BASIC SERVICES ARE STILL NOT BEING PROVIDED
"Do we have a government that has the capacity to deliver basic levels of services? If I had to answer that question right now, today, I'd say no, it's not good enough." As violence continues to dip across Iraq, U.S. officials say they will increasingly shift their barometers of success from security to basic services -- electricity, gasoline, water and sanitation -- that reflect whether life for Iraqis is returning to normal. But according to interviews with more than two dozen people in neighborhoods throughout Baghdad, the effort to boost services has been uneven, marked by gradual successes and frequent setbacks. In some neighborhoods residents of other districts report conditions continually deteriorating. [Washington Post, 11/30/07]
DESPITE IMPROVEMENTS, VIOLENCE CONTINUES
Car bomb found in the compound of Sunni politician. The son of Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi, and as many as 50 other people, has been held in relation to the bomb. However, al-Dulaimi insists the car was not in the compound and denies any links to terrorism. According to a Baghdad security spokesman, the car bomb was found when security forces chased a suspected fugitive into the compound. Weapons and army and police uniforms were also found at the leaders home. Al-Dulaimi says he is not a sponsor of terrorism but a victim of an assassination plot. A government spokesman said the MP would be called in for questioning, and if the accusations against him were proven, his parliamentary immunity would be lifted. [BBC, 11/30/07]
THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT IS INCAPABLE OF MAKING PROGRESS
Lawmakers stop the Prime Minister's efforts to approve two new ministers. The Iraqi Parliament on Thursday, thwarted efforts by Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki to win approval for two new ministers for the Communications and Justice Ministries. Lawmakers said they kept the measure from coming to a vote in order to protest Maliki's failure to consult them before sending his nominees to the Parliament for approval. Others expressed anger about a proposed new rule that would allow Parliament to pass legislation with just a majority of those present instead of a majority of the total body. Maliki's disagreements with various blocs had left 17 ministries vacant for months. Recently he succeeded in filling two posts, in health and agriculture. [NY Times, 11/30/07]
THE WAR CONTINUES TO BE MISMANAGED
U.S. discovers there are fewer Iraqi Volunteer guards than they had previously thought. The American military says accounting mistakes inflated the number by thousands. Senior military officers said they had reduced the nationwide total from 77,000 to 60,321. According to Col. Martin Stanton of the military's reconciliation and engagement office, the mistake occurred because the military divisions overseeing different parts of Iraq did not have a proper definition of who should be included on the list. The mistake highlights concerns over the initiative-- that the armed men could return to violence or form new militias as insurgent attacks decline and varied groups battle for power. ''We can't pay them to stand on street corners with rifles forever. We have to transition them into non-security type employment,'' Stanton said. [AP, 11/29/07]
US officials say the Iraqi government lacks a plan to deal with the return of refugees. American military officials say that the Iraqis do not have a plan to absorb returning refugees and prevent their return from setting off a new round of sectarian violence. American commanders caution that if the return is not carefully managed, there is a risk of undermining recent security gains. [NY Times, 11/30/07]