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

Off the top of my head -

These Grants are ongoing all the time and being distributed all the time. It's difficult to know when they are handed out because this is not newsworthy information in the main - I know it maybe to us but within the scheme of things in Iraq it just isn't a particular news item.

They are building a structure to encourage the people to open bank accounts and so for this kind of money one would hope it is banked which would mean it would be adjusted. If gradual grow continues then it will just help in bits and pieces along the way.

Anyone with other thoughts please step in.

No plans for further Turkey-Iraq talks over PKK rebels

Turkish and Iraqi officials: there were no plans for further talks between Turkey and an Iraqi delegation visiting Ankara.

Turkish and Iraqi officials said on Saturday there were no plans for further talks between Turkey and an Iraqi delegation visiting Ankara to seek an agreement on cracking down on Turkey's Kurdish PKK rebels based in Kurdistan region 'northern Iraq'.

Turkey rejected a series of proposals on Friday evening offered by a high-level Iraqi delegation, led by Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim, as insufficient and taking too long to take effect.

The delegation was in Ankara to try to avert a possible major cross-border operation by Turkey against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas.

The officials, who declined to be named, told Reuters the Iraqi delegation, which included U.S. military and Iraqi Kurdistan regional government officials, would leave Turkey around midday.

Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops on the frontier before a possible cross-border operation against about 3,000 PKK guerrillas.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said Turkey will not tolerate any more PKK attacks from Iraq and has called for immediate steps by U.S. and Iraqi authorities in order to avert a military operation.

A senior Turkish diplomat, who declined to be named, told Reuters late on Friday the Iraqi delegation had offered proposals that included cutting logistical support to the PKK, limiting their movements and closing offices linked to them.

Ankara wants PKK guerrillas, including their leaders, handed over and for their camps in Kurdistan 'northern Iraq' to be shut down. Iraq says it has no control over the separatist fighters.

The Iraqi-Turkish talks came ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Ankara on Nov. 2 to discuss the crisis and before a regional conference in Istanbul on Nov. 2-3, where foreign ministers will discuss Iraq.

No plans for further Turkey-Iraq talks over PKK rebels | Iraq Updates

Iraq warns Turkey against major invasion

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari was quoted on Monday as warning of disastrous regional consequences if Turkey launched a major invasion of Iraq.

The present crisis was "dead serious" and Turkey had not shown interest in Iraqi peace proposals, Zebari told the BBC in an interview.

Zebari was quoted as saying there was nothing to stop Turkey taking action against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in the border mountains.

Turkey has said it may use military solution against PKK rebels based in Iraq. Turkey has sent at least 100,000 troops on the border with Iraq to prepare for a possible incursion.

The large-scale Turkish military build-up had raised fears the Turks were planning something bigger and deeper into northern Iraq, said Zebari.
Such a step, he said, would have "disastrous consequences" for stability in both countries and in the wider region.

"That's why the whole government of Iraq and the whole people of Iraq are united really not to see their sovereignty, their territorial integrity undermined by a friendly neighbouring country," he said.

Iraq warns Turkey against major invasion | Iraq Updates

Anbar delegation heads to U.S. for support

A delegation of government officials and tribe leaders from Sunni Anbar headed to the United States on Saturday to drum up support for reconstruction efforts in the province upon an official invitation from the State Department, sources said.

"The delegation included Rafie al-Isawi, an IAF member and a former minister of state for foreign affairs; Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, the head of the Anbar Awakening Council; Anbar Governor Sami Mamoum Rashid al-Alwani and Abdul Salam al-Aani, the head of Anbar municipal council," Saleem al-Juburi, a spokesman for the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF) told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).

"The visit mainly aims at garnering the U.S. government's support for reconstruction efforts in Anbar," al-Juburi indicated, ruling out any intention to call for U.S. military reinforcements in the province.

Before leaving with the delegation, Sheikh Abu Risha told VOI that the visit came upon an invitation from the Department of State. He further noted that he is scheduled to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Advisor Steven Hadley, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and several congressmen.

"The meetings will discuss the situation in Iraq in general and in the Sunni province in particular," Abu Risha said.

"I will raise the issue of neighboring countries' interference in Iraqi affairs and the U.S. government's support for the Iraqi army to prevent this," Abu Risha added.

The visit is the first by an official delegation from Anbar to the U.S.

Anbar delegation heads to U.S. for support | Iraq Updates

Zebari described the Situation as Serious

Iraq’s Foreign Minister has warned Turkey against launching a major cross border operation into the north of his country to strike at the terrorist group the PKK, saying such a move would have disastrous consequences for the region.

A Turkish military operation in to northern Iraq would undermine the stability in Iraq itself and across the region; Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari was quoted by the BBC as saying late Sunday.

While there was nothing to stop Turkey from carrying out military strikes against the PKK, which uses bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks against targets inside Turkey, Zebari said such a move would be a unilateral decision.

