To combine with NCCI charter, NGOs members have to pay the fees 3 months in advance. Those that have not paid yet are kindly requested to pay contacting Giovanna: [email protected] EDITORIAL Issue 82 – September 20th, 2007 ------Hidden under the spotlights

Over the last few weeks, an old discussion is coming back amongst humanitarian actors, logically linked with a new interest of the International Community toward the Iraq Humanitarian Crisis: can humanitarian action on the ground become visible? How could we improve our visibility?

Since 2003 this question has been recurrent, with issues ranging from the defence of humanitarian space (which is still a concern today) to the visibility of aid operations. Today, more and more actors are wondering what to do, especially in the three northern governorates where, while the daily GHT security is better than in the rest of the country, low visibility is still the norm for most of actors. I However, the question is sensitive, as organisations know what they would leave behind by

L changing their profile, but have to identify, obviously, what might be the benefits, but also importantly the consequences.

H In most countries in the world, visibility is a fait acquis, so this question is not as recurrent as it is in Iraq. Nor is it as sensitive as it is in Iraq. Indeed, in Iraq today, being visible or different is a threat for any civilian. Following the attacks against the humanitarian community in 2003, almost all G actors in Iraq started to operate through a “low profile” strategy. Today discussions and perceptions I are very different according to the location that the interventions take place. In Amman, where people are safe, the subject may be often considered more theoretical. At ground level, the subject is not theoretical when it comes to saving lives and protecting operations so that they can continue to H deliver relief. This is especially true in hot spots across the whole central area of Iraq.

Y What does “low profile” strategy mean?

L By the end 2003, a “low profile” strategy has been seen by most of actors as the only way to remain in Iraq to reduce targeting of aid workers. It means no communications on activities, on locations of K work, and sometimes not even on sectors of activities in which the organisation is engaged. Some organisations don’t even mention in their international communication or on their websites that E they are working in Iraq. It meant removing identifying stickers or flags, cutting visible links with

E the international community, even often hiding the name of the organisation, and the field staff presenting themselves only as Iraqis.

Since this strategy has been developed, it appears that it reached one of its objectives: while Iraq remains the deadliest country for aid workers in the world, there were not any other large scale W

I attacks against the humanitarian community, as had occurred prior the implementation of this strategy. So it can be assumed that the death toll might have been worse without it. Nevertheless, the “low profile” is a double edged sword. Admittedly, it gave better security to aid workers, but it also made them and their operations nearly invisible. Yet invisibility is perceived de facto by donors and the international community as an absence life saving work, which is simply not the case. As a result, funds for humanitarian action in Iraq have been diminishing over time. So the question quickly came on the table: how can we increase visibility while continuing to keep a low profile strategy? Especially when donors, who are not visible in the country either, are expecting more publicity on the projects they fund; as the donors also have an obligation to their constituencies to NCC show what they are doing with their tax contributions.

Indeed, low profile doesn’t necessarily mean complete invisibility. NCCI members requested to NCCI to improve their visibility by communicating on their behalf. In addition, communication may remain possible in some areas or sectors. Not through logos or stickers, but through press releases, reports that do not mention the location or scale of the projects, etc…or through any other innovative communication tool. This is important both inside and outside of Iraq.

Why is visibility considered as necessary for humanitarian organisations? First, because it increases

operational transparency, which is a fundamental principle of humanitarian aid programmes. Second, because it shows concrete action, which is indispensable to get funds. Third, because it often improves the humanitarian space, through an active communication with communities on the impartiality of the aid and the aid workers. Then there is also another reason that is often considered as not necessary and not often appreciated by aid workers: to make publicity for donors and partner organisations.

Obviously, the way an organisation should or decides to communicate depends on lots of factors, including their own internal strategy and principles. But generally speaking, what has to be taken in consideration for more visibility in Iraq?

Of course, when access to vulnerable people can be denied or aid workers killed, donor’s visibility requirements will come last.

The first element to be considered when considering visibility options is the protection of civilians. Indeed, visibility may increase their vulnerability if they are become associated with international aid or the aid community. So any visibility should be discussed with communities in order to have their own perception and wishes.

Second, but often the first concern of most of organisations, is the security of aid workers. As for the community, they know better that anyone what can be said or done regarding the communication on programmes they run on the ground, especially in hot spots, to keep them and the beneficiaries as safe as possible.

Third, the security of the whole humanitarian community should be taken in consideration. Indeed, an organisation that feel safe enough in a community to communicate on their operations may, highlighting the kind of work they do, jeopardise another one working on the same sector but in an area where they have to keep a very low profile, or remaining totally hidden.

Fourth, the local context where the organisation is working in. Indeed, while it may be possible to communicate on some programmes in some areas because of the security situation or the links built over time with the community, the same programme should remain invisible in another area, even in the same district.

Undeniably, as so often in Iraq, it is impossible to define a global strategy for the whole country. Everything can change from one governorate to another, from one district to another, from one village to another, or from one sector to another.

Finally. while in 2003 the decision to switch to the low profile strategy was taken collectively, nowadays the increased localisation of the context prevent such a cohesive strategy. Decisions on visibility strategies shouldn’t be imposed by an external partner. Every organisation working in the field should be the only decision maker for the types of visibility that they can use. Field staff are the only one that can understand what could be, locally, the possible repercussions or consequences of a visibility strategy, including very innovative ones, on the community, on their staff and, sometimes, on the entire humanitarian community.

