• Since January, attacks and murders against civilians and against Iraqi and Coalition security forces in Ramadi has decreased significantly, from a high of 108 in the week beginning February 23 to just seven in the week ending May 11.
If the MSM would publicize this, maybe the rest of the country would join in. Perhaps the Iraqi press IS reporting on this?
• Efforts and cooperation from local shaykhs and tribal leaders has dramatically increased Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) recruiting in Anbar, illustrated by an increase in 7,100 trained policemen in the province since December.
• Additionally, Iraqi citizens are increasingly providing information concerning insurgent operations to ISF.
Iraqi Defense Ministry to Buy $1.5 Billion in Weapons:
• The Iraqi Defense Minister announced May 21 that the Iraqi military will buy more than $1.5 billion in weapons, including helicopters and U.S. M-16 rifles.
• The purchases will be made possible by a 26% increase in the country’s defense budget, to $4.1 billion for the current fiscal year.
• To increase the country’s naval and air force capabilities, Iraq will purchase 29 Soviet-designed M-17 helicopters, six reconnaissance planes, 10 patrol boats from Italy, and 26 from the U.S.
IA Begins Training with U.S. Rifles:
• The Iraqi Army (IA) recently started what is expected to be a year-long process of training and equipping their entire force with U.S.-made M-16 rifles and M4 carbines. As the army transitions from the AK-47 to the new U.S. weapons, Iraqi soldiers attend a five-day training course where they are issued the weapons, undergo an identification verification and accountability process, and eventually zero and qualify with their new weapons.
Iraqi Leaders in the U.S for Medical Treatment:
• Iraqi President Jalal Talabani left Iraq May 20 “for a nearly three-week trip to the United States that was expected to include a medical checkup.”A senior Kurdish politician said May 19 that Talabani was to visit the Mayo Clinic for a check-up.
• Meanwhile, Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader ‘Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim arrived in the U.S. May 17 for medical tests, and departed two days later for treatment in Tehran
UN Special Representative Urges Consensus:
• U.N. envoy to Iraq Ashraf Qazi urged the Iraqi Constitutional Review Committee, which was established by the Iraqi Parliament in September 2006to determine whether the constitution should be amended, to build consensus among political blocs. Qazi added that “for a successful constitutional review process all groups will have to come to the table to make compromises and the process will need to be kept alive until it reaches a conclusion.”
Central BankÂ’s US Dollar (USD) Currency Auction:
• Since September, the Central Bank has slowly appreciated the dinar, as suggested by the IMF, in an effort to rein in galloping inflation. There are early signs that this effort may have begun to bear fruit, as year-to-date inflation is 2.8%, which projects a pace well below the IMF annual target of 30%.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Urges Incoming British Prime Minister to Stand Firm:
• Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari urged incoming British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to stand firm against domestic political pressures and maintain troop numbers in Iraq despite ongoing militia and insurgent violence. While citing progress being made in Iraq since the latest security crackdown began in mid-February, he stressed it was important there were no signs of weakness with Coalition forces.
HE gets it.
UNICEF To Launch Humanitarian Operation in Iraq:
• UNICEF has announced that they intend to launch one of the biggest humanitarian operations in Iraq in the last two years with nearly 8,000 vaccinators operating across the country to prevent a possible outbreak of measles amongst Iraq’s children. UNICEF also requested $42 million to provide water and sanitation for children inside Iraq, as well as education services for refugee children in Jordan and Syria.
Iraqi Vice President on Iran-U.S. Talks:
• Iraqi Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi spoke out against the U.S.-Iran talks on the situation in Iraq scheduled for May 28, saying the dialogue was “damaging to Iraq's sovereignty” and that he would have preferred that the subject of Iraq’s stability to be “tackled by Iraqis themselves.” It is reported that Iran’s outgoing envoy to the United Nations, Javad Zarif, is to represent Tehran in talks next week with Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Baghdad.
OIC Ministers Urge Withdrawal of Foreign Forces from Iraq:
But supports the Administration position!
• Foreign ministers from Muslim nations called on international forces to pull out of Iraq as soon as possible. The joint declaration came at the end of a three-day meeting in Islamabad of foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). “We emphasize...accelerating the capacity of the Iraqi security forces and securing the earliest possible withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq,” it said. The declaration also warned that Iraq should not be split along Sunni-Shiite lines.
Two Iraqi Journalists Killed:
Maybe they are telling the truth, over there, or too close to it.
• ABC News reported May 18 that two Iraqi journalists working for the television network were killed the previous day as they drove home from work. Cameraman Alaa Uldeen Aziz and soundman Saif Laith Yusuf were attacked by unknown assailants as they returned from the network’s Baghdad bureau.