On July 30, 2004, Colin Powell the US Secretary of State, flew to Baghdad the first senior American politician to go there since sovereignty was transferred to the interim Iraqi government. He spoke mainly about Iran that, he said, was trying to gain influence in the south of the country. According to some sources, Iran is sending weapons and money to several Shia political parties in southern Iraq that have close links with Iran. At the same time it looks like Iran is restarted its programme to develop nuclear weapons. The interim Iraqi defence minister said a few days ago that Iran was Iraq's worse enemy for its interference in the country. Reconstruction of Iraq is going very slowly. Of the $18bn approved by the US Congress, only $458m has been spent until now because of bureaucracy and inefficiency. More or less all of the $1bn spent on contracts until April 2004 was in fact Iraqi money taken from oil revenues and seized Iraqi assets from saddam Hussein's regime.
The United States and its major economic allies struggled Saturday October 2, 2004, to resolve deep differences over how best to relieve the heavy debt burden for Iraq and the world's poorest countries. Debt relief and broader topics of international finance topped the agenda for finance officials attending committee meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
An audiotape said to have been recorded by a senior member of the al-Qaida network has called for attacks on the US and its allies on October 2, 2004. The speaker is identified as Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama Bin Laden's deputy. The tape, aired on Arabic television channel al-Jazeera, calls for organised resistance against invading "crusaders" in the Muslim world. In addition to the US and the UK, the speaker singles out Australia, France, Poland, Norway, South Korea and Japan. He says the countries cited took part in the invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq or Chechnya and gave Israel "means of survival". He also says it is the duty of every Muslim to liberate "Palestine", and says the West is complicit in the deaths of Palestinian militant leaders.
On November 20, 2004, the US and Germany reached a deal to wipe out 80% of Iraq's debt of $122bn. However the "Paris Club" of creditor nations to which Iraq owns a third of its debt must approve this deal.
On November 21, 2004, nineteen creditor nations -among them France, Germany, Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, USA but also Belgium- agree to reduce Iraq's debt by 80% over a period of four years. The USA wanted 95% relief. In number the debt will be reduced from $38.9bn to $31.1 bn. There are however some conditions to go all the way. Iraq also owns $80bn more to Arab countries.
- The British
On July 5, 2004, Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, backed the Iraqi
plan that should offer amnesty to insurgents who have fought against the
occupants. However the official announcement has been delayed because all
Iraqi ministers do not agree with it. To get amenity the insurgents would
have to give up their arms and join the police or the army. Criminals and
insurgent leaders will not be allowed to receive amnesty.
On July 8, 2004, the British Ministry of Defence handed the investigation into the killing of six British military policemen to the Iraqi authorities. The soldiers' families were furious. This is a direct result of handing sovereignty to the Iraqis as from now on Iraqi laws prevent extradition of their citizens to any foreign country. The case of two other British soldiers, Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp, was also handed to the Iraqis for the same reasons.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, after arriving in northern Iraq for talks with Kurdish political leaders, said on October 5, 2004, that Iraqi elections "can and should" take place in January. Mr Straw also discussed the security situation in Iraq after recent attacks on multi-national troops. After meeting Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani who head the two main Kurdish political parties in Iraq, Mr Straw said: "I believe elections can and should take place by the end of January in all of Iraq." He also met Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
On October 6, 2004, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, on his second day here, countered widespread scepticism that the war-torn country's tough-talking prime minister, Iyad Allawi, could stabilise Iraq in time for January elections.
- The Iraqis
On July 4, 2004, we are told that the Interim Iraqi Government will offer
an amnesty to the insurgents who have fought against the Americans and who
accept to give up their guns. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi added that there
were some justifications for them fighting the "American occupants".
This, coming on July 4, the National Day in the USA, will not be well accepted
in Washington. The amnesty will be offered to foot soldiers only; it is
not being offered to hard-core fighters and "criminals". However
the radical cleric Moqdata Sadr's fighters would be covered by this measure.
On July 4, 2004, Iraq's foreign minister gave a lukewarm response to the
offers by some Arab countries to send troops, saying Iraq would consider
the offers if they come from countries that don't border Iraq and work under
UN auspices. Jordan's King Abdullah II said he would be willing to send
troops to Iraq if the new interim government in Baghdad requests them. Yemen
then offered help in a UN mission, provided all coalition forces withdraw
from Iraq. Bahrain also offered to send its limited naval forces.
