News & Views 07/20/07

Photo: Out of the shadows: In Iraq, suicide attacks and sectarian killings grab the world's attention. But it is the guerrilla war being waged by the Iraqi resistance that is having such a devastating effect on US and British forces. And now these insurgent groups want to create a united front - and a political platform. Here you can see photographs of one of the factions, the 1920s Revolution Brigades, training in the Sunni triangle north of Baghdad. (Picture from The Guardian website)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

Shadows on a wall……

I cannot erase her portrait from my mind. Neither hers nor that of others I have seen, day in, day out. That same picture, as if permanently fixed, repeating itself in Baghdad, Damascus, Amman... She must have been around 70 years old. She looked thin. Her black abaya hanging loosely on her head. Her pale face showed no bitterness, no anger, no hate...I wished it did. They would have told me she was still alive. None of that. Just that lost look that has become like a stamp, a seal, a "made in Iraq" (or more aptly made in America or made in Iran) label, by which you can recognize us, us the "ordinary" ones.

Strands of disheveled hair escaped from under her abaya, covering one of her eyes and she let it be... She was sqatting in the shade, propped by a cracked grey wall behind her. One hand was holding her head and the other freely hanging by her side. She was talking to herself. A common thing these days. I personally engage in it often. I heard her say:" What shall I tell you? They are gone. All gone and they left me behind." Then she would stop and her gaze would drift somewhere far, somewhere beyond, as if visiting this place of no return...As if she was waiting for that moment... She was no beggar. She begged for nothing. I do not think she was even aware that she needed anything anymore. She lost it all, she lost herself too.

Iraqi Kurdistan: Tough Times for Arab Refugee Kids

Karwan Hussein, a 10-year-old Kurdish boy, was playing with his friends in the town of Qaladze when his new neighbour called for help. Hussein didn't respond, he knows better than to help an Arab. "They're Arab terrorists," he said. "My mother told me not to be around people who speak Arabic because they might kidnap me." He said his parents had told him that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein - "who was an Arab" - destroyed their majority-Kurdish town in Sulaimaniyah province during his violent reign. The suspicion built up over years of brutal rule from Baghdad endures. Hussein and his family view their new neighbours, who escaped the bloodshed in Mosul and fled to Qaladze three months ago, with suspicion. All the children in the neighbourhood refuse to play with the Arab family’s two boys. As the violence has exploded in Iraq, the Iraqi Red Crescent says at least 4,500 Arab families have fled to the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, centre of this province in north eastern Iraq, since June 2006. This has come as a shock to Sulaimaniyah, which was seen as one of the most mono-ethnic cities in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Pictures of the Displaced

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

Shia and Sunni MPs Fear American Withdrawal

An American withdrawal from Iraq would cause bloodshed and leave the country dominated by radical militias, Iraqi politicians from across the parliamentary spectrum have warned. Even Sunni Arab leaders - who in the past have advocated an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops - are among those now supporting the US troop presence and a gradual pullout over time. Many Sunni leaders say the withdrawal should be conditional on the progress of the Iraqi security forces. Only members of parliament allied with radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are now pushing for an immediate pull-out. Analysts say Sadr’s rivals for power fear such radical militias will be able to seize control if Washington does not stay longer and train up the government’s forces.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

Daily attacks in Iraq hit new high in June

Attacks in Iraq last month reached their highest daily average since May 2003, showing a surge in violence as President George W. Bush completed a buildup of U.S. troops, Pentagon statistics show. The data, obtained by Reuters from the Defense Department, showed an upward trend in daily attacks over the past four months, when U.S. and Iraqi forces were ramping up operations against insurgents and militants, including al Qaeda, in Iraq. Pentagon officials were not immediately available to comment on the statistics.
The June numbers showed 5,335 attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces, civilians and infrastructure. June's total was 2.5 percent below an October 2006 peak of 5,472 attacks and slightly lower than the 5,365 attacks in May. But because June has only 30 days, the average daily number of attacks was 177.8, higher than the 176.5 last October and 173.1 in May. The Pentagon statistics, which come as pressure mounts in the U.S. Congress for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, depicted the most intensive month for daily attacks since Bush declared major combat operations at an end in May 2003.

