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id="search"><form method="get" id="searchform" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/"> <div><input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s"/> <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" value="Search"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> <hr/> <div id="content" class="span-13 append-1"> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10821"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/30/%d8%a7%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%b9-%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%b9%d8%a7%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%86%d8%aa%d8%ac%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%88%d8%a7%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ba%d8%b0%d8%a7%d8%a6/#respond" title="Comment on ارتفاع اسعار المنتجات والمواد الغذائية في بغداد">No Comments</a> Posted on May 30th, 2010 by Diya al din</div> <h3><a 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وذكر مصدر اقتصادي في غرفة تجارة بغداد ان مادة السكر شهدت ارتفاعا وشحة مضيفا ان اسعار الجملة لكيس السكر زنة 50 كغم بين 54 الفا الى 60 الف دينار كما ارتفعت اسعار الرز زنة 50 كغم  من 38 الف ادينار الى 45 الف دينار  كما ارتفع سعر كارتون الزيت سعة 20 قنينة من 26 الف الى 28 الف دينار وكذلك حليب الاطفال شهد ارتفاعا في الاسعار . </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10794"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/29/patrick-cockburn-a-stable-iraq-is-still-a-very-long-way-off/#respond" title="Comment on Patrick Cockburn: A stable Iraq is still a very long way off">No Comments</a> Posted on May 29th, 2010 by Fatima Jameel</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/29/patrick-cockburn-a-stable-iraq-is-still-a-very-long-way-off/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Patrick Cockburn: A stable Iraq is still a very long way off">Patrick Cockburn: A stable Iraq is still a very long way off</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cockburn-patrick/" rel="tag">Cockburn - Patrick</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/corruption/" rel="tag">Corruption</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/foreign-interference-accusations-of/" rel="tag">foreign interference - accusations of</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/foreign-policy/" rel="tag">foreign-policy</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iran/" rel="tag">Iran</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-kurdistan/" rel="tag">Iraqi kurdistan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kleptocracy/" rel="tag">kleptocracy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/krg/" rel="tag">KRG</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/krg-separatism/" rel="tag">KRG Separatism</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kurdistan/" rel="tag">Kurdistan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/lebanon/" rel="tag">Lebanon</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/maliki-nouri-al/" rel="tag">Maliki - Nouri al-</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/massacres/" rel="tag">Massacres</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/militia/" rel="tag">Militia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/occupation/" rel="tag">occupation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oil-revenues/" rel="tag">oil revenues</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/partition/" rel="tag">partition</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/political-paralysis/" rel="tag">political paralysis</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/political-parties/" rel="tag">political parties</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/reconstruction/" rel="tag">Reconstruction</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sanctions/" rel="tag">Sanctions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sectarian-government/" rel="tag">sectarian government</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/surge-failure/" rel="tag">Surge Failure</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/zebari-hoshyar/" rel="tag">Zebari - Hoshyar</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> Seven years after the US and Britain invaded Iraq, the country remains highly unstable and fragmented. So divided are parties and communities that no government has emerged from the general election three months ago, which was intended to be a crucial staging post in Iraq’s return to normality. Political leaders have not even started serious negotiations on sharing power. "I have never been so depressed about the future of Iraq," said one former minister. "The émigré ruling class which came to power after 2003 is terrible. They have no policy other than to see how far they can rob the state." None of this is very apparent to the outside world, because US policy since 2008 has been to declare a famous victory and withdraw its troops. This week the US troop level drops to 92,000, lower for the first time than the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan. The US military wants to maintain the myth that it somehow turned round the war in Iraq by means of "the surge" and emerged successfully from the conflict. This claim was always exaggerated. The insurgency against the US occupation was rooted in the Sunni Arab community, and when this was defeated by Shia government and militia forces in 2006-7, the Sunni had little choice but to look for an accommodation with the Americans. The most important change in Iraq was more to do with the outcome of the Shia-Sunni struggle than US military tactical innovations. This is why American generals are finding that the "surge" in Afghanistan this year, supposedly emulating success in Iraq, is showing such disappointing results. The foreign-policy dominance of the military over civilian arm of the US government was reinforced by the Iraq war. Only this week the US Senate voted an extra $33bn for the military "surge" in Afghanistan, while the State Department gets only an extra $4bn. This is on top of $130bn for Iraq and Afghanistan this year already voted by Congress. In Iraq, violence is far less than three years ago, and in this sense the country is "better" than it was when 3,000 bodies of people killed in the sectarian slaughter were being buried every month. But periodic al-Qa’ida attacks are still enough to create a sense of unease. To prevent them, the streets of Baghdad are so clogged with checkpoints and concrete blast walls that it is difficult to move through the city. It is not so much the continuing, though much diminished, level of violence which worries Iraqis. The failure to replace the lame-duck government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki highlights the depth of sectarian and ethnic divisions between Shia, Sunni and Kurd. It was easy enough to forecast the outcome of the election by assuming that most voters would vote according to their communal loyalties. These divisions, exacerbated by recent massacres, are not going to go away. But what makes them so destructive is the poor quality of leadership of the political parties, with the partial exception of the Kurds. The former minister quoted above said that his fear was that Iraq had acquired a kleptomaniac ruling elite that runs the government as a racket. Some Iraqis cynically take refuge in the belief that the state is so dysfunctional at the best of times that the failure to put in place a new government makes little difference. There is something in this argument, but there are signs in Baghdad that the failure to agree a new government is beginning to paralyse Iraq’s rickety administrative machine. For instance, 111,000 new state jobs cannot be filled without a decision by parliament, and even minor decisions are not taken. One political leader complained that he could not even get somebody to renew the permits for his bodyguards’ weapons. The communal divisions and political paralysis lead some Iraqis to fear that Iraq is turning into another Lebanon. Power will be so fragmented that no decision can be taken, job allocated or long-term policy pursued. The Iraqi commentator and political scientist Ghassan Attiyah believes "a de facto partition will happen". As in Lebanon, internal divisions open the way to foreign intervention. The Iraqi foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, points to the increasing role of Iraq’s neighbours, led by Iran and Turkey, whom Iraqi politicians have invited in. "As a result it was not just an Iraqi election but a regional election," says Mr Zebari. As in Lebanon, the involvement of foreign powers, with their own interests at heart, may stabilise the situation temporarily but it also complicate and institutionalises Iraq’s problems. The analogy with Lebanon can be overdrawn. Unlike Lebanon or Afghanistan, Iraq has oil and the revenues to create a strong state and army. "Iraqis are so volatile and so violent that only the oil will keep them together," says Mr Attiyah. The under-exploited super-giant oil fields which international oil companies are now developing means that oil revenues should start increasing rapidly in about two years’ time. Iraq does not have to solve all or even the majority of its problems to make life better for its people who have endured 30 years of foreign and civil wars, occupation and sanctions. Iraqi Kurdistan, so autonomous that it is almost independent, has many of the failings of the rest of Iraq, such as corruption and a vast government payroll that leaves little money for investment. But the Kurdish political leadership is strong enough and secure good enough for the region to begin to boom. Cranes dominate the skyline of Arbil, the Kurdish capital, while there are still very few visible in Baghdad. The reign of the present ruling elite in Iraq may be temporary. Many of the returning émigrés seem to want to plunder as much as they can as soon as they can before relocating to Europe, the US or some sympathetic Arab capital. They may have abler successors. But the failure to form a new government, and the growing perception that the present one is illegitimate, is making Iraq so unstable that it cannot reconstruct itself. Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/patrick-cockburn-a-stable-iraq-is-still-a-very-long-way-off-1986224.html" class="external" target="_blank">A stable Iraq is still a very long way off</a> by Patrick Cockburn <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.independent.co.uk/" target="_blank" class="external">The Independent</a> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10614"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/19/19th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 19th May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 19th, 2010 by Saba Ali</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/19/19th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 19th May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">19th May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-qaeda/" rel="tag">Al Qaeda</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/algeria/" rel="tag">Algeria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/autonomous-region/" rel="tag">autonomous region</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oil-exports/" rel="tag">oil exports</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oil-ministry/" rel="tag">Oil Ministry</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rehabilitation/" rel="tag">rehabilitation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/returnees/" rel="tag">returnees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rice/" rel="tag">rice</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/royal-dutch-shell/" rel="tag">Royal Dutch Shell</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sanctions/" rel="tag">Sanctions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sanitation/" rel="tag">sanitation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/southern-iraq/" rel="tag">southern iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/summaries/" rel="tag">Summaries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unhcr/" rel="tag">UNHCR</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/western-investment/" rel="tag">western investment</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/wfp/" rel="tag">WFP</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/world-food-programme/" rel="tag">World Food Programme</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua/" rel="tag">Xinhua</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua-reports/" rel="tag">xinhua reports</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> I have concentrated on social and economic issues in selecing articles from English language coverage of Irak. The UN via its World Food Programme hopes to kickstart the labour market as well as reduce food insecurity by running a cash-for-work programme. If the programme succeeds it will be expanded. As my colleague Diya al din reported on May 14th ( <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/14/%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d8%ae%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%85%d9%8a-%d9%84%d9%807-%d9%85%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a7/">دراسة: الدخل اليومي لـ7 ملايين عراقي لا يتجاوز الدولارين | Gorilla’s Guides</a> ) more than seven million people have to try to live on the equivalent of US$2 per day so such programmes are desperately needed. The National has a long article on the new airport in Erbil. The context of all of this is that the Kurdish Regional Government hope to use any revenues from this project as a boost to their arguments for increased autonomy eventually perhaps leading to independence. Xinhua reports on the agreement to allow Kurdish oil exports to resume. If you read nothing else read The National’s report  "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100519/BUSINESS/705199937/1005/rss" class="external" target="_blank">Chinese oil firms make friends abroad</a>" on a day on which the USA has managed to get further sanctions on on Iran the paragraphs below are especially worth bearing in mind: <blockquote>Until recently, China’s state-controlled oil companies have had limited success in gaining access to the region’s biggest oil and gas deposits, and to the rapidly expanding local markets for oil and gas. That is mainly because the national oil companies of major Gulf oil exporters were seeking access to technology only available from the West. The Chinese oil producers, however, were able to establish a beachhead in Iran, as the US-led sanctions against the country discouraged western investment. </blockquote> Finally I have included an article by Kirk W. Johnson on how as the US draws down it is stabbing its local collaborators in the back by leaving them to their own devices. <blockquote>We know where this road leads. When British forces drew down from southern Iraq just two years ago, militias conducted a systematic manhunt for their former Iraqi employees. </blockquote> What Johnson, who is after all an American, fails to see is that it’s not only militias and takfiri groups who will be after these collaborators. There is universal loathing for them as traitrors who sided with a hated invader against their own country and their own people. When the Americans leave many of their collaborators’ survival prospects will be dismal indeed. Saba Ali <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> UN agency kicks off first cash-for-work initiative in Iraq: <blockquote>19 May 2010 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today launched a cash-for-work initiative to help poor Iraqis earn money to provide food for their families. “While there’s food in the shops, not everyone can afford it and nearly a million people still need food assistance and millions more depend on government aid,” WFP Country Director Edward Kallon said. “Cash-for-work projects are an innovative way to provide a much-needed influx of cash to poor communities who struggle to make ends meet and provide food for their families,” he added. “They are appropriate when food is readily available in the markets but out of their reach.” Participants in the programme will be paid the equivalent of $10 per day for a three-month period for carrying out tasks such as clearing and rehabilitation of sewage and irrigation canals, tree planting, rehabilitation of farmland and a sanitation campaign. While beneficiaries will initially be paid in cash on a weekly basis, WFP is exploring the possible use of electronic technology, such as smart cards, to facilitate payments and reduce security risks in future programmes. Some 1,400 households will be involved in the pilot project which will be carried out in the central Iraqi governorate of Diyala with the help of WFP’s partner organization, Mercy Corps. The cash-for-work project is part of the Diyala Initiative to provide assistance to facilitate the resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and other vulnerable groups. That effort is being led by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the participation of several other UN and partner agencies. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=34742&Cr=Iraq&Cr1=" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>:   </blockquote> Airlines may put Erbil on the map – The National Newspaper: <blockquote> ERBIL, IRAQ // The UAE Government hopes flydubai and Air Arabia will join Etihad Airways in flying to Iraqi Kurdistan this year as companies look to benefit from the region’s attempt to attract tourists. snip Built to handle 3 million passengers a year, the new terminal can handle wide-body Airbus A380s as well as other aircraft types and will offer the least expensive airline fuel in the world, he said. snip <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100519/BUSINESS/705199959/1005/rss" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq approves agreement to resume Kurdish oil exports: Xinhua <blockquote> BAGHDAD, May 19 (Xinhua) — The Iraqi government said it has approved an agreement that would allow the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern part of the country to resume oil exports, an Iraqi newspaper said on Wednesday. The agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) stated that the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad will pay the foreign oil firms operating in Iraqi Kurdish region their expenses, the al-Mashriq newspaper quoted government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh as saying. Since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Kurds have independently signed nearly two dozen deals with western oil companies. Baghdad maintains the deals are illegitimate because they bypass the central government. In June 2009, the KRG started oil exports of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) for the oil fields of Taq Taq and Tawke in northern Iraq, but were suspended a few months later when the central government refused to pay the foreign firms and said the Kurds should pay from their share of the national budget. The latest agreement will pave the way for the KRG to resume oil exports through the national pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the paper said without setting a date for resuming the exports. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/19/c_13303988.htm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: Xinhua </blockquote> Iraq exports 53 million barrels of oil in April – People’s Daily Online: <blockquote> Iraqi Oil Ministry said Tuesday it has exported 53 million barrels of oil in April, bringing in revenues of 4.222 billion U.S. dollars with an average price of 79. 66 dollars a barrel. A statement by the ministry obtained by Xinhua said that 42.7 million barrels were exported through the southern port of Basra, and 10.3 million barrels were exported via Turkey’s port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. In March, the ministry said the country exported 57.1 million barrels of oil, gaining revenues of 4.351 billion dollars. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6989885.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Chinese oil firms make friends abroad – The National Newspaper: <blockquote> The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has acquired 35 per cent of the Syrian oil and gas unit of Royal Dutch Shell, which could help boost Chinese access to some of the world’s biggest oil reserves. The Syrian accord, which is worth an estimated US$1.5 billion (Dh5.51bn), in itself is unlikely to boost crude reserves significantly for either company. Instead, it may be aimed at strengthening ties between China’s biggest producer and international oil companies including Shell, as Beijing seeks to expand its presence throughout the Middle East. Yesterday’s deal would increase CNPC’s existing holdings in three oil and gas production licences covering 40 small fields. Last year, Syria Shell Petroleum Development pumped 23,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from those fields. “This is not a lot of oil and gas for a company like CNPC, which is producing about 2.5 million barrels a day,” Gordon Kwan, the head of energy research at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg yesterday. “The agreement strengthens the partnership between Shell and CNPC,” the Chinese company said. Until recently, China’s state-controlled oil companies have had limited success in gaining access to the region’s biggest oil and gas deposits, and to the rapidly expanding local markets for oil and gas. That is mainly because the national oil companies of major Gulf oil exporters were seeking access to technology only available from the West. The Chinese oil producers, however, were able to establish a beachhead in Iran, as the US-led sanctions against the country discouraged western investment. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100519/BUSINESS/705199937/1005/rss" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> Foreign Policy: Leaving Iraqi Employees Behind : NPR: <blockquote> There are no serious contingency plans to evacuate the thousands of Iraqis who’ve worked for the United States and live alongside U.S. troops and civilian officials as interpreters, engineers, and advisors. When the U.S. military shutters its bases, these Iraqis will be cut loose to run the resettlement gauntlet, which typically takes a year or more. I recently came across a frightening document that outlines another group’s designs for the coming U.S. withdrawal. Published in Fallujah by the Islamic State of Iraq, the umbrella organization composed of numerous insurgent and terrorist groups (including al Qaeda in Iraq), the manual sets forth their "balanced military plan" in chilling simplicity: "1) nine bullets for the traitors and one for the crusader, 2) cleansing, and 3) targeting." They are practical: "This cannot be accomplished within one or two months, but requires continuous effort." Those who believe the group’s threats have been rendered hollow by the surge might reflect upon the scores of victims from its triple-suicide car bombing that targeted foreign embassies just weeks ago. This past Friday, upon a string of attacks that killed another hundred Iraqis, the group’s "minister of war" declared: "What is happening to you nowadays is just a drizzle." We know where this road leads. When British forces drew down from southern Iraq just two years ago, militias conducted a systematic manhunt for their former Iraqi employees. Seventeen interpreters were publicly executed in a single massacre; their bodies were dumped throughout the streets of Basra. This predictable churn of violence against those who "collaborated" with an occupying power has been repeated through history, from the tens of thousands of Algerian harkis who were slaughtered after the 1962 French withdrawal to the British loyalists hunted by American militias after the Revolutionary War. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126971991&ft=1&f=1057" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10582"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/18/17th-18th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 17th-18th May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 18th, 2010 by Nabil</div> <h3><a 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rel="tag">suicide bombing</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/summaries/" rel="tag">Summaries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tariq-hassan/" rel="tag">Tariq Hassan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tehran/" rel="tag">Tehran</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/the-nation/" rel="tag">The Nation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris/" rel="tag">Tigris</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris-river/" rel="tag">Tigris River</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tpao/" rel="tag">TPAO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkish-petroleum-corporation/" rel="tag">Turkish Petroleum Corporation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%aa%d8%af%d9%89-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1/" rel="tag">مقتدى الصدر</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/violence/" rel="tag">violence</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/who/" rel="tag">WHO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/world-cup/" rel="tag">World Cup</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua/" rel="tag">Xinhua</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%83%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d8%af%d8%b1/" rel="tag">حركة الصدر</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> I have selected Nizar Latif’s article "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100517/FOREIGN/705169809/1002/rss" class="external" target="_blank">Alliance could keep al Maliki in power</a>" in "The National" because it covers very well the situation that the other blocs find themselves in with regard to the Sadrists. In that context I should mention this posting (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/18/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b9%d8%af-%d9%84%d8%a5%d8%b1%d8%b3%d8%a7%d9%84-%d9%88%d9%81%d8%af-%d8%b1%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b9-%d8%a5%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1/">العراقية تستعد لإرسال وفد رفيع إلى إيران لمقابلة السيد مقتدى الصدر | Gorilla’s Guides</a>) made by my colleague Nabil which reveals that a delegation from Allawi’s list (the Iraqiyal list) met members of the Sadrist trend’s political bureau and that they are preparing to send a delegation to Iran to meet Muqtada al-Sadr. I have also picked an article that appeared in the London "Times" about the plan to build a wall around Baghdad in the hope of keeping bombers out. More immediately there is a lot of interest in the two al-Qaeda members arrested and who apparently were planning to attack the World Cup in South Africa. A lot has been made of the claims that one of them was a Saudi military officer, "not so fast" say the Saudis. (And if you think from Major General Mansour al-Turki’s name that Saudi Arabia is a family business you’d be right). Did you know that <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.1.411141523" class="external" target="_blank">"most of the prisoners freed by American forces from their prisons in the last few years have become Al-Qaeda leaders once they are released"</a> ? No? No, I did not know it either, but it does explain why every time that an alleged al-Qaeda member is killed/captured/accidentally blows themself up that they are always described as being a "senior" al-Qaeda commander/leader/prince/warlord. 62 of them were sentenced to death today i don’t know how many of them received a fair trial or how many of them were truly members of an al-Qaeda affiliated movement. ( That there is an al-Qaeda inspired fighter movement in parts of Irak is true and they enforce their will brutally as the slaughter of two clergy proved). Nabil <h3 style="color: #800000">The Day(s) In Quotes:</h3> <ul> <li>Sheikh Dhea al Shouki, a leading preacher at Kufa mosque, in the Sadrists’ heartland to Nizar Latif on the political crisis: “I tell the Iraqi people to look out for themselves and to protect themselves because the coming situation will be one of sectarianism and interference in Iraq by neighbouring countries. The Iraqi government is corrupt and the Iraqi army is not serving the people well.” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100517/FOREIGN/705169809/1002/rss" class="external" target="_blank">Source</a> </li> <li>Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman  Major General Mansour al-Turki to Asharq Al-Awsat on the identity of the Saudi military officer detained in Irak as an al-Qaeda commander  "The identity of the individual mentioned by the material evidence requires verification, especially as the public information confirms that he has previously impersonated another figure. " </li> </ul> <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights:</h3> 62 Iraqis sentenced to death: Xinhua <blockquote>RAMADI, Iraq, May 18 (Xinhua) — A court in Anbar province gave death penalties to 62 Iraqis and different prison terms, including life imprisonment, to 130 others, a source from Anbar police command said on Tuesday. The court in the province delivered the verdicts according to article 4 of the Iraqi counter-terrorism law after the court found them guilty for crimes of killings, bombings, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Some senior leaders of the al-Qaida organization and leaders of other insurgent groups were among those who received death sentences, the source said. Many of the 130 convicts were either fighters of al-Qaida group or involved in assisting the group to carry out deadly attacks, the source added. "All the convicts were residents of Anbar province," he said <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/18/c_13301622.htm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> Alliance could keep al Maliki in power – The National Newspaper: <blockquote>snip Until yesterday it had seemed unlikely that Mr al Maliki would be chosen as the new alliance’s candidate for prime minister, with the Sadrists, a major faction in INA, saying they would veto his election. However, that threat has now apparently been withdrawn, giving a significant boost to Mr Maliki’s hopes of leading the country for another four years. “We have no veto over Mr al Maliki being chosen as prime minister and we can work with him, for the good of Iraq,” said Bahar al Araje, a senior Sadrist, confirming statements made by Saleh al Obeidi, a spokesman for the group’s leader, cleric Muqtada al Sadr. snip According to Mr al Araje, the Sadrists continue to harbour reservations about Mr al Maliki and he made it clear that, while the Sadr movement would not veto the prime minister’s coveted reappointment, it may not give him its outright support. “We still have criticisms of Mr al Maliki, including that he does not consult when he makes decisions, that he continues to detain followers of Muqtada al Sadr and that he has politicised the security forces,” Mr Araje said. “While we will not veto him, and while we will continue in an alliance with the State of Law coalition, I do not expect Mr al Maliki to be prime minister again, It will be another candidate.” The Sadr movement indicated it had laid down conditions for ending its veto against Mr al Maliki, including that he release scores of detainees. That has not yet happened. While a major obstruction to Mr al Maliki’s return as prime minister appears to have been removed, his position is far from certain. The State of Law/INA alliance has yet to name its leader, with a 14-member committee supposed to make the selection. snip Although the Sadrist leadership appears to have ended its open hostility to Mr al Maliki, Muqtada al Sadr’s followers seem far from convinced. With the atmosphere in Iraq increasingly one of alarm at rising violence and recent deadly sectarian attacks, Sheikh Dhea al Shouki, a leading preacher at Kufa mosque, in the Sadrists’ heartland, said he feared for the future. “I tell the Iraqi people to look out for themselves and to protect themselves because the coming situation will be one of sectarianism and interference in Iraq by neighbouring countries,” he said in a telephone interview. “The Iraqi government is corrupt and the Iraqi army is not serving the people well.” snip <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100517/FOREIGN/705169809/1002/rss" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Baghdad to enclose city with 15ft wall to keep suicide bombers out – Times Online: <blockquote>Baghdad is to resort to one of the oldest forms of defence by building a massive wall around the capital to keep out insurgents, The Times has learnt. A series of recent suicide bombings has driven the governor of the Iraqi capital to propose the concrete barrier, which will be 15ft (4.5m) high and 70 miles (112km) long. Every man, beast and vehicle entering will be searched at one of only eight gates along the main highways. Baghdad, roughly the same size as London and with approximately five million inhabitants, will face severe disruption as a result. Freedom of movement will be limited and workers and visitors alike will probably have to wait for at least an hour to enter. Once inside, though, it is hoped they will be much safer. Shatha al-Obeidi, an aide to Salah Abdul Razzaq, the governor, said: “We want to stop the terrorist from sneaking in. With the wall it will be much easier.” Building work is expected to take about a year. Once the wall is completed, officials plan to remove most of the 1,500 checkpoints and many miles of cement blast barriers that have sprung up inside Baghdad over the past few years. “We have become a city filled with concrete,” said Ms al-Obeidi. “That will change.” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article7129217.ece" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraqi forces capture 2 non-Iraqi Arab Qaida leaders: Xinhua <blockquote> BAGHDAD, May 17 (Xinhua) — Iraqi security forces said Monday they have arrested two non-Iraqi Arab Qaida leaders, and one of them is said to be part of a plan to carry out terrorist act during the coming soccer World Cup in South Africa. The two were allegedly a Saudi and Algerian nationals who were captured in separate raids in Baghdad, according to a military spokesman. Azzam Saleh al-Qahtani, known as Sinan al-Saudi, 31, was an officer in the Saudi Army before he came to Iraq in 2004. Al-Saudi later became an al-Qaida security leader in Anbar and Salahudin provinces in western and central Iraq respectively, Major General Qassim Atta told a news conference. Atta said that al-Saudi was involved in "planning and coordination to carry out attacks during the World Cup in South Africa in complicity with Ayman al-Zawahiri (al-Qaida’s No. 2 top leader)." Al-Saudi was also involved in the Baghdad massive bombings and many robberies against jewellers and killings of many people, Atta added. Another Qaida leader named Tariq Hassan Abdul Qader, known as Abu Ysseen al-Jazairi, 34, an Algerian national, was also captured by a joint U.S. and Iraqi force, Atta said, adding that al-Jazairi was captured in November last year but his captured was not announced as he was interrogated for information about his terrorist group. Al-Jazairi, who entered Iraq in 2005 through Anbar province, was the leader of al-Qaida’s military wing in Karkh area, the west side of Tigris River that bisects the Iraqi capital, Atta said. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/17/c_13299597.htm" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> Saudi Arabia Wants to Verify Identity of World Cup Terrorist Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English): <blockquote> After the Iraqi security services announced their arrest of Saudi citizen Abdullah Azzam Saleh Misfar al-Qahtani, Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia is also looking for a fugitive with a similar name and characteristics. Iraq claims that al-Qahtani is a former Saudi army officer and a senior member in the Al Qaeda organization in Iraq, and that he was planning to carry out a terrorist attack at this year’s World Cup which is set to begin in South Africa in the next few weeks. Saudi Interior Ministry Security spokesman Major General Mansour al-Turki refused to confirm or deny that al-Qahtani had been arrested, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that "the identity of the individual mentioned by the material evidence requires verification, especially as the public information confirms that he has previously impersonated another figure. " In his statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Major General al-Turki said that the information available to the Saudi security apparatus "refers to the departure of a Saudi citizen who has a similar name [to this] outside of Saudi Arabia as part of an unessential holiday in the month of Shawwal 1425 (2004) and that his return [to Saudi] has not been recorded until now." <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=20993" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq: Former prisoners ‘becoming Al-Qaeda leaders’ – Adnkronos Security: <blockquote>Iraqi security forces are concerned that many of the prisoners released by US troops are becoming leaders in the Al-Qaeda terror network on their release. According to local news site, Al-Sumaria News, Baghdad security forces spokesman Major General Qassim Atta revealed the level of concern to reporters on a visit to Abu Ghraib prison. "Most of the prisoners freed by American forces from their prisons in the last few years have become Al-Qaeda leaders once they are released," he told reporters. "To stop this phenomenon we have signed a security accord with US troops, so that before freeing any prisoner they ask Iraqi forces their opinion." In the past US troops, who had more than 20,000 prisoners in Iraqi prisons, could release prisoners without informing local security forces. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.1.411141523" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> News – World: Imams ’slaughtered in Iraq’: <blockquote>Baquba – Two Sunni Arab imams were brutally killed on Monday in Iraq, including one who was decapitated and had his head planted on a power pole, in attacks blamed on al-Qaeda, military officials said. The slayings in the province of Diyala, north-east of Baghdad, were against anti-Qaeda preachers who regularly railed against the terror network during Friday sermons. "At around 2.00pm (11.00 GMT), armed al-Qaeda members captured Sheikh Abdullah Shakur while he was in Saadiyah market," said a Diyala military command officer who declined to be identified, referring to the central town. "They returned an hour later with his head and attached it to an electricity post." Shakur, imam of Saadiyah’s mosque, had received several death threats from al-Qaeda, who had demanded that he leave the town, which is home to large Sunni, Shiite and Kurd populations. The town, located about 100 kilometres east of the Diyala provincial capital Baquba, was an al-Qaeda stronghold during Iraq’s sectarian conflict in 2006 and 2007. According to the Diyala military officer, in the village of Al-Bushaheen, 20 kilometres north of Baquba, gunmen burst into the home of Sheikh Hashim Arif at about 3.00am (00.00 GMT), dragged him to his garden and shot him dead in front of his family. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20100517165430331C338773" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> France24 – Iraq signs oil field deal with Chinese, Turkish firms: <blockquote>Iraq signed a deal with Chinese energy giant CNOOC and Turkey’s TPAO on Monday to develop a major southern oilfield complex, its 11th deal with foreign energy firms as Baghdad aims to boost crude output. Among the cluster of fields in the Maysan complex, along Iraq’s border with Iran, is a field partially claimed by Tehran, whose forces temporarily took over an oil well in the Fakka oilfield in December for several days but withdrew after talks between the two countries. snip CNOOC and TPAO agreed to be paid 2.30 dollars per barrel of oil extracted from the Maysan cluster of fields, which has proven reserves of 2.6 billion barrels of oil. Under the deal, output is projected to be ramped up to 450,000 barrels per day (bpd), compared to current production of around 100,000 bpd. The Chinese firm will have an 85-percent stake in the joint venture, while TPAO holds the remaining 15 percent. The Iraqi government will have a 25-percent stake in the overall project. The agreed deal was worth around a tenth of what was initially requested — CNOOC and Sinochem, another Chinese energy firm, had originally asked for 21.4 dollars per barrel when the field was auctioned to foreign firms last June. Sinochem has since pulled out of the deal. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100517-iraq-signs-oil-field-deal-with-chinese-turkish-firms" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq, Kuwait still going at it » Kuwait Times Website: <blockquote> A fierce legal fight between the national airlines of Iraq and Kuwait has revived deep resentments that have been simmering since Saddam Hussein first sent his army into oil-rich, neighboring Kuwait back in 1990. The dispute has been playing out in British courts since soon after the end of the first Gulf War, with Kuwait Airways claiming it is owed $1.2 billion by Iraqi Airways for 10 aircraft and spare parts that were looted during the occupation by Iraqi forces. Lawyers representing Kuwait have accused Iraq of perjury, forgery and a general pervasion of the justice system. In turn, Kuwait has been accused of exploiting Iraq’s instability and being insensitive to the suffering of the Iraqi people. The dispute resurfaced April 25 when the first Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London in more than 20 years was met at Gatwick Airport by lawyers representing Kuwait Airway armed with an injunction issued by a British court. The authorities confiscated the passport of Iraqi Airways director Kifah Hassan Jabbar, and impounded the aircraft, which had been leased from a Swedish company. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTMzNjM5NTE2NQ==" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10523"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/16/15th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 15th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 16th, 2010 by Umm Fatima</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/16/15th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 15th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">15th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/abdulkarim-al-laibi/" rel="tag">Abdulkarim al-Laibi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-arabiya/" rel="tag">al arabiya</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad-university/" rel="tag">Baghdad University</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bombings/" rel="tag">Bombings</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cnpc/" rel="tag">CNPC</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/dura/" rel="tag">dura</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/international-oil-companies/" rel="tag">international oil companies</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/israel/" rel="tag">Israel</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iyad-allawi/" rel="tag">Iyad Allawi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/joint-postings/" rel="tag">Joint Postings</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/kurds/" rel="tag">kurds</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/middle-east/" rel="tag">Middle East</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/news-sites/" rel="tag">News Sites</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oil-contracts/" rel="tag">oil contracts</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/oil-field-development/" rel="tag">oil field development</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/politics-and-security/" rel="tag">Politics and Security</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prince-turki-al-faisal/" rel="tag">prince turki al faisal</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/safety-precautions/" rel="tag">safety precautions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/saudi/" rel="tag">Saudi</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/saudi-arabia/" rel="tag">Saudi Arabia</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/southern-iraq/" rel="tag">southern iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/suicide-bombers/" rel="tag">suicide bombers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/summaries/" rel="tag">Summaries</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> In the English language reporting on Irak for May 15th Al Arabiya carried a story by AFP about the Baghdad University students of Hebrew: <blockquote>"At the festival, the joyous mood was tempered by bemusement among students at the peculiar circumstances that led them to study Hebrew and the lack of job opportunities for graduates. None of them originally chose to study Hebrew. They wanted English, French, German and Spanish but inadequate grades limited their options to Persian, Kurdish and Hebrew." </blockquote> It seems very strange and sad to me that only students with relatively poor grades study the languages of our neighbours (and in the Kurds’ case the language of our fellow Irakis). The report that Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal is <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100515-maliki-hijacking-iraq-elections-top-saudi-prince" class="external" target="_blank">accusing Maliki of trying to hijack the election results amd warning that this could lead to civil war</a>  is guaranteed to infuriate Irakis who are well aware that Saudis provide arms, funding, and suicide bombers to fightyer groups here. Maybe what Turki says is true and maybe it isn’t the damage that will be done to Allawi — who is saying the same things, comes from the fact that his political enemies will use it as ammunition to call him a Saudi stooge. The American military expert Colonel Patrick Lang cites the report about Turki  and says "<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2010/05/the-coming-civil-war-in-iraq.html#comments" class="external" target="_blank">there will be civil war with foreign Sunni suppoert</a>". Many of us fear he is right and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37155384/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/" class="external" target="_blank">have been going back to taking the safety precautions</a>. The English language press are finally picking up on what the Sadrists have been saying all along – that <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/iraqs-maliki-edges-nearer-power-as-rival-warns-of-civil-war-20100516-v5s0.html" class="external" target="_blank">there are no absolute vetos on supporting Maliki provided he makes</a> and more importantly keeps his political promises — especially about releasing Sadrist prisoners. Umm Fatima <hr style="width: 250px" )=")"/> <h3 style="color: #800000">The Day In Quotes:</h3> Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal on the continuing failure to form a government: <blockquote>"Adding to the brutal mayhem taking place there, we are watching a deliberate effort on the part of the incumbent prime minister, Mr al-Maliki, to hijack the results of the election and deny the Iraqi people their legitimately elected government. The consequences of that are more bloodshed and potential civil war". <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100515-maliki-hijacking-iraq-elections-top-saudi-prince" class="external" target="_blank">source</a> </blockquote> Saleh al-Obeidi on the possibility of Sadrist support for Maliki as Prime Minister: <blockquote>“The Sadr movement does not object to Nuri al-Maliki taking the position of prime minister again but we have conditions. Maliki has not yet succeeded in giving us assurances about these conditions, which include (stopping) continuous arrests against Sadrists.” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/middleeast_May248.xml&section=middleeast" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> Iraqis face ‘new cycle’ of violence – Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com: <blockquote>Many Iraqis are increasingly uneasy that a wave of bombings and shootings may revive all-out sectarian warfare that ravaged the country several years ago. In Baghdad and other cities, some are falling back into old cautionary habits — going outside only when necessary and avoiding busy markets and other crowded places. These small but significant steps show the trepidation many Iraqis feel at a time when the country is floundering without a new government and facing threats of more attacks from al-Qaida-linked groups. "If this power vacuum and struggle continues, then everybody is expecting the worst. We are afraid that more attacks and more security deterioration will push the country in a new cycle" of violence, said Qassim Jassim, of Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) south of Baghdad. He said he and his family are staying home more often as a result. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37155384/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>:   </blockquote> كونا : Al-Maliki calls for second term – الشؤون السياسية – 15/05/2010: <blockquote> BAGHDAD, May 15 (KUNA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki called for another term in order to continue his first government’s accomplishments. During his meeting with different tribal sheikhs of the Al-Muthana province, Al-Maliki said his government faced many obstacles in the past term, and came short of achieving the goal of creating a durable sense of responsible "nationalism" among the populace. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2083575&Language=en" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> France24 – Maliki ‘hijacking’ Iraq elections: top Saudi prince: <blockquote> AFP – Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal on Saturday accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of trying to "hijack" the results of the general election held in Iraq in March. "Adding to the brutal mayhem taking place there, we are watching a deliberate effort on the part of the incumbent prime minister, Mr al-Maliki, to hijack the results of the election and deny the Iraqi people their legitimately elected government," he said. "The consequences of that are more bloodshed and potential civil war," Prince Turki, also a former Saudi ambassador to the United States and Britain, told an audience of diplomats, journalists and businessmen in a speech. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100515-maliki-hijacking-iraq-elections-top-saudi-prince" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Maliki edges nearer power as rival warns of civil war – Yahoo! News: <blockquote> Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday took a major step forward to staying in power in Iraq when a leading Shiite cleric said he would not block him, but an arch-rival warned of civil war. A spokesman for radical, anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr told AFP the movement would drop a veto against Maliki seeking a new term as premier as long as he met its condition that around 2,000 Sadrist prisoners be freed. snip "If he will give us sufficient guarantees to end our reluctance, especially concerning the arrests of Sadrists, then we will not block his candidacy for a second term," spokesman Saleh al-Obeidi told AFP from the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq. But he added: "Maliki has not yet succeeded in giving us assurances about these conditions." snip The latest announcement came as former premier Iyad Allawi, who narrowly beat Maliki in a March 7 general election, said if a "new wave" of violence sweeping Iraq were to continue then the country was headed for civil war. snip "We are just at the beginning, but if the violence continues we are heading towards civil war." snip <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100515/wl_mideast_afp/iraqpolitics" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> AFP: Iraq to boost oil output ‘above 3 mln bpd in 2011′: <blockquote>Iraq, which last year awarded 10 contracts to oil majors, expects to add 600,000 barrels per day of new oil to boost output to 3.2 million bpd by end 2011, a top official was quoted as saying. "We expect to increase production by around 600,000 bpd over the course of this year and next," Iraqi deputy oil minister for upstream Abdulkarim al-Laibi told the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) in its edition to appear on Monday. The country’s current oil output capacity stands at around 2.6 million bpd. Iraq, which sits on the world’s third largest crude reserves, last year awarded 10 major development contracts to foreign companies in two rounds with the aim of raising output capacity to 12 million bpd by 2017. "In general the companies we signed with will make the 10 percent capacity rise for the first round awards and initial production rates for the second round fields within the next two years," Laibi said. The contract for Rumaila, Iraq’s largest oilfield, with BP and China’s CNPC, is expected to add 100,000 bpd by the end of this year, he said, and others will come on stream gradually. Iraq’s oil ministry is organising a major meeting in July with the international oil companies that won contracts to sort out logistical problems facing them, Laibi said. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h3HiUI2gM0RUPZ-bnbWSqrn1ucyA" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> News | Learning Hebrew is a mixed blessing for Iraqis: alarabiya.net <blockquote>Wearing an elegant pink headscarf, Marwa Abdel Karim serenades her fellow Baghdad University students with a heartfelt rendition of "Filled With Love," remarkable for the language in which it is sung — Hebrew. She is one of the 150 students at the university’s Hebraic department, studying the language of Israel in an Arab country that has never had ties with the Jewish state and where most people regard it as an enemy. For the first time since it was set up 40 years ago, the department organized a festival earlier this month where students sang songs and recited poetry for an enthralled audience of about 12D, and gifted tutors with presents. At the festival, the joyous mood was tempered by bemusement among students at the peculiar circumstances that led them to study Hebrew and the lack of job opportunities for graduates. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/05/15/108643.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10505"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/15/14th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 14th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 15th, 2010 by Suheila Jamil</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/15/14th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 14th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">14th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/agriculture/" rel="tag">Agriculture</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-jazeera-english/" rel="tag">al jazeera english</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/america/" rel="tag">America</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/azzaman/" rel="tag">azzaman</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/border-guards/" rel="tag">border guards</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/commentary/" rel="tag">commentary</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/constitution/" rel="tag">Constitution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/dahuk/" rel="tag">Dahuk</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/danish-refugee-council/" rel="tag">danish refugee council</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/denmark/" rel="tag">Denmark</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/displacement/" rel="tag">displacement</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/electoral-commission/" rel="tag">Electoral Commission</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/food-imports/" rel="tag">food imports</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fraud/" rel="tag">Fraud</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/green-zone/" rel="tag">green zone</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/hilla/" rel="tag">Hilla</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/iraqi-refugees/" rel="tag">iraqi refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/jabbar-yawar/" rel="tag">Jabbar Yawar</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/marjaiya/" rel="tag">Marjaiya</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/markets/" rel="tag">markets</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/monsters-and-critics/" rel="tag">monsters and critics</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/mosul/" rel="tag">Mosul</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/peshmerga/" rel="tag">Peshmerga</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/political-parties/" rel="tag">political parties</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/politics-and-security/" rel="tag">Politics and Security</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/qubad-talabani/" rel="tag">qubad talabani</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/radio-netherlands/" rel="tag">radio netherlands</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/red-crescent/" rel="tag">Red Crescent</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/refugees/" rel="tag">Refugees</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/rice/" rel="tag">rice</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/suicide-bombers/" rel="tag">suicide bombers</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/sulaimaniya/" rel="tag">Sulaimaniya</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/summaries/" rel="tag">Summaries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tal-afar/" rel="tag">Tal Afar</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/talabani/" rel="tag">Talabani</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/tigris-river/" rel="tag">Tigris River</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkomen/" rel="tag">Turkomen</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/un/" rel="tag">U.N.</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vegetables/" rel="tag">vegetables</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vocational-training/" rel="tag">vocational training</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/vulnerable-families/" rel="tag">vulnerable families</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/wheat/" rel="tag">wheat</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/wheat-harvest/" rel="tag">wheat harvest</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua/" rel="tag">Xinhua</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> There was a lot of coverage of the bombing of the soccer match in Tal Afar´but as far as I can tell only al Jazeera mentioned that this is part of the ongoing ethnic cleanisng campaign against Shia Kurds called <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/fayli/">Fayli</a>. The Hilla Husseiniyah bombing also got a lot of coverage. I have sleected an article about the  Danish Refugee council funding an expansion of help for refugees in rural areas of Syria. (Maryam wrote about the Syrian Red Crescent’s MHUs here -  <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/04/21/red-crescent-mobile-health-clinics-reach-out-to-refugees-and-rural-poor/">Red Crescent Mobile Health Clinics Reach Out To Refugees and Rural Poor</a>). The wheat Harvest should be good this year according to the FAO and I have also picked out two feature articles one is commentary "Mosque and State" from Nikolas K. Gvosdev who lectures at  the U.S. Naval War College, the other is the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.nytimes.com/" class="external" target="_blank">New york times</a> profile of Hadi al-Mahdi whose talk radio show is very popular because he is so outspoken. Suheila. <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights & Humanitarian:</h3> ReliefWeb » Document » Denmark helps Syria cope with the long-lasting Iraqi displacement : <blockquote>The Danish Refugee Council has established a community centre in Dara’a, where a significant number of Iraqi refugees have found temporary settlement. The centre will be opened on a ceremony May 13 attended by the governor of Dara’a and the Danish ambassador. The ceremony will mark the second step in a plan to expand the response of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to Iraqi refugees residing outside Damascus and support the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) in the assistance it provides to refugees and Syrian vulnerable families in areas far from the capital city where the international aid remains concentrated. DRC has been providing educational, vocational training and community services support to Iraqi refugees in Damascus since early 2008. Those services have, since late 2009, been expanded to the countryside cities of Homs and Dara’a. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-85F3PP?OpenDocument" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> Baghdad recount completed, ‘no fraud’ | Radio Netherlands Worldwide: <blockquote> A manual recount of votes in Baghdad has been completed and no instances of fraud were found there from the March election, electoral commission spokesman Qassim al-Abboudi said on Friday. "We finished the recount of 11,298 ballot boxes and no violations or fraud have been found," he told a news conference in the capital, adding that the results would be released on Monday. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/baghdad-recount-completed-no-fraud" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: See also: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/05/2010514154641560714.html" class="external" target="_blank">Al Jazeera English – Middle East – Iraq vote recount reveals no fraud</a>: </blockquote> Kurds urge U.S. intervention to end Iraq stalemate – latimes.com: <blockquote>Qubad Talabani, the Kurdish region’s representative in Washington, says the U.S. must ‘look out for its interests’ to ensure Iraq has a stable, democratic government. The spokesman for Iraq’s Kurdish region criticized the Obama administration Thursday in Washington for not doing enough to end the current political impasse and urged American officials to embark on "intense shuttle diplomacy" between the deadlocked political parties. Qubad Talabani, who represents the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, said U.S. officials in Iraq have had limited involvement in efforts by political parties to form a government in the two months since the inconclusive national elections in March. Talabani said the Obama administration appeared determined to avoid the perception that it is "trying to concoct a democratic Iraq." But, he said, the U.S. must "look out for its interests" to ensure the country has a stable, democratic government. "It would be a shame to see an undemocratic government, after all the sacrifices," Talabani said in an interview after an appearance at the Nixon Center think tank in Washington. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-fg-us-iraq-20100514,0,7083755,print.story" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq’s new al-Qaida leader vows to continue deadly attacks: Xinhua <blockquote> BAGHDAD, May 14 (Xinhua) — Iraqi al-Qaida group has nominated its new leader called "minister of war" and vowed to continue deadly attacks with "dark days in blood color," said a statement posted on a militant website on Friday. The so-called "minister of war" of the Islamic State of Iraq was identified as al-Nasser Lideen Allah Abu Suleiman and he will replace Abu Ayyub al-Musri, who was killed in a military operation by Iraqi and U.S. forces last month. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/14/c_13295134.htm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: Xinhua </blockquote> Al Jazeera English – Middle East – Blast hits Iraq football match: <blockquote>Suicide bombers have struck a football match in northern Iraq, leaving at least 25 people dead and many more wounded. The blast targeted a game taking place on Friday in the town of Tal Afar, around 60km west of the city of Mosul. A local police official said a car bomb exploded at about 6pm local time (1500GMT) near a crowd of spectators. As people fled the scene of the first blast, two more bombers activated explosive belts in the crowd, the sources said. Local hospital officials put the number of injured at 125. "Many people were gathered to watch the match," Hussein Nashad, who witnessed the attack, told the AFP news agency. "We heard a loud explosion and the people behind me shielded me from the shrapnel. "I ran away, but then I heard someone shout ‘Allahu-akbar’ [God is greatest], and then there was another explosion," Nashad added, speaking from hospital where he was being treated for shock. <h4>‘Dark days’</h4> Many of the wounded were taken by ambulance to Dahuk, 95km away, because local hospitals were unable to cope with the influx of wounded spectators. Tal Afar is a predominantly Shia Turkomen town and has been a regular target for suicide bombers in the past. The attacks follow blasts in the city last October and July that left dozens of people dead. In March 2007, 152 people were killed when truck bombs targeted markets in the town. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/2010514161932327374.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Blast targeting Shiite mosque leaves 18 injured in Iraq – Monsters and Critics: <blockquote>Hilla, Iraq – At least 18 people were injured by an explosive device that went off after Friday prayers in Hilla, a police source said. The bomb was planted beside the Shiite Imam al-Kadhim mosque in the city, 100 kilometres south of the south of Baghdad. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1555771.php/Blast-targeting-Shiite-mosque-leaves-18-injured-in-Iraq" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> Iran Frees Iraqi Soldier in Border Incident – ABC News: <blockquote>Iran released an Iraqi border patrol officer Friday after he was detained briefly when Iraqi border guards were mistaken for Kurdish rebels on a northern stretch of the two countries’ border, an official said. The guard was released unharmed Friday evening, said Brigadier General Ahmed Gharib, head of Iraq’s border guards in Iraq’s northern Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya. "It was a misunderstanding. It’s not the first time it has happened," Gharib said. Officials said Iranian troops fired into the air after mistaking the Iraqis for rebels Thursday. There was no exchange of fire between the two sides in the incident, contrary to some reports, said Major General Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for Iraq’s Kurdish peshmerga security forces. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=10650140" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> Iraq expects bumper wheat harvest this year: Azzaman in English: <blockquote> Good weather conditions will help Iraq reap up to 2 million tons of wheat this year, according to U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Last year grain production declined drastically in the country due to severe drought. The drop in yields turned Iraq into one of the world’s largest wheat importers. Last year’s wheat produce was in the range of 1 million tons while Iraq’s needs are estimated at more than 4 million tons. Iraq’s wheat imports just from the U.S. cost the treasury up to $1.4 billion last year. Iraq’s reliance on food imports has increased and widened. The country currently imports vegetables and fruits as well as grains, meat, chicken, legumes, sugar and tea. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2010-05-14%5Ckurd.htm" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> Mosque & State: by Nikolas K. Gvosdev  The National Interest: <blockquote> <div style="border-right: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: lightgrey 1px solid; width: 250px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: lightgrey 1px solid"> Nikolas K. Gvosdev, a senior editor at The National Interest, is a professor of national-security studies at the U.S. Naval War College. The views expressed are entirely his own </div> The accord signed in recent weeks between the two leading Iraqi Shiite political blocs—the Iraqi National Alliance and the State of Law party—has not only cleared the way for a new government to be formed in Iraq, but also, for the first time, has explicitly guaranteed a role for the senior Shiite clergy. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has been named as the final, binding arbiter for any disputes among the members of the governing coalition. “The marjaiya [the assembly of the most senior ayatollahs] has the final say in solving all the disputes between the two sides and its directives and guidance are binding,” the agreement states. Seven years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the Shiite clergy, who already exercised a great deal of behind-the-scenes influence over the political process, have now been given a more public role. True, this is not a constitutional mandate; the clerics have no formal power to interfere with government policy. And if the current Shiite coalition should dissolve (or lose power in subsequent elections), the agreement would not be binding on future governments. Nevertheless, this development is quite at odds with the vision of a secular Iraq that many Americans believed would be created in the wake of Hussein’s ouster. However, Iraq is not on the verge of being transformed into an Arab version of Iran’s Islamic Republic. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s novel innovation—creating a clerical “guardian” to oversee the state (velayat-e faqih) as an Islamic version of Plato’s philosopher-king—was rejected by the Shiite clergy of Iraq. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.nationalinterest.org/PrinterFriendly.aspx?id=23400" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Saturday Profile – Hadi al-Mahdi, a Strident Political Voice on Iraqi Radio – NYTimes.com: <blockquote>HADI AL-MAHDI, a man you might call the Rush Limbaugh of Iraq, bounded up the stairs to a radio studio in a converted villa beside the Tigris River. “Today,” he said, with impish determination, “we are going to defend the Sunnis.” For the next hour Mr. Mahdi, a Shiite married to a Kurd, did just that. In a sonorous, sarcastic voice, he ridiculed the murky process that disqualified Sunni candidates in Iraq’s recent elections as an assault on the multiethnic, multifaith democracy Iraq is supposed to be creating. As the sun set on another dusty Baghdad evening rush, he condemned not only the man behind the disqualifications (“He’s illiterate.”) but also Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki (“Is there glue in your chair?”), Mr. Maliki’s main challenger in the election, Ayad Allawi; the ministers of education and electricity, “this dirty Parliament” and the rest of Iraqi officialdom “living in the Green Zone, while your family is living abroad.” “Who is going to die? Your son?” Mr. Mahdi’s program — “To Whoever Listens” on Radio Demozy, FM 104.1 — is a thrice-weekly, populist jeremiad of all that is wrong with Iraq’s fledgling democracy, and one measure of what the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has done for it. His is not the only radio talk show in Iraq, but it is arguably the most breathtaking exercise of free speech in a place where its limits are still being established. It is, by some accounts, one of the most popular programs on the air in Baghdad. It is, without question, immensely entertaining. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/world/middleeast/15mahdi.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10488"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/14/%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d8%ae%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%85%d9%8a-%d9%84%d9%807-%d9%85%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a7/#respond" title="Comment on دراسة: الدخل اليومي لـ7 ملايين عراقي لا يتجاوز الدولارين">No Comments</a> Posted on May 14th, 2010 by Diya al din</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/14/%d8%af%d8%b1%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%af%d8%ae%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d9%88%d9%85%d9%8a-%d9%84%d9%807-%d9%85%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%8a%d9%8a%d9%86-%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%82%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a7/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to دراسة: الدخل اليومي لـ7 ملايين عراقي لا يتجاوز الدولارين">دراسة: الدخل اليومي لـ7 ملايين عراقي لا يتجاوز الدولارين</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/iraq/" title="View all posts in News" rel="category tag">News</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/acute-food-shortages/" rel="tag">acute food shortages</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-muthanna-governorate/" rel="tag">Al Muthanna (Governorate)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/babil-governorate/" rel="tag">Babil (Governorate)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/child-poverty/" rel="tag">Child Poverty</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/food-shortages/" rel="tag">Food Shortages</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/living-below-the-poverty-line/" rel="tag">living below the poverty line</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/poverty/" rel="tag">Poverty</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/poverty-line/" rel="tag">poverty line</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/poverty-rates/" rel="tag">poverty rates</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/salah-ad-din-governorate/" rel="tag">Salah ad Din (Governorate)</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <a title="20090916_children_race_to_Abdul_Qadir_Gilani_mosque_in_Baghdad_after_hearing_that_food_aid_distributed_in_this_holy_month_of_Ramadan_04 by Gorillas Guides, on Flickr" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.flickr.com/photos/27086036@N02/3930609295/" class="external" target="_blank"><img height="438" alt="20090916_children_race_to_Abdul_Qadir_Gilani_mosque_in_Baghdad_after_hearing_that_food_aid_distributed_in_this_holy_month_of_Ramadan_04" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221im_/http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/3930609295_721d1728e9_o.jpg" width="610"/></a> كشفت منظمة عراقية محلية تعنى بشؤون الاقتصاد عن ان 7 ملايين عراقي يعيشون تحت خط الفقر. وقالت منظمة (حق) المنضوية تحت شبكة المنظمات الإنسانية الـNGO في تقرير أصدرته الخميس ببغداد إنها أجرت خلال الأشهر الثلاثة الماضية مسحاً اجتماعياً واقتصادياً للمدن العراقية بينت نتائجه ان الدخل اليومي لـ7 ملايين عراقي لا يتجاوز الدولارين. وأوضح التقرير أن المثنى سجلت النسبة الأفقر في العراق بـ%51، تلتها بابل بنسبة %44، ثم صلاح الدين بنسبة %40، ووبمعدل دخل مالي عام لا يتجاوز 80 دولاراً أميركياً شهريا. وبينت المنظمة في تقريرها ان نسبة كبيرة جداً من العراقيين يسكنون في بيوت طينية، وهياكل قديمة من مخلفات الجيش والدوائر الحكومية في عهد النظام السابق، فضلاً عن أن 3 ملايين طفل يعانون من نقص غذائي حاد. </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10375"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/06/6th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 6th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 6th, 2010 by Diya al din</div> <h3><a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/world-health-organisation/" rel="tag">World Health Organisation</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xe/" rel="tag">Xe</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/zubair/" rel="tag">Zubair</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ac%d9%85%d8%b9%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b5%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a8-%d9%88%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%87%d9%84%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a7%d8%ad%d9%85%d8%b1/" rel="tag">جمعية الصليب والهلال الاحمر</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <h3 style="color: #800000">The Day In Quotes:</h3> <ul> <li>Hussein al Shahristani on bringing the Akkas, Mansouriya and Siba gasfields on stream “Once these fields are put on stream, the production will be used to meet Iraq’s growing energy needs as well as possibly exporting to neighbouring countries or the European Union,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100506/BUSINESS/705069876/1005/rss" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </li> <li>Hussein al-Shahristani on the agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdish Separatists on oil revenues "We reached an agreement with the Kurds that all revenues will be handed over to SOMO and the Iraqi government will be responsible for paying the extraction expenses in Kurdistan," <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100506-iraqi-govt-resolves-oil-row-with-kurds" class="external" target="_blank">source</a> </li> </ul> <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights:</h3> France24 – Iraqi Kurdish journalist kidnapped and killed: <blockquote>The family of a Kurdish journalist and student who was kidnapped and killed held his funeral on Thursday, hours after his corpse was found. Sardasht Osman, a final-year English student at Salaheddin University in Arbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, was found dead overnight in the restive northern city of Mosul officials said. He had been kidnapped on Tuesday on his university campus in Arbil. "I received a phone call saying a citizen had been kidnapped in Arbil and we informed police," said Marwan Abdulhamid, an official with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the region’s two dominant political parties. "Mosul police informed us at around midnight that they found a corpse with a university ID." Osman, 22, worked as a journalist for the magazine Ashtiname ("Letter for Peace" in Kurdish) and as an English-Kurdish translator. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100506-iraqi-kurdish-journalist-kidnapped-killed" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> MI5 told all evidence in torture trials will be heard in public – Home News, UK – The Independent: <blockquote> Six former detainees at Guantanamo Bay have won their legal battle to have their claims against the Government heard in public. In a far-reaching judgment on the principle of open justice, the Court of Appeal yesterday overturned a previous ruling which would have allowed MI5 to use secret evidence to defend itself against claims it was complicit in unlawful detention and torture. Last year, the High Court ruled that there was no reason in law why the court could not allow a "closed material procedure" to be used in a claim for damages. This would mean that the Government and the secret services would not have to disclose information to the claimants’ lawyers if they felt that doing so would damage the interests of national security, the UK’s international relations, the detection and prevention of crime, or was likely to harm the public interest in some way. It was proposed that any sensitive material would be disclosed to "special advocates" – barristers who had been given security vetting and clearance but who could not discuss the evidence with the six claimants. But yesterday the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, said the court would "take a stand" against secrecy that the judges said would undermine the "most fundamental principles of common law" <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mi5-told-all-evidence-in-torture-trials-will-be-heard-in-public-1962557.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> MoD asked Red Cross to look into Iraq birth defects – Home News, UK – The Independent: <blockquote> "On DfID’s request," said Mr Thomas, "the ICRC has discussed this [reports of a rise in foetal abnormalities] with the technical director of Al-Fallujah General Hospital as well as another doctor based there. Both responded that although there were occasional cases of foetal abnormalities, these did not exceed two to three cases per year." In another letter written in January this year Mr Thomas said that because of the continuing dearth of reliable information on such cases, DfID had formally asked the Iraqi Ministry of Health to release any data regarding the claims. Allegations that the British Government was complicit in the use of chemical weapons linked to an upsurge in child deformity cases in Iraq are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence. The legal case, which is being prepared for the High Court by Public Interest Lawyers, specifically raises serious questions about the UK’s role in the American-led offensive against the City of Fallujah in the autumn of 2004 in which hundreds of Iraqis died. After the battle, in which it is alleged that a range of illegal weaponry was used against the civilian and insurgent population, evidence has emerged of large numbers of children being born with severe birth defects. Iraqi families who believe their children’s deformities are caused by the deployment of the weapons have begun legal proceedings against the UK Government. They accuse the UK Government of breaching international law, war crimes and failing to intervene to prevent a war crime. Lawyers for the Iraqis have sent a letter before action to the Ministry of Defence asking the Government to disclose what it knows about the Army’s role in the offensive, the presence of prohibited weapons and the legal advice given to the then prime minister, Tony Blair. Last month the World Health Organisation said it was investigating evidence of a worrying rise in the incidence of birth defects in the city which Iraqi doctors attribute to the use of chemical weapons in the battle. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mod-asked-red-cross-to-look-into-iraq-birth-defects-1964491.