Charles Recknagel is standards editor for RFE/RL.
Iraq's fractious National Conference has come to an end after organizers announced late yesterday that it had accomplished its job. That job was to choose 81 people to fill the majority of seats on a new advisory council to oversee the interim government. But the way the conference concluded is far from satisfying all those who took part. The reason? The council members were selected, not elected in a vote among the 1,300 delegates, as initially planned. Some critics say that process assures the advisory council will mostly be a reflection of the government itself, with little room for independent voices.
As most attention on Iraq remains focused upon Al-Najaf, significant political events are taking place in Baghdad, where some 1,300 delegates from across the country are meeting to form a "people's" council that will advise the interim government. But the conference itself is turning into a vociferous political convention of a kind unimaginable in the Saddam era.
The Iraqi prime minister is facing his biggest test yet 11 August 2004 -- As fighting rages in Al-Najaf, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has assumed a tough posture. He has ruled out negotiations with radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia even as he invites al-Sadr himself to participate in elections in January.
Prague, 6 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Fifty-nine years ago today, the world saw for the first time how destructive nuclear weapons can be. The demonstration came at 8:15 a.m. local time in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bombing, and that of Nagasaki three days later, marked the final, cataclysmic end of the long struggle of the allied powers against Germany and Japan. And it helped launch a peace movement that today -- as every year on this date -- drew thousands of people to Hiroshima to pledge to work toward nuclear disarmament.
Prague, 2 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Iraqi bombers have hit five Christian churches in the country, killing at least 11 people. Iraqi officials say the well-coordinated attacks, timed to coincide with evening services on Sunday night, aim at further dividing Iraqis along community lines.
When there is news of kidnappings in Iraq, it usually focuses on militants taking hostages and threatening to kill them unless foreign governments or businesses pull out of the country. But there are many other kinds of kidnappings as well, including the one that ordinary Iraqis fear most: the abduction of their family members for ransom.
Islamabad today denounced the killing by Iraqi militants of two Pakistani nationals abducted last week. The deaths of the Pakistanis suggests the lengths to which the hostage takers are willing to go as they seek to use kidnappings to pressure foreign governments to change their policies on Iraq. Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera has broadcast videotape that purports to show yet another foreign hostage -- a Somali truck driver who is also being threatened with execution.
Prime Minister Allawi rejected the idea of neighboring countries' troops in Iraq As U.S. forces continue to take casualties daily in Iraq, many world leaders say the attacks underline the need to more broadly internationalize the U.S.-led force securing the country. But how real are the prospects for doing so? India and Pakistan -- two states Washington once hoped to involve -- both repeated this week that they have no immediate plans to contribute forces, and the new Iraqi government has ruled out roles for neighboring Arab Muslim states for fear they might interfere in Iraq's domestic affairs. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel looks at the hopes of creating a broader multinational security force and where they go from here.
The government of Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi decreed tough new security measures today. The new security law permits imposing curfews and conducting surprise searches in an effort to crack down on insurgents.
Al-Sadr fighters (file photo) The family of U.S. soldier Wassef Ali Hassoun -- kidnapped in Iraq -- are publicly appealing to his captors to safely release him. The appeal comes as U.S. forces battle what appears to be an increasingly well-organized insurgency in the country. The insurgents make frequent use of kidnappings and suicide bombings, as well as guerrilla attacks.
Allawi (left) and Bremer at the 28 June handover of authority in Baghdad Former top U.S. administrator in Iraq L. Paul Bremer says trying Saddam Hussein could have a mixed effect on the insurgency in Iraq. He says it could cause some groups of Saddam loyalists to admit defeat. But he warns that other groups may become further enraged and try harder to disrupt Iraq's reconstruction.
Saddam at his arraignment Saddam Hussein's arraignment on crimes against humanity has riveted the world's attention and observers and analysts continue today to consider how his court appearance went. But almost lost in all the attention on the former Iraqi leader are the 11 other top regime figures who also came before the judge yesterday. Reporters in the courtroom say that where Saddam was sometimes combative, his aides mostly sought to be self-effacing, as charges were brought against them. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel reports.
Saddam Hussein appeared before an Iraqi tribunal today and was charged with crimes against humanity. The proceedings took place under tight security and marked the first time Hussein has appeared in public since his capture by U.S. troops on 13 December 2004. As RFE/RL reports, today's arraignment is a key moment for Iraq's sovereign government, which officially took power early this week. The new government is looking to Hussein's trial to help build its strength and legitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi public.
Reaction and comment continues to come in from world leaders following Washington's early transfer of political power to the Iraqi government yesterday. The reaction is favorable but, in many cases, stops short of U.S. assertions that Iraqis are now fully in charge of their own affairs.
With Washington's transfer of sovereignty today, Iraq's party leaders will get what they most want. That is, a mandate to run Iraq's civil affairs without oversight from the outgoing U.S.-led occupation authority. But will this freedom contribute to Iraq's stability or merely open the way for increased factional feuding? RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel looks at the challenges in the first of a five-part series on Iraq's gaining sovereignty.
Many capitals are welcoming Washington's handover of power today to the new Iraqi government. The handover took place in a lightning ceremony in Baghdad after being moved forward two days from the widely expected date of 30 June. RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel reports.
Kim Sun-il's family grieves his death In a little more than a month, three hostages have been decapitated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The almost identical pattern of the murders suggests that some extremist groups see beheading as a new weapon of choice in their war of terror against Washington and its allies. But why do they choose this particularly gruesome method?
Iran has seized three small British patrol boats and their eight crew members near its border with Iraq. Tehran says the boats entered its waters illegally, but Britain says they were in the area on a routine mission to train Iraqi police. There is no indication yet of whether or when the British boats and crew will be released.
Two car bombings that killed 41 people in the Baghdad region on 17 June highlight the fast pace of insurgent attacks as the 30 June handover date nears. Both the incoming sovereign Iraqi government and U.S. officials are vowing to improve security, but the next two weeks could see escalating threats.
Tehran is threatening to resume uranium enrichment if the UN's nuclear watchdog agency passes a resolution criticizing Iran for poor cooperation in opening its program to international inspection. The threat raises tension levels as the International Atomic Energy Agency meets this week in Vienna amid U.S. charges that Iran is seeking the capability to develop nuclear weapons.
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