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>Iraq’s Hydrocarbon Law

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Amongst the benchmarks in the supplemental appropriations bill for 2007, section 1904(b) states, “On or before October 1st, 2007, the President shall certify to the Congress that the Government of Iraq has enacted a broadly accepted hydro-carbon law that equitably shares oil revenues among all Iraqis.”

“Oil” was a catchword before the Iraq war even began. So what do we know about Iraqi oil and what can we say about the significance of this hydrocarbon law in terms of Iraq and its people, and the oil industry as a whole?

Iraq’s oil sector was nationalized in 1972 and has since been a source of national pride for everyone in the country. Privatization may seem like a good idea in the U.S., but it’s not a real option for Iraq at this point. The oil law on the table – actually the first of four – creates a national framework for managing Iraq’s oil sector under the new regime.

Yahia Said, Middle East and North Africa regional director at Revenue Watch Institute, a nonprofit organization monitoring Iraq’s oil industry, said in a PBS interview: “This is the first application of Iraq’s federal constitution. It will show the way of how the Iraqi union will be structured and how it will work into the future.” The law centralizes management over the oil sector in the Iraqi government, rather than dividing it among Sunni, Shi’a and Kurds. This retains the nationalist flavor of the oil sector.

The remaining three laws will tackle a much more complex and controversial issue: distribution of oil revenue. The central and northwestern Sunni-dominated regions of Iraq contain little oil, so Sunnis fear they will miss out on profits. To the north lies the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which is mixed Kurdish and Arab. Kurdish leaders have threatened to annex Kirkuk and withdraw from Iraq if they are not given their own fair share of oil revenue.

An equitable law would signify reconciliation and unity between Iraq’s various religious and ethnic groups at the national level. Iraq needs to create these laws carefully and with benchmarks in mind. EPIC has argued in favor of such benchmarks and we will continue to follow the progress of Iraq’s oil sector now and in the future.

>CIVIC Releases Devastating Report on U.S. Military Claims System for Civilians

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EPIC holds a standing partnership with the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), which aids small, community-based projects assisting families directly affected by U.S. and coalition actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Specifically, we have teamed with them in promoting the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S.594). This act would prohibit the use of U.S.-made cluster bombs in civilian areas, where they cause untold devastation.

Today, CIVIC released a white paper on U.S. military successes and failures regarding Iraqi and Afghan civilians, based on the more than 2,000 pages of documents released to the ACLU in April 2007 under the Freedom of Information Act. CIVIC found the U.S. military system “inconsistent and arbitrary,” and points out “major problems with the way the US compensates civilians harmed by its military forces.”
CIVIC’s findings include:

1. Ad hoc application of the two programs used for compensating (one for in-combat and one for outside of combat);
2. Low and seemingly arbitrary valuations of life;
3. The exclusion of important documentation backing up civilian cases (such as witness reports)
4. Denial under one program of compensation without referral to the other more appropriate program.

EPIC agrees with and supports these findings, and joins with CIVIC in calling on the US military to “keep as transparent and accurate account of civilian casualties as possible, release all documentation referring to civilian casualties in times of war, fairly valuate lives lost, install a consistent system of claims adjudication for civilians harmed as a result of US actions, and provide better training to military lawyers who deal with civilians in wartime.”

>Desperate Refugees Forced Into Prostitution

>We’ve been writing about the Iraqi displacement crisis for some time now, telling you how millions of Iraqis have been forced from their homes by violence and are seeking safe havens in Syria, Jordan and the more peaceful areas within Iraq.

What we haven’t told you is the high proportion of Iraqi refugees who are female-headed households and unaccompanied women. With Iraqi men being killed off and kidnapped at alarming rates, many women find themselves not only refugees dealing with unimaginable losses, but also seeking work outside the home for the first time in countries with already high unemployment. In Syria alone, thousands of these women are smuggled, tricked or forced into prostitution. Some just have no other means of supporting their families.

Katherine Zoepf’s New York Times piece from Tuesday tells the story of Hiba, a 16-year-old Baghdad girl who used to wear a hijab (Islamic head scarf) and pray five times a day in accordance with her devout Islamic faith. Now living outside of Demascus, she supports her elderly parents by dancing, scantily-clad, in a nightclub frequented by Saudis and known for prostitution.

