| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Iraq weekly Status Report by State Department |
| 2007-02-02 |
| The Poster admits to ommitting certain portions of this document that did not conform to his own, personal agenda. LTG Petraeus Confirmed to be New MNF-I Commander: • After confirmation from the Senate, LTG David H. Petraeus is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad in preparation to assume command of Multi-National Force-Iraq. Although there is no set date for the change of command, President Bush said last week that he wanted Petraeus to go to Baghdad as quickly as possible in order to begin implementing the new US strategy for stabilizing the country. • In his confirmation hearings last week, LTG Petraeus emphasized the need not only for the additional 21,500 US troops, but also for additional resources and support from all government agencies in order to carry out the mission. Petraeus stated, “if we are to carry out the Multi-National Force-Iraq mission in accordance with the new strategy, the additional forces that have been directed to move to Iraq will be essential. Greatly increased support by our government’s other agencies, additional resources for reconstruction and economic initiatives, and a number of other actions are critical to what must be a broad, comprehensive, multifaceted approach to the challenges in Iraq.” Iraqis Claim 200 Shia Cult Fighters Killed in Battle North of Najaf: • According to media reports, Iraqi officials claim an estimated 200-400 Shia cult members were killed and more than 100 were captured in a fight between the cultists and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Coalition Forces January 28-29. • Open-source reports indicate the 24-hour fight broke out after Iraqi officials learned of a large number of heavily-armed Shiite-led cult fighters outside of Najaf and sent local ISF to investigate. US forces and Coalition air support assisted as the fight escalated, reportedly killing large numbers of enemy fighters, but also resulting in the crash of a US helicopter and the death of its two crewmen. News reports also claimed approximately ten Iraqi soldiers and policemen were killed in the fight. • Iraqi officials claimed January 29 that over 200 militants were killed in a battle between US-backed Iraqi troops and a religious group allegedly plotting to kill Shia religious leaders and pilgrims during a festival celebrating Ashura. • Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the raid was targeting a predominantly Shia group called the Jund al-Samaa, or Soldiers of Heaven, which aims to clear Iraq of temporal leaders in order to hasten the return of the Mahdi, a messianic figure in Islam. Iraqi Legal Authorities Trained on New Military Code: • Nearly two dozen Iraqi military lawyers selected to be military judges and prosecutors met in Baghdad January 20 to attend a three-week course covering the new procedures for court-martials and disciplinary proceedings that are contained in the new military justice penal code and court-martial procedures that the Iraqi Parliament will soon enact. Mayor and Police Fired in Diyala: • Approximately 1,500 police officers in Iraq's Diyala Governorate and the mayor of the provincial capital, Baquba, have been fired. Provincial police chief Ghanim al- Qurayshi said January 28 that the officers fled rather than fight when Baquba was attacked by insurgents in November 2006. • Qurayshi also said Mayor Khalid al-Sinjari was suspected of collaborating with Sunni insurgents. Qurayshi took over police operations in Diyala after his predecessor was fired in December 2006. Communications: • Throughout Iraq, insurgents have attacked water and electricity plants to spread chaos and disrupt progress, but they have allowed the communications sector to rebuild - primarily because they rely on mobile phones to plan their attacks. Iraq Women in Business Conference: • On January 25, USAID's Izdihar Private Sector Development Project organized the “Women in Business Conference: A promise for Economic Progress” at the al- Rasheed Hotel in the International Zone. Over 60 women representing NGOs, businesses and government agencies engaged in lively discussions of issues facing Iraqi women entrepreneurs, such as access to small business loans, NGO registration processes, gender equality, business planning, and microfinance. • One of the conference highlights was the presentation by the Executive Director of the Izdihar-supported Small Business Development Center in Hillah, an Iraqi businesswoman, who shared the experience of running a business association that provides consulting and training for local businesses. USAID's Izdihar project supports five Small Business Development Centers throughout Iraq. CCCI Convicts 11 Insurgents: • The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 11 security detainees January 13-18, for various crimes including possession of illegal weapons, taking advantage of someone else’s legal documents and illegal border crossing. • The trial court found one Iraqi man guilty of illegal possession of special category weapons in violation of Order 3/2003. Multi-National Forces (MNF) conducted a raid of the defendant’s compound near Tameem, Iraq. MNF searched the buildings and found numerous explosives, including 35 pounds of ammonium nitrate. On January 15, the trial panel sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Iraqis Get Ideas From S.C. Prisons: • Iraqi prison officials looking to rebuild their nation's jail system toured a South Carolina state prison January 29, gathering ideas - including electronic door locks and an onsite license plate plant - to take back to Iraq. • A delegation that included US Justice Department officials and their Iraqi counterparts visited the maximum security Broad River Correctional Institution, where the Iraqis watched inmates make South Carolina license plates and traffic signs. Iraqi prisoners don't have a place to work, one visitor said through an interpreter. The plant enables an inmate “to help himself and his family. We can have productive inmates, not just consumer inmates,” said the warden of a Nasiriya prison, whose name was withheld by the Justice Department for his own safety. The group was also interested in the prison's security system, which includes electronically locking doors and video monitoring. Muslim Brotherhood Leaders Calls for End to Violence: • The leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood appealed to Sunni and Shiite religious scholars to work together to end Iraq’s sectarian violence. Mohammed Mahdi Akef’s statement was posted January 26 on the group’s website and called on Harith al-Dhari, head of the influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars, and top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to work for an end to the sectarian violence in Iraq. |
| Posted by:Bobby |