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

Baghdad International Airport business development opportunities expand with convention center, office suites

Business development opportunities will soon be expanded at the Baghdad International Airport complex.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is overseeing work to convert the two former domestic terminals into a modern convention center. In addition, an eight-story structure is being remodeled to offer 250 office spaces for lease.

"That convention center will have the capacity to handle gatherings up to 25,000 people," says USACE project engineer Matthew David. "It will include exhibition halls, offices, conference rooms, and a restaurant. We're putting in new plumbing, plastering, electrical, lighting, and air conditioning. It's located at the transportation hub of Iraq, a perfect location for such a facility." The two former terminals are both two-story structures, one measuring 53x138 meters, the other 31x150 meters. The $6.3 million renovation project is about 20 percent finished with a projected completion date of next spring.

Next door to the convention center is an eight-story 3,076-sq.-meter office structure. "Businesses will be able to come in and rent space as needed, from one office to several floors of offices. Work there includes new restrooms, electrical, fire protection with sprinklers, lighting, new ceilings, plastering, a new mechanical system including two 200-ton air conditioning chillers, office furniture, a lighted parking lot, and a cafeteria.

"Our Iraqi contractor is definitely interested in the mission of rebuilding Iraq and is taking extra steps to ensure that the office building will meet the needs of its customers," David said. Currently that $4 million project is about 30 percent finished with a projected completion date of April 2008.

Majed Michel, manager of the Baghdad Business Center located between the new Convention Center and the office building, says he is very encouraged by what these new facilities will offer Iraq.

"This will significantly enhance our economic development opportunities here. We're already planning our first trade show in the new convention center next spring that will focus on the oil industry. We're encouraging international companies to consider opening a satellite facility in the 'executive suites' office building here at the Baghdad International Airport. I'm very optimistic about Iraq's future," he continued.

"There are good people all over the world who I would like to encourage to visit Iraq and help us move forward. This is an historic opportunity. When you have cooperation among individuals, anything is possible." he added.

http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=4853

More infiltrators arrested in southern Iraq

Iraqi police have arrested 267 infiltrators who had entered the southern city of Basra illegally, the head of national police force in the city said.

The officer, refusing to be named, said Basra police have intensified their activities and patrols recently as part of a comprehensive campaign to restore stability.

“Crime levels in October declined in Basra in comparison with the previous month,” he said.

However, he added, the police have failed to limit kidnapping. He said there were more kidnappings in October than in September.

Security is reported to be worsening in Basra, Iraq’s third largest city and the main source of its oil exports.

British occupation troops have withdrawn to their barracks and residents say they have even stopped patrolling highways and restive spots in the city.

There were 27 murder cases in Basra in October, the police commander said. And 40 bodies were collected dumped on pavements and squares in the city, he added.

Only a few cases of kidnapping were resolved, he said. Criminal gangs were still active in the city, he added.

“The policed have seized one of these gangs notorious for the kidnapping and killing of people and one abducted woman was freed,” he said.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-11-01\kurd.htm

Basra shuts doors on fleeing Iraqis

The Province of Basra has made it clear that it has no capacity to accommodate the increasing numbers of Iraqis seeking refuge there, Basra’s deputy governor said.

Luay al-Battat said the province’s public services were “very strained” and there were not enough resources to cater for the influx of refugees.

The number of Iraqis fleeing their homes to safer areas has soared de****e reports that levels of violence have receded recently.

U.S. and Iraqi government claims of relative improvement in security have not halted the massive movement of people in the country with Shiites fleeing to predominantly Shiite areas and Sunnis fleeing to predominantly Sunni areas.

Minorities like Christians, Sabeans and Yazidis have almost nowhere to go.

Escalating sectarian violence and ongoing U.S. military operations are driving Iraqis from their homes. At least two million Iraqis have fled to neighboring Syria and Jordan.

But with these countries imposing tough visa restrictions, fearful Iraqis are moving from one province to another in search of safety.

Basra is one of several provinces with measures not to accept any more fleeing Iraqis.

Most of those heading to Basra are Shiites driven from mainly Sunni-inhabited areas.

The migration inside the country is a drain on the country’s meager resources.

