International   

U.S. document slams Iraq situation

Julian Borger

Widespread lawlessness is curtailing civil liberties, says the paper

Washington: An official document issued by the U.S. foreign aid agency depicts the security situation in Iraq as dire, with constant militant attacks ``significantly damaging'' infrastructure and widespread lawlessness dramatically curtailing civil liberties, it was reported on Tuesday. The grim analysis came attached to a request for contractors to help rebuild Iraqi cities published by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), excerpts of which were printed in Tuesday's Washington Post.

Pessimistic picture

The picture it paints is not only far darker than the generally optimistic accounts from the White House and the Pentagon, it also gives a more complex profile of the militancy than the straightforward ``rejectionists, Saddamists and terrorists'' triad often described by President George Bush.

The USAID analysis talks of an ``internecine conflict'' which includes ``religious-sectarian, ethnic, tribal, criminal and politically based'' violence. ``It is increasingly common for tribesmen to `turn in' to the authorities enemies as insurgents, this as a form of tribal revenge,'' the paper says, casting doubt on the efficacy of counter-militant sweeps by coalition and Iraqi forces.

Meanwhile, foreign jihadist groups ``are gaining in number and notoriety as significant actors.'' Most of their recruits are coming from ``Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.''

The suggestion that Al-Qaeda could be growing in strength contrasted with remarks made on Friday by the outgoing coalition commander in Iraq, Lieutenant General John Vines, who said the Al-Qaeda branch in Iraq led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi could be in ``disarray.''

The USAID document was part of an invitation to contractors to bid on a $1.3 billion project to stabilise Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk and Najaf. The project is aimed at curbing violence through job creation and rebuilding infrastructure.

The paper argues that militant attacks ``cause a tide of adverse economic and social effects that ripple across Iraq.'' It implies a breakdown in society in which ``the absence of state control and an effective police force'' have let ``criminal elements within Iraqi society have almost free rein.'' Some gangs ``have aligned themselves with most of the combating groups and factions,'' while Baghdad ``is reportedly divided into zones controlled by organised criminal groups-clans.'' The lawlessness has had an impact on basic freedoms, USAID argues, particularly in the Shia south, where ``social liberties have been curtailed dramatically by roving bands of self-appointed religious-moral police.'' Judith Yaphe, a former CIA expert on Iraq now teaching at the National Defence University in Washington, said while the administration's pronouncements on the security situation were often too rosy, the USAid version, or at least the printed excerpts, was overly pessimistic.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Singapore to stay engaged with IIM-B
Dialogue on Kashmir issue to continue
"Plot'' to kidnap Blair's son smashed
Drought: millions at risk in Kenya
U.S. document slams Iraq situation
SAFTA decision deferred
Hu, Kim stress on talks
Efforts on to trace American reporter
Bush faces first legal challenges on tapping
Merkel for balanced ties with U.S., Russia
Foreign militants killed: Pakistan
Big freeze in Moscow
"Death with dignity" law upheld

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu