Thoughts on the Anniversary

six foot skinny's blog | It’s been over three years since I sat at a keyboard to record my thoughts on a war that seems so far away now. It’s a thing I did once. Well, twice, but you get the idea. So much has happened between right now and when I posted my last post. Then, I was sitting in the apartment I shared with The Dane, marveling at my ability to go to Target, or drink a beer, or eat eggs with runny yokes. Now, The Dane is Mrs. Skinny, The Dude is six months old, and we live in a cute little bungalow in a quiet neighborhood in my home town of St. Paul. I went back to my old job, left that job to work at a veterans’ non-profit, left that job to go back to school for teaching, and left school to sell out to the corporate man. I’ve taken up fly-fishing and craft beer and I drive a Subaru with a car seat in it – a Subaru with “Iraqi War Veteran” license plates. Some days I feel like I live in an LL Bean commercial. Most days, I feel incredibly lucky to be here. (READ MORE)

Unfamiliar Feelings in a Familiar Land

YASMINE MOUSA | At War | When I first set foot at Baghdad International Airport in March 2010 to work for The New York Times, I was no stranger to Iraq. Until 2003, Baghdad had been my home. I still had family and friends here, and they remained dear to me, and I to them. Here, I had experienced wars, so many I almost lost count. Here was where I weathered it all, the good with the fear, yet never lost hope. I wish I still felt that way today. (READ MORE)

Insurgents Seize Afghan Government Offices in Deadly Attack

AZAM AHMED | New York Times | April 3, 2013 | Kabul - Eight Taliban insurgents dressed in Afghan Army uniforms staged a complex assault on a provincial government compound in western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, killing at least six officials and civilians and seizing several hostages in one of the buildings, officials and witnesses said.  The attack in Farah Province coincided with the anticipated return of Afghanistan’s powerful intelligence chief, Asadullah Khalid, who was seriously wounded in a December suicide attack. (READ MORE)

The Real Road to an Afghan Peace

AMIR TAHERI | New York Post | 04/02/2013 | With snow starting to melt in the mountains of the Hindu Hush, Afghans are preparing for another season of fighting in the 34-year-long war that has ravaged their country. And, like every year this time, there is much talk about “peace talks” between the government of President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban. This year’s talk about talks is hotter than previous seasons, for two reasons. First, the Obama administration, preparing to withdraw from Afghanistan next year, has asked Qatar (now Washington’s closest Arab ally in the Middle East) to open a dialogue with the Taliban. The oil-rich state has obliged by contacting Taliban figures and promising to let the group open an “information office” in Doha. Last week, Qatar also hosted Karzai to discuss possible “peace talks” with Sheik Hamad, the emir. (READ MORE)

Imagine

By A Little Pink in a World of Camo | Imagine you met in high school. College. You randomly met, just a few months ago. He is your heart and soul. He is it. No matter how hard you may try to deny it, he is it for you. Imagine you've found the missing fragment of your soul. Imagine you've found what everyone searches for. It just fits. You can't make sense of it. And you don't care if anyone else "gets it," it makes sense. You fit. (READ MORE)

Al Qaeda in Iraq claims 'storming' operation in Baghdad

The Long War Journal | Bill Ardolino and Bill Roggio | Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) claimed credit for last week's deadly suicide assault on the Justice Ministry in Baghdad that killed 22 Iraqis. Seven Iraqi policemen and 15 civilians were killed in the March 14 attack. AQI claimed the "storming" operation, as it refers to such offensives, in a statement that was released yesterday on jihadist Internet forums. The statement was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The operation began with "storming the main entrance of the ministry with an explosives-laden vehicle driven by" a suicide bomber. Al Qaeda in Iraq claimed that the attack disoriented and disabled the Iraqi security forces guarding the compound, allowing the main assault team of four heavily armed fighters to attack a secondary gate, breach the defenses, and enter the ministry. (READ MORE)

Pakistan government completes term, reaching historic milestone

The AfPak Channel | Jennifer Rowland | Pakistan's government made history on Saturday when it stepped down after completing the first full, five-year term by an elected, civilian government since the country's inception. Outgoing officials continue to hold talks with the main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, to decide on a caretaker administration to lead the country until elections in May. The Associated Press and Reuters take a look at some of key political players and political risks to watch for during the upcoming elections. (READ MORE)

Pak Taliban Suspends Talks with Govt. for not 'Being Serious' with Peace Process

Afghanistan Sun | The Pakistani Taliban have suspended peace talks with the Pakistani government, claiming that they are "not serious" with the peace initiative. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said that the militant organisation has suspended talks with the government and claimed that the army and government were not serious in conducting peace dialogue and talks, reports The Dawn. (READ MORE)

Afghan-US Deal on Table in Key Region

Global Times | Agencies | Afghan and US officials are working on a compromise deal to allow US special forces to stay in a strategically key province near the capital in return for full Afghan control of a controversial jail, a top Kabul official said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's previous decision to expel special forces from Wardak province has angered US defense officials who worry their exit could allow insurgents to strengthen their presence in the area and use it as a base to attack Kabul, only 25 kilometers away. (READ MORE)

Grants To Rural Afghan Villages Pays Off

NPR | One area of rural development where the Afghan government has had some success is the National Solidarity Program. Funded by international aid, it distributes small grants to rural villages. For more on its successes, Renee Montagne talks to Wais Ahmad Barmak, who heads the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry.  (LISTEN TO MORE)

Afghanistan's Karzai Agrees to New Deadline for Prison Handover

CNN | There's a new one-week deadline for handing over control of a U.S.-run detention center near Bagram Air Base to Afghan authorities, Afghanistan's president said Sunday. On Sunday, Hamid Karzai's office said in a statement that he had agreed to a request from U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for one week "to carry out the full handover the prison." (READ MORE)

The Opposition Takeover in al-Raqqa

ISW | Elizabeth O'Bagy and Joseph Holliday | Mar 15, 2013 | On March 4, 2013, rebel groups overran government forces in al-Raqqa city, the first provincial capital and only urban center to fall to rebel hands since the start of the uprising.  Spearheaded by powerful Salafist groups, including Jabhat al-Wahdet al-Tahrir al-Islamiyya and Ahrar al-Sham, the offensive illustrates the growing strength of Islamists within the rebels’ ranks.  The fall of al-Raqqa has reduced regime positions in eastern Syria to the military airbase outside Deir ez-Zour city and a handful of isolated outposts in northeastern Kurdish areas. As the regime’s reach continues to contract, al-Raqqa serves as an important test case for how the opposition will administer territory that they seize from Assad. (READ MORE)

Ex-President Musharraf to return to Pakistan this month

The AfPak Channel | Jennifer Rowland |  Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will return home on March 24 to run in the country's parliamentary elections after four years of self-imposed exile in Dubai, according to a spokesman for the former Army general (Reuters). Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 and resigned from his post in 2008 facing threats of impeachment from opposition parties. Police in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta have arrested eleven children, ages 11 to 16, suspected of involvement in a bombing in January that killed 12 people (ET, Dawn). A police official said at a press conference on Wednesday that militants of the United Baloch Army, a banned Baloch separatist group, had exploited the children's poverty; they had admitted to receiving 3,000 rupees each for the roles they played. Also on Wednesday, two militants killed five paramilitary officers in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, before they, too, were shot and killed by other security forces (AFP, Reuters).  (READ MORE)

War and Healing Depicted in Silicon Valley Art Gallery

At War | BRIAN CASTNER | The bombs that hang from the ceiling in the small art gallery in suburban Silicon Valley are filled with bizarre visions of aquatic pre-dinosaur invertebrates from another age. A 15-foot-tall bronze statue depicts a guardian angel with Vietnam-era magazine pouches and a missing leg. Woodcut prints of a dying warrior, a wall of ceramic cups decorated with rifles and flags, a child’s mobile with Soviet antipersonnel mines in place of hot-air balloons or zoo animals – these are all in the Euphrat Museum of Art on the campus of De Anza College in Cupertino, a city better known for iPhones than infantry. (READ MORE)

Back in the 'Stan

By FaST Surgeon (in Afghanistan) | I have arrived. Or so the saying goes. It's cold in Afghanistan and I made it to my final destination just in time before the snow closed the passes. Movement in Afghanistan is limited by weather and terrain. Helicopters need to have clear weather to fly through the mountain passes. So, it's not uncommon to get stuck in a particular location for many days if not weeks during the winter months.

I am still trying to make a final decision on what to write about this go-round and where to post. I may abandon the old blog format and move over to only posting on Facebook. If you haven't yet clicked on the Facebook "Like" button, please do so now. :) (READ MORE)

Remembering Master Sergeant Norman Katz

by Susan Katz Keating |
When my daughters were little, I wanted them to know the grandfather they never met: my father, Norman Katz. Over the years, I regaled the girls with stories designed to delight and inspire. I had plenty to work with: The time Dad unexpectedly brought home two pet spider monkeys who escaped inside the house and created havoc before Dad caught them; the way Dad could hold a perfect handstand on board our sailboat on the open sea; or the time Dad tried to rip a swastika flag from outside Nazi Party headquarters in Los Angeles.

