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

British MEA Trade Delegation Announces Kurdistan-UK Business Forum

Members of the Middle East Association, a leading British trade organisation, yesterday completed a three-day trade mission to the Kurdistan Region, meeting many potential local business partners as well as Kurdistan Regional Government officials.

The mission was led by Mr Michael Thomas, Director of the Middle East Association (MEA), the main organisation for British companies doing business with the Middle East, and supported by UK Trade and Investment, the British government's investment arm. The MEA’s members account for 75 per cent of all UK trade and investment with the Middle East.

Mr Thomas, who also led a mission to Kurdistan last year, said, “The MEA goes on many trade missions around the Middle East and North Africa, but we had the fullest programme ever during this mission to the Kurdistan Region.”

He added, “We met many local companies at meetings and networking dinners. The British company representatives went away with useful contacts, potential partnerships and future sales. They also got an excellent overview of the wealth of opportunities and the challenges here."

Mr Thomas and Mr Dara Jalil Khayat, the President of the Kurdistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce, announced that they will establish a Kurdistan-UK Business Forum to develop stronger ties between British and Kurdistani business.

Ms.Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG High Representative to the UK , said, "The MEA, whose members know the Middle East market well, saw the business potential in Kurdistan some time ago. We're already talking about organising a third visit for them. Through these visits, and the Business Forum, British and Kurdistani companies can forge stronger links and do real business."

Mr Dana Ahmad Majeed, the Governor of Suleimaniah, at his meeting with the MEA said, “We appreciate the visit of British companies as they will send the message to the UK that Kurdistan is secure and stable and that there is great untapped potential here. Our private sector is eager for partnerships and joint ventures with foreign companies.”

The delegation met the Head of the Investment Board, Erbil and Suleimaniah Chambers of Commerce, other local companies, KRG provincial governors, and officials from the trade, housing and reconstruction, industry, municipalities, agriculture and environment ministries. They were assisted by the KRG's UK Representation and the KRG's Department of Foreign Relations.

PUKmedia :: English - British MEA Trade Delegation Announces Kurdistan-UK Business Forum

Biden, Brownback Team on Iraq Plan

Presidential candidates from opposing parties, Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Sam Brownback, took the unusual step Friday of holding a joint event to tout their proposal for a political solution to the war in Iraq.

Biden, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been the most prominent advocate of a plan in Congress that would limit the power of Iraq's central government and give more control to three ethnically divided states.

"We often don't agree ... but one thing we agree on is that the solution to our situation in Iraq is, quite frankly, more important than who among us will be the next president of the United States of America," Biden said.

Brownback and Biden sponsored a nonbinding resolution laying out the plan that won Senate approval last month on a 75-23 vote. The resolution was attached to the defense authorization bill as an amendment.

Brownback, a Kansas senator, said reaching across party lines to find a solution in Iraq marks the first time in recent history that opposing parties campaigning for president shed their political labels and came together.

"It is my hope that our appearance will resonate with the vast majority of voters in the heartland who don't want any particular party to win on the Iraq issue but do want America to win," he said before the event.

The senators appeared together before the Greater Des Moines Committee on Foreign Relations, a civic group that promotes solutions to foreign policy problems.

Brownback said the Bush administration's military surge has had some effectiveness, but it's now time for a political response.

"Now we need a political surge," he said. "That's what this represents."
He said the administration should appoint someone like former Secretary of State James A. Baker III to travel to Iraq and promote the federalism approach.

Said Biden, a Delaware senator: "There are thousands of people dead, carnage is reigning, a civil war is there. The idea that Iraqis will spontaneously put this together is not realistic."

In the most recent Iowa Poll conducted for The Des Moines Register in early October, Biden was supported by 5 percent of likely caucus-goers. Brownback, who acknowledged this week he needs to finish fourth or better in the caucuses to keep his presidential campaign alive, had 2 percent.

PUKmedia :: English - Biden, Brownback Team on Iraq Plan

Iraq motion next week, no rush for incursion

A ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official has confirmed that the government is planning to send Parliament a motion requesting authorization for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq, but said that an immediate Iraq incursion to hit the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases there seems unlikely. The motion is most likely to be submitted to Parliament after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Sadullah Ergin, a senior lawmaker from the AK Party, told the Anatolia news agency.

The draft of the text is ready, he said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a televised interview on Wednesday evening that the motion could be brought to Parliament as soon as Thursday. But Erdoğan suggested that a cross-border operation is unlikely to be launched immediately, saying the approval would be valid for one year and would be used whenever deemed necessary. Parliament, where Erdoğan's AK Party has a large majority, would have to grant permission for troops to cross the border into Iraq.

