Australian troops goodbye to Iraq

Australia, one of the first countries to commit troops to the war in Iraq five years ago, has ended its operations there.

Australian troops are due to begin returning home in a few days in line with a promise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who swept to power in November. He said the Iraq deployment was making Australia more of a terrorist target.

The Australians had deployed more than 500 troops in Iraq, helping to train some 33,000 Iraqi soldiers. About 300 Australians will remain inside Iraq on logistical and air surveillance duties. No Australian soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq though several were wounded.

Not that 500 men staying is making a lot of difference but them leaving it will make!

Trying to relieve Iraq’s debt

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has said he will ask the international community to relieve the country's debt, as envoys gather for a UN forum.

Officials said the move was aimed mainly at Arab countries, to which Iraq owes most of its $67bn debt. Meanwhile US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged countries to stand by Iraq during reconstruction.

Nearly 100 countries are represented at the economic and political reform forum near Sweden's capital, Stockholm. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki are also in Sweden.

The gathering is aimed at supporting Iraq's efforts to restore stability and rebuild a functioning economy. Correspondents say progress in these areas remains fragile. The UN called the conference to review a five-year package it brokered last year, called the International Compact with Iraq. On the eve of the forum the largest Sunni Muslim bloc suspended talks on rejoining Iraq's Shia-led government.

Shouldn’t the ones who promised the reconstruction of the country to …pay the bill for the damaged they helped to be done?

Saddam's jail journal

An Arab newspaper has published what it says are excerpts from diaries written by the ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein while in captivity.

The extracts printed in Al-Hayat portray a man who never seems to have stopped believing in himself as a historic leader. Al-Hayat said it had obtained extracts from the handwritten memoirs, which the paper said ran to five big volumes. Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003 and executed three years later.

Thanks he didn’t have internet access otherwise we would have Saddam’s blog!!!

Iraq First Lady survives bomb

Iraq's First Lady has escaped unhurt after a bomb attack on her motorcade in Baghdad, the office of President Jalal Talabani has said.

His wife, Hiro Ibrahim Ahmed, was travelling to a cultural festival at the National Theatre at the time. Four of her bodyguards were injured in the attack, the office said. Earlier, the US military said that a roadside bomb in Iraq's mainly Sunni western province of Anbar had killed four US marines.

The attack on the First Lady's motorcade occurred in the capital's Karrada district but it is unclear whether she was specifically targeted. The president's office said: "One of the vehicles of Ms Hiro Ibrahim's convoy hit an improvised explosive device in the road this morning. She was heading to the National Theatre."

She was probably watching a western play and the Shia madmen or Iran’s ayatollahs didn’t like it!

Maliki depraved?

Iraqi deputies have denounced the government, using a quotation from the Koran to describe Prime Minister Nouri Maliki as "depraved".

The criticism came from the bloc of MPs who support the Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr - which once backed Mr. Maliki. Iraqi troops and US-led foreign forces have been engaged in bloody battles with Mehdi Army fighters loyal to Moqtada Sadr over recent weeks.

Nine people died on Thursday in a Baghdad bomb blast aimed at US troops. The death toll also rose in the sprawling Baghdad district of Sadr City. In the latest violence, US forces said they had killed at least 16 militants, while heath officials said eight people had been killed overnight.

Deprave = Morally corrupt; perverted. Strong words for somebody so ….big failure and corrupted!

Tariq Aziz next for trial in Iraq

Do you remember him? The man minister-clown of Saddam? Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz is due on trial over the deaths of a group of merchants in 1992.

Mr. Aziz, along with seven other former members of Saddam Hussein's regime, are accused of involvement in the execution of about 40 merchants in Baghdad.

The merchants were accused of hiking food prices at a time when Iraq was under international sanctions. They were executed after a speedy trial. Mr. Aziz's son, Ziad, has said that his father is innocent.

He’s innocent? Man since when cruelty is an excuse for being innocent? I think the question now is how guilty is Iraqi justice and they will execute another one, otherwise the man is not innocent is guilty to everything and should spend life in prison.

UN condemns Turkey border deaths

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has accused Turkish police of causing the deaths of four men by forcing them into a river on the Turkey-Iraq border.

The strong current swept the men away, the UNHCR said, quoting witnesses. The incident happened on Wednesday at an unpatrolled stretch of the border near the Habur crossing point, in Sirnak province, the UNHCR said.

