U.S. Vice President Biden Makes A Surprise Visit To Iraq

CNN: Biden makes surprise trip to Iraq

(CNN)Vice President Joe Biden landed in Iraq Thursday for an unannounced trip.

While in Iraq, Biden will meet with political leaders and is "focused on encouraging Iraqi national unity and continued momentum in the fight against ISIL," according to a White House statement, using a different term for ISIS.
"The Vice President will also be discussing steps the international community can take to promote Iraq's economic stability and further regional cooperation," the statement continued. "He will also have an opportunity to thank US diplomatic and military personnel for their tremendous service."

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More News On U.S. Vice President Biden Making A Surprise Visit To Iraq

Biden makes unannounced trip to Iraq, his first since 2011 -- Washington Post
On surprise Iraq visit, Biden urging end to political crisis -- AP
Biden visits Iraq for talks with officials, show of support -- Reuters
Biden makes surprise visit to Iraq in effort to boost fight against ISIL -- USA Today
Vice President Joe Biden Visits Iraq Amid Political Turmoil -- WSJ
Biden makes surprise trip to Baghdad -- Politico
Iraq Turmoil Greets Biden on Surprise Trip to Talk Islamic State -- Bloomberg
US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Baghdad on unannounced visit -- RUDAW
Biden meets PM Abadi in Baghdad to discuss security: state TV -- Reuters

Is The U.S. Now Delaying It's Delivery Of F-16s To Iraq

The first F-16 Fighting Falcon for the Iraq Air Force makes its first flight. (Lockheed Martin)

Pentagon: We're Not Slow-Rolling F-16 Sale To Iraq -- Defense News

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon pushed back Friday on comments made by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki that the US is slow-rolling a sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters to Baghdad.

“There’s been no slow-rolling,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

Al-Maliki in an interview with BBC Arabic said the US’s “long, very slow way” has delayed the delivery of 36 fighter aircraft. He said Iraq would purchase used fighter jets from Russia and Belarus in the interim to combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters, which have taken over cities in northern and western Iraq.

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Update: Unrest in Iraq could delay delivery of US F-16s -- AFP

My Comment:  Since the American contractors who were suppose to maintain these jets are no longer on the Iraqi air bases that were suppose to receive deliver of these jets .... I can understand (to a point) on why this deal is in limbo. But if I was an Iraqi government/military official waiting for these jets .... I would not be happy.

U.S. Message To Iraq Is 'Pull Together'

Biden Calls On Iraqis To ‘Pull Together’ -- Voice of America

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says "urgent assistance is clearly required" in Iraq, but he has not provided details on any U.S. aid.

Biden made the comment Tuesday during a stop in Brasilia, where he met with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. He also said Iraqis must "pull together" to end sectarian violence.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials say at least 44 prisoners died in a militant assault on a prison in the city of Baquba.

Reports Tuesday differed as to whether militants or security officials killed the detainees. Morgue reports say the dead had close-range bullet wounds to the head and chest.

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My Comment: No one in Iraq is paying attention to the U.S. right now .... the reality on the ground is this.

U.S. To Send More Intelligence Officers To Iraq

As Iraq Violence Grows, U.S. Sends More Intelligence Officers -- Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States is quietly expanding the number of intelligence officers in Iraq and holding urgent meetings in Washington and Baghdad to find ways to counter growing violence by Islamic militants, U.S. government sources said.

A high-level Pentagon team is now in Iraq to assess possible assistance for Iraqi forces in their fight against radical jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a group reconstituted from an earlier incarnation of al Qaeda, said two current government officials and one former U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The powerful ISIL, which seeks to impose strict sharia law in the Sunni majority populated regions of Iraq, now boasts territorial influence stretching from Iraq's western Anbar province to northern Syria, operating in some areas close to Baghdad, say U.S. officials.

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My Comment: I sincerely doubt that sending a few U.S. intelligence officers into Iraq is going to change the security situation on the ground. This is all wishful thinking. In the meantime .... Iraq braces for more election violence.

Update: The above video is from a suicide attack on Friday.

