Middle East Features
US army to hand over security in Iraq's Anbar province
Jun 25, 2008, 12:55 GMT
Baghdad - Iraqi troops are expected to take over security tasks in the once volatile western Anbar province from the US military on Saturday, making it the first Sunni Arab area to be handed back to Iraq.
'Preparations are underway for the transfer of security responsibilities by US troops in Anbar,' General Murdi Nayyif al-Hardan, the commander of the Iraqi army in the province, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The handover ceremony will be held on Saturday, after which Iraqi troops will take control of security, the general said.
'Our troops are now capable of maintaining law and order,' he said.
Anbar, which was once the hotbed of Sunni Arab insurgency, will be the tenth of Iraq's 18 provinces to regain sovereignty.
US forces have already handed over security responsibilities in three Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq, as well as six Shiite-dominated provinces in the south.
Anbar will become the first Sunni Arab province to return to Iraqi security control after years of violent insurgency against US troops and successive Shiite-dominated governments.
The Sunni insurgency in the province was a mixture of supporters of the ousted Baath party, loyalists of Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi's al- Qaeda in Iraq terror network and rebel tribesmen.
After the downfall of former dictator Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni Arab, many in Iraq's Sunni Arab community felt they were politically disenfranchised with the ascendancy of Shiite Muslims and Kurds to power.
In 2004, thousands of US and Iraqi troops moved into Fallujah, beginning a large-scale assault on insurgents.
US forces pounded the city for months to weaken insurgents, who fled the provinces. Thousands of civilians also fled the fierce fighting.
The population of Fallujah was estimated to be about 300,000 people before the escalation of violence in early 2004 but only 50,000 people were thought to have remained in the city during the outbreak of fighting.
In 2006, many tribal chiefs, once openly hostile to the US military presence, formed an alliance with the US army and Iraqi government to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq militants.
The Taliban-style order, which was imposed by al-Qaeda followers on the local population, and the indiscriminate killing of civilians by militants enraged tribal chiefs.
In response, the province's tribal leaders formed police units, which thousands of local residents joined to fight the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
A new calm has reigned around Anbar in the past year thanks to the alliance between the US and Iraqi government troops and the tribal recruits, who have a good knowledge of the local culture and terrain.
The relative stability in Anbar is also helped by the fact that it is almost entirely Sunni, which means it is not engulfed by the same sectarian feuds as in other restive areas, like Baghdad and Diayla province.
The conventional police force in Anbar, reflecting this sectarian homogeneity, has the backing of the local population whereas security forces elsewhere in the country are largely Shiite and are regarded with suspicion by many Sunnis.
Many Iraqi politicians and US officials say in order for the Iraqi government to hold onto security gains in the province it will have to improve poor services wrecked by years of fighting as well as its strained relations with the Sunni leadership in Anbar.
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Older Talkback
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SP4 barfs up another inane hairball, while paying no attention to the facts. He probably looks in the mirror each morning and tells himself how smart he is, because no one else ever will.
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www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1817699,00.html
While the Pentagon report declares that 'all major violence indicators' have fallen between 40% and 80% 'from pre-surge levels,' the GAO sees some of that progress as based on the cooperation of Iraqis who remain sharply at odds with one another. The congressional watchdog office cites the so-called 'Sons of Iraq' program, a largely Sunni group of militiamen now paid by U.S. taxpayers to keep the peace in their neighborhoods. More than 100,000 strong, the group has yet to reconcile its long-standing differences with the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. U.S. efforts to integrate these forces into the formal Iraq security forces are moving slowly, and only 14,000 militiamen have made the leap so far. What happens if the U.S. stops funding such rent-a-cops is anyone's guess, Pentagon officials acknowledge.
