The Iraq War 2003
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Anti-American Demonstrations in Baghdad

[Mewnews, April 18] Thousands of demonstrators chanted anti-American slogans and called on the US to end the occupation of Iraq today after Friday prayers. The protesters were led by a respected and well-known Sunni Muslim scholar, Ahmed al-Kubaisi. Kubaisi's sermon  denounced the American-led invasion, whose purpose, he said, was to defend Israel.

There was a tense confrontation earlier when an American patrol that had come to distribute humanitarian aid stumbled into a crowd kneeling outside a mosque. The worshippers surged forward angrily, but the US commander  withdrew his troops and defused the situation.

Earlier reports had indicated that in the absence of organized US relief efforts, religious groups were organizing work and policing to prevent looting. Some believe that they will create an independent religious based administration that will be the basis for an Islamic republic, rather than a US-imposed democracy.

FBI and others looking for WMD

[Mewnews, April 18] FBI agents  are reviewing the piles of documents recovered by U.S. troops in Iraq, looking for possible leads in the campaign against international terrorism and the hunt for weapons of mass destruction, Mueller said.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld expressed doubts that any would be found until Iraqis provide information. "I think what will happen is we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find it," Rumsfeld said. "It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere, hoping you find something."

U.S. intelligence officials believe some senior members of Saddam Hussein's regime who may know about weapons programs have sought refuge in Syria. A State Department official indicated Thursday that Syria may be prepared to hand over some of those leaders.

As many as 1,000 people are believed to be involved in the U.S.-led effort to find illegal weapons, and thus corroborate pre-war allegations made repeatedly by the Bush administration. U.S. troops have found suspicious chemicals and facilities at several sites, but tests on the materials have proved negative or inconclusive. Failure to find any evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction or nuclear weapons development could prove very embarrassing to the Bush administration and to British PM Tony Blair.

Hans Blix, head of UNMOVIC, the U.N. weapons inspection team for Iraq, urged the U.S.-led coalition to allow his team back into the country to increase the credibility of any weapons discoveries.

Conference of Iraq's neighbors meets

[Mewnews, April 18]  Iraq's neighbors met in Riyadh today to discuss the country' s future and what Saddam Hussein's fall means for them. Saudi Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister and  Head of National Guard Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz  received the Foreign Ministers, who discussed the latest developments in Iraq, the future government, and reconstruction. The Saudi Crown Prince stressed it is vital to exert utmost effort to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people, restore and maintain stability and security after the recent disorder and violations and to form a government that would  protect the unity, territorial sovereignty and security of Iraq.  The ministers attending the meeting are the Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia Kuwait,  Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Bahrain and Egypt in addition to the host state and  Bahrain, currently presiding Arab League. .

Anti War Front Collapses - Greedy For Spoils

[Mewnews, April 15] The three major powers that tried to protect the regime of Saddam Hussein are now busily trying to reverse gears and get a role in the reconstruction of Iraq, from which they hope to profit, while mending fences with a triumphant United States.  France, Germany and Russia are each jostling to get a place at the table and to mend relations with the USA, though there are no signs that President Putin will retract his statement that the US action was illegal.

All three have sounded conciliatory in the past week, while saying they want to see the United Nations play the lead role in post-war reconstruction.  Though the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure last week to bar French, Russian and German companies from winning business in Iraq, the measure did not become law.

France led the drive to prevent a war and threatened to use its veto at the U.N. Security Council to block any resolution authorizing military action against Iraq. However, Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin recently warned against a "victor's spoils" attitude in Iraq. "The idea that Iraq can be a sort of Eldorado, a cake that states can carve up, seems to me contrary to good sense," he said. After the first Gulf War, France and Russia in particular, eagerly replaced the United States and Britain in petroleum development contracts awarded by the Iraqi state petroleum monopoly.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, once a strong opponent of the war, has undergone a remarkable metamorphosis. "It's always good for mankind when a dictator is removed," said Schroeder, at a meeting with Blair in Hanover. "No matter what the differences of opinions were before, it goes without saying healthy transatlantic relations are necessary and we'll work toward that aim in the future."

Bush administration officials said the president will attend a G8 summit of industrialized nations in Evian, France on June 1. However, officials have made clear  that Bush is unlikely to reach out to mend diplomatic ties with the anti-war coalition.

Thus, opponents of the U.S.-led war in Iraq may well take a back seat when a new Iraqi government hands out business such as valuable oil contracts, and may be left out of the discussion in future international crises.

Schroeder seems mainly interested in repairing tattered relations with the United States. He has ignored calls in Germany to get business deals in Iraq.  "I think the discussion about who gets which orders is a bit strange," he said. "That will be up to a democratically elected Iraqi government. To talk about that now is a bit macabre."

However, Gernot Erler, a member of Schroeder's Social Democratic party said, : "If we pay for reconstruction, German companies must get business deals."