On July 5, 2004, Moqtada al-Sadr repeated that he considers the new government as illegitimate due to the fact that it was de fact appointed by the Americans. He added that him and his fighters will go on resisting oppression and occupation, a legitimate right of the Iraqis according to him, and not a crime to be punished. Previously he said that he would leave fighting to devote himself to politics but he seems to have changed opinion.
On July 5, 2004, Iraq's interim government has again postponed, without explanation, its decision on a security law to curb insurgents but has given no explanation for the latest delay. The government had planned to unveil the measures at a news conference on July 3, but cancelled it at the last minute. Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said the government would soon introduce the security law, reinstate the death penalty and offer a temporary amnesty to insurgents. But he said the government would not sacrifice human rights or progress towards elections, due in January.
On July 7, 2004, the Iraqi interim government gave huge power to the prime minister, Iyad Allawi, to fight the insurgents with the possibility to declare a state of emergency, impose nation wide-curfews, to appoint military governors, close the country borders, seize the assets of the suspects and monitor their phone calls and emails. There are some built-in safeguards to prevent Allawi becoming a new dictator. This law cannot be used to delay the national elections foreseen for January 2005 or modify the interim constitution. His decisions must also be approved by the all three members of the presidency. The area covered by a state of emergency must be clearly defined and may last for a maximum of 60 days only but it can be renewed for periods of 30 days at a time. All the detainees must be brought before a judge within 24 hours of their arrests.
On July 7, 2004, the Iraqi government expressed confidence today that global lenders would write off its huge $US120 billion foreign debt, helping to rebuild Iraq's war-ravaged economy and revive the vital oil sector. Interim Finance Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said apart from the US, other countries had also showed an inclination to forgive the debt completely. But he declined to name the countries, which had made such an offer.
On July 11, 2004, Iraq's new leader wants to call some of its old army back to duty to help restore peace in his war-torn land. Disbanding that defeated force 13 months ago was a mistake made in Washington, says a US Army colonel. The order came not from then-Iraq administrator Paul Bremer, but from top-level civilian officials at the Pentagon, and that it was done without consulting US military chiefs. Iyad Allawi, Iraq's interim prime minister, says he hopes to reconstitute three or four divisions of the old army - up to 40,000 troops, about 10 percent of the huge force maintained under the ousted Baathist government of Saddam Hussein.
On July 12, 2004, a senior Iraqi official linked to Ahmad Chalabi, Sabah Noori Ibrahim Salim, has been convicted of abuse of power. Salim was a manager in the finance minister of the first post-war cabinet. He was jailed for four and a half years on charge of making false arrest. Other charges including bribery, theft and fraud will follow. This clearly confirms that corruption is widespread in new Iraq and Chalabi is involved in it. This is linked to the disappearance of 36bn dinars (about £14m) during the change of currency process.
On July 15, 2004, it was decided that the families of Iraqi policemen killed by insurgents would receive a lifetime pension on top of the one-off compensation payment ($630).
On July 15, 2004, Prime Minister Allawi thanked Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates for supplying Iraq with equipment for their security services. At the same time he put-off his project of giving amnesty to the detainees suspected of security offences. The Americans objected to this plan that would free people who killed US soldiers and attacked their convoys.
On July 16, 2004, after two days of violence including deadly car bombings and attacks on Iraqi officials and oil installations, Iraq's interim prime minister on Thursday announced the creation of a new security service to target insurgents. The new service, the General Security Directorate, "will annihilate those terrorists groups, God willing," Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said.
On July 16, 2004, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Thursday he has asked six countries -Egypt, Morocco, Oman, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh- to send troops to his country as Iraq continues to fight a violent insurgency.
On July 16, 2004, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Thursday he has asked six countries -Egypt, Morocco, Oman, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh- to send troops to his country as Iraq continues to fight a violent insurgency.
On July 18, 2004, we were told that Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi shot dead as many as six suspected insurgents last month, just days before Washington handed political control over to his new government. Two witnesses said that the prisoners, blindfolded and handcuffed, were lined up against a wall in a courtyard next to a maximum-security cell at al-Amariyah prison in Baghdad. Allawi then pulled out a pistol and shot them in the head as an example on how to deal with resistance fighters. This raised fears that Dr Allawi is returning to the cold-blooded tactics of his predecessor, Saddam Hussein, and has led to urgent calls for the Red Cross to launch an investigation. Ayad Allawi, Iraq's prime minister has dismissed allegations that he killed six prisoners in cold blood just days before assuming power from the American-led coalition last month.
On July 18, 2004, a pro-Moqtada al-Sadr weekly newspaper closed March 28 by the American authorities has reopened. Its closure caused protests and armed uprising that resulted in the death of hundred of people.