------Salaam, NCCI Team

NCCI Weekly Highlight 2 Issue 82 – 09/20/2007

______Humanitarian Updates From NCCI, NGOs’ reports from the field and UN agencies

Advocacy

- America's Deadly Shock Doctrine in Iraq Source: Alternet Document: Book Excerpt Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open The following is an excerpt from Naomi Klein's new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Henry Holt, 2007). The unanticipated violence that now engulfs Iraq is the creation of the lethally optimistic architects of the war -- it was preordained in that original seemingly innocuous, even idealistic phrase, "a model for a new Middle East". The disintegration of Iraq has its roots in the ideology that demanded a tabula rasa on which to write its new story. And when no such pristine tableau presented itself, the supporter of that ideology proceeded to blast and surge and blast again in the hope of reaching that promised land.

- U.N. Officials Say Countries Involved In Iraq War Are Not Doing Enough for Iraqi Refugees Source: International Herald Tribune Document: Book Excerpt Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Countries involved in the Iraq war have a "moral obligation to do more" to accommodate the growing number of Iraqis fleeing their homeland, the U.N. secretary-general said Tuesday, the same day his humanitarian chief accused the United States of not doing enough about the refugee crisis.

Operational Humanitarian Space

- Diyala the worst province for basic services Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open Ahmed urged all parties to the conflict to understand the neutrality of NGOs and authorise the delivery of humanitarian aid to families as many have been living in poverty, lacking water and food supplies.

Humanitarian Needs and Assistance

- Iraq humanitarian crisis grows despite U.S. surge Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Iraq's humanitarian crisis is getting worse and more Iraqis are fleeing their homes despite the recent surge of U.S. troops, aid workers say, with donors reluctant to fund support for millions of displaced.

- The Nightmare Is Here Source: New York Times Document: Opinion Date: September 15, 2007 Access: Open We've heard from General Petraeus, from Ambassador Crocker, and on Thursday night from President Bush. What we haven't heard this week is anything about the tragic reality on the ground for the ordinary citizens of Iraq, which is in the throes of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

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Health & Mental Health

- Situation Report on Cholera Outbreak in Northern Iraq #11 Source: WHO-Iraq Document: Sitrep Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open As of 18th of September 2007, 25 districts of Northern Iraq and 4 districts in the south and center have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera. 12 out of the 14 districts of Sulaymaniyah governorate, all five districts of Kirkuk governorate, 4 out of seven districts of Erbil governorate as well as one district in each of Mosul, Tikrit, Baghdad and Basra are now affected by this cholera outbreak. Preparations are being made to send a representative number of vibrio cholera isolates to a reference laboratory for further confirmation and genomic sequencing. Situation Report on Cholera Outbreak in Northern Iraq #8 (Sept 13) Situation Report on Cholera Outbreak in Northern Iraq #9 (Sept 16) Situation Report on Cholera Outbreak in Northern Iraq #10 (Sept 17)

- WHO provides aid for the cholera victims Source: WHO Document: Press Release Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting the Iraq Ministry of Health in responding to an ongoing outbreak of cholera in the northern part of the country. WHO is working hands in hand with the ministry and other partners to provide life-saving medical supplies, diarrhoeal disease kits, and technical assistance to streamline reporting, strengthening of surveillance systems and cholera outbreak investigation training.

- New cholera cases in north, says Health Ministry – In English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open The number of suspected cholera cases in northern Iraq continues to rise, but the outbreak has so far been limited to three provinces, a Health Ministry official said on 15 September. "No new cases have been discovered yet in other parts of Iraq but cases are still being discovered in Sulaimaniyah, Arbil and Kirkuk [all in the north]," Adel Muhsin, the Health Ministry's inspector-general, told IRIN in a telephone interview.

- First cholera case detected in Baghdad – In English and Arabic Source: Aswat Al Iraq Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open The director of al-Karkh health department said on Tuesday that the first cholera case has been detected in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, in addition to two other suspected cases.

- Missan residents thirst for potable water – In English and Arabic Source: Aswat Al Iraq Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open According to a survey conducted by a Missan-based institution concerned with human rights, only 5% of the houses in the province have running water, 60% use water pumps, and 25% depend on rivers for water supply. This water is mainly used for washing and cooking and is sometimes used for drinking purposes, the survey revealed.

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- The Iraqi hospital drama – In English and Arabic Source: Niqash Document: Article Date: September 9, 2007 Access: Open Visitors to the Medical City in Baghdad, one of the biggest health institutions in Iraq, will notice the many problems that resulted from the sharp escalation of violence in Iraq during the last four years and from the harsh economic sanctions. Together, they were to a large extent responsible for the damage done to the infrastructure of health institutions in the country.

- Special Report: Health in Iraq Source: IWPR Document: Series of Articles Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Series of IWPR reports examine the problems besetting the country's crisis-ridden health service. The daily toll of violence-related fatalities in Iraq has dominated the headlines around the world, but the fate of those injured in the conflict and the prospects of those who fall ill in a country whose healthcare facilities are in a woeful state has received little attention. Shortages of hospital staff and drugs, crumbling medical facilities and outbreaks of disease are making life miserable for millions of Iraqis, a new special report by IWPR reporters can reveal. The World Health Organisation cites Iraqi government estimates that almost 70 per cent of critically injured patients with violence-related wounds die while in emergency and intensive care units. The primary causes, it says, are a shortage of competent staff and a lack of drugs and equipment. Karbala Mirrors countrywide crisis Dire shortage of drugs and doctors reflects catastrophic effect of war and corruption on the country's healthcare system. Kirkuk Hospital Staff Soldier On Hard-pressed doctors at province's only hospital treat up to 500 patients a day - even more when the bombs strike. Cholera Outbreak In North Blamed On Dirty Water Local officials say water supply systems are in urgent need of an overhaul. Sunni Patients Fear Baghdad Wards Sunnis stay clear of hospitals for fear of being targeted by Shia death squads. Militias Jeopardise New Basra Hospital Campaign of intimidation and violence leaves ambitious project way behind schedule.

