater status hinges on probe outcome, says government spokesman | Iraq Updates