On July 19, 2004, we were told that the Iraqi Stock Exchange is now back in business. For the moment it is housed in an anonymous hotel function room after being closed for 16 months because of the war and the chaos that followed,
Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, in mid-July 2004 allowed the newspaper Al-Hawza to reopen. By this he accomplished two things: he rectified a wrong, and he demonstrated a certain independence from the occupiers. US administrator Paul Bremer closed the newspaper, a mouthpiece for the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, on March 28 for its incitement to hate and violence, but silencing the paper was contrary to what America stands for, and it led to months of attacks on US forces by al-Sadr's militias. The coalition decided that trying to arrest al-Sadr wasn't worth the bloodshed. Allawi can get by without al-Sadr's support, but he does need the cleric's neutrality. Al-Sadr has called Allawi's government illegitimate, but seems willing to give the new government a chance and has talked about forming a political party to contest the planned January elections.
On July 21, 2004, Iraq's neighbouring countries answered in a positive way to plea for security assistance by agreeing to hold a high-level meeting to address the issue of cross-border infiltration. Arab foreign ministers welcomed the Iraqi proposal to convene interior ministers and security officials to discuss how to "eliminate all terrorist and other armed groups which constitute a danger to Iraq and neighbouring states."
On July 24, 2004, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged Egypt to stand fast in the face of the kidnapping of one of its diplomats and ignore militants' demand that it abandon any plans to lend security assistance to Iraq. "It is time for us to close ranks to fight terrorism. There is no way to budge to terrorists and give them what they want," Allawi said in Damascus, Syria. "The only way to deal with terrorism is to promote justice and to close ranks, and we hope Egypt and the Egyptian government will act accordingly."
On July 25, 2004, the Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi arrived in Beirut on a three-day visit amid very tight security. Allawi, who arrived following a stop in Damascus, is on a regional tour seeking support for his government. He will talk with Lebanese leaders over political, economic and security issues. Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri received the Iraqi leader and led him to the Prime Minister's House. The Iraqi leader was expected to meet with President Emile Lahoud, parliament speaker and other top Lebanese officials to discuss bilateral relations with economic issues on top of the agenda.
On July 26, 2004, the Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi was in Lebanon where he raised the prospect of resuming oil exports via Lebanon through a pipeline disused since 1980. This aims to increase Iraq's ties with Arab states in the energy sector. "Iraq is ready to resume its crude exports via Lebanon but this needs negotiation and an accord with Syria because the pipeline passes through its territory," Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri said after talks with Allawi. The Iraqi premier, confirming the offer, told reporters that he discussed oil and gas cooperation in Damascus. The Syrian government said a barter agreement was signed during Allawi's recent visit. Under the accord Syria is to supply kerosene, petrol and liquefied gas in exchange for Iraqi crude.
On July 27, 2004, the Iraq's interim Prime Minister Eyad Allawi denied the existence of Israelis in Iraq. He said that the information that Iraq has become a base for the Israeli intelligence and permits the Iraqis to visit Israel are not correct and not precise. Allawi also said that Baghdad will not normalize its relations with Israel before the Arab states, noting that Iraq will not take any separate steps in any topic relating to the question of settlement with Israel.
Since June 28, 2004, many Iraqi were queuing to get a passport, something that was not allowed during Saddam Hussein's regime. They would like to get a job abroad or simply going on pilgrimages to Islamic holy sites.
On August 5, 2004, the selection of a new governor for Basra was postponed after the recent disorders, threats and assassinations. The new governor was to be elected by the 45 religious, political and secular technocrat members of the city council. The delay was requested by Moqtada al-Sadr after fighting started in Najaf. Some secular independent members complained that they had been pressured to support radical Shia candidates.
On August 6, 2004, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani flew from Najaf where he lives to London to receive treatment for a heart condition. This most important Shia leader is also a moderate even if he asked for the coalition troops to leave Iraq.
On August 7, 2004, the Iraqi interim government tried to reduce the violence in the country by proclaiming a 30-days amnesty law. This law will pardon all the Iraqis who have committed minor crimes against the US or Iraqi government officials. It does not apply to those who have killed US soldiers, Iraqis, or hostages.
On August 7, 2004, the Iraqi government banned the operation of the Arab Satellite television network al-Jazeera in Iraq. It is accused to incite and encourage violence. It is a move against free speech and was condemned by many Arab journalists as such.
On August 8, 2004, the interim Iraqi government reintroduced the death penalty in Iraq. This aims to bring law and order in the country.
