General petraeus discusses progress in iraq

Iraq Safer but Still Perilous At Year-End, Petraeus Says http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/29/AR2007122901169_pf.html BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 -- The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, delivered a positive but cautious assessment Saturday of progress in the country in 2007, citing the drop-off in violence over the latter half of the year but warning that the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq remains the country's preeminent threat. Petraeus said the number of weekly attacks in Iraq -- such as roadside bombings, mortar attacks and sniper fire -- has fallen by about 60 percent since June, to about 500 a week by late this month. The number of Iraqi civilians killed in December through the 22nd appeared to be about 600, according to a graph of the past two years provided by Petraeus that uses combined Iraqi and U.S. figures. The highest death toll during this period came last December, when about 3,000 civilians were killed. "The positive security trends and the factors that produced them are changing the context in many parts of Iraq. While progress in many areas remains fragile, security has improved," Petraeus said during a briefing for reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He added that success "will emerge slowly and fitfully, with reverses as well as advances, accumulating fewer bad days and gradually more good days. There will inevitably be more tough fighting." The downturn in violence is generally attributed to three factors that emerged over the year: the arrival of 30,000 additional U.S. troops, the emergence of tens of thousands of Sunni fighters who aligned with American troops against al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the decision by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to call for a six-month cease-fire by his militia. Petraeus also cited a drop-off in fighters coming to Iraq from Syria and Saudi Arabia, and a decline in recent months in the use of weapons believed to have been made in Iran. Iraqi Interior Ministry officials, in a separate briefing Saturday, singled out the rise of the Sunni groups, known often as the Sahawa, or Awakening, as a main reason for improvement in 2007, a rare public endorsement from the Shiite-led government, which has been wary of, and sometimes opposed to, those groups. Maj. Gen. Ayden Khaled Qadir, deputy interior minister for security affairs, said there are plans to include 12,641 people from those groups into the police force in Baghdad by the end of April. The Iraqi government has been slow to do that, fearing that many such people are former insurgents with an anti-Shiite outlook. For a time this year, U.S. officials in Iraq described Shiite militias as the most damaging and destabilizing force in the country, but Petraeus identified al-Qaeda in Iraq as the top threat. "We call it sometimes 'the wolf closest to the sled.' It is the most significant enemy that Iraq faces precisely because it is the enemy that carries out the most horrific attacks, that causes the greatest damage to infrastructure and that seems most intent on reigniting ethno-sectarian violence," he said. He said that al-Qaeda in Iraq has been diminished by aggressive military operations and by the rise of the Awakening groups and that the insurgents have responded by attacking those forces. In an audiotape released Saturday purported to be by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda warned Iraq's Sunnis against joining such tribal councils or participating in any unity government. "The most evil traitors are those who trade away their religion for the sake of their mortal life," bin Laden said, according to a translation by the Associated Press. Petraeus said the al-Qaeda in Iraq network and its affiliates have moved into northern Iraqi provinces such as Nineveh, Diyala and Salahuddin after coming under pressure from U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad and Anbar provinces. The one Iraqi province that has not had a reduction in attacks is Nineveh, where insurgents operate in and around the provincial capital of Mosul. In recent days there have been two major bombings in northern provinces, one in the oil refinery town of Baiji and another in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province. Together, they killed at least 26 people. Contrary to other trends, the number of suicide car bombings and suicide-vest attacks has risen in each of the past three months, though the frequency is still below peak levels this year. There were about 50 "high-profile" explosions in the first three weeks of December, according to U.S. military figures. "There will be bombs" in Iraq, Petraeus predicted. "If the metric is that there are no car bombs or no suicide-vest bombs, I think that would just be an unrealistic metric."

bin laden's pathetic appeal for more murders in iraq

News flash for Osama bin Laden from Michael Yon: Here’s a news flash for Osama bin Laden, who earlier today released a call “ to guerrilla forces in Mesopotamia. ”I have directly observed how more and more Iraqis have grown to hate al Qaeda as much as Americans do. Al Qaeda has lost all credibility there, both from a religious standpoint as well as strategically. Even Western media seems to be gradually awakening to the realization that al Qaeda press releases on the topic of Iraq are about as well-informed as the post-invasion rantings of Baghdad Bob. (Everytime Osama bin Laden talks of crushing the infidel, I can’t help but think of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf pointing vigorously skyward and practically spitting at the reporters: “We are crushing the American army as we speak!”) Al Qaeda terrorists can continue to murder Iraqis and Americans at the behest of Osama, but their tactics will only backfire. Osama will no more own Iraq than he will own America. His is a lost cause. Not because of decisive military defeats, (although these have helped) but because decent Iraqi people from all quarters, sects and regions of Iraq have had enough of his people cutting off heads of children. It’s understandable that this turn of events might come as news to Osama, because he cannot set foot in Iraq for fear of his life. Osama is welcome to prove this wrong by visiting Basra, Baghdad or Mosul. Iraqis and Americans will welcome Osama in these cities.

violence continues to fall in iraq

So far the month of December is on track to have the lowest number of US casualties since the war began. Let us pray that is so.. Petraeus lauds fall of Iraq violence http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7155628.stm The top US military commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, has described the recent fall in violence in Iraq as a "significant accomplishment". Violence in the country has fallen to its lowest in two-and-a-half years, he told the BBC, but said he was neither an optimist or a pessimist about Iraq. He defended the UK handover of Basra to Iraqi forces, despite criticism of the security situation in the region. However, he calmed suggestions that the US could make a swift withdrawal. "Irreconcilable" groups - such as al-Qaeda - still active in Iraq remain formidable foes, the general said. There were "innumerable enemies, and innumerable sombre signs", he said. Violence in Iraq has noticeably slowed since the US "surge" strategy implemented by President George W Bush and Gen Petraeus this year. According to recent figures some 536 Iraqis have died in violence so far this month, compared to more than 2,300 in December 2006. "Everyone agrees that the security situation has improved substantially," Gen Petraeus said. "The levels of violence, the levels of bloodshed over the past two or three months has declined to levels not seen since late spring of 2005 [or] early summer of 2005. "It has enabled progress in other arenas as well. You see markets springing back to life, children going back to school in greater numbers." But he was clear on the need to continue striving to reduce conflict. "We will certainly, tenaciously and relentlessly pursue those who are the irreconcilables - and of course foremost among those are al-Qaeda Iraq and their affiliates," he said. Reacting to criticism by Iraqi officials of the recent UK handover of Basra to Iraqi forces amid complaints of militia violence and police corruption, Gen Petraeus said it was time for "Iraqi solutions to Iraqi problems". "I no longer will use the term optimism nor pessimism. I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist, I am a realist at this point on Iraq. "I have well over three years on the ground in Iraq, and the reality is that Iraq is hard," the general said.

