REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

• A militant group said it has executed an Iraqi special forces lieutenant general and posted a video of the captive on the Internet on Tuesday.

• Bill Roggio takes a look at how the Iraqi Army is doing at one of the most difficult tasks in Iraq: securing the borders.

• Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Sami al-Mudhaffar escaped a car bomb attack in Baghdad even as security forces imposed a virtual clampdown in the capital.

• Western diplomats in Baghdad and Amman disclosed that American officials met face to face with leaders of armed groups in Iraq, but without getting any commitment from them to give up their weapons.

• Strategy Page takes a look at some of the similarities between the burgeoning Iraqi and Afghan National Armies.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

• The Bush administration is seeking $771 million for reconstruction efforts in Iraq for the 2007 fiscal year, according to the State Department.

• A World Health Organisation (WHO) team arrived in Iraqi Kurdistan's biggest city of Sulaimaniyah to probe the spread of bird flu as new suspected cases emerged.

• About 250 reconstruction contracts worth more than $250 million have been awarded to women-owned businesses in Iraq over the past eight months.

• Take a look at this week's reconstruction highlights:

Unemployed Registrations Surge in Iraq Following Ministry Push to Promote Social Safety Net - As part of the USAID-funded Economic Governance II Project to aid economic reconstruction and policy reform in Iraq, technical assistance is being provided to assist capacity building and institutional strengthening at the Ministries of Finance (MOF) and Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA). With USAID’s guidance and support, the Government of Iraq is implementing a Social Safety Net program to reduce poverty and help poor and vulnerable families throughout Iraq, who represent nearly 25 percent of the country’s population. One of the main initiatives in the program is a job placement program. Participation is required in order to receive benefits.

USAID’s Izdihar program trains 25 Iraqi Certified Public Accountants in international accounting standards. These accountants, coming from 15 governorates throughout Iraq, are part of a cascade training program that will reach hundreds of Iraqi auditors in 2006. Each of the current participants will provide training on the requirements of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to their colleagues.

Iraq Securities Commission starts work in new headquarters. With support from the Izdihar program, the Iraq Securities Commission recently relocated to new headquarters in Baghdad. The USAID program helped provide new and updated equipment, helping the Securities Commission return to operation. Two separate procurements helped strengthen local technology infrastructure, including IT equipment and internet services. USAID funding also covered the design of the floor layout, refurbishment, and electrical wiring.

USAID programs help establish olive orchards in eight governorates. Olives, grown throughout the region, are a potentially important cash crop for Iraqi farmers. USAID’s Agricultural Reconstruction and Development in Iraq (ARDI) program is working with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) to establish 16 demonstration orchards in eight governorates, using thousands of saplings, to help improve olive production throughout Iraq. The orchards will be planted with both high oil and table fruit olive varieties.

Nearly 60 pesticide dealers from 14 governorates receive training in pest management techniques. Developed by ARDI, the training covered technical information about pesticide use, handling, and the regulations governing the chemicals. All of the participants have received a “dealers’ manual” with important information about pesticides and pest management.

USAID partner conducts training on NGO roles in a parliament. From Jan. 21 to 24, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a partner of USAID, conducted an intensive four-day training program for 42 members of 21 NGOs that will become the core implementers of the USAID’s new program on ‘Civic Outreach to Citizens on the Role of Parliament.” The training-the-trainer workshop was carefully designed to introduce NGO trainers to a variety of new concepts and topics essential to the understanding of the role, responsibilities and function of a parliament and its members. Additionally, the program highlighted the rights and responsibilities of all citizens in a democracy.

A series of Iraq Transition Initiative (ITI) grants restored irrigation systems in 27 villages in northern Iraq. Decades of conflict and neglect have destroyed irrigation channels throughout Iraq, vital for local agriculture and livelihoods. These ITI grants employed 225 local residents and 19 skilled and professional workers, helping relieve tensions in this multi-ethnic area by providing employment to local laborers. Additionally, cleaning channels has greatly improved agricultural productivity, improving farmers’ income and jumpstarting the local economy.

A neighborhood council in central Iraq elected to use an ITI grant on repairs to their sewage pumping station. Working with local authorities, ITI provided essential equipment and installation services. In addition, ITI funded four submersible pumps and a generator to help manage overflow, an effort that has already greatly reduced the presence of raw sewage in city streets.

IRAQI POLITICS

• Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Sami al-Mudhaffar escaped a car bomb attack in Baghdad even as security forces imposed a virtual clampdown in the capital.

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

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

• The British government has, reportedly, drawn up a secret plan to begin withdrawing 2,000 soldiers - a quarter of its total forces - from Iraq this (northern) spring.

• The British Ministry of Defense is looking into allegations of civilian abuse after a video that purports to show British troops beating Iraqi youths surfaced with a British newspaper.

• Iraq has officially thanked Bulgaria for its help during the post-war reconstruction.

• An Australian inquiry into alleged kickbacks paid to Iraq under the UN oil-for-food programme claimed its first scalp with the resignation of the chief executive of wheat exporter AWB.

ETCETERA

• The chief lawyer for Saddam Hussein says he has been denied access to his client for the first time in more than a year.

• The U.S. government said Wednesday that it hopes that an Iraqi court could try a naturalized U.S. citizen suspected of taking part in terrorist activities in Iraq.

• 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!

• Many American troops have taken it upon themselves to reconstruct schools and gather learning tools for the children of Iraq. Their efforts have been met with immense gratitude from the local Iraqis and their children. You can help too! Visit Operation Iraqi Children and get involved.

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