On August 10, 2004, it was obvious that the violence that has spread to many parts of Iraq creates a problem to the country economical survival as it has slowed down the already slow reconstruction process. Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army is accused of being engaged in an economic scorched earth policy to finally impose themselves as the leaders of Iraq. The closing of the oil pipelines because of unrest in southern Iraq added to the confusion. These pipelines account for 90% of Iraqi oil export.
On August 11, 2004, Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi, a former US ally, has returned to Iraq where he faces arrest on money counterfeiting charges. An Iraqi judge on August 8 issued arrest warrants for Mr Chalabi, who was in Iran for a conference, and for his nephew, Salem Chalabi. Ahmed Chalabi is accused of counterfeiting money and, if found guilty, he could be jailed for a long time. Salem Chalabi, the head of the tribunal trying former leader Saddam Hussein, is sought on suspicion of murder. Both men dismiss the charges against them as politically motivated. Mr Chalabi, a former exile who founded the Iraqi National Congress as an opposition group to Saddam Hussein, was once tipped as a future leader of Iraq.
On August 28, 2004, the four most senior Shia Muslim clerics in Iraq have said that armed resistance is not the way to protest against the continued presence of US-led forces. However, one of them, Sheikh Ali Najafi, said that if foreign troops stayed too long, then the time for peaceful solutions would be over. The meeting of the group known as the Marjaiya came two days after Ayatollah Sistani's intervention ended a three-week long uprising in Najaf by Shia militiamen loyal to dissident cleric Moqtada Sadr. Grand Ayatollahs Mohammed Saad Hakim, Ishaq Fayad and Sheikh Najafi met Ayatollah Sistani, who returned to Iraq on Wednesday from three weeks of medical treatment in London to force the peace deal.
On September 1, 2004, Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi has escaped an assassination attempt that has left two of his bodyguards wounded. He was travelling from Najaf to Baghdad when the attack happened.
Two months ago, Baghdad had a spree of attacks on liquor and music stores. Now, at the beginning of September 2004, beauty salons are being bombed. Women say the bombings are part of a larger effort by unorganised, illegitimate armies to foist a more conservative lifestyle on them. The armies of Islamic militants have gained power on the street since the fall of the more secular Saddam Hussein. Some salons allow men to work on women's hair, which may be frowned on by those attacking the shops, the women say. Some think salons are being targeted because beauty shops in general have been long known as places that facilitate prostitution. Others think it's because some Iraqis believe the beautification of women is sinful.
On September 4, 2004, Iraq's interim government has indefinitely extended a month-long ban on Arabic TV news channel al-Jazeera. It says there has been no response to fears that broadcasts incite violence. A statement issued by the office of the interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, also accused al-Jazeera of continuing to operate from Iraq despite the ban. The government has complained that Arabic satellite channels encourage kidnappings by showing pictures of hostages threatened with execution. Al-Jazeera's reporters in Iraq have said they treat such events only as news stories, and have suggested the ban is an attempt to suppress unwelcome news.
On September 6, 2004, the Arab National Forum has condemned the Iraqi interim government's practice of arresting Iraqi politicians, handing them over to US forces and detaining people without charge. The Forum issued a statement received by Aljazeera.net in which it condemned the arrest of notable Iraqi politician Abd Al-Jabbar al-Kubaisi. Al-Kubaisi, who is a leader of the Iraqi National Alliance, was arrested in a September 4 pre-dawn raid by US troops backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters. They surrounded his home in Baghdad and took him to an undisclosed destination. The statement claimed al-Kubaisi's arrest politically motivated and against democratic values. It called for al-Kubaisi's immediate release. It also condemned the closure of Al Jazeera's Baghdad office, and accused the interim government of oppressing "anti-occupation voices".
On September 10, 2004, thousands of demonstrators supporting -and hundreds opposing- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets in Iraq as US soldiers fought insurgents in Baghdad's Sadr City neighbourhood and near Falluja. In the Falluja area, US forces hammered insurgent targets with airstrikes for the fourth day in a row. The march against al-Sadr happened in Najaf. The secretary to Governor Adnan al-Zurufi said about 500 protesters attempted to storm the radical cleric's office but were stopped and dispersed by Iraqi forces. The number of al-Sadr supporters at a demonstration in Baghdad, however, was much higher. About 3,000 to 4,000 marched in the northern neighbourhood of Khadmiye against what they called acts of aggression by occupation forces in Sadr City. The rally for al-Sadr called on the interim government and the Marjiya, the Shiite religious authority, to support the peace agreement between al-Sadr and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that halted three weeks of fighting in Najaf last month. People chanted "Long live Sadr. Allawi and Yawar are infidels," referring to interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and interim President Ghazi al-Yawar. They also chanted, "Oh Allawi, you coward. You are a spy of the Americans." Men and women beat their chests.
