U.S. Role in Saddam's Execution Limited to Transport, General Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2007 – U.S. involvement in the Dec. 29 execution of Saddam Hussein amounted to providing helicopter transport at the request of the Iraqi government, a U.S. military spokesman said in Baghdad today.

Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV emphasized to reporters that all aspects of the execution were a sovereign Iraqi matter.

Caldwell explained that while the U.S. military had maintained physical control over Saddam during his incarceration, the Iraqi government had legal custody of the deposed dictator throughout that time. Whenever transport was required - to bring Saddam to his courtroom appearances, for example - the U.S. military provided the transport at the request of the Iraqi government.

When the Iraqi government asked that Saddam be transported to his execution site, the general said, normal transport procedures were followed.

"I guess the most important thing to know is that we continued operating just as we always have, dealing with the logistics, specifically both the security and the transportation of Saddam; that is, the routine matter that we've been doing ever since we took physical control of him," Caldwell said.

After U.S. military police delivered Saddam to a holding room near the execution site at a Baghdad prison and appropriate legal paperwork was signed, American authorities "had absolutely nothing to do with any of the (execution) procedures or any of the control mechanisms or anything from that point forward," Caldwell said.

News reports say Saddam was taunted by some observers just before he was hanged and that others present may have taken cell-phone-video images of the execution. Some of that purported video has circulated on the Internet and portions of it have been broadcast by media outlets. The Iraqi government has called for an investigation of the matter, Caldwell said. News reports today say an Iraqi official has been arrested for allegedly taking images of the execution with a cell phone camera.

"We had absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with the facility where the execution took place," Caldwell emphasized. "We were not involved in any search of any people, we had nobody present, we did not dictate any requirements that had to be followed. ... The multinational force had absolutely no direct involvement with that whatsoever."

After the execution, Caldwell said, the Iraqi government requested U.S. helicopter support to fly some Iraqis from Baghdad to Tikrit. The Iraqis loaded Saddam's body into a helicopter, he said, and the former dictator's remains and they were transported north.

Caldwell acknowledged that coalition officials would not have made all the same decisions regarding the execution, but pointed out that those decisions were the Iraqi government's to make. "This is a sovereign nation; they made the decisions they made," he said. "But we, as a coalition force, would have done it differently."

Saddam was tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity by an Iraqi court. An appeals court upheld the former dictator's conviction and death sentence for his complicity in the murder of 148 people living in the Iraqi city of Dujail in 1982

Hey Osama -- it didn't work!