PUKmedia :: English - Iraq motion next week, no rush for incursion

Leading Shiite politician calls for total US withdrawal from Iraq

A key Shiite member of Iraq's ruling coalition called Saturday for the complete withdrawal of foreign troops from his country and rejected the possibility of permanent bases.

Ammar Hakim, a leading figure of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), told a gathering celebrating the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr: "We will work not to have fixed bases for foreign troops on Iraqi lands."

He also called on American forces to be more careful in their use of force after recent bombings killed civilians in a Shiite village north of Baghdad and in a Sunni area northwest of the Iraqi capital.

"We are working to enter into a security agreement with the international community to ensure that Iraq retrieves its full sovereignty," he said.

Hakim is the son of SIIC leader Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and has played an increasingly prominent role in recent months as his father recovers from cancer.

The SIIC is one of the largest parties in the Iraqi parliament and a key supporter of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.

"We express our deep sorrow at the civilian citizens killed by multi-national forces as happened at al-Jayzani and in other regions," said Hakim. "We wish them to be more cautious in dealing with the citizens."

A double US air strike eight days ago on the village of Jayzani, 30 miles north of Baghdad, killed 25 people US commanders said were Iranian-linked militants but which Iraqi authorities said included women and children.

Leading Shiite politician calls for total US withdrawal from Iraq - Yahoo! News UK

US ex-commander blasts White House Iraq stragegy

A former top US military commander in Iraq said the current White House strategy in Iraq will not achieve victory in the four-and-a-half-year war, which he described as "a nightmare with no end in sight" in a hard-hitting speech.

In the bluntest assessment of Iraq by a former senior Pentagon official yet, retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez also lambasted US political leaders as "incompetent," "inept," "derelict in the performance of their duty" and suggested they would have been court-martialed had they been members of the US military.

"There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight," said Sanchez on Friday, addressing a meeting of military correspondents and editors in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington.

He blasted President George W. Bush's "surge" strategy which calls for maintaining more than 160,000 US troops in Iraq until the end of the year in the hope of reducing sectarian violence and bringing political stability.

The strategy has since been adjusted, with the current plan calling for the withdrawal of about 21,500 combat troops by next July to bring the total to the "pre-surge" level of 130,000 servicemen.

But Sanchez said he did not believe these changes would prove effective.
"Continued manipulations and adjustments to our military strategy will not achieve victory," he said. "The best we can do with this flawed approach is stave off defeat."

Born into a poor family in southern Texas, Sanchez rose through the ranks of the US military to become the highest-ranking Hispanic in the US Army.

In 1991, he served as a battalion commander during Operation Desert Storm, a US-led allied operation to drive Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait.

He became commander of coalition forces in Iraq in June 2003, after the US-led invasion, and served in that capacity for a year.

Sanchez retired from the military in November 2006, part of the fallout from a scandal over abuse of detainees by US military personnel at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.

Reacting late Friday to Sanchez's comments, the White House evoked a September report to Congress by the current US military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker. They painted a difficult situation they said was nevertheless marked by gradual improvements.

"We appreciate his service to the country," White House spokesman Trey Bohn told AFP, of Sanchez. "As General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have said, there is more work to be done, but progress is being made in Iraq. And that's what we are focused on now."

Sanchez, however, had a starkly different view.

"There is nothing going on today in Washington that would give us hope," he said in his speech.

He said US political leaders from both parties have been too often consumed by partisan grandstanding and political struggles that, as he put it, at times have "endangered the lives of our sons and daughters on the battlefield."

"There has been a glaring, unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national leaders," the retired general complained. "In my profession, these type of leaders would immediately be relieved or court-martialed."

"The administration, Congress and the entire inter-agency, especially the Department of State, must shoulder the responsibility for this catastrophic failure and the American people must hold them accountable," he added.

For all his criticism, Sanchez essentially agreed with President George W. Bush's position that a precipitous US military withdrawal from Iraq would plunge the country and, possibly the whole region, into chaos.

He argued that some level of US military presence in Iraq would be necessary "for the foreseeable future."

The New York Times cited Sanchez as saying he favored promoting reconciliation among Iraqi sectarian factions and standing up an effective Iraqi army and police force -- projects already being tackled by the Bush administration.

It reported that the ex-commander was said to be considering publishing a book.

US ex-commander blasts White House Iraq stragegy - Yahoo! News UK

Kurdish MP urges govt. to cancel security agreement with Turkey

Baghdad, Oct 13, (VOI)- Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman on Saturday criticized the recent threats by the Turkish government to send troops into northern Iraq, urging Baghdad to cancel the security agreement signed last month with Ankara.

"The security agreement has encouraged Turkey to increase threats of incursion into northern Iraq," MP Mahmoud Othman told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) over the phone.