An old Pentagon adage holds that while figures don't lie, liars can figure. That's apt when it comes to measuring the progress of the Iraqi security forces. The GAO cites data showing that only 10% of Iraqi army battalions have reached full operational readiness. In a Pentagon response contained within the GAO report, the Defense Department said a better measure was the share of Iraqi units 'in the lead' in combined operations, which it said is 70%. But that 'in the lead' phrasing, defense officials concede, is elastic enough to include borderline battalions. There are other shortcomings when it comes to measuring the 478,000-strong Iraqi military and police units: 'The number of trained Iraqi security forces may overstate the number of troops present for duty,' the GAO noted. 'According to DOD, the number of trained troops includes personnel who are deceased or absent without leave.'
www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1817988,00.html
There is no disputing that a snapshot of Baghdad on some days reveals a country on the upswing. In fact, almost all would agree that it's safer today than it was at the height of sectarian violence in 2006. But with security gains from one day to the next still paper thin at times, it is difficult to conclude that this period represents progress that will last. More likely, it's just another dip in the roller-coaster.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/three-us-soldiers-killed-a s-violencein-iraq-escalates-854334.html
Three US soldiers and an interpreter have been killed by a roadside bomb in northern Iraq, bringing to 25 the number of Americans killed in Iraq this month and underlining that Iraq remains a very dangerous place for the US army, despite a drop in the number of attacks on US forces are now coming under regular attack in Shia as well as Sunni areas of Iraq with wide differences within the US government about the extent to which Iraqi security forces can operate without American assistance. There are now about 478,000 men in the Iraqi security forces, but a report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) cites the US Defence Department as saying that the proportion of Iraqi units capable of performing operations without US help is only 10 per cent.
The Iraqi government has extended its authority into areas previously held by the Mehdi Army militia of the anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra and Sadr City in Baghdad. But senior Iraqi officials say this would not have happened without the backing of American firepower.
www.gao.gov/new.items/d08837.pdf
The White House and McCain may cite an increase in the number of Iraqi forces, and the report backs that claim up, saying that Iraqi security forces had grown in number to 478,000 in May 2008, up from 323,000 when the surge began. However, what the GOP doesn't discuss is that the benchmark set up in January 2007 by the Bush administration was for these forces to be able to act independently, without being propped up by the U.S. military, and in this regard, the Iraqis have fallen way short of their obligation. The report says that the Iraqi military has shown 'limited improvement' in this area, noting that 'the number of Iraqi army battalions rated at the highest readiness level accounts for less than 10 percent of the total number of Iraqi army battalions.'
Poking a little deeper into the issue, the report notes that the four causes of the lagging readiness rate are '(1) the lack of a single unified force; (2) sectarian and militia influences; (3) continued dependence on U.S. and coalition forces for logistics and combat support; and (4) training and leadership shortages.' The first two problems relate directly to the failure of the Iraqi government to take the necessary steps for reconciliation and the creation of a unified government (again, the reason for the surge in the first place). As for the dependence on U.S. forces, the report notes that 'contracted logistics support in some form will be necessary for 2 to 3 years.' How do you think the American people will feel about that? And, more importantly, three more years of American support for the Iraqi military goes against Bush's benchmark.
....ere the poor liberal sore losers who MUST tell the world we have achieved no successes, even in the face of those successes.
So, run your anti-american press in the comment sections, run your mouths with your petty insults, but progress is progress. Just ask Nancy Pelosi, who even is mouthing the word 'progress'.
www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1413517.php/At_leas t_42_killed_62_injured_in_Iraq_violence__Roundup_
Baghdad - At least 42 people were killed and 62 wounded in separate attacks across Iraq, police sources and media reports said Thursday.
The US military was expected to delay the handover of security responsibilities in Anbar province due to the explosion and bad weather forecasts, al-Iraqiya state television said.
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Tell us again, oh retared one, how great things are.
Tell us again, you imbecile propagandist, how this is a sign of progress. Let that prion-infested brain of yours loose, and reveal your dementia.
Explain again how multiple outbreaks of violence mean 'winning'.
Do tell us again why al Qaeda is a greater threat than the Sunni insurgency, which is VASTLY larger in numbers of participants.
... and they REMAIN better!
What we're seeing is the fundamental disagreement between sectarian groups, even Shia against Shia.
There's no WIN until these problems are resolved. The new problem is the oil revenues, which gives them more to fight over.
This is NOT a military problem, as even Petraeus has said numerous times. It's a POLITICAL problem; and only the Iraqi Government can WIN that 'war'. While they dither, U.S. troops and the Iraqi people continue to pay the price, as well as the U.S. taxpayers funding this mess.