At least one of the four was an Iranian. They were among 18 Iranians and Syrians refused entry into Iraq. There has been no comment from the Turkish authorities.

And does anybody thinks that Turkey cares if UN condemns, they are killing daily innocent Kurds, they occupy European land and they will care for a few more dead?

Rice makes surprise visit to Iraq!

A cartoon from Ovi magazine

Rice in Iraq for surprise visit

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Baghdad on a surprise visit to Iraq.

She said she hoped to see further reconciliation of the various sectarian groups in Iraq. Ms Rice arrived in the city a day after Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr threatened to wage "open war" on Iraq's government.

He urged them to halt operations against his supporters. On Saturday, Iraqi and US troops clashed with his forces in Baghdad and the south.

A cleric declares open war and Condoleezza Rice is going for a surprise visit to verify?

Iraqi cleric threatens war

Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has threatened to wage "open war" on the Baghdad government if it does not halt operations against his supporters.

Moqtada Sadr said he was giving the government a "last warning", and urged it to take "the path of peace". His statement came as Iraqi troops, with US and UK support, clashed with his forces in Baghdad and the south.

In August the cleric's militia declared a ceasefire, pledging not to attack government or foreign soldiers. "I'm giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government," Moqtada Sadr said. "Either it comes to its senses and takes the path of peace... or it will be (seen as) the same as the previous government," he added, referring to former President Saddam Hussein's fallen regime.

"If it does not stop the militias that have infiltrated the government, then we will declare an open war until liberation," he added.

He threatens with open war, and what are they doing now? Playing war? Practicing war?

Unlikely to call for more troops

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq said Wednesday that he is unlikely to call for another troop buildup in Iraq, even if security deteriorates after the extra American soldiers return home this summer.

Gen. David Petraeus told a House panel that such a move would be considered the last resort, in part because of the strain it would place on the Army. First, the military could try to reallocate existing troops to respond to any hotspots. It also would rely more on Iraqi forces, which are improving in capability, he said.

"That would be a pretty remote thought in my mind," he said of reinstating last year's influx of troops. Petraeus has recommended to President Bush that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000 troops that were sent to Iraq last year to calm the violence there. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day evaluation period, to be followed by an indefinite period of assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.

If the general says so imagine how things …really are! But there is a catch here as well, fine no more troops but what about the number of troops already there?

Look who’s talking!

The top US military leader in Iraq Gen David Petraeus has recommended a suspension of troop withdrawals after July to protect gains in Iraq.

Gen Petraeus praised "significant" but "uneven" improvements in security and said troop levels would need a period of evaluation in the summer. The general also condemned Iran for playing a "destructive role" in Iraq.

His comments came in a progress report on Iraq, which he and US ambassador Ryan Crocker are giving to Congress. They began by testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

So the failure must continue the next logical question is how many more dead bodies this …protection will coast and who’s going to take over the political coast! Definitely not General Petraeus.

Iraq update

The top US military and political officials in Iraq are due to deliver a progress report to Congress as Shia unrest in Iraq continues.

Gen David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are making their third report on President George W Bush's "surge" strategy, announced in January 2007. It is taking on added interest because the three top contenders for the US presidential election will be present. It also comes after two weeks of violent clashes in Shia Iraqi areas.

After releasing their report, Gen Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are due to testify before numerous committees. Among those due to hear their testimony are Senator John McCain, the Republican choice for the November election, and Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who are still battling for the Democratic nomination. The issue of Iraq has featured prominently in the Democratic campaign, with Mr Obama contrasting his opposition to the invasion to the support both Mrs Clinton and Mr McCain gave it.

And the report is …Sir we continue screwing up!!!

More Troops in Afghanistan

The United States intends to send many more combat forces to Afghanistan next year, regardless of whether troop levels in Iraq are cut further this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.

It is the first time the Bush administration has made such a commitment for 2009. Gates, speaking to reporters on his way to Muscat, Oman, from a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, said President Bush made the pledge at the summit on Thursday.

Bush was not specific about the number of additional troops that would go to Afghanistan in 2009, Gates said. The United States now has about 31,000 troops there — the most since the war began in October 2001 — and has been pressing the allies to contribute more. Until now, the heavy commitment of U.S. forces in Iraq has been a constraint on the ability to increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan. But Gates said he did not believe that would be the case in 2009.

Well the new president will spend a whole term trying to fix the things George W. Bush did the last ten years and the man never stops screwing up till the very last moment!