“That’s why the whole government of Iraq and the whole people of Iraq are united really not to see their sovereignty, their territorial integrity undermined by a friendly neighbouring country,” he said.

Zebari also said that Iraq was not in a position to comply with Turkish demands to hand over the leaders of the PKK.

“They are not under our control, in fact,” Zebari said. “They are up in the mountains, they are armed.”

PUKmedia :: English - Zebari described the Situation as Serious

General says U.S. seeking Calm in Northern Iraq

With tensions on the border between Iraq and Turkey still running high, General David Petraeus, the American military's commander in Iraq, indicated Sunday that behind-the-scenes efforts were under way to calm the situation. But he would not talk about them publicly because the situation was volatile.

"I am not going to be saying anything about what we may be doing with our longtime NATO ally Turkey, although we clearly are doing things with them," Petraeus said. "Nor am I saying what we're doing with our longtime Iraqi partners," he added.

He made the remarks to a handful of reporters after a change-of-command ceremony he attended at Camp Speicher, the military base five miles northwest of Tikrit that is headquarters for American-led forces in northern Iraq.

Turkey and Iraq are at odds because Kurdish guerrillas who have taken refuge in the Qandeel mountains in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq are using the area as a base for making raids into Turkey. Last week, the guerrillas, part of the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers and kidnapped several. That, with previous raids, led Turkey to threaten to invade northern Iraq to rout the guerrillas.

Iraq-Turkey tensions have put the United States in an awkward position because Turkey is an ally and there about 160,000 American troops in Iraq.

Petraeus also made clear that de****e reports describing Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as a largely spent force, he viewed it as a continuing threat, though with reduced influence among Sunni Arabs in Baghdad over the past several months. The force is composed largely of Iraqi insurgents and is believed to be foreign-led, according to American intelligence sources, but its ties to Osama bin Laden are unclear at best.

"The presence of Al Qaeda in a number of the key neighborhoods that they were in before — Amariya, Adhamiya, Ghazaliya, Dora — has been significantly reduced and its actions degraded," Petraeus said. He added that Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia "remained a very lethal enemy of Iraq" and that the military must "keep the pressure on very, very intensely."

With Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia's activity reduced, Petraeus said, it has been possible to see other problems more clearly, including criminal activities like extortion. He described the criminal influence in some areas of the capital as almost "a mafia-type presence."

The vulnerability of Sunnis and Shiites who are working to thwart extremism was clear again on Sunday evening when 10 sheiks, three of them Sunni Arabs and the rest Shiites, were kidnapped as they tried to return to Al Salam in eastern Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province.

The sheiks had gone to Baghdad to meet with a representative of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. It was unclear who was responsible for the kidnapping, which occurred in Shaab, a poor, predominantly Shiite neighborhood.

On a separate matter, Petraeus seemed to distance himself from any effort to save Sultan Hashim, the defense minister under Saddam Hussein, from a death sentence. At the same time, Petraeus said the three-man Iraqi presidency council "has a very important role."

The council, made up of President Jalal Talabani and two vice presidents, has yet to ratify the death sentence as required before the execution can be carried out. One result has been to stall Hashim's execution. Talabani opposes the death penalty, but was not a vocal opponent to Saddam's execution.

Hashim is being held in American custody, with the agreement that he will be turned over to the Iraqis when they are ready to hang him. However, the Americans seem to be intent on ensuring that all paperwork be completed. Petraeus said the Americans would hand Hashim over when they received the completed paperwork, implying that they had not received it.

Hashim, who surrendered to Petraeus in 2003, has been well treated, the general said Sunday. While in American custody, Hashim was allowed to visit his family and with an imam, Petraeus said.

Recently, he has become a symbol to Sunni Arabs of the poor treatment of anyone who worked for Saddam, even those who served the country. The Americans, who are trying to persuade Sunni Arabs to work with them and the Iraqi government to fight Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, want to avoid doing anything that would alienate potential allies.

There has been an outcry in defense of Hashim primarily from Sunni Arabs, especially those who are former members of the security services. Leading the effort has been Tariq al-Hashimi, a Sunni Arab who is one of Iraq's two vice presidents. Hashimi emphasized that Hashim had had little choice but to obey Saddam Hussein's orders and that in all respects Hashim was viewed as a professional soldier, not a defender of Saddam's rule.

PUKmedia :: English - General says U.S. seeking Calm in Northern Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President calls for Direct Negotiations with Ankara

The president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, called the Turkish government to direct negotiations with the Kurdistan region administration to solve the problem of the presence of PKK elements on its territory.

Barzani said in an interview with France-Press news Agency in Erbil: "Come to sit together to resolve the Kurdish issue," asserting that "The Iraqi federal government should consult us” in a reference to the Baghdad authorities.

Barzani who heads the region since January 2005 added to say: “I am not an enemy of Turkey, but I do not accept the language of threat."

The Iraqi delegation comprised of officials representing the PUK, led by Jalal Talabani, and the, KDP led by Barzani, visited Ankara in the last weekend.

