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

US commander in Iraq backs gradual troop cut: report

WASHINGTON (AFP) - General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, will recommend a gradual reduction of US forces beginning next spring in his eagerly anticipated testimony to Congress next week, the Boston Globe reported Friday.

"Based on the progress our forces are achieving, I expect to be able to recommend that some of our forces will be redeployed without replacement," Petraeus told the Globe in an email from Baghdad.

"That will, over time, reduce the total number of troops in Iraq. The process will take time, but we want to be sure to maintain the security gains that coalition and Iraqi forces have worked so hard to achieve," he said.

The force reduction Petraeus forecast will come as the five additional brigades deployed to Iraq as part of President George W. Bush's "surge" strategy end their tours of duty over the spring and summer, and are not replaced, the daily said. A brigade consists of 3,500 to 4,500 soldiers.

"The bottom line is that ... I do not envision that the US would need to send more troops," he was quoted as saying. "In fact, we are in the process of doing the 'battlefield geometry' to determine the way ahead as the surge of forces inevitably runs its course."

There are currently 168,000 US troops in Iraq, including the 30,000 "surge" troops deployed to help stabilise Baghdad and the restive Al-Anbar province.

Beginning Monday, Petraeus and the US ambassador in Iraq, Ryan Crocker, will testify about the war's progress to the Democratic-controlled Congress amid growing calls for the beginning of a withdrawal.

The New York Times reported Friday that Petraeus has told Bush he wants to keep the heightened troop level there well into next year, but that he could accept pulling out about 4,000 soldiers beginning in January.

A senior US military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the New York Times article was "off base."

"He told me the story was off base," the official said. "He said, 'fire the sources," meaning not accurate, and 'the article is off base.'"

Petraeus wants to maintain troop levels to reduce the risk of military setbacks but could accept the withdrawal of one brigade to assuage critics in Congress, the Times said, citing unnamed senior administration and military officials.

Petraeus "is worried about risk, and all things being equal he'd like to keep as much as he could for as long as he could," a senior military officer was quoted as saying in the Times.

Beyond the gesture of pulling back one brigade, Petraeus will discuss the possibility of far deeper withdrawals beyond January that, over a number of months, could bring US force levels back to the early 2007 point of 130,000 troops, said the Times.

But officials involved in the preparation of the general's testimony said it was unclear how specific Petraeus would be in publicly discussing the timing of pullbacks, the daily said.

The Washington Post, citing an unnamed senior US official, also reported that Petraeus has indicated a willingness to consider a drawdown of between 3,500 and 4,500 US troops early next year, with more to follow over the next months based on conditions on the ground.

The pullouts would be contingent on the ability of US and Iraqi forces to sustain what the administration sees as recent gains in security and to make further inroads in stabilising Iraq, the Post said.


US commander in Iraq backs gradual troop cut: report - Yahoo! News UK

Iraqi president opposes death sentence of ex-defence minister

Baghdad - Iraq's President Jalal Talabani opposed Friday the death sentence handed down to former defence minister Sultan Hashim, saying that Hashim was connected to the Iraqi opposition and Talibani himself after Saddam Hussein's ouster.

Talabani denied earlier press reports that the execution would be carried out Saturday, saying that 'the court order to sentence Ali Hassan al-Majid, Hashim and Hussein al-Tikri hasn't been approved yet.'

Talabani would have to approve such an order himself.

Also known as Operation Anfal, al-Anfal was a genocidal campaign against Kurds led by the regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1353012.php/Iraqi_president_opposes_death_sentence_of_ex-defence_minister__Extra_

Press Conference of President Talabani

President Talabani held a press conference for the local and foreign Medias in the PUK politburo office in Sulaimani today.

His Excellency during the conference talked about current situation in Iraq, the current bombardments of Kurdistan region by Turkey and Iran, carrying out the article 140 and the recent visit of President Bush to Iraq.