“We Iraqis used to be a proud people,” her mother said, watching young Hiba dance with a flailing middle-aged man. “During the war we lost everything. We even lost our honor.”

“Sometimes you see whole families living this way, the girls pimped by the mother or aunt,” said Mouna Asaad, a Syrian women’s rights lawyer. “But prostitution isn’t the only problem. Our schools are overcrowded, and the prices of services, food and transportation have all risen. We don’t have the proper infrastructure to deal with this. We don’t have shelters or health centers that these women can go to.”

With more than 1.2 million Iraqis currently living in Syria alone, the Middle East is suffering its worst humanitarian crisis since 1948. The U.S. and other able nations must dedicate more significant funds to resettling tens of thousands of refugees each year, and supporting Iraq’s neighbors and the greater Middle East.

We simply cannot allow tragedies such as Hiba’s to continue, and be repeated, indefinitely.

>When is a Nonprofit Scholar a Spy?

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Here at EPIC, we work hard to report the truth in Iraq. We interview Iraqis, scholars and government officials, we rake through stacks of newspapers and magazines and page through blog after blog to bring you as much information as we can about the realities on the ground. But sometimes we take for granted just how lucky we are to work in a country that considers it our right to do so.

Yesterday, Iran’s military intelligence formally brought charges of espionage and endangering national security against three American scholars, including EPIC friends Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Kian Tajbakhsh of the Open Society Institute.

These are not spies. These are not even representatives of the U.S. government. These are nonprofit workers trying to improve the lives of Iranians similar to the ways in which we at EPIC are focused on Iraq. The charges against Haleh and Kian – which amount to capital crimes in Iran – are nothing short of ridiculous.

Please take a moment to read the defenses of Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh issued by their respective organizations. We hope you will join us in supporting these scholars, and take action through Haleh’s website and also through Kian’s website to help us save their lives.

So when is a nonprofit scholar a spy?

When she or he operates under a government that arbitrarily says so.

>Memorial Day and the Emergency Spending Bill

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With what’s happening in Iraq, it’s hard to not feel the power of Memorial Day everyday. This morning is no exception as we receive news of 10 U.S. military deaths in Iraq and scores of Iraqi civilian casualties. Among the civilians dead: Khalil al-Zahawi, one of the Muslim world’s most celebrated calligraphers.

There was some closure over the weekend. On Friday, President Bush signed into law the emergency spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan. EPIC began preparing for battles related to the emergency spending bill back in November.

By late January, Congress received the President’s initial request for emergency spending. While including nearly $100 billion for U.S. military spending, it only included $30 million to help Iraq’s war refugees and $50 million for Iraqi-led development. In comparison to previous spending bills, the President’s request represented a substantial cut in U.S. aid to Iraq.

In February, we helped form the Iraq Peace and Development Working Group (IPDWG), a community of more than 40 national organizations working to reduce suffering and conflict in Iraq. EPIC cochairs the working group with NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and active members include Amnesty International, Mercy Corps and Refugees International. Together, we’ve been working to:

  • Help 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled their country and another 1.9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who remain inside Iraq;

  • Fully restore USAID’s Community Action Program (CAP), a successful NGO-implemented effort delivering assistance directly to Iraqis rebuilding their own communities; and

  • Support the Marla Ruzicka Iraqi War Victims Fund (Marla Fund), assisting innocent civilians harmed in the conflict and the families of those killed in Iraq.

I am pleased to report that we are seeing results. Thanks to the letters and phone calls of dedicated EPIC members and the efforts of the more than 40 nationally respected organizations that joined our efforts, we got Congress to add $85 million above the President’s request for Iraqi refugee assistance, restore $95 million of funding for one of the few effective development programs in Iraq, and maintain most of the economic assistance requested – including funding to reactivate Iraq’s state-owned factories to rapidly create some jobs and needed stability. Although it’s only 1/3 of what EPIC and the NGO community asked for, it’s a start.

Now, we’re gearing up for FY 2008 appropriations, preparing to fight for a more sustainable U.S. policy than emergency supplemental bills and ad hoc policies. Be sure to check back here for regular updates on our progress. To find out how you can make a difference right now, visit EPIC’s website and add your voice to our ongoing advocacy initiatives.