baghdad stock exchange moving into 21st century

Baghdad stock exchange set to share in digital age http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3075649.ece Deborah Haynes in Baghdad UK Times Newspaper December 20, 2007 Clutching a mobile phone to one ear, a stockbroker writes the price of a banking share in pen on one of many white boards that line the trading floor of the Iraq stock exchange. Behind him scores of suited traders, separated from him by a waist-high partition, squint at the boards trying to decide whether to buy or sell. “I am doing well. The prices go up sometimes, so I make money,” said Ahmed Said, 38, an investor, jostling for a good position from where to shout out his trades to a broker. By early next year this outdated trading scene will disappear as the exchange prepares to go electronic, creating a New York-style market. Bourse executives and brokers hope that the move, coupled with a new securities law, will attract more foreign and Iraqi investors, which will help share prices to recover fully from a large slide last year over security fears. The average price of a share in one of the 94 companies listed on the exchange is only 6 cents. “This is the perfect time to buy,” said Haitham Elias, a broker. “If the security situation improves, I think that stock prices will multiply by a factor of three or four,” he said, in between fielding phone calls from investors and scribbling share prices on the white board. June Reed, an American adviser to the stock exchange, said that the automation project took time to get off the ground because Washington had to sign off sufficient funding, the design had to be drawn up and also a new securities law needed to be drafted. These obstacles overcome, a set of large trading screens is due to be installed at the exchange in central Baghdad in the next few weeks. “Brokers will be able not only to trade electronically in the exchange but from their own offices. This is a model like Nasdaq,” said Ms Reed, who took time out from working as an investment banker in New York to spend the past 3½ years at the US Embassy in Baghdad as a senior adviser for private sector development. “Hopefully by the end of the first quarter [2008] everyone will take a look at the exchange again because it will be fully automated,” she said. Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam, chief executive of the bourse, said that electronic trading coupled with foreigners being able to invest in Iraqi shares since August meant that 2008 should be a good year for the market — Iraq’s first independent stock exchange. During Saddam Hussein’s time the old Baghdad stock exchange reported to the Ministry of Finance. Opened in June 2004 in a former restaurant owned by a Baghdad hotel, the new bourse was a far cry from the ultra-modern electronic trading platform that the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority had hoped to create within a few months. It had only 15 companies listed. By the end of 2005, however, it had grown in size and volume to a market capitalisation peak of just under $2 billion (£1 billion), before a wave of sectarian killing over the next 18 months caused many investors to flee. Trading was suspended for several months last year and the market plunged when it resumed. A marked fall in violence since the summer is reviving confidence, although this has yet to feed through to Iraqi stocks, which will end 2007 slightly down from January despite a pick-up in the number of investors and volume traded. Mr Abdul Salam and Ms Reed have high hopes for the future, as the improving security triggers growth in sectors such as banking, tourism and real estate. A trickle of foreign investors from the Middle East and the United States is already stirring interest among Iraqis with money, while a plan to open the bourse five days a week instead of the present three is also designed to increase business. “This is a nascent exchange and a relatively new and challenged economy so there is tremendous risk, but there is tremendous potential,” said Ms Reed. At present Iraq’s exchange in not a fair indicator of economic activity because banking stocks comprise 70 per cent of trades and manufacturing takes up 20 per cent and only about 50 companies’ shares are traded regularly.

Iraq Tribal alliances now helping the coalition

Iraq Tribal Alliances Pay Off http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iraqi_Tribal_Alliances_Pay_Off_999.html by Richard TomkinsZuwayyah, Iraq (UPI) Dec 13, 2007 Nearly five years into the occupation of Iraq the United States is learning what the British, the Turks and even Saddam Hussein knew and practiced before them: Forming alliances with tribal sheiks is essential to pacifying and governing the country. For tribal identification in Iraq is not just an asterisk in a personal biography, it's fundamental to identity, even a person's place in society and livelihood. In western Anbar province, U.S. courting and alliance-building means paying special attention to al-bu Nimr. The influential tribe, which mainly lives on or near the Euphrates between Ramadi, Hit and Haditha, numbers between 300,000 and 400,000 people. It was one of the first Sunni tribes to battle al-Qaida on its own, and one of the first to begin cooperating with coalition forces early in the occupation. "Two groups (tribes) in Anbar went to the coalition forces," Sheik Hatim Abdal Razzaq said. "One was in the west and one in the east of the province. We were both attacked by terrorists and insurgents for it. "We lost people. We gave blood. But by working with the coalition forces we saw a future and we agreed to get together, and we've cleaned up the bad areas like Hit." Hatim, 27, took over the leadership of the tribe two years ago following the death of his father. His uncle, Sheik Jabair, was the de facto head of the tribe then but stepped aside because of ill health. He acts, however, as Hatim's chief adviser and confidant. Hatim's and Jubair's relationship with U.S. forces is on many levels and complicated, a balancing act between short- and long-term U.S. interests, Iraqi government interests, and the payback interests of the tribe, whose militia now make up the majority of police forces in the Hit district. The U.S. part of the courtship involves growing the friendship and cooperation of Hatim and Jubair, but at the same time ensuring that other tribes aren't slighted, that infrastructure projects and governance actions wanted by the them benefit all the people of the Hit district as equitably as possible. It's a juggling act on both sides, pure and simple, and one that's given heavy attention by Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Dill, the commander of U.S. forces in Hit who has forged a strong personal relationship with the sheiks. That relationship means frequent and lengthy informal meetings with Hatim over endless cups of sweet tea and huge platters of lamb kabob and chicken at the sheik's compound. Those meetings all start the same: with a handshake, a kiss on the cheek and a bumping of right shoulders. It's the greeting of friends rather than official counterparts. During those meetings serious subjects are broached and discussed almost casually, as if in passing, as each side gauges the other's intent and the seriousness of the issue at hand. "Oblique" rather than "direct" is the operative word, although blunt discussion also takes place when needed. This especially occurs during formal meetings with sheiks and officials in city council meetings around the district. The young sheik was in a good mood the night a reporter accompanied Dill to the tribal compound on one of his "courtesy" calls. Eyes dancing, and with an amused look he wanted to be questioned by his new guest. When asked if he or his tribe received financial consideration for cooperation, he insisted he did not. (Payoffs were a practice of previous Iraqi governments and foreign occupiers). "Feluus (money)?" he asked rhetorically while rubbing his fingers together and laughing. "Laa, laa -- no, no feluus." "We get respect from the coalition forces and they trust us, we have security they make many projects here, and projects mean jobs for the people." Hatim voiced concern over tribal and political rivalries in Shiite tribal areas that could further tear Iraq apart, but ever the diplomat said in the end all the political and sectarian factions would realize they were Iraqis and fighting would destroy chances of a better national future. But he also cautioned that a strong, central government was years away and patience was needed. "For 35 years Saddam Hussein was president," Hatim said. "Now his government is gone and the one we have is not yet strong. Now we face the problems his government caused or ignored. And it's not easy, it will take time. "I like the future for the Iraqi people. I like the security for the Iraqi people because without security we will have nothing." The alliance between Hatim and U.S. forces is still a work in progress, as are other budding relationships with Sunni sheiks and tribes. But the special importance of the al-bu Nimr connection was highlighted last September when Hatim was one of five sheiks in the province invited to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to Iraq. That meeting -- including the news photo published around the world of it -- put the young sheik high -- very high -- on al-Qaida's hit list, a U.S. intelligence source said. At least one of the five has already been assassinated, which may help explain why Hatim and his uncle openly carry pistols in the compound despite being surrounded by heavily armed bodyguards.

