Sunday, July 13, 2003
iraq war blog updates
Iraq Democracy Watch: "Token Representation
Various headlines marked the first meeting of the new Governing Authority in Baghdad today. Last minute negotiations about who would be on the 25-person body lasted into the night, but finally got resolved in time. Out of 25 people, there are 13 Shi'ites, fve Sunni Arabs and Kurds each, one Assyrian Christian, and one Turkoman, who is conveniently also a woman.
The real surprise, according to this morning's NYT , is that "The new interim government will be dominated by the Iraqi exile leaders and Kurdish chieftains," as opposed to people who stayed in Iraq for the duration of Saddam Hussein. As the Washington Post reports, "the Iraqi opposition leaders "argued that placing more people with political skills on the council, even if they had lived outside the country, would give the group the best chance of success." Score one for Ahmad Chalabi and the INC.
Everyone is speculating about how much effective power the Concil will actually have. After it met today, according to a Yahoo news report ,
Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman for [Ahmad] Chalabi, described the council's convening as "a positive step and a historic day for Iraq." " The United States has no intention of colonizing Iraq ,and Mr. Bremer has told me personally that he will not intervene and will stay clear from political decisions made by the council," he said. [Emphasis added.]
But, while no one is paying any attention, as the Guardian reports, the US "plans to mortgage Iraq's future oil supplies..."
Much of the revenue will be securitised over at least a decade under the proposals being pushed by the US Export Import Bank, the Bush administration's trade promotion body, and a lobbying group that includes key American contractors Bechtel and Halliburton.
Reports suggest that $30 billion of loans will be backed by Iraq's reserves, the second biggest in the world
The World Bank has said such commitments should only be made by a sovereign Iraqi government. The plans will complicate a conference on Iraq's existing $120bn debt, which the US wants European powers to cancel. [Emphasis added.] "
Iraq moves towards self-rule in BBC: War in Iraq
U.S. Kills Four in New Iraq Operation: "American forces killed four suspected pro-Saddam insurgents and arrested more than 50 people as they launched a fourth major offensive in central Iraq, an operation meant to blunt expected attacks on U.S. soldiers, military officials said. (AP)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
U.S. Mulls Annual Cash Payout for All Iraqis: "The United States is consideringpaying all Iraqis an annual dividend from a trust fundestablished with the country's oil revenues, U.S. administratorPaul Bremer said on Sunday. (Reuters)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Al-Qaeda elusiveness, Iraqi instability a double headache for US: "The thus-far fruitless hunt for deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts of al-Qaeda chieftain Osama Bin Laden are giving Washington a double headache as it battles worldwide terrorism and seeks stability in Iraq, experts say. (AFP)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
UK's '45 Minutes to Deploy' Claim Was Error-Blix: "The British government made a"fundamental mistake" when it claimed Iraq's Saddam Husseincould deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes, theformer head of U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix said. (Reuters)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Iraq uranium claim creates trans-Atlantic rift: "Tony Blair is coming under mounting pressure to authorise an independent inquiry into the Iraqi dossiers affair after a trans-Atlantic split opened up over crucial intelligence."
In Ananova: War In Iraq
U.S. administrator: Iraq to be 'beacon' of freedom in CNN - War in Iraq
Dean: Bush's 'intelligence-handling a disaster' in IraqWar.ru (English)
Text of CIA Director George Tenet's statement in IraqWar.ru (English)
Plenty of intelligence but few facts on North Korea's weapons in IraqWar.ru (English)
Saddam Fedayeen behind attacks on U.S. soldiers in IraqWar.ru (English)
Rising Doubts in IraqWar.ru (English)
U.S. Forces Girding for Raids by Iraqis in IraqWar.ru (English)
Iraq's Most Feared Prison Opens Again in IraqWar.ru (English)
Poll: Majority in U.S. Think Iraq Casualties Too High in IraqWar.ru (English)
Blair to challenge Bush over Britons held at Camp Delta in IraqWar.ru (English)
Revealed: first dossier also dodgy in IraqWar.ru (English)
Bush Declares His Faith in Tenet and C.I.A.: "After the C.I.A. director took the blame for approving unsubstantiated information about Iraq's nuclear program, President Bush said he considered the matter closed."