In keeping with the pattern set inside my childhood home, though, I rarely spoke to the girls about my dad’s experience in the Korean War. And yet, in many ways, Dad’s warrior self was the core of his being. (READ MORE)

Iraq's Post-Withdrawal Crisis, Update #26

By Ramzy Mardini of the Institute for the Study of War

Sadr Returns To Najaf, Speaks With Maliki

Shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr returned to Najaf on Wednesday night after spending a week and a half in Iran. According to State of Law member Kamal Saadi, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Sadr talked over the telephone on Thursday. Saadi said the conversation was positive and that he believed the atmosphere was now ready to bring all parties to the negotiating table and settle their disputes surrounding the political crisis.

On Tuesday, Maliki held his weekly Council of Ministers session in the southern province of Dhi Qar. Sadr thanked Maliki for holding cabinet sessions in the provinces and suggested the idea that it was a response to “pressures.” Dhi Qar was the fourth province to host a cabinet session, following Basra, Kirkuk, and Ninawa. 

Blinken Visits Iraq

Tony Blinken, the National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, discussed bilateral relations with a range of Iraqi and Kurdish leaders, including Maliki, Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani, and Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs Hussein Shahrastani, while he was in Iraq this week. Blinken called Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, telling him the U.S. will not become a player in the current internal disputes and urged all to assuage tensions through dialogue. According to Nujaifi’s office, the speaker declined Blinken’s counsel to meet with Maliki, believing the timing was not appropriate. Blinken’s meetings preceded a Wednesday cabinet-level meeting on Iraq at the White House, which discussed security and energy cooperation with regards to the bilateral U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.  According to a White House statement, Blinken “urged Iraqi leaders to move quickly to alleviate current tensions in order to refocus energy on critical state-building challenges, including preparations for provincial and local elections next year.  He underscored that the United States calls on Iraq’s neighbors to support Iraq’s sovereign right to choose its own government.” 

Opposition Looking For Plan B

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani announced on Saturday that not enough parliamentarians signed on to support a no-confidence vote against the prime minister. Following his investigation to scrutinize the veracity of the signatures, only 160 signatures in favor of the initiative could be validated, Talabani said. He had reportedly promised Barzani that if they were able to acquire at least 163 signatures, he would submit the necessary request to initiate a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Members of the anti-Maliki front met on Sunday in Arbil to discuss the next step in their efforts to replace the prime minister and agreed to continue to the second constitutional path to collapse the government. This involves reaching an absolute majority in the 325-seat Parliament (163 votes) following an inquiry directed against Maliki, who must be summoned for questioning. The opposition parties are preparing to investigate Maliki and have reportedly tasked Baha al-Araji, a senior Sadrist lawmaker, to lead the effort in Parliament. Despite Talabani’s announcement last Saturday, the opposition members still believe they have the required number of votes to remove Maliki from power.

Talabani Threatens To Resign Again

Talabani reportedly threatened to resign this week after anti-Maliki leaders continued to try to change his position on the no-confidence measure against the prime minister. In response to demands from Barzani, Sadr and Iraqiyya leader Ayad Allawi, Talabani asked them to stop “provoking and accusing” him and warned that he would quit if they continued to try to change his mind. They had asked the president to request Speaker Nujaifi to convene Parliament and carry out a no-confidence vote against the prime minister.

Earlier in the week Allawi had said that the president was “the one who suggested the proposal of withdrawing confidence” from Maliki. Parties against the no-confidence measure, such as the Iraqiyya splinter White party, criticized the accusations directed against Talabani. “These blocs must not accuse Talabani who is the protector of the constitution,” the party said in a statement.

To learn about the evolving relationship between Kurdistan and the United States, read Ramzy Mardini's backgrounder, " Relations with Iraq's Kurds: Toward a Working Partnership." For a comprehensive look at the first two months since U.S. troops left Iraq, read " Iraq's Recurring Political Crisis."  To read a transcript from the Feb. 29 event "Policing Iraq," click here, and to read a transcript from the Feb. 16 event "Iraq After the U.S. Withdrawal," click here. To read past weekly updates, click here.

