Leila Fadel: McClatchy Newspapers on Iraq {UpDated}

Paul Jay, of the Real News Network, speaks to Leila Fadel, Baghdad bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers in a series of interviews covering a number of topics pertaining to Iraq. The interview, and her points, are very insightful, showing her understanding of the country and it's people.

This interview, and a few others, are what the American people should be seeing. Not reporting? being done by so called News Anchors and expert? analyst, most having never been In-Country, or only quick visits to, and having few reports directly out of the Country and even fewer about and with the people of, same for the other Theater of Occupation Afghanistan.

Iraqis suspicious of pullout deal

Leila Fadel says while new agreement seems a win for Iraq many doubt it will be implemented as written

They speak on Iraqi perception of the US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The Arabic-version of the agreement is firm on the United States completely withdrawing all aspects of its occupation of Iraq by December 31, 2011. Fadel says that most Iraqis are suspicious of the Agreement and of their government's dedication to ending the US-led occupation firmly. Fadel also talks about Muqtada al- Sadr and his supporters' reaction to the Agreement as well as the fall in violence in Iraq in the past year.

The Iraqi view of the surge

Leila Fadel: The surge is not well understood in the US Pt.2

As surge nears its final years, many are struggling to understand what exactly it has achieved. According to exiting President George W. Bush and his successor the surge was a success. To better understand the situation on the ground, Paul Jay spoke to Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers' bureau chief in Baghdad. Fadel speaks on the history of violence in the region, from the Anbar province to Baghdad. She also speaks on the rising leaders and the Sons of Iraq program, the exiled former fighter Abu Abed, and the network known in the West as al- Qaeda. The drop in sectarian violence, according to Fadel, is the result of the ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims and the creation of segregation by US-built walls between Shia and Sunni neighborhoods, and the nature of the resistance to the forces.

Iraqi elites fight for position

Leila Fadel: The fight for Iraqi wealth and power will intensify Pt.3

Iraqi elections: Elites to fight for power and oil

Leila Fadel: Jan 31 provincial elections will not be a religious fight - but amongst the Shia elite Pt.4

According to Leila Fadel, Baghdad bureau cheif for McClatchy Newspapers, sectarian leaders elected in Iraq's 2005 general election did not significantly improve the lives of average Iraqis. In the upcoming January 2009 provincial elections, many hope for secular leaders focused on Iraq's national interests, but the real battle will be between the elites of the Shia for control of the oil rich south.

Iraqi gov't leaders fear Obama?

Fadel: Iraqi officials fear unconditional support from US Oval Office will end with Obama Pt5/5

As the Bush administration leaves office it is clear the Iraqi mission is not accomplished. The goals of US power in the region and control over Iraqi oil now seem unattainable. The question now rises over what the new Obama administration represents for the occupation of Iraq, and for the Iraqi government. Leila Fadel, Baghdad bureau chief of McClatchy Newspapers warns the blanket support George W. Bush offered the Nouri Al-Maliki government may run out with Barack Obama. US troops act like the most powerful militia in support of Maliki government, thus, these leaders fear what will happen when US troops leave.

Bio

Leila Fadel is the chief of the Baghdad bureau of McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered the war in Iraq for Knight Ridder and now McClatchy on and off since June 2005, as well as the 34-day war in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel in the summer of 2006. Prior to joining the McClatchy team she worked at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a crime and higher education reporter.

Fadel graduated from Northeastern University in Boston in 2004 and has lived in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. She speaks conversational Arabic. She was named print journalist of the year by the Houston Press Club for her work in 2005 and won a Katie Award from the Dallas Press Club in 2006 for her portfolio of work.

Her Iraq reporting won her Print Journalist of the Year honors from the Houston Press Club citing her work from "Bedford (Texas) to Baghdad," and add her McClatchy Blog

Watching the Iraq Parliament on the Iraq/U.S. SOFA pack

The voting comes today but the dealing goes to the wire.

Iraq's ruling Shiite and Kurdish blocs have made a key concession to a large group of Sunni Arab legislators in hopes of securing a big majority in a parliamentary vote on a U.S.-Iraqi security pact, a senior Shiite lawmaker and a close aide to the prime minister said Wednesday.