- "Now I understand how hard life is for people living with HIV"– In English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open Youssef Ahmed, aged 27, says he was ostracised by his family after they discovered he was HIV-positive. "Last month, I went to a centre which helps people with HIV. They gave me some food, medicines for my condition and referred me to a local non-governmental organisation that helps those living with HIV.

- Sectarian Toll Includes Scars to Iraq Psyche Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open “I lost everything in one moment,” said Rossel, the eldest daughter. “I don’t know who I am now. I’m somebody different.” But typical of those who are left from Iraq’s reasonable middle, the Muhammads have been hardened toward others by violence, and they have been forced to feel their sectarian identity, a mental closing that allows war made by militants to spread. “In the past the country lived all together, but now, no,” Rossel said. “I don’t trust anyone.”

NCCI Weekly Highlight 5 Issue 82 – 09/20/2007

IDPs

- Iraq Displacement Assessment and Statistics report Source: IOM Document: Report Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open Therefore, the Ministry of Displacement and Migration and several organizations (such as IOM) have been registering and/or monitoring Iraqis who have been displaced since February 2006. Cluster F estimates the number of displaced to be 1,058,424 individuals1 since 22 February 2006. This figure, combined with the 1.2 million individuals who were internally displaced before 22 February, results in a total of over 2.25 million IDPs in Iraq to date.

- Improved Security in Two Governorates Sees Reduction in Displacement Source: IOM Document: Report Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open IOM's latest Emergency Needs Assessment on the extent of internal displacement inside Iraq shows that improved security in Anbar governorate and parts of Baghdad has resulted in a decrease in the number of recently displaced families.

- Refugees in their own land: 2m Iraqis forced to flee their homes Source: The Guardian Document: Article Date: September 20, 2007 Access: Open Nearly two million Iraqis have become refugees in their own land in the past year, redrawing the ethnic and sectarian map of Baghdad and other cities, a report by the Iraqi Red Crescent said yesterday. In Baghdad alone, nearly a million people have fled their homes.

- Future Look of Iraq Complicated by Internal Migration Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open A vast internal migration is radically reshaping Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian landscape, according to new data collected by thousands of relief workers, but displacement in the most populous and mixed areas is surprisingly complex, suggesting that partitioning the country into semiautonomous Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish enclaves would not be easy. The figures show that many families move twice, three times or more, first fleeing immediate danger and then making more considered calculations based on the availability of city services or schools for their children. Finding neighbors of their own sect is just one of those considerations. The IRCS Report

Refugees

- UN Agencies Launch $85 Million Appeal To Aid 2.2 Million Iraqi Refugees Source: UN News Document: Press Release Date: September 10, 2007 Access: Open United Nations humanitarian agencies today launched a joint $84.8-million appeal to meet the health and nutrition needs of an estimated 2.2 million Iraqis who have fled the ongoing violence and instability in their homeland to neighbouring countries.The funds are required to support host governments in meeting the health and nutrition needs of the refugees until the end of next year. "The health needs of more than 2 million displaced Iraqis should not be ignored," said the World Health Organization, which launched the appeal together with the UN Children's Fund, UN Population Fund, UN High Commissioner for Refugee and World Food Programme. More on the appeal The Appeal

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- Summer camp in Lebanon for displaced Iraqi children Source: Save the Children Document: Press Release Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open Iraqi, Lebanese, and Palestinian children took part in a summer camp organized by Save the Children Sweden, in its first initiative to work with Iraqi refugees. The 4-day summer camp held from the 8th to the 12th of September supported by Save the Children Sweden was an initiative to provide children with a safe space where they could feel some normality in their, filled with activities and fun.

- Crocker Blasts Refugee Process Source: Washington Post Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned that it may take the U.S. government as long as two years to process and admit nearly 10,000 Iraqi refugees referred by the United Nations for resettlement to the United States, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks. In a bluntly worded State Department cable titled "Iraqi Refugee Processing: Can We Speed It Up?" Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker noted that the Department of Homeland Security had only a handful of officers in Jordan to vet the refugees.

- No Way Out Source: New York Times Document: Editorial Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Thousands of Iraqis, many hunted as traitors because they assisted America’s war effort, are finding the bridge to safety blocked. Their admission to the United States as refugees is being delayed by a tortuous application process and lumbering bureaucratic reviews.

- Iraqis miss home and kin as Muslim world celebrates the start of Ramadan Source: UNHCR Document: Article Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open As the Muslim world prepared to celebrate the annual fasting period of Ramadan on Thursday, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees from Cairo to Damascus reflected on a happier past and worried about relatives left behind in places like Baghdad.

- UNHCR lays on free meals for Iraqi refugees during Ramadan Source: UNHCR Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open At mosques across Damascus, imams used the call to prayer at the beginning of Ramadan to invite Iraqi refugees to share the first meal of the day with their Syrian hosts.