Concerning the current bombardments of Kurdistan region President Talabani said: “we are against any bombardments and we ask stopping it immediately.” His Excellency, therefore, asked PIJAK and PKK to leave Kurdistan region territories or take their armed struggle inside their own countries territories or commit to political struggle.

Regarding the Kirkuk issue President Talabani preferred the returning of Arab settlers through peace and dialogue not fighting and violence for preserving the national unity of Iraq. At the same time President Talabani said that the political defect of PUK and KDP in Kirkuk must be ended and they must get to an agreement with Arabs and the Turkmen. President Talabani also said that they reject any foreign interference in Kirkuk by Turkey, Syria and other countries.

Concerning the Iraqi and the area’s situation President Talabani evaluated the situation positively and described the quadruple agreement as an agreement between Kurds and Arabs, or Shiites and Sunnis or Islamism and secularists. His Excellency also declared that he talked with President Bush concerning the future of Kurdish people, but he cannot declare every thing to the Medias.

President Talabani finally expressed his pessimism on the future of Iraq.

PUKmedia :: English - Press Conference of President Talabani

PUK Politburo Meets

President Talabani yesterday evening headed a meeting of PUK Politburo .During the meeting the situation in Iraq and Kurdistan region and the latest political developments and predictions were discussed.

President Talabani during the meeting shed light on the visit of president bush to Iraq and his meeting with the leaders of the quintuple statement and clarified the importance of the message of President Bush’s visit for Iraq at this stage.

President Talabani during another part of the meeting talked about his meeting with president Barzani yesterday in Pirmam and said: “Both of us agreed on the style of dealing with and addressing the Kirkuk dossier and carrying out of article140.”

They also discussed the situations in Khanaqin, Jalawla, Qaratapa, Jabara and those steps needed in serving those areas.

Abiding by the PUK disciplines by the cadres and officials were also discussed.

The meeting to be continued today, a close source from the meeting told PUKmedia on Friday.

PUKmedia :: English - PUK Politburo Meets

Stability Returned to the Haji Omaran Area

After the recent bombarding of Haji Omaran area by the Iranian artillery, that caused large damages to the area, many local citizens were displaced and sought Safety in the safe areas. The Iraqi government officially asked Iran to stop the bombardments and to deal with the issues through dialogue and negotiations.

In Haji Omaran area after the shelling has been stopped and stability returned to the area. But the citizens who fled the bombardments told PUKmedia that they are not intending to return to their areas because their agricultural crops and orchards have been destroyed and their flocks have been manly killed. Although the Iraqi federal government decided to compensate the local citizens during a visit of a senior Iraqi delegation to those area , till now compensations have not reached those areas other than distributing some aids among the displaced people by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

PUKmedia :: English - Stability Returned to the Haji Omaran Area

Talks focus on Iraqi province's economic future

RAMADI, Iraq: Tribal leaders joined Iraqi and US officials on Thursday in talks focused on economic development of Anbar Province, three days after US President George W. Bush dropped in to endorse peace initiatives in the restive region. US officials said the one-day Anbar Forum in the provincial capital, Ramadi, is aimed at giving an economic boost to the western province, where former Sunni insurgents have joined with US forces to fight Al-Qaeda. Some 3,000 US and Iraqi troops were deployed to secure the governate in the centre of the city where the forum was being held, officials said.

Among US officials attending are Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, a 2008 White House contender, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day, US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, second in command of US forces in Iraq.

The group, which comprises Sunni tribes who formed an alliance with Americaan troops to claw back their neighborhoods from Al-Qaeda's fighters, complains that it is not getting enough backing from Baghdad and that its volunteers are ill-equipped to take on the well-trained extremists.

"All we are doing today is very important," Biden said in an address to the gathering.

"You have taken a bold decision in Anbar to fight the forces of destruction and terror ... Unity of Iraq is an Iraqi problem. America wants you to succeed and we will do whatever we can to enable you to succeed," he said.

