Outside View: What to do about Iraq

.......Those committing terrorism are Arab Sunni Muslims who want to regain their community's control over the country either by returning a Saddam-like regime or creating an Islamist-style one. The Kurds, Turcoman, and Shiite Muslim Arabs who comprise more than 80 percent of Iraqis are not going to join them.

Iran, Iraq, Turkey et al.

By Tulin Daloglu
November 29, 2005

Exit strategy

..... Kirkuk remains a powder keg convulsed by disputes between Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds.

Reconcile this

......The Turkomans, for their part, were pleased with the statement by Iraqi Turkoman Front chief, Saadeddin Arkig, to the effect that everyone should work for a united Iraq. Iraq needs help and guidance. Dozens are being killed every day, either by bombers or US "friendly" fire. The main Iraqi reconciliation conference -- the preparations for which was held in Cairo this week -- is expected to take place in Baghdad by the end of February 2006. The question occupying most Iraqis now is if this week's Cairo preparatory meeting could help in curbing the ongoing blood bath in their country.

Head of the Iraqi Turkmani Front: We did not Request Turkish Intervention for Protecting us

Al Zaman
28/11/2005
Mohsen Ameen, head of the Iraqi Turkmani front said that Iraqi Turkmen did not request any interference on behalf of Turkey for protecting them. He added, "We did not demand any state to interfere in Iraqi affairs as we are Iraqi, first of all. All we need is Iraqi army on Iraqi lands.

"I response to a question on whether the Turkmen are demanding for activating Turkey's role in Iraq in the light of the Iranian interference in this country, Ameen said, ""We are demanding the neighboring countries to assist Iraq in its ordeal. This is what the Arab League is doing."

Turkmen leader Ergec makes first official visit to Turkey

Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF) Chairman Sadettin Ergec yesterday made his first foreign visit to Turkey at his new post to have several meetings. The visit drew much attention as it's taking place ahead of the Iraqi elections on Dec. 15, and following the meeting in Erbil between Iraqi Kurdistan region President Massoud Barzani and Emre Taner, the undersecretary of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), before the Kurdish leader left for the U.S. Ergec was welcomed at Esenboga Airport in Ankara by representatives from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the ITF, and the Turkmeneli Association for Cooperation and Culture. Delivering a speech at the welcoming ceremony, Ergec stated that the aim of his visit is to share with Turkish officials the latest developments in Iraq in accordance with the results of the Iraqi Reconciliation Conference that was held in Cairo, Egypt earlier this week.

Ankara Urges Turkmen Groups to Unite

By Suleyman Kurt

Published: Saturday, November 26, 2005
Before the Iraqi elections on December 15, Ankara called Turkmen groups in this country to "unite and go to the elections together" for a more powerful representation.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Abdulah Gul communicated this call to Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) Chairman Sadettin Ergec, who makes official visits to Ankara. Ergec attended a meeting for reconciliation among ethnic and sectarian groups in Egypt last week and now is having contacts in Ankara before returning to Iraq.
Ergec reportedly informed Ankara about the Turkmen stance before the critical election and Gul pointed out Turkmen’s must be powerful in the elections to correct the situation both Ankara and the Turkmen’s are uneasy of.
Gul asserted Turkey's support continues. "If the Turkmen are at peace in Iraq it means we are at peace, too. Go to the elections under one umbrella. Act in the consciousness of Iraqiness, contribute in the country's unity and integrity," he said to ITC chairman. Ergec in return communicated they will form an alliance only in Musul (Mosul) and they will struggle "under their own flag" in other provinces. Both parties shared also their worries about Kerkuk (Kirkuk) in the talk.

Most Iraqis Reject Annexing Kirkuk to Kurdistan

In a survey conducted by Al Madina Independent Center for Surveys in Iraq, two thirds of Iraqi opposed annexing the northern province of Kirkuk, which is rich in oil, to Kurdistan region. They stressed the necessity of the participation of all constituents of the people in the coming government. They expected that this government would succeed in achieving security.

Tentative deal struck at Cairo talks

Turkoman politician Abbas al-Bayyati said of the draft "It is included in the text that an immediate withdrawal is not required right now but that it should be done in a gradual way."

Iraq leaders demand pullout timetable

Iraqi leaders have put persistent differences to one side and agreed on their first joint statement, calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country.

Kurds accused of rigging Kirkuk vote

Turkmen and Arab political parties in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk have accused Kurds of fixing the result of provincial elections held on the 30 January.

Irresponsible on Iraq

Sunday, November 20, 2005; Page B06
A SERIOUS congressional debate about Iraq is essential at a time when public support for the mission is falling and the danger of failure seems great. Aggressive challenges to the Bush administration's military and political strategy -- even calls for an immediate withdrawal of troops, such as that made by

Hawkish Democrat Joins Call For Pullout

GOP Assails Murtha's Demand to Leave Iraq
By Charles BabingtonWashington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 18, 2005; Page A01

The top House Democrat on military spending matters stunned colleagues yesterday by calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, while many congressional Democrats reacted defiantly to President Bush's latest attack on his critics.