good article on american strategy for saving iraq

How Petraeus Turned Around Iraq http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/how_petraeus_turned_around_ira.html By Trudy Rubin Philadelphia News On Thursday, Gen. David Petraeus addressed a gathering of hundreds of Sunni sheikhs in flowing robes, including some who were attacking his soldiers around the capital not long ago. This is the new Baghdad, where security has improved as tens of thousands of former Sunni insurgents have recently turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq and smashed it with U.S. help. Many of these Sunnis are now on the U.S. payroll. But no one is certain whether these security gains will hold after the extra U.S. "surge" troops are withdrawn as scheduled by next July, or whether Iraq will slip back into brutal sectarian warfare.So I asked Petraeus how he assessed the current situation and the post-surge future. We spoke in his Baghdad office, in Saddam Hussein's garish former palace with its marble floors (and marble bathrooms) and grandiose reception rooms now housing U.S. government offices. "I think it is going the way we wanted in Baghdad and the belts around Baghdad," he replied. "We have done considerable damage to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Anbar is transformed," he added, referring to the Sunni province once home to the toughest insurgents and a base for al-Qaeda in Iraq. Then he paused. "Tenuous is the right word to describe the situation," he said, "and you won't find any military commanders doing victory dances in the end zone. We are all guarded in our assessments, with a great deal of wariness about the what-might-be's." Petraeus is right to be both confident and wary. The security progress of recent months results largely from a new military and political strategy that reverses the haphazard, incoherent U.S. Iraq policies of the last four tragic years. In October 2003, when I first met Petraeus when he was commander of the 101st Airborne based in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, he was implementing a counterinsurgency strategy with this central principle: Winning over local Sunni tribal leaders was a higher priority than military action. The sheikhs were given economic aid and jobs to get the economy restarted, and their men were hired into a new local security force. Back then, though, there was no coherent U.S. political military strategy for the whole of Iraq. In Anbar province, the Sunni heartland, the U.S. focus was on military attacks, and tribal leaders were treated crudely and brusquely; in fall 2003, I heard several complain bitterly when I visited Anbar. They soon became supporters of the insurgency and al-Qaeda in Iraq. Now Petraeus has made a new army counterinsurgency doctrine the basis of the military approach in Iraq, a doctrine that stresses flexibility and winning the support of local people. He says that U.S. commanders and troopers "get it," that "we are finally seeing the cumulative impact of changes in our [new counterintelligence] manual. Mission rehearsals in California used to [simulate] mechanized forces colliding in the Mojave desert." But now the exercises simulate the challenge of dealing with Iraqi villagers and townsmen, with "thousands of Iraqi speakers playing roles." We can now see the new doctrine in action. When tribal leaders in Anbar turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq because it had started persecuting local Sunnis, and when these sheikhs asked for U.S. backing, an army commander in Anbar took a chance and agreed to support them. (In 2006, U.S. commanders rebuffed similar requests.) Now the U.S. support has become massive. Petraeus credits the Anbar movement, known as "the Anbar awakening," with creating a "dramatic shift. There was a critical mass of popular opposition to al-Qaeda in Anbar, and it rippled down the Euphrates Valley and around Baghdad." Now tribesmen do most of the policing in Anbar, and about 70,000 tribal fighters are assisting U.S. forces in Baghdad and elsewhere. But the general recognizes the fear of the Shiite-led government that these groups could morph into violent Sunni militias, or be infiltrated by members of al-Qaeda. "You work very hard to get them transitioned into the Iraqi police," he said. For the large numbers who don't qualify, "we're developing a lot of programs, a civil-service corps." U.S. funds will pay for this Sunni job corps at first, but the Iraqi government has pledged about $150 million to match the U.S. funding. Petraeus said the program "saves double the cost per month in the number of U.S. military vehicles not lost to insurgents, not to mention the lives." He is also trying to win Sunni hearts and minds by hastening the release of thousands of Sunnis detained in U.S. prisons. But to co-opt the insurgency and prevent renewed fighting, there must be political progress. The whole purpose of the surge was to open a window of space and time that would permit sectarian Iraqi leaders to reconcile and help heal the country. That scenario would enable sizable U.S. troop withdrawals. But Iraqi political leaders have yet to oblige. Petraeus said, with excess generosity, "the political piece is sputtering along. None of this is smooth." But he added that, though top political leaders have not passed "benchmark" laws, "there is reconciliation in many provinces in a way not yet reflected at the top." One hope is that the Anbar Awakening may morph into new, nonsectarian political groupings more willing to deal with Shiite leaders than the current Sunni political parties. Petraeus recognizes that unless Sunnis feel integrated into the political system, the current security progress could unravel. Another wild card is the radical Shiite militia of Muqtada al-Sadr, which once drilled holes in heads of Sunni civilians but has been observing a cease-fire. The general said he thought the cease-fire would hold, because Sadr's movement was clearly "aware of the damage done to its reputation" by attacks on fellow Shiites, criminal behavior and extortion. Another wild card is Iran and whether it will continue to aid "special groups" that it trains, which operate under the Sadrist umbrella. Petraeus said "there has been a decrease in signature attacks" by these groups, after "Iraqi leaders asked [the Iranians] to stop these attacks." I asked Petraeus how the scheduled drawdown of "surge" troops - about 22,000 - would affect the security gains. After all, al-Qaeda in Iraq retains strength in the north and could try a comeback. "We have to maintain the pressure on al-Qaeda," he said. But he believed this could be done without adverse affects by "thinning out" U.S. units "while thickening with local forces" like the new Sunni paramilitary, and better-trained Iraqi units. Will the U.S. troop levels fall lower next year, and do we want permanent bases? Petraeus, who is to return to testify before Congress in March, would not answer on the record. But Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, said recently that Iraq would never permit permanent bases, and the White House said it didn't want them. (Permanent remains undefined.) My impression from my trip is that the military agrees. The United States will sign a security agreement with Iraq in the coming year. Ideally, the military would like to ramp troop levels down and hand off most responsibility for counterinsurgency to Iraqi troops. U.S. troops would then have a different mission, focusing on training and security assistance. But Petraeus' caution is well-founded. No one can clearly foresee what will develop in current months because the variables are so many and each affects the other. Yet there are now possibilities for positive change that did not exist six months ago.

More good news from Iraq- violence down all across the board

US General Says Iraq Violence Down http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/12/16/international/i010629S51.DTL&type=printable By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer Sunday, December 16, 2007 BAGHDAD, (AP) -- Violence in Iraq is at its lowest levels since the first year of the American invasion, finally opening a window for reconciliation among rival sects, the second-ranking U.S. general said Sunday as Iraqi forces formally took control of security across half the country. Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the man responsible for the ground campaign in Iraq, said that the first six months of 2007 were probably the most violent period since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The past six months, however, had seen some of the lowest levels of violence since the conflict began, Odierno said, attributing the change to an increase in both American troops and better-trained Iraqi forces. "I feel we are back in '03 and early '04. Frankly I was here then, and the environment is about the same in terms of security in my opinion," he said. "What is different from then is that the Iraqi security forces are significantly more mature." Violence killed at least 27 Iraqis on Sunday — 16 of them members of a U.S.-backed neighborhood patrol killed in clashes with al-Qaida in a volatile province neighboring Baghdad. Thirty-five al-Qaida fighters also died in that fighting, Iraqi officials said. Odierno said Anbar province, once plagued by violence, only recorded 12 attacks in the past week, down from an average of 26 per week over the past three months. "The violence last week was the lowest ever," he said of Anbar. "So that kind of defines 2007 very simply. A long hard fight and a lot of sacrifice by a lot of soldiers, Marines and airmen to get there," Odierno said. A planned reduction of troops to about 130,000 at the end of next year from a high of around 165,000 at the height of the "surge" should not derail that effort, but Iraq's government must take advantage of the improved security, Odierno said. There are 154,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now. "We have a window, I don't know how long that window is, but there is a window because of the security to move forward," Odierno told a small group of journalists at his headquarters in Baghdad. "We need to get policies in place by the central government to do this." One of the most important, he said, was a draft bill to ease curbs implemented against former supporters of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion. Iraqi lawmakers are debating the U.S.-backed draft law that would pave the way for the creation of a National Commission for Accountability and Justice, an independent body that would screen former Baath members in place of the de-Baathfication commission, which many Sunnis have complained has been overly zealous in purging low-ranking party members who had in many cases joined the party under pressure from Saddam and been following orders. "Reconciliation must continue," Odierno said. The U.S.-led coalition has been gradually transferring control of security to the Iraqi government and Britain's handover of southern Basra was the latest in a series that began in July 2006. The coalition retains control over half of Iraq's 18 provinces, including Anbar and central areas where violence has waned but not stopped. "This is a step toward resuming security responsibilities in all of Iraq's provinces that is due in the middle of next year," Iraqi National Security adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie said in Basra. He represented Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the handover ceremony in the capital of the oil-rich region. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, en route to Paris for a gathering of world donors to the Palestinians, said she was "heartened" by Britain's handover of Basra. "We obviously recognize and the British recognize that there's still a lot of work to do in terms of building a stable foundation in the south and there continue to be problems there," Rice told reporters on the flight to Paris. "We're very heartened that there's a sense that security can be turned over. But it doesn't mean that there aren't continuing problems in the south." In Diyala, one of Iraq's most dangerous regions, al-Qaida militants tried to regain control of several villages around Khalis, 50 miles north of Baghdad, but the U.S. backed volunteers drove them away, said Abdul Karim al-Rubaie of the provincial command center. Sunnis have been turning against al-Qaida in significant numbers and signing up for the volunteer security forces — partly in disgust at the militant group's brutal tactics, and partly to seek American protection against what they see as government-backed Shiite militias. "It is a battle of life and death, it is a continuous fight until we cleanse all the villages on the outskirts of Khalis," said Sheik Zuhair al-Obeidi, who was involved in Sunday's fighting. Al-Qaida's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri warned of "traitors" among insurgents in Iraq and called on Iraqi Sunni Arab tribes to purge those who help the Americans in a new videotape posted Monday on the Web. Al-Zawahri's comments were aimed at undermining so-called "awakening councils" — the groups of Iraqi Sunni tribesmen that the U.S. military has backed to help fight al-Qaida in Iraq and its allies. Next summer is more than half a year longer than President Bush's prediction in January that Iraq would assume control all of its provinces by November. Giving responsibility to the Iraqi army and police does not necessarily mean that violence will abate in Basra, where rival Shiite parties and militias have fought for control of the province. "This remains a violent society whose tensions need to addressed, but they need to be addressed by Iraqi political leaders," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who also attended the handover ceremony, told the British Broadcasting Corp. Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, said in a joint statement with U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Patricia A. Butenis, that Iraqi forces "have demonstrated their readiness to assume responsibility for the provincial security. Today this responsibility is theirs." British troops will not immediately leave southern Iraq but will instead remain at their base just outside the city. This is know by the military as "operational overwatch," in which Iraqi security forces and civilian police take responsibility under a provincial governor, or other official, and coalition forces are held in reserve in bases that are spread out — intervening when necessary or when asked. The next phase would involve a hand over at a national level — which could then set stage for a large-scale withdrawal of all foreign troops a few years later.

