Army Leaders Push to Shorten Iraq Tours

Sunday December 9, 2007 5:16 PM

By ROBERT BURNS

AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - As security improves in Iraq, pressure is building to reverse one of the most onerous decisions Defense Secretary Robert Gates made to enable President Bush's troop buildup to go forward this year: extending the tours of active-duty soldiers from 12 months to 15 months.

The extra three months is a weighty burden, both physically and psychologically, for soldiers already stressed by multiple tours, and on families coping with strains that have mounted since the war began in 2003.

``We can't sustain that,'' Gen. George Casey, who was the top U.S. commander in Iraq before becoming the Army chief of staff at the Pentagon in April, said recently. ``We have to come off that.'' He said a decision on cutting tour lengths could be announced in three months or four months.

Army leaders are pushing to shorten tour lengths back to 12 months by summer, when Bush's troop buildup is scheduled to end. But senior commanders in Baghdad appear reluctant to commit to a change until perhaps late next year, fearing that Iraqi stability still will be in doubt until that point.

The outcome depends in large part on what Bush decides to do next spring after hearing an updated assessment of Iraq from his top commander in the country, Gen. David Petraeus. At hand then will be a decision on whether to continue cutting U.S. troops levels beyond July. If no further cuts are made, it will be much harder for the Army to back away from the 15-month tours.

There are now 166,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, about 30,000 more than when Bush announced his buildup last January. By July that is supposed to have fallen back to about 135,000. Although Bush has not committed yet to going lower, Gates has expressed hope it could drop to 100,000 by next December.

At least 3,886 members of the U.S. military have died in the war since it started, although casualties have slowed.

On a visit to Iraq this past week, Gates said he was encouraged by security gains but cautious about future progress.

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Brown commits British troops for the foreseeable future

Tania Branigan in Helman
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The Guardian

Britain will retain a substantial military presence in Afghanistan for some time, Gordon Brown said yesterday, as he met President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to discuss the country's future. Military sources believe that British troops are likely to be there for a decade, albeit in reduced numbers in the later stages.

"There are around 7,800 at the moment. There will be around that level in the foreseeable future," said the prime minister, who earlier met soldiers fresh from the battle at Musa Qala as he toured Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

Brown, speaking at a press conference at the presidential palace - before a statement to the Commons on the strategy for Afghanistan today - said he believed forces were poised for victory in the town, which will help move the situation in Afghanistan into a new phase.

The military hopes that victory in Operation Snakebite will help it to turn the corner in the bitter fight against the Taliban. The UN estimates that across the country, violent incidents are up 20-30% on 2006 and that by October, the conflict had claimed 4,000 to 5,000 lives, compared with 4,000 last year.

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By Jim Garamone

Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq, will be turned over to Iraqi provincial control in the next two weeks, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced yesterday during a visit to Iraq.

The city will be the largest population turned over to the Iraqis and will complete the turnover to the Iraqis of the southern provinces of the country.

Brown told British soldiers gathered at Basra International Airport that he had spoken with Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki by phone. "He asked me to pass on his thanks to you for what you have done to help rebuild the democracy of Iraq," Brown said.

"And it is because of all the operations that we have done over these last few months, indeed over these last few years, and particularly in recent times, that the security situation has not only improved, but he was able to tell me that he is now recommending that we move to provincial Iraqi control within two weeks so that the Iraqis can take far more responsibility for the security of the country."

British and Australian forces have trained 30,000 members of the Iraqi security forces in the region. "So, as a result of that, we can move to provincial Iraqi control over the next few weeks," he said.

"The reason why security is so much better here, the reason why things have improved, the reason why there is progress is because of you, because of what you have achieved, what you have done," he said. "And I want to thank all your leadership, and I want to thank every single one of you for what is being done."

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Iraq rejects permanent U.S. bases-adviser
11 Dec 2007 15:45:24 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Adds details)

By Peter Graff

BAGHDAD, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Iraq will never allow the United States to have permanent military bases on its soil, the government's national security adviser said, calling the issue a "red line" that cannot be crossed.

"We need the United States in our war against terrorism, we need them to guard our border sometimes, we need them for economic support and we need them for diplomatic and political support," Mowaffaq al-Rubaie said.