THE POLITICAL SPEECH OF THE IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT

The Iraqi Turkmen Front `ITF` works to achieve the objectives ineluded in its political program. The ITF has set these objectives on its patriotie approach in defending IRAQ and its natioal unity, nation and land.

Iraqi Elections – Round Two

Voting Overseas

The Elections Board estimates that there are1.2 million expatriate Iraqis who are eligible to vote. Facilities will be available in 20 countries for those expatriates desirous of voting. These countries are likely to be: Australia, Canada, Germany, Iran, Jordan, The Netherlands, Syria, Turkey, the U.A.E., the U.S., Sweden, the U.K., Kuwait, Yemen, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Libya, Egypt, and Lebanon. Of these 20 countries, Libya, in which 45,000 expatriate Iraqis reside, may not authorize elections on its soil.
In the previous elections, a mere 265,000 expatriates voted, partly because of the requirement that the expatriate must first register and then vote a week later. For those who had to travel, this requirement was quite restrictive. In the coming elections, one visit to the ballot box will suffice. AL SABAH (IRAQ)

A 300-year-old Turkoman mosque

Anita Powell / S&S

A 300-year-old Turkoman mosque on Forward Operating Base Warrior is off limits to U.S. troops, but a chplain is trying to arrange for a local imam to lead prayers there for 16 Muslim soldiers in the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division.

Bullets and ballots

Al-Ahram Weekly - Cairo,Egypt
....The Iraqi Turkoman Front has promised its supporters that Kirkuk would remain a Turkoman city. The Turkoman Front is running in Kirkuk on its own but has entered into alliance with the IRF in Mosul. Several Turkoman candidates are contesting the elections as part of non- Turkoman lists. ..(continiue)

Security Council extends mandate of Iraq force

BEIJING, Nov. 10 -- The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the nearly 180-thousand-strong multi-national force in Iraq for a year.
The United States called the move a significant signal of international commitment to Iraq's political transition.
Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie, representative of Iraq to the United Nations said he was happy the Security Council had accepted the request.
"I wish first to express the appreciation of my delegation, for the positive response of the Security Council to the request by the Prime Minister of Iraq to extend the mandate of the Multinational force and the DFI and the IAMB," he said.
The resolution, co-sponsored by the U.S., Britain, Denmark, Japan and Romania was adopted in response to a request from Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
The current mandate authorizing the presence of the force expires December 31st, following parliamentary elections in Iraq on December 15, the end point of the political process as defined by the Security Council.
The resolution adopted extends the force's mandate until the end of 2006, with a review after eight months.
(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)

Kurdization of the city of Kirkuk

The Washington Post profiles the Kurdization of the city of Kirkuk and the villages around it, and tens or hundreds of thousands of Kurds whom Saddam had earlier expelled are brought back and settled, often on private property. Saddam brought Arabs into the city and the area part of an effort to "Arabize" the northern oil-producing region, which he renamed the "nationalized" province (Ta'mim) in commemoration of the nationalization of Iraq's petroleum industry. Kirkuk is a traditionally Turkmen city, but Kurds became a major force there with the rise of the oil industry and labor migration. Because control of Kirkuk province would give the Kurds an enormous petroleum revenue, enabling their quest for an autonomous state, the Turkish government is very worried about all this. Any violence that targeted Kirkuk's Turkmen would produce a strong reaction in Ankara and perhaps drawn Turkey into the conflict.First the government of Italian Prime Minister and wealthy sleazeball Silvio Berlusconi's got involved in forging the Niger uranium documents that underpinned Bush's rationale for war. Then Berlusconi strongly backed Bush, and sent Italian troops to Nasiriyah (where o26 of them have been killed). Now, in an obvious sign that the Bush administration is a sinking ship, Berlusconi is abandoning it. He maintains that he tried to talk Bush out of going to war in Iraq before the fact. This allegation looks to some observers like a bare-faced attempt to run away from Bush in Italian domestic politics, where Berlusconi will face an election soon.Al-Hayat: The United Iraqi Alliance, the mainly religious Shiite coalition, will be made up of 17 parties. They include the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Sadr Movement, the Dawa Party, the Islamic Dawa Part (Iraq Organization), the Virtue Party, The Centrist Grouping, the Badr Organization, the Justice Grouping, Hizbullah in Iraq [no, not that Hezbollah], the Prince of Martyrs Movement, the Center Grouping, the Faithfulness Movement of the Turkmen, and the Turkmen, etc.

Turkmen Police Officer Shot Dead in Kerkuk

a police lieutenant colonel in the northern city of Kerkük was shot dead by insurgents outside his home late Wednesday.Police identified the victim as Ardjman Abdullah, who last month had escaped an assassination attempt with slight injuries. Abdullah's brother, who worked for the Iraqi army, was murdered last month. Abdullah was a member of a Turkoman Party and had maintained strong contacts with all the various ethnic groups in Kirkuk.