Iraqi oil output greater today than under Saddam

Hmm... another anti-freedom talking point bites the dust. Remember how in the last few years it was either "war for oil", or even better "Iraq was a more advanced country under Saddam Hussein than under the Americans!" Well now guess what good ole US style capitalism gets you: Iraqi oil production is above the levels seen before the US-led invasion of the country in 2003, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA said Iraqi crude production is now running at 2.3 million barrels per day, compared with 1.9 million barrels at the start of this year. It puts the rise down to the improving security situation in Iraq, especially in the north of the country. But the IEA warned that attacks on Iraqi oil facilities remain a threat. In southern Iraq, more than 85% of the residents of Basra believe British troops have had a negative effect on the Iraqi province since 2003, according to a BBC poll. The survey for BBC Newsnight of nearly 1,000 people also suggests that 56% believe their presence has increased the overall level of militia violence. Sabotage attacks In its latest monthly Oil Market Report, the IEA puts the Iraqi increase in production down to improved security on the main oil pipeline from Iraq’s northern oilfields to the port of Ceyhan in Turkey. In recent years this pipeline has been out of action for long periods due to sabotage attacks. Since the summer there has been a marked downturn in all forms of violence in Iraq. Analysts point to a number of reasons for this, ranging from the big increase or “surge” in American troop numbers in Baghdad, to Sunni militant groups turning against former al-Qaeda allies. British forces are due to hand control of security in Basra province to Iraqi forces on Sunday. The security improvements in Iraq are leading to all sorts of dividends in the country, some of which could be enormously lucrative, said BBC correspondent Crispin Thorold in Baghdad. While the level of violence has reduced, the threat has certainly not gone away. Earlier this week, three car bombs exploded in the southern Iraqi city of Amara, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 100, according to local police. Iraq has the third-largest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran, but exports plummeted in the face of the insurgency that flared up following the US-led invasion. Separately, the IEA said world oil demand would grow faster in 2008 than had previously been expected. Saying markets were proving resilient to near record-high prices due to continuing strong global demand, the IEA now expects oil demand to increase by 1.2 million barrels per day, 200,000 bpd higher than the previous forecast. The Paris-based IEA represents the world’s largest oil consuming nations. (BBC)

General Petraeus is Man of the Year

Man of the Year By The Editors National Review Time magazine hasn’t announced its pick for “man of the year” yet, but we certainly know ours: Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the multinational force in Iraq and architect of the surge strategy that is turning the tide in the war. Petraeus formulated a brilliant counterinsurgency plan. He executed it with care and diligence. And when much of the country didn’t want to notice the security gains that the surge had wrought, he took the national media spotlight to defend his strategy and his honor. In all this, he was nothing less than masterly.When Petraues testified on Capitol Hill in early September, much of the media and the Left simply refused to believe that violence in Iraq was down. The Government Accountability Office’s comptroller general had appeared before Congress to ask why the Pentagon was reporting much lower numbers of Iraqi civilian deaths than the GAO had (answer: the GAO assessment was based on incomplete figures). And the day Petraeus’s testimony began, MoveOn.org ran its infamous “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” ad. It said that “every independent report on the ground situation in Iraq shows that the surge strategy has failed”; that Petraeus “is constantly at war with the facts”; and that the general “is cooking the books for the White House.” Throughout his testimony, Petraeus continued to suffer slanders from members of Congress who cared about politics more than truth. Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped just short of calling him a liar, saying that to believe his report required “a willing suspension of disbelief.” Less than a month later, however, Petraeus’s critics had been effectively silenced. To its great credit, the Washington Post acknowledged this in a blistering editorial: In September, Iraqi civilian deaths were down 52 percent from August and 77 percent from September 2006, according to the Web site icasualties.org. The Iraqi Health Ministry and the Associated Press reported similar results. U.S. soldiers killed in action numbered 43 — down 43 percent from August and 64 percent from May, which had the highest monthly figure so far this year. The American combat death total was the lowest since July 2006 and was one of the five lowest monthly counts since the insurgency in Iraq took off in April 2004. . . . It’s looking more and more as though those in and outside of Congress who last month were assailing Gen. Petraeus’s credibility and insisting that there was no letup in Iraq’s bloodshed were — to put it simply — wrong. That the surge has worked is no longer up for debate. On a trip to Iraq the week after Thanksgiving, even John Murtha stated flatly, “I think the surge is working.” And in recent months the Democratic presidential candidates have accepted this reality too, sparring more over health-care plans than over who will pull out troops fastest.Of course, the situation in Iraq is still parlous, and military successes will not automatically produce the national reconciliation necessary for long-term peace and stability. No one knows this better than Petraeus, who has forthrightly admitted that political progress in Iraq has been disappointing. That Petraeus has achieved so much in such a short time despite the frustrations of Iraqi politics is a testament to his skill as a strategist and a leader of men.For making victory in Iraq look possible again, and for pulling a nation back from the brink of civil war, Petraeus deserves the praise and thanks of all Americans. With or without a Time cover, he is the man of the year.