As Iraqi interim President Sheikh Ghazi Ajil Al Yawer meets European leaders in mid-September 2004 to seek help for his war-torn country, violence has surged in Iraq in the past few days. When Yawer visited Italy, two Italian women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, who were working for a humanitarian organization, was kidnapped in Baghdad. On the eve of Yawer's current visit to Poland, three Polish soldiers were killed and three others injured. Undoubtedly, Yawer found himself embarrassed among his hosts in Warsaw for the deaths of the Polish troops, just as what happened in Rome because of the kidnapping of the Italians. But to Yawer's relief, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewsk, like the Italians, reassured to Al that Poland would continue its mission in Iraq.
Iraq's interim President Ghazi Ajil al-Yawir, on a visit to Brussels, on September 15, 2004, admitted that "terrorism" is on the rise in Iraq. Al-Yawir's remarks came not long after three bodies and their severed heads were found north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, while at least 12 people were killed in fighting between US forces and insurgents in the western city of Al-Ramadi. Further north, near the city of Kirkuk, gunmen shot and killed two Iraqi builders employed by the US military. Earlier today, the administration of US President George W. Bush said it wants to shift $3.5 billion away from Iraqi reconstruction projects and instead devote those funds to boosting security.
On September 15, 2004, Qassim Dawood, the state minister of Iraqi national security, announced that the general amnesty law issued by the interim Iraqi government was extended for another month. Earlier in August, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced an amnesty for insurgents who have committed "minor crimes" such as possession of weapons and explosives, but not for those who have committed murders.
Agreement on expanding a NATO training mission in Iraq hit last-minute snags notably due to French and others' reservations about details of the accord, NATO officials said on September 17, 2004. But NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he hoped a compromise accord could be reached soon to expand the mission in the war-ravaged country. But he sought to downplay the remaining differences. "I think it will not be on too many substantial issues. We're still discussing financing, force protection," he said. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) agreed at a summit in Istanbul in June to launch the training mission, after overcoming reservations from Paris that objected to operations under a NATO flag inside Iraq. NATO already has some 40 soldiers in Iraq who began training army officers in collaboration with the defence ministry in Baghdad. The issue of the command structure led to a stormy debate in July, notably between the United States and France.
On September 18, 2004, the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, is meeting Mr Blair at Downing Street, for talks expected to discuss security in Iraq and Thursday's kidnapping of a Briton. Mr Allawi blamed continuing violence on foreign extremists, who had mobilised disaffected Iraqis. But he said they were not getting stronger, but more desperate. Mr Allawi is visiting the UK as part of a tour, which will also take him to New York and Washington.
Member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) reached agreement Wednesday September 22, 2004, on establishing a military training center in Iraq for Iraqi security forces. The military alliance will send about 300 officers into Iraq to set up and run the center outside Baghdad, broadening NATO's training mission that began last month with the deployment of 40 instructors. The NATO mission will be headed by US Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who also heads the much bigger US operation to rebuild Iraq's armed forces. The agreement implies a compromise between the United States, which wanted NATO to shoulder more of the burden of building up Iraq's armed forces, and France, which initially objected to any alliance presence in Iraq, then sought to keep the mission low profile.
In a speech to the US Congress in Washington on September 23, 2004, Allawi reiterated his belief that Iraq's fledgling security forces would prevail against the insurgents, as well as the widespread violence, which threatens elections scheduled for January. Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said most of Iraq is ``completely safe'' and he pledged that terrorists will not prevent elections from being held in January as planned. Allawi's comments echo Bush's re-election speeches linking the Iraq war to terrorism and saying progress is being made in Iraq. Bush highlights Iraqi election plans, increased use of electricity and child immunizations in a bid to counter Democratic rival John Kerry's criticism that he's failed to address a country ``in crisis.''
Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said here Friday September 24, 2004, that success of democracy in his country requires timely assistance from the outside. He told world leaders gathering at the UN headquarters for its annual high-level debate that despite numerous difficulties, his country is on its way to democratic elections. He called on world leaders to set aside difference on the legitimacy of the US-led war and move forward with generous help for a country in desperate need.
Iraq cleared around $81 million in debt it owed the International Monetary Fund on September 25, 2004, opening the way for the first aid to flow from the global lender to Iraq. The payment comes as the IMF's board of shareholder governments prepares to meet to discuss lending to Iraq. The sources said the IMF's board was expected to approve around $800 million in financing for Iraq under a program for countries beset by conflict.
