INVESTIGATIONS INTO PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS CONTINUE
FBI has found that Blackwater killed 14 Iraqis without cause. Federal agents in charge of investigating the September 16 episode in Baghdad in which Blackwater security guards shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified. There is no evidence to support assertions by Blackwater employees that they were fired upon by Iraqi civilians, but the FBI has concluded that three of the deaths may have been justified under rules that allow lethal force in response to an imminent threat. The FBI investigation into the shootings is still under way, but the findings are already under review by the Justice Department. [NY Times, 11/14/07]
IRAQI SOCIETY REMAINS FRACTURED
Thousands of Christians flee violence in Baghdad, head to the Kurdish north. Like Shi'a and Sunni Muslims, Christian churches and priests have fallen prey to deadly sectarian violence. "Three priests have been killed in Mosul. Churches have been set ablaze, blown up or shot at. And 20 days ago, two priests were abducted and set free only after a ransom was paid," said the Bishop Rabban al-Qas. According to al-Qas, "more than 70,000 Christians have fled to Iraqi Kurdistan," settling in villages abandoned or destroyed in the late 1980s, during attacks on Kurds by the regime of the late dictator Saddam Hussein. [AFP, 11/14/07]
Iraqi troops seize the west Baghdad headquarters of the Association of Muslim Scholars - a powerful Sunni group. The hardline critics of the Shia-led government say their mosque headquarters was surrounded by Iraqi troops dispatched by the Sunni Endowment, a government agency that cares for Sunni mosques and shrines. The association has long opposed the U.S. military presence in Iraq, been at odds with the Shi'a led government, and spearheaded the Sunni boycott of the January 2005 elections, which helped fuel the insurgency. An Endowment official said the Um al-Qura mosque sits on government property and planned to renovate the grounds. The Association of Muslim Scholars condemned the "assault" saying, "This was done for the benefit of many parties which see the association as an obstacle to their projects." [Washington Post, 11/14/07]
Iraqi leaders warn of lasting impact of sectarian strife. At a reconstruction conference in Baghdad's Green Zone, Iraqi leaders warned that money would not be enough to solve Iraq's problems. Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab, said Iraq had not just suffered material destruction in the sectarian conflict. "The greatest destruction was the social fabric," Hashemi told the conference. "This will remain the principal obstacle to security and stability." [Reuters, 11/14/07]
VIOLENCE CONTINUES TO RAGE
Clashes between U.S. backed fighters and Sunni insurgents leave at least 20 dead. Fighting between a Sunni Islamists group and U.S. backed volunteer fighters left at least 20 people dead this week. According to the U.S. military, as many as 45 Sunni Islamists attacked two checkpoints manned by the volunteer fighters outside of Baghdad on Monday. The volunteers, who are paid by the U.S. military, are part of an effort to enlist former insurgents, most of them Sunni, to fight extremists. However, the effort has been sharply criticized by Shi'as who fear the groups could turn against the Shi'a dominated government. [Washington Post, 11/14/07]
Roadside bomb hits Green Zone. A roadside bomb targeting a US convoy near the heavily defended Green Zone killed two civilians and injured three others. Witnesses say the bomb was set off at the foot of a watchtower during the morning rush hour, when hundreds of Iraqis were waiting to enter the zone. Correspondents say it is the biggest attack there for weeks after a series of army operations to restore security. Additionally, another civilian was killed in a car bombing in northern Baghdad. [BBC, 11/14/07]
Three US soldiers were killed in separate attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Diyala province and a third was shot dead in the city of Mosul. [BBC, 11/14/07]