Bureaucracy, security situation to blame for poor distribution of medical supplies22 May 2007The centralized distribution of medicines in Iraq has meant hospitals have not been able to stock sufficient quantities, some doctors and analysts say. Every drug entering Iraq has to be tested by Kimadia, the government department responsible for quality control of medicines. All drugs go through the same procedure, regardless of their origin, or even if they have already been tested by the World Health Organization.
Surge Strategy Shows Weaknesses22 May 2007More than three months into the implementation of the ‘surge’ strategy, skepticism is still running high. Except among neo-conservatives, who have been the strategy’s most enthusiastic champions, most analysts believe it is doomed to failure in the absence of major moves – of which there have so far been virtually none – by the Iraqi government to promote national reconciliation with the Sunni minority.
Departing Wolfowitz Names New Iraq Director22 May 2007The World Bank has just appointed a new country head for Iraq despite security and corruption concerns, according to a leaked document. The news emerged just days after outgoing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz promised not make any major new appointments at the institution.
Latino Soldiers Who Refused Iraq Speak Out22 May 2007A U.S. Army medic who refused to load his gun in Iraq and then escaped through a base window in Germany rather than be deployed a second time returned home to Los Angeles this week after serving six months in a U.S. military prison.
Journalists Face Repression on All Sides22 May 2007The working environment for Iraq’s journalists is becoming increasingly dangerous and difficult, with 31 killed just since the start of this year, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
Is Imperial Liquidation Possible for America?17 May 2007‘Had the government been working as the authors of the Constitution intended, the war could not have occurred,’ writes Chalmers Johnson. ‘Even now, the Democratic majority remains reluctant to use its power of the purse to cut off funding for the war, thereby ending the American occupation of Iraq and starting to curtail the ever-growing power of the military-industrial complex.’
Video Diary: Beggar at the Gate15 May 2007Saif is leaving Baghdad. His family is already in Jordan and it is his job to prepare the family home for a fmaily that will stay their until his own family decides to return. In an small but illuminating moment typical of the Hometown Baghdad series, Saif receives a begger, a woman asking for money. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.
Maps of War14 May 2007An Iraqi friend, an engineer, had never seen a map of Baghdad, his hometown, until I showed him one in the US. They had been banned by Hussein. The map disappointed him. A map in the New York Times today would disappoint him more.
Thousands flee upsurge in violence in Diyala province14 May 2007Thousands of Iraqis have been fleeing their homes in Diyala province over the past week after an increase in attacks by armed groups and a major offensive by US and Iraqi troops. Diyala province is a volatile but religiously mixed governorate to the northeast of Bagdhad.
Another Step Toward Realism14 May 2007Realists in the Bush administration appear to have won a victory over the dwindling ranks of neo-cons and others hawks with this weekend’s announcement that Washington will soon engage in bilateral talks with Iran. While the talks will be confined, at least initially, to the situation in Iraq, some analysts see the move as a potentially important breakthrough.
Video Diary: The Palace Maid14 May 2007In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, Adel risks his safety to stand in a busy Baghdad intersection with a camera explaining a piece of public art based on the 40 Thieves story. ‘I’m glad that I finished this story,’ he says at the end, ‘because I don’t feel safe standing right here. We better go.’ Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.
Video Diary: Troops13 May 2007In this episode of Hometown Baghdad, all three Iraqi contributors reflect on the presence of US troops in Iraq. Saif and Ausama reflect the fears Iraqis have of the troops, while Adel explains why he would like to see more of them. Hometown Baghdad was shot by an all-Iraqi crew and tells the stories of three young people trying to survive in Baghdad.
This Minute and Then the Next10 May 2007‘Just this minute, and then the next,’ writes Laurie Hasbrook, ‘whenever we feel defeated, or bored, or tired of the struggle to end tyranny and injustice, let us remember Haifa. Remember her daily struggles, her fears for her children, her desperation. Remember that, in spite of all, she sends wishes of love and peace.’
Video Diary: Iraqi Man10 May 2007In this epdisode of Hometwon Baghdad, a web documentary project shot by Iraqis in Iraq, Saif prepares to say goodbye to his best friend Ziad, who is preparing to move to Egypt. ‘How do you feel leaving Iraq?’ Saif asks Zaid. ‘I don’t like to say goodbye. It’s a bad thing.’ Ziad replies. In a moment of mitigated levity, the two hug and Zaid jokes: ‘We’ll meet in hell.’
Congressional bill finally addressing Iraqi refugee crisis10 May 2007Refugees International today praised the ‘Responsibility to Iraqi Refugees Act of 2007’ and urges Congress and the US Administration to stem the refugee crisis by providing additional humanitarian relief funding directly to Iraq and neighboring countries hosting refugees.
Tigris River becoming a graveyard of bodies9 May 2007The River Tigris has long been a symbol of prosperity in Iraq but since the US-led invasion in 2003, this amazing watercourse has turned into a graveyard of bodies. In addition, the water level is decreasing as pollution increases, say environmentalists.
Video Diary: Sick of This9 May 2007Robbers, Terrorists, insurgents, militiamen…’call them what you want,’ says Adel in this episode of Hometown Baghdad. ‘It’s like a standard job now, to kill people.’ Talking about people you saw or heard were killed today, he adds, is ‘something really ordinary.’ Iraqis will suffer civil war, says another Hometown Baghdad contributor, Saif, ‘Until each side will lose. In civil war, nobody wins.’
...And Yet More Talk9 May 2007Two days of talks on Iraq last week produced an international agreement promising support for the Iraqi government in exchange for political and economic reforms to be implemented by Baghdad. But while the so-called International Compact on Iraq canceled some of the country’s foreign debts, the initiative yielded few other tangible results, local commentators say.
Media Organization Prepares Safety Strategy for Journalists9 May 2007The International Federation of Journalists, which is hosting a meeting in Iraq to devise a national safety strategy for journalists and media staff, today condemned the killings of three journalists and their driver, who were reportedly tortured and shot in Northern Iraq.
Interview: Iraq Refugee Crisis9 May 2007According to the UN, in terms of raw numbers, the nearly two-and-a-half million Iraqi refugees displaced because of the war is a bigger crisis than Darfur. Listen to Jerome McDonnell interview Electronic Iraq contributor Noah Merrill on the Iraq refugee crisis. Merrill recently spent six weeks in Jordan, where the refugee crisis is acute. He will return this summer.
A Small War Guaranteed to Damage a Superpower8 May 2007In Iraq, writes the intrepid Patrick Cockburn, ‘Stability will not return until the occupation has ended. The Iraqi government, penned into the Green Zone, has become tainted in the eyes of Iraqis by reliance on a foreign power. Much of what has gone wrong has more to do with the US than Iraq. The weaknesses of its government and army have been exposed. Iraq has joined the list of small wars that inflict extraordinary damage on their occupiers.’
Video Diary: My Best Friend Zaid8 May 2007‘I’d like to talk about my best friend Zaid…’ begins this episode of Hometown Baghdad, a web-documentary project produced by Iraqis in Iraq. Ziad is the best friend of Hometown Baghdad contributor Saif, and this brief portrait frames friendships in Iraq as a critical respite from the chaos.
Electronic Iraq