- EU official calls for more int'l assistance to Syria on Iraqi refugees issue Source: Xinhua Document: Article Date: September 12, 2007 Access: Open A visiting European Parliament official on Wednesday called on the international community to offer more assistance to Syria in a bid to help it contain the economic situation worsened by the massive influx of the Iraqi refugees. She noted that the contributions made by the international community during the conference held in Geneva last April were insufficient to cover the needs of Iraqi refugees.

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- Syria suspends visa restriction to Iraqi refugees during Ramadan Source: Xinhua Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Syria has decided to suspend visa restrictions to the Iraqi refugees during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, the independent Syria-News website reported on Friday.

- Iraqis stream into Syria ahead of visa clampdown - In English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open Iraqis are once again crossing into Syria in large numbers, taking advantage of the Syrian government's relaxation, for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, of newly-introduced visa regulations that prevent asylum seekers from Iraq entering the country.

Education – Child Protection

- Back to School, Back to Horror Source: IPS Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open As another school year begins in Iraq, parents approach it with dread, fearing for the safety of their children. With the security situation grimmer than ever all over the country, just stepping out of one’s house means a serious threat to life. "God knows how we could send our kids to school this year," Um Mohammed, a mother of five in Baghdad told IPS. "Our financial situation is the worst ever and the prices are way too expensive for the majority of Iraqis to afford. I might have to keep some of them at home and send only two."

Human Rights - Protection

- Iraq's Yazidis still living in fear a month after targeted bombings Source: Minority Rights Group Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open A month after the Iraq’s worst sectarian attacks that left some 200 people killed, the targeted community, the Yazidis continue to live in absolute fear barely able to leave their homes. "The situation has got so bad that the Yazidis just can’t get out of their locality. They can’t move around to other cities," says Ali Seedo Rasho, President of the Yazidi Cultural Association in Iraq. Rasho says because of the worsening security situation he has recently had to move to Syria.

- Baghdad residents call for protection of homes from militant raids – In English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open Some families in Baghdad have asked the Iraqi government to do more to protect their homes as raids by militants in local neighbourhoods become more common, and defensive neighbourhood checkpoints are themselves targeted. According to Baghdad residents, the parts of the city most seriously affected by raids include Yarmouk, Baghdad Ijjedida, Alawi, Harthiyah, Amiriyah and Bab al-Muadham. Outside Baghdad, the most affected areas are Babil, Diyalah, Salahdine and Kirkuk.

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- More than 100,000 Iraqis in jail Source: Azzaman Document: Article Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open U.S. troops hold 23,600 Iraqis almost all of them without trial. The U.S. has promised to release 50 of them every day throughout Ramadan. But the U.S. is not the only authority with the right to jail Iraqis. Iraqi armed forces and police can also imprison Iraqis without trail and informed sources say there are more than 82,000 Iraqis in government jails.

- Lawyers accuse government of concealing information about detainees Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Lawyers representing families of Iraqi detainees have accused the government of concealing information about detainees, including their whereabouts.

- Widows, unwed and bereaved of child, who will change the reality of the Iraqi woman – In Arabic Source: Al Mannarah Document: Article Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open These three characters have stuck with the Iraqi women since the eighties with an escalating accumulation that reached its peak in “Democratic Iraq” that we dreamed of, but reality has shown us that we shouldn’t have had those dreams, we don’t even deserve to think of them.

Demining

- MAG launches Iraq Mobile Small Arms and Light Weapons Destruction Project Source: MAG Document: Article Date: September 13, 2007 Access: Open The 1st September 2007 marked the start of operational activities for MAG Iraq's newly formed mobile small arms and light weapons (SALW) destruction project. With funding granted from the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State, MAG Iraq has established this dedicated, specialised technical and community liaison capacity as part of its conflict recovery and peace building programme.

______-----__ Iraq Context

General Overview

- Iraq Crisis Report (IraqHAR) Source: Centre of Excellence on Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Document: Weekly report Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open A weekly Iraq humanitarian assistance report Compiled by Pacific Disaster Management Information Network

NCCI Weekly Highlight 9 Issue 82 – 09/20/2007

- Juan Cole’s informed comment’s excerpts Source: Informed Comment – Juan Cole’s Web Blog. Document: Selection of daily comments Date: September 14-20, 2007 Access: Open Juan Cole is a Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. As such he brings daily much needed expertise and historical perspective to issues surrounding Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Good reading to have a weekly review of the Iraq daily situation.

Non-Violence and Reconciliation

- Baghdad soup kitchen feeds Sunnis and Shi'ites Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open In a city riven with sectarian bloodshed, workers at a 13th century Baghdad mosque mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan by feeding the poor and preserving a bygone spirit of co-existence.

- Mahdi army after British withdrawal: "we will not surrender our weapons" – In English and Arabic Source: Niqash Document: Article Date: September 9, 2007 Access: Open 18 political blocs and factions in Basra had signed a special code of honor regarding disarmament of heavy and medium weapons not later than September 2007. It was only the Mahdi Army who did not sign the code causing its leaders a lot of embarrassment. Nizar Hamadeh, the manager of the Shahidullah Institute affiliated with the Martyr al-Sadr Office in Basra said that the Sadr movement did not sign the agreement because it was busy tackling the recent security events in Karbala. The Sadrist leader confirmed to Niqash that his movement has submitted a security reconciliation project during its latest conference titled "Towards a secure, stable and prosperous Basra", which was held at the Oil Cultural Club and in which the various political, religious and tribal groups participated.

