Irak
Aktuelle Einsätze
UNAMI
UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UN-Peacebuilding)
Beginn: 08/03
Link zum Einsatz
EUJUST LEX
European Union Integrated Rule of Law Mission for Iraq (EU)
Beginn: 03/05
Link zum Einsatz
USF-I
United States Forces - Iraq (UN-Mandatiert)
Beginn: 01/10
Link zum Einsatz
Macedonia to send more troops to Iraq (04.11.2007)
(Quelle: Southeast European Times) The government has decided to add 36 more troops to its contingent deployed in Iraq, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki announced on Friday (November 2nd). … The 36 additional troops will join the 44 already there, after approval by parliament.
British government confirms Basra security handover for December (31.10.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) The British government confirmed Tuesday that security for Basra province in southern Iraq would be handed over to Iraqi forces, as planned, in December. A joint statement by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and Defence Secretary Des Browne, who is currently visiting troops in Iraq, said the handover was 'firmly in line' with government plans to pass over control 'progressively.'
In report to Congress, oversight officials say Iraqi rebuilding falls short of goals (31.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) More than $100 billion has been devoted to rebuilding Iraq, mainly thanks to American taxpayers and Iraqi oil revenues, but nearly five years into the conflict, output in critical areas like water and electricity remain below United States goals, federal oversight officials reported to Congress on Tuesday. After the influx of that much cash into Iraq’s infrastructure, there are also some hopeful signs, said one of those officials, Stuart W. Bowen Jr., who heads the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
U.S. military to supervise Iraq security convoys (31.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) All State Department security convoys in Iraq will now fall under military control, the latest step taken by government officials to bring Blackwater Worldwide and other armed contractors under tighter supervision. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates agreed to the measure at a lunch on Tuesday after weeks of tension between their departments over coordination of thousands of gun-carrying contractors operating in the chaos of Iraq.
Iraq to end contractor immunity (30.10.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) The Iraqi government has approved a draft law revoking the immunity from prosecution private security contractors enjoy under Iraqi law. The law, which has been referred to parliament, would revoke an order set up after the US-led invasion in 2003. The move comes six weeks after the fatal shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad by US firm Blackwater. Earlier, reports said the US state department might have offered partial immunity to the guards involved.
US hands over Karbala to Iraqis (29.10.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) US forces have handed control of the mainly Shia province of Karbala in central Iraq to local authorities in a tightly-guarded ceremony. Karbala is the eighth of 18 provinces to be transferred to local control since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Sunni violence in Baghdad called disrupted (28.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, said Saturday that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq has been disrupted and no longer operates in large numbers in any neighborhood of the capital. 'In general, we think that there are no al-Qaeda strongholds at this point,' Petraeus said. He added: 'They remain very lethal, very dangerous, capable at any point in time, if you will, of coming back off the canvas and landing a big punch, and we have to be aware of that.'
Turkey pulls U.S. into decision on Kurds (27.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Turkey's military chief said yesterday that Ankara will delay a decision on whether to launch a cross-border offensive into Iraq until after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets here with President Bush 10 days from now. 'We will wait for his return,' Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told reporters in the Turkish capital.
Turkey kills 34 Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq (24.10.2007)
(Quelle: The Guardian) Turkey has carried out air sorties and shelling against Kurdish positions inside northern Iraq. Reuters said Turkish war planes flew as deep as 13 miles into Iraqi territory and some 300 ground troops advanced about six miles, killing 34 fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK).
US Boosts Oversight for Iraq Contractors (24.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday ordered new measures to improve government oversight of private guards who protect U.S. diplomats in Iraq, including tighter rules of engagement and a board to investigate any future killings. … The changes to rules of engagement would bring the State Department closer to military rules.