…..Attacks last month were up 46 percent from a year earlier, with the statistics showing 3,642 attacks or 121.4 per day on average in June 2006. The June 2007 statistics confirmed a significant decline in the targeting of Iraqi civilians, with such attacks falling 18 percent to 763 from a 2007 high of 932 in May. Attacks on Iraqi security forces fell to 889 in June from 987 in May, while attacks on coalition forces rose about 7 percent to 3,671 from 3,423.

Deals In Iraq Make Friends Of Enemies

U.S. forces in Iraq are striking a variety of "handshake agreements" with Iraqi insurgents and militia groups, sometimes resulting in the release of fighters detained for attacking coalition forces, U.S. military officials said in several recent interviews. Such informal deals mark a significant tactical shift in the Iraq war and represent a potentially risky effort to enlist former U.S. foes in the battle against hard-line militants. Despite a White House report last week concluding that a formal amnesty initiative would be "counterproductive" for Iraq today, U.S. military officials in Iraq believe that successful counterinsurgency campaigns almost always involve some form of forgiveness as a means to ending the fighting and achieving political reconciliation. Though no formal arrangement exists for granting amnesty to insurgents, the current deals amount to a kind of don't-ask-don't-tell pardon system. U.S. forces cooperate with former enemies in exchange for information about roadside bombs, weapons caches and sanctuaries of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the mainly Iraqi group that has sought to intensify the country's low-level civil war.

"Our engagement efforts with groups who were once adversaries is about getting them to point their weapons at al-Qaeda and other extremists," Army Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said in a briefing yesterday, offering the most extensive public comments on the subject thus far. "We are ready and willing to engage with key leaders of any groups opposing AQI [al-Qaeda in Iraq] or other extremist groups." He said that U.S. forces have reached deals with a variety of groups, both Sunni and Shiite, "throughout Iraq," citing Baghdad, the provinces of Anbar and Diyala, the towns of Taji and Iskandariyah, the Arab Jabour region, and southern Iraq.
"They're all very different; they're all very localized," Odierno said of the arrangements. But, he added, they tend to follow three basic steps. First, the leaders of the groups agree to stop attacking U.S. and Iraqi forces. Then they pledge to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq. Finally, U.S. and Iraqi officials try to get them to become part of Iraqi security forces, usually the police. "There are no signed agreements," Odierno added. "They are . . . handshake agreements."

…..A senior U.S. official in Baghdad said that the number of detainees released to tribal leaders so far is "very small" and "on a case-by-case basis." He and others noted that the number of detainees held by the U.S. military in Iraq has increased to almost 22,000, from 15,400 six months ago, when the current counteroffensive began.

Marine Escapes Jail Time for Murder Plot

A US Marine convicted of plotting to murder an Iraqi civilian outside Baghdad last year escaped a jail sentence for his crimes, the military said. Trent Thomas, who was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap and murder Hashim Ibrahim Awad in Hamdania on April 26 last year, hugged his family after receiving a reduction in rank and bad conduct discharge. The 25-year-old former lance corporal, who has been held in detention since the allegations first surfaced last year, could have faced a life prison sentence for his role in Mr Awad's killing. [The man murdered was the father of eleven. – dancewater]

COMMENTARY

Today is better than tomorrow……

I don't know why sometimes an old Arabic proverb comes ringing into my mind: "If you know; it is a disaster, and if you don't know, then it is a greater disaster…..". I think it is said about a person who thinks he knows everything, then he discovers he was a fool, and what was hidden was much greater… Perhaps this is how it is with most people who follow up the news of Iraq, especially the poor American people, surrounded as they are by a government and a media that follows it, repeating all the lies day and night to keep the American people ignorant about what is taking place in Iraq, while they are the No. 1 party involved in that war, as it is financed from the pockets of the tax-payers. They tell them- you are sacrificing for America, for the freedom of America, and the reputation of America… and the truth is- they are sacrificing for a bunch of thieves; the owners of capitalist companies, so their investments should grow and their bank balances should increase, and let the American people go to hell, just like the Iraqi people went to hell…..