>NGOs Meet to Coordinate Advocacy on Iraq Crisis

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Yesterday, I attended a roundtable strategy session tackling the challenge of Iraq’s war refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Refugee Council USA hosted the gathering, which included representatives from operational NGOs such as International Medical Corps and the International Rescue Committee, as well as research and advocacy organizations Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and EPIC.

Being involved in this meeting of minds was exciting. The room buzzed with creativity, and each organization had a unique perspective to offer. I was particularly interested to meet Kirk Johnson, an advocate of resettling Iraqi refugees who worked for the U.S. and international organizations.

The roundtable kicked off by examining the refugee crisis in its current and future stages. Victor Tanner of SAIS, along with Bill Frelick of Human Rights Watch, highlighted important differences between the refugee policies of Syria and Jordan. The Jordanian government’s treatment of refugees has been hardline. As Tanner pointed out, Jordan sees the Iraqi refugee population as a threat to national security and even national identity. In a land of 5.63 million people, Jordan has 1.7 million Palestinian refugees (many living as citizens), 500,000-800,000 Iraqi refugees from the 1990 Iraq war, plus 700,000 to a million Iraqi refugees who have fled sectarian violence resulting from the 2003 invasion.

Syria has been more welcoming to Iraqis for a number of reasons. Syrians have a keen sense of Arab nationalism and feel a sense of pride about letting Iraqis into their country. In addition, Syrians have a diplomatic card to play, especially in relation to the west. But Syria’s infrastructure will struggle to cope with Iraqis as they continue to enter the country at such an alarming rate.

Later, the roundtable focused on the U.S. and UK, which bear considerable responsibility for the displacement of Iraqis. These countries need to dedicate significant funds to resettling tens of thousands of refugees each year, and supporting Iraq’s neighbors and the greater Middle East with this crisis.

We also recognized that creativity and new approaches are essential. For example, Norway, one of the most expensive countries in Europe, has proposed turning its openings for refugees into money for resettlement elsewhere, money that will go much further in a country such as Chile, which itself has proposed resettling 100 refugees over the following year.

EPIC’s own Erik Gustafson talked about some of successful programs helping refugees, a theme brought up by representatives of Relief International, International Medical Corps and the International Rescue Committee. These relief organizations have implemented initiatives including management of mobile health clinics and school construction and rehabilitation. Although the issue at times appears overwhelming, it is important to recall that there are successes in the region and that the Iraqi refugees can be helped.

>Who will be their champion?

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A brighter future for Iraq is possible. But we need your help to generate hope.

Last week Erik wrote, “If Iraq were only populated by car bombers, death squads and the victims of both, then there would be no hope for change. Fortunately, Iraq has many brave souls struggling to make a difference in every sector of society. The problem is not that they don’t exist, but that the media rarely reports on their efforts.”

That’s where EPIC comes in. Through our increasingly popular Ground Truth interviews and new media, we’re educating Americans about the realities inside Iraq and promoting workable solutions for building peace.

But without you, we cannot sustain our efforts. Please make a generous contribution right now and help us raise $15K in May.

Through the Ground Truth Project, EPIC is advancing the solution-focused perspectives of Lisa Schirch, Eric Davis and other policy experts. We are amplifying the firsthand accounts of Iraqi aid worker Khaldoon Ali, Iraq War veteran-turned-advocate Jonathan Powers and other peacebuilders working against incredible odds. We are making their voices heard in the national media. And through EPIC’s blog, we are engaging thousands of readers in thought-provoking discussion about the future of Iraq and U.S. policy.

Despite ongoing violence, Iraq has dedicated doctors, teachers, aid workers and peacebuilders who are working hard to stabilize and develop their country. Their hope for Iraq is contagious, but their efforts rarely make the front page news. Without EPIC, who will be their champion?

Please help us to be a strong advocate for Iraq’s peacebuilders. Make a generous donation right now to bring us closer to our goal of $15K by the end of May.

>Winning Hearts & Minds: Spotlight on Peacebuilders in Iraq

>You’ve been reading a lot from Erik about how the media paints Iraqis as nothing but victims and victimizers, when in fact the situation is more nuanced. Meanwhile, an anonymous comment on my last blog astutely points out that we should focus on winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis rather than putting all our eggs in the basket of military solutions. Even newly-appointed “war czar” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute said, in a May 16th Washington Post article, that “A short-term ‘surge’ would do little good [in Iraq] and any sustained increase in forces has to be matched by equal emphasis on political and economic steps.”