Iraq's Post-Withdrawal Crisis, Update #24

By Ramzy Mardini of the Institute for the Study of War

The Numbers Game

 

The informal process of counting votes to remove Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki began this week as political opponents met in Sulaymaniya to continue discussions on moving forward. On Wednesday, Shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on other political blocs to secure 124 parliamentarians to withdraw confidence from Maliki, adding that he will deliver all 40 of his lawmakers for a total of 164 votes. (Sadr likely misunderstood the number of votes required to secure an absolute majority, 163, in the 325-seat Parliament.) According to Ninawa Governor Atheel al-Nujaifi, the political opposition had exceeded the required number of votes needed to remove Maliki. The Iraqiyya bloc had collected the signatures of 70 parliamentarians, Nujaifi asserted, and hoped to secure ten more signatures. He added that the Kurdish Alliance (49 seats) will try to persuade the Kurdish Gorran Movement (eight seats) in order to bring the total of Kurdish support to withdraw confidence to 57 parliamentarians. Other sources have claimed that Iraqiyya secured 79 votes, despite reports that a number of the bloc’s lawmakers have decided not to participate in a no-confidence measure against the prime minister. On Friday, Iraqiyya spokeswoman Maysoon al-Damluji said the number to withdraw confidence is increasing, and claimed that “signatures were collected from all the blocs,” including State of Law representatives, “but we don’t know their names or their number now.”

 

But outspoken Maliki advisor Sa’ad Mutalabi mocked the opposition’s claims that they have secured the required votes to withdraw confidence in the prime minister. “Just go ahead, we will sit there and laugh at the puny numbers you will gain in the Parliament,” he said.

 

Possible Proposal To Have Maliki Resign

 

Iraqiyya is reportedly examining a proposal that would allow Maliki to resign without facing prosecution for acts committed in his six-year tenure as prime minister. Iraqiyya “will scrutinize the sincerity of the proposal and its harmony with the legal measures … the constitution and the will of the politicians,” said Hadi al-Dalemi, a spokesperson for Iraqiyya. Dalemi suggested that Maliki may have supported the proposal after he met with Shi’a cleric Ammar al-Hakim and former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja’afari on Thursday night. However, head of the Iraqiyya coalition in Parliament Salman al-Jumaili denied receiving any message after the meeting. The three leaders were reportedly discussing the importance of the unity of the Shi’a bloc at the meeting. It remains unclear where the proposal for Maliki to resign originated.  

 

Sadr To Soleimani: Leave My Home

 

During the P5+1 talks in Baghdad last week, Iranian Qods Force commander Qassem al-Soleimani reportedly visited Sadr’s home in Najaf, where Soleimani asked the Shi’a cleric to reconsider his efforts to unseat Maliki. Sadr reportedly told Soleimani that the issue of withdrawing confidence from Maliki was strictly “an Iraqi affair” and asked the Iranian general to leave his home. Following the encounter, Shi’a parliamentarian Ahmad Chalabi reportedly asked Sadr whether Grand Ayatollah Kazem al-Haeiri might issue a fatwa that calls for Shi’as to support Maliki. Sadr responded vigorously, “I will become a secularist if Haeiri issues a fatwa against withdrawing confidence from Maliki.” Haeiri, an Iranian-based Shi’a cleric and once Sadr’s mentor, recently sent a message to Sadr urging him not to split the Shi’a bloc by trying to remove a Shi’a prime minister.

 

Sadr faced questions over his growing criticism of Maliki this week. Sadr refused to exclude Maliki from the political process if the prime minister is removed from power. “I promise to grant Maliki some posts to be a partner in running the state and building Iraq,” Sadr stated. “I will not accept marginalizing Maliki or his party.” Sadr told Dawa party supporters that he is not targeting Maliki himself, but rather the premiership in order to allow all Iraqis to participate in the process of rebuilding the country. “You in the Dawa Islamic Party will remain our brothers whatever disputes to happen between us,” he said.

 

Maliki’s Cabinet Tour Leaves Mosul

 

Maliki held a session of the Council of Ministers on May 29 in Mosul, the capital of Ninawa province, and Kurdish officials in the Council of Ministers and local Kurdish politicians in Ninawa boycotted the session. According to Ninawa politicians, Maliki did not speak about political issues during the session but only spoke about improving services. Maliki will reportedly hold cabinet sessions in Salah ad-Din, Diyala, and Anbar “during the coming period,” after provincial councils asked to host the Council of Ministers in their respective governorates. Ninawa is the third province to host a cabinet session, following Basra and Kirkuk earlier this year.