By Larry Stirling
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

If Osama Bin Laden had his way, by Christmas we would all have been living in a "binary" world.
A "binary world" would have been one in which Osama and his small band of die easies had antagonized Christians and Muslims sufficiently to precipitate radical Islam's version of Armageddon bringing about the return of their missing "Mahdi."
Most Muslims -- as most Christians and Jews -- are peace-loving and want no part of the slaughter promised by Osama and his team.
Osama and his boys are actually a small group. That they have any impact on the world is solely because of his audacity and entertainment value.
The world's press just loves the David-and-Goliath thing.
According to Robert Fisk, the hard-left writer of the magnificent book "The Great War for Civilization," Osama and his F-Troop-quality al-Qaeda tip toed into Afghanistan late in that war and well after the CIA/Saudi-financed Mujahedin Afghani fighters had the Soviets on the run.
Just as a rooster crows and then claims to have called forth the morning sun, Osama claimed the Soviet retreat as his victory.
Osama offered to defend Saudi Arabia against Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait. The Saudis could not believe their ears and put in a call to President Bush instead.
Osama believed the attack on the Twin Towers in New York would do the trick. By now he hoped that the world would be drowning in blood and Osama didn't really care whose as long as it wasn't his.
Osama, I have news for you -- it didn't work.
This Christmas, the people of New York City went about the season just as they have for decades ... enjoying it.
Over at Carnegie Hall, the gorgeous soprano diva Renee Fleming, backed up by the Orchestra of St. Luke's, captivated a full house with classic Christian selections such as: Siegfried Ochs' "Thanks Be To Thee Lord," and George Frederic Handel's "Rejoice Greatly" from "The Messiah." For two hours listeners were treated to such inspirational music as "Mary's Lullaby," "What Child is This?," "Deck the Halls," "Silent Night," and "Ave Maria."
Not once did your name come up either in hate or fear.
New Yorkers by the hundreds of thousands jammed the diamond district, viewed Macy's windows, stopped by Saks and Tiffany's and sorta believe in the Miracle on 34th Street.
Over at Radio City Music Hall, The Rockettes, you know those gorgeous, talented ladies not wearing Sharia-required burqas, displayed endless discipline and conditioning, all the while delighting thousands of children of all ages with the joy of both ecumenical and religious Christmas celebrations.
Even at Radio City Music Hall, on the same island where you wrought so much pain, misery and destruction, not one evil word, joke, or aside was aimed a you or your cheesy antics.
And over at the Marquis Theater, a bunch of New Yorkers were performing the musical comedy "The Drowsy Chaperone." The actors, musicians and the audience all had a good time and none of it at your expense. In fact, your murderous huffing and puffing did not even come up.
And during the bright sunshiny days over at Rockefeller Center, people from all over the country came to strap on their ice skates to blunder, bumble and careen around an ice patch to celebrate life and a holiday of hope instead of the one of fear for which you so earnestly prayed.
And Osama, right in the middle of the ice, from time to time, couples would stop and one would bend his knee to his lady love and present a ring to glint in the sun and draw the applause of all assembled.
In spite of your hate, all the ladies said "yes" to their beaus and "yes" to a future world of hope for peaceful Christians and Muslims.
In the great city of New York, where so much is created, and millions have passed, the only mark of you is the cadaverous hole near the south tip of Manhattan.
I have now read a great deal about you. Where you came from, what you have done. You built a road or two, but those are nothing compared with the misery and pain that you have caused the world.
Do Muslim mothers really want to see their children become suicidal bombers? Wouldn't they like to see them grow up whole and in peace with a decent standard of living?
How can they do so, when you destroy the infrastructure on which they depend and destroy the economies that could bring them decent housing and jobs?
The overwhelming majority of Christians, Jews and Muslims agree on what is good for the world. That is peace and mutual respect.
We say no to your "binary world."

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Stirling is a retired judge, a former Army officer, member of the San Diego City Council, the California State Assembly and the State Senate. Send comments to larry.stirling@sddt.com. Comments may be published as letters to the Edito

Caldwell: Iraqi Government Will Control Its Ground Forces by Year's End
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2007 – The Iraqi government will have command-and-control of all of its ground forces by the end of 2007, a senior U.S. military officer based in Baghdad predicted today.

The year 2007 "is truly the year of transition and adaptation" for Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad.

All Iraqi army divisions will be under Iraqi Ground Forces Command by summertime, Caldwell said. And, all Iraqi provinces, he said, will go back to Iraqi provincial control by the fall.

"So that by the end of the year 2007, a significant year of transition, the multinational force and the U.S. mission here in Iraq will be truly in support of the efforts of the government of Iraq and not commanding and controlling those things, but working as a support mechanism," Caldwell said.

Meanwhile, President George Bush and his advisors are putting the finishing touches on a new U.S. strategy for Iraq. The president is expected to announce the new plan sometime before his State of the Union address, slated for Jan. 23.

The Feb. 22 terrorist bombing of the Golden Mosque religious shrine in Samarra triggered a surge of Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence across Iraq in 2006, a development that has led to the formulation of a new U.S. strategy for Iraq, Caldwell said.

Caldwell pointed out that, despite the violence, the Iraqis have made considerable advances in the past year.

"Iraqis achieved many accomplishments in 2006 that serve as the foundation for future progress," Caldwell pointed out. Over the course of the past year Iraq seated its first democratically-elected permanent government, he said, and the nation also produced a national unity government that represents Iraqis of all religious sects and tribes.

"Iraqis have stepped up and begun taking responsibility for their own security," Caldwell said, noting that responsibility for security in Muthanna, Dhi Qar and Najaf provinces has been transferred to Iraqi provincial control.

"The Iraqi army and police now have overall responsibility for all law enforcement and security activities in those provinces (and) answer to their respective provincial governors and councils," he said.

Just one of Iraq's 10 army divisions was responsible for operations within its own territory at the beginning of last year. Today, 80 percent of Iraq's army divisions are responsible for their own battle space, he said.

