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[Right Side News] 200812122960 | Passing The Baton: An Obama Administration Takes on ...: For instance, because Iraq's economic problems increasingly derive from dysfunctional politics rather than American-caused damage from the invasion or misguided early reconstruction, it would be plausible for the United States to announce that it will no longer pay for economic assistance or capacity-building programs for Iraq's economic ministries. Instead, the United States could propose a new model, perhaps based along the lines of the U.S.-Saudi Joint Economic Commission, to handle American support to Iraq's further economic and ministerial development.[2] In that example, American and Saudi officials jointly assessed Saudi Arabia's developmental needs and identified how best to meet them.

[GlobalSecurity.org] Iraqi Political Showdown Looms Over Status Of Forces Agreement: Speaking after tough talks on November 23 aimed at increasing support for the deal, al-Maliki hinted at a security vacuum in the event of rejection, saying the only real alternative to the SOFA would be foreign forces' "immediate withdrawal from Iraq," according to Reuters.

[Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense] Iraqi lawmakers in final push before vote on US pact: The agreement -- the product of nearly a year of hard-nosed negotiations -- was approved by Iraq's cabinet over a week ago with support from the major blocs representing the country's Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish communities.

[AntiWar.com] Out of Iraq? Not if Bush and Maliki Can Help It - by Phyllis ...: accountability for U.S. troops committing crimes against Iraqis, immunity largely wins the day. There does seem to be a claim of Iraqi sovereign control over U.S. contractors who commit crimes against civilians – according to Article 12, "Iraq has the primary legal jurisdiction over contractors with the U.S. and their employees." We'll see how Blackwater and other mercenary companies deal with that.

[Informed Comment] Informed Comment: Does Al-Maliki's New Team Imperil Security ...: ref : “Al-Maliki's current crackdown on [Sunni Arab ‘Awakening Councils’ in Iraq] ...raises the question of whether a battle looms between the [Shi'ite majority, de facto Iranian-backed / ironically American-funded] Iraqi government [and other Shi'ite militias] and these American-backed [anti-Qaeda, de facto anti-Iranian and presumably anti-Maliki government Sunni Arab] militias.

[RealClearPolitics - Articles] RealClearPolitics - Articles - Baghdad and Kurds Close the Gap: The decision came amid a Maliki-led crackdown on militia groups elsewhere in Iraq. In a statement issued April 22 after meetings with central government leaders in Baghdad, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said he was “very .

Informed Comment: Of course, on any particular issue, Fadila and the Sadrists might still vote with al-Maliki, even if they are annoyed with him.

[Iraq Updates - Politics & Government] Kirkuk's elections to be held before end of 2009 - MP | Iraq Updates: The Lawmaker pointed out the Parliament streamlined the committee work as it “would start the mechanism of dividing up authority in Kirkuk, reviewing citizenship records and voters registry along with checking the excesses that took place before and after April 2003,” adding “it must be done through the mechanisms adopted in lifting excesses in other provinces.”

[CFR.org - World Events Calendar] A Discussion of Iraqi Futures - Council on Foreign Relations: I think the reason you've got a negotiated ceasefire -- or actually a large series of them that swept across the country with the speed that it did -- is because it's a reflection of a profoundly different underlying strategic reality in this conflict beginning about the middle of 2007 than you've seen in 2006, in which for the first time all of the parties -- all of the internal combatants' military self-interest lay in stopping the war.  Sunnis believed that as a result of their defeat in the Battle of Baghdad over the course of 2006, if this war went to a fight to the finish, they would lose.  They previously thought they were the stronger side; the wave of sectarian violence in Baghdad in 2006 persuaded them otherwise.  They don't want to go back to war.  If Sunni -- if war resumes in Iraq the belief on the part of the great majority of the Sunni -- now called the Sons of Iraq organization that had implemented the ceasefire is, the result of that would be defeat and potential genocide for them unless they can bring their neighbors into -- (inaudible).

[Comments for Dandelion Salad] Mosaic News - 12/4/08: World News from the Middle East « Dandelion ...: “Iraq rescinds Kurdish oil export deal,” Abu Dhabi TV, UAE “Al Sadr Followers Continue to Protest Security Pact,” Al-Alam TV, Iran “Four Mass Murderers Arrested in Diyala,” Al-Iraqiya TV, Iraq “Settlers Forcefully Evacuated,” IBA TV, .

[Pajamas Media] Pajamas Media » In Today’s Iraq, the Times Are Constantly Changing: The Basra operation in March, which for the first couple weeks looked like it could result in an Iraqi defeat, in fact turned out splendidly. Thirty-thousand Iraqis backed by only 800 American Marines fought to oust Jaish al Mahdi, essentially a Shia mafia, which had such a grip on Basrah that even British diplomats had been afraid to step foot in the city for which they had oversight.

[Bill Weinberg's blog] Kirkuk: countdown to chaos? | World War 4 Report: At the end of last year its special representative in Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, helped persuade the Kurds to accept a six-month delay in holding a controversial referendum on whether people in Kirkuk and other areas wanted to join the Kurdistan region. Now he is trying to find a formula to settle boundary disputes in other slightly less tricky areas in the north, in the hope of creating a model for a future deal for Kirkuk itself-without having a referendum that many analysts think would certainly cause bloodshed.

[SWJ Blog] 16 August SWJ News, Op-Ed, and Events Roundup: “Our mission is to secure the population, defeat extremists and neutralize resistance groups, increase the professionalism of the Iraqi security forces, build the capacity of government institutions and economic programs, and transition security and local development tasks to the Iraqi security forces and local governments over time,” James said. Significant improvements in quality of life and the overall security situation are the result of progress within the Iraqi security forces and a working partnership between the Iraqi forces and coalition troops, James said.

Reflected tags on Technorati: Blog, Kurds, Iran Reviews