Iraq: a series of articles from the Global Policy forum

Iraq

Two Years Later (March 2005)

Taking stock of the situation in Iraq two years after the war, this Foreign Policy In Focus piece calls US involvement "disastrous." While acknowledging some positive outcomes, such as the January 30 elections, the author concludes that the US should cease all offensive military operations in the country, withdraw from population centers, and expedite the training of Iraqi armed forces "with special attention given to respect for internationally recognized human rights." He also recommends that the anti-war movement advocate the repeal of Bremer's Transitional Administrative Laws and that construction on all long-term US military facilities should cease.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/2005/03later.htm

Study Says Civilian Casualties on the Rise After Elections (March 21, 2005)

According to Iraq Body Count, an independent organization monitoring the human cost of the war, the civilian death rate in Iraq increased after the elections, with an average "of up to 21 killed each day" in February 2005. The organization's figures also reveal that "the number of violent incidents has soared" since February 2004. Iraq Body Count currently places the number of civilian casualties since the war started between 7,061 and 19,432. (Gulf News)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2005/0321rise.htm

Crime as Lethal as Warfare in Iraq (March 20, 2005)

Crime accounts for a significant number of civilian deaths in Iraq. According to the Los Angeles Times, officials in Baghdad's central morgue counted "8,035 deaths by unnatural causes in 2004, up from 6,012 the previous year." Of these, some "60% are caused by gunshot wounds" and "most are unrelated to the insurgency." Iraqi police have witnessed a steep increase in organized criminal activity dealing in arms, drugs and kidnappings. As the acting director of Baghdad's central morgue put it, "it seems like the crime rates are increasing day to day."
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2005/0320crime.htm

Mapping the Oil Motive (March 18, 2005)

Michael T. Klare writes that the Bush administration's choice to invade Iraq stemmed from "a combination of contributing factors," including control of the country's oil resources. But "it appears that the US incursion into Iraq <...> has largely failed to achieve its intended purposes." The insurgency has crippled the country's capacity to export more oil, and "no one is willing to predict when, if ever, the country will reach the fabled level of 6 million barrels per day" that US officials confidently spoke of after the invasion. (TomPaine)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2005/0318motive.htm

Marking Time (March 18, 2005)

The winning parties in Iraq's January election have reached an impasse in their negotiations to form a new government. The interim caretaker regime under Prime Minister Iyad Allawi will not enter into any long-term contracts or implement long-term policies, so the government has essentially ceased major work. Meanwhile, Iraqis grow impatient, asking "where's the government?" (Newsweek)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/election/2005/0318marking.htm

Is Iraq Becoming the World's Biggest Cash Cow? (March 18, 2005)

The US has charged a former employee of Halliburton Corp. and a Kuwaiti subcontractor "of devising a scheme to defraud the United States of more than 3.5 million dollars" in a contract scam in Iraq. The charges come just a day after Transparency International released its Global Corruption Report 2005, in which the watchdog warned that "profiteering threatens to undermine the reconstruction of Iraq, where most of the companies operating are US-based." (Inter Press Service)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/contract/2005/0318cow.htm