Iraq Report, 21 November/05

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TOP TOPICS

• Is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi dead? Probably not, but Coalition forces are checking to see if he was one of eight insurgents killed in a gun battle in Mosul on Sunday. The U.S. is downplaying the rumors that Zarqawi was killed, saying it is highly unlikely, but the search will go on, just in case.

• Attempts to push Iraq into civil war reached a new height over the weekend with suicide bomber attacks on Shiite mosques and a Shiite funeral. These bombings, along with last week's attacks in Jordan, suggest that al Qaed in Iraq is growing more desperate for some breakthrough in the war.

Other Topics Today Include: NG Colonel talks about the war; new Yon dispatches; resistance ready to negotiate(?); a message to all Americans; Kurds seek outside investors; reconstruction highlights; Carnival of the Liberated; Egypt promises help for Iraq; Britain talks troop reductions; Hussein lawyer issues continue.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• Check out this recent briefing from Colonel James "Red" Brown from the 56th Brigade Combat Team of the Texas National Guard.

• Michael Yon has a couple of great dispatches up - check them out.

• A self-described member of the resistance in Iraq told reporters there are seven resistance groups ready to negotiate with the US to end their participation in the violence in Iraq. The group will not talk with the Iraqi government.

• Sgt Hook brings us a message to all Americans from a soldier - written in a letter home to Mom.

• US Army Maj. Rich Spainhour expresses bewilderment that some Americans view the war in Iraq as a failed mission.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• Washington had agreed to lift the suspension of AWB Ltd, a wheat exporter under investigation in the UN OFF scandal, from US export credit programs.

• Iraqi Kurds seek to draw foreign investors to "The Other Iraq".

• Take a look at this week's reconstruction highlights: The Government of Iraq has approved by a single vote majority $250 million per annum to implement the USAID solution for a Social Safety Net program to help the poor and the vulnerable. The Social Safety Net and Pension Reform Program, part of the USAID-funded Economic Governance II Program, provides the government of Iraq with a comprehensive, targeted social mechanism to help protect the poor and vulnerable from the negative effects of future economic reforms. Living standards for many Iraqis have fallen since the war, potentially creating unrest and low public confidence in the new leadership. Previous Iraqi governments have failed to reach a consensus for undertaking necessary macroeconomic reforms, such as removing subsidies and restructuring the state economy, due to the lack of a Social Safety Net able to help people cope with the unavoidable impact of these reforms. Over 250 Iraqi business leaders throughout the country attended a seminar on private sector development. The recent creation of a strong Insurance Commission moves this key industry towards compliance with international best practice. Agricultural Reconstruction and Development (ARDI) assists the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to monitor for incidences of avian flu. ARDI provides computer equipment grant to the State Board for Agricultural Extension. A partner in USAID’s Higher Education And Development (HEAD) program delivered a mobile dental clinic to the medical college of a northern Iraqi university. Printing will soon begin for 100 full-text research papers presented at a recent Environmental Health Conference. A water resource directorate in northern Iraq was able to restore its office building through an Iraq Transition Initiative (ITI) grant. Over 1,000 students in five organizations developed and voted on projects for ITI grants, learning about the democratic process. A culture and sports center in northern Iraq was rehabilitated by an ITI grant.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Iraq's primary Sunni political party has called for an investigation into the apparent abuse of nearly 200 detainees by Iraq security forces. The US has backed the call for an investigation.

• The latest Carnival of the Liberated is up at Dean's World.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• Congressman John Murtha believes U.S. troops will be out of Iraq for the November congressional elections. Accurate or not, Murtha's words are likely to get great play in the Arab media and will have an effect on both sides in Iraq.

• Tony Blair has stated, if Iraqi forces are strong enough, British forces could begin leaving Iraq next year.

• Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has underscored the need to support the reconstruction of Iraq and offered to help train Iraq's security forces.

• Iraq has asked Yemen to extradite a nephew of former president Saddam Hussein, Omar Sabawi Ibrahim Hasan al-Tikriti, so he can face charges of committing acts of terror in Iraq.

ETCETERA

• A member of the Saddam Hussein defense team has fled Iraq after being wounded in an ambush not long ago.

• Anthony Shadid, a 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner, is the author of Night Draws Near - Iraq's People In The Shadow Of America's War. This is a story of stories. Those of Iraqis coming to grips with the realities of Iraq without Saddam Hussein, an American led invasion, and the outcome up to the January 2005 elections. Mr. Shadid focuses mostly on what many call the "unintended consequeces" of a war in Iraq - he does so with a great deal of persoanl detail and the depth of his discovery should be commended. For more information about this book, search the Henry Holt and Company website.

• Do you have your GI Bracelet? Many military families fall into financial hardship when the breadwinner is injured or killed. The entire purchase price of the GI Bracelet is donated to support our troops and their families! Please join us to give back to these brave people in their time of need.

• The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops: American, Australian, British, Canadian & Polish. Anyone out there with more information, contact us!

• Don't forget Chief Wiggles' Toys for Iraq drive!

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