Electronic Iraq : Opinion/Editorial

A Hidden Agenda for an Endless Stay

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:33:30 CST

There were reports last week of an agreement between Iraq and the United States on how to regulate the status of foreign - mainly American - forces in Iraq following the termination of the UN mandate they were retrospectively given after invading the country in 2003. The reports proved to be inaccurate. There are still serious points of disagreement between the two sides.

Change the Iraqis Can Believe In? Why Obama-Biden Could Mean More of the Same (Or Maybe Something Worse)

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:31:25 CST

During Obama's recent trip to the Middle East, he revealed an extremely dated way of thinking about Iraq, more or less reiterating the Iraq cosmology of those Bush administration officials that have been in charge since 2003. During a press conference in Amman on 22 July following a visit to Anbar where meetings with "Sunni tribal leaders" were high on the agenda, this tendency could be seen very clearly, with Obama consistently portraying the principal dynamic of Iraqi politics as a struggle between Shiites and Sunnis.

Cold Shoulders

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:42:20 CST

Kathy Kelly writes from Amman, Jordan, demonstrating through the story of one mother and her son -- who's still in Iraq -- how violence is entrapping Iraq's boys and young men. In the process, she shows the ways in which US efforts in the name of security send dangerous messages and force painful choices on the young people who are the future of their country.

Istiklal

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:41:54 CST

The city of Amman, Jordan, is awash with numerous colorful signs that proclaim independence, "Istiklal." The word is found on posters and placards in store windows. It names a major thoroughfare, a hospital, and a shopping center. Appreciation for independence is palpable, and this could be said for numerous cities and towns throughout the region, including Iraq, where past struggles for independence are commemorated by naming buildings and streets "Istiklal." It reflects the love of independence and the longing for it.

Iraqis in Baquba Weigh in on the U.S. Presidential Election

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:34:50 CST

Ali Ahmed, Dahr Jamial, and a handful of Iraqis in Baquba weigh in on the U.S. presidential election. "I'll believe the troops are gone from Iraq when they are no longer on our streets and their warplanes no longer bomb our homes," a local merchant told IPS. " All politicians are liars, even school children know this."

The Oil Majors Take a Little Sip of the Ol' Patrimony

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:19:55 CST

More than five years after the invasion of Iraq -- just in case you were still waiting -- the oil giants finally hit the front page. Last Thursday, the New York Times led with this headline: "Deals with Iraq Are Set to Bring Oil Giants Back." And who were these giants? ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP. What these firms got were mere "service contracts" -- as in servicing Iraq's oil fields -- not the sort of "production sharing agreements" that President Bush's representatives in Baghdad once dreamed of, and that would have left them in charge of those fields. Still, it was clearly a start.

Iraqi Refugees Facing a Desperate Situation

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:53:04 CST

Amnesty International has released a new report on the Iraqi refugee crisis. "Humanitarian agencies cannot cope with growing demands as more refugees need help with the basics to survive," the organization writes. "The UNHCR had planned that by the end of the year it would be food to around 300,000 people in Syria alone. However, the agency recently announced that inadequate funding means that, by August 2008, it will not be able to 'cover all basic health needs of Iraqis, and many serious and chronically ill Iraqis will not be able to receive their monthly medication.'"

Weary of War? Don't Collaborate.

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:00:25 CST

Veteran Iraq campaigner Kathy Kelly denounces the current efforts by some in the US leadership to require the Iraqi government to foot the bill for US costs in Iraq, and challenges the argument that the American people are bound to continue to fund the war - rather than reparations, relief, and reconstruction - with their tax dollars.

The Enigmatic Second Battle of Basra

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 07:52:25 CST

"On the surface, the story may look plausible enough," writes Reidar Visser, author of Basra: The Failed Gulf State. "A provincial city rich in oil degenerates into mafia-style conditions affecting the security of citizens as well as the national oil revenue; the central government intervenes to clean up. Still, there are probably few spots on this planet where the search for mono-causality is more futile than Basra."

Five Years On

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:13:04 CST

I returned to Baghdad late last year and initially felt hopeful. I had lost neighbors and friends, but the violence was lessening as security had improved. As I have further explored Baghdad, however, my first impressions of hope have been dashed. The city center is surrounded by cement walls now, resembling a jail. Violence may have waned, but people's lives continue to be plagued by fear and suspicion.