Today, I’d like to tell you more about the people and programs that are winning those hearts and minds, taking those steps and, slowly, building peace in Iraq.

Yes, they’re out there. You haven’t heard their stories in the mainstream media but that doesn’t mean their work is not having an impact. It’s just that the most successful programs in Iraq are the ones operating on a small enough scale to avoid being targeted by insurgents.

But their small-scale successes are nevertheless impressive. Back in early May, I wrote about our conference on “Overlooked Successes in Iraq: Rebuilding communities, strengthening civil society, and advancing human rights despite the violence.” Expanding upon that entry, here’s more detail about three of the speakers.

Daniel Rothenberg is executive director of DePaul University’s International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI), an organization dedicated to defending and promoting human rights through fieldwork, research and documentation, publications, and advocacy. Recently returning from his eighth trip to Iraq, Rothenberg has spearheaded the organization’s efforts to advance human rights and rule of law there. IHRLI provides law training in Iraqi schools, encourages legal education reform, works on the Iraqi constitution and is running one of the largest human rights documentation projects in the world.

All this, as well as developing a plan for criminal justice reform, is done in collaboration with Iraqi partners integral to the success of all IHRLI’s projects. “There are talented, educated Iraqis all over the country,” Rothenberg observed at our conference. “The capacity exists. The people we work with are really excited. We have to keep a low profile for security, but it’s not as hard to work in Iraq as one imagines.”

Echoing Rothenberg’s positive assessment of Iraqis was Bruce Parmelee, Middle East director of CHF International, who stressed the importance of community involvement in reconstruction efforts. CHF’s efforts in Iraq are funded by USAID’s Community Action Program (CAP) and are based on interacting with community associations to determine their needs and ways to best address them. CAP empowers Iraqi citizens to set their own priorities for rebuilding the infrastructure in their neighborhoods, towns and villages.

Parmelee recently returned from his twentieth trip to Iraq, and reported that “moving money is a challenge, as is getting around. But most of our projects are sustained and appreciated by Iraqis. We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback.”

Michael D. Miller, president of America’s Development Foundation (ADF), helps run the Iraq Civil Society and Independent Media Support Program (ICSP) aimed at strengthening the role of Iraqi civil society to make democracy sustainable. The program coordinates between 18 different local governments and has reached 1900 Iraqi Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) all outside the green zone. And it is staffed by 275 Iraqis and only 12 foreigners.

“Our Iraqi staff members take big risks,” Miller pointed out, “but they really want to be involved in change. They are passionate and dedicated despite the danger.”

“Infrastructure development CAN take place in this environment,” he continued. “Change can happen. The violence is committed by a small percentage of people, and we can’t let the violence dissuade us. The Iraqis feel that way and they are willing counterparts. Not all of them are rooted to position; they are there for change. They want to identify corruption and throw it out. We owe all our success to the diligence of Iraqis.”

EPIC applauds all three speakers for their dedication to the future and stability of Iraq. The experiences of IHRLI, CHF International and ADF all prove that when we listen to and engage with Iraqis, we can effectively work together to build sustainable peace.

>The Silver Lining of the Supplemental

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Yesterday, Congressional Democrats ended a nearly 5-month cold war with the Bush Administration by approving supplemental Iraq war funding absent a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal.

The anti-war netroots at Daily Kos and practically everywhere else on the internet are now in a tizzy, declaring “if the supplemental bill passes, it most probably means that Mister Bush has all the money he needs to continue this bloody disaster for the next 16 months.” Even the New York Times is riddled with language about how the Dems “relented” and made a “wrenching reversal.”

But as Erik noted in his recent blog, the media has a curious affinity for black-and-white half-truths, and for declaring “game over” in the third inning. Congressional leaders will have other, better opportunities to duke it out on a number of funding bills in coming months, including Department of Defense Appropriations. Furthermore, there’s more to this emergency spending bill than the timetable issue.

For starters, this is the first bill that begins to address the urgent needs of the fastest growing refugee and internally displaced populations in the world. It provides funding for lifesaving humanitarian assistance and protection to help those displaced by the conflicts in Iraq and Darfur. Secondly, it restores funding for development NGOs that have successfully partnered with local Iraqi leaders to help them rebuild their war-torn communities. Third, the bill provides some of the assistance that Iraq desperately needs for an economic and political solution — something that neither troop surges nor withdrawals are likely to produce alone.

