NSN Iraq Daily Update 2/29/08

PM MALIKI FACING CRITICISM FROM EVERY DIRECTION

Maliki's confidence seems untethered to political reality and some of his pronouncements -- like one on Thursday that "sectarianism has been eliminated" -- have struck Iraqi and American officials as bordering on the delusional. Maliki is facing a drumbeat of criticism that his government has achieved little progress as well as constant calls for his ouster. Predicting when his government will fall has become a parlor game in certain circles in Baghdad. "We promised we would bring national reconciliation to the sons of Iraq, and we have succeeded!" Maliki thundered to hundreds of thousands of Shiites gathered at the golden-domed Imam Hussein Shrine in Karbala. "Iraqis are once again loving brothers!" The 57-year-old Shiite and former exile feels little cause for concern, according to his aides, because he enjoys the strong backing of the Bush administration, which worries that the chaos triggered by the collapse of Maliki's government would prompt a new wave of sectarian bloodletting across Iraq. With the infighting by the political class in Iraq as bitter as ever, Maliki believes the odds are remote that any coalition could come together to oust him, his aides say. "He's failed at governing," acknowledged a senior U.S. official in Baghdad, who was granted anonymity so he could speak candidly, but the official said there was no better option. "If Maliki were to be removed by a vote of no confidence, we'd go into an extended period of stagnation." [Washington Post, 2/29/08]

TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH ON IRAQ'S BORDER WITH TURKEY

The Turkish military says it has withdrawn its troops from northern Iraq, following a controversial ground offensive against Kurdish rebels. After accusing Iraq of failing to stop PKK guerrillas from using the area as a safe haven, Turkey launched the cross-border attack last week with 3,000 to 10,000 soldiers. The development comes a day after President George Bush urged NATO ally Turkey to wind up the raid and get out of Iraq. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates personally conveyed the message during talks in Ankara on Thursday. [BBC, 2/29/08]

IRAQ BRACES FOR AHMADINEJAD VISIT

The Iranian leader's visit is welcomed, but it comes at a time when Iraqi Shi'a allies are growing wary of Tehran's role in their war-torn country. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives Sunday to an Iraq far more leery of his country than it was after the ouster of Hussein. Shi'a Iraqi political scientist Hussein Athab said, "We thought Iran would extend the hand of friendship," said Athab. "But it looks like Iran considers Iraq a playing card, and we don't want to be used as a playing card." Publicly, Iraq's politicians welcome the hard-line president's arrival. He is the first leader of a Middle East country to visit Baghdad and grant the government the international recognition it craves. But privately, Iraqi officials say that Ahmadinejad and his clique are part of the problem. Iraqis would prefer a visit by a less divisive figure, such as former President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who visited Tehran in June, is to play host to Ahmadinejad, most likely at his heavily fortified compound outside Baghdad's U.S.-protected Green Zone. "The United States has no role in the visit," said Rear Adm. Greg J. Smith. [LA Times, 2/29/08]

CORRUPTION STILL RIDDLES IRAQ

Iraq's government has spent millions of dollars on "phantom" police officers who left the force or died, but whose names remained on department payrolls while others illegally pocketed their salaries. An investigation by the Iraqi Interior Ministry in six provinces found that 15-20% of the names on police payrolls there no longer corresponded to active-duty officers. The excess money for salaries sent by the federal government in Baghdad often ended up in the hands of other police officers- especially in Sunni provinces said Army Brig. Gen. David Phillips. "A lot of those police officers disappeared -- either ran away, didn't come to work, killed, any number of things," Phillips said. "There was still pay going out there ... unless someone stopped it." Many commanders probably knew the corruption was taking place because they had to approve payroll lists, Phillips said. The accountability problem reflects the haste of creating much of the security force after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, said Maj. Gen. Hussein al-Awadi, commander of Iraq's national police. Phillips said there was little consistency early on in the way the police were developed and few national institutions existed to track and monitor pay. [USA Today, 2/29/08]

EXECUTIONS OF MAJOR BA'ATHIST MAY OCCUR SOON

The execution of Saddam Hussein's cousin and henchman "Chemical Ali" has been approved by Iraq's presidency. He was condemned to death on genocide charges for killing 100,000 people during the 1988 Anfal campaign against the Kurds in northern Iraq. Chemical Ali - whose real name is Hassan al-Majid - was initially sentenced to death in June last year but legal wrangling held up the case. The execution was approved two days ago, to be carried out within 30 days. He was convicted along with two other top officials - Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, a senior military chief, and the former defense minister, Sultan Hashim al-Tai. Asked when Majid would be hanged, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki told Reuters news agency: "It will be a matter of days." However, the Iraq presidency, which is made up of President Jalal Talabani and two vice-presidents, has not yet approved the hanging of Tikriti and Hashim. [BBC, 2/29/08]