Yet, Iraq continues to be plagued by high levels of unacceptable violence, Caldwell said, noting the mayhem has cost the lives of thousands of innocent Iraqis.

And, more than 800 U.S. servicemen and women gave their lives in service in Iraq over the past year, he said.

"The loss of every single one of these brave Americans is a terrible tragedy for a family somewhere," Caldwell said. "Even as we continue to work to secure Iraq and build a better future for the people of this region, we extend our deepest condolences for their loss and for our eternal gratitude to these families for the sacrifice of their loved ones."
The Iraqis and their coalition partners face significant challenges in 2007, Caldwell said. The Iraqis must increase the capabilities and efficiency in their army and police units, he said, while their government must continue to work to reconcile and unify different segments of the population.

Multinational Force Iraq is committed to assisting the Iraqi government by conducting operations and developing Iraqi security forces to provide the stability needed so that Iraq's new political processes can mature, Caldwell said.

"Coalition forces remain dedicated to this mission, and we have not given up on the Iraqis," Caldwell said. "We cannot write off a country where people have not given up on themselves."

The United States has been fighting terrorism and extremism since the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, where 241 servicemembers, mostly Marines, died, Caldwell said. Iraq is another battleground, he said, that is pitting the forces of freedom against those of terrorism and extremism.

"In partnership with the Iraqi people, we are fighting to demonstrate that there is an alternative besides tyranny and extremism for the people of this region," Caldwell said.
Related Sites:
Multinational Force Iraq

It always amazes me when I get the daily press releases of progress against the insurgents who have no problem killing their own countrymen to topples the voted in government of Iraq.

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Six Insurgents Captured, Weapons Cache Discovered
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2007 – Six terrorists, including two IED cell members, were captured in Iraq yesterday, and troops discovered a weapons cache.

-- Special Iraqi Police forces, with coalition advisors, detained three suspects during operations yesterday near Hit, Iraq. One detainee is allegedly a member of a bombing cell conducting attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces.

-- Coalition forces captured a suspected insurgent during operations in Baghdad yesterday. The suspect is allegedly part of an insurgent network responsible for car bombing attacks in the Baghdad area. The suspect is also believed to have recently made arrangements to purchase explosives used for car bombing attacks, military officials said.

-- U.S. Army soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, and elements of 6th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi National Police Division, rescued two hostages and detained the two kidnappers yesterday during a raid in the al-Doura neighborhood.

-- Paratroopers of Company C, 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, found a large amount of 23 mortar rounds and 33 propellant sticks yesterday while on patrol near Bahbahani, Iraq. An explosive ordnance team arrived and conducted a controlled detonation, destroying the munitions.
Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq

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An American University for Iraq but Not in Baghdad

Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
Azzam Alwash, right, executive secretary of the board of trustees of the planned American University of Iraq, with developers in Sulaimaniya.
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By EDWARD WONG
Published: January 3, 2007
SULAIMANIYA, Iraq — It would be an ambitious project even in a Middle Eastern country not embroiled in war: build an American-style university where classes are taught in English, teachers come from around the world and graduates compete for lucrative jobs in fields like business and computer science.

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Yet some of the leading lights of Iraq’s political and intellectual classes are doing exactly that, even as the bloodshed widens.

Their planned American University of Iraq is modeled after the famous private universities in Cairo and Beirut. The project’s managers have a board of trustees; a business plan recently completed by McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm; three candidates for university president; and $25 million, much of it in pledges from the American government and Kurdish sources. To fulfill their dream, they need much more: $200 million to $250 million over 15 years, said Azzam Alwash, the board’s executive secretary.

But if it does become a reality, the university will not be built in Baghdad, which for centuries was a beacon of learning in the Arab world.

Instead, it is slated for what is the most non-Iraqi part of Iraq. The site is on a windswept hilltop along the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, the eastern capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, 150 miles north of Baghdad and far from the car bombs and death squads that are tearing apart the Arab regions of Iraq. Because of its relative safety so far, Kurdistan can more easily attract aid and reconstruction money.

With doctors, engineers, businesspeople, academics and students among the hundreds of thousands fleeing to neighboring countries or the West, the university raises hopes of stanching the country’s enormous brain drain and pushing Iraq forward. “You really need to develop the political elite of the future, the educated elite of the future,” said Barham Salih, the project’s Kurdish founder, a deputy prime minister who received a doctorate in statistics and computer modeling from Liverpool University in Britain, and whose daughter attends Princeton. “The focus is also to stimulate reform in the Iraqi education system.”

