National

Petraeus says progress in Iraq is still fragile

As General David Patraeus hands over command in Iraq to his former deputy, General Raymond Odierno, he said that despite improvement made in that country, progress was still fragile and not yet self-sustaining.

Patraeus has commanded the US–led coalition in Iraq for the past 19 months. He has been widely credited with leading initiatives that have resulted in a significant drop in violence in Iraq, which, when he took over the command of the coalition troops, seemed on the verge of  escalating into wanton civil strive.

Coinciding with his assumption of his command responsibilities last year, the Bush administration committed a surge of 30,000 additional troops in Iraq. This enabled Patraeus to launch a counter-insurgency attack. As Patraeus leaves the command post, reports are that in addition to the decline in violence, markets are open and operating in Baghdad and other cities, and many other places have been revitalized.

However, Patraeus cautioned that problems could be on the horizon. Moreover, it is assumed that Patraeus, who has been promoted to head the U.S. General Command, is aware of the necessity to pull troops from Iraq into an increasingly turbulent Afghanistan scenario, where the Taliban has shown signs of having revived, and is in collusion with al Qaeda.

Among the troubling signs that still exist in Iraq are the obstacles, because of sectarian political strife, to pass legislation such as an oil revenue-sharing law, constitutional amendments, and a provincial election law. There are also problems related to the admission of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, supported by the Kurds, into Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region – a move opposed by Arab Iraqis. Plus, the mood of the country’s population is unsettled by inadequate basic services like running water and electricity.


Zimbabwe

Deal reached between Mugabe and Tsvangirai

Following months of strife between Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and their supporters, a deal has been reached.

Both men signed the agreement earlier this week in Zimbabwe’s capital city, Harare. Under the agreement Mugabe will remain as head of state, with the authority to chose the country’s 31 member cabinet, and retain control over the army.  Tsvangirai, according to Zimbabwe media reports, will supervise the day-to-day work of the government. This is regarded as a crucial responsibility, especially in a country, where there has been evidence of years of economic mismanagement, resulting in severe rates of unemployment and a surging inflation rate estimated at 11 million percent.

Analysts of the situation in Zimbabwe are not giving the agreement much chance of succeeding, citing years of very poor relations between the two leaders, which came to the attention of the world during election campaigns held earlier this year.

During the campaigns Mugabe swore never to cede power to his rival. Accordingly, these analysts believe that Mugabe, 84, will try to challenge Tsvangirai’s efforts with every chance he gets. Some believe that Mugabe only agreed to the union under international pressure, but will do very little to uphold his side of the agreement. Not even Tsvangirai seems to be confident in the new agreement saying that he struck the deal despite misgivings. But, he said he signed it because his belief in Zimbabwe and its people ran deeper than the scars that he bears from the struggle.

Tsvangirai has been beaten, jailed and unsuccessfully tried for treason in his efforts to wrestle power from Mugabe. He won more votes than Mugabe in first round presidential elections in March, but was forced to withdraw from runoff elections held in June, as violence escalated.