Robin's Iraq Reconstruction Report: 2003-11-18

by Joe Katzman at November 18, 2003 7:43 AM

Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday... but there were some technical difficulties yesterday, so we're running it today instead. Today's Iraq Reconstruction Report is brought to you by sometime Guest-Blogger Robin Burk.

Note that this briefing offers only her own opinions, and does not reflect any official position of the U.S. Army, DoD or the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

TOP TOPICS

"Sensitive reporting indicates senior terrorist planner and close Al Qaeda associate al Zarqawi has had an operational alliance with Iraqi officials. As of Oct. 2002, al Zarqawi maintained contacts with the IIS to procure weapons and explosives, including surface-to-air missiles from an IIS officer in Baghdad. According to sensitive reporting, al Zarqawi was setting up sleeper cells in Baghdad to be activated in case of a U.S. occupation of the city"

  • Check out Sgt. Stryker's new Iraq: The Good, Bad and Ugly blog for links to a wide variety of the newspapers in Iraq and surrounding countries.

Other Topics Today Include: Iraqi newspapers; Full reconstruction roundup; Iraqi Council reports; Iraqis take the initiative; Basra on the rise; oil through Israel?; Oil to Jordan; Transforming the US military; a bride for Dennis.

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

  • The Coalition continues to train and deploy Iraqis as police and security forces. Police are being trained in American-style arrest techniques and the basics of urban warfare. This, of course, has been the intent of the U.S. all along, although Rumsfeld and the Defense Dept. pushed for more prior to the start of the war. Specifically, Rumsfeld and Chalabi wanted to have an Iraqi expat militia ready to join the fight against Hussein and the remnants of his regime. New idea? Nope.
  • The State Dept's dislike of Chalabi and the quick collapse of the main Iraqi forces this Spring overtook that strategy, and only a small number of militia actually arrived and assumed resposibilities late in the main fighting. The camps in Hungary where those militia did train are now being used to train Iraqi police.

RECONSTRUCTION & THE ECONOMY

Meanwhile, there are signs that the process of reconstructing Iraqi industries, local governance and civil society continues despite the attempts of the attackers.

  • Basra has identified over 120 non-oil projects requiring investments of $2bn and is actively seeking Arab investors in order to revitalize its economy. The push, spearheaded by Basra governor Wael Abdullatif, is targeting potential investors in the Arab states and Iran, in addition to foreign-based Iraqi businessmen. Governor Abdullatif has business delegations to Kuwait and Iran. and the governing council for Basra has set up an "operation room" to coordinate business development efforts. Thirty potential investors from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and expatriate Iraqis have bid on projects so far. Kuwait's largest moble phone company has already been awarded a contract to provide service to southern Iraq and will invest more than $120 million over the next 2 years. Sounds like the Iraqis in Basra are off and running.
  • More discussion about re-opening the pipeline between Kirkuk and Haifa, which has been shut down for 55 years. Exporting northern Iraqi oil through Haifa would provide Iraq with a good Mediterranean port, bypassing Syria and possibly rewarding Jordan for tacit support. It would also provide Israel with a reliable source of fuel. According to this article, before the war started Chalabi promised the Israelis he would revive the pipeline from Mosul to Haifa, but for now at least, Washington has deep-sixed the idea amid fears it would spark strong resistance on the part of Muslims in Iraq. Money quote: This is the latest effort to revive the route. The last one was initiated by current US Defense Secretary and then-adviser to President Reagan, Donald Rumsfeld, in the mid-1980s. Some people think ahead.
  • Speaking of reconstruction, this won't get the economy going all by itself, but it's good to see Iraqis showing initiative and finding short term solutions to bring plants back on line.

IRAQI POLITICS

  • The US will help write an interim Iraqi constitution which will contain "a bill of rights, equality for all citizens, an independent judiciary and a federal government". Sounds good to me, if it actually happens - and is put into effect. The Washington Post reports on the promise and the risks of 'Iraqification'.

THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

  • Jordan received its first oil shipment from Iraq since the war began. Iraq was Jordan's sole supplier of oil prior to the war, at a special price which allowed Hussein and his family to skim millions of dollars for themselves. The Saudis provided an interim supply since March. The Iraqi oil will be sold at market price.

ETCETERA

  • The troops are still there. So is the Winds of Change.NET consolidated directory of ways you can support the troops. American, British and Australian. Anyone out there with more information, incl. the Poles and Czechs? [updated November 2, 2003]

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