"But I say one thing, permanent forces or bases in Iraq for any foreign forces is a red line that cannot be accepted by any nationalist Iraqi," he told Dubai-based al Arabiya television.

Rubaie's comments, in an interview first broadcast late on Monday night, were the clearest sign yet that Iraq's leaders are looking ahead to the days when they have full responsibility for the country's defence.

The United States has around 160,000 troops in Iraq, officially under a United Nations mandate enacted after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraq formally asked the United Nations on Monday to renew that mandate for a year until the end of 2008. It made clear it would not extend the mandate beyond next year and the mandate could be revoked sooner at Iraq's request.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki signed a declaration of principles last month agreeing to friendly long-term ties. Arrangements for U.S. troops to stay beyond next year will be negotiated in early 2008.

Violence in Iraq has fallen in recent months after Bush sent an extra 30,000 troops. Washington intends to reduce its force by more than 20,000 by June 2008 and is expected to decide in March on troop levels beyond that date.

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3 car bombs kill 27 in southern Iraq

By Damien Cave
Published: December 12, 2007

BAGHDAD: At least 27 people died and about 100 were wounded Wednesday when three car bombs ripped through a southern Iraqi city where rival Shiite groups have been battling for control of oil and power.

Iraqi security officials said the blasts in Amara, the capital of Maysan Province, came in quick succession around 10 a.m., collapsing buildings, charring cars and filling hospital hallways with bloody victims.

It was the deadliest attack in Iraq in months and it highlighted both the volatility of the south and the potential risks of turning over security to Iraqi forces in areas where tensions still run high. British troops handed control of Maysan Province to the Iraqi authorities in April, as part of the planned drawdown of troops throughout the region.

On Wednesday, despite this latest attack, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced that later this week Iraqi forces would take responsibility for security in the last British-controlled part of Basra, further south.

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British PM sets out Afghan strategy, rules out Taliban talks
By :
Date : 13 December 2007 0222 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/317095/1/.html

LONDON : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed increased aid and military support for Afghanistan on Wednesday, while backing a role for ex-Taliban militia who want to play a part in reconstruction.

Brown pledged 450 million pounds (626 million euros, 920 million dollars) in support between 2009 and 2012 and, while ruling out direct talks with Taliban insurgents, supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai's reconciliation efforts.

"I make it clear that we will not enter into any negotiations with these people," he said, as he set out "the next stage" of strategy for Afghanistan in the lower chamber House of Commons.

"But President Karzai's message to former insurgents is that if they are prepared to renounce violence and abide by the constitution and respect basic human rights, then there is a place for them in the legitimate society and economy of Afghanistan."

He added: "We will support the government in their efforts to reconcile all parties to Afghanistan's democratic constitution."

Brown, who held talks with Karzai in Kabul and met British troops in southern Afghanistan on Monday, called on Afghans to take charge of security and build their own institutions as part of a drive to stability.

And he reiterated a call for other countries in NATO, the European Union and beyond to bolster their military support in Afghanistan, where Britain has 7,800 troops, the second-largest deployment after the United States.

A wider range of countries should play their part "as hard-headed realists, not idealists" to help the Afghans govern themselves, he said.

Following the ouster of Taliban militants from the southern stronghold of Musa Qala this week, Brown announced projects there including work programmes for 10,000 people and plans to refurbish four mosques, the main school and the district centre.

He hailed the capture of Musa Qala as "a huge success" and a "psychological blow against the Taliban".

The new money he announced will be used to fund in part a scheme to encourage private sector investment in public services from next year as well as a small loans scheme to encourage business start-ups, especially for women.

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By Pam O'Toole, BBC News

Many women say they are fed up with violence
Women across Afghanistan have been holding meetings to call for peace in their country.

Organisers say that at least 1,000 women turned out to hold prayer meetings in six main provinces and share their experiences.

The event - called the Women's National Peace Prayer - was held in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, and at other locations across the country.

Such events are highly unusual in war-torn Afghanistan.

The country remains deeply conservative and patriarchal, particularly in the south.

Afghan policewomen take part in a parade of uniforms at The Serena Hotel in Kabul
Under the Taleban regime women were banned from working

When several hundred women were allowed to pray for peace publicly in Kandahar earlier this year, it was said to be the first event of its kind.

Now, with violence spreading across the country, women from five other provinces have joined those in Kandahar to raise their voices for peace.