- Constitutional Reform in Iraq: Improving Prospects, Political Decisions Needed Source: USIP Document: Briefing paper Date: September 7, 2007 Access: Open U.S. and Iraqi politicians and analysts consistently agree on one central point concerning Iraq: serious political reconciliation amongst Iraqi groups is needed to reduce the violence and create a viable government. Centrifugal forces fueled by armed conflict, competition for power and resources, and the intervention of foreign powers and neighbors has stalemated the political process in Baghdad for months. What is needed now is a top-level decision to move ahead with amendments in as many areas as possible. Without that, improved prospects may never be realized and the constitutional revision process will—like so many other things in Iraq— fall victim to stalemate and uncertainty. Significant proposed amendments are in five areas

Iraqis Living Conditions

- In Baghdad, remembering a safer life Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open A mechanic's family reflects the split in Iraqi opinions about U.S. troops: fear they'll stay, and fear they'll go. But both sides look back on the days of less fear.

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- Iraq's war makes intimate enemies Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open When a friend from the old neighborhood rang Abu Ali after sunrise one day this month to tell him that his house had been destroyed, the middle-aged Sunni confessed to himself that he felt happy. In Baghdad, a Sunni in a Shiite enclave finds that old friendships can evaporate, leaving only a desire for vengeance.

Violence and (Un-) security

- Victims of the death squads: One family's harrowing story of kidnap and murder in Iraq Source: The Independent Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open Nadia Hayali tells Kim Sengupta of the day her family were seized and she lost her husband, a story that gives the lie to claims that US forces are succeeding in Baghdad

- The Royal Treatment: Saudi Involvement in Iraq Overlooked Source: Foreign Policy in Focus Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Anyone doubting that Bush is not serious about taking on Tehran should note his words from last month: "We will confront this danger before it is too late." On September 17, The Daily Telegraph in London reported that the Pentagon has already drawn up plans for massive air strikes against 2,000 targets across Iran. The great irony is that while these accusations toward Tehran are supported by thin evidence, plenty of evidence does exist that another of Iraq's neighbors, US ally Saudi Arabia, is supporting resistance groups in Iraq, and intends to continue to do so.

- U.S. Is Paying Off Iraq's Worst War Criminals in Attempt to Ward Off Attacks Source: Alternet Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Embedded with the U.S. Army and Iraqi militias, Rowley shows us that the Sunni "freedom fighters" with whom the United States is now allied are not just insurgents who had been killing Americans but war criminals responsible for sectarian cleansing. Rowley's report, which includes interviews with candid U.S. soldiers and footage of a military commander handing a Sunni leader a wad of cash, suggests the role of bribery and coercion in building alliances that serve short-term goals in Anbar province, but in the long run deepen a multisided civil war. I talked to Rick Rowley about his report and what he thinks it indicates about Iraq's future.

- Mr Bush, your sheikh is dead Source: Asia Times Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha - along with his two bodyguards - was killed by a roadside bomb planted near his home in Ramadi, the capital of an Anbar province Petraeus had sworn was "pacified". Anbar is not pacified, contrary to official line, and Petraeus's tactics once again are deceptive. When in late 2005 he was writing the new Pentagon counterinsurgency manual, he was heavy on "paramilitary units" and "specialized paramilitary strike forces". These are actually the new Petraeus-supported and armed actors in Anbar: hardcore Sunni militias.

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- An assassination that blows apart Bush's hopes of pacifying Iraq Source: The Independent Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Last week George Bush flew into Iraq to meet Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, leader of Anbar province. This week General David Petraeus told the US Congress how Anbar was a model for Iraq. Yesterday Abu Risha was assassinated by bombers in Anbar. The importance of the assassination of Abu Risha is that it once again underlines the difference between the bloody reality of Iraq as it is and the way it is presented by the US administration.

- U.S. Expands Anbar Model to Iraq Shiites Source: AP Document: Article Date: September 15, 2007 Access: Open American commanders in southern Iraq say Shiite sheiks are showing interest in joining forces with the U.S. military against extremists, in much the same way that Sunni clansmen in the western part of the country have worked with American forces against al-Qaida.

- U.S. Secret Air War Pulverizes Afghanistan and Iraq Source: Foreign Policy in Focus Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open According to Associated Press, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of bombs dropped on Iraq during the first six months of 2007 over the same period in 2006. More than 30 tons of those have been cluster weapons, which take an especially heavy toll on civilians. Balad, which currently conducts 10,000 air operations a week, is strengthening runways to handle the increase in air activity. Col. David Reynolds told the AP, "We would like to get to be a field like Langley, if you will." The Langley field in Virginia is one of the Air Force's biggest and most sophisticated airfields.

- Blackwater security firm banned from Iraq Source: CNN Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."There has been no official notice from the Iraqi government on revoking Blackwater's license, McCormack said, so he couldn't confirm it and declined to speculate on how it would affect protection of U.S. personnel.

- Who Watches US Security Firms in Iraq? Source: AP Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Nearly a year after a law was passed holding contracted employees to the same code of justice as military personnel, the Bush administration has not published guidance on how military lawyers should do that, according to Peter Singer, a security industry expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.A Congressional Research Service report published in July said security contractors in Iraq operate under rules issued by the United States, Iraq and international entities such as the United Nations. All have their limitations, however.