In September, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani signed a security agreement with his Turkish counterpart concerning securing the borders between the two countries and tackling the presence of the Turkish banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters in mountainous areas in northern Iraq.

"The Kurdistan Alliance will request hosting the interior minister at a parliament session immediately after Eid al-Fitr holiday to discuss the security agreement he signed with the Turkish side," the Kurdish politician said.

The Kurdish leaders rejected al-Bulani's agreement with Turkey on the ground that the Kurds should attend the discussion of any agreement with neighbors.

Media reports said that the agreement gave Turkey a right to chase the PKK's fighters in northern Iraq, a point denied by the Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Othman, who set as condition the approval of the parliament to sign such an agreement, urged the Iraqi government to "cancel" it.

"Turkey did not honor its obligations under the agreement and hence the Iraqi government should reconsider it," the Kurdish veteran politician said.

On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gave the green light for a possible military incursion into northern Iraq to chase the PKK's fighters hiding there after a series of deadly attacks on Turkish security forces.

The Kurdish lawmaker, who ruled out a unilateral Kurdish react to a possible Turkish incursion, told VOI "if an incursion into Iraq's Kurdistan region occurred, any react will be coordinated with the central government as Kurdistan is part of Iraq."

"The Americans will also be consulted as they are responsible for the security of Iraq's borders," he added.

MP Othman also called upon the U.S. side to bear responsibility by preventing Turkey form sending troops into northern Iraq, criticizing, meanwhile, the Iraqi government's stand as to "consider PKK as a terrorist party."

"Considering the PKK as a terrorist party will give Ankara an excuse to crush the Party inside Iraq," Othman noted.

The Iraqi parliament member also called upon Turkey to listen to the international community and honor its obligations under the recently signed security agreement.

"Any tension in the region will not streamline in the interests of Turkey," Othman concluded.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi regulars backed by paramilitary forces clear Baghdad district of gunmen

Iraqi regular troops backed by tribal paramilitary forces killed 48 insurgents in the region of Al-Fadel in the center of the capital over the past four days.

A spokesman of the law enforcement squad said in a press release on Saturday the government forces, backed by gunmen of "Al-Fadel Awakening Council," carried out a wide-scale mop-up operation against hideouts of the anti-state gunmen in the city district. The operation resulted in killing 48 of the gunmen, who were all buried at the region's cemetry.

Calls of Allaho Akbar choed from the mosques last night, glorying the successful sweep against the gunmen, widely known as responsible for violence, abductions and fatal blasts.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesP...06&Language=en

Six Iraqi groups team up to drive Americans out

Six Iraqi insurgent groups have joined forces to form a "political council" and "liberate" Iraq from US occupation, Al-Jazeera television said on Thursday, as violence in the country killed at least seven people. A US rights group announced Thursday it was filing a lawsuit against private security contractor Blackwater on behalf of a survivor and the families of three victims of a deadly September 16 shootout in Baghdad.

A spokesman for the "political council of the Iraqi resistance" was shown on Al-Jazeera with his face blacked out, announcing the formation of the coalition to liberate Iraq.

He said it comprises the four factions of a so-called "jihad and reform front" - the Islamic Army in Iraq, the Mujahedeen Army, Ansar al-Sunna-Religious Committee, and the Fateheen Army. The two others that have joined are the Islamic Front for Iraqi Resistance and the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in Iraq, the spokesman said.

The spokesman announced a "political program to liberate Iraq," which declared that "resistance to occupation is a right granted by all laws ... The armed resistance, joined by forces, groups and figures that reject the occupation and its plans, is the legitimate representative of Iraq."

The Center for Constitutional Rights Thursday said the suit in a Washington federal court accuses Blackwater of murder and war crimes and seeks unspecified damages.

Filed by Talib Mutlaq Deewan and the estates of three men killed - Himoud Saed Atban, Osama Fadhil Abbass, and Oday Ismail Ibrahim - the suit claims Blackwater "created and fostered a culture of lawlessness among its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life," the center said in a statement.

"This senseless slaughter was only the latest incident in a lengthy pattern of egregious misconduct by Blackwater in Iraq," said lawyer Susan Burke. "At the moment of this incident, the Blackwater personnel responsible for the shooting were not protecting State Department officials. We allege that Blackwater personnel were not provoked, and that they had no legitimate reason to fire on civilians."

An Iraqi government report released Sunday said 17 people died in the shooting and 22 were wounded when Blackwater guards opened fire on civilians on September 16.

According to a congressional report, Blackwater has been implicated in nearly 200 shootouts in Iraq sice 2005, and its representatives were those who started shooting more than 80 percent of the time. It maintains its men were responding to an ambush while escorting a US State Department convoy.