growth of concerned local citizens groups throughout iraq

Growth in Concerned Local Citizen (CLC) Forces throughout Iraq http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/12/mapping_the_concerne.php Since the change in counterinsurgency strategy early this year -- including the increase of the number of US troops in theater, pairing them with newly formed Iraqi units, and pushing the units into areas previously ignored -- Iraqis have formed local security forces called Concern Local Citizens. These groups are often made up of tribal militias and former insurgent forces that have turned on al Qaeda in Iraq, the Mahdi Army, and other radical extremist groups. The Concerned Local Citizens are little more than ad hoc auxiliary police forces. Nevertheless, their impact on the security in their areas is large. Lightly armed and wearing uniform that is often nothing more than a reflective road guard vest, the Concerned Local Citizens provide security in their neighborhoods by establishing checkpoints, conducting patrols, providing intelligence, and accompanying Iraqi and Coalition forces on combat missions. The groups receive no arms. They are, however, often paid directly by US forces. The Iraqi government is slowly considering the status of these local forces. In some cases they are integrated into local or national police forces or into the Iraqi Army. In many cases, the Iraqi government is hesitant about integrating these Concerned Local Citizens groups into the security forces, as some leaders and many members just recently fought against the Iraqi government. Inspired and sometimes assisted by the Anbar Awakening, the ranks of the Concerned Local Citizens have skyrocketed since the surge began. "Currently, there are approximately 72,000 active Concerned Local Citizens, which includes approximately 60,000 Iraqis on contract which are being paid a monthly wage, and another 12,000 serving as CLC volunteers," Multinational Forces Iraq reported on December 9. Another 17,000 have served in the groups but are no longer active. There are Concerned Local Citizens groups in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces, and in many of the provinces, the groups are still forming. "There are currently almost 300 CLC groups throughout Iraq... There are 1800 former CLC members who are new full fledged members of the ISF, with 10,000 former CLC in Anbar ISF..."This is not just a Sunni movement, as Shia groups have and still are forming to stop the influence of Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army. In some areas, Concerned Local Citizens groups are manned by both Shia and Sunni members. The Iraqi Interior Ministry stated Concerned Local Citizens will be integrated into the police forces, but did not specify a timeframe. "All tribal fighters in the different Iraqi provinces will be merged into the police forces within a national project to attract young men seeking jobs in the Iraqi police without any political interferences in this respect," Major General Abdul-Kareem Khalaf al Kinani, the head of the ministry's national command center, told Voices of Iraq on December 4. "[The Interior Ministry] has formed a committee to train tribal fighters and another to consider whether they should have special uniform. The law is above all. There will never be armed groups outside the framework of the law." American commanders have stated that it is unlikely that all 72,000 volunteers can be integrated into the official security forces given ISF growth projections -- especially as improved security in certain areas reduces the need -- and are advocating plans to transition some Concerned Local Citizens employment into rubble removal and other public works projects. Sources on data for the presentation include Multinational Forces Iraq, Voices of Iraq, Reuters, and The Associated Press. DJ Elliott, CJ Radin, and Bill Ardolino contributed to this report. With special thanks to Rob Neppell of Kithbridge for producing the CLC map, and Marvin Hutchens of ThreatsWatch for assistance.

Progress continues to roll forward in city of Hit, Iraq

Family, fellow Marines, and friends of The First Team, I hope this finds everyone doing well. We have been extremely busy since our last update in October. It's hard to believe TF 1/7 has almost hit the 1/2 way point of the deployment, time has been going by quickly. In the past 3 months, the Marines, Sailors, and soldiers of TF 1/7 have done an extraordinary job in exploiting the success within the AO that was initiated by the units (1st Bn, 2nd Marines and 2-7 Infantry, USA) preceding us. The companies have solidified the all so important relationships with the Iraqi Police, Iraqi Army, local leaders, and Iraqi citizens within their respective AOs and those relationships have resulted in increased security, improved basic services for the average citizen, and a significant number of tips that have led to the detainment of insurgents and the discovery of dozens of IEDs and Unexploded Ordinance (UXO). In total they have completed over 5,000 combat patrols, detained over 100 known and suspected insurgents, discovered over 150 IEDs, weapons caches, and unexploded ordinance, and driven over 100,000 miles in their HUMVEES, trucks, LAVs, and tanks. They have conducted dozens of raids, cordon and knocks, cache sweeps, and disruption operations. With the amount of 'activity' the Marines are doing as described above, we are not giving the enemy the time to rest or to regroup. In short, your Marines are performing as you would expect...like Marines. We are focused on many areas and while security remains one of our concerns as we are still in a combat zone and there is still danger for every patrol and convoy that leaves the wire, it is no longer the greatest concern. The security situation is at such a point that I recently briefed a 3 star general that AQI and the insurgency are nearly defeated and they have at least temporarily lost their ability to fight and can no longer interfere to a significant degree with the actions of friendly or Iraqi Security forces.The security is now allowing me, my subordinate commanders, and my staff to focus our energies and attention on improving a number of other issues like the local government...getting them to demand assistance from the Provincial level, getting them to communicate better with their citizens, to improve the basic services provided, and even to designing and developing a yearly and quarterly budget. The local city councils and mayors are getting government employees back to work and providing services like trash removal, repairs of water lines, repairs of electric lines, repairs of phone lines, and even road repairs and repaving. In the past, we (CF) would have to do some heavy coaxing and mentoring for them to take the initiative on items like this because of they way their government used to run under Saddam. All decisions were centralized and he allowed only a very select few to make them. Anyone who tried to do something on their own was quickly silenced. So to see them now is so encouraging and such a positive sign that our Iraqi brothers are truly embracing the freedom and the democracy they have been given. We are focused on the economy. In the main city of Hit, in the 3 months we have been here there as been an estimated increase of 30-40% new businesses opening. Many of them are right next to or across the street from one of my major FOBs. This was UNHEARD of before! The locals always feared coming back to these locations because of the likelihood of an AQI attack against CF...they didn't want to get caught in the middle of a fire fight and I cannot say I blame them for that. But now, due to our encouragement and the encouragement of the local government and civic leaders, they are coming back and new businesses open everyday. The housing market is certainly in a boom phase and each day I see more and more being built.We are focused on the Iraqi Rule of Law. Within the Hit District we now have three sitting judges who are hearing cases and investigating crimes with the local police. We have transferred a number of felony cases to Ramadi for trial at the "Federal Court." This is a significant accomplishment as it is THEIR process, it is THEIR laws, and THEY are doing it without our assistance or prodding. We are currently in the middle of a rebuilding project of the courthouse that when complete will give them a safe and respectable building to handle their own issues and trials. We are focused on improving the professionalism and capabilities of the Iraqi Police and the Iraqi Army. I can honestly say that both of these organizations continue to make steady and impressive improvement. Your Marines and soldiers are 'partnered' with the police and army at the lowest levels. I am continually amazed to watch a young 20 something Corporal or Sergeant get in front of a group of IPs or IAs and through the assistance of an interpreter, give a very detailed and professional period of instruction that then results in the Iraqis quickly turning around and executing what they had just been taught. They are extremely adapt and eager to learn. Recently I was visiting with one of the two Iraqi Battalion Commanders I am partnered with and he wanted to show me something of which he was very proud. We went to one of his buildings and inside were 20-25 Iraqi soldiers taking English lessons from one of the interpreters! They were determined to speak English properly and were all very excited when one of them completed a sentence correctly. Their English is certainly better then my Arabic! I asked the Battalion Commander why he was doing this. His answer was he wanted his Soldiers to speak English so when they go on patrol with the Marines they can communicate better and learn more from them. He also wanted to have his soldiers show their appreciation to us by speaking English vice us speaking Arabic to them. I know when a US platoon or company is truly making an impact on the Iraqis they are partnered with when I see the Iraqis starting to emulate "their" Marines. You can see it in how they begin to wear their uniforms, how they wear their protective battle gear outside the wire, and even how they sling or holster their weapons. When they want to be like the Marines, it means the Marines are doing their job right. The IP and IA are certainly not perfect nor are they Marines but with continued training and time they are going to be more then sufficient for the threats they currently face and those they could face in the near future.I have received many e-mails concerning the news coverage (or lack thereof) of the war and the positive progress we are seeing everyday. I too have been disheartened at times by the media's coverage of Iraq. Some in the media do not report to any large degree the successes we see or are experiencing on a near daily basis. Some are even downplaying and minimizing any successes that they do choose to mention. Since they can no longer ignore the improvements in security, a few have resorted to categorizing the successes we have achieved here as "luck." The truth of the matter is our current success is a result of nearly 5 years of counter-insurgency operations. A general officer recently summed it up perfectly last week as we toured the industrial area of Hit, an area that just a few short months ago was abandoned and now is by all accounts flourishing and improving everyday, by stating, "Every step we took, every footprint we left over the past four years have allowed us to get to this point today." It was not chance or luck. The Sheiks and tribal leaders didn't just wake up one day and decide to join the CF and risk their lives to fight against AQI and the insurgents...we had to earn their trust, prove to them that our objectives were genuine and noble, and we had to fight the enemy with everything we had to show our determination. The Sheiks' support was a combination of many ingredients but I can assure you luck had nothing to do with it. Luck is the near miss of an IED or a stray round, but luck does not result in the success we are currently enjoying...nearly 5 years of hard work does. This success has been earned by the blood, sweat, and tears of many, many Americans and Iraqis. Their sacrifice is just too great and their efforts too superb to dismiss their results and achievements as luck or chance.To be fair, we have had two reporters come out with us and both have been objective in their reporting. Our first reporter was a 65 year old woman from Berkley, CA whose stated purpose on her web page was to impeach the President. When I saw Jane Stillwater was slated to come to Hit, I thought I obviously had done something wrong and my CO was getting even with me! Well, by the end of her time her with 1/7, I believe we all saw things a bit differently. She was a good sport and she even laughed when she went to her room and saw the poster of George Bush on the wall with the sign stating her room was the "The George W. Bush Suite." She was also a good sport when we took her to Baghdadi and all the kids were chanting "We love George Bush!" as she got out of the vehicle...wonder where they learned that? At the end of her time with us, her eyes were opened and she saw we were doing good things here, that we were not just killing people indiscriminately, and that the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States were pretty well educated and even open minded. At one point she told me she was having difficulty coming to grips with what she had been led to believe was going on here from the news media and what she was seeing with her own eyes. In turn, we realized that there are many ways to look at something and even Marines could have a friend from Berkley. I give a lot of credit to Jane as she put herself at risk so that she could see for herself what was going on here. I may not agree with all of her political views but she certainly earned my and every Marines' respect and admiration. Our latest reporter was from the AP, Rich Tomkins, who was a former White House Correspondent. Rich was out with the Marines and soldiers of the Task Force most of the time and his reporting was very fair and certainly covered the positive developments that we see each day. More reporters like Rich and Jane would go a long way to help get the day to day events here to the American people.For Thanksgiving, the Sergeant Major and I traveled to all 14 FOBs, COPs, and OPs. It took us nearly 24 hours to do it but we wanted to 1) wish them a Happy Thanksgiving, 2) tell them how proud we are of them and what they have accomplished and 3) tell the Marines, Sailors, and soldiers that despite what they may see or read about in the Press, the American people support them, believe in our mission, and most importantly....they want us to win. I cannot tell you enough how important it is for the psyche of the average Marine, Sailor, and soldier to know that his country and his fellow Americans support what he is doing and believe his sacrifices and the sacrifices of his family are for a noble cause and not in vain. So thank you for the continued flood of letters and care packages as they mean a great deal to everyone here. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a wonderful Holiday season and a blessed and Happy New Year for 2008. We all appreciate your support, your generosity, and your prayers more then you can imagine. As always, I ask that you remember the families of all those serving here in your prayers as well. Semper Fidelis,JJJJ DillLtCol, USMCCommanding Officer Task Force 1/7Hit, Iraq