Many cannot afford fleeing across the border and seek refuge anywhere in the country. These internally displaced Iraqis, estimated at about two million people, live in squalor conditions with little food and sometimes without shelter.

Battat said the influx of internal refugees to Basra and their worsening conditions have become one of the main factors for the lack of security in the province.

He gave no figures about these internally displaced Iraqis, saying it was hard to count since they are on constant move.

“This unorganized migration is leading to higher crime rates, aggravating the security situation and exerting immense pressure on the already rickety public service infrastructure,” he said.

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Top Diplomats in Ankara for Iraq Conference

Ankara has turned overnight into the capital of international diplomacy as presidents and delegations of countries participating in Istanbul Conference have crowded. In a surprise visit, Iranian Foreign Minister Manushaher Mottaki arrived to Turkey in order to pursue talks regarding the Kurdish crisis with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan and attend the international conference on Iraq.

“I came to Turkey for simultaneous consultations and regional cooperation for both countries (Iran-Turkey). I met Turkish Foreign Minister Babacan in Tehran last week. I am in Turkey to attend to the Iraqi neighboring countries meeting to discuss especially the latest developments in northern Iraq”, Mottaki said.

Unexpectedly as well, UN Chief Ban Ki Moon arrived to Ankara to meet with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Moon’s visit is part of the UN efforts to defuse the Turkish-Kurdish crisis. In turn, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will try to do the same through her talks with Ankara according to US Department spokesman Sean McCormack and US Deputy Foreign Minister for political affairs Nicolas Burns.

“Well, I’m sure that she will discuss with the Turkish authorities her views, her ideas, the views of our government, on how we can make more effective the existing mechanisms that we have with the Turkish government, the Iraqi government and the U.S. government playing a role. And talking about Turkey’s needs in terms of defending itself, obviously those are decision that Turkey’s going to have to make for itself. But our view remains the same. I'm sure she will have good discussions with Turkish interlocutors”, McCormack said.

In the same context, the White House declared that US President Georges W. Bush will meet Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington on November 5. Erdogan’s visit to the US aims to discuss the Turkish-Iraqi border crisis while observers expect the meeting to determine whether to execute a Turkish incursion into Northern Iraq.

On the other hand, Turkey confirmed that the economic sanctions to be imposed on Kurdistan will only target Kurdish rebels and groups providing them direct support in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan acknowledged the Iraqi government’s good will though considering that good wills are not enough to fight terrorism.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Top Diplomats in Ankara for Iraq Conference

Kurdistan Government rejects PKK presence

Regarding Iraq’s neighboring countries conference, some Iraqi political parties see that efforts to find a successful solution to contain Iraqi-Turkish crisis peacefully are more likely to succeed. However, other parties have labeled this conference in the framework of previous conferences characterized by a promotional aspect.

Meanwhile, Kurdistan’s Speaker Adnan Al Mufti has reiterated his government’s stand refusing the presence of armed men including Kurdistan Workers Party members on Kurdistan territories aiming to launch armed operations against Iraq’s neighboring countries. For his part, Iraq’s Speaker Mahmoud Al Mashhadani fears that the discussions of Istanbul Conference would shift from the Iraqi issue to regional issues.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Kurdistan Government rejects PKK presence

Al Maliki: 2008 year of Iraq economic rise

While receiving members of the Supreme Agricultural Committee, Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki confirmed that next year would be the year of economic rise for Iraq following major security achievements attained this year. Al Maliki noted that the government will work on supporting sources that have been blacked out by the former regime and hindered for security reasons from introducing researches and proposals to rise the agricultural productivity level since agriculture sector has a major importance in the country’s economy, directly contributing to improve living standards of citizens.

On the other hand, the office of speaker Mahmoud Al Mashhadani considered in a statement that the mechanism adopted to vote for the Heath and Agriculture Ministers positions two days ago is void.

Alsumaria Iraqi Satellite TV Network | Iraq News | Al Maliki: 2008 year of Iraq economic rise

US envoy urges Arabs reopen Iraq embassies

The US ambassador to Baghdad urged Arab states on Friday to reopen their embassies in Iraq to counter Iran’s “negative” influence in the war-torn nation.