The US Embassy in Baghdad has been tight-lipped on whether those involved in the killings would be handed over for prosecution.
In violence in Iraq, a suicide car bomber struck a busy market in the city of Kirkuk on Thursday, killing seven and wounding 50 people, most of them shoppers preparing for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the holy month of Ramadan.

The Daily Star - Politics - Six Iraqi groups team up to drive Americans out

U.S. Military Looking at Alternatives in Case Turkey cuts Access

U.S. military planners quietly have stepped up a review of alternatives in case the Turkish government restricts U.S. access to Turkish airspace or cuts off access to the air base at Incirlik, Turkey, CNN has learned.

Turkey has threatened such action after congressional moves to declare that the killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in World War I was "genocide.

Turkey -- now a NATO member and a key U.S. ally in the war on terror -- accepts Armenians were killed but calls it a massacre during a chaotic time, not an organized campaign of genocide.

The recent rise in tensions between Turkey and the United States has led the military to increase its planning for alternatives, two military officials with direct knowledge of the ongoing assessment said.

"Events have triggered more detailed planning for the curtailment or closure" of access to Turkey, one official said. The key issue is to find ways to ship supplies and other critical equipment into Iraq.

The U.S. military already had been considering alternatives to Turkey because of the growing dependence on that country after the cutback of U.S. forces in central Asia in recent years.

But now, with more "detailed planning" under way, the military is considering a variety of options in hopes of being ready for whatever, if anything, the Turks do.

U.S. officials say Turkey's options range from a complete cutoff, including ending overland access routes from southern Turkey into Iraq, to less drastic options that simply restrict U.S. access.

The initial assessment is that any cutoff from current access to Turkey would force the U.S. military into longer cargo flights, which would mean extra costs for fuel and for wear and tear on equipment. It may also look for other air hubs in Jordan or Kuwait, officials say.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this week pointed out, "Seventy percent of the air cargo, American air cargo, going into Iraq goes through Turkey. Seventy percent of the fuel that goes in for our forces goes in ... through Turkey ...

"For those who are concerned that we get as many of these mine-resistant ambush-protected heavy vehicles into Iraq as possible, 95 percent of those vehicles today are being flown into Iraq through Turkey."
Turkey on Thursday recalled its ambassador to the United States and warned of repercussions in the growing dispute.

On Wednesday, in a 27-21 vote, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the measure labeling the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces "genocide."

President Bush and key administration figures lobbied hard against the measure, saying it would create unnecessary headaches for U.S. relations with Turkey.

The full House could soon vote on the genocide resolution. A top Turkish official warned Thursday that consequences "won't be pleasant" if it approves the measure.

The resolution arrives at a particularly sensitive point in U.S.-Turkish relations. The United States has urged Turkey not to send its troops over the border into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish separatist rebels, who launched some cross-border attacks against Turkish targets.

The Turkish military is poised to strike across the border to fight the group -- the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK -- a move opposed by the Bush administration. The Turkish parliament could give approval for the incursion into Iraq as early as next week.

PUKmedia :: English - U.S. Military Looking at Alternatives in Case Turkey cuts Access

Crude Oil Hits Record $84.05 as Turkey-Iraq Row Fuels Supply Worries

Crude prices rose above $84 a barrel in New York amidst mounting tensions between Turkey and northern Iraq and concerns about a fall in supply ahead of the Northern winter.

US crude rose to a record $84.05 a barrel in New York before settling at $83.69 a barrel. London Brent crude climbed 40 cents to $80.55 a barrel.

Crude oil rose to a record on concern Turkey may seek to quell the Kurdistan Workers Party rebels by invading northern Iraq, a country with the world's third-largest oil reserves.

Northern Iraq holds some of the country's largest oil fields, including Kirkuk, the source of much of Iraq's exports.

Crude oil for November delivery rose 61 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to close at $83.69 a barrel at 2:50 pm on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a record settlement. Earlier, the contract touched $84.05, the highest since futures began trading in 1983.

Nymex futures were up $2.47, or 3 per cent, this week. They are up 37 per cent this year.

Brent crude oil for November settlement rose 40 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to close at a record $80.55 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent was up $1.65, or 2.1 per cent, this week.

US crude oil inventories fell 1.67 million barrels to 320.1 million barrels in the week ended 5 October, the first decline in three weeks, a US Energy Department report showed.

OPEC's daily shipments of crude oil are expected to rise 2.8 per cent in the four weeks to October 27 from the previous month. The group will load 24.49 million barrels a day, up from 23.82 million.

PUKmedia :: English - Crude Oil Hits Record $84.05 as Turkey-Iraq Row Fuels Supply Worries