Today's News
- Maliki Tries to Rally Arabs Behind Iraq
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq made an urgent appeal on Tuesday for greater international support to Iraq, and he voiced frustration with fellow leaders of Arab nations for failing to send ambassadors and relieve Iraq’s debts. …
Mr. Maliki and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was also at the Kuwait meeting, have made similar appeals over the past year. Those have resulted in numerous verbal expressions of support, and even pledges to send ambassadors to Iraq, but little tangible progress. … The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, speaking to reporters alongside Ms. Rice and the Turkish foreign minister, Ali Babacan, said, “we have to be patient with our Arab brothers.”
- Posted on: 04/23/08
- Civilian Casualties Mount in Iraq as Shiite Clashes Spread
Civilian casualties mounted Wednesday as clashes between Shiite gunmen and U.S. and Iraqi troops spread to Baghdad’s outskirts. Police said two women were among seven people killed in fighting overnight.
The U.S. military said Wednesday that 15 suspected militants were killed in separate attacks a day earlier in mainly Shiite areas.
- Posted on: 04/23/08
- Iraq Surge May Be Extended
The Pentagon is laying the groundwork to extend the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. At the same time, the administration is warning Iraqi leaders that the boost in forces could be reversed if political reconciliation is not evident by summer.
This approach underscores the central difficulty facing President Bush. If political progress is not possible in the relatively short term, then the justification for sending thousands more U.S. troops to Baghdad—and accepting the rising U.S. combat death toll that has resulted—will disappear. That in turn would put even more pressure on Bush to yield to the Democratic-led push to wind down the war in coming months.
- Posted on: 04/23/08
- Baghdad Faces Security Test As ‘Surge’ Units Leave
Violence in the central Baghdad area that Lieutenant-Colonel Craig Collier oversees has fallen sharply over the past year, but the wiry U.S. squadron commander cannot afford to be complacent. Last month, a unit of soldiers that patrolled a sizable chunk of the Iraqi capital adjacent to Collier’s zone became one of the first to return home as part of the unwinding of President George W. Bush’s troop "surge".
Collier has taken on responsibility for the departed unit’s area and must now maintain security in a vast 20 sq km swathe of Baghdad, from the Tigris River to the violent Shiite slum of Sadr City, with half the force that was there only a few months ago. "It is a test of sorts," Collier, 44, said. "After the first surge unit left, my squadron assumed their area and now controls an area twice the size with less than half the soldiers.
- Posted on: 04/23/08
Setting the Record Straight
Stability Will Require Taking the Blinders Off
“Our coalition and the Iraqi forces have seized the initiative in a major way, and put the enemies of Iraqi democracy on the run. The critics have been proved wrong. The surge is working, the forces of freedom are winning. … Our strategy is the right strategy. In fact, the only way to lose this fight is to quit."
–Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Remarks to the Manhattan Institute, April 21, 2008
VS.
“That’s part of the problem. We view the conflict there as one to be resolved by the American military. Now do not misunderstand me. The American military has performed magnificently, you can’t solve the problem there without them, but this tunnel vision that you’re gonna solve the problems of Iraq by military means alone is woefully inadequate, and the key is to use all of the tools of American power— intelligence of course, military, of course, economic, trade, aid, skillful people going over there.”
–Lee H. Hamilton, president and director, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, co-chair, Iraq Study Group, conference on “The United States and the Middle East: What Comes Next after Iraq?” keynote address, "Iraq: Today, Tomorrow, and Beyond," Tufts University, Medford Campus, March 27, 2008
In Monday’s edition of the bulletin, we referred to Major General (ret.) Giora Eiland as Gloria Eiland. We apologize for the error.
Today's Feature
What Next in Iraq?
by Carlos Pascual, vice president & director for foreign policy studies, the Brookings Institution & the first coordinator for stabilization and reconstruction, U.S. State Department (2004-2005). Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
The failure of U.S. policy in Iraq presents an untenable situation. The withdrawal of U.S. troops will most likely unleash an internal conflagration that could increase the threat of transnational terrorism, send oil prices soaring further, and add to the number and anguish of 4.5 million Iraqi refugees and displaced people. Yet, keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is an unsustainable stopgap in the absence of major progress toward a political settlement among Iraq’s warring factions.
In Congressional hearings in early
Iraqi President Jalal Talibani, PM Nouri al-Maliki, with VPs Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashimi (AP)
"Our troops, our country, and the Iraqi people deserve that we use every diplomatic tool at our disposal to seek an outcome that can lead to a better future in Iraq, and not simply reduce the death count."
Middle East Analysis
- The Price of the Surge
In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new approach to the war in Iraq. … With a “surge” in troops, a new emphasis on counter- insurgency strategy, and new commanders overseeing that strategy, Bush declared, the deteriorating situation could be turned around.
More than a year on, a growing conventional wisdom holds that the surge has paid off handsomely. … Unfortunately, such claims misconstrue the causes of the recent fall in violence and, more important, ignore a fatal
- Posted on: 04/23/08
Background Basics
- The UN in Iraq
Brief History
Shortly after the end of major combat operations the UN established a robust mission under the leadership of veteran diplomat Sergio de Mello. A suicide bombing in August 2003 killed 22, including de Mello, and the UN significantly reduced its presence by that October, withdrawing nearly all personnel. A limited staff of 35 returned in April 2004. Most UN personnel, however, were then based in Amman, limiting situational awareness.Current Scope of UN Role
- Posted on: 04/23/08
Heard on the Street
- A Call for Diplomatic Leadership
Christopher A. Kojm, former senior adviser to the Iraq Study Group and deputy assistant secretary of state for intelligence policy and coordination, event at the Center for American Progress titled “Iraq: Examining the Diplomatic and Political Tools to Achieve Progress and Stability,” April 21, 2008:
“So I don’t fault the American public for being focused on the military question. I just sure wish our leaders would focus a little more broadly. That includes the candidates in the debate. …
- Posted on: 04/23/08
Upcoming Events
- No End in Sight: Conversations on Iraq
Keynote Address:
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)Introduction by:
Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President of National Security and International Policy, Center for American ProgressFeatured Speaker:
Charles Ferguson, author, No End in SightModerated by:
Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American ProgressWhen: March 13, 2008, 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Where: Center for American Progress, 1333 H St, NW, Washington, DC. 20005
RSVP for event or click here for more information
- Posted on: 03/10/08
- Middle East Progress
- 1333 H St. NW, Floor 10
- Washington, DC 20005
- info@middleeastprogress.org