"This is very unusual," said Rangina Hamidi one of the organisers, who argues that the event shows the unity of Afghan women.

"I don't think this has happened in the history of Afghanistan - first of all the fact that six different provinces organised themselves together, for no purpose other than peace.

"They made the same loud cry - that women are sick and tired of killing and the deaths that come."
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Posted on Wed, Dec. 12, 2007
Iraqi mother's choice: Which child goes to school?
Hannah Allam | McClatchy Newspapers

last updated: December 11, 2007 05:47:56 PM

DAMASCUS, Syria — The Zuhairy family lives in a freezing one-room apartment in Jaramana, a growing Iraqi refugee enclave in Damascus. There's no bathroom door, no hot water, no furniture, no heat and no privacy. Seven people sleep and eat in the same room, where a battered television set provides the only entertainment.

The mother, who goes by the nickname Umm Sundus, has fought to keep her family fed since her husband, a goldsmith, was killed in Iraq last year and the rest of the family fled here. Rent is $150 a month, but the family's main income is $100 a month, wired from a relative in Australia, and Umm Sundus is always behind on bills. There's no way of educating so many children: Adam, 4; Bahram, 10; Ram, 14; Ranya, 17; Samir, 20; and Suzanne, 22.

In Syria, residency permits are issued to Iraqis who enroll at least one of their children in school. Umm Sundus couldn't afford to send them all, so she faced a heartbreaking choice: Which child would be the one to go?

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Report: A record 109 soldier suicides this year

By Gregg Zoroya - USA Today
Posted : Thursday Dec 13, 2007 7:51:46 EST

A record number of soldiers — 109 — have killed themselves this year, according to Army statistics showing confirmed or suspected suicides.

The deaths occur as soldiers serve longer combat deployments and the Army is spending $100 million on support programs.

“Soldiers, families and equipment are stretched and stressed,” Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, told Congress last month.

The Army provided suicide statistics to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. Her staff shared them with USA Today.

Those numbers show 77 confirmed suicides Army-wide this year through Nov. 27 and 32 other deaths pending final determination as suicides.

The Army on Wednesday updated those statistics, confirming 85 suicides, including 27 in Iraq and four in Afghanistan.

The highest number of Army suicides recorded since 1990 was 102 in 1992 — a period when the service was 20 percent larger than today.

A total of 109 suicides this year would equal a rate of 18.4 per 100,000, the highest since the Army started counting in 1980. The civilian suicide rate was 11 per 100,000 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The military hasn’t erased the stigma surrounding mental health issues, so troubled soldiers often do not seek help, Murray said.

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As one Iraqi city reels, others are hit

The death toll is lowered to 28 in Amarah. Blasts in Baghdad and the north claim more lives today.

By Alexandra Zavis, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
10:07 AM PST, December 13, 2007

BAGHDAD -- The wails of mourners reverberated today across the southern Shiite Muslim city of Amarah, still reeling from three car bombs that ripped through its main market the previous day.

The local health department lowered the death toll from 41 to 28, citing confusion in the immediate aftermath of the first major attack to hit the southern city during the U.S.-led Iraq war. At the same time, the estimate of the number of injured grew to at least 180.

Wednesday's blasts were a sharp reminder that insurgents remain a potent force in Iraq, despite the 60% decline in attacks reported since U.S. forces completed a buildup of 28,500 additional troops in June.

North of Baghdad, four people were killed and 12 wounded today in another coordinated bombing in the Kurdish-dominated town of Khanaqin. Police said the initial explosion was minor and caused no casualties. But as onlookers gathered round, a second blast ripped through the crowd.

The police command in Diyala, the province that includes Khanaqin, also reported the discovery late Wednesday of 16 bodies in a mass grave near Muqdadiya. Twelve of the bodies were beheaded and four had bullet holes to the head, said Maj. Raad Hadithy, adding that the victims appeared to have been killed recently.

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded today about 200 yards from the Italian Embassy, killing one Iraqi and injuring six others, including three policemen, authorities said. It was not immediately clear whether the embassy was the target.

Early this morning, three bombs exploded near liquor stores in central Baghdad, causing damage but no casualties. A fourth device was defused by police.

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WASHINGTON — Deeply concerned about the prospect of failure in Afghanistan, the Bush administration and NATO have begun three top-to-bottom reviews of the entire mission, from security and counterterrorism to political consolidation and economic development, according to American and alliance officials.

The reviews are an acknowledgment of the need for greater coordination in fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, halting the rising opium production and trafficking that finances the insurgency and helping the Kabul government extend its legitimacy and control.

Taken together, these efforts reflect a growing apprehension that one of the administration’s most important legacies — the routing of Taliban and Qaeda forces in Afghanistan after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — may slip away, according to senior administration officials.

Unlike the administration’s sweeping review of Iraq policy a year ago, which was announced with great fanfare and ultimately resulted in a large increase in troops, the American reviews of the Afghan strategy have not been announced and are not expected to result in a similar infusion of combat forces, mostly because there are no American troops readily available.

The administration is now committed to finding an international coordinator, described as a “super envoy,” to synchronize the full range of efforts in Afghanistan, and to continue pressing for more NATO troops to fight an insurgency that made this the most violent year since the Taliban and Al Qaeda were routed in December 2001.

“We are looking for ways to gain greater strategic coherence,” said a senior administration official involved in the review process. More

TimesOnline(UK) - After four years, eight months and twenty-seven days, the Iraqis in the south have been “liberated” for a second time – handed the opportunity by the former British occupiers to take control of their own security in the last and most important province.

The first liberation, which began on March 20, 2003, when British troops launched Operation Telic and defeated the forces of Saddam Hussein in the south, promised so much, but due to lack of foresight and unrealistic expectations, the pledges never bore fruit.

The biggest failure in the early phases of the campaign was to fulfil the promise to the Iraqi people that their lives would begin to improve. Years went by and electricity supplies were still intermittent, oil revenues that should have transformed the economy in the south were frittered away by corrupt officials engaged in wholesale smuggling, and violence erupted on the streets as rival Shia militia fought a power battle in which innocent civilians, and British troops, were the victims.

Despite Herculean efforts by the British military, backed up by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, it was a sorry tale of disarray, deteriorating security and distrust among the Iraqi provincial politicians.

Worst of all, the British honeymoon period, during which the troops were regarded as genuine liberators from the harsh regime of Saddam, turned sour within a comparatively short time. After a few months of patrolling the streets in their regimental berets, chatting to the locals, they became the targets of a hate campaign. Soldiers, in helmets and body armour, had to batten down in their armoured vehicles and were forced to regard the people they had liberated as the potential enemy. more at link

_{1."George Washington did not cross the Delaware for Capitalism," -Shmuley Boteach.
2.The Dems haven't punished the GOP enough, so you're going to reward the Republicans?}

Hardly a week passes without Delhi taking stock of China's creeping "encirclement" of India. The Indian media reported on Thursday that Delhi denied permission for China's cargo carrier Great Wall Airlines to land in Mumbai or Chennai since the two Indian cities have "key nuclear facilities" which Chinese aeroplanes might reconnoiter.

That becomes more grist to the mill, though no one knows what it could be that the two aging Indian cities would hide that Google Earth hasn't yet spotted. Beijing predictably balked. Some Indian strategic thinkers go so far as to call it China's "containment" of India - as if the Indian rogue elephant has gone berserk in the Asian courtyard and needs to be shackled.

Actually, the latest irritant shouldn't have been aerial reconnoitering, but China's upset win - trumping formidable rivals like the US, Canada and Russia - in the massive Afghan tender for copper mines. But the strategic community in Delhi doesn't know, as the Indian media kept it in the dark.

The news from the Hindu Kush would have made Indian thinkers pull their hair in despair. China has never been a player in Afghanistan in modern history. Indeed, it is a needless provocation on the part of the Chinese to be so utterly fearless of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. While India prides itself as a major donor for Afghan reconstruction - building roads, bridges, hospitals, a Parliament building and even, intriguingly, public toilets - China marches ahead and wins the tender for the Aynak cooper deposit in Afghanistan's Logar province bordering Kabul, which is billed as one of the world's largest copper mines.

The project involves US$4 billion in investment by China Metallurgical Group, which will be by far the biggest foreign investment in Afghanistan and is estimated to provide employment for 10,000 people. Significantly, the project includes the development of a railway system linking Afghanistan to China. (Nepal also has sought the extension of China's railway system from Lhasa to Kathmandu.)