Pressure Builds On President Obama To Become Involved In Iraq

Obama Administration Under Pressure To Turn Attention Back To Iraq -- FOX News

WASHINGTON – As Al Qaeda-aligned insurgents make unprecedented post-war gains in Iraq, U.S. military officials and others in the Obama administration are keeping their distance -- despite mounting calls to ratchet up involvement amid fears the country is teetering on the brink of civil war.

Administration officials are now trying to find some middle ground, which so far includes sending additional shipments of Hellfire missiles to Baghdad, as well as surveillance drones. Lawmakers, though, claim it's clear the administration could be doing more.

"There's not a lot we can do, but there's some," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Fox News, urging the administration to send over high-level advisers to assist Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, for starters. A relatively small contingent of military advisers reportedly has been in Iraq since combat forces withdrew.

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More News On The White House Being Pressured To Re-Engage With It's Military In Iraq

New wave of violence in Iraq leaves U.S. with few good choices -- Idaho Statesman
US pressure mounts on Iraqi premier amid Al-Qaeda surge -- Global Post/AFP
Iraqi ambassador slams Obama, praises Bush -- Washington Times
Iraq ambassador says White House can do more against Al Qaeda -- FOX News
McCain, Graham call for more U.S. leadership in Iraq -- Washington Times
U.S. Leverage in Iraq Tested As Fears of Civil War Mount -- Wall Street Journal

My Comment: I can see the U.S. being invovled in the transfer of some military equipment and munitions .... but having U.S. soldiers on the ground in Iraq fighting against Al Qaeda insurgents .... that is not going to happen .... and in my opinion that is the best course to take.

The U.S. Will Not Give The Weapons That Iraq Needs To Defeat Al Qaeda

U.S. Won't Ship Iraq The Weapons It Needs to Fight Al Qaeda -- Yochi Dreazen and John Hudson, The Cable/Foreign Policy

The stunning conquest of Fallujah and Ramadi by al Qaeda fighters has reignited the debate about whether the White House should have left combat troops in Iraq. But that argument obscures what may be the original sin of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq two years ago: Washington's refusal to provide Baghdad with the F-16s and Apache attack helicopters that could turn the tide in the bloody fight to recapture the key cities.

The Iraqi military has surrounded Fallujah with ground troops and armored vehicles, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki indicated Monday that he was prepared to order an all-out assault on the city if tribal fighters there failed to expel the al Qaeda fighters on their own. In a jab at the White House, a senior Iranian military official, Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, said Tehran was prepared to give Baghdad weaponry and military trainers to help in what could be weeks of grinding house-to-house, street-to-street fighting.

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My Comment: Publicly .... the U.S. has stated it's commitment to arm the Iraqi military .... but as the above Foreign Policy column reveals .... the U.S. is being "choosy" on what to provide.

U.S. Aid Is Being Rushed To Iraq To Assist In The Fight Against Al Qaeda

U.S. Sends Arms to Aid Iraq Fight With Extremists -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The United States is quietly rushing dozens of Hellfire missiles and low-tech surveillance drones to Iraq to help government forces combat an explosion of violence by a Qaeda-backed insurgency that is gaining territory in both western Iraq and neighboring Syria.

The move follows an appeal for help in battling the extremist group by the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who met with President Obama in Washington last month.

But some military experts question whether the patchwork response will be sufficient to reverse the sharp downturn in security that already led to the deaths of more than 8,000 Iraqis this year, 952 of them Iraqi security force members, according to the United Nations, the highest level of violence since 2008.

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Update: Report: US Sending Missiles, Drones To Iraq -- Defense News/AFP

My Comment: This U.S. military aid is coming at a time where it is too little .... and too late. Al Qaeda is now entrenched and it is going to take more than a few drones to flush them out. The Iraqis must now be having buyers remorse for not signing that security pact with the U.S. two years ago. Bad for them .... thank God for us to have the excuse to leave Iraq in 2011.

Iraq's Prime Minister Presses For Military Aid From Washington

Iraqi PM Maliki Struggles To Convince U.S. Lawmakers To Back More Aid -- Reuters

* "Situation is unraveling," McCain says
* Maliki seeking attack helicopters to fight militants
* To meet with Obama on Friday

WASHINGTON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers had tough criticism for Iraq's government after meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday, saying they were open to meeting his request for military assistance only if Baghdad made significant changes.

