There is something of a rebellion going on the the US State Department. Hundreds of diplomatic staff and diplomats have point blank refused to be sent to Iraq, as they regard it as a death sentence.
The postings in Iraq have been voluntary up until now. However, the Secretary of State does have the legal authority to order assignments.
ABC News has a brief recording of a town meeting where the diplomats vented their spleens. Listen to it here ABC
Not much of a vote of confidence for the way things are being "managed" at the moment.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Blackwater Immunity
There is more than a little confusion at the moment over the status of the Blackwater personnel, who shot dead 17 Iraqis. It is reported, albeit unofficially, that they have been granted immunity.
These reports have infuriated the Iraqi government, as they accuse the men of murder and want to try them in Iraq, and has put further strains on the relationship between Iraq and the US.
The Iraqi government has been demanding that the Blackwater guards be handed over for trial, since the deaths on 16th September.
State department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has refused to confirm the reports of the immunity deal. However, he said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had tried to ensure "in as much as we are able, that if people broke the rules or broke the law, that they're held to account".
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, is not mincing any words on the matter; he has described the shooting as a "criminal act". To pour further petrol on the fire, an inquiry by the Iraqi interior ministry concluded the security guards were "100% guilty".
The head of Blackwater denies the killings were unprovoked, insisting his men had been fired upon.
A mess by anybodies standards.
These reports have infuriated the Iraqi government, as they accuse the men of murder and want to try them in Iraq, and has put further strains on the relationship between Iraq and the US.
The Iraqi government has been demanding that the Blackwater guards be handed over for trial, since the deaths on 16th September.
State department spokesman, Sean McCormack, has refused to confirm the reports of the immunity deal. However, he said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had tried to ensure "in as much as we are able, that if people broke the rules or broke the law, that they're held to account".
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, is not mincing any words on the matter; he has described the shooting as a "criminal act". To pour further petrol on the fire, an inquiry by the Iraqi interior ministry concluded the security guards were "100% guilty".
The head of Blackwater denies the killings were unprovoked, insisting his men had been fired upon.
A mess by anybodies standards.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Blame Game
With the descent of Iraq into chaos and bloodshed, the British and US administrations are now playing the blame game in order to salve their troubled consciences.
The BBC's John Ware concludes in "No Plan, No Peace" that both the British and American governments got just about everything wrong in their assumptions about what would follow the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The people of Iraq and the US/UK soldiers on the ground are now paying the price of their failure.
The BBC's John Ware concludes in "No Plan, No Peace" that both the British and American governments got just about everything wrong in their assumptions about what would follow the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The people of Iraq and the US/UK soldiers on the ground are now paying the price of their failure.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Audit Suspended
The State Department has had to publicly humiliate itself, by admitting that it does not know what it received for a billion dollar contract with security firm DynCorp International to provide training services for Iraqi police.
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has had to suspend its audit of the DynCorp contract, after administration officials admitted that they had no confidence in their own accounting records.
The list of problems are very familiar to auditors who have worked with companies in total disarray. Duplicate invoices, payments for equipment (eg a $1.8M scanner) that was never used and expense payments ($387K for hotels) that were unnecessary.
Needless to say, all of the above issues are red lights to professional accountants and auditors as they indicate the very real possibility of fraud.
The agency responsible for the contract was the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). SIGIR castigates them, and is quoted by Reuters:
"INL does not know specifically what it received for most of the $1.2 billion in expenditures under its DynCorp contract for the Iraqi Police Training Program. INL's prior lack of controls created an environment vulnerable to waste and fraud."
Although the audit may well resume in January 2008, it is expected that it will take up to five years to complete it. Needless to say by that time the people responsible for this mess, ie the Bush administration, will have long since left office.
Mission accomplished!
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) has had to suspend its audit of the DynCorp contract, after administration officials admitted that they had no confidence in their own accounting records.
The list of problems are very familiar to auditors who have worked with companies in total disarray. Duplicate invoices, payments for equipment (eg a $1.8M scanner) that was never used and expense payments ($387K for hotels) that were unnecessary.
Needless to say, all of the above issues are red lights to professional accountants and auditors as they indicate the very real possibility of fraud.
The agency responsible for the contract was the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). SIGIR castigates them, and is quoted by Reuters:
"INL does not know specifically what it received for most of the $1.2 billion in expenditures under its DynCorp contract for the Iraqi Police Training Program. INL's prior lack of controls created an environment vulnerable to waste and fraud."
Although the audit may well resume in January 2008, it is expected that it will take up to five years to complete it. Needless to say by that time the people responsible for this mess, ie the Bush administration, will have long since left office.
Mission accomplished!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Jailer Jailed
Lieutenant Colonel William Steele, a former US commander at the jail that held Saddam Hussein, was jailed on Friday for two years after a court martial found him guilty of illegally possessing classified documents.
Lieutenant Colonel Steele was also dismissed from military service, and will forfeit all pay and allowances. However, his sentence will be cut by 229 days as he has already served that in detention in Kuwait awaiting trial.