“Many in this region are concerned about negative Iranian influence in Iraq. One of the best ways to counter that is for Arab states to be on the ground and active in a positive way,” Ryan Crocker told reporters in the United Arab Emirates at the end of a Middle East tour.

Crocker said he discussed with officials in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar and the UAE “the importance of finding ways to reopen Arab embassies in Baghdad” and post ambassadors there.

“It’s important for the Arab states to be present in a positive way to reinforce Iraq’s own sense of deep attachment to the Arab world,” he said.

Pro-Western Sunni-ruled Arab states have voiced concern over the growing role of non-Arab Shiite Iran in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein’s Sunni regime and brought majority Shiites to power.

Crocker also said that US foreign service officers have a duty to serve in Iraq if asked, amid an outcry in Washington over forced duty there.

“As we set about this effort to staff Iraq, it’s good for all of my colleagues to remember that we raised our right hands when we entered the service and we swore an oath... to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies,” the envoy said.

“It certainly doesn’t mean you get to decide which fight” to get into, he said.

“When we have truly great challenges like Iraq, our job is not to decide if we like the policy... Our commitment is to go forward and serve,” Crocker said.

“That’s, in my mind, simply a condition of service. You don’t debate it, you don’t argue over it. You’re entitled to your own views, but... you’re under an oath to serve, and people need to just go forward and do that.”

Crocker conceded that Iraq is a “dangerous place” and that US diplomats “run a risk” when posted there.

But he said they also run a risk in other places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, and backed assertions by other US officials that the situation in Iraq was improving.

“We’ve seen the dramatic changes over the last couple of months in Anbar (province) to the west,” Crocker said.

“We’ve seen literally tens of thousands of young men who previously may have been involved in supporting anti-coalition and anti-Iraqi government insurgencies now step forward and say “we want to fight with you and not against you’.”

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday made a ********* appeal for US diplomats to serve in Iraq following uproar over new rules forcing them to work there or risk dismissal.

US diplomats have not been forced to serve abroad against their will since the Vietnam war era.

Crocker was to go on to Istanbul for a conference of Iraq’s neighbours and major powers on stabilising the country amid threats by Turkey to take military action against Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq.

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/November/focusoniraq_November9.xml&section=focusoniraq&col=

Turkey, Iraq and US together against Kurdish rebels

The US, Turkey and Iraq will jointly counter Kurdish rebels attacking Turkey from havens in northern Iraq, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

Rice, speaking to reporters Thursday in a press conference aboard her plane as she began a diplomatic mission to Turkey and the Middle East, was vague about what that might mean. She warned against doing anything that might make the situation worse.

Raids by the rebels and other fighting have left 47 people dead on the Turkish side since Sept. 29, including 35 soldiers. The skirmishes were the latest in a conflict that dates back to 1984 and has seen nearly 40,000 people killed.

Turkey has complained for months about what it contends is a lack of US support against the rebels known as PKK. The Turkish government has threatened a full-scale ground attack into northern Iraq if the US and Iraqi officials fail to do something about the rebels.

We have a common enemy and we are going to act as if we have a common enemy, which means that we are going to work with our Turkish allies and the Iraqis’ to have an effective way of dealing with the PKK, Rice said.

The United States has scrambled to persuade Iraqi Kurds and Turkey to back away from an escalating conflict, but it has won no public promises to stand down.

Rice rearranged a long-scheduled diplomatic visit to include stops in the Turkish capital, Ankara. She will press the US case for calm directly with Turkish leaders and soothe lingering irritation over a congressional vote last month that Turks see as disrespectful.
The chief US diplomat was also seeing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and holding a three-way meeting with Iraqi and Turkish diplomats over the weekend.

Rice’s trip places her in the breach between important NATO ally Turkey, the weak U.S.-backed government in Baghdad and the self-governing Kurds in Iraq’s oil-rich north.

Rice said initial three-way cooperation could include better ways of sharing information or means to restrict the rebels’ movement. She did not rule out sanctions or other penalties on the PKK, but she did not address whether the Iraqis should pursue their own military raids.

We’ll try to talk through the various elements of a strategy, but we really need to look for an effective strategy, not just one that is going to strike out somehow and still not deal with the problem,’ she said.

