IRAQIS, AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION, RISK SQUANDERING THE OPPORTUNITY CREATED BY THE DIP IN VIOLENCE
The White House and State Department seem to be turning their attention from Iraq at the very moment when they should be mounting a diplomatic offensive to secure concrete steps toward a political settlement. The principal objective of the surge was not military, but political. It aimed to create conditions that would encourage Iraq's Shi'a, Sunni and Kurdish politicians to compromise over such issues as the terms for a federal system of government and the distribution of oil revenue. By that measure, there has been no progress since January. Iraq's national government seems all but paralyzed, its leaders unable to set aside sectarian agendas despite the ebb of sectarian warfare. Additionally, there has been no visible effort by the administration to help Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker prod the recalcitrant politicians of Baghdad to act. [Washington Post, 11/18/07]
U.S. MILITARY RELEASES NEW VIOLENCE STATISTICS
Attacks in Iraq may have fallen to their lowest level since January 2006. The U.S. military said that recently released data shows the number of weekly attacks has declined to the lowest level since January 2006. The data counted attacks directed against American and Iraqi forces, as well as civilians. But since the source for the data is American military reports, and not the Iraqi government, the figures do not provide an exhaustive measure of sectarian violence. The data released Sunday cover attacks using car bombs, roadside bombs, mines, mortars, rockets, surface-to-air missiles and small arms. The most pressing issue, they said, was how to keep them down and reduce violence further given the failure of Iraqi leaders to achieve reconciliation. And American officials have complained that the Iraqi government is not taking the opportunity in the current lull to attempt serious political progress. [NY Times, 11/19/07]
Military analysts said a number of factors explained the drop. The factors mentioned include: Iraqis appear to be exhausted by the sectarian violence and eager for a modicum of stability; 72,000 new Sunni volunteers have made common cause with the Americans; Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric, has ordered his militiamen to stand down; the Islamist extremist franchise group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia - a predominantly Iraqi insurgent group with foreign leadership - has been greatly weakened by American military attacks; Iran, according to American military officials, appears to be abiding by a commitment to reduce the flow of roadside bombs and other weapons into Iraq. [NY Times, 11/19/07]
DESPITE THE DROP IN ATTACKS, VIOLENCE CONTINUES TO RAGE
As military officials announced the decline in violence, Iraq had one of its deadliest days in weeks, with several children and three U.S. soldiers among at least 22 killed. Nine civilians were killed in Karada, a mixed neighborhood in central Baghdad, when a car bomber rammed a convoy carrying Iraq's deputy finance minister. The official was not hurt, but a guard was among the wounded. In the northern city of Baquba, three children and three U.S. soldiers were killed, and seven children were wounded, in an explosion in a small garden where American soldiers were handing out candy, ballpoint pens and soccer balls. [NY Times, 11/19/07]
REFUGEE CRISIS CONTINUES
Iraqi soccer players seek asylum. Three members of Iraq's Olympic soccer team and their assistant coach left the team during a trip to Australia and are seeking asylum in the country. According to Iraq's soccer federation's secretary-general, Tariq Ahmed, the four disappeared at dawn Sunday and did not show up at the airport for their scheduled departure with the team a few hours later. ''It's because of the deteriorated security situation and violence against athletes in Iraq,'' Ahmed told The Associated Press by telephone in Baghdad. The team currently practices and plays outside Iraq. [AP, 11/19/07]
Thousands of Iraqi employees of U.S. Contractors, forced to flee Iraq out of fear, are desperately trying to leverage their American ties to gain entry into the U.S. More than four years after the U.S.-led invasion, the number of Iraqis being resettled in the U.S. is expanding, however the numbers are small and the pace is slow. Only those who have worked directly for the U.S. government or military--a tiny percentage of refugees--are eligible for fast-track processing. Those who have been employed by U.S. contractors have much lower priority, although they faced similar dangers. "We are here only because of our work with the Americans," said Intisar Ibrahim, 53, an engineer who left Iraq for Jordan two years ago. "They have an obligation to help us, but until now we have not seen any help." [Washington Post, 11/17/07]
LITTLE PROGRESS IN IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION
U.S. struggles to restore drinking water to Iraqis. While Iraqi and U.S. officials have made water projects among their top priorities, the percentage of Iraqis without access to decent water supplies has risen from 50 percent to 70 percent since the U.S. led war, according to an analysis by Oxfam International last summer. The portion of Iraqis lacking decent sanitation was even worse, at 80 percent. As a result of poor water infrastructure, a recent outbreak of cholera across Iraq has killed at least 14 people and infected 3,300 others with an intestinal ailment spread by the dirty water. [McClatchy, 11/18/07]