Barzani also said that one of the points which were stalled during the negotiations was the border issue. Turkey refused the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to control the border. "

Any progress after these meetings did not declare, but it is scheduled a meeting between Turkish and Iraqi foreign ministers, Babacan and Zebari to be held on the sidelines of meetings of Iraq's neighbors on November the 2-3 in Istanbul.

"A Kurdish delegation was planning to visit Turkey tomorrow, but Ankara canceled the visit." Barzani said.

He said, "We will be a side to the solution of this problem if there is a peaceful solution to it. But if there were only a military solution, we will not be a side in it. " Barzani clarified.

Turkey has threatened to launch military operations in Iraqi Kurdistan region to chase elements of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who are living on the Iraqi-Turkish border, estimated to be between three and four thousands.

Barzani also said: "We do not accept to deploy Turkish troops on our borders," stressing "If they attacked our people and our territory, we will defend ourselves."

But he affirmed, in return, “We ask PKK to proceed through its cease-fire, to release the prisoners and to renounce from launching military operations and to seek for a peaceful solution."

He warned "The area will not witness stability without a settlement of the Kurdish issue," stressing that "We exist and we have the right to live."

PUKmedia :: English - Iraqi Kurdistan Region President calls for Direct Negotiations with Ankara

Britain did not object to US de-Baathification plan: report

Britain did not raise objections to American plans to ban members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from the post-war Iraqi government and disband the Iraqi army, according to a documentary to be aired Sunday and Monday.The two-part BBC documentary cited a memo from a senior American adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) chief, which contradicted comments made by the British defence secretary at the time of the war, Geoff Hoon, who has said that Britain challenged the US on its de-Baathification plans.

According to the documentary, after a day-long meeting in May 2003 with British ministers and officials, Walter Slocombe wrote to CPA chief Paul Bremer to say: "UK briefed on their (admittedly not fully developed) thoughts on security sector reform, which they see as including de-Baathification, reconstruction, an information campaign -- and turning on having sufficient resources."

"If some UK officers or officials think we should try to rebuild and reassemble the old RA (regular army), they did not give any hint of it in our meetings, and in fact agreed with the need for vigorous de-Baathification, especially in the security sector."

Bremer also told the documentary makers that the British thought de-Baathification was "a fait accompli".

According to The Guardian, which carried extracts of the BBC documentary -- "No Plan, No Peace" -- Slocombe's meeting took place in London just days before Bremer disbanded the Iraqi army.

Hoon said in March this year, however, that Britain "certainly argued against (the United States) ... I would have called it the other way."

"I think we felt that a lot of the Baath people were first and foremost local government people ... they weren't fanatical supporters of Saddam."

PUKmedia :: English - Britain did not object to US de-Baathification plan: report

Iran to Reopen Consulates in Northern Iraq

Iran has decided to reopen its consulate centers in the northern Iraqi cities of Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, an Iranian official said here on Saturday.

Tehran suspended its diplomatic activities in certain parts of the Iraqi Kurdistan after five of its mission staffers were abducted during a raid by the US troops on its consulate general in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil last January.

After ten months, the five diplomats are still under detention while they have been deprived of their most basic rights, including a meeting with their family members.

Speaking to FNA, Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary for Home Security Mohammad Jafari said that in a second round of talks attended by Iranian officials and a delegation dispatched by the local government of the Iraqi Kurdistan here in Tehran Saturday morning, the Iraqi side has assured its serious follow-up to the case of the five diplomats arrested in Erbil and the case of Mahmoud Farhadi, an Iranian trade official who was also kidnapped by the US troops in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaimaniyah last month.

Jafari said that during the meeting, Iran accepted to reopen its consulates in Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, adding, "The Iraqi delegation also briefed the other side about its plan for preventing infiltration of terrorist groups from Iraq into Iranian territory, and the two sides decided to form a joint security committee to implement the plan."

He said that the first session of the security committee was held immediately after the morning meeting between the two sides.

"Sessions of the joint security committee will continue for a specified period and its approvals are binding on both sides," the official said, adding that the committee would even hold meetings at the highest levels possible whenever necessary.

PUKmedia :: English - Iran to Reopen Consulates in Northern Iraq

Kurdish Parliament postponed a normal session

On Monday 29/10 Kurdistan region parliament held a normal session to discuss the regions education ministry bill that was directed by the council of ministers.

Headed by the speaker Adnan Mufti, the Kurdish parliament could not complete the discussion on the bill, because of the urgent meeting the Kurdish region presidency holds sometime on today in Salahadin resort, to discuss the Turkish threats of military incursion into Kurdistan under the pretext of chasing PKK.

The urgent meeting discussions will also include the outcomes of the Iraqi delegation meetings with Turkish authorities in Ankara.

Therefore, the session of Parliament decided to be postponed to tomorrow Tuesday.

PUKmedia :: English - Kurdish Parliament postponed a normal session