Iraqis on "Success" and "Progress" in Their Country

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:11:27 CST

What do my friends and acquaintances back in Iraq (where I covered the occupation for eight months during the years 2003-2005) think not just about their lives and the fate of their country, but about our attitudes toward them? What do they think about the "success" -- and the silence -- in America?

Iraq's Challenges in 2008

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:35:32 CST

The end of 2007 produced a telltale indication of what the New Year seems likely to bring to Iraq. "We the Iraqi members of parliament signing below demand a timetable for withdrawal of the occupation forces (MNF) from our beloved Iraq," 144 members of the 275-member parliament, a clear majority, wrote in a declaration April 2007. Despite this the Bush administration, and the Iraqi government led by U.S.-installed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, pushed a resolution through the UN Security Council to extend by another year the legal cover for foreign troops to operate in Iraq.

Iraq Online

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:31:24 CST

A quick look at the virtual space Iraqi media occupies on the Internet will reveal a remarkably accurate representation of the country's various news outlets. The many television channels which started broadcasting after the fall of the Baathist regime and the tens of newspapers which have sprung up over the last number of years have quickly claimed their own space on the World Wide Web, as have many other "new media" websites - various forums, blogs and online news providers. What makes this speedy development in Iraqi online presence extraordinary is the fact that Internet usage and penetration in Iraq is actually quite low.

Travelling Light

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:44:19 CST

Writing from Amman, Jordan, Kathy Kelly describes receiving a curious and meaningful gift from a young friend who is an Iraqi refugee there, in the process calling readers to reconsider the meaning of material excess and the systems of war and oppression to which it is so often related.

Iraq Has Only Militants, No Civilians

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:30:59 CST

From the beginning of the American occupation in Iraq, air strikes and attacks by the U.S. military have only killed "militants," "criminals," "suspected insurgents," "IED emplacers," "anti-American fighters," "terrorists," "military age males," "armed men," "extremists," or "al-Qaeda." The pattern for reporting on such attacks has remained the same from the early years of the occupation to today.

Dahr Jamail: Outrage in a Time of Apathy

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 08:16:42 CST

Unlike most U.S. journalists who went to Iraq to cover a war, Dahr Jamail, who worked closely with eIraq, went to try to stop it. In his new book, "Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq", Jamail writes of volunteering as a rescue ranger at Denali National Park in the U.S. state of Alaska while news of the invasion and occupation of Iraq played on the radio. He had to get out of Anchorage, and in November 2003, Jamail got on a plane to Amman, Jordan, and then, a few days later, shared a taxi across Iraq's Western desert to Baghdad.

Who's the Enemy?

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:07:11 CST

Who is the enemy? Who, exactly, are we fighting in Iraq? Why are we there? And what's our objective? Nearly five years into the war, the answers to basic questions like these ought to be obvious. In the Alice in Wonderland-like wilderness of mirrors that is Iraq, though, they're anything but.

Turkey Into Iraq? Easier Said Than Done

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:59:22 CST

Turkey appears to be taking final steps towards a military foray into the Iraqi quagmire. It is a move favored by the public and the military, but opposed by major powers -- and Iraq. Turkish troops and military hardware are amassed now along the Iraq border to the southeast.An entry is laden with pitfalls. And exit after that, more so. For the time being, Turks are not in listening mode.

Get to work!

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 08:57:38 CST

Activist Kathy Kelly tells the story of two women who saw their lives spin out of control after taking jobs with the U.S. military. 'Some argue we're not 100% responsible for this aftermath,' Kelly writes. 'Is it 90%? Are we 80%? 70%? What percent of Noor's blindness, of Nadra's status as the mark of death on any family who houses her - what percent of that can we be comfortable with?'

Thousands of Stories to Tell

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:57:51 CST

Having spent a fair amount of time in occupied Iraq, I now find living in the United States nothing short of a schizophrenic experience. Life in Iraq was traumatizing. It was impossible to be there and not be affected by apocalyptic levels of violence and suffering, unimaginable in this country. But here's the weird thing: One long, comfortable plane ride later and you're in Disneyland, or so it feels on returning to the United States.