Now more americans seeing progress in iraq

Despite the best efforts of the media and the liberal left to stop any victory for our troops, Americans are starting to see the real progress being made. Poll: More in US See Progress in Iraq http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-7143021,00.html Tuesday December 11, 2007 9:01 AM By ALAN FRAM Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Growing numbers of people think the U.S. is making progress in Iraq and will eventually be able to claim some success there, a poll showed Tuesday in a sign the politics of the war could become more complicated for Democrats. With diminishing U.S. and Iraqi casualties and the start of modest troop withdrawals, the public's mood seems to have brightened a bit, the Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed. That is a rarity in what has been a relentlessly unpopular war. ``I still have hopes the people in Iraq will appreciate us being there,'' said Daniel Laird, 30, a firefighter from Yuba City, Calif., who leans Republican and was questioned in the survey. ``It just seems like we are making a difference.'' Even so, majorities remain upset about the conflict and convinced the invasion was a mistake, and the issue still splits the country deeply along party lines. About three-fourths of respondents describe themselves as worried about what's happening in Iraq and nearly six in 10 say they are angry - slight reductions since February, but still strong majorities harboring negative feelings on the eve of an election year. Most Democrats and independents - joined by sizable numbers of Republicans - say they are worried, tired, even angry. People are most positive about recent gains in security in Iraq.

life returning to all parts of baghdad

Iraqis begin to emerge from the dark http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/09/wtheatre109.xml&page=1 UK Telegraph Newspaper By Colin Freeman December 10, 2007 Baghdad The plot has more than its fair share of tragedy, and no one knows when the happy ending might suddenly need rewriting, but actors at Baghdad's National Theatre have high hopes that their new play, The Story of Iraq, will pull in the punters when it opens this Tuesday - it is, after all, their first performance since 2004. Three years after kidnappings, a car bomb and threats from religious extremists brought the curtain down, the theatre's players have at last deemed it safe to tread its dusty boards once again. Their play, which tells the story of those dreadful times, is just one of many signs that life in Baghdad may be finally returning to normal. For years we lived in danger, because the religious extremists disapproved of people dancing and performing on stage," said the theatre's dance instructor Hannah Abdullah, 38, as she put a mixed troupe through their paces in the darkened auditorium. "Three of our dancers were kidnapped for that reason, and we could only perform outside of the country. But now things are better. The play tells about all the car bombings and killings, and how the mothers of the dead wept many tears. But it finishes with the sun appearing and everybody forgetting about the civil war."All the same, security on the door will be very tight. The national theatre is in Karrada, a bustling commercial suburb that is one of the city's more peaceful districts, yet even so, the building still looks more like a jailhouse than a playhouse.It is surrounded by grey, 10ft-high concrete barriers - erected after a car bomb attack in 2005 - and its staff are closely frisked on their way in by dozens of armed police.Tuesday's play, one half of a double bill that also includes a children's variety show, will also be a matinée-only affair. "Evening performances are still not possible because people are too scared to come out at night," said Mrs Abdullah.None the less, the fact that Baghdadis now have time to devote to things other than mere survival is fuelling "cautious optimism" among commanders in the city's US-guarded Green Zone, just across the muddy waters of the Tigris from Karrada.The feeling is that the "troop surge", which brought an extra 30,000 American soldiers to Iraq in March, may be yielding success in ending the vicious sectarian violence. The figures quoted are still unremittingly grim - 500 civilian deaths in October alone - but it is a long way from the worst month, last December, when around 3,000 civilians perished. US own casualties are also at their lowest this year: 37 American troops died last month, compared with 126 in May.For Iraqis in Baghdad, a trip to the theatre is not the only one of life's pleasures that has returned. Off-licences, most of which were bombed out of business by Shia militants, have re-opened, picking up a steady trade among customers anxious to calm shattered nerves. "We shut the shop for two years, because there was no safety and no customers," said Samir Nasser, whose stock of Lebanese-made "Lordian" and "Highland Bird" Scotch whiskies is back in demand. "Now lots of people who fled abroad are now coming back, and they want to celebrate."Meanwhile, at Karrada's Al Rasheed wedding photography shop, the proprietor Zahra Raouf, 47, is catching up on a two-year backlog. The Islamic extremists who once held sway in many areas frowned upon the drums, trumpets and dancing of a traditional Iraqi wedding, but now that they are largely gone, couples are enjoying belated nuptial celebrations. "One couple I know in Al Doura (a Sunni district controlled by al-Qaeda) got married in secret two years ago, and it is only now that they have felt safe enough to get the wedding photos done," she said. "They already have two children."Also enjoying business as usual is barber Malik Abbas, 33, who can once again offer customers a shave as well as a haircut. "The Islamist people killed some barbers for shaving people, because they said razors didn't exist at the time of the prophet Mohammed," he said. "I had to put a big notice up in the window saying 'no shaving'. Now I've been able to take it down."All the same, danger still lurks in Karrada. On Abu Nawas Street, a pleasant, tree-lined route on the Tigris's eastern edge, families now picnic and children feel safe enough to bunk off school and play in the local swing park. Yet just a few streets away, four corpses were recently discovered, the result of a feud between the Mehdi Army and the Badr Brigade, the two rival Shia militias that still exercise some control over the area. And just hours after The Sunday Telegraph visited the national theatre, suspected Sunni extremists detonated a car bomb in a nearby street, killing 14 people. Every time that happens, it encourages the local Shia militias to seek revenge.The situation is even more fragile in hardline Sunni areas such as Al Adamiya, where the peace is now enforced by former insurgents patrolling in saloon cars and pick-ups. These are what the Americans euphemistically call the "concerned" local citizens, the 60,000 strong-militia of ex-guerrillas whom American commanders are paying to turn their guns on their former al-Qaeda allies.On the face of it, the poacher-turned-gamekeeper strategy has been spectacularly successful. It has slashed the number of attacks on US troops, put al-Qaeda on the run, and given Sunni districts an organised system of defence against incursions from Shia militants. Critics, though, fear it may turn out to be little more than an "al-Qaeda neighbourhood watch"."There has been a marked turnaround of events, considering the brutality that went on before," said Ahmed Khalid, 21, an Al Adamiya resident who fled to Jordan last year. "But people in my neighbourhood say that many of these people are basically al-Qaeda who have shed their skins overnight. There has not been a change of heart, just a change of short-term interests, and I fear that this might be the calm before a very much bigger storm."It is a view shared by Mohammed Mumtaz al-Duleimi, a quietly spoken 28-year-old Sunni who fled his Shia neighbourhood to Syria in May after Mehdi Army militants killed his brother. He is now among 25,000 refugees who have returned from Syria to Baghdad, encouraged by Iraqi government television advertisements declaring his home city safe. He has, however, seen little of the neighbourly welcome and safely policed streets depicted in the adverts.During his absence, his house had been used by Shia militants, who had stripped the furniture and daubed anti-Sunni graffiti on the walls. His continued safety, moreover, is now dependent on the goodwill of a young local Mehdi Army commander with whom he played as a child. "When I came back, the guy told me 'It's okay, we have killed all the bad Sunnis, and we are happy to have innocent ones like you back,'?" he said.