Iraqi militia defy to disarm

The radical Shia Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr has defied a call by the Iraqi government for his powerful Mehdi Army militia to lay down its weapons.

Arms would only be handed over to an Iraqi government willing to end the US occupation, his senior official in Basra said. Security forces have been trying to wrest control of the southern city and other Shia areas from the Mehdi Army.

Fighting has claimed at least 200 lives across Iraq since Tuesday. US jets have carried out a number of air strikes in Basra, which they say are targeting militant positions.

And now I’m wondering if anybody is surprise from this response!

Charges dropped

The US military has dropped all charges against one of the marines accused of involvement in the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in November 2005.

L/Cpl Stephen Tatum, 26, was about to face a court martial on charges of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say that US marines indiscriminately killed 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians, including women and children, in the incident.

Five of the eight men initially accused have now had all charges dismissed. Jack Zimmerman, a defense lawyer for L/Cpl Tatum, said in a statement: "It became clear to the experienced prosecution team that the right thing to do was to dismiss all charges. "We believe the evidence shows that Lance Corporal Tatum reacted to an enemy attack the way he was trained to do."

The US army is going to leave a lot of bitter feelings in Iraq, far away from the liberator feeling they were hoping for!

10 more days to hand over their weapons

Iraq's government has extended by 10 days a deadline for Shia militiamen fighting troops in the southern city of Basra to hand over their weapons.
More than 130 people have been killed and 350 injured since a clampdown on militias began in Basra on Tuesday. US-led forces joined the battle for the first time overnight, bombing Shia positions, the UK military said.

Iraq's parliament is to hold emergency talks on the crisis, which has also brought a three-day curfew in Baghdad. A statement from Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's office read: "All those who have heavy and intermediate weapons are to deliver them to security sites and they will be rewarded financially. This will start from March 28 to April 8."

I think the big question remaining is why these 10 days? Wont they have the time in ten days to do more damage? How many Shia Rambo will take to destroy everything in ten days? This is really sad and in the end it shows that they are going to hand …some weapons but the problem will remain. If they wanted to make the difference they should have said by tomorrow evening, and that’s it!

Emergency session to end fighting between Shia and Iraqi security forces.

Iraq's parliament is due to hold an emergency session to try to end fighting between Shia militias and Iraqi security forces.

It comes a day after a three-day curfew was imposed in Baghdad following attacks on the city's Green Zone, where the government and embassies are based. Iraq's army is continuing its offensive in Basra.

More than 130 people have died in the southern city since a clampdown on Shia militias began there on Tuesday. On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki vowed that he would continue the fight against the militias for as long as was necessary. "We have made up our minds to enter this battle and we will continue until the end. No retreat," Mr. Maliki said in a speech broadcast on Iraqi state television.

The prime minister has personally overseen the operation in Basra, which involves some 30,000 troops and police fighting the Shia Mehdi Army, led by radical cleric Moqtada Sadr. But Mehdi Army fighters remain in control of some densely-populated areas.

And now I might sound stupid, but why haven’t day done it for so many months?

Dozens die in Iraq

In the bloodiest single incident, 13 Iraqi soldiers died when a suicide attacker drove a fuel tanker into an army base in Mosul in northern Iraq. The US military said it killed 12 militants preparing suicide attacks in a house east of Baquba.

At least 15 people died in rocket and mortar fire apparently aimed at Baghdad's Green Zone. Eight were civilians who were killed when rockets landed short of their targets on Sunday morning. The bloodshed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June.

The reality of a secure and good planning! How long is it going to take to fix things in Iraq and when the US administration will admit that they need the help of the UN?

US air strike kills 'Iraq allies'

If you have …allies like this you definitely don’t need …enemies!!!

Six people have been killed in a US air strike near the Iraqi town of Samarra, with some reports suggesting they were US-allied anti-al-Qaeda Sunni fighters. The US denied claims by a police source and a militia member that those killed at the checkpoint were members of an Awakening Council. The US-funded groups are credited with helping to curb the level of violence.

It came as four more US soldiers were killed in Iraq, bringing the death toll since the 2003 invasion close to 4,000. Three soldiers died when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near Baghdad on Saturday, the US military said. Another US soldier died after a rocket or mortar attack on Friday, bringing estimated US fatalities to 3,996.

Whoever takes over after George W. Bush has a lot of cleaning and explanation to do especially to …allies!