- Ethnic violence forces more Arabs to flee Kirkuk – In English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open Iraqi Arab residents of the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk, some 250km from Baghdad, say scores of Arab families are fleeing the city as ethnic violence increases there.

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- Religious Violence Spiking, State Dept Says Source: IPS Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Despite the addition of 30,000 U.S. troops to enhance security in the country, the freedom of average Iraqis to practice their religions deteriorated sharply during the past year, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. State Department.

- As British troops exit Basra, Shiites vie to fill power vacuum Source: Christian Science Monitor Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open What happens in the city may provide a window on the future for the rest of Iraq. Looters have stolen the soldier. But the shark, meant to represent Iran, remains. The Islamic Republic's influence is indeed felt throughout Basra, Iraq's second-largest city where Shiite parties, militiamen, and criminal gangs all are locked in a vicious fight for power. The streets in the provincial capital are even abuzz with talk of Iranian-trained sleeper cells at the ready.

- 'Shiite Taliban' rises as British depart Basra Source: Christian Science Monitor Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Many in the Iraqi port city say social freedoms are eroding as radical militias gain power. The female model's face is now covered with black paint. Graffiti scrawled below reads, "No! No to unveiled women." That message joins the chorus of ultraconservative voices and radical militias that are transforming this once liberal port city that boasted some of Iraq's most lively nightclubs into a bastion for hard-line Shiite Islamists since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

- Security Took 'Turn for Worse' In Southern Iraq, Report Says Source: Washington Post Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Security is deteriorating in southern Iraq as rival Shiite militias vying for power have stepped up their attacks after moving out of Baghdad to avoid U.S.-led military operations, according to the latest quarterly Pentagon report on Iraq released yesterday.

- Battling sexism in Iraqi forces Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Despite efforts by the U.S. to recruit women for the army and police, few have been trained and many have quit. Since that 2004 clash, the soldier has battled increased sectarian violence, religious restrictions and sexism to become one of a few female commanders in the Iraqi army, watching recruits to her company of 80 female soldiers come and go. Mostly go.

“Reconstruction” is not going so well…for Iraqis

- It is the death of history Source: The Independent Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open 2,000-year-old Sumerian cities torn apart and plundered by robbers. The very walls of the mighty Ur of the Chaldees cracking under the strain of massive troop movements, the privatisation of looting as landlords buy up the remaining sites of ancient Mesopotamia to strip them of their artefacts and wealth. The near total destruction of Iraq's historic past – the very cradle of human civilisation – has emerged as one of the most shameful symbols of our disastrous occupation.

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- Why Iraqi Farmers Might Prefer Death to Paul Bremer's Order 81 Source: Alternet Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Order 81 generated very little press attention when it was issued. And what coverage it did spark tended to get the details wrong. Reports claimed that what the United States' man in Iraq had done was no less than tell each and every Iraqi farmer -- growers who had been tilling the soil of Mesopotamia for thousands of years -- that from here on out they could not reuse seeds from their fields or trade seeds with their neighbors, but instead they would be required to purchase all of their seeds from the likes of U.S. agriculture conglomerates like Monsanto.

- Iraq contractor, an ex-colonel, sentenced for smuggling $50,000 in cash, lying to customs Source: AP Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open A retired Army colonel was sentenced to five months in prison Monday for smuggling nearly $50,000 in cash that he said he made from Iraqi subcontractors working on rebuilding contracts. Robert Grove, 63, hid stacks of $100 bills on his body and in his luggage, and lied to customs officials who questioned him as he arrived at Philadelphia International Airport in March, prosecutors said.

- Basra Crude: The Great Game of Iraq’s “Southern” Oil Source: Norvegian Institute of International Affairs Document: Working Paper Date: September 1, 2007 Access: Open Concepts like “Shiite oil” and “Kurdish oil” obfuscate the debate about Iraq’s energy resources. This paper starts from the proposition that it would be better to call a thing by its name: in terms of the size of reserves, Iraqi oil is first and foremost Basra oil. Accounting for one of the world’s greatest concentrations of petroleum wealth, almost all of Iraq’s supergiant oil fields can be found near Basra or in one of its two neighbouring governorates. The other six Shiite-majority governorates of Iraq have little or no oil, and even the most optimistic estimates of new discoveries in Kurdistan pale in comparison with the reserves of Basra and the far south. This paper examines the political implications of these geopolitical realities - with an emphasis on developments after the Samarra bombing of February 2006, intra-Shiite tensions generally, and the questions of implementing federalism south of Baghdad and adopting a new Iraqi oil law in particular.

- Basra oil fuels fight to control Iraq's economic might Source: Christian Science Monitor Document: Article Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open The fight for a stake in Basra's riches is often desperate and violent. Whoever comes out on top, they will hold great sway over the country, and much influence in the Middle East. Now that British forces have left Basra city, and are preparing for a full withdrawal from Basra Province by year-end, many Basrawis worry that this fight for control of Basra's petroleum wealth will further increase, perhaps growing into an all-out war.

- Bush-linked Texas company signs oil deal with Iraqi Kurds Source: WSWS Document: Article Date: September 15, 2007 Access: Open Earlier this month, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq announced that it had signed a production- sharing deal with Texas-based Hunt Oil. The move is an indication that Western oil companies, frustrated over the delay in the passage of a national oil law by the Iraqi government, are moving to make deals with regional bodies to get access to Iraq’s vast oil reserves. As significant as the deal itself is the identity of the company involved. Ray Hunt, the CEO and president of privately held Hunt Oil, is a close confidant of President Bush and a prominent figure in the US political and intelligence establishment.