Just this past Sunday al-Maliki said if pack isn't passed, Occupation Forces Out!

"Extending the presence of the international forces on Iraqi soil will not be our alternative," Maliki told journalists. "The alternative will be their immediate withdrawal from Iraq."

Al-Maliki's ruling coalition has a slim majority, if they all fall in line, but he apparently wants a 'Slam Dunk' majority so the dealing continues.

But the prime minister seeks a bigger win that transcends Iraq's factionalism and sectarian divisions and reinforces the legitimacy of the pact, which could lead to full Iraqi sovereignty and close the bloody chapter that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

But it looks like, at least with this recent report, whatever takes place today and if passed it will do so as a temporary agreement.

Shiite Lawmaker Ridha Jawad Taqi said the government's Shiite and Kurdish blocs, which account for about 140 seats, or a slight majority in the legislature, were willing to hold a national referendum on the deal in 2009. That amounts to a concession to many Sunni Arab legislators, who have said they would support the security pact Wednesday if it was put to a nationwide vote next year.

So the deal, if approved in the parliamentary vote, could still be rescinded if it fails in the popular referendum.

A referendum would give the Iraqi people a chance to evaluate "whether their interests have been achieved," said Alaa Makki, a member of parliament's biggest Sunni Arab bloc, the 44-seat Iraqi Accordance Front.

One would think that if the escalation of forces, known as the 'surge', had been a success in the purpose it was sold, time for the Iraq Government to stabilize and start functioning as a government of the people, they would have put this to the people of Iraq rather than doing the dealings behind close doors with the administration and leaving out our own Congress!

A senior al-Maliki aide confirmed the concession by the Kurdish and Shiite blocs. Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, he said a draft bill containing provisions for the referendum and a package of political reforms demanded by the Sunnis would be voted on separately in parliament, also on Wednesday.

And what does the Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani have to say:

The vote count will be as important as the overall result because the country's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has indicated that the deal would be acceptable only if it's passed by a big margin. He could scuttle the deal if he speaks against it.

One of the reasons violence, at least in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities is down, are the huge concrete block walls surrounding the neighborhoods, though as we've read this week and previous bombings and killings still take place.

How would you feel if forced to live as the Iraqi's are, probably the same as the Iraqi's or even in more rage.

Iraqis suffer walls that divide and save

Once one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq, Rashid has seen violence drop dramatically in the past year and a half, a trend both Iraqis and Americans credit to walling off certain neighborhoods and shopping areas and adding many checkpoints. The stepped-up security effort began in the spring of 2007 and almost immediately violence began to drop, bottoming out in August when there were only 24 attacks.

Recently, though, a spate of bombings — including several at busy markets — has put the area on edge. American and Iraqi security officials say that is proof the barriers are still needed to keep the fragile peace.

McClatchy had an Unofficial Translation of the pack last week.

What will the Iraqi Parliament do today!

Oh Well..............Typical......

Iraq's parliament delays vote on US pact

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's parliament speaker says a vote on a proposed security agreement with the United States has been delayed until Thursday.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani's announcement came after a planned session to hold the vote did not go through Wednesday.

Troops Could Face July 2010 Deadline

Iraqis Agree to Put U.S. Troop Withdrawal to National Vote

Iraqi lawmakers postponed until Thursday a scheduled vote on a security agreement that would extend the U.S. military presence in Iraq. But they have agreed to make the pact subject to a national referendum next year that could require a complete American troop withdrawal by July 2010 -- 18 months ahead of what the agreement now envisions.

SOFA

Iraq parliament passes U.S. security pact

Iraq's parliament approved a landmark security pact with the United States Thursday that paves the way for U.S. forces to withdraw by the end of 2011.

The deal, which parliament linked after days of fractious negotiations to a series of promised political reforms and a public referendum next year, brings in sight an end to the U.S. military presence that began with the 2003 invasion.

SOFA - Official English Version

Official English version of U.S.-Iraq troop agreement - PDF