IRAQI REFUGEES

Stories of Desperation and Need

Aziz and his family have been threatened with eviction because he hasn't been able to pay rent on their apartment in Beirut, Lebanon for the past two months. The whole family is without legal residency; his son, Saabir, manages to work illegally, washing dishes at a restaurant. "I earn US$200 – it's the only money my family has. But our rent is $200 a month, and my mom needs urgent medical care. That costs $200 a month too." Leena, Saabir's mother, has breast cancer, which has weakened her so much that she can no longer get out of bed or walk on her own. Aziz must transport her to the hospital every 10 days for treatment.

…Alia is 77 years old and lives by herself in Amman. Originally from Baghdad, in 2005 she was threatened and robbed in her home; fearful of increasing violence, she fled from Baghdad to Jordan with her niece. Her daughters had already escaped Iraq with their husbands – one daughter went to Australia, but Alia doesn't know where her other daughter is. Shortly after arriving, her niece abandoned her, unable to support both of them. Now Alia spends her days in her apartment, emotionally despondent, and wishing to be reunited with her daughter in Australia. "I don't know many other Iraqis here in Jordan, and I have no one to support me or keep me company. My daughter has tried three times to bring me to live with her, but we've been denied every time," Alia lamented. Her daughter is trying to support Alia, and she sends money to cover rent. But the US$90 that she pays every month for rent leaves her living precariously day-by-day. "I'm not expecting much in my life," she says, "I just want to be reunited with my daughter."

Iraqis who've helped Danish troops secretly evacuated to Denmark

The government of Denmark has quietly evacuated dozens of Iraqi civilians who've been helping Danish troops in southern Iraq. Altogether about 200 aids and family members have been flown to Copenhagen this week. The last of 3 flights arrived today. The Danish government kept the operation secret until the plane had left Basra for fear of an attack by militants. Denmark announced last winter that it planned to pull its 480-member battlegroup out of Iraq starting next month. The issue of what to do about civilian helpers was hotly debated until the government decided to offer entry visas, financial aid and jobs.

US Still Slow to Admit Iraqi Refugees

The State Department will fall far short of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees it had said it was prepared to accept by the end of September. A State Department official told McClatchy Newspapers this week that it plans to interview 4,000 potential Iraqi refugees by then. The State Department has said that helping Iraqi refugees — particularly those who work with Americans — remains a top priority. In April, the department approved one Iraqi refugee. It allowed one in May, as well.

How to Help Iraqi Refugees

RESISTANCE

Just Foreign Policy: "Withdrawal Support Calculator"

Estimate support for withdrawal from Iraq in your Congressional District. Share with your Representative and local media.

Liberals Vow to Block Continued Iraq Funding

Seventy House members, nearly all liberal Democrats, vowed today that they would not support any more funding for Iraq military operations unless tied to a complete withdrawal of combat troops. This is a big development. Earlier this year, liberals grudgingly voted for Iraq funding bills because they didn't want to give Nancy Pelosi a defeat. Now it seems that their patience has run out. The next Iraq funding bill won't come up until the fall, so this showdown won't happen for a few months, but it appears to be shaping up as an epic battle between liberals in Congress and President Bush. This may be the beginning of the end for the Iraq War.

Iraq Moratorium Day – September 21 and every third Friday thereafter ~ "I hereby make a commitment that on Friday, September 21, 2007, and the third Friday of every subsequent month I will break my daily routine and take some action, by myself or with others, to end the War in Iraq."

Quote of the day: We in the US recognize butchery when we see it - the atrocity of the car bomb, the chlorine-gas truck bomb, the beheading. These acts are obviously barbaric in nature. But our favored way of war - war from a distance - has, for us, been pre-cleansed of barbarism. Or rather its essential barbarism has been turned into a set of "errant incidents", of "accidents", of "mistakes" repeatedly made over more than six decades. Air power is, in the military itself, little short of a religion of force, impermeable to reason, to history, to examples of what it does (and what it is incapable of doing). It is in our interest not to see air war as a - possibly the - modern form of barbarism. Tom Engelhardt