Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
Al-Fallujah remains a trouble spot (file photo) Al-Fallujah has long made the headlines as the most restive place in central Iraq. The Sunni-majority city is the base of a number of locally and foreign-led insurgent groups, including that of Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, Washington's most wanted man in Iraq. But now, there are new efforts afoot to bring Al-Fallujah under the Iraqi government's control.
Iraqi author Betool Khedairi is the daughter of an Iraqi father and Scottish mother who writes about the clash of Eastern and Western values. Her books, set in Iraq and written in Arabic, have established her as a strong new voice in Iraqi literature. In translation, her work also is getting increasing notice abroad. RFE/RL spoke with Khedairi about her writing as she visited the Frankfurt Book Fair this month.
For much of this year, U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq have had to cope with repeated uprisings by militiamen loyal to radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The worst uprisings -- in April and again in August -- cost hundreds of lives and saw fighting endanger one of Shi'a Islam's holiest shrines, the Imam Ali Mosque complex in Al-Najaf. Each of those uprisings ended in tenuous truces that failed to bring a full stop to the violence. U.S. forces in recent weeks have repeatedly bombed the militia's positions in its stronghold of Al-Sadr City in Baghdad, and militiamen have fought with U.S. and Iraqi army patrols. But now there are possible signs of a comprehensive peace agreement. The Iraqi government says it is giving Shi'a militiamen five days to hand in their weapons under a weekend peace deal agreed with aides of al-Sadr. In return, the government has agreed to commit more than $500 million to rebuilding Al-Sadr City.
This year, the world's largest international gathering for authors and publishers is focusing on the Arab world. The Frankfurt Book Fair -- now in its third day -- has devoted much of one of its largest halls to displays of books and other publications from the 22 Arab countries. But more is going on here than just the exhibits. The fair is also a meeting place where Arab intellectuals are hosting seminars to discuss many of the region's problems and propose solutions. Among the most active participants are Arab women. They include writers of all kinds -- from authors of popular fiction to sociologists to human rights activists. Their presence at the forum highlights some of the challenges women face in the male-dominated Arab world.
Hostage takers in Iraq have seized another 10 people, including two Indonesian women. The abductions raise anew the question of whether the kidnappings of foreigners in Iraq are mainly for political or financial gain and whether countries should pay ransom to free their citizens.
Iraq is home to some of the world's oldest communities of Christians, who traditionally have made up some 3 percent of the population. But today their numbers are reported to be decreasing. Iraq's Christians say they are routinely targeted by Islamist extremists who attack their shops and restaurants which sell alcohol and sometimes bomb churches. Separately, kidnappers prey on wealthy Christians as well as other Iraqis to extort ransom from them -- sometimes killing hostages when families cannot pay. As such pressures mount, many Christians are choosing to leave Iraq's larger cities and move to safer areas in the north of the country or abroad. Estimates of the number of people leaving their homes vary widely and exact numbers are not available. But as RFE/RL reports, substantial numbers of Iraqi Christians are on the move.
Questions are growing over whether Iraq will be able to hold fully nationwide elections in January as part of its planned transition to a more democratic system of government. Top U.S. officials are increasingly saying the poor security situation in parts of the country might exclude those areas from participating in the poll. The statements are sparking new political debate in the United States over how well Washington is meeting its goals in Iraq.
Iyad Allawi During his visit to the United States this week, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi addressed the Congress and thanked the American people for toppling Saddam Hussein. But who is this man who heads Iraq's interim government and how much progress is he making in building a new post-Hussein order?
Britain is ruling out negotiations with the captors of Kenneth Bigley, the only surviving member of the trio of American and British contractors taken hostage in Iraq last week. The hostage takers have released a video of Bigley appealing directly to Prime Minister Tony Blair to do something to save his life and emotions in Britain are running high. At the same time, there are unconfirmed reports today that hostage takers have killed two female Italian aid workers seized in Baghdad earlier this month.
Hostage takers in Iraq have stepped up their kidnappings aimed at driving out foreign companies involved in reconstruction projects. Over the past weeks, the operations have moved from highway abductions of drivers to raids on offices and residential sites in Baghdad. Today, two female Italian aid workers, two American contractors, and a British engineer are being held hostage, along with dozens of employees of regional firms doing business in Iraq.