 

Talabani’s Dilemma

 

Reports still vary on where Iraqi President Jalal Talabani stands in the efforts to replace Maliki. Lawmaker Farhad Atroushi of the Kurdish Alliance stated that Talabani promised to withdraw confidence from Maliki if the political blocs managed to secure the required number of votes in Parliament. But according to State of Law MP Salman Mousawi, Talabani rejected the request to withdraw confidence in the prime minister “due to lack of reasonable grounds.” Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani reportedly presented a list of signatures from parliamentarians to demonstrate that the threshold of 163 had been reached.  According to a State of Law parliamentarian, speaking on condition of anonymity, “There is some Iranian pressure on the president (Talabani) not to send the letter to parliament (requesting the no-confidence vote) and to support al-Maliki.” Some lawmakers believe Talabani offered his resignation last week because he felt embarrassed by Kurds’ request for his support of a no-confidence measure against Maliki.

 

Iraqiyya Defectors Cry Foul

 

In response, leader of the Free Iraqiyya splinter group Qutaiba Jabouri called for Talabani not to accept the list of signatures, claiming that members of Iraqiyya had signed on behalf of colleagues without their permission. “Unfortunately, some sides forged the signatures of the MPs and used them to submit the request for toppling Maliki,” said Free Iraqiyya spokeswoman Aliya Nussaif. “This is a dangerous breach…and it is considered a criminal action and the doers must be sued.” The Free Iraqiyya party and White party, another splinter group from Iraqiyya proper, are reportedly scheduled to meet Saturday to discuss their opposition toward the efforts in removing Maliki.  

 

To learn about the evolving relationship between Kurdistan and the United States, read Ramzy Mardini's backgrounder, " Relations with Iraq's Kurds: Toward a Working Partnership." For a comprehensive look at the first two months since U.S. troops left Iraq, read " Iraq's Recurring Political Crisis."  To read a transcript from the Feb. 29 event "Policing Iraq," click here, and to read a transcript from the Feb. 16 event "Iraq After the U.S. Withdrawal," click here. To read past weekly updates, click here.

Daily Brief: U.S. to Send Top Military Official to Ease Tension with Pakistan

Jennifer Rowland of The AFPAK Channel writes the Daily Brief: U.S. to send top military official to ease tension with Pakistan -

Senior U.S. military commander General James Mattis will reportedly travel to Pakistan sometime this month for talks with Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the results of investigations into a NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November (NYT, ET, Dawn). Pakistan's Defense Minister on Tuesday urged the government to reopen its border to supplies destined for NATO troops in Afghanistan once the coalition has met Pakistani demands, which could include imposing higher fees on trucks using Pakistani roads (Dawn, The News, ET, AP).

Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) faces two legal cases this month, one will begin with a hearing tomorrow, and concerns seven suspected militants who have been held by the ISI since 2010, as well as four other detainees who have died over the past six months in ISI custody (NYT). The second case will begin with a hearing on February 29 accusing the ISI of vote-rigging by illegally donating $6.5 million in order to influence the general election in 1990. Meanwhile, a Pakistani-American cab driver pleaded guilty in Chicago on Monday to sending money to Ilyas Kashmiri - a Pakistan-based al-Qaeda operative now thought to be dead - with the intention of helping Kashmiri purchase explosives (AP).

(READ MORE)

Truth, Lies and Afghanistan

Maj Pain of One Marine's View brings us Truth, Lies and Afghanistan - How military leaders have let us down By LT. COL. DANIEL L. DAVIS (US Army) -

I spent last year in Afghanistan, visiting and talking with U.S. troops and their Afghan partners. My duties with the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force took me into every significant area where our soldiers engage the enemy. Over the course of 12 months, I covered more than 9,000 miles and talked, traveled and patrolled with troops in Kandahar, Kunar, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika, Kunduz, Balkh, Nangarhar and other provinces.

What I saw bore no resemblance to rosy official statements by U.S. military leaders about conditions on the ground.

Entering this deployment, I was sincerely hoping to learn that the claims were true: that conditions in Afghanistan were improving, that the local government and military were progressing toward self-sufficiency. I did not need to witness dramatic improvements to be reassured, but merely hoped to see evidence of positive trends, to see companies or battalions produce even minimal but sustainable progress.

Instead, I witnessed the absence of success on virtually every level.

(READ MORE)