31 Killed by Triple Bombing in Baghdad;
Questions about Funding for Iraqi Intelligence
3 bombings in the largely Shiite neighborhood of Kasrah in mostly Sunni Adhamiya on Monday, killing 31 and wounding 71. There are lots of reasons for such an attack, but it is in part aimed at scaring Shiites living in Adhamiya into leaving; i.e. it was aimed in part at further ethnic cleansing of the capital. Most mixed neighborhoods in Baghdad have increasingly become monochrome in the past couple of years.
Patrick Cockburn reports on Iraqi suspicions that its intelligence apparatus, headed by General Mohammed Abdullah Shahwani, has been bought and paid for by the CIA. Among the accusers is Ahmad Chalabi, who is being sued by the intelligence service for libel because of his charges of CIA funding.
The proposed security agreement between Iraq and the US may be easier to get passed through parliament in Iraq now that Barack Obama is president-elect. The Iraqi cabinet interprets the accord as requiring all US troops to be out by 2011, and is relieved that this date is a whole year later than Obama's own withdrawal plan would require.
On the other hand, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh demanded further changes on Monday, even though the US side has said it will refuse to reopen negotiations.
Tikrit is removing the blast walls and security barriers in the city.
The Shiite Iraqi government is now paying about 50,000 Sons of Iraq or members of Sunni Arab Awakening Councils. US commanders on the ground are dismissing concerns that these councils might go rogue.
Iraq and Afghanistan vets join the homeless.
China and Iraq have concluded a $3 bn. deal for China to develop Iraq's Ahdab fields.
China in general has been besting the US in the global oil game.
Didn't Cheney go into Iraq to make sure we weren't bested?
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Monday:
' Baghdad
- Around 8 a.m. a suicide bomber detonated near a crowded restaurant and two roadside bombs also exploded in a crowded shopping area in Adhamiyah neighborhood (north Baghdad). At least 28 people were killed and 68 were wounded police said. Eyewitnesses said that it was a car bomb and two roadside bombs.
- Around 2 p.m. a magnetic bomb attached to a vehicle in the Wahda district of Karrada neighborhood (east Baghdad) detonated. The blast wounded three people.
- Police found 1 dead body in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Saidiyah neighborhood.
Diyala
- A female suicide bomber targeted an American-backed Sunni paramilitary checkpoint in downtown Baquba around noon. Five people were killed, including a leader of the paramilitary known as the Sahwa, Awakening or Sons of Iraq. At least 15 others were wounded, including three women.
Mosul
- Four roadside bombs detonated in Maamoun neighborhood in Mosul city targeting police houses. Four people were wounded, including two women.
- Gunmen opened fire on a policeman injuring him in the New Mosul neighborhood.'
posted by Juan Cole @ 11/11/2008 12:15:00 AM
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8 Comments:
Shell hasn't been doing so bad, either:
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/11/08/afx5668167.html
"Shell is finalising details of the multi-billion-dollar plan, a joint venture with Iraq's state-run Southern Gas Company, before a final agreement is signed. An initial deal was signed in September."
"Shell says the deal gives the joint venture a monopoly over all of the natural gas collected as a by-product of oil production in Iraq's rich southern oil fields in Basra."
Will any of these oil deals survive the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the next Iraqi election? The hydrocarbon law is still stalled in Parliament, and is viewed unfavorably by the public and the oil worker's unions - so...
Cheney's mad focus on Iraq will cost the US dearly. The Chinese have gained an upper hand in Africa and in Latin America, having worked hard to cement deals while the US has been waging its ridiculous war.
Which, of course, puts an aspect on the recent election of Barack Obama as president - given the need of the US to regain a solid footing in Africa.
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Link on China oil story mentions that the US occupation government has forced Iraq to pursue an integrated national power grid, which does not suit the current operating environment.
There ought to be regional and local power producers, transmission & distribution conduits, and retail operations.
I understand a disgruntled militia blowing up a 350kV transmission line carrying power through the local area to serve Baghdad.
It is far less likely for that same militia to blow up the infrastructure when it only serves their local community.
Who is responsible for thinking this stuff through ?
Some American "expert" in the Green Zone ?
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RE: Shi'a Central Gov't now paying salaries of 21,000 Sons of Iraq.
The NY Times ran the same story 10 days ago. Only problem: the cash didn't come from Iraqi Government funds; it was furnished by the local US commander. They just paid an Iraqi military official to perform paymaster/ disbursing officer duties.
The Dawa Party has said that the Central Gov't should NEVER pay the Sunni militia members.
Why believe the report that they changed their minds, without a quote from such an official ?
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While true that Obama did campaign on a promise to withdraw combat troops within 16 months of taking office,
Americans know better than to count on promises made in the heat of passion.
Is it reasonable for Iraqis to trust promises that Americans don't trust ?
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The Americans, including Biden, dwell two parallel universes as they negotiate with the Iraqis:
1) Iraq wants the US out, and it is in a strong position because the agreement is about its territory and people who are opposed to US presence. In this universe the negotiators pretend that they are there to serve Iraq while they are needed, and no more.
2) The US demands that the Iraqis meet certain Benchmarks to earn the privilege of having US forces on their land. In this universe the Iraqi government is bluffing and is desperate for indefinite US military protection.
The two are exact opposites, but Bush and the negotiators flip flop between them at an alarming rate.
The China and Iraq oil deal may be a good thing for the US. If we truly want to be energy independent, then why should we be looking for long term oil contracts? Let the other countries pursue the oil. If the US starts now by turning away from oil, we will be way ahead of the game in 20years. At that point the oil-dependent nations will be fighting amoung themselves for the last drops.
ref : “China... has been besting the US in the global oil game.”
If stuffing yourself full of coal and petroleum products, breathing toxic air and drinking foul water, and raising your children in a laissez-industrial wasteland of epic historical proportions... is "besting" the US and the West (!) We, who now dare to dream of vanquishing this fossil-fueled nightmare, this enemy of our future: then in my humble opinion we should mourn, not fear or praise their pyrrhic victory, apparent.
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