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- American-style casino opens in Iraq Source: BBC – The World Document: Audio Interview Date: September 19, 2007 Access: Open Suleimaniya is located near the border with Iran, and has long been considered a bastion of liberalism in a part of the world known more for intolerance and chaotic bloodshed. Public Radio International (PRI) interviewed Mr. Kouznetov today, and in it he explains to his bemused interviewer, Lisa Mullin, just how he has managed to open a casino in a Muslim country riven by civil strife and religion-inspired killing.

Iraqi Political process

- Does independence beckon? Source: The Economist Document: Article Date: September 6, 2007 Access: Open But for every Iraqi Kurd, Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution that was endorsed in an Iraq-wide referendum in late 2005 is a national mantra repeated in almost every political conversation. That article provides for a further referendum, following a census and a supposedly voluntary exchange of populations known optimistically as “normalisation”, to determine whether people in Kirkuk province “and other disputed territories” want to stay as part of the Arab-ruled part of Iraq or join Kurdistan or perhaps, in the case of Kirkuk, live in a specially administered region.

- Sadr's bloc quits Iraq's ruling coalition Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: September 16, 2007 Access: Open The parliament bloc loyal to influential cleric Muqtada Sadr walked out of Iraq's ruling Shiite coalition Saturday, further aggravating rifts inside the country's largest religious sect and loosening the alliance's grip on power.

Policies and Strategies

- Planning for Defeat Source: The New Yorker Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open How should we withdraw from Iraq? The war was born in the original sins of deceptive salesmanship, divisive politics, and wishful thinking about the aftermath. The bitterness of that history continues to undermine American interests in Iraq and the Middle East today. President Bush will have his victory at any cost, with one eye on his next Churchillian speech and the other on his place in history, leaving the implementation of his war policy to an Administration that works at cross purposes with itself, promising freedom and delivering rubble. The opposition is plainly eager to hang a defeat around his neck and move on from what it always regarded as Bush’s war. Before the U.S. can persuade the world to unite around a shared responsibility for Iraq, Americans will have to do it first. The problems created by the war will require solutions that don’t belong to a single political party or President: the rise of Iranian power, the emergence of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the radicalization of populations, the huge refugee crisis, the damage to a new generation of Iraqis who are growing up amid the unimaginable. Whenever this country decides that the bloody experience in Iraq requires the departure of American troops, complete disengagement will be neither desirable nor possible. We might want to be rid of Iraq, but Iraq won’t let it happen.

- Belfast-style peace walls recommended for Baghdad Source: The Guardian Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Belfast should be used as a policing model in the battle to secure Baghdad and reduce sectarian slaughter across the city, a new report for the US Congress seen by the Guardian has recommended. Construction in the Iraqi capital of more "peace walls" similar to those that have divided Northern Ireland's largest city since 1969 is one of the proposals set out in a report by the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, established by Congress this year to help shape security policy for the strife-torn country.

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- New Baghdad wall divides Shiite from Shiite Source: AFP Document: Article Date: September 17, 2007 Access: Open The US military this month erected a wall hundreds of metres (yards) long and five metres (16 feet) high between the predominantly Shiite Shuala neighbourhood and the majority Sunni Ghazaliyah district. But the latter district of northwest Baghdad also has a small Shiite community who now find themselves cut off from their co-religionists in Shuala and caught between the wall and their sectarian foes.

- U.S. Working to Reshape Iraqi Detainees Source: Washington Post Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open Moderate Muslims Enlisted to Steer Adults and Children Away From Insurgency. The U.S. military has introduced "religious enlightenment" and other education programs for Iraqi detainees, some of whom are as young as 11, Marine Maj. Gen. Douglas M. Stone, the commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq, said yesterday.

- No Exit, No Strategy Source: New York Times Document: Editorial Date: September 12, 2007 Access: Open Once again, it is clear that Mr. Bush refuses to recognize the truth of his failure in Iraq and envisions a military commitment that has no end. Congress must use its powers to expose the truth and demand a real change in strategy. Democratic leaders, forever parsing polls, are backing away from proposals to impose a deadline for withdrawal and tinkering with small ideas that mostly sound like ways to enable the president’s strategy of delay.

- It Is the Partition of Iraq that Would Be Truly "Artificial" Source: History News Network Document: Opinion – By Reidar Visser Date: September 10, 2007 Access: Open A steady stream of US commentators keep expressing support for the idea of some kind of ethnic partition, be it “soft” or “hard,” of Iraq. Despite the repeated warnings against division by military advisors and experts in humanitarian aid, the partition theme simply refuses to fade away from the American debate. One possible explanation for the strong attraction of the partitionist propaganda is its claim to resurrect what are taken to be “the long lines of history”; according to the partitionist canon, the Iraqis cannot live together because they have never done so in the past – at least not of their “free will.” Iraq is seen as “artificial,” a tripartite division is what is “natural.”