Maliki is on his first visit to Washington in two years, urgently seeking U.S. Apache attack helicopters and other military supplies to fight militant groups such as al Qaeda in Iraq as sectarian violence spills over the border from Syria.

But U.S. officials, particularly members of Congress who take a harder line on many foreign policy issues than the Obama administration, have watched in dismay as Maliki has ignored Washington's calls to give Iraq's Sunni and Kurdish minorities a greater role in his Shi'ite-led government, and moved closer to Iran since U.S. troops left Iraq two years ago.

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More News On U.S. Security Concerns Over Iraq

Seeking US aid, Iraqi leader says fighting terror is a worldwide responsibility -- Washington Post/AP
Iraqi prime minister: U.S. aid needed to battle al Qaeda -- Washington Times
Iraqi PM Presses for US Military Aid -- Voice of America
US renews vow to help Iraq combat terror attacks -- AFP
F-16 jet delivery to Iraq on track for next fall: U.S. official -- Reuters
US Reiterates Commitment to Iraq, Hints Help on the Way -- Voice of America
On Maliki trip, U.S. seeks to address security fears while pushing for inclusive governance -- Washington Post
U.S. Warns of Downward Iraqi Spiral -- Wall Street Journal
Security Concerns Drown Out Maliki Critiques -- Paul D. Shinkman, US News and World Report
National security expert: Obama could lose Iraq -- FOX News

Iraq's Prime Minister Flies To The U.S. To Seek Assistance In Fighting Terror Groups

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during the opening ceremony of the Defence University for Military Studies inside Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone June 17, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Iraqi PM Flies To U.S., Seeking Arms To Fight Militants -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki travelled to the United States on Tuesday to press for urgent help and arms to combat the worst upsurge of violence in years.

Nearly three years since the last U.S. troops withdrew, Sunni Islamist militants are waging a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after former dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.

Trained and equipped by the United States at a cost of $25 billion, Iraq's security forces are struggling against Sunni Islamist insurgents who have driven the civilian death toll so far this year above 7,000.

"The urgent thing is to supply Iraq as quickly as possible with weapons of an offensive nature to combat terrorism and chase the armed groups," Maliki said at an airport news conference before his departure.

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Iraq's Prime Minister Flies To The U.S. To Seek Assistance To Fight Terror Groups

Iraq PM heads to US to seek security support -- AFP
Iraq's Maliki to seek U.S. arms, role on Iran and Syria -- Reuters
Iraq's premier to seek security help from the US -- AP
Iraqi Prime Minister to Washington: Help Us Fight Terrorists -- Haaretz
Iraqi PM heads to Washington for talks with US top officials -- Global Times

My Comment: The situation in Iraq is quickly deteriorating .... and  Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki knows that.

No U.S. Drone War In Iraq

DOD

U.S. Rules Out A New Drone War In Iraq -- John Hudson, The Cable/Foreign Policy

For weeks, Iraqi officials have been publicly floating the idea of using American drones to hit the increasingly lethal al-Qaeda-affiliated militants on their soil. But the ordinarily drone-friendly Obama administration is apparently in no mood to open up a new front in global campaign of unmanned attacks. An administration official tells The Cable that American drone strikes in Iraq are now off the table.

Though neither Iraqi nor U.S. officials will say who called off the drones, it's no secret who began discussing them in the first place. In an August 17 trip to Washington, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters that Baghdad is seeking U.S. advisers, air surveillance or drone strikes to combat al-Qaeda's grip on the country. "We cannot fight these increasing terrorist" threats alone, he said. Speaking of drone strikes specifically, he said as long as they were used to "target al-Qaeda and their bases," without "collateral damage," Iraqis would welcome them.

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My Comment: Not surprised by this U.S. reluctance to get involved in Iraq's sectarian troubles .... after-all ... the U.S. learned what could happen when they "bought that t-shirt" when they invaded Iraq in 2003?

Did The U.S. Provide Intelligence To Iraq That Helped Them Launch Chemical Attacks Against Iran During Their 1980-1988 War?

Then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (at right) behind an artillery piece during the Iraq-Iran war. (An undated photo from the 1980s.) Reuters/Landov

Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran -- Shane Harris and matthew M. Aid, Foreign Policy

The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history -- and still gave him a hand.