Steele was acquitted on the more serious charge of aiding the enemy by supplying an unmonitored mobile phone to an inmate.
The judge, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Grammel, also found him guilty of having an inappropriate relationship with an Iraqi interpreter and failing to obey an order.
Lieutenant Colonel Steele was also dismissed from military service, and will forfeit all pay and allowances. However, his sentence will be cut by 229 days as he has already served that in detention in Kuwait awaiting trial.
Steele was acquitted on the more serious charge of aiding the enemy by supplying an unmonitored mobile phone to an inmate.
The judge, Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Grammel, also found him guilty of having an inappropriate relationship with an Iraqi interpreter and failing to obey an order.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Execution Wrangle
The political wrangling over the death sentences against Saddam's cousin "Chemical Ali" al-Majid, Defence Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, former deputy operations director of the Iraqi armed forces, continues.
The three are currently being held in US custody, and will not be handed over until questions over the legality of the death warrants are resolved.
The three are currently being held in US custody, and will not be handed over until questions over the legality of the death warrants are resolved.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Death Sentence Delayed
The execution of Chemical Ali (Ali Hassan al-Majeed), scheduled for Tuesday, has been delayed as a result of legal wrangling over who should sign the order.
Ali Hassan al-Majeed was convicted in June of planning and directing the Anfal military campaign in 1988, in which prosecutors said up to 180,000 Kurds were killed and which the trial court later ruled was an act of genocide.
The issue revolves around whether Iraq's presidency council needs to issue a decree authorising the execution, or if Maliki's government can set the date.
The council consisting of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Vice-President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shi'ite, and Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab is reportedly split as to whether the execution should take place.
It is reported that Hashemi has refused to sign the execution order.
The Iraqi government has formed a committee to review the mechanism of carrying out death sentences issued by the Iraqi High Tribunal.
The committee will meet during the coming fortnight, and Majeed would not be executed until it gave its report.
When Charles I was executed by Cromwell, Cromwell made sure that all members of the new government signed the order for the execution and that it was not done in a dark corner. The Iraqi government would do well to take a lesson from Cromwell.
Ali Hassan al-Majeed was convicted in June of planning and directing the Anfal military campaign in 1988, in which prosecutors said up to 180,000 Kurds were killed and which the trial court later ruled was an act of genocide.
The issue revolves around whether Iraq's presidency council needs to issue a decree authorising the execution, or if Maliki's government can set the date.
The council consisting of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Vice-President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shi'ite, and Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Arab is reportedly split as to whether the execution should take place.
It is reported that Hashemi has refused to sign the execution order.
The Iraqi government has formed a committee to review the mechanism of carrying out death sentences issued by the Iraqi High Tribunal.
The committee will meet during the coming fortnight, and Majeed would not be executed until it gave its report.
When Charles I was executed by Cromwell, Cromwell made sure that all members of the new government signed the order for the execution and that it was not done in a dark corner. The Iraqi government would do well to take a lesson from Cromwell.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Execution Status Unclear
Chemical Ali (Ali Hassan al-Majid) was set to be executed yesterday.
Munir Hadad, a senior judge of the Supreme Criminal Court, said that the execution could take place anytime after 5:00am on Tuesday.
Majeed and two other lieutenants of Saddam Hussein were convicted in June of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in Operation Anfal, in which as many as 180,000 Kurdish civilians and guerrillas were killed two decades ago.
It is not yet clear as to whether the sentence has been carried out.
Munir Hadad, a senior judge of the Supreme Criminal Court, said that the execution could take place anytime after 5:00am on Tuesday.
Majeed and two other lieutenants of Saddam Hussein were convicted in June of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in Operation Anfal, in which as many as 180,000 Kurdish civilians and guerrillas were killed two decades ago.
It is not yet clear as to whether the sentence has been carried out.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Saddam's Jailer on Trial
Lt-Col William Steele, a US serviceman who was in charge of the detention of Saddam Hussein, has gone on trial in Baghdad by court martial accused of aiding the enemy.
Lt-Col Steele is standing trial on a total of seven counts, and could face a life sentence.
The most serious charge is that he aided the enemy by providing a mobile phone to detainees. It has not been disclosed whom Col Steele lent the phone to.
During pre-trial hearings Steele was also accused of supplying Cuban cigars and hair dye to Saddam.
Echoes of Nuremberg, when a US serviceman aided Goring in committing suicide.
Lt-Col Steele is standing trial on a total of seven counts, and could face a life sentence.
The most serious charge is that he aided the enemy by providing a mobile phone to detainees. It has not been disclosed whom Col Steele lent the phone to.
During pre-trial hearings Steele was also accused of supplying Cuban cigars and hair dye to Saddam.
Echoes of Nuremberg, when a US serviceman aided Goring in committing suicide.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Ex Defence Minsiter To Hang
Ex Iraqi Defence Minister, Sultan Hashim Ahmed al-Tai, is to be hanged in Iraq in the next few days for war crimes. However, Rick Francona an Air Force lieutenant colonel during the Iraq war believes that the sentence should be commuted.
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