On Friday October 1, 2004, we were told that an agreement among the Paris Club group of creditor nations on a write-off of a portion of Iraq's foreign debt is not imminent but could be achieved by the end of the year. Washington has been pushing for a rapid debt deal, and an accord among top industrial nations before the November US presidential election would be good news for President George W. Bush. But major creditors in the 19-member Paris Club, an informal body that seeks sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties of debtor nations, are still struggling to reach an accord
In other developments on October 3, 2004, about 100,000 Kurds demonstrated in the northern city of Sulemaniyah. Protesters demanded a Kurdish voter referendum to determine whether the region remains part of Iraq or becomes a separate Kurdish homeland.
On October 5, 2004, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi pledged "new
plans" to crush insurgents before promised January elections as he
met British Foreign Minister Jack Straw on a surprise visit here. As Allawi
again expressed optimism following a lengthy international tour that government
control could be restored nationwide in time for the polls to be organized,
fresh unrest rocked rebel strongholds north and west from the capital.
On October 5, 2004, Iraq's interim Government has requested that Australian
troops remain in Iraq for only "the coming year or so", raising
doubts about how long the force will stay in place.
On October 7, 2004, the rebel Shiite Muslim militia led by Moqtada Al-Sadr pledged to disarm in what could be a major advance for US-Iraqi efforts to calm violence. The proposal, which meets a key demand of the interim government, was announced by Ali Smeism, a top Sadr adviser, on Arabic Al-Arabiya television. It followed the release of a pro-Sadr cleric from US detention in Abu Ghraib jail. Smeism said that in return for any weapons surrender, the government must guarantee that Sadr's followers are not ''persecuted'' and the US military must free more of his aides. Soon after Smeism's announcement, insurgents delivered a noisy reminder of their presence, sending at least two rockets crashing into central Baghdad's Sheraton hotel. There were no immediate reports of casualties in the blasts.
A Shiite militia led by Moqtada al-Sadr agreed on Saturday October 9, 2004, to disarm under a deal that could pacify a Baghdad flashpoint and remove one obstacle to Iraq's plan to hold nationwide elections in January. US forces had promised to stop bombarding the vast Shiite slum area with immediate effect. A government source confirmed that a deal had been struck at the talks. It was not immediately clear if the militia loyal to the youthful Sadr, a fiercely anti-American Shiite cleric, intended to disarm only in Sadr City or in other parts of Iraq as well. Talks were also under way on a peace deal for Falluja, said to be a haven for foreign militants led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said his government was not negotiating with rebels in Sadr City, Falluja and other trouble spots, but added that insurgents can be amnestied if they surrender weapons and make way for Iraqi security forces. Allawi, backed by US and British forces, wants to regain control of all rebel-held areas before the elections.
Fighters loyal to radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have agreed a deal to end clashes in Baghdad's restive Sadr City district on Sunday October 10, 2004. The cleric's militia known as the Mehdi Army, will begin handing over weapons from Monday. The collection was to last four or five days. The Iraqi government has confirmed the deal.
On Monday October 11, 2004, radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr`s militia
slowly began turning in weapons under a deal with the Iraqi government aimed
at bringing a halt to months of deadly fighting in a Baghdad slum. In Sadr
City machine guns, mortar launchers and ammunition were trickling in to
police stations under a five-day test agreement that could clear the road
for a lasting truce in one of the major flashpoints of the Iraq insurgency.
A durable deal would shore up one flank for US and Iraqi forces in the run-up
to national elections planned for January, allowing them to concentrate
on Falluja, the epicentre of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, and other trouble
spots in central Iraq. In Sadr City, police thought the militiamen did not
trust the Iraqi government or the US military and feared the other side
might take advantage of the truce to crush their movement.
Their anti-American attacks continued on October 11, 2004, with two US soldiers
killed in a rocket attack in Baghdad and two Iraqis and another US soldier
killed in a car bomb attack on a US military convoy in the northern city
of Mosul.
Iraqi officials on Wednesday October 13, 2004, begged foreign donors to deliver aid to Iraq rapidly, asserting that the nation isn't in as much chaos as it appears on TV newscasts but that its march to democracy may be in peril without outside help. Participants at a two-day Tokyo meeting of donor nations debated how to deliver aid, even as Iraqi officials urged them not to be daunted by near-daily bombings and attacks. The officials promised that all areas of Iraq, no matter how troubled, would participate in nationwide elections by late January.