The U.S. government may be considering military action in response to chemical strikes near Damascus. But a generation ago, America's military and intelligence communities knew about and did nothing to stop a series of nerve gas attacks far more devastating than anything Syria has seen, Foreign Policy has learned.

In 1988, during the waning days of Iraq's war with Iran, the United States learned through satellite imagery that Iran was about to gain a major strategic advantage by exploiting a hole in Iraqi defenses. U.S. intelligence officials conveyed the location of the Iranian troops to Iraq, fully aware that Hussein's military would attack with chemical weapons, including sarin, a lethal nerve agent.

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More News On Reports That The U.S. Help Iraq With Chemical Attacks Against Iran During Their 1980-1988 War?

CIA 'helped Saddam Hussein carry out chemical weapons attack on Iran' in 1988 under Ronald Reagan -- Daily Mail
U.S. Gave Iraq Intel, Ignored Chemical Attacks In 1980s, Report Says -- Huffington Post/AFP
New Docs Detail U.S. Involvement in Saddam's Nerve Gas Attacks -- Atlantic Wire
CIA Files Show U.S. Played Role in Iraq’s Chemical Attacks on Iran -- New York Magazine
New Details On How U.S. 'Helped Saddam As He Gassed Iran' -- NPR
How the U.S. helped Saddam Hussein use chemical weapons against Iran -- Harold Maass, The Week
What Complicity in Iraq's Chemical-Weapons Use Says About America -- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

U.S. And Iraq To Cooperate In Stemming Al Qaeda Attacks

U.S. And Iraq To Boost Cooperation On Spillover From Syria -- Reuters

* Sale of $2.6 billion air-defense system to help Iraq control skies
* Washington urges political outreach to Iraq's Sunnis

WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq agreed on Thursday to boost cooperation to keep Iran from flying weapons over Iraq to Syria, and to curb the radicalization of young Iraqis and other spillover effects from the Syrian conflict.

U.S. help for Iraq will include intelligence- and information-sharing in the short term, followed by a planned sale of a $2.6 billion integrated air defense system and F-16 fighter jets, a senior U.S. official said.

The agreement came during talks in Washington led by Secretary of State John Kerry and Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, which took place amid a period of escalating bloodshed that has taken the monthly death toll in Iraq to its highest levels in five years.

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More News On U.S. And Iraq Agreeing To Cooperate In Stemming Al Qaeda Attacks

Syrian War Fueling Attacks by Al Qaeda in Iraq, Officials Say -- New York Times
US warns of rising threat from al-Qaida in Iraq. -- Stars and Stripes
US Warns of Rising Threat From Al-Qaeda in Iraq -- Antiwar.com
Kerry: Iraq must stop weapons flow to Syria -- AP
Kerry warns of potential instability in Iraq -- Khaleej Times
Facing rising violence, Iraq seeks aid from a White House focused on other crises. -- CTV/AP

Could Iraq Become President Obama's Next Big Foreign Policy Crisis?

The Meaning of al-Qaeda’s Alarming Baghdad Jailbreak -- Michael Crowley, Time

Why Iraq could become Obama's next big foreign policy crisis

The Middle East has presented Barack Obama with many nasty surprises. But Iraq has not been among them. Since the last U.S. combat troops left 19 months ago, the site of America’s long Bush-era nightmare has held together relatively — repeat: relatively — well. It may not be Disneyland, but Iraq has so far avoided descending back into the savage state of anarchy many people predicted.

Alas, it may be that Iraq is living on borrowed time. One reason why was illustrated on Monday, when al-Qaeda fighters staged a brazen attack on two Iraq prisons, using car bombs, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades to free hundreds of inmates — including many of their brothers in arms.

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My Comment: If Iraq descends into chaos it will be the fault of the Iraqis .... not Americas. And while it would be extremely unfortunate for such an outcome .... this will not be a foreign policy crisis for President Obama for the simple reason that there is zero political and public support to have US forces become re-engage in the Iraqi quagmire.

