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| Iraq |
| Weekly Report |
| 2007-04-20 |
| Highlights 1. Defeat the Terrorists and Neutralize the Insurgents A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi Council of Representatives inside Baghdad’s Green Zone April 12, killing Mohammed Awadh, a member of the National Dialogue Front. In an Internet statement posted April 13, Al-Qaidain Iraq (AQI) “the Islamic State of Iraq” claimed responsibility for the attack. Iraqi officials said the bomber was believed to have been a bodyguard for a Sunni lawmaker. 2. Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance British forces handed over security of the southern Iraq province of MaysanApril 18. With the handover of Maysan, the third of the four provinces that Britain took charge of after the 2003 invasion, three of the four provinces in the British area are now under Provincial Iraqi control. 3. Help Iraqis to Forge a National Compact for Democratic Government After the April 12 bombing of the CoR cafeteria, Iraq’s parliament met in an extraordinary session April 13, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism. Parliamentarians and other top Iraqi officials attended. 4. Help Iraq Build Government Capacity and Provide Essential Services The U.S. Army-funded construction of the ED-603 Samarra power distribution lay-down yard in Salah al-Din province has been completed, providing convenient, safe, storage and control of electrical equipment that will be used on projects in the city of Samarra. 5. Help Iraq Strengthen Its Economy The Department of Defense (DoD) received authorization to enter into “607 agreements”with the Government of Iraq (GOI). DoD is authorized to furnishcommodities and services to be reimbursed with Iraqi government funds for the benefit of GOI ministries, as provided by the authority of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act,Section 607. 6. Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law In the past month, U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 1,000 suspects as a result of Operation Fardh al-Qanun, bringing the number of detainees jailed in U.S.-run facilities to 18,000. Of the estimated 2,000 formerly U.S.-held Iraqi detainees turned over to the Iraqi Central Criminal Court, 1,747 have been convicted, 80% of whom received sentences ranging from upwards of five years to the death penalty. 7. International Support for Iraq Media reports said that Saudi Arabia has agreed to forgive 80% of the more than $15 billion that Iraq owes the kingdom. Iraqi Foreign Minister Bayan Jabr, who was in Washington for World Bank meetings, said in an interview that Russia was holding out on debt forgiveness until talks begin on concessions that Russian oil and gas companies had under Saddam Hussein. 8.Strengthen Public Understanding of Coalition Efforts and Public Isolation of the Insurgents In a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s office, the Prime Minister welcomed the decision of Muqtada al-Sadr to have ministers from his party resign from the government, saying it freed up seats at the cabinet table for technocratic ministers. More details at link, and check out the oil production chart on slide 18! |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #1 "inside BaghdadÂ’s Green Zone April 12, killing Mohammed Awadh". I know that technically this was really not in the Green zone. But could'nt we have used it to show what Al Qeda is like. They break the security of the Green Zone and kill Muslim's and not Americans. They dont' care about Irag, nor it's people. |
| Posted by: plainslow 2007-04-20 11:10 |