We could have solved 'health care' and other infrastructure problems just with the money WASTED due to fraud, and lack of tracking. If Bush were a corporate CEO, he'd be up on charges before the SEC.
Meanwhile, our troops continue to perish on their behalf, and Bush is jockeying for deals before he leaves office (8 years too late).
Notice the price of oil? Notice the stock market dropping? Notice the dollar dropping?
Notice your damned PANTS dropping?
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awsiwToPU570&refer=home
June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Libya, the holder of Africa's largest oil reserves, threatened to cut oil output in response to a U.S. law that allows terror victims to seize assets of foreign governments as compensation.
Congress passed a law in January that would let families of American victims of Libyan-linked attacks confiscate Libyan assets and those of companies doing business with the North African nation. At least two lawsuits have already been filed in Washington.
``We hope that we reach a solution that at least respects the sovereignty of the different countries,'' and excludes ``this threat of force,'' Shokri Ghanem, the chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg television from Cairo.
Gaiacomm International to develop Defeat IED technology
Gaiacomm International will develop Counter (defeat) IED technology for the US Military to be used in Iraq and Afghanistan. This technology is currently classified because of its accurate nature of detection. When deployed it will be able to detect and disable any device in the ground, on person, inside vehicle or building within a determined range, also classified. Soldiers are dying thus, the emphasis on accurate detection. Other technologies currently in the field simply do not operate as planned, thus the need for Gaiacomm's technology.
...I have a weakness:
I believe in people. What I see are folks desparate to be free, and the scum of humanity trying to keep them enslaved. When they win a victory, I think it is only fair and reasonable to congratulate them. Instead, the liberal elite WANTS a failure, a fact proven by polls, and is willing to actively try and push opinion to achieve this goal.
So go run to your elitist print, your half-empty glass. I would rather be painted for what I am than ever be who you actually are.
..... That lump of grey stuff between his ears. What a jackass.
You piece of fetid meat; which is your favorite story of the day? Which one convinced you that the war on terror is going our way? Tell us which cheers you up the most, you bloody ignoramus.
www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.afghan28jun28,0,200136.story
WASHINGTON - After nearly seven years of war in Afghanistan, the Taliban-led insurgency is flourishing, the Defense Department indicated in a gloomy new report yesterday, saying the insurgents are likely to accelerate their attacks and expand into new regions in northern and western regions of the country.
The Pentagon's assessment came as U.S. casualties in Afghanistan rose to 23 in June, the second-deadliest month for American forces since the U.S. invaded weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/28/content_8455258.htm
BAGHDAD, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The al-Qaida militant group in Iraq on Saturday claimed responsibility for Thursday's suicide attack in Anbar province that killed dozens of people, including U.S. soldiers.
In a statement issued by the group on the internet, the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq said that it was behind the attack bya suicide bomber who blew himself up among dozens of people attending a meeting in the town council of Garmah, near the city of Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad.
(This group would include many of the Sunni's we've been paying $10 a day, since the government is not delivering on promises of jobs and power-sharing.)
uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKL2852800520080628
TEHRAN (Reuters) - The Revolutionary Guards said Iran would impose controls on shipping in the vital Gulf oil route if Iran was attacked and warned regional states of reprisals if they took part, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Fear of an escalation in the standoff between the West and Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, have been one factor propping up sky-high oil prices. Crude hit a record level on international markets near $143 a barrel on Friday.
SP4: You know....Jun 27th, 2008 - 15:59:55
So go run to your elitist print, your half-empty glass. I would rather be painted for what I am than ever be who you actually are.
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(What colors do schmucks come in?)
SP4's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
PB, your posts are sounding more and more desperate. You are practically begging people to believe that all is lost in Iraq.
You have been wrong every step of the way, you vile, defeatist peddling, stupid little piece of s*it. Now everyone is coming to the same conclusion.
Post some more irrelevant articles and rage against Bush. Things have turned around in Iraq and none of your bs cab change that.
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SP4; and here we areJun 25th, 2008 - 20:07:58
..handing over repsonsibility to teh iraqi's.
Another success in Iraq...
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