Iraq Fraud And Waste Cost The U.S. Taxpayer $1.5 Billion

The shell of a prison that will never be used rises from the desert on the edge of this dusty town north of Baghdad, a hulking monument to the wasted promise of America's massive, $53-billion reconstruction effort in Iraq. | Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT

Final Report On Iraq Reconstruction Says Fraud, Waste Cost U.S. $1.5 Billion -- McClatchy News

WASHINGTON — The $40 million shell of an unfinished prison in Iraq’s Diyala province; $2 million in laundered cash pocketed by government officials and contractors in Hilla; an $80 invoice on a $1.41 piece of PVC piping from a defense subcontractor near Baghdad.

Those are just three examples of fraudulent and wasteful spending that plagued U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, which on Tuesday issued its final report on the U.S. government’s $60 billion reconstruction program for that country.

The report identified at least $1.5 billion in wasted or questionable spending during the period from 2004 to 2013. It urged Congress to create a new agency, the Office for Contingency Operations, which would oversee and coordinate such reconstruction in the future, prospectively avoiding some of the worst excesses.

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Update: Rebuilding Iraq: Final report card on US efforts highlights massive waste -- Christian Science Monitor

My Comment: Only $1.5 billion wasted?!?!? It could have been worse.

U.S. Troops Returning To Iraq?

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief reporters at the Pentagon, June 26, 2013. Hagel announced that President Barack Obama has nominated both Dempsey and Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to second terms. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Back To Iraq? Dempsey Floats Idea Of Sending Trainers As Syria's War Spills Over -- CNN

In a move that could send small numbers of U.S. military trainers back to Iraq, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has asked his top Middle East commander to look at ways the United States could boost military sales, assistance and training in that country as well as in Lebanon and Jordan as Syria's civil war continues to affect its neighbors.

Any deployment of U.S. forces would have to have those countries' approval, and so far there is no indication that Iraq or Lebanon would agree to accept U.S. troops.

Dempsey has asked Gen. Lloyd Austin, the head of U.S. Central Command, to look at options for small, limited deployments in recent weeks, according to Col. Edward Thomas, a Dempsey spokesman. "It's in the realm of the possible," that a decision could be made to offer to send training teams back into Iraq, which would be the first significant deployment since the United States withdrew from that country in 2011.

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More News On Reports That the Pentagon May Send Trainers And Equipment To Lebanon And Iraq

US military chief recommends increasing security assistance to Lebanon, Iraq -- NBC
U.S. military chief recommends bolstering Lebanon, Iraq forces -- Reuters
US military recommends sending training teams to Lebanon, Iraq -- Washington Post/AP
Capacity-building Central to Syria Strategy -- US Department of Defense

My Comment: I doubt that President Obama will implement this policy. To do so would not only enrage his anti-war base but it would also put into question his original decision to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011. Iraq is a lose-lose proposition .... and sending a few trainers into the country will not help or make a difference on the ground at all.

The Decline Of U.S. Influence In Iraq

U.S. Secretary John Kerry participates in a press availability at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on March 24, 2013 as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq R. Steve Beecroft and incoming State Department Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki look on. State Department

Kerry Warns Maliki But Iraq Won’t Stop Iran ‘Overflights’ -- Stars and Stripes/L.A. Times

BAGHDAD — U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry pressed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Sunday to stop Iran from flying arms across Iraqi territory to the beleaguered Syrian regime, but found him unwilling to give ground.

In a visit to Baghdad that was not announced in advance, Kerry told Maliki that the almost daily flights have become a lifeline for Syrian President Bashar Assad that is undermining the efforts of the United States and allies to negotiate the departure of Assad and an end to the 2-year-old Syrian civil war. And Kerry warned that many in the United States are wondering how, after Americans “have tried so hard to be helpful” in rebuilding post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, the country could stand in its way.

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My Comment: This was a sad and depressing meeting .... further proof that the U.S. no longer has any influence in Iraq. As to what is my take .... Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post is correct .... this is what happens when one decides to quickly leave a country to it's own fate .... at the time the withdrawal of Iraq suited the U.S. public and political sentiment on the subject and it enjoyed wide support (this blogger included), but (as predicted by many .... including this blogger)) there are long term consequences and we are seeing them right now.

Special U.S. Auditor's Report On Iraq Details Billions Wasted.

