U.S. spying operations, military coup capture press
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 06 /09 /2008  Time 5:44:46
 
 
BAGHDAD, Sept. 6 (VOI) – Iraqi newspapers on Saturday commented on a new book entitled 'The War Within: A Secret White House History, 2006-2008' by Bob Woodward in which the author said that the current Iraqi government has been the subject of U.S. spying operations, with a newspaper discussing what it described as a possible military coup in the country.

The independent daily al-Sabah al-Jadeed newspaper published an editorial entitled 'Instead of instilling confidence, Washington spies on the government,' by Ismail Zaer.

On Friday, the Washington Post wrote that Woodward's book will be excerpted in the newspaper starting this Sunday.

The newspaper cited the book as saying that U.S. President George Bush's administration has spied on Maliki's government and used new techniques to track down and kill insurgent leaders, which led to the fall in violence in the country.

Zaer said that the information in the book was not a surprise to many, who have not been deceived by the talk on transparency and dialogue.

The author said that had Bush developed a successful strategy in Iraq, there would have been no need for spying operations.

On the same subject, al-Mashriq newspaper, another independent daily, published an article entitled 'Whither the war on Maliki?' by Sabah al-Lami.

The author of the article quoted Woodward as saying that espionage techniques have been widely used in the U.S. war against al-Qaeda and its leaders.

The author believes that the Unites States has decided to punish Maliki for his refusal to obey its orders with regards to the security deal. He says that punishing Maliki will increase his popularity among the Iraqi public, who refuse any agreement that will extend the presence of U.S. troops in the country.  

Under a headline that read 'Coups,' the independent daily al-Dustour newspaper commented on statements made by Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdelmahdi, and the leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), Ahmed Chalabi, in which they voiced their fears about intentions to organize a military coup that aims at overthrowing the current regime.

Expressing his concerns about the statements, the author, Bassem al-Sheikh, wondered who would stage a military coup to oust Maliki's government. He explained that these statements, which were made by high-ranking officials, demonstrate the political leadership's fears of the growing power of the Iraqi army with the approach of a U.S. troop withdrawal and a complete handover of security responsibilities to Iraqi authorities.

A declaration of principles was signed between the U.S. president and the Iraqi premier in December 2007. The declaration was scheduled to be ratified on July 31, 2008 and to come into force as of January 1, 2009.

The agreement governs the presence of U.S. forces in the country after 2008 and will not come into force without the approval of the Iraqi Parliament, which has 275 members from five blocs, in addition to the Sadrist movement and al-Fadhila party. The U.S. troops' presence currently relies on a mandate by the United Nations and is annually renewed at the request of the Iraqi government. 
 
SS (I)

Party leader escapes attempt on his life
 
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 06 /09 /2008  Time 4:53:31
BAGHDAD, Sept. 6 (VOI) –

The head of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) survived an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his motorcade in western Baghdad, according to an official statement.
 
"On Friday evening, the motorcade of Ahmed Chalabi, the head of the Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC), was attacked by a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber while he was returning to his residence in al-Mansour area," read a statement released by Chalabi's office and received by Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

"The attack occurred near a teachers' institute in al-Mansour area," the source noted, adding that Chalabi was not wounded.

Iraqi police said that a car bomb driven by a suicide bomber detonated on Friday evening in Baghdad's western area of al-Mansour while the motorcade of the INC leader was passing the location, killing two civilians and wounding 17 others, including five security personnel.

The INC is an umbrella Iraqi opposition group that was formed with the aid and direction of the United States government following the Gulf War, for the purpose of fomenting the overthrow of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

 
SS (P)