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Sex slave girls face cruel justice in Iraq – CNN.com: <blockquote> Trafficking is a growing problem in Iraq. Some vulnerable women, desperate to support their families, are tricked into it by accepting fake marriage proposals. Many young girls, their parents facing dire economic circumstances, are just sold outright. "In some ways, their fate is worse than death," explained Samer Muscati from Human Rights Watch. "Once they’ve been trafficked, there’s a stigma even though they’re the victims in this horrific situation. They’ve been exploited and they’ve been trafficked to another country with no real recourse." According to Muscati, even if the girls do manage to escape the cruelty of their circumstances, it will be very difficult for them to escape the judgment of their families. "When they do come back to Iraq, if the family does accept them it’s very difficult because they’ve brought great shame to the family, they’re subjected to honor crimes. And we’ve come across cases where young women have preferred to stay in prison or custody than to be released and to face tribal justice," Muscati said. Rubaie puts it even more bluntly when discussing what little future awaits trafficked girls who manage to return home. "I’m sure the girl’s family won’t take care of her," said Rubaie. "I’m sure that neighbors and relatives and society will judge her, they’ll know that the girl had been a prisoner and the family will be ashamed of her. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/05/04/iraq.women.prisons/index.html?hpt=C2" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> France24 – Kurds vow to back Shiite coalition choice for PM: <blockquote>Iraq’s main Kurdish political bloc will accept the candidate for prime minister chosen by the new Shiite coalition of incumbent premier Nuri al-Maliki, a top official said on Thursday. "We will not veto anyone chosen by the alliances to take up the post of prime minister," said Roz Nawri Chawis, the autonomous Kurdish region’s deputy prime minister. Maliki’s State of Law Alliance and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) led by Shiite religious groups announced on Tuesday that they were forming a new coalition following the March 7 parliamentary elections. The move was aimed at squeezing out a secular coalition led by ex-premier Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc won the election with 91 seats but failed to build a parliamentary majority. The new Shiite coalition is also four seats short of the 163 needed to form a parliamentary majority but the Kurdish Alliance, comprised of Kurdistan’s two long-dominant political blocs, has said it will join it. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100506-kurds-vow-back-shiite-coalition-choice-pm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Bayati: SLC, INA Alliance to speed up forming next government  : National Iraqi News Agency – NINA: <blockquote>The leader within the State of Law’s Coalition, Abas al-Bayati, confirmed that "The Alliance between the SLC and the Iraqi National Alliance will participate in speeding up the negotiations for forming the next government and ending the political tensions." He stated to the national Iraqi News Agency (NINA) "The Alliance between INA and SLC will set a timetable for the negotiations with the other blocs over forming the national partenership government to be able to provide services and represent all Iraqis." <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=EMFFGH" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Nijeifi criticizes calls to divide Iraq into three areas : National Iraqi News Agency – NINA: <blockquote>The leader within the Iraqiya Slate, Usama al-Nijeifi, revealed that "There are calls to divide Iraq into three areas;" criticizing these calls saying "We reject these calls absolutely." Speaking to the National Iraqi News Agency (NINA) "These calls are dangerous and threaten the unity and the stability of Iraq." He added "The Alliance between the State of Law’s Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance gave sectarian image," noting that "The Kurdistani Alliance is having the same attitudes while Iraqiya Slate preserved the national method away from confessionalism." <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=EMFFID" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Othman: Alliance between SL, NIA to satisfy Iran : National Iraqi News Agency – NINA: <blockquote>The Kurdish Alliance’s official, Mahmoud Otham, expressed his dissatisfaction over the new alliance between State of Law (SL) and the National Iraqi Alliance (NIA) considering this move is to satisfy Iran’s demands. Othman said, “Kurdish leadership is not surprised with this move because on increased pressure on Iraq that threatens its security and independence.” He added that Iran works, from the start of the election process in intervening in Iraq’s affairs and putting pressure on political sides toward denying the Iraqiya Slate from forming next government. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.ninanews.com/English/News_Details.asp?ar95_VQ=EMFGEH" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>:   </blockquote> IED blast leaves 1 killed, 3 wounded : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote>“The IED went off at the entrance of the southern Baghdad district of al-Mahmoudiya, leaving one killed and three others wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131302" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> KUNA : Roadside bomb kills 2 in N. Baghdad – Military and Security – 06/05/2010: <blockquote>BAGHDAD, May 6 (KUNA) — Iraqi police said on Thursday that two people were killed in a roadside explosion in Al Mansour district, northern Baghdad. A source in the Iraqi police told KUNA that the bomb exploded near a flowers auction in Al Mansour district. The explosion resulted in the death of two people and wounding four others. They were taken to a hospital for treatment, the source added. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2081286&Language=en" class="external" target="_blank">source</a>: </blockquote> Woman wounded in central Falluja : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote>A woman, standing in front of her house in central Falluja, was wounded in a random shooting on Thursday <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131279" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Hand grenade wounds cop, civilian in Kirkuk : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote> “Unknown gunmen threw a hand grenade on the guards of Kirkuk police chief near al-Shuhadaa tunnel, central Kirkuk, injuring a policeman and civilian,” Colonel Ahmad Shmerani told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The gunmen tried to escape but police forces managed to arrest two of them <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131279" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> IED injures 3 civilians in western Anbar : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote> “The bomb went off near a water tanker truck in al-Qaem district in western Anbar, wounding three civilians, including the driver,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131279" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Al-Qaeda leader captured in Mosul : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote> “The forces arrested Mahmoud Mohammad Salama, a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Mosul,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131288" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Kirkuk car bomber arrested : Aswat Al Iraq: <blockquote> “The detainee, a 29-year-old man who had detonated an explosive vehicle near al-Huweija Hospital on March 22, was captured and is now under investigative custody,” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=131297" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> France24 – Iraqi govt resolves oil row with Kurds: <blockquote>An oil dispute between Iraq and the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan has been resolved, the central government’s oil minister said in Baghdad on Thursday. "We reached an agreement with the Kurds that all revenues will be handed over to SOMO and the Iraqi government will be responsible for paying the extraction expenses in Kurdistan," Hussein al-Shahristani told reporters. SOMO is Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation which deals with sales of crude and other petroleum-based products. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100506-iraqi-govt-resolves-oil-row-with-kurds" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq puts three natural gas fields up for bid – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review: <blockquote> Iraq’s oil minister on Thursday invited international energy companies to bid for contracts to develop three untapped natural gas fields. Hussain al-Shahristani expressed confidence in international interest in the fields, saying that 45 companies with experience in gas projects will submit their offers in the country’s third energy bidding round, set for Sept. 1. "We have indications that there is renewed interest among companies to compete for these fields," he said in a press conference. The Akkas gas field near the border with Syria has estimated reserves of 5.6 trillion cubic feet and was originally offered in Iraq’s first round of bidding. It only garnered a single offer, which was declined. Mansouriya gas field, with reserves of 4.5 trillion cubic feet, is located in the once restive province of Diyala north of Baghdad and received no bids in the round. The smaller Siba field, with 1.1 trillion cubic feet of reserves and near the border with Kuwait, will be offered up for the first time. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=iraq-puts-three-natural-gas-fields-up-for-bid-2010-05-06" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq offers gas and oil licences – The National Newspaper: <blockquote>Iraq, the holder of the world’s third-biggest proved oil reserves, has announced its third post-war bidding round for oil and gas licences. This time, Baghdad’s focus will be on developing the nation’s large but mainly overlooked gas resources. Starting on September 1, the Gulf state would seek offers to develop its Akkas, Mansouriya and Siba gasfields, Dr Hussain al Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, said yesterday. Iraq has sought for years to develop gas exports, in addition to expanding domestic supplies of the fuel to burn in power plants. Baghdad had earlier set aside the under-developed Akkas field, near the country’s western border with Syria, to supply the proposed Nabucco pipeline, which was conceived to reduce European dependence on Russian gas. “This will make Iraq one of the major producers for natural gas,” Ali al Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesman, said last week at a business forum in Abu Dhabi, in remarks heralding the gas auction. “Once these fields are put on stream, the production will be used to meet Iraq’s growing energy needs as well as possibly exporting to neighbouring countries or the European Union,” Dr al Shahristani added yesterday. The minister also said a US$4 billion (Dh14.69bn) joint venture with Royal Dutch Shell to gather and market up to 700 million cubic feet per day of gas produced as a by-product from Iraq’s main southern oilfields had been submitted to the government’s energy committee for approval, more than 18 months after Baghdad signed a preliminary deal with the company. The gas is currently being burnt as “waste” because Iraq lacks gathering and processing facilities. But the deal is controversial because Baghdad negotiated it directly instead of inviting competitive bids, and because it appeared to give Shell a monopoly over gas produced from Iraq’s main oil exporting province of Basra. Despite the country’s dire need for gas to fuel electricity generation, the agreement could still be overturned in parliament or by the next Iraqi government. In what appeared to be a compromise, Dr al Shahristani said the scope of the final deal would cover only three fields: Iraq’s biggest oilfield, Rumaila; the Zubair field; and West Qurna phase 1, which is being developed by ExxonMobil and Shell. The new bidding round for contracts to develop gasfields that are not associated with oil also faces challenges. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100506/BUSINESS/705069876/1005/rss" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> France24 – Iraq says Kuwait reparations are unsustainable: <blockquote>Iraq cannot sustain its reparations payments to Kuwait for Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion, which it says are the highest paid by any country in history, Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Thursday. "Iraq has paid Kuwait enormous amounts of compensation for its losses and we do not know of any country in the world that has paid such high sums," Shahristani told reporters in Baghdad. "The sum of money that Germany paid to France and Britain is less than what Iraq has paid to Kuwait, even though that was a world war and the losses were considerable." On April 13, Adnan Abdulsamad, head of the Kuwaiti parliament’s budgets committee, said the emirate had so far received 17.5 billion dollars out of the 41.8 billion dollars approved by a United Nations special compensation fund. "Iraq cannot continue to make these payments and has made this known to the UN Security Council," Shahristani said. "We call on our Kuwaiti brothers to work together with us to forget the past, which has cost our country more than our neighbours." <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.france24.com/en/20100506-iraq-says-kuwait-reparations-are-unsustainable" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraqi Airways chief released by British court: Khaleej Times Online <blockquote>A British court released the head of Iraqi Airways on Thursday and allowed him to return home, Iraq’s transport ministry said in the latest twist in a legal nightmare for the airline. Kifah Hassan Jabbar had his passport seized and the plane he arrived on impounded at London’s Gatwick Airport on April 25 as a dispute with Kuwait Airways marred Iraqi Airways Company’s (IAC) first commercial flight from Baghdad to London in 20 years. “A British court today (Thursday) issued a decision for the release of Mr Kifah Hassan Jabbar, chief executive of Iraqi Airways,” the transport ministry said. It said the court ruling was greeted by “angry shouts” from Kuwaitis attending the hearing, who “expressed their discontent and dissatisfaction with the decision.” <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/middleeast_May99.xml&section=middleeast&col=" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> The secret behind Iran’s power: By Fatih Abdulsalam <blockquote>Why is Iran seen as a fundamental power in the region stretching from Afghanistan to Lebanon and in between Iraq, its golden state? There are some who think that Iran’s military maneuvers and revelations of new weapons, boats, frigates and missiles that can reach Israel and Europe are the source of this power. People who entertain such opinions, I am sorry to say, are naïve. The U.S. and Europe have no fears of the display of Iranian armaments. Strategy analysts and experts say Iranian weapons might be ineffective. The point is whether the weapons are operational and can be used. The analysts believe if the U.S. attacks Iran, the first thing its forces will do is to render Iranian weapons systems ineffective. Iran’s Western enemies will take the initiative and do not allow Iran to unleash its missiles and other weapons on their targets. But still Iran is a powerful country. Iran’s strong muscles are not due to its weaponry. Iran’s strength emanates from its diplomacy and the role it plays almost in all important files in the region. Arab states have almost no role to play here. Therefore, it is so hard for Iran’s nemesis, the U.S., to embark on any negotiating or movements in the region without taking Tehran into account. Tehran has proxies and agents throughout the region. They are the source of Iran’s power and not its weapons. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news%5C2010-05-06%5Ckurd.htm" class="external" target="_blank">Source</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10370"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/05/5th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 5th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 5th, 2010 by Editors</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/05/5th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 5th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">5th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ajil-oil-refinery-fire/" rel="tag">Ajil oil refinery fire</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/al-jazeera-english/" rel="tag">al jazeera english</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asharq-alawsat-newspaper/" rel="tag">asharq alawsat newspaper</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/barzani/" rel="tag">Barzani</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/basra/" rel="tag">Basra</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/caretaker-government/" rel="tag">caretaker government</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/ceyhan/" rel="tag">ceyhan</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/cluster-bombs/" rel="tag">cluster bombs</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/constitution/" rel="tag">Constitution</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/elections/" rel="tag">Elections</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/erbil/" rel="tag">Erbil</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/features/" rel="tag">Features</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/human-rights/" rel="tag">Human Rights</a>, <a 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Security</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/prime-ministers-office/" rel="tag">Prime Minister's Office</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/reconstruction/" rel="tag">Reconstruction</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/reuters/" rel="tag">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/security-measures/" rel="tag">security measures</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/" rel="tag">Society And Economy</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/south-oil-company/" rel="tag">South Oil Company</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/southern-iraq/" rel="tag">southern iraq</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/state-of-law-coalition/" rel="tag">State of Law Coalition</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/summaries/" rel="tag">Summaries</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/trade-unions/" rel="tag">Trade Unions</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/turkey/" rel="tag">Turkey</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/unesco/" rel="tag">UNESCO</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua/" rel="tag">Xinhua</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/%d8%ac%d9%8a%d8%b4-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%87%d8%af%d9%8a/" rel="tag">جيش المهدي</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> There are no prizes for guessing what the main story of the day in the English language coverage of Irak was, :-) but that wasn’t all that happened. We found a story on the how trade unions are trying to get a labour protection law passed, things are not as rosy with Turkey as the the KRG would have you believe, the South Oil Company is massively ramping up their security, (there’s no mention of the massive Ajil oil refinery fire in the north). The Guardian’s, Nicky Woolf thinks that KRG is on its way to being the next Dubai, and Hadi Ditmars writes about returning to Baghdad <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.newint.org/features/2010/05/01/keynote-iraq-in-pieces/" class="external" target="_blank">after seven years away</a>. There is no mention either of the progress of the negotiations between the Arab bloc and the Kurds over Mosul – the governor is pleased with progress. (What is missing from English language coverage of events here is as fascinating to me as what they do cover). Nur <h3 style="color: #800000">The Day In Quotes:</h3> <blockquote><ul> <li>Hajim al-Hassani spokesman for Maliki’s State of Law coalition on Allawi’s narrowing options. “In the end, the nominee for prime minister will be from the alliance. I think Iraqiya will realize that in the end the only choice is to be part of the new government.” Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/world/middleeast/05iraq.html?scp=4&sq=iraq&st=cse" class="external" target="_blank">Shiite Blocs Join, Ensuring Dominance in Iraq – NYTimes.com</a>: </li> <li>Brigadier-General Moussa Abdelhassan, head of police for the Southern Oil Company on the drive to provide saftety for oil companies "We removed thousands of mines and cluster bombs that were left in the oil fields in order to be able to dig and repair the wells and extend the network of oil pipelines here" Source: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1553354.php/Iraq-takes-extra-security-measures-to-protect-oil-fields" class="external" target="_blank">Iraq takes extra security measures to protect oil fields</a> </li> </ul> </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights:</h3> Iraqi workers standing up for their rights: <blockquote>Nearly seven years after the fall of the Saddam’s regime, many of its laws continue to apply, making it impossible for Iraqi trade unions to organise and bargain on behalf of their members. Workers in the public sector can not join unions, trade union assets have been frozen by the Government, and governmental authorities have attempted to take over trade unions. These laws are undermining the immense contribution democratic and independent trade unions can make to Iraq’s fledgling democracy. While several versions of a new labour code have been drafted, political opposition and a gridlocked Parliament has seen them only gather dust. In response workers and unions from across the country – from Basra to Iraqi Kurdistan – have come together to urge the government to put in place labour law. In spite of tremendous personal risk, the campaign is also a pioneering effort in bridging religious, political, ethnic and geographic divides. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1250&theme=rights&country=iraq" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> Iraq’s two major Shiite blocs form new coalition: Xinhua <blockquote>BAGHDAD, May 4 (Xinhua) — The State of Law alliance led by Iraqi incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) have formed a coalition, according to a statement released on late Tuesday. "The two alliances reached an agreement to form a parliamentary bloc," said INA official Abdul-Razzak al-Kazimi at a press conference in Baghdad, adding "the alliance was a major step and would open to other Iraqi national forces." The new alliance was "determined to provide all the requirements for the success of the political process and to build an effective parliamentary system," said the official while reading the statement. According to initial results, the State of Law won 89 seats and the Iraqi National Alliance got 70 in the recent parliamentary elections. After combined, the two have 159 seats, very close to the needed 163 seats to form the new government. Al-Kazimi said the newly formed alliance vowed to name a prime minister committed to this program and pledged to promote an " institutional building of the state and the effective and constructive role of Iraq at the Arab, Islamic and international levels," the official said. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/05/c_13278382.htm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq’s Shiites try to form new government: Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion <blockquote> The coalition deal was announced at a news conference, but the question of who would be prime minister could threaten to derail their plans to form a government. “Despite the challenges and the risks, both coalitions have agreed to announce the formation of a single parliamentary bloc,” said Abdul-Razaq al-Kazemi of the Iraqi National Alliance. Al-Kazemi, who took no questions from reporters, was flanked by officials from State of Law and the movement of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose followers make up the strongest group in the Iraqi National Alliance. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/iraqs-shiites-try-to-form-new-government" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: (emphasis added). </blockquote> DAWN.COM | World | Iraq deal gives clerics final say: Report: <blockquote>BAGHDAD: An agreement signed by the two main Iranian-backed Shia blocs seeking to govern Iraq gives the final decision on all their political disputes to top Shia clerics, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. If the alliance succeeds in forming the next government, the provision could increase the role of senior clergy in politics. The provision would likely further alienate Iraq’s Sunni minority, which had been hoping the March election would boost their say in the country. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/06-iraq-deal-gives-clerics-final-say-report-rs-06" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Al Jazeera English – Middle East – Iraqiya: Shia alliance made in Iran: <blockquote>Discussions about who will become prime minister are now under way between the Shia parties, al-Asadi told Al Jazeera. However, it is widely believed that the agreement came to light only after assurances were given by the State of Law that al-Maliki would not continue in his post. "Mr al-Maliki has left the decision to the leadership of the alliance. There are certain internal methods to choose the PM candidate at the end of the day, and everyone should respect them," al-Asadi said. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/201055161551418941.html" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq: Nouri Maliki’s bloc forges alliance with another Shiite faction – latimes.com: <blockquote> Maliki’s path to retaining the premiership is far from clear. He faces stiff opposition from the bloc loyal to Sadr, who despise the prime minister for launching several military offensives against its armed wing, the Mahdi Army, in Baghdad and southern Iraq. The newly formed coalition constitutes 159 of the parliament’s 325 seats, just four seats short of the majority needed to govern. Its formation delivers a blow to the bloc led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shiite and onetime favorite of the West with close ties to U.S. allies in the Middle East. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/topstories/la-fg-iraq-coalition-20100505,0,7759573.story" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Coalition still keen on al-Maliki after forming Shiite alliance – Monsters and Critics: <blockquote>Baghdad – The State of Law coalition said Wednesday it plans to nominate its leader and current Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki for the premiership, after allying with the Iraqi National Alliance. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1553357.php/Coalition-still-keen-on-al-Maliki-after-forming-Shiite-alliance" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> FT.com / Iraq – Iraqi Shia groups form alliance: <blockquote> Mr Dabbagh said the Shia alliance would seek to reach out to Iraqiya to include it in the government, but made it clear Iraqiya would not be considered a major party in the next administration. He said that State of Law and the INA would decide internally on their candidate for prime minister, which has already been a point of contention between the Shia groups because of Mr Maliki’s insistence that he retain the position of prime minister. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6a46c890-581c-11df-9eaf-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=17aab8bc-6e47-11da-9544-0000779e2340.html?ftcamp=rss" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Sunni cleric killed by gunmen in western Baghdad: Xinhua <blockquote> BAGHDAD, May 5 (Xinhua) — A Sunni cleric and three other people were shot dead by gunmen in a western Baghdad neighborhood on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said. The attack took place in the morning when gunmen in a car opened fire on Abdul Jalil al-Fahdawi, Imam of a Sunni mosque in the neighborhood of Amriyah while he was leaving his home, adjacent to the mosque building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Fahdawi, two of his guards and a man who is his relative, were all killed by the attack, the source said. Fahdawi is also deputy head of Scholars of Iraq Council, a nongovernmental and politically independent body which represents moderate Islam that opposes religious extremism. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/05/c_13279216.htm" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Ankara expects Kurdish help with PKK – UPI.com: <blockquote>PKK attacks in Turkey are increasing as the spring thaw begins. Ankara believes attacks are on the rise because of a pending visit to Turkey by Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. "We are expecting active support from the regional administration (in northern Iraq)," the foreign minister was quoted in the English-language newspaper Hurriyet as saying. Davutoglu added that Barzani was a welcome partner in Ankara. On trilateral efforts between U.S., Iraqi and Turkish officials on the PKK issue, the foreign minister stressed that Ankara’s "determination is continuing." <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2010/05/05/Ankara-expects-Kurdish-help-with-PKK/UPI-60931273069164/" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> Is Kurdistan the next Dubai? | Nicky Woolf | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk: <blockquote>As in Dubai, urban planners are reclaiming swathes of desert or scrubland with ambitious projects like Dream City, a development of brand new homes set in landscaped gardens with shops, schools and a mosque; or the planned Korek Tower, an angular glass-clad skyscraper that its owners, a home-grown mobile phone company, even describe as "Dubai-style". Based on the Dubai model, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is planning to expand the scope of the economy from purely oil-based to tourism and services. The minister for tourism has outlined an ambitious five-year plan for the construction of the industry practically from scratch, focusing on new intercity highways, airports and luxury hotels. Erbil’s citadel has recently been awarded Unesco World Heritage status and is the recipient of a multi-million dollar restoration scheme, and there are even plans to construct a ski resort in the mountain town of Haj Omaran. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/05/kurdistan-next-dubai-iraq" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> UPDATE 1-Russia’s TNK-BP makes foray into Iraqi oil and gas | News by Country | Reuters: <blockquote>Russia’s TNK-BP, half owned by BP , has established a joint venture to develop oil and gas fields in Iraq, joining Russian majors, which are tapping the world’s third-largest crude reserves. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://af.reuters.com/article/ivoryCoastNews/idAFLDE6442BK20100505?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=ivoryCoastNews&rpc=401&sp=true" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq takes extra security measures to protect oil fields – Monsters and Critics: <blockquote>Iraq has begun implementing extra security measures to protect oil fields in and around the south-eastern city of Basra, security sources announced on Wednesday. Iraq’s oil pipelines have frequently been attacked in the past. Last month, a bomb destroyed a section of pipeline linking northern Iraqi oil fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. ‘We removed thousands of mines and cluster bombs that were left in the oil fields in order to be able to dig and repair the wells and extend the network of oil pipelines,’ Brigadier-General Moussa Abdelhassan, head of police for the Southern Oil Company told dpa. Security forces are cooperating with oil companies connected to the oil ministry, and have signed security agreements with foreign companies licensed to develop a number of oil fields in the area. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/news/article_1553354.php/Iraq-takes-extra-security-measures-to-protect-oil-fields" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> Iraq lobbies for oil port expansions – UPI.com: <blockquote>The South Oil Co. is moving to boost export capacity through an offshore reconstruction project at the southern port in Basra. Upgrades include a 6-mile onshore and a 38-mile offshore pipeline to expand export capacity, the online Oil & Gas Journal reports. A spokesman for the state-owned oil company said the project is part of a plan to increase export capacity from Basra ports from 1.8 million barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day during the next four years. Companies were invited to submit their interest Wednesday. Low volumes of crude in storage were blamed for a 550,000-barrel-per-day decline in exports from Basra terminals in April. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2010/05/05/Iraq-lobbies-for-oil-port-expansions/UPI-21571273067809/" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> Tampering with the Political Process in Iraq Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English): <blockquote>Prime Minister Al-Maliki does not consider himself the prime minister of a caretaker government. He is administering a normal government, in fact more than normal, because due to the constitutional vacuum he has immense powers that he has never had during his rule in the past four years. The prime minister now governs the country without consulting the parliament, as the term of the Council of Representatives has lapsed; therefore, the prime minister can sign whatever he wants of decisions and contracts. Also the prime minister does not need the Presidency Council, because it is semi-honorary; he understands that the army is at his disposal as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; and the relations with the United States – according to the security agreement – is under the authority of the prime minister’s office, and hence cannot be activated, even in case of internal dispute as is the case today, except at the wish of the prime minister. This means that practically he is the president, he is the prime minister, he is the parliament, he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and his is the controller of the relations with the United States. Thus it is in the interest of Al-Maliki and his government to prolong as much as possible the current situation, because it is a golden opportunity in which he has all the powers to spend, appoint, and change in any way he likes. To what can this time-wasting game, which is comfortable for the government, lead? It certainly will lead to a state of restlessness and political chaos, because the competing sides will consider every passing day to be at their own expense. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=20833" class="external" target="_blank">read in full</a>: </blockquote> </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="post clearfix" id="post-10350"> <div class="postmetadata"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/04/4th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/#respond" title="Comment on 4th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">No Comments</a> Posted on May 4th, 2010 by Hussein Kareem</div> <h3><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2010/05/04/4th-may-2010-selected-english-language-coverage/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 4th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage">4th-May-2010 Selected English Language Coverage</a></h3> Category: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/category/english-articles/" title="View all posts in English Language Articles" rel="category tag">English Language Articles</a>, Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/arbitrary-detention/" rel="tag">arbitrary detention</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/asylum-claims/" rel="tag">asylum claims</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baghdad/" rel="tag">Baghdad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/bahrain/" rel="tag">Bahrain</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/baquba/" rel="tag">Baquba</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/basra/" rel="tag">Basra</a>, <a 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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syria/" rel="tag">Syria</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/syrian-border/" rel="tag">Syrian border</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/trauma/" rel="tag">trauma</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/water/" rel="tag">Water</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/xinhua/" rel="tag">Xinhua</a> <div class="entry" dir="rtl" align="right"> <h3 style="color: #800000">Human Rights</h3> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/france-germany-top-eu-asylum-table-as-requests-rise-to-260000_64389.html" class="external" target="_blank">France, Germany top EU asylum table as requests rise to 260,000 < French news | Expatica France</a>: <blockquote>Germany received the second largest amount of asylum claims in Europe, with more than 31,000, over 7,000 of whom were Iraqis. However it topped the table of positive decisions on those aslum applications, allowing in 9,765 to France’s 5,050. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.terra.net.lb/wp/Articles/DesktopArticle.aspx?ArticleID=514506&ChannelId=4" class="external" target="_blank">Lebanon: Calls for end to arbitrary deportation of refugees</a>: <blockquote>Lebanon must halt its practice of arbitrarily detaining and deporting refugees, a human rights organization said Monday.At least 14 refugees, mostly from Iraq, have been coerced into signing deportation orders since the beginning of 2010, said Berna Habib, secretary of the board at Frontiers Ruwad (FR). After unlimited periods of arbitrary detention in miserable prison conditions, the refugees are signing the orders “out of despair,” FR’s Habib told The Daily Star.Late last month, an Iraqi refugee was deported ahead of a court hearing which would have determined whether he could remain in Lebanon. Ali Faris, another recognized refugee from Iraq, was deported on March 31 through the Lebanon-Syrian border. A court hearing held after he left ruled against his expulsion, Habib said. “All deportation orders should be suspended and reviewed, meanwhile, refugees who are arbitrarily detained should be released immediately,” said Habib.At least 1,500 migrants have been detained since 2007, with half of those remaining in custody arbitrarily for months or years, she added. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_wires-navyseal_0504may04,0,7658734.story" class="external" target="_blank">Judge refuses to drop charges facing Navy SEAL – dailypress.com</a>: <blockquote>The court-martial of a Navy SEAL accused of punching a suspected terrorist in Iraq opened Monday with the judge rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the case based on something Geraldo Rivera said on television. Attorneys for Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe of Perrysburg, Ohio, introduced a transcript of an April 22 broadcast in which Rivera told the Fox network’s Bill O’Reilly that someone close to the military official who ordered the court-martial told him the official was pressured by a higher authority not to drop the case. snip McCabe attorney Haytham Faraj said Monday that the Rivera report suggested "unlawful command influence," and he asked that the charges be dismissed The judge, Capt. Moria Modzelewski, dismissed the TV commentary as speculation and declined the defense request. </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Health</h3> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g46-V90DS8j1vpyarmMkIkzYVz6QD9FFQV8O0" class="external" target="_blank">Iraqis try to heal mental scars after years of war: Google News</a> <blockquote>Jabar Abdul-Zahra’s flashbacks are so vivid he can feel the asphalt against his cheek that night six years ago when he lay pinned to the ground between his two critically wounded brothers, the three of them caught in the crossfire as American troops and local militiamen fought in a Baghdad neighborhood. The memory of waiting till dawn for the fighting to subside so he could ferry them to hospital has overshadowed the grief he felt when one brother later died from his wounds. But the 43-year-old computer engineer didn’t understand what was causing the flashbacks, or the palpitations and sheer terror that still overcome him whenever he sees people in uniform. Until he happened to get a contract to hook up the computers at a new center being set up in the backyard of the Imam Ali Hospital. There he met psychiatrist Haitham Abdul-Razaq — and found out he was one of tens of thousands of Iraqis with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Politics and Security</h3> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/world/middleeast/04awakening.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print" class="external" target="_blank">Iraqi Sunnis Frustrated as Awakening Loses Clout – NYTimes.com</a>: <blockquote>FALLUJA, Iraq — Sheik Aiffan Saadoun al-Aiffan stepped across a scorched patch of farmland, raised his shotgun and fired once. A bird fell to the ground. “Shooting Qaeda,” he said, explaining how he had honed his accuracy, fighting alongside American forces. But those times of counterinsurgency, when tribal leaders like him switched sides in what became known as the Sunni Awakening, are giving way to the rise of a new political order in Iraq. The recent parliamentary elections were a serious blow to the Awakening, which has been regarded as not just a movement to pacify restive areas, but also as a potential political force to re-empower Sunnis. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2080586&Language=en" class="external" target="_blank">كونا : Iraqi electoral commission: Re-count results match previous results up to now – الشؤون السياسية – 04/05/2010</a>: <blockquote>BAGHDAD, May 4 (KUNA) — The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said the results of Monday and Tuesday’s recount of votes matched previous results up to now. Head of IHEC’s electoral department Hamdiya Al-Hussaini told KUNA here Tuesday that the results were the same, but more checking was still required. IHEC recounted on Monday votes of 600 out of Baghdad’s nearly 11,000 centers. On Tuesday, it would recount votes of 800 other centers. The Rule of Law Coalition said, Monday, it expects that the results of the recount would match previous results, if IHEC insists on ignoring the comparison of results with the voters records.(end) </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1553036.php/Two-dead-in-Iraq-violence-two-al-Qaeda-leaders-arrested-1st-Lead" class="external" target="_blank">Two dead in Iraq violence, two al-Qaeda leaders arrested</a>: Deutsche Presse Agentur <blockquote>Two civilians were killed and 14 injured in a attacks in Iraq on Tuesday, while police arrested two al-Qaeda leaders, security officials said. The officials said gunmen shot and killed a pharmacist working at al-Salam hospital in the northern city of Mosul. Meanwhile police detained alleged Saudi al-Qaeda leader Mohamed Mahmoud Salama in a raid in western Mosul, a security source told the German Press Agency dpa. The two sides exchanged fire during the raid, leaving two policemen injured. Salama is believed to have entered Iraq in 2004. He was arrested by security forces in 2006 but managed to escape. Security forces announced that the imam of a Sunni mosque in Mosul was shot and killed by unknown gunmen after evening prayers on Monday night. On Monday, an Iraqi security operation targeting the hideouts of al-Qaeda militants in the city of Baquba led to the arrest of 25 al- Qaeda members, including a prominent leader. ‘Among those arrested is the emir of Baquba, known as Haji Basem, who is involved in the deaths of 24 people and the displacement of 50 families in the area during the years of escalated sectarian violence, between 2005 and 2007,’ a security source said on Tuesday. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/04/c_13277981.htm" class="external" target="_blank">Iraqi intelligence officer killed in Baghdad bombing</a>: Xinhua <blockquote>An intelligence officer affiliated to Iraqi Interior Ministry was killed and a government employee was wounded by two separate bomb explosions in their cars in Baghdad on Tuesday, the police said. Lieutenant Colonel Ali Hussein, head of intelligence service in northern Baghdad, was killed when a bomb planted in his car detonated in Baghdad’s northern district of Kadhmiyah, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The attack took place in the morning when the officer was driving to work, the source said. <div style="border-right: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-right: 5px; border-top: lightgrey 1px solid; padding-left: 5px; float: right; padding-bottom: 5px; margin: 5px 0px 5px 15px; border-left: lightgrey 1px solid; width: 360px; padding-top: 5px; border-bottom: lightgrey 1px solid"> Editor’s note: The civil servant wounded in this bombing works  in the Prime minister’s office. Hussein Kareem </div> Meanwhile, another bomb attached to the car of an employee in the office of the Iraqi ministerial council detonated in the Qahtan Square in western Baghdad, wounding him and two civilians who were close to the scene, the source added. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-05/04/c_13277994.htm" class="external" target="_blank">13 wounded in car bombing in northern Iraq</a>: (Xinhua) <blockquote>A booby-trapped car parked in the dense populated neighborhood of al-Dawassa in central Mosul detonated in the morning, wounding 13 people and damaging several nearby buildings and civilian cars, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast occurred at the same neighborhood where the governor of Nineveh Atheel al-Nujaifi lives, the source said, adding that the blast caused no casualty to Nujaifi and his house </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQNZ-iDlwjFMX9HrXgX7-7y-RuGQD9FFRKL80" class="external" target="_blank">2 US soldiers in Iraq die in non-combat incidents</a>: Google News <blockquote>The U.S. military says two American soldiers have died in Iraq from injuries sustained in separate incidents unrelated to combat. </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Society and Economy:</h3> here <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/585058-muddying-the-waters" class="external" target="_blank">Muddying the waters – Energy – ArabianBusiness.com</a>: <blockquote>Iraq’s oil minister has raised questions over the country’s planned energy expansion by indicating Baghdad would consider OPEC output curbs that may keep supply well short of ambitious capacity targets. After Baghdad signed contracts to add around ten million barrels per day (bpd) to its oil supply, tough talks were expected within the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on an eventual output target for Iraq. But Iraqi oil minister Hussain Al Shahristani seems to have jumped straight to the end game before even sitting down at the negotiating table with his fellow ministers. </blockquote> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/middle_east/view/201005042_more_mideast_airlines_have_iraq_on_their_radar/" class="external" target="_blank">2 more Mideast airlines have Iraq on their radar – BostonHerald.com</a>: <blockquote>Two fast-growing Middle Eastern airlines said Tuesday they are considering starting up services to Iraq, looking to join the growing fleet of carriers serving the war-scarred country. The chief executives of FlyDubai and Qatar Airways each said they are weighing expansions to Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, including the Shiite holy city of Najaf and Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region. If the airlines go ahead, they will be joining a growing number of carriers — including Germany’s Lufthansa and Bahrain’s Gulf Air — entering the Iraqi market as security improves and business picks up. FlyDubai is also eyeing Sulaimaniyah in the north and Basra in the south, according to CEO Ghaith al-Ghaith. He told The Associated Press in an interview he is in talks with Iraqi and Emirati authorities to win approval for the routes. </blockquote> <h3 style="color: #800000">Commentary and Analysis</h3> here here here   أخبار العراق </div> </div> <hr/> <div class="navigation"> <div class="alignleft"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/tag/society-and-economy/page/2/">« Previous Entries</a></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="span-10 last"> <div class="span-10" id="tabs"> <ul> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#featured-articles">Featured Articles</a></li> <li class="ui-tabs-nav-item"><a href="#latest-articles">Latest Articles</a></li> </ul> <div id="featured-articles" class="widget"> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120504070221/http://gorillasguides.com/2012/04/19/hezbollah-says-latest-bombings-in-iraq-thwart-mission-to-build-state/">Hezbollah says latest bombings in Iraq “thwart mission to 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