Defense Minister Peter Struck agreed, saying: "It would be absurd to demand Europe help finance reconstruction, then insist that certain European countries are not given contracts."

Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Germany should play a role because unlike Russia and France, "We don't have any direct economic interests. We can act in a more balancing way."

It was evident at a summit of France, Germany and Russia held in St Petersburg that the anti-war alliance had fallen apart, especially for Germany, which is unwilling to sacrifice friendship with the US. The Russian government is likely to be embarrassed for some time over revelations of the extent of is espionage cooperation with Saddam Husssein. The French are rumored to have invested heavily in Iraqi programs, weapons development.

Fresh deaths in Mosul as US troops open fire

[Mewnews, April 17]  Four more people were killed today by US Marines in Mosul according to Al-Jazeera.  Al Jazeera TV correspondent Waddah Khanfar said the shootings took place in the courtyard of the Mosul Governor’s palace.

“Tension is very high now, and we still do not know what happened exactly. People told us that some citizens fired at thieves initially”, he said.
 
“We heard shooting into the crowd here. Some people have been killed,” he said confirming that at least four are dead.

This incident comes after yesterday's clashes which left 7 people killed. It took the death toll to at least 11 since the time Mashaan al Juburi became  governor of Mosul with the backing of some tribal leaders and the United States.  Earlier, Al-Jazeera had reported 17 deaths on Tuesday.

“When he was attacked, American soldiers shot back”, said Khanfar. “People here are holding Al Juburi responsible for the killings.” Juburi himself has tried to disociate himself from the US forces, and has noted that his administration has succeed in restoring electricity and semblance of order in Mosul.

Tuesday, seven people were killed and scores  wounded when US forces opened fire on a crowd gathered to listen to a US-appointed local governor. Mashaan al-Juburi.  in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul on Tuesday.

 According to eye-witnesses, US marines fired when the crowd noisily interrupted the governor's speech, which they thought was pro-US. US military sources however said that its troops had come under fire and they had only fired back in response.

 Doctors at the city hospital said that many were injured in the firing. "There are perhaps 100 wounded besides the 10 or 12 dead," said Dr Ayad al-Ramadhani of the city hospital.

Many  wounded alleged that the besieged governor had asked the US troops to open fire. The corridors of the Mosul city hospital was crowded with relatives of the dead and wounded and anti-US sentiments were high.

 According to Ayad Hassun, another witness, trouble erupted when the crowd interrupted the governor in his speech with cries of "There is no God but God and Mohammed is his prophet."

The governor is said to have shouted back, accusing the crowd to be "members of Saddam's Fedayeen." Hell broke loose instantly even as the governor was escorted by some US soldiers back to his office building. Eye-witnesses said that the US soldiers climbed a building and then started firing on the crowd.

 The US military however, said they were responding to fire, "We came under fire from an opposite building and our troops responded," said a US military spokesman

US Flying in Funds, Reconstruction Beginning

[Mewnews, April 17] The US government is flying in millions of dollars in cash to pay Iraqi civil servants who will be participating in the reconstruction of Iraq. The funds are taken from Iraqi assets frozen in the USA. US Marines  removed piles of banknotes from a Baghdad bank safe for safekeeping. Thieves had blown a small hole in the safe and used a child to hand out notes to them. The marines used C-4 explosive to blow the safe open and then hauled the money off for safeguarding.

The US has also taken the first steps at restoring order and beginning reconstruction, hiring civil servants and starting to restore the most urgent services such as hospitals. In the absence of any government services, religious groups had begun to take over civil services, providing employment and food through Islamic organizations. Some were quite open in their claim that this network would be the beginning of an Islamic Republic, to be established in opposition to US plans.
 

[Mewnews, April 17] U.S. Special Forces captured Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, a half-brother of Saddam Hussein and a major catch, the U.S. Central Command reported on Thursday. Hasan was a presidential adviser to Saddam and had "extensive knowledge of the regime's workings," said Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks at the daily Central Command briefing. Hasan is one of three half-brothers of Saddam and the second to be captured. The first was Watban Ibrahim Hasan, who once served as Iraq's interior minister, captured Sunday

Watban Hasan was the five of spades in the deck of playing cards the U.S. military issued to troops with pictures of wanted Iraqi officials. Barzan was the five of clubs.
See also - Family Enterprise

Kurds Hand Over Iraqi Ba'ath Party Official

[Mewnews, April 18] - Kurdish forces near Mosul gave US led forces a member of Central Command's list of most-wanted Iraqis. The wanted man is "Samir Abul Aziz al-Najim, a Baath Party regional command chairman for East Baghdad and listed as No. 24 on the U.S. most-wanted list. He is the fourth person on the list in U.S. custody.

"We know that he certainly has an insight on how the Ba'ath Party Central Committee worked," Brooks said.