Iraq Reconstruction Report Documents Waste, Corruption -- Al-Monitor

If the United States ever tries to rebuild another broken country — say, Syria — it should focus on security, start small and make sure there are independent people on the ground to monitor the projects from the start.

These are among the common-sense lessons gleaned from the checkered record of Iraq, where the US has spent nearly $60 billion on so-called stabilization and reconstruction — of which at least $8-10 billion was wasted due to lack of security, poorly executed contracts and corruption, according to a new report.

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More News On The Special U.S. Auditor's Report On Iraq's Rebuilding Aid Program

Much of $60B from U.S. to rebuild Iraq wasted, special auditor's final report to Congress shows -- CBS/AP
Report Details Mistakes Made by U.S. in Improvement Projects for Iraq -- New York Times
Report: Iraq reconstruction failed to result in lasting, positive changes -- Washington Post
Iraq Rebuilding Marred by $9 Billion Loss, Auditor Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Iraq: $60 billion and nothing to show -- UPI
Rebuilding Iraq Wasted $1,500 of Your Tax Dollars Per Minute -- Atlantic Wire
Over $8B of the Money You Spent Rebuilding Iraq Was Wasted Outright -- Danger Room

WNU Editor: The Special Inspector General's report is here.

Hezbollah Militant Accussed In The Killing Of Americans In Iraq Will Not Be Extradited To Face Justice

A U.S. solider shows a picture of Ali Mussa Daqduq (L) during a news conference at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. REUTERS/Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool

Iraqi Court Denies US Request To Extradite Daqduq -- Lawfare

So reports Lara Jakes at AP, after obtaining a copy of the ruling in which an Iraqi court declined to approve Daqduq’s extradition (reasoning that the Iraqi judicial system already had dismissed charges against him arising out of the same events, apparently). It seems likely Daqduq will be freed (though note that there supposedly is still a request for reconsideration pending before an Iraqi court in connection with Iraq’s criminal case against Daqduq) quite soon. My previous thoughts on apportioning blame for this mess are here.

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Update: Iraq rejects US extradition for senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative -- FOX News/AP

My Comment: The Iraqi court has decided to ignore U.S. claims of war crimes associated with this prisoner. The reason why is simple .... a point that I made a few months ago.

Sighhh .... this does not bode well for U.S. - Iraqi relations.

U.S. Wants Iraq To Extradite Hezbollah Suspect

A U.S. solider shows a picture of Ali Mussa Daqduq (L) during a news conference at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. REUTERS/Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool

U.S. Asks Iraq To Extradite Hezbollah Suspect -- Yahoo News/Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has formally asked Iraq to extradite a suspected Hezbollah operative accused of killing American troops, a U.S. official told Reuters, amid heightened concerns in Washington that he may go free.

It was not immediately clear when the request was filed and Iraqi officials approached by Reuters denied knowledge of it, casting doubt on whether an extradition was seriously being considered at this point in Baghdad.

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Previous Post: Hezbollah Commander In Iraq Responsible For The Kidnapping And Killing Of U.S. Soldiers To Be Released

My Comment: Iraq is not going to comply.

Hezbollah Commander In Iraq Responsible For The Kidnapping And Killing Of U.S. Soldiers To Be Released

A U.S. solider shows a picture of Ali Mussa Daqduq (L) during a news conference at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. REUTERS/Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool

Administration Struggling To Prevent Release Of Hezbollah Commander In Iraq -- The Cable

When alleged terrorist Ali Musa Daqduq was transferred from U.S. to Iraqi custody last December, many in Washington worried that the Iraqi government would release him back to the battlefield. This week, Daqduq was acquitted in an Iraqi court and now the administration is trying to figure out how to keep him behind bars.

Daqduq, who U.S. military officials claim is a Hezbollah commander, had been imprisoned by U.S. forces in Iraq for leading a team that kidnapped and killed five U.S. soldiers in Iraq in January 2007. Twenty-one senators had drafted last December a letter urging the administration not to hand him over out of concern that the Iraqi government might release him.

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Previous Posts: Hezbollah Militant Accussed In Killing Americans In Iraq To Be Released By Iraq

My Comment: These efforts are going to fail. The Iraqi court has decided to ignore U.S. claims of war crimes associated with this prisoner. The reason why is simple .... a point that I made a few months ago.