However, some Arab education officials in Baghdad, the capital, have argued that the university should be built there, not in a part of Iraq where secessionist ambitions are well known.

Baghdad first achieved fame for its schools and scholars during the Abbasid caliphate, which reached its height in the eighth century. Even in the 20th century, before the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and international economic sanctions of the 1990s, students from the region flocked to Baghdad.

But because of security threats, many universities in Baghdad have been closed since October. Up to 150 employees from the Ministry of Higher Education were abducted by men in commando uniforms in mid-November. Jihadist groups have threatened to kill students on campuses.

So intellectuals like Kanan Makiya, the prominent former exile and writer who strongly advocated for the American invasion, say they plan to move their research projects to the American University. Mr. Makiya founded the Iraq Memory Foundation, an organization based in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad that is documenting Saddam Hussein’s atrocities.

“The problem is nobody can thrive in Baghdad anymore,” said Mr. Makiya, who teaches Middle Eastern studies at Brandeis University and sits on the new university’s board of trustees. “The north is much more stable, growing, prosperous.”

“There is a sadness that we’re being driven out of Baghdad,” he added.

The university’s planners plan to make Mr. Makiya’s documentary project the core of the humanities department. Mr. Alwash, an environmental scientist, has said he will use the university as a base for his research project, which is about rejuvenating the southern marshlands.

Other prominent intellectual and political figures, many of whom supported the American invasion, are on the board. They include Fouad Ajami, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins, and John Agresto, an education adviser in the Coalition Provisional Authority who, as he ended his tenure there in 2004, told a reporter he was “a neoconservative who’s been mugged by reality.”

The planners have sketched a rough schedule. Construction would start in the spring, and the first 15 to 30 students could begin a six-month intensive English course, to be taught in rented space here in Sulaimaniya, before they start a two-year master’s program in business administration. The first class to earn bachelor’s degrees would start in fall 2008; the program would take five years, with the first devoted to the study of English, Mr. Alwash said.

Although the university has regional aspirations like its counterparts in Cairo and Beirut, the first undergraduate class would be mostly Iraqis, Mr. Alwash said, and a majority probably Kurds.

In the university’s first five years, degree programs would focus on subjects that the board judges to be crucial to Iraq’s development: business, petroleum engineering and computer science, for example. “This has to have immediate practical consequences for the economy of Iraq and the politics of Iraq,” Mr. Salih, the founder, said.

After five years, the university may add humanities degree programs.

“We want them to study the ideas of Locke, the ideas and writings of Paine and Madison,” Mr. Alwash, the executive secretary, said. “We want them to understand what democracy is — not only majority rule, but also the rights of minorities. They should be well rounded.”

Projected undergraduate enrollment is 1,000 students by 2011 and 5,000 by 2021. The numbers are small compared with enrollment at Baghdad University, the country’s flagship public university, which has 70,000 students. Sulaimaniya University here has about 12,000 students.

In total, about 475,000 Iraqis are pursuing college-level degrees across the country, in 21 public universities or colleges, 18 private ones and about 40 technical institutes, according to the American Embassy.

Tuition at American University would be $8,500 to $10,000 a year, Mr. Alwash said. That places the university beyond the reach of the average middle-class Iraqi family. But Mr. Salih said the school planned to give loans and scholarships.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador and an alumnus of the university in Beirut, has promised that American agencies will give the school $10.5 million, possibly the largest donation by the United States to any single education project in Iraq, if American officials approve the business plan. Mr. Khalilzad, a native Afghan, helped found the American University of Kabul after the American military ousted the Taliban from Afghanistan in 2001.

Some Kurds fear that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the governing party of eastern Kurdistan led by Mr. Talabani and Mr. Salih, could end up diverting money from the university for its own purposes. Among many Kurds, the main Kurdish parties have a reputation for corruption and authoritarian rule.

“I hope this will not just be party propaganda, because we need a real academic center for this society,” said Asos Hardi, the editor in chief of a weekly newspaper here. “Having a Western-style university in Iraq would help strengthen education here and across the country.”