Turkey did try on Thursday to allay fears about the extent of any assault it would launch across the Iraq border, saying such an attack would target guerrilla bases and not amount to an invasion.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said the military, if it crosses the border, would try to avoid confronting the self-governing Kurdish leadership in northern Iraq. Turkish leaders suspect, however, that the administration there is assisting the PKK, or at the very least tolerating its presence at a network of mountain camps.

Both the US and Iraq governments fear a large military operation, opening a new front in the Iraq war, would unsettle what is now the most stable part of the country.

Turkey fears that Iraqi Kurds could set up an independent Kurdish state and fuel separatist sentiments within Turkey.

Turkey’s military chief said last week his country will wait to decide on a major cross-border offensive until after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets US President George W. Bush in Washington. Their meeting is set for Monday.

Many Turks are furious with the United States for its perceived failure to pressure Iraq into cracking down on the PKK rebels, whose full name is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Street protesters have urged the government to send forces across the border even if it means a deepening of the rift with the U.S., their Cold War ally.

On Wednesday, about 100 people gathered at a park in Ankara to protest Rice’s visit. Some threw darts at her picture; others held English-language placards that read: Terrorist Rice, take your bloody hands from Turkey.’

Meanwhile, the United States acknowledged Wednesday that it has undertaken limited military moves against the rebels after asserting for weeks that the clash between Iraq and Turkey is a diplomatic matter.

Pentagon officials said the US is flying manned spy planes over the border area, providing Turkey with more intelligence information, and that there are standing orders for American forces to capture rebels they find.

http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2007/November/focusoniraq_November7.xml&section=focusoniraq&col=

Bush: Iraqis Are ``Taking Back'' Iraq

President Bush said Friday that U.S. military deaths have fallen to their lowest levels in 19 months and the Iraqi people are slowly ``taking back their country'' in the wake of the American troop buildup there.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for new soldiers at Fort Jackson, Bush said that parts of Iraq continue to be violent and that terrorists remain determined.

``But what they have learned about the United States of America is that we are more determined,'' Bush said. ``We are more determined to protect ourselves and to help people realize the blessings of freedom.''

Bush said corruption remains a problem and unemployment remains high, but that Iraqi forces have now assumed responsibility in security in eight of Iraq's 18 provinces.

``With our help, the Iraqi people are going on the offense against the enemy. They're confronting the terrorists and they're are taking their country back.''

Before he spoke, he took a tour of the school's ``fit-to-win course,'' which requires recruits to negotiate up to twenty obstacles. He addressed about 180 soldiers at the site deep in the piney woods, telling them he was proud of their efforts and that they would help secure a peaceful future for America.

Bush: Iraqis Are ``Taking Back'' Iraq | World Latest | Guardian Unlimited

Iraq regrets neighbourhood conf. held amidst PKK-related tension

Baghdad Friday underlined strong relations with Ankara, but regretted a conference of Iraq's neighbours would be held in Turkey amidst "difficult and sensitive" circumstances resulted from Kurdish rebels' attacks against Turkey.

Baghdad is pinning high hopes on Turkey to play a pivotal role within the conference of the neighbouring countries of Iraq, in order to tackle economic and security problems primarily the situation in northern Iraq, Labid Abawi, Iraqi foreign Undersecretary, told KUNA following a preparatory meeting of the Iraq's ministerial neighborhoud conference.

Conferees aim at discussing means of supporting Iraq overcome hardships, namely in security domain, and how to beef up the political process, Abawi added.

The atmosphere of the conference is "assuring" due to the high-level representation from the European Union (EU), the eight giant industrial countries, the UN, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), noted Abawi.

Such participation reflect desire of the international community to help the Iraqis, he said, but expressed regret because the conference was held amidst difficult times because of "the terrorist actions carried out by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) inside the Turkish territories." Turkey and Iraq, said Abawi, were determined to work hand-in-hand to suppress the PKK. Iraq, he went on, was keen on not allowing the PKK to use Iraqi territories to launch attacks against Turkey or any other neighbouring country.

Turning to the ministerial conference, Abawi said they would discuss terrorism in general and border control in particular.

Abawi, who thanked Kuwait for the endless support for Iraq, said the conferees would not discuss the PKK-Turkish issue.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesP...79&Language=en