Obama seeks political solutions in Iraq; US, Iraq unlikely to keep deadline for security pact; Eight killed in suicide attack; Iraqi President vetoes election law; Iraq unlikely to participate in Beijing Olympics; Iraqi oil exports rise
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    • Presumptive US Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama after visiting Iraq during the week called for the country’s problems to be solved politically. Speaking to reporters in Amman, Jordan after wrapping up his Iraq visit, the Illinois Senator noted the improved security situation and reiterated his stand on troops pullout within 16 months should he become the president. However, he added that he would consult with military commanders to determine the number of troops to be kept in Iraq for humanitarian operations, for the training of Iraqi soldiers and for the conduct of operations against al-Qaeda in Iraq1.

    White House spokesperson Dana Perino on July 21 admitted that the US may miss the July 31 deadline to reach a permanent security pact with the Iraqi government. The two countries were engaged in hammering out a deal to allow the US troops to continue in Iraq after the UN mandate runs out on December 31. Reports pointed out that as the July 31 deadline was a self-imposed time-limit, missing it would not have serious implications for the security ties between the two countries. However, the delay, according to analysts, indicated that there were serious disagreements between Baghdad and Washington on the nature and content of the pact2.

    In continuing violence, eight people, including a pro-American Sunni militia leader, a police captain and a local politician, were killed and over 30 injured in a suicide attack carried out by a female suicide bomber on July 24 in Baquba town, some 65-km north of Baghdad3.

    Iraqi President Jalal Talabani meanwhile vetoed legislation on provincial elections and sent it back to the lawmakers for revision. Earlier on July 22, the parliament had approved the law paving the way for provincial elections scheduled to be held in October, amidst protests and a walkout by the Kurdish MPs. Talabani argued that the legislation in its current form would deepen “the sectarian national isolation and expand the circle of extremism.” Kurdish leaders on their part were insisting that the northern city of Kirkuk should become part of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, a demand opposed by the federal authorities4.

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 24 stated that it was “very unlikely” that Iraqi athletes would participate in the Beijing Olympics because the Iraqi government refused to reinstate the country’s official Olympic committee in time. Earlier, the IOC suspended Iraqi National Olympic Committee on June 4, after Iraq disbanded the panel recognised by it5.

    In other developments, the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, the American agency monitoring reconstruction works in Iraq, stated that oil exports through Iraq’s northern pipeline to Turkey rose more than 10-fold over the past year. The rising exports were helped by a sharp drop in attacks on pipelines and other oil infrastructure. Crude oil exports rose from an average of 1 million barrels a month to more than 13 million6.

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