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Iraq/Afghan War News: Afghan balance

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by Daniel Graeber
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 19, 2009
Neither a massive Afghan operation nor smaller, targeted attacks against al-Qaida would provide a formula for security, an analyst said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and his top strategists are mulling over the final details of a new strategy for Afghanistan. One option includes a major deployment of U.S. troops while another envisions a focused counterinsurgency operation against al-Qaida, David Ignatius writes in The Washington Post.

Ignatius points to Australian counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen, who helped formulate the so-called surge strategy in Iraq. Kilcullen takes issue, Ignatius said, with the idea of an Iraq-style surge for Afghanistan.

"It would be the height of folly to commit to a large-scale escalation now," Kilcullen told Ignatius, noting the fragile regional political environment.

Meanwhile, Ignatius wrote that small-scale operations stoke violent responses from guerrilla forces who see American troops as fighting for the eradication of Islamic principles, not national stability.

Kilcullen pointed to a 2004 message from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who said limited, but sustained, efforts by his fighters constituted an effective "policy of bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."

Ignatius and Kilcullen argue that a viable strategy for Afghanistan lies somewhere along the spectrum of courting moderates and the aggressive pursuit of adversaries in the region.

"For Obama, that means a measured commitment, somewhere between a major escalation and a minimal force," Ignatius wrote.

Iran-U.S. talks not on Afghan agenda
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has no official plans to hold talks with Iranian officials at a March 31 global summit on Afghanistan, officials said.

"I will not rule out the fact that there could be some kind of a, you know, greeting of some type, but there's no plan, as far as I know, for there to be a meeting between the two delegations," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.

Clinton raised the possibility of engaging Iran during a visit to NATO headquarters, noting Iran had an interest in Afghan stability.

Tehran has maintained a relatively positive role in Afghanistan, notably in countering the Taliban and working to curb the opium trade.

Wood told reporters at a news conference, however, that the Afghan summit was on improving the situation in that country, not on U.S.-Iranian relations.

The summit is scheduled for March 31 in The Hague, Netherlands, with the United Nations serving as the host. Wood noted it was the United Nations that was responsible for extending invitations to the summit, not the United States.

Corruption plagues Baghdad government
Corruption in the financial and administrative sectors of the Iraqi government is approaching pandemic levels, national and international reports said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had pledged to punish state employees believed to be corrupt, campaigning on the issue for the January provincial elections.

"We are committed to clamping down on financial and administrative corruption," he said.

The Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity said corruption has cost the country millions of dollars, and the watchdog group Transparency International put Iraq among the most corrupt nations in the world.

"Widespread financial and administrative corruption in a number of ministries feeds on political corruption, which is ... cautiously covered up by political organs," commission chairman Sabah al-Sa'idi told the Iraqi political Web site Niqash.org.

Observers said the tense and highly competitive political conflicts in Iraq have created an environment where corruption can thrive.

"This conflict created an appropriate climate for the spread of corruption along with the conditions of political instability, sectarian fight, the deteriorating security situation and the absence of the required protection of the organs, institutions and officials in charge of fighting corruption," former Planning Minister Mahdi Hafez said.

Arab leaders call for Iraq unity
The keys to restoring stability in Iraq lie in the departure of foreign troops and resolving sectarian conflicts, the Arab League secretary-general said.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq would help the country overcome sectarian differences that have hampered developments since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Iraqi officials have made several statements in recent weeks highlighting the country's regional relations as it tries to reassert its sovereignty and American forces prepare to pull out of the country.

Moussa said that despite lingering tensions between Iran and Iraq, both countries should work together to resolve their differences.

"We are neighbors and brothers and should not be enemies," he told the Voices of Iraq news agency.

Meanwhile, Moqtada Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran furthering his clerical studies, called on his supporters to abandon violence and work in unity with the people of Iraq.

Sadr in August ordered his Mehdi Army to transform into a social organization in the wake of repeated operations against the force by U.S. and Iraqi troops.

A division of the Mehdi Army, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, however, maintains its armed opposition to U.S.-led forces operating in Iraq.

Calls for 'Chemical Ali' execution mount
As the U.S.-led Iraq war enters its sixth year, the Iraqi government called on the three-member presidential council to ratify the execution of "Chemical Ali."

"The cabinet calls on the presidency council to execute the will of the Iraqi people in ratifying the order to implement the decisions issued by the Iraqi High Tribunal for the criminals who were sentenced to death based on the court's law, which states that the verdicts (are) to be executed within one month," reads a government statement obtained by CNN.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, a Sunni known as "Chemical Ali," was sentenced to death earlier this month for his role in the 1992 deaths of 42 merchants accused of exploiting market conditions under a U.N. sanctions regime.

It was the third death sentence for Majid, the first cousin of former dictator Saddam Hussein. Earlier sentences stemmed from his role in the violent suppression of a Shiite uprising in response to the 1999 assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, the father of anti-American cleric Moqtada Sadr, and two of his sons in Najaf.

An earlier case dealt with the 1988 Anfal campaign, where Majid ordered the use of poisonous gas against Kurds, earning his moniker.

Before the execution can go forward, the March court decision needs approval from the three-member presidential council.

Sunni Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, however, has refused to approve the death sentence for former Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed for fear or spoiling reconciliation efforts with Shiites, putting the Majid ruling in question.

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Outside View: Peril or promise in Pakistan
Washington (UPI) Mar 18, 2009
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