Iraq Democracy WatchDaily update on the US relationship with Iraq(Untitled)- May 25, 2003 Kurds, Kirkuk, Kontrol The NYT has an excellent article summarizing the breadth of de facto power in Kurdish hands in the north. Among other things, it mentions that "Kurdish groups appear to be quietly nursing relations with foreign neighbors independent of Baghdad. A Turkish consulate will open in Sulaimaniya this month..." A Turkish consulate Meanwhile, the Boston Globe describes the lead up to the council elections in Kirkuk: In preparation for the vote... Iraqis whitewashed..http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/25.html#a24 (Untitled)- May 25, 2003 Looking for some good news... The Christian Science Monitor recently published a "report card" on the occupation, and summarized the good news by citing "coalition officials," suggesting that crime was lower outside of Baghdad, and that those living in the north and south have "more electricity than ever." The Washington Post adds a glimmer of hope to this assessment, describing a new approach the US military will be taking in Baghdad, involving more contact between soldiers and civilians, and..http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/25.html#a23 (Untitled)- May 25, 2003 Sergio Vieira de Mello Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the US Government all are backing Mr. Vieira de Mello enthusiastically. Given his background (see BBC profile), if anyone can take a four-month appointment with no clearly defined authority and make something happen -- he can. Cross your fingers.http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/25.html#a22 (Untitled)- May 24, 2003 Intersection of $$$ and civil strife While reporting on the general expectation of a bonanza in Iraq due to the reconstruction effort, a Reuters story on Yahoo news quotes a member of an investment group from London as warning that: ... without a bigger commitment from the U.S.-led civil administration to improve security... 'you can end up with a most bizarre hybrid of an economy, where you have U.S. contractors under the protection of the U.S. military and below that...http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/24.html#a21 (Untitled)- May 23, 2003 Oil number-crunching As the Financial Times reports, "Iraq's reconstruction is routinely costed at as much as $100bn ... making it the largest such project since the Marshall Plan rebuilt Europe after the second world war." Iraq also has roughly $400bn in debt. According to a separate article in the FT, "Julian Lee, CGES senior energy analyst, estimates that Iraq could earn about $20bn annually from oil revenues over the next few years." This figure apparently does not take into account Iraq's..http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/23.html#a20 (Untitled)- May 22, 2003 UN Resolution = American business contracts 1. From the Washington Post, re: the latest UN Resolution: The seven-page resolution would immediately transfer legal control over Iraq's oil industry from the United Nations and Iraq to the United States and its allies. The oil proceeds would be used to finance the country's reconstruction, the costs of an Iraqi civilian administration, the completion of Iraq's disarmament and "other purposes benefiting the people of Iraq." Emphasis.http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/22.html#a19 (Untitled)- May 21, 2003 MCI deal not as dirty as it looks...yet Reading some news reports today, you might think that MCI Worldcom walked away with the entire contract to build the Iraqi mobile telephone network... But, in fact, they've only got a contract to build a small network of beteen 5000 - 10,000 phones, according to the Washington Post. According to a USA Today OpEd listed in Yahoo News, the contract is worth about $30 million -- as opposed to the roughly $900 million the whole enchillada...http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/21.html#a18 (Untitled)- May 21, 2003 Gimme that ol' time autonomy... The New York Times today reports that Iraqi political groups will be drafting a formal protest over the current plans of the US and UK to assume authority over Iraq indefinitely. The Boston Globe elaborated, saying that the INC may "try to establish an interim government within a few weeks, regardless of whether the United States supported such an effort..." If you read the two articles carefully in tandem, it becomes clear that the...http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/21.html#a17 (Untitled)- May 20, 2003 Now, about that interim authority... The U.S., Britain and Spain presented a third draft of the resolution for lifting sanctions on Iraq --although The Guardian reports the US is trying to push it through in 48 hours. The current draft, says the Financial Times, is "close to its the American bottom line." Basically, we throw some bones to the U.N., buy off Russia, and drop "the open-ended grant of authority in favor of a requirement that the United States and Britain cede..http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/20.html#a16 (Untitled)- May 19, 2003 Iran - a moderating influence I couldn't wait until tomorrow -- Salam Pax is back, with a note: "I came back from the trip seriously worrying that we might become an Iran-clone. If anyone went to the streets now and decided to hold elections we will end up with something that is scarier than Khomeini&146;s Iran." Houchang Chehabi, a professor of International Relations at Boston University, said in a recent lecture that the U.S. shouldn't be so worried about Iran's potential interference in...http://blogs.salon.com/0002515/2003/05/19.html#a15 |