Beijing-Tehran oil deal
These audacious Chinese are pole-vaulting across the impenetrable Himalayan ranges with merry abandon in their zest to globalize and integrate.

But the mother of all Chinese encirclement of India still remains largely unnoticed in Delhi - the Beijing-Tehran axis. There is wide recognition that if the United States hasn't been able to push through another tougher United Nations Security Council resolution against Iran over its nuclear program, that has been largely because of China's reluctance to concur.

But what happened last Sunday still came as a bolt from the blue. China Petroleum Corporation, better known as the Sinopec Group, signed a contract with the Iranian Oil Ministry for the development of the Yadavaran oil and gas fields in southwestern Iran.

The current estimation is that the project cost will be $2 billion. Under the contract, China will make the entire investment necessary to develop the fields. The first phase is to produce 85,000 barrels of oil per day and the second phase will add another 100,000 barrels. According to Iranian estimates, Yadavaran has in place oil reserves of 18.3 billion barrels and gas reserves amounting to 12.5 trillion cubic feet.

Iran is already China's third-largest supplier of crude oil, but the Iranians are simply delighted. Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari was quick to point out that the deal with China flies in the face of Washington's attempts to block foreign investments in Iran. Sinopec merely said, "We are very happy to sign this contract ... China is willing to buy LNG [liquefied natural gas] from Iran and we hope to talk about an LNG project later."

The Sino-Iranian deal has been closed within a week of the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's nuclear program, which has conclusively debunked any conspiracies hatched by the neo-conservative coterie within the George W Bush administration for launching a military strike against Iran. Beijing has indeed moved fast.

But what stands out is that Beijing anticipated a long time ago the inevitability of precisely such a u-turn in US policy towards Iran. More important, it began plotting how it could take optimal advantage when the Iran question inexorably moved toward its denouement. Beijing estimated that time was of the essence. Beijing could visualize a day when Tehran would have competing customers from the Western world seeking access to its oil and gas.
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As Iraq Calms, Focus Turns to Afghanistan

By Michael Abramowitz and Peter Baker, WaPo, December 17

With violence on the decline in Iraq but on the upswing in Afghanistan, President Bush is facing new pressure from the U.S. military to accelerate a troop drawdown in Iraq and bulk up force levels in Afghanistan, according to senior U.S. officials.

Administration officials said the White House could start to debate the future of the American military commitment in both Iraq and Afghanistan as early as next month. Some Pentagon officials are urging a further drawdown of forces in Iraq beyond that envisioned by the White House, which is set to reduce the number of combat brigades from 20 to 15 by the end of next summer. At the same time, commanders in Afghanistan are looking for several additional battalions, helicopters and other resources to confront a resurgent Taliban movement.

Bush's decisions on Iraq and Afghanistan could heavily influence his ability to pass on to his successor stable situations in both countries, an objective his advisers describe as one of the president's paramount goals for his final year in office. They say Bush will listen closely to his military commanders on the ground before making any decisions on troops but is unlikely to do anything he believes could jeopardize recent, hard-won security improvements in Iraq.

Administration officials say the White House has become more concerned in recent months about the situation in Afghanistan, where grinding poverty, rampant corruption, poor infrastructure and the growing challenge from the Taliban are hindering U.S. stabilization efforts. Senior administration officials now believe Afghanistan may pose a greater longer-term challenge than Iraq.

"There's a real dilemma there for the U.S.," said retired Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, the former commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. "In some ways, the paradox is you could make an argument that the insurgency is diminishing in Iraq and increasing in Afghanistan."

Administration officials said the White House is considering a range of steps to stem the erosion, including the appointment of a leading international political figure to try to better coordinate efforts in Afghanistan. European newspapers have focused on Paddy Ashdown, a British politician and envoy, but a former senior military officer said his appointment would be considered controversial and seems unlikely.

Bush also plans to step up his personal diplomacy with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and will soon start regular videoconferences with him aimed at more closely monitoring and influencing the situation there, officials said. Bush has long held such videoconferences with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Afghanistan is so poor and so starved for modern infrastructure, one senior administration official said, that it could well be "a longer, if not larger, challenge than Iraq." The senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the situation in Afghanistan is "not getting better. It's not getting worse. In a war footing, that's not good enough."
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