The EPIC Blog

More On Monthly Death Counts In Iraq

The Brookings Institution recently updated their Iraq Index in mid-September 2009. The newest edition includes updated monthly death statistics. At first, Brookings relied upon several sources, including their own analysis of Iraq Body Count's statistics, and the United Nations. Currently, they use U.S. government numbers based upon occasional briefings and reports by the State and Defense Departments. These come in the form of charts, which Brookings then interprets.

Kurds Will Suspend All Oil Exports

As reported before, after the Kurd’s row with the Norwegian oil company DNO blew up in their faces over a secret stock purchase from 2008, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has now announced they will suspend all oil exports. In mid-September 2009, the KRG stopped DNO’s operations for six weeks until it cleared the regional government’s name in an investigation by the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Ayatollah Sistani’s Influence On The Open/Closed List Voting System Debate In Iraq

Iraq’s parliament missed its October 15, 2009 deadline to come up with a new election law for the January 2010 vote. There are two major issues holding up the bill. First, is the issue of how balloting will take place in Tamim province, home of the disputed city of Kirkuk. The second is whether the country will use an open or closed list voting system.

Iraq Ready To Blacklist Major Chinese Oil Company, and Maybe South Korean One As Well

China and South Korea have increasingly become involved in Iraq’s petroleum industry. They have signed deals with both the central government in Baghdad and the regional government in Kurdistan. This has placed the Asian businesses in the middle of the on-going dispute between the two sides, which is now playing out with the Oil Ministry warning two companies that they will be blacklisted if they continue to work with the Kurds.

Violence In Mosul Takes A Small Dip

Mosul, Iraq's third largest city and second most violent in the country, saw a slight drop in the number of dead and wounded in September 2009. While deaths have gone up and down each month in Iraq overall, violence has basically stayed the same in Mosul. In September there were an average of 2.40 attacks/security incidents per day, compared to 2.48 in August. The real difference was in the casualty counts. There were an average of 2.16 deaths per day last month and 2.00 wounded.

No SOFA Referendum?

The Wall Street Journal reported on October 5, 2009 that there might not be a referendum on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Iraq and the United States. The SOFA is actually two documents that set the future relations between the two countries.

Mass Casualty Bombings And Views Of Iraq

The vast majority of Western reporting on Iraq is dominated by stories about violence. Mass casualty bombings grab the headlines because of the number of dead and wounded. Reading such pieces, however, gives people a distorted picture of Iraq. It gives the impression that the country is constantly engulfed in chaos. The problem is that there is no direct correlation between the number of bombings and security incidents, and overall deaths in Iraq.

Maliki’s New State Of Law List May Not Be Enough

On October 1, 2009 Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki revealed his new State of Law List, which will run in the January 2010 parliamentary elections. Despite many reports of Maliki attempting to add new members to his coalition, especially Sunnis, the Prime Minister apparently struck out in his attempts.

Sadr Tries To Reconcile With Breakaway League Of The Righteous

Awan Daily reported that Moqtada al-Sadr is attempting to reconcile with the League of the Righteous before the January 2010 elections. A delegation from the League is set to travel to Qom, Iran to meet personally with Sadr. According to Awan, they are likely to reject rejoining the Sadr movement before the vote, and are planning to run on their own, led by former Transport Minister Salam al-Maliki.

From Aspirations to Actions

By now, you have probably heard that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

I congratulate him on this accomplishment. It is an award that has been bestowed on a rich history of peacemakers.

The president himself noted the award is "a call to action" and "an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of global aspirations" for peace.