S Korea extends Iraq deployment (23.10.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) The South Korean government has said it will keep troops in Iraq for a further year, in a move likely to enhance relations with the US. The soldiers will stay in Iraq until the end of 2008 - but their numbers will be halved to 600, President Roh Moo-hyun said in a televised address. He said US ties were a priority, with talks on dismantling North Korea's nuclear facilities at a key stage.
Turkey authorizes Iraq incursion (18.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) The Turkish parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly authorized cross-border military attacks in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatist rebels, as world leaders pleaded for restraint. Lawmakers voted 507 to 19 to give Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan permission to order strategic strikes or large-scale invasions of Iraq for a one-year period. Erdogan has said he will not order an immediate attack.
Head of Reconstruction Teams in Iraq Reports Little Progress Throughout Country (18.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) Attempts by American-led reconstruction teams to forge political reconciliation, foster economic growth and build an effective police force and court system in Iraq have failed to show significant progress in nearly every one of the nation’s provincial regions and in the capital, a federal oversight agency reported on Thursday.
Ban Ki-moon reports decline in Iraq violence, plans stepped up UN role (17.10.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) A new report on Iraq by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sees a moment of opportunity for achieving progress amid declining violence, and envisages an expanded United Nations role in support of this goal. September witnessed the lowest level of Iraqi casualties in 2007, according to Mr. Ban’s latest report to the Security Council on the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), released today. … In today’s report, he says the UN had increased the staff ceiling in Baghdad and Erbil, adding, “I am also considering ways to improve outreach to the provinces, including the re-establishment of a small United Nations presence in Basra.”
Pentagon seeks one authority over contractors (17.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is pressing for the nearly 10,000 armed security contractors now working for the United States government in Iraq to fall under a single authority, most likely the American military, in an effort to bring Blackwater USA under tighter control, senior administration officials and Pentagon advisers say. That idea is facing resistance from the State Department, which relies heavily for protection in Iraq on some 2,500 private guards, including more than 800 Blackwater contractors, to provide security for American diplomats in Baghdad.
Top US general hits out at lack of planning behind Iraq war (15.10.2007)
(Quelle: n/a) A retired general who led US forces in Iraq at the start of the insurgency has indicated that he may name and shame the individuals in the Bush administration he blames for a 'catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan'. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez has delivered one of the most damning assessments of US policy in Iraq, becoming the most senior war commander to do so. 'There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end in sight,' he told reporters in Arlington, Virginia.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq reported crippled (15.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq. But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved.
Relations sour between Shiites and Iraq militia (12.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) In a number of Shiite neighborhoods across Baghdad, residents are beginning to turn away from the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia they once saw as their only protector against Sunni militants. Now they resent it as a band of street thugs without ideology. The hardening Shiite feeling in Baghdad opens an opportunity for the American military, which has long struggled against the Mahdi Army, as American commanders rely increasingly on tribes and local leaders in their prosecution of the war.
Turkey threatens Iraq border raid (09.10.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) The Turkish government is seeking parliamentary approval for a possible cross-border military operation to hunt down Kurdish separatists in Iraq. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is under pressure to act from a Turkish public outraged by rebel attacks that have killed 15 soldiers since Sunday. Iraq said that the best way to confront the rebels was through a security accord signed with Turkey last month. The US also warned Turkey against making an incursion into northern Iraq.
Britain to cut troops in Iraq to 2,500 by spring, Brown says (09.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Britain will cut its troop strength in Iraq by half in the coming months, from just over 5,000 now to 2,500 next spring, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday. Speaking in the House of Commons on the opening day of Parliament's fall session, Brown said the reduction was possible because of improving security in Iraq, particularly what he called a 'calmer' situation around Basra, the southern city where British troops are based.
US-Armeechef Casey: Irakkrieg laugt die Streitkräfte aus (09.10.2007)
(Quelle: Die Welt) Die Militärführung in den USA geht davon aus, dass ihre Einheiten mehrere Jahre brauchen, um sich von den Einsätzen im Irak zu erholen. Laut General Casey sind die Bodenstreitkräfte 'aus dem Gleichgewicht'. Damit bringt er seinen Präsidenten unter Druck.