A meeting of Iraq aid donors in Japan has ended on October 14, 2004, with delegates resolving to try to speed up projects to rebuild Iraq, but few firm promises. In a joint statement, representatives of 57 organisations and countries appealed for additional funds for "priority projects". But the meeting chairman said security remained the "biggest challenge". Members of Iraq's interim government have been trying to unlock more of the $32bn in aid already pledged by the US and international donors. Less than $5bn has so far been disbursed, and $3bn of that was diverted to security projects.
A group of 14 countries that gave international agencies almost $1 billion to meet emergency needs in Iraq was told Thursday October 15, 2004, that only 5% of the money had been spent because violence was blocking the start of badly needed projects. Dispensing reconstruction money is at the heart of a dispute between Iraqi authorities, eager for a rebuilding boom, and the United Nations and World Bank, which are responsible for the projects and argue that the country is not safe enough to enter.
Iraq announced plans Monday October 18, 2004, to extend an arms-for-cash program across the country as hopes of fresh talks to avert a US military showdown in the Iraqi rebel hub of Falluja rose with the release of a key negotiator. Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi offered sweeteners to the Sunni heartland during a month that saw major military offences unleashed in Samarra, around Falluja and just south of Baghdad. Allawi announced plans to bring the weapons buyback program that started last week in a Baghdad Shiite slum to cities nationwide in a bid to rid the streets of weapons ahead of planned January elections.
A lack of security in Iraq is causing a big increase in drug smuggling across the region we were told on October 18, 2004. Before the Iraq war, Jordan had few problems with drug smuggling from Iraq but this year there have been a series of big drug finds on the Jordan-Iraq border as smugglers exploit the collapse of security. Other neighbouring countries have the same problem too.
On November 4, 2004, the Iraqi interim minister, Ayad Allawi, was in Rome. The Italian government confirmed that it will keep its 3,000 soldiers there as long as requested by the Iraqi government.
On November 5, 2004, Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi met European Community leaders in Brussels, Belgium. He urged Europe to create a "close and strategic partnership" with Iraq and asked NATO to step up plans to train 1,000 Iraqi officers a year. The EU offered about $40 millions to fund elections and training Iraqi vote monitors. He also accused France and Germany to have been merely "spectators" during the present Iraqi conflict. The two countries were not pleased and President Chirac left Brussels before Allawi's arrival.
On November 8, 2004, the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Ayad Allawi, said that the emergency laws are no threats to civil liberties. However the curfew in Falluja and Ramadi will be around the clock. If this isn't a restriction of freedom on the people living there, what is it?
On November 23, 2004, Arab countries said that they would not cancel at the present time the money owned to them by Iraq. Western countries have agreed lately to cut up to 80% of the Iraqi debts but only on condition that the Arab countries are doing the same.
On December 13, 2004, the World Trade Organisation started negotiating with Iraq in view of bringing the country within the organisation as a full member.
On December 17, 2004, the US totally forgave $4.1bn in debt owned by Iraq. The Paris Club forgave 80% of the $38.9bn owned by Iraq to its members. Iraq still own about $80bn to various Arab governments.
On December 20, 2004, it was clear that the insurgents succeeded -what even Saddam Hussein was not able to do- in creating some resentment between the main Iraqi groups, Sunni, Shiite and Kurd. The Sunnis and the Shiites have always lived peacefully together, sharing their Mosques, but now it is changing. It is still improbable that there will be a civil war in Iraq but the risks are now higher that ever. And all this is due to the Americans.
On January 6, 2005, the Iraq interim government extended the state of emergency in Iraq - with the exception of the Kurdish zone- by 30 days. This covers the time of the elections. It is a fact that even the Americans had to admit that security was poor in four of the 18 Iraqi provinces.
On January 10, 2005, we were told that Sunni clerics asked the US forces in Iraq to release a timetable for the withdrawing of the US forces in Iraq. In exchange the Sunnis would not boycott the incoming elections. The US rejected the request.
On January 21, 2005, according to the Iraqi authorities, the former prominent politician Ahmad Chalabi will be arrested next week after the Eid al-Adha feast. He is accused of defaming the Defence Ministry.
On December 27, 2004, in an audiotape broadcast on the al-Jazeera television network, Osama bin Laden endorsed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq. He called for a boycott of the elections. This tape seems to show that bin Laden would like to become a political leader instead of a terrorist.
Iraq's security forces could be ready to take over fully from foreign troops within 18 months, the country's interior minister has said on February 2, 2005. The day before Iraq's interim President Ghazi Yawer rejected the withdrawal of foreign troops until Iraq's own forces are ready to take over security duties.
