The official government inquiry into the Iraq war starts today. It remains to be seen how far its will unearth the tissue of lies, misinformation and deception that took this country into an illegal, devastating war. Here, meanwhile ,is an interesting website on the US road to war:
http://www.leadingtowar.com/?gclid=CNLu9Oba-5sCFWIB4wodGCgXAQ.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
More signs of back-tracking...
Iraq PM admits US troops may stay
Al Jazeera reports (July 24th): The Iraqi prime minister has admitted US troops could stay in the country beyond 2011. Under the US-Iraq Status of Forces agreement, which sets out a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, American troops must exit the country by December 31, 2011. But Nuri al-Maliki sais: “If the Iraqis require further training and support we shall examine this at that time, based on the needs of Iraq."
For the full story, see:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/2009723181757315574.html
Al Jazeera reports (July 24th): The Iraqi prime minister has admitted US troops could stay in the country beyond 2011. Under the US-Iraq Status of Forces agreement, which sets out a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, American troops must exit the country by December 31, 2011. But Nuri al-Maliki sais: “If the Iraqis require further training and support we shall examine this at that time, based on the needs of Iraq."
For the full story, see:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/07/2009723181757315574.html
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Another kind of corporate abuse
Meanwhile, attempts to continue to hold US mercenary organisations accountable. The Blackwater group has changed its name to Xe, but the personnel and practices remain the same:
Xe-Blackwater Personnel Shot Iraqi Children, Others in Multiple Incidents
PR Newswire reports (July 1st): A spate of unprovoked civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel in Iraq between 2005 and 2008 are detailed in an amended lawsuit filed in Virginia federal court, according to the Washington, D.C. law firm that represents the families of those killed and wounded in the incidents.
The new allegations against several Blackwater-related defendants - now operating as Xe and other names under the control of chairman Erik Prince - include:
the shooting of three Iraqi families in a mini-van that killed nine-year-old Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and wounded his three-month-old sister, who was shot in the face, his mother, his father, and uncle in July 2007;
the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Suhad Shakir Fadhil as she was driving home from work in the so-called Green Zone in February 2007;
the shooting of Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein, a 31-year-old married professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad in August 2005;
the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi, who was killed while he was being driven in Baghdad in March 2005;
the severe beating of 35-year-old Iraqi photographer Safeen Hameed Ahmed Qadir in April 2008 as he took photographs at a Ford automobile branch in the Arbil province that was visited by a U.S. diplomat, and;
the shooting of Husam Hasan Jaber, who was driving three passengers in Baghdad in a taxi cab he owns and operates.
Full article:
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-01-2009/0005053634&EDATE
Xe-Blackwater Personnel Shot Iraqi Children, Others in Multiple Incidents
PR Newswire reports (July 1st): A spate of unprovoked civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel in Iraq between 2005 and 2008 are detailed in an amended lawsuit filed in Virginia federal court, according to the Washington, D.C. law firm that represents the families of those killed and wounded in the incidents.
The new allegations against several Blackwater-related defendants - now operating as Xe and other names under the control of chairman Erik Prince - include:
the shooting of three Iraqi families in a mini-van that killed nine-year-old Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and wounded his three-month-old sister, who was shot in the face, his mother, his father, and uncle in July 2007;
the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Suhad Shakir Fadhil as she was driving home from work in the so-called Green Zone in February 2007;
the shooting of Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein, a 31-year-old married professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad in August 2005;
the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi, who was killed while he was being driven in Baghdad in March 2005;
the severe beating of 35-year-old Iraqi photographer Safeen Hameed Ahmed Qadir in April 2008 as he took photographs at a Ford automobile branch in the Arbil province that was visited by a U.S. diplomat, and;
the shooting of Husam Hasan Jaber, who was driving three passengers in Baghdad in a taxi cab he owns and operates.
Full article:
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-01-2009/0005053634&EDATE
Oil, again
Both management and union in Iraq's Southern Oil Company oppose the current sell-off of Iraq's national wealth to western corporations:
The scramble for Iraq's 'sweet oil'
Al-Jazeera reports (June 30th): With proven oil reserves of around 112 billion barrels and up to another 150 billion barrels of probable reserves, Iraq is the greatest untapped prize for international oil companies.
The companies want a long-term share of the oil they produce under a Production Sharing Agreement, which allows them to book reserves in advance and tell the market exactly how much oil they expect to produce.
This is exactly the type of contract that Iraqis in the oil industry are opposed to. Fayad al-Nema, general manager of Iraq's South Oil Company, has written to Hussein al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, outlining his company's objections.
"We in the South Oil Company, that is all of its leadership, reject the first bidding round because it is against the interests of Iraq's oil industry."
Oil workers' unions in Iraq have also spoken out against the contracts. Hassan Joumah, president of the Federation of Iraqi Oil Workers Union, says: "Unfortunately, there are many problems with the first round of the allocation of Iraq's oil contracts, which have given huge advantages to the foreign companies to invest in Iraq's oil.
"Giving such returns to foreign companies will put Iraq's economy in the hands of foreign companies."
For the full article:
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06/20096288505111580.html
The scramble for Iraq's 'sweet oil'
Al-Jazeera reports (June 30th): With proven oil reserves of around 112 billion barrels and up to another 150 billion barrels of probable reserves, Iraq is the greatest untapped prize for international oil companies.
The companies want a long-term share of the oil they produce under a Production Sharing Agreement, which allows them to book reserves in advance and tell the market exactly how much oil they expect to produce.
This is exactly the type of contract that Iraqis in the oil industry are opposed to. Fayad al-Nema, general manager of Iraq's South Oil Company, has written to Hussein al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, outlining his company's objections.
"We in the South Oil Company, that is all of its leadership, reject the first bidding round because it is against the interests of Iraq's oil industry."
Oil workers' unions in Iraq have also spoken out against the contracts. Hassan Joumah, president of the Federation of Iraqi Oil Workers Union, says: "Unfortunately, there are many problems with the first round of the allocation of Iraq's oil contracts, which have given huge advantages to the foreign companies to invest in Iraq's oil.
"Giving such returns to foreign companies will put Iraq's economy in the hands of foreign companies."
For the full article:
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06/20096288505111580.html
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