baghdad will someday be jewel of the middle east

Thanks to American blood and treasure, and the leadership of President Bush Baghdad to be Middle East economic center within a few years http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=5035 Plan for 55 major projects and tunnels worth $400 million to convert Al-Rasheed Camp into global trade hub and sports center The government will soon open the way for international companies to in 55 large projects in the capital Baghdad, in an effort to develop the city of peace and make it an important economic and commercial center in the Middle East. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has recently allocated the sum of one billion 800 million dollars to the Baghdad secretariat and the ministries that contribute to the implementation of service projects in Baghdad for reconstruction during the next year. The Secretary of Baghdad, engineer Sabir Al-Isawi, revealed that the year 2008 will witness a leap in the quality of services and giant projects will be implemented spanning the next three years. According to his statement, "A strategic plan has been put [in place] to build important projects to improve services, and the map of the province will be changing through building 15 crossroads, bridges and tunnels costing $400 million, as was announced [currently] the invitation of 9 international companies to implement the project of Al Rusafa water, which will cost $ 3 billion next year,” noting that other water projects in other regions will also be built to complement the renewal and rehabilitation of water and sewage systems and prevent draining of sewage into the River Tigris. Al-Isawi continued that plans include building residential complexes, hotels and entertainment sites on the banks of the Tigris, plus large parks similar to Al-Zawra, and seek to involve the private sector. He pointed out that in coordination with Baghdad Council the secretariat will emphasize vertical housing complexes in the next year's plan. 90 billion dinars have been allocated to build the first complex of 4000 housing units, with the second set at 6000 units. Three sites have been nominated: Al-Baladiyat, Al-Sadr City and Al-Karkh, with the plan encouraging vertical building rather than horizontal expansion, for best use of free space in the city. The secretariat will involve the private sector in the Baghdad development plans of the capital in line with the investment law, and give sufficient guarantees for Iraqi or foreign capital used in building commercial centers, tourist places, multi-storey markets "Malls" and restaurants. Hinted at was the existence of a plan to convert the former camp of Al-Rasheed into a sports city, world trade center, or a housing complex, including about 55 projects in which the private sector could participate. Observers believe that the government's current plan is to boost the economy and standard of living by slashing unemployment with opportunities for unemployed youth. The Baghdad Secretary pointed out that security improvements had allowed the technical and engineering cadre of the secretariat to enter into many areas to improve services under a 6 month plan, particularly in the area of Haifa Street, now fully rehabilitated. He confirmed the allocation of one billion dinars to Al-Mansur and Al-Amriya, and three billion for Al-Adl, Ameriya and Al-Ghazaliya and improved services at Al-Adhamiya, Al-Dorah, and Al-Rasheed. Plans for these areas are to repair streets, water and sewage networks, and revive green areas. Al-Isawi confirmed that the meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week resulted in a number of decisions, particularly that work would continue day and night.

Even the anti-war democrats acknowledge surge is working

Democrat Representative Pomeroy says Iraq is more secure http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D8TBIGKO4 By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press Writer December 05, 2007 WASHINGTON Rep. Earl Pomeroy says he saw significant security improvements in Iraq during his fifth trip to the country, but said much more is needed. "I've never felt more hopeful about the success of the effort than coming back from this trip," Pomeroy, D-N.D., told reporters on Wednesday. "At the same time, we need to transition this now, so the United States no longer carries the principal combat and security functions."Pomeroy went to Ramadi and Baghdad, visiting with top U.S. generals on the ground. He observed joint operations between Iraqi and American officials and a morning briefing given to Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq. He said he saw significant improvements since his last trip in July 2006. For the first time, he said, he and his congressional traveling companions were allowed out of the secure Green Zone in Baghdad. "There is no question that the security situation has improved," he said. He gave credit to Petraeus, calling the general a skillful leader who has incorporated a more "holistic approach" in trying to stem violence in the country. Pomeroy said an increase in troops earlier this year also helped make the country more secure, along with more effective training of Iraqi troops. "While we have a long ways to go, we have come a long ways," Pomeroy said. Still, he said the political progress in the country has not matched the reduction in violence. Pomeroy traveled with four other members of the House - three Democrats and one Republican. One of the Democrats, Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind, agreed with Pomeroy that the political progress does not match the progress in security.

Todays good news in iraq

Crowds jubilant as football returns to Baghdad Stadium "This crowd comprises Sunni and Shiites and the players are from all over Iraq. Football, if nothing else, still unites Iraqis." Jaafar Abdul Hussein Iraqi Football Fan Around 3,000 came out to cheer on their favorite teams at Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad on Saturday.Supporters of a local Iraqi police football team cheer during a match against the Al-Zawraa team at Baghdad's Al-Shaab Stadium. Several thousand rowdy soccer fans turned up at Al-Shaab stadium in Baghdad Saturday as premier league football got into full swing in the capital more than 18 months after mortars brought it to a halt.(AFP/Ali al-Saadi) by Bryan PearsonSat Dec 1, 1:55 PM ET Several thousand rowdy soccer fans turned up at Al-Shaab stadium in Baghdad Saturday as premier league football got into full swing in the capital more than 18 months after mortars brought it to a halt. Beating drums, waving flags, whistling and chanting, around 3,000 supporters ignored the presence of heavily armed troops and police to noisily cheer on Police College and Baghdad's most popular team, Al-Zawra, as they battled it out on a threadbare pitch. Adults and children, many of them dressed in the green shirts of the Iraqi national team, arrived at the stadium by bus, on foot, in taxis and by car for the second match of the season, which proceeded without incident. The stadium was protected by Iraqi tanks and armoured vehicles and patrolled periodically by the US military Humvees, while traders set up small stalls at the entrance selling soft drinks, cakes and sunflower seeds. Saturday's turnout contrasted with the debut match of the season a week ago, when only a few hundred fronted up to watch Electricity and Air Force play the first football in Baghdad since early last year when mortar attacks forced soccer authorities to move the game out of the capital. Those enjoying this week's match were confident that crowds would swell by the week as Baghdadis grew more confident that it is safe to venture back to the stadium in the capital's central Zayuna district. "Soon we will see large crowds again. Iraqis love football. Fans will return," said Khalid Mahmud, 25, who runs a sports shop in central Baghdad. "We feel quite safe now, but we need the stadium to be renovated," he added, pointing to the filthy plastic seats in the main stand, many of them broken.He said had not felt safe to attend any matches in Baghdad since the US-led invasion in 2003. "This is the first time I have come here to watch football since 2003," Mahmud said. "It is great to be back and the atmosphere is as exciting as I remember it."Policeman Mohammed Rasheed, 38, sitting with his three young children, said he had travelled from neighbouring Diyala province for the match."I never miss a match in Baghdad," he said. "Last year I was unhappy because there were no games. I will not miss any this year," he added happily, as his team Al-Zawra fought back from a first-half deficit to snatch a 1-1 draw against Police College. Ten-year-old Sajad, sporting a green shirt emblazoned with the name of Iraqi national team captain Yunis Mahmoud, said he and his friends planned to attend all premier league matches at the stadium this year. "We are glad football is back. We were all excited when Iraq won the Asian Cup (in July) and now we can see some good soccer in Baghdad again." The Asian Cup victory united Iraq's bitterly divided communities in a rare moment of celebration, but most of the heroes beat a quick exit from war-torn Iraq, among them team captain Mahmoud, after victory celebrations in Baghdad. "This crowd comprises Sunni and Shiites and the players are from all over Iraq," said Jaafar Abdul Hussein, one of those crowded onto the main stand at Al-Shaab stadium Saturday. "Football, if nothing else, still unites Iraqis," said Hussein, a former premier league player.

