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  • #16
    What a pity. Knowing more from a census may hurt relations.

    Ethnic tension stalls first Iraq census in 22 years
    16 Aug BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has abandoned plans to hold its first census in two decades this year because of fears the survey could inflame tensions in northern areas disputed by Arabs and Kurds, officials said on Sunday.

    The census planned for October was expected to map Iraq's ethnic make-up after six years of war triggered by the 2003 U.S. invasion. The survey was seen as likely to either encourage reconciliation or fan the feuds threatening Iraq's stability.

    It was to be the first census to include Kurdish areas in Iraq's north since 1987 and would have involved a quarter of a million teachers fanning out across the country to seek data on Iraq's diverse population.

    Planning Minister Ali Baban said his ministry was ready from a "technical standpoint" to conduct the census.

    "But after hearing the fears, concerns and reservations of political groups in Kirkuk and Nineveh, we decided to slow down the process and the census has been postponed indefinitely," he told reporters in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Najaf.

    Mehdi al-Alak, who heads Iraq's Central Organization for Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT), said the agency had proposed delaying the census until either April or October 2010. The cabinet would decide which date was best, he said.

    Ethnic Kurds claim the northern city of Kirkuk and the vast oil fields it sits over as their ancestral capital and want it incorporated into their semi-autonomous northern enclave, a move fiercely opposed by the city's Turkmen and Arabs. ...
    Last edited by Merlin; 17 Aug 09,, 14:34.

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    • #17
      The US have to step in with troops at the north. Apparently they cannot leave on schedule yet,

      US may work with Arab, Kurd forces in north Iraq: Odierno
      45 min ago [AFP] BAGHDAD — The United States is discussing arrangements that could see its troops work alongside Iraqi and Kurdish forces in disputed areas of northern Iraq, the senior American commander said on Monday.

      General Ray Odierno said he was discussing an accord with ministers from the central government and the autonomous Kurdish region that could require that an exception be made to last year's US-Iraq landmark security deal. ....

      He said the measures would "over time, revert to just KRG-IA (Iraqi Army) forces that work for the government of Iraq" in the disputed zones along the Kurdish region's border with the rest of the country, primarily in Nineveh, Kirkuk and Diyala provinces.

      Odierno said he had discussed the proposals with both Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani, and that they had asked him to "to take a look at this" issue. ...
      Because the potential arrangements, which Odierno stressed were still in the early stages of discussion, would involve American troops being stationed in villages, an exception to the US-Iraq security accord may be necessary.

      The deal required US forces to pull out of Iraqi cities at the end of June, and leave the country entirely by the end of 2011. ....

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      • #18
        Some more details of the plan to send back more US troops to N Iraq.

        US troops to return to Iraq despite Barack Obama’s withdrawal plan
        18 Aug [Times] The US military plans to send thousands of American soldiers back to the oil-rich north of Iraq to prevent a civil war between Arabs and Kurds.

        The emergency move, which partially reverses a recent drawing- down, is the first major sign that President Obama’s withdrawal plan may not work. He wants all US combat troops out of Iraq within 12 months.

        Kurdish and Arab leaders have agreed in principle to allowing US soldiers into unsettled areas around Mosul and Kirkuk, according to General Ray Odierno, the top US military commander in Iraq. The troops will form joint units with Iraqi counterparts to subdue what has become the most volatile part of the country.

        Many leaders in the region disagree about where the border should run between their territories and how oil revenues should be shared. “We have al-Qaeda exploiting this fissure that you’re seeing between the Arabs and the Kurds, and what we’re trying to do is close that fissure, that seam,” General Odierno said. ....

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        • #19
          This is an encouraging development. Iraq shares a long border with Syria. Many militants had made use of this to cross over into Iraq.

          Syria, Iraq to set up strategic cooperation council
          DAMASCUS, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Syria and Iraq Tuesday decided to establish a high-level strategic cooperation council to boost all-around cooperation, said a joint statement after the meeting between the two prime ministers.

          Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri met with his visiting Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki Tuesday to discuss ways to improve bilateral ties. ....

          The council will be chaired by the two prime ministers and meet twice each year, alternately between the two countries. Foreign ministers, as well as ministers of defense, interior, petroleum, electricity, industry, finance, economy and transport of both countries are expected to be members of the council.

          The statement also said Syria and Iraq will expand energy cooperation with ensuring transport of Iraqi oil and natural gas to the international markets through Syria. ....
          Last edited by Merlin; 19 Aug 09,, 04:11.

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          • #20
            While Iraq is still unhappy with Syria not cooperating well to reduce the insurgents coming through Syria, they seem to be happier with Turkey their northern neighbor.

            Iraq Reaches Water, Energy and Trade Agreements With Turkey
            19 Sept [VOA] Iraq and Turkey have reached water, energy and trade agreements at the inaugural meeting of a new strategic cooperation council. Senior ministers from both countries have been meeting in Istanbul for two days.

            Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the council had created a new model of cooperation for the two countries.

            Analysts say Turkey's commitment to supply more water to Iraq was one of most important agreements at the two day session.

            A severe drought in Iraq has strained bilateral relations, with Baghdad repeatedly calling on Ankara to release more water from its rivers which Iraq depends upon.

            Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the issue has now been resolved. ....

            But Iraq's Water Resources Minister Latif Rashid, while welcoming the agreement by Turkey to increase the flow from the Euphrates River, indicated work still needed be done on a long term arrangement on water sharing. ....

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            • #21
              Some encouraging news about the Iraq security forces.

              Iraqi forces foil suicide bomber's prison break bid
              4 Oct HILLA, Iraq (AFP) -– A would-be Al-Qaeda suicide car bomber who planned to detonate his payload to help comrades escape from an Iraqi prison was foiled after a tip-off about the attack, security forces said on Friday.

              The man confessed to planning to blow himself up outside a prison in Hilla, the capital of Babil province, when he was apprehended at his house 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of the city, an Iraqi army official told AFP.

              “Our forces arrested a suicide bomber from Al-Qaeda, while he was preparing a car bomb for an operation near the main prison in the centre of Hilla,” he said.

              Violence in Babil, an ethnically mixed province south of Baghdad, is rare compared to cities such as Mosul and Baghdad.

              The prison has about 300 inmates, including members of Al-Qaeda, and the army raided the house on Thursday night after a tip-off. ....

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              • #22
                Westernn investor coming in for housing development. This is in the Kurdish region.

                New Zealand Firm Wants to Build Houses in Iraq
                5 Oct [NYTimes] DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- A company from New Zealand says it wants to spend $100 million to build a housing development in Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

                Atconz Real Estate Development said Monday it plans to build the residential project just to the north of the regional capital Irbil.

                Plans for the ''New Azadi'' project call for the creation of 1,565 houses ranging from modest, low-income homes to luxury villas. The project, announced at Dubai's Cityscape property expo, also envisions schools, a hotel, a supermarket and other facilities.

                It says it has the backing of Kurdish authorities, who oversee a semiautonomous region in the north ....

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