Pelosi in Iraq to see for herself how war is going
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), a leading critic of President George W. Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, arrived in Baghdad on Friday for a closer view of a war she opposes.
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said he assured her he wanted his forces to take control of security from U.S. troops as soon as possible and called for an acceleration of their training and more military equipment.
A U.S. embassy official said Pelosi, the first woman speaker of the House, was in Iraq as part of a six-member congressional delegation for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. officials.
Pelosi emerged from her talks with Maliki saying "we come out with a greater understanding of each other's point of view."
She also said the delegation wanted to show U.S. troops in Iraq "the appreciation of the American people for what they are doing ... to applaud their patriotism, the sacrifice they are willing to make."
Pelosi has already said the new Democratic-controlled Congress will vote against the new strategy but will not seek to block funding for a troop increase.
Some 66 U.S. soldiers have died so far this month, taking the U.S. death toll since the war began in March 2003 to 3,067. Many of Bush's critics in Washington fear sending more troops will simply give militants more targets.
Bush has said the United States must not quit Iraq now as that would leave Iraqis prey to more sectarian violence and allow al Qaeda to operate from Iraq with impunity.
Pelosi, a key player in the Democratic takeover of Congress, has helped lead opposition in Washington to Bush's retooled Iraq strategy which envisages sending 21,500 more troops to help quell raging sectarian violence, especially in Baghdad.
She has accused Bush of playing politics with soldiers' lives and said after his State of the Union address to Congress this week that he had ignored the concerns of the American public over the unpopular war.
Democrats are pushing for a phased withdrawal from Iraq. Opinion polls show Americans are strongly opposed to Bush's plan for a troop increase.
Pelosi in Iraq to see for herself how war is going - Yahoo! News
Jordan's king gives US Iraq plan six months to work
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) - Jordanian King Abdullah II has warned the United States that "tough decisions" would be necessary if its troop build-up in Iraq fails to work within six months.
Abdullah said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he had questioned President George W. Bush about the open-ended nature of the deployment of an additional 21,500 US troops under a plan agreed with the Iraqi government.
"This needs to be benchmarked weekly or monthly and if in six months it's not working, then you are going to have to take some tough decisions," Abdullah said in a public debate.
"We'll try and all help to bring stability to Iraq," he added.
"But if the government cannot fulfill the demands that are expected of it, then we are going to call it for what it is and I think we'll have to look for where we go from there," he added.
Bush discussed his new Iraq plan with Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shortly after it was unveiled on January 10.
The US Senate, which is deeply skeptical about the White House strategy in Iraq, on Friday confirmed the nomination of Lieutenant General David Petraeus as commander of US forces deployed in the country.
Jordan's king gives US Iraq plan six months to work - Yahoo! News
Trade fair of Iraqi products
Trade fair of Iraqi products
Azzaman - [26/01/2007]
The Ministry of Trade is to hold a trade fair specifically for products made in Iraq.
The four-day exhibition, to start April 25, is to show that Iraqi industry is still alive despite mounting violence and lack of security, a ministry statement said.
It said companies from the private, mixed and state sectors will be taking part.
“It will be a show in which all sectors will demonstrate their goods and products,” the statement said.
The statement said the ministry wanted the fair to signal to the world and Iraqis in particular the face of the new Iraq.
“The general aim of the fair is to reconstruct a new Iraq and encourage investment by Iraqis,” it said.
http://www.iraqdirectory.com/DisplayNews.aspx?id=3021