success of surge in iraq is now changing minds in america

U.S. Troop Surge in Iraq Receives a Bit More Credit http://www.gallup.com/poll/103057/US-Troop-Surge-Iraq-Receives-Bit-More-Credit.aspx?version=print December 5, 2007 by Lydia Saad Gallup Polls PRINCETON, NJ -- Public views of the U.S. troop surge in Iraq have improved over the past month, and Americans' outlook about winning the war is brighter than it was in September. At the same time, even this expanded number of Americans holding upbeat views about the troop surge and the war's progress remain in the minority. And none of this seems to have influenced Americans' more fundamental reaction to the war: The Surge Effect Forty percent of Americans now say the U.S. troop surge in Iraq that began earlier this year is making the situation there better. This is up from 34% four weeks ago and from 22% when Gallup first measured it in July. Since August, more Americans have tended to say the surge is making the situation in Iraq better rather than worse, but today's ratio -- 40% vs. 20% -- is the most positive yet recorded. Thirty-nine percent of Americans currently say the surge is not making any difference; this is down from 43% in September and 51% in July. The acknowledgment from some Democrats, such as Rep. John Murtha, that "the surge is working" might be expected to have at least softened criticism of the surge among rank-and-file Democrats.

More good news from iraq

What I see every day in Iraq: locals turning against the insurgents December 2nd 2007 http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/12/02/2007-12-02_what_i_see_every_day_in_iraq_locals_turn.html FALLUJAH, IRAQ - In August, I wrote in these pages that it was too soon to judge Gen. David Petraeus' surge of troops in Iraq a success or a failure. It's not too soon anymore. Baghdad, the most dangerous city in all of Iraq, is only half as violent as it was when I was there during the summer. And the fact that the capital is now the deadliest city is itself evidence of a tectonic shift on the ground. In the spring of 2007, Ramadi was the most violent place in Iraq. But the insurgency there has been finished. The Taji area north of Baghdad, which was a catastrophe when I paid a visit in July, is now going the way of Ramadi. I am writing these words from Fallujah, site of the most horrific battle of the entire war in November 2004, and the city thought to be the meanest in Iraq since at least the time of the British in Mesopotamia. Almost everyone I know back home was sure I'd be shot at every day, that it's still a war zone out here. Based on the news reports - even the new, optimistic ones, could you blame them for thinking that? But attacks against coalition forces in Fallujah are down by more than 90% since March of this year. Almost all attacks these days are single, ineffective pot shots rather than the lethal IEDs of last year. There hasn't been a single firefight in this city for months. The Marines at Camp Fallujah haven't been shot at with a rocket or mortar since April. Not one Marine from the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment has even been wounded since they rotated into the city two months ago. The only shots the Marines have fired have been practice rounds on the range. There's a gigantic perception lag in America these days. The Iraq of the popular imagination and the Iraq of the real world are not the same country. It wouldn't be quite right to say Fallujah is safe. You do not want to come here on holiday. But I'm a lot safer here as an American than any terrorist or insurgent would be. The Marines and Iraqi police find caches of weapons every day, thanks to tips called in by locals. No insurgent can plant an IED without getting turned in by war-weary civilians. Recently, an Al Qaeda cell from outside of town showed up and tried to distribute propaganda DVDs. They too were turned over to the police. There are only 250 Marines in Fallujah, a city of about 350,000, right now. Last year, there were 3,000 Marines. Because the city is pacified, troops that were here can join the additional surge forces that are clearing and holding more volatile areas. Everywhere I go in Fallujah, I am mobbed by smiling children who want me to take their picture. It wasn't always this way. "I didn't see a single kid out here in 2005," one Marine told me. "If a kid popped out of the house, his parents yanked him right back inside." Women walk the streets by themselves now, as well, which I'm also told was unheard of not long ago. I'm embedded with the Marines. They keep me safe. If I spent too long in the city alone and without armed protection, terrorists might eventually find me. But any insurgent who shows up and announces himself in public won't be rolled up "eventually." He'll be arrested by the Iraqi police within minutes. Even the Marines are softer on terrorists here than the local cops are. Fallujah was once the backbone of the insurgency. Today, as First Lt. Barry Edwards put it, "They avoid Fallujah now like it's the plague. ... They're afraid of the Iraqis." "Security is good now because the coalition, Iraqi Army, and Iraqi police all work together," said an Iraqi fruit stand owner. "One hand does not clap." Another Iraqi who works as a money changer told me, "They are finished. It will be a shame on all of us if the terrorists ever come back." Insurgents are having a rough time if the American military is more welcome in Fallujah than they are. How shattering it must be for them. Imagine if Iraqi insurgents were more welcome in New York City than the Marines.

more outstanding progress in fallujah

Fallujah was scary even to other Iraqis throughout the 1990s. Now not only Ramadi is vastly improving in Anbar, but Fallujah is making strides as well... Good Times Roll at Iraqi Bike Race YASSER FAISAL, Reuters December 3, 2007 -- About 150 students wearing colorful T-shirts competed in a bicycle race last week in Fallujah, an unimaginable event a year ago in what was once an al Qaeda hotbed and one of Iraq's most dangerous cities. The city's police chief fired the starting shot to set the students from 15 intermediate and secondary schools off on the 5-kilometer race across the town, 30 miles west of Baghdad. Police motorbikes escorted them along the road, and scores of policemen in blue uniforms were deployed around the start and finish lines. "This race made us happy. We needed this because of what we have been through," schoolteacher Ayad Ghaleb Salem said. "We have gotten used to a difficult life." Scores of families lined the streets to watch the race and milled around the riders to congratulate them after the race. Security in Fallujah, scene of some of the fiercest battles in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, has gradually improved this year, and something resembling normal life is returning to the city. A year ago, western Anbar, in which Fallujah sits, was second only to Baghdad as the most violent province in Iraq. The turnaround in Fallujah's security happened after the development of US-backed neighborhood police units formed by local Sunni Arab tribal leaders to drive al Qaeda out of Anbar. "This proves that the security situation in Fallujah is very good," said Col. Faisel Ismael, head of the city's police. "This is the beginning of good things in Fallujah." Haitham Abdul-Razek raised his arms in the air as he crossed the finish line to win a $1,135 cash prize and a trophy. "Bring the trophy! Bring it," some students chanted after the race, echoing a popular song among Iraqis after their national soccer team won the Asian Cup this year. "Even though I did not win, I am happy that Fallujah's name was held up high today," said 17-year- old Marwan Khoedeiri, adding that he was not scared to compete, because of the security provided by police and army. Attacks across Iraq have fallen by 55 percent since the surge of 30,000 extra US troops became fully deployed in mid-June, part of a security crackdown aimed at averting civil war between the majority Shiite Muslims and the minority Sunni Arabs. Despite the improvement, the largely Sunni Arab Anbar ranked fifth in attacks among Iraq's 18 provinces from early May to late July this year, according to a quarterly Pentagon report released in September.