Top Iraqis pull back from key U.S. goal (08.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) For much of this year, the U.S. military strategy in Iraq has sought to reduce violence so that politicians could bring about national reconciliation, but several top Iraqi leaders say they have lost faith in that broad goal. Iraqi leaders argue that sectarian animosity is entrenched in the structure of their government. Instead of reconciliation, they now stress alternative and perhaps more attainable goals: streamlining the government bureaucracy, placing experienced technocrats in positions of authority and improving the dismal record of providing basic services.
100,000 U.S. troops could leave soon: Iraq president (07.10.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) At least 100,000 U.S. troops could return home from Iraq by the end of 2008, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in an interview aired on Sunday, although he proposed that several American military bases stay in Iraq. Speaking on CNN television, Talabani envisioned faster U.S. troop reductions than U.S. commanders have discussed in public. But he stressed that the pace of withdrawal was up to those commanders and did not explain why he foresaw a faster pullout.
Iraq Shia leaders sign truce deal (06.10.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Two of Iraq's most influential Shia leaders have signed a deal to try to end violence between their groups. Radical cleric Moqtada Sadr and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, have been locked in a bitter dispute for months. The leaders have agreed to try to end further bloodshed, foster a spirit of goodwill and form joint committees throughout the country.
Congress passes bill to govern private armies (06.10.2007)
(Quelle: The Independent) Despite strong opposition from the Bush administration, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a Bill that would make Blackwater and other private security contractors in Iraq and other countries subject to US law. The bill, passed by 389 to 30 with massive bipartisan support, is the most tangible action yet by Congress to rein in the contracting companies, which hitherto have operated with legal immunity in Iraq, exempted from prosecution in Iraqi courts yet not subject to the military law that governs the conduct of regular US troops in the field.
Brown announces troop withdrawal (02.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced on Tuesday that 500 more soldiers would be home from Iraq by the end of the year, fuelling speculation he may soon call a national election. On his first visit to Iraq as prime minister, Brown said Iraq could take responsibility for security in Basra province within two months, completing the transfer of power in all four southern provinces for which Britain was once responsible.
In Iraq, repeated support for a unified state (01.10.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) The American Embassy on Sunday reiterated its support for a united Iraq as six political parties together voiced their objection to a United States Senate resolution that endorsed partitioning the country into three states. … The statement rebuffs the nonbinding Senate measure, sponsored by Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, and approved last week, which calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions controlled separately by Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites.
US building military base near Iraqi-Iranian border (30.09.2007)
(Quelle: Eurasianet) The US military is launching an intensified effort to stop what it says is Iranian support for insurgents in Iraq. US forces are building a forward-operations base in Iraq just a few kilometers from the border with Iran. The $5 million project is aimed at improving border security and is part of a broader US effort to stop alleged Iranian support for Iraqi insurgents. The plan is similar to the US strategy elsewhere in Iraq. It calls for US-led coalition troops to help build up Iraq’s border infrastructure as well to train Iraqi forces that eventually would take over border-security operations.
Tribal members join in effort to assist U.S., Iraqi forces (30.09.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) More than 30,000 tribal members in Iraq have come forward to work with U.S. and Iraqi forces over the past six months, a phenomenon that is spreading beyond Anbar province to Baghdad and other regions of the country, according to U.S. commanders. The Iraqi government, at the urging of U.S. authorities, this month ordered Iraqi army and police units to integrate the volunteers into their operations. … However, questions remain over whether alliances with fractious tribal sheiks will hold, … .
US to review Iraq security firms (26.09.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a review of the way private security firms operate in Iraq and the oversight given by the US military. The move follows an incident earlier this month involving US security firm Blackwater, in which 11 Iraqis died. The Iraqi government reacted by briefly suspending the firm, and drafting new laws regulating private security.