"Iraq's future is in your hands. Only you can determine the future. It's encouraging to see central government assisting you in Anbar. In America we are waiting to see how extensive that cooperation will be," Biden said. "If it is [extensive] you can count on America to stay, if it is not, we can say goodbye now."

The Daily Star - Business Articles - Talks focus on Iraqi province's economic future

Chemical Ali, Hashim, Tikriti to hang tomorrow – Saudi paper

Baghdad, Sept 7, (VOI) – Three of the six defendants in the Anfal case will be executed by hanging on Saturday, a Saudi newspaper quoted the lawyer of former Iraqi deputy premier Tareq Aziz as saying.

"The Iraqi Criminal Court notified Ali Hassan al-Majid, alias Chemical Ali, former defense minister Sultan Hashim and former chief of staff Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti that they will be executed tomorrow," lawyer Badie Aref Ezzat told Saudi newspaper al-Watan, published on Friday.
The lawyer said he was told by the three convicts that they only wanted to meet their families before the executions.


Ezzat said that officials from the U.S. embassy in


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Shiite preacher accuses parties of plotting to topple government

The representative of the top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Karbala said on Friday that security authorities were incapable of protecting security in the Shiite sacred city, accusing some parties of plotting to topple the government.

Addressing Shiite Muslim worshippers during the Friday prayer in al-Hussein shrine in Karbala, Ahmed al-Safi said that "the city has witnessed a deteriorating security condition recently."

"Some of Karbala's parts are not safe, as these neighborhoods witness assassination operations targeting some officials and ordinary people and all these operations are carried out by masked gunmen," al-Safi added.
Karbala had witnessed during the observance of a Shiite occasion two weeks ago clashes that broke out between gunmen and police forces, where 35 people were killed and over 130 injured according to the Iraqi defense ministry's estimates.

The clashes took place in Karbala while the Shiite city was receiving hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims heading to the shrines of Imams al-Hussein and al-Abbas as a prelude to celebrating the birth anniversary of Imam al-Mahdi, the 12th Shiite Imam.

Al-Safi expressed astonishment over the security condition during the visit, asserting that reinforcements were not sent to the city and members of the operations room did not arrive as the ministers of interior and national security were abroad during al-Shaabaniya visit.

Al-Sistani's representative asserted that some parties are plotting to topple the shrines of Imams al-Hussein and al-Abbas and then Karbala and then "to topple the government."

However the Shiite preacher did not specify these parties.
"We need a campaign to teach the citizens how to perform their religious rituals...it is everyone's responsibility," the Shiite cleric concluded.
Karbala is 108 km southwest of Baghdad.

Aswat Aliraq

Iraqi Kurdistan - Does independence beckon?
Iraq's Kurds have never had it so good. But they still have a long way to go before securing a safe and stable, let alone democratic, future

DURING a recent voyage around Iraqi Kurdistan, not a single sign or hint that the place is officially part of a federal Iraq was in evidence. Landing at Erbil International Airport (as the Kurds call it, invariably also noting that it has one of the longest runways in the world), you see no shadow of an Iraqi, as opposed to Kurdish, presence. You show your passport or offer your bags for inspection to officers bearing bright Kurdish insignia on crisp uniforms.

Iraqi Kurdistan - Does independence beckon? | Iraq Updates

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Government allocates 120 millian USD to Anbar

A total of 50 million USD has been allocated to compensate those harmed in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, in addition to another 70 million USD for reconstructing the city, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Burham Saleh said on Thursday morning.

Speaking at the first session of the second forum on the reconstruction of the province, the deputy premier said that 50 million USD had been allocated for owners of houses and stores that were partially or totally destroyed in the violent acts in the province, while another USD 70 million had been allocated to reconstruct the province.

Saleh was delivered Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis' address at the event.
The second forum on reconstructing the province kicked off this morning with the participation of the two vice presidents, Tareq al-Hashemi and Adel Abdul Mahdi, in addition to Burham Saleh and the Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili.

The province's infrastructure was destroyed in armed attacks in 2005.

Government allocates 120 millian USD to Anbar | Iraq Updates