Holding elections are crucial for establishing a more popular-based Iraqi government able to guarantee the country's security without large numbers of international troops. But plans for a first round of polls in January are looking increasingly tenuous amid the current high level of insurgent violence. In recent days, U.S. officials have continued to maintain that national elections will be held in January. But others -- including the interim Iraqi president and the UN Secretary-General -- have suggested that the election date may have to be changed if the present security situation does not improve.
Kofi Annan (file photo) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was illegal because it violated the UN Charter. The remarks revive one of the most heated debates surrounding last year's war. That is, whether the U.S. administration had the right to mobilize a small group of countries to topple Saddam Hussein when much of the international community supported continued arms inspections.
Much of the news from Iraq focuses on insurgent attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqi authorities, including the police. But amid the daily violence, many ordinary Iraqis are trying to build a new society that is freer than anything Iraqis have known in decades. Among these people are Iraq's judges, who are responsible for dispensing justice and enforcing the rule of law. Fifty Iraqi judges are currently in Prague for an internationally funded seminar on the work of judges in a democratic society. The seminar, run by the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, allows the judges to exchange ideas with legal experts from the United States and Europe as they consider such questions as judicial ethics, relations with other branches of government, and the problems and challenges of judicial independence. The judges return to Iraq after the seminar ends tomorrow. But amid their busy schedule, two of them took time out to talk to the international media.
Turkey has warned the United States it could halt cooperation in Iraq after a U.S. offensive last week against insurgents in the northern town of Tal Afar reportedly resulted in the deaths of scores of ethnic Turkoman civilians. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told Turkish television that "if things continue in this way, we told [the United States] very clearly that Turkey's cooperation on matters concerning Iraq will come to an end." As RFE/RL reports, the warning from Ankara yesterday underlines the importance Turkey gives to the fate of Iraq's minority Turkoman population.
Prague, 8 September 2004 (RFE/RL) -- The following factbox highlights major events in the war on terrorism from September 2003 to September 2004 that have been linked to Al-Qaeda or Al-Qaeda-inspired groups.
Top U.S. officials say any operations to retake Al-Fallujah and other towns largely under rebel control in the Sunni Triangle will have to await the training of Iraqi government forces, so they can assume a major role. The statements come amid increasing clashes between U.S. forces and insurgents around Fallujah that highlight concerns that the town is a haven for terrorists and bomb-makers targeting American forces and Iraqi civilians.
The fear of terrorism has become a defining feature of life in many countries. Much of this fear stems from the 11 September attacks in the United States, which occurred three years ago this week. Shocked by the killing of some 3,000 people in a single day, governments around the world have formed a coalition to root out Al-Qaeda-linked or -inspired terrorist groups. In the third part of a four-part series on 9/11 and the war on terrorism, RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel looks at the progress this coalition is making against terrorist groups and what still needs to be done to win the struggle.
This week, in a special series, RFE/RL is marking the third anniversary of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States -- attacks that claimed the lives of some 3,000 people from 80 countries. The attacks demonstrated that no country is safe from the threat of international terrorism. In the second part of a four-part series on 9/11, RFE/RL looks at how the struggle against Al-Qaeda and Al Qaeda-inspired groups is becoming increasingly global in scope. As RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel reports, both the governments and the terrorist groups are building alliances against each other, with growing success.
Iraqi and U.S. forces guarding a checkpoint (file photo) Joint U.S. and Iraqi forces have arrested 500 suspected insurgents in a major raid in the majority Sunni town of Al-Latifiyah, south of Baghdad. The raid -- the first undertaken in the Sunni triangle by the new Iraqi interim government -- highlights the increasingly frontline role of Iraqi forces in security operations.
Iran has reiterated that it will retaliate if Israel carries out a preemptive strike against its nuclear program. The escalating war of words comes as a top U.S. arms-control official has charged that Tehran may have nuclear weapons within three years if left unchecked. RFE/RL looks at recent developments in the continuing crisis over Iran's nuclear program.
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