No, we didn’t get as much as we would have liked, but EPIC and our Iraq Peace and Development Working Group (IPDWG) allies lobbied hard and won $85 million above the President’s request for Iraqi refugee/IDP assistance and restored $50 million of funding for USAID’s Community Action Program (CAP) and the Marla Ruzicka War Victims Fund.

Even if you’re among the “support our troops, bring them home” crowd and you buy the Daily Kos’ 16-month-bloodbath prophecy, you ought to know this funding is crucial for protecting our troops. As long as they’re over there, the best way we can help them is by stabilizing Iraq through political, civil and economic projects. Employed Iraqis with ownership of and interest in community projects, such as those funded by CAP and highlighted in our “Overlooked Successes” conference, aren’t strapping bombs to their chests and going after Americans. And what you may not have heard is that these moderates do have an influence on those who are causing trouble – popular support is key to movements such as Moqtada al-Sadr’s.

The sooner we get moving on economic, political and civil solutions, the less justification this Administration will have for maintaining or augmenting troop levels.

Also present in the approved bill are benchmarks. We’re planning a series of blog entries here giving you details on each one, but for now suffice it to say we’ve been calling for benchmarks for years. Of course, benchmarks on U.S. progress rather than focusing entirely on the Iraqi side of the equation would have been nice. But you know how it is in Washington – baby steps, baby steps.

The bottom line is that U.S. troop levels are just one part, one question in the debate over Iraq’s future. The media needs to be careful not to over-focus on that question at the expense of the needs of the Iraqi people.

>In the Media: When Agents of Death & Mayhem Get All the Press

>Earlier this week I blogged about the tendency in the press to characterize Iraq as a “mission impossible” and “let homegrown terrorists and foreign fighters speak for Iraq using car bombs and death squads.”

As I posted the blog, I heard the voice of Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One (the abrupt, impolite borg crewman on Voyager who always spoke in short declarative sentences) demand: “Where’s your data?”

Here’s a list of the 16 top stories on the New York Times Website – Iraq News:

May 23, 2007 – As Comrades Search, Fatal Bomb Wreaks Havoc
May 23, 2007 – Suicide Bomber Kills 15 East of Baghdad (AP)
May 23, 2007 – Democrats Pull Troop Deadline From Iraq Bill
May 23, 2007 – Iraqi Police Say Body in U.S. Uniform Is Found (AP)
May 22, 2007 – Gunmen Kill 5 in Ambush of Minibus in Diyala Province on Day of Scattered Violence in Iraq
May 22, 2007 – Attacks in Sunni Areas in Baghdad Kill at Least 29
May 22, 2007 – Baghdad District Is a Model, but Only for Shiites
May 22, 2007 – War Proposal Still Stymied Despite Talks
May 22, 2007 – Car Bombing in Baghdad Kills 25 (AP)
May 21, 2007 – 7 U.S. Soldiers Die in Iraq, 6 in Sweep of Baghdad
May 20, 2007 – Bombs Imperil U.S. Troops Searching for Captured Comrades
May 20, 2007 – Gunmen in Iraqi Army Uniforms Kill 15 in Eastern Village
May 20, 2007 – U.S. Force Kills Shiite Linked to Deaths of 5 Soldiers
May 19, 2007 – Talks, but No Breakthrough, on Iraq War Spending Measure
May 19, 2007 – Contractor Deaths in Iraq Soar to Record
May 19, 2007 – U.S. Forces Seize 6 Linked to Armor-Piercing Bombs

Since most Americans rarely read past the headlines, I used key words to tally the number of news stories devoted to agents of death and mayhem in Iraq vs. stories about more responsible parties.

Here’s the score: 12 points for Suicide Bombers, Gunmen, Bombs, Killing, Imperiled Troops, and Deaths; 3 points for U.S. domestic politics over the emergency spending bill, and (Maestro, can I have a drum roll please…) 1 point for “Model Districts” in Baghdad (although only for Shiites, mind you).

Granted, Iraq is on fire from Mosul to Basra, especially in parts of Baghdad and Diyala provinces, but that does not let the New York Times and news media off-the-hook. The U.S. media ought to be reporting on both the people who are part of the problem as well as the people and events who might be part of the solution.