- Is the "Surge" Working? Some New Facts Source: Brookings Institution Document: Working Paper Date: September 2007 Access: Open This paper applies modern statistical techniques to a new data file derived from more than a dozen of the most reliable and widely-cited sources to assess the Surge's impact on three key dimensions: the functioning of the Iraqi state (including civilian casualties); military casualties; and financial markets' assessment of Iraq's future. The new and unusually rigorous findings presented here should help inform current evaluations of the Surge and provide a basis for better decision making about future strategy. There is, however, another way to assess the Surge. This paper shows how data from world financial markets can be used to shed light on the central question of whether the Surge has increased or diminished the prospect of today's Iraq surviving into the future. In particular, I examine the price of Iraqi state bonds, which the Iraqi government is currently servicing, on world financial markets. After the Surge, there is a sharp decline in the price of those bonds, relative to alternative bonds. The decline signaled a 40% increase in the market's expectation that Iraq will default. This finding suggests that to date the Surge is failing to pave the way toward a stable Iraq and may in fact be undermining it.

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- The Blackwater Fiasco Source: Truthdig Document: Article Date: September 18, 2007 Access: Open But who told those Iraqi officials that they have the power to control anything regarding the 182,000 privately contracted personnel working for the U.S. in Iraq? Don't they know about Order 17, which former American proconsul Paul Bremer put in place to grant contractors, including his own Blackwater bodyguards, immunity from Iraqi prosecution? They are "private" in the same fictional sense that our uniformed military is a "volunteer" force, since both are lured by the dollars offered by the same paymaster, the U.S. government. Contractors earn substantially more, despite $20,000 to $150,000 signing bonuses and an all-time-high average annual cost of $100,000 per person for the uniformed military. All of this was designed by the neocon hawks in the Pentagon to pursue their dreams of empire while avoiding a conscripted army, which would have millions howling in the street by now in protest.

- The Iran Attack That Wasn't Source: American Prospect Document: Article Date: August 2, 2007 Access: Open How reporters trumped up a story about Iranians killing Americans in Iraq. On July 2 and 3, The New York Times and the Associated Press, among other media outlets, came out with sensational stories saying that either Iranians or Iranian agents had played an important role in planning the operation in Karbala, Iraq last January that resulted in the deaths of five American soldiers. No one questioned the authenticity of the story at the time. But the official source -- Brig. Gen. Bergner -- offered no real evidence of Iranian involvement in planning the January attack in his press briefing on July 2.

- Georgia says to cut Iraq force from 2,000 to 300 Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open Ex-Soviet Georgia will cut its troops in Iraq to less than a quarter of the current contingent by next June, the defence minister said on Friday. "The Georgian contingent is being reduced to around 300 servicemen from 2,000," Defence Minister David Kezerashvili told journalists.

______Humanitarian world perspectives & Quality of Aid Through articles and Reports

- Corruption and armed conflicts Source: International Relations and Security Network Document: Briefing paper Date: May 2007 Access: Open This paper explores the causal linkages between corruption and civil wars. It discusses the impact of corruption on the probability of violent conflict events and traces the shifts in the composition of corrupt transactions during and in the aftermath of violent conflicts. The author brings the two strands of empirical research of corruption and civil wars together and argues that anomalies arise that would have been difficult to detect within each field in isolation.

- New guidelines to improve psychological and social assistance in emergencies Source: IASC Document: Guidelines Date: September 14, 2007 Access: Open International humanitarian agencies have agreed on a new set of guidelines to address the mental health and psychosocial needs of survivors as part of the response to conflict or disaster. IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings WHO website on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergencies

NCCI Weekly Highlight 17 Issue 82 – 09/20/2007 Th is Page is your page

If you have an announcement (training, workshop, etc) regarding your organisation, if you are aware about meetings, events, humanitarian update, if you would like to make known some information, please send them to [email protected]

Weekly Schedule

NCCI Coordination Meeting in Sulaymaniah on Sunday, September 23rd. We have added on our weekly schedule some events hold in Iraq or Jordan that concern only specific invited people. They are highlighted as “restricted”. This is to give better information on what is going on to our members. We encourage you to check regularly our Weekly Schedule on our Website for updates.

Upcoming important dates

st Septe mber 21 Peace International Day

Septe mber 22nd Anniversary of Khadija’s death (Mohammed first wife)

Septe mber 27th International Day against War and Occupations

th th Septe mber 28 Birthday of Imam Hassan (15 Ramadan)

Septe mber 29th Badr Battle Anniversary (17th Ramadan)

Septem ber 30th (TBC) Al-Qadr Night expected Starts (after Sunset – 18th Ramadan) - the first text from Quran was inspired to Mohammed this night which is one of the most important nights for all Muslims (used to visit Mosques and shrines for praying).However, the exact date of the night will be decided by Religious authorities according to the Moon and can only be expected to be between September 30th and October 2nd.

Updates & Announcements

NCCI Recruits

New CV and NGO Vacancies on our website

------New Portal on Non State Armed Groups

The Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at Harvard University, in cooperation with the Graduate Institute on International Studies (HEI) in Geneva, is pleased to announce a new online portal on non-state armed groups. The site offers analysis and information resources on transnational and non-state armed groups. From the Democratic Republic of Congo to Afghanistan, the portal examines legal and policy debates surrounding such actors in today’s violent conflicts.

------Updated Data on GlobalHealthFacts.org

Global HealthFacts.org, which provides free, easy access to the latest country-level health information, has updated more than 50 health-related indicators across a wide range of areas and topics. The data are displayed in tables, charts , and color-coded maps and can be downloaded for custom analyses.

NCCI’s Contact List

NCCI Weekly Highlight 18 Issue 82 – 09/20/2007