What the U.S. Is Currently Up to in Iraq

Tweet Still winning hearts and minds. Below is a portion of a report from Al-Ahram weekly. Whole article here: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=34823&s2=27

"Meanwhile, parliament postponed its summer recess, but it has no plans to discuss thorny issues for the moment. The oil and de-Baathification laws will be debated after the recess, now scheduled for August. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has urged the cabinet to cancel, or at least shorten, the recess so as to "help the government resolve outstanding issues", according to a statement from his office.

"President Bush and his administration are still pushing for a speedy promulgation of the controversial oil law. Former oil minister Essam Shalabi denounced the oil law as an attempt to partition Iraq. The Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) issued an edict prohibiting the implementation of that law. The edict, claimed AMS spokesman, prompted the Americans to raid Um Al-Qura Mosque, the AMS headquarters in Baghdad, early this week. US troops arrested 18 AMS officials and wrecked AMS offices during the raid.

"The US administration says that violence is likely to escalate in August. But Operation Imposing Law in Baghdad and Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Diali, 75 kilometres northeast of Baghdad, are still in full swing. US statements speak of the arrest and death of dozens of "terrorists". Resistance forces claim in Internet statements that they are inflicting significant losses on occupation forces. Baquba inhabitants say that relative calm has been restored in their city, but they complain of food and fuel shortages.

"In separate news, US helicopters strafed Al-Huseiniya in north Baghdad, believed to be a stronghold of the Mahdi army, killing 18 civilians and wounding dozens. Nassar Al-Rubiei, spokesman for the Sadr Group, called on parliament to denounce the US shelling. US forces searched Al-Adhamiyah neighbourhood of Baghdad following an attack on a US patrol. Al-Adhamiyah has for the past few months been surrounded by a five-metre high cement barrier.In Kirkuk, 100 civilians were killed in a suicide attack mounted by a truck laden with explosives. The attack comes one week after the bombings in Amirli, considered to be the worst since April 2003. US Ambassador Ryan Crocker visited Kirkuk for talks with local officials following the attack. Once the ambassador left, the northern Kurdish administration announced plans to deploy 6,000 peshmerga, or Kurdish fighters, around vital institutions to pre-empt acts of "terror".

"Oil-rich Kirkuk is a multi-ethnic city that has a strong Turkomen presence, but Kurdish political forces have been trying to incorporate it into their region. Their decision to deploy peshmerga in Kirkuk angered local Arab and Turkomen communities. Aydin Aksu, a key figure in the Iraqi Turkomen Front, told Al-Ahram Weekly that, "the presence of 6,000 peshmerga would increase tension and deepen the rift in this town. It would generate resentment among other communities in the city, for it is unconscionable for one community to have all the power. The protection of vital institutions is just an excuse."