NYT:U.S. Study Paints Somber Portrait of Iraqi Discord(not so "good news")

[sabra]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/world/middleeast/09report.html

U.S. Study Paints Somber Portrait of Iraqi Discord

WASHINGTON, April 8 — An internal staff report by the United States Embassy and military command in Baghdad provides a sobering province-by-province snapshot of Iraq's political, economic and security situation, rating the overall stability of 6 of the 18 provinces "serious" and one "critical. The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements by top American politicians and military officials.

In 10 pages of briefing slides, the report, titled "Provincial Stability Assessment," underscores the shift in the nature of the Iraq war three years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein. Warnings of sectarian and ethnic frictions are raised in many regions, even in those provinces generally described as nonviolent by American officials.

There are also alerts about the growing power of Iranian-backed religious Shiite parties, several of which the United States helped put into power, and rival militias in the south. The authors also point to the Arab-Kurdish fault line in the north as a major concern, with the two ethnicities vying for power in Mosul, where violence is rampant, and Kirkuk, whose oil fields are critical for jump-starting economic growth in Iraq.

The patterns of discord mapped by the report confirm that ethnic and religious schisms have become entrenched across much of the country, even as monthly American fatalities have fallen. Those indications, taken with recent reports of mass migrations from mixed Sunni-Shiite areas, show that Iraq is undergoing a de facto partitioning along ethnic and sectarian lines, with clashes — sometimes political, sometimes violent — taking place in those mixed areas where different groups meet.

[BrklynLiberal]

1. But, But, But! Where's the GOOD news!!!?????

[LynnTheDem]

2. The US Embassy & military command are just trying to make bush look bad!

Damn libruls!

:eyes:

[Homer Wells]

5. Bush Look Bad?

:wow: From all indications and evidence to date, our clueless leader does a damn fine job looking bad all by his lonesome. Any assistance in helping him look bad is redundant:sarcasm:

[DeepModem Mom]

3. K&R. -- I think this is a pretty major article. nt

[sabra]

4. indeed. check out this snip from the article:

A copy of the report, which is not classified, was provided to The New York Times by a government official in Washington who said the confidential assessment provided a more realistic gauge of stability in Iraq than the recent portrayals by senior military officers. It is dated Jan. 31, 2006, three weeks before the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, which set off reprisals that killed hundreds of Iraqis. Recent updates to the report are minor and leave its conclusions virtually unchanged, Mr. Speckhard said.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Yep!

[rodeodance]

11. whow, this was before the big mosque bombings.!!

[rodeodance]

12. do you think Fox news will pick it up??

te he.

[DeepModem Mom]

16. Te he, indeed! nt

[Ilsa]

7. Must have come right out of the mouths and ink of libruls! Oh wait.

It was the military and state dept/embassy personnel that drew these conclusions!

Thanks for posting. I was about to, but I'm glad you got up here first.

The city of Basra has widely been reported as devolving into a mini-theocracy, with government and security officials beholden to Shiite religious leaders, enforcing bans on alcohol and mandating head scarves for women.

[CdnObserver]

8. The 7 problem Provinces are the ones where the people live!

But everything's A-OK out in the desert.

[rodeodance]

9. The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements...

.....WASHINGTON, April 8 — An internal staff report by the United States Embassy and the military command in Baghdad provides a sobering province-by-province snapshot of Iraq's political, economic and security situation, rating the overall stability of 6 of the 18 provinces "serious" and one "critical." The report is a counterpoint to some recent upbeat public statements by top American politicians and military officials.

[rodeodance]

10. rec

[RedEarth]

13. . K&R

[rocktivity]

14. GOOD NEWS!

There's "discord" and "ethnic frictions," but it's not civil war yet!

:party: (This post is part of the George Bush GULF WAR GOOD NEWS initiative.)
rocknation

[Clarkie1]

15. Anyone else notice how many times "Iran" and "Iranian" are mentioned?

What do you think will happen in these areas when we begin the airstrikes over Iran?

"The city of Basra has widely been reported as devolving into a mini-theocracy, with government and security officials beholden to Shiite religious leaders...Police cars and checkpoints are often decorated with posters or stickers of Moktada al-Sadr, the rebellious cleric, or Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, a cleric whose party is very close to IRAN. Both men have formidable militias."

"the report rates as "moderate" the two provinces at the heart of Shiite religious power, Najaf and Karbala, and points to the growing Iranian political presence there. In Najaf, "IRANIAN INFLUENCE on provincial government of concern," the report says. Both the governor and former governor of Najaf are officials in Mr. Hakim's religious party, founded in IRAN in the early 1980's. "

Immediately to the north, Babil Province, an important strategic area abutting Baghdad, also has "STRONG IRANIAN INFLUENCE apparent within council," the report says. There is "ethnic conflict in north Babil," and "crime is a major factor within the province." In addition, "unemployment remains high."

[maddezmom]

17. link to pdf of full report

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/20060409_report_text.pdf

[Eugene]

18. Khalilzad says, "Look on the bright side. Last year was even worse."

Leaked report reveals US concerns on Iraq

· Document gives grim assessment of stability
· Six out of 18 provinces are 'serious', and one 'critical'

Jonathan Steele in Baghdad and Julian Borger in Washington
Monday April 10, 2006
The Guardian

An internal US government report portrays a grim picture of Iraq's stability,
rating six of the country's 18 provinces as in a "serious" situation and one "critical",
it emerged yesterday.

The US ambassador in Baghdad, Zalmay Khalilzad confirmed the report, which was leaked
to the New York Times, but said it marked an improvement on last year. "If they looked
at a similar study a year ago, they would have seen the situation was not as good as it
is now," Mr Khalilzad told CNN. However, the report, a "provincial stability assessment",
prepared by the US embassy and the US military command, is in marked contrast with the
sunnier assessments generally heard from the White House and the Pentagon.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1750659,00.html