Iraq will need time to build up forces sufficient to handle a potential threat from its neighbours specifically Iran even after Baghdad proves capable of overcoming the insurgency at home, Defence Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday February 6, 2005. Both Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney brushed off concern that Islam could guide Iraq's new government. Cheney said Iraq will shape its own government, and Rumsfeld predicted that choosing a system mirroring that of Iran would be ''a terrible mistake.''
Iraq's interim government replaced the human rights abuses of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein with its own offences -- including torture, arbitrary arrests, bribery and death -- according to an annual US human rights report published on March 1, 2005.
Iraq and Jordan withdrew their respective ambassadors Sunday March 20, 2005, in a growing dispute over Shiite Muslim claims that Amman is failing to block terrorists from entering Iraq. The diplomatic row erupted even as a Jordanian court sentenced in absentia Iraq's most feared terrorist who was born in Jordan to a 15-year prison term. As news emerged of the largely symbolic sentencing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose whereabouts are unknown, his al-Qaida in Iraq organization claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed a top anti-corruption official in northern Mosul. Zarqawi already has been sentenced to death twice by Jordan. The diplomatic brouhaha capped a week of rising tensions that included a protest in which Shiite demonstrators raised the Iraqi flag over the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad and claims by the Shiite clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance that Jordan was allowing terrorists to slip into Iraq. Jordan's King Abdullah ordered on Monday the return of Jordan's top diplomat to Iraq after both countries recalled their envoys over reports that a Jordanian was behind the deadliest suicide bombing in post-war Iraq. Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulki told Reuters the Jordanian charges d'affaires was due back at the heavily guarded Baghdad embassy on Wednesday while the Iraqi ambassador was expected to return to Amman within a week.
Senior Sunni Muslim clerics in Iraq have urged their followers on April 2, 2005, to join the country's security forces. An Iraqi government spokesman said the call on Sunnis to participate in the security forces was a welcome change. Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai of the Association of Muslim Scholars said Sunni membership was necessary to prevent the forces falling into "the hands of those who have caused chaos, destruction and violated the sanctities." However, the group consisting of 64 clerics and scholars also told Sunnis not to help foreign troops against their own countrymen.
Arab commentators express mixed feelings on April 8, 2005, the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to the US-led coalition. There are conflicting feelings. Some Iraqis believe that the US troops, although they brought salvation from an unjust 35-year rule, did not carry out what they claimed they would do and did not implement the slogans they promoted regarding democracy, freedom, pluralism etc... Some believe that some countries do not want Iraq to enjoy stability -something that will lead to keeping the US and the multinational troops in Iraq. Many people believe that the departure of the US and the multinational troops will provide the way out of the ordeal.
Tens of thousands of Shiites marked the anniversary of the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2005, with a protest against the American military presence at the square where Iraqis and US troops toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein two years ago. The protesters back Muqtada Sadr and their large numbers reflected frustration both with the US government and anger toward the Sunni Arab-led insurgency. US officials, who are slowly handing security to Iraqi forces, have refused to set a timetable for withdrawal. The protesters filled Firdos Square and spilled onto nearby avenues, waving Iraqi flags. Mimicking the famous images of US soldiers and Iraqis pulling down a statue of Saddam as Baghdad fell, protesters toppled effigies of President Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Saddam, all dressed like Iraqi prisoners in red jumpsuits. Other effigies of Bush and Saddam were burned.
Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, said on April 10, 2005, that US forces must remain in his country for at least two more years, the time it will take to rebuild security forces and defeat the insurgency. The departure of the US and other allied forces won't depend solely on Iraq's ability to defend its borders and stop attacks by terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime, Talabani said.
Iraq's new president has said on April 17, 2005, that the insurgency could be ended immediately if the authorities made use of Kurdish, Shia Muslim and other militias. Jalal Talabani said this would be more effective than waiting for Iraqi forces to take over from the US-led coalition.
Iraq's neighbours pledged on Saturday April 30, 2005, to boost border security and increase intelligence sharing with the country's newly elected government, steps that could stem the flow of insurgents slipping across the poorly patrolled frontiers. The decisions were made during a meeting of the foreign ministers of Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey and Egypt. Saudi Arabia also attended, but was represented by its deputy foreign minister. Syria, meanwhile, announced it would restore relations with Iraq after a break of more than two decades in ties between the neighbours.
Across the country Thursday March 31, 2005, Shiite Muslims observed a religious
holiday marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for one of Shiites'
most important saints, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein, who
was killed in a seventh century battle.