In New York Times: World Special
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Iraq Democracy Watch: "Token Representation
Various headlines marked the first meeting of the new Governing Authority in Baghdad today. Last minute negotiations about who would be on the 25-person body lasted into the night, but finally got resolved in time. Out of 25 people, there are 13 Shi'ites, fve Sunni Arabs and Kurds each, one Assyrian Christian, and one Turkoman, who is conveniently also a woman.
The real surprise, according to this morning's NYT , is that "The new interim government will be dominated by the Iraqi exile leaders and Kurdish chieftains," as opposed to people who stayed in Iraq for the duration of Saddam Hussein. As the Washington Post reports, "the Iraqi opposition leaders "argued that placing more people with political skills on the council, even if they had lived outside the country, would give the group the best chance of success." Score one for Ahmad Chalabi and the INC.
Everyone is speculating about how much effective power the Concil will actually have. After it met today, according to a Yahoo news report ,
Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesman for [Ahmad] Chalabi, described the council's convening as "a positive step and a historic day for Iraq." " The United States has no intention of colonizing Iraq ,and Mr. Bremer has told me personally that he will not intervene and will stay clear from political decisions made by the council," he said. [Emphasis added.]
But, while no one is paying any attention, as the Guardian reports, the US "plans to mortgage Iraq's future oil supplies..."
Much of the revenue will be securitised over at least a decade under the proposals being pushed by the US Export Import Bank, the Bush administration's trade promotion body, and a lobbying group that includes key American contractors Bechtel and Halliburton.
Reports suggest that $30 billion of loans will be backed by Iraq's reserves, the second biggest in the world
The World Bank has said such commitments should only be made by a sovereign Iraqi government. The plans will complicate a conference on Iraq's existing $120bn debt, which the US wants European powers to cancel. [Emphasis added.] "
Iraq moves towards self-rule in BBC: War in Iraq
U.S. Kills Four in New Iraq Operation: "American forces killed four suspected pro-Saddam insurgents and arrested more than 50 people as they launched a fourth major offensive in central Iraq, an operation meant to blunt expected attacks on U.S. soldiers, military officials said. (AP)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
U.S. Mulls Annual Cash Payout for All Iraqis: "The United States is consideringpaying all Iraqis an annual dividend from a trust fundestablished with the country's oil revenues, U.S. administratorPaul Bremer said on Sunday. (Reuters)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Al-Qaeda elusiveness, Iraqi instability a double headache for US: "The thus-far fruitless hunt for deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts of al-Qaeda chieftain Osama Bin Laden are giving Washington a double headache as it battles worldwide terrorism and seeks stability in Iraq, experts say. (AFP)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
UK's '45 Minutes to Deploy' Claim Was Error-Blix: "The British government made a"fundamental mistake" when it claimed Iraq's Saddam Husseincould deploy weapons of mass destruction in 45 minutes, theformer head of U.N. weapons inspectors Hans Blix said. (Reuters)"
In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq
Iraq uranium claim creates trans-Atlantic rift: "Tony Blair is coming under mounting pressure to authorise an independent inquiry into the Iraqi dossiers affair after a trans-Atlantic split opened up over crucial intelligence."
In Ananova: War In Iraq
U.S. administrator: Iraq to be 'beacon' of freedom in CNN - War in Iraq
Dean: Bush's 'intelligence-handling a disaster' in IraqWar.ru (English)
Text of CIA Director George Tenet's statement in IraqWar.ru (English)
Plenty of intelligence but few facts on North Korea's weapons in IraqWar.ru (English)
Saddam Fedayeen behind attacks on U.S. soldiers in IraqWar.ru (English)
Rising Doubts in IraqWar.ru (English)
U.S. Forces Girding for Raids by Iraqis in IraqWar.ru (English)
Iraq's Most Feared Prison Opens Again in IraqWar.ru (English)
Poll: Majority in U.S. Think Iraq Casualties Too High in IraqWar.ru (English)
Blair to challenge Bush over Britons held at Camp Delta in IraqWar.ru (English)
Revealed: first dossier also dodgy in IraqWar.ru (English)
Bush Declares His Faith in Tenet and C.I.A.: "After the C.I.A. director took the blame for approving unsubstantiated information about Iraq's nuclear program, President Bush said he considered the matter closed."
In New York Times: World Special
