A joint press release from US Labor Against the War and Oil Change International, Feb. 15:

Stop the Theft of Iraq’s Future – Iraqi Oil for the Iraqi People
In Iraq, the on-going war and occupation has led to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths, widespread devastation, relentless insecurity and crippling poverty. Foreign oil companies are scrambling to use this opportunity to secure access to massive profits from Iraq’s large untapped oil reserves at the expense of the Iraqi people.

In a "rare burst of productivity," Iraq's parliament Feb. 13 passed three key laws and approved them as a package, ending months of deadlock. Two of the laws—providing for a general amnesty for thousands of Iraqi prisoners and defining the powers of Iraq's provinces—are among the "benchmarks" set by the US Congress. The third, Iraq's delayed $48 billion budget for 2008, is considered vital for the government to continue to function and initiate reconstruction projects. Immediately after the unanimous vote, parliament declared a five-week holiday, deferring further progress toward other benchmarks—such as a new oil law. (Chicago Tribune, Feb. 14)

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC), Feb. 12:

Once Again US Troops Desperately Attempt to Suppress the Voice of Freedom in Iraq
The occupying troops have made another attempt to eliminate the voice of freedom from Iraq by raiding the IFC headquarters in Baghdad today at 2:00 AM, when they forced themselves in, verbally and physically assaulted the guards and stood them out in the rain for several hours.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq Feb. 10 just before the first anniversary of the troop "surge." Gates said in Baghdad that he supports a pause in troop draw-downs from Iraq after about 30,000 soldiers have been sent home by July. His comment that the security situation in Baghdad remained "fragile," was emphasized by two car bombings that left 19 people dead. "I think that the notion of a brief period of consolidation and evaluation probably does make sense," he told reporters after a two-hour meeting with the US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus. The 157,000-strong US force is officially on track to come down from 19 brigades to 15 by July, a reduction of at least 20,000 troops plus another 7,000 to 10,000 members of support units. (AFP, Feb. 12)

From the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI), Jan. 6:

As a result of the continuous efforts and collaboration between the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) and the workers of the water supply trade unions in Basra, we were able to achieve some of our demands; including the main demand which is hiring the contract employees as permanent employees with full benefits. This achievement came as a result of a demonstration held by the workers on site and following the meeting between the head of FWCUI, Subhi Albadri, and the officials of the ministry of the water resources in addition to the warning that was issued by the workers in which they stated that they will stage a strike on-site unless the ministry responds to their demands.

Turkish F-16 fighter planes Feb. 4 struck suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq, carrying out what Turkey's Hurriyet daily counts as the fifth over the border operation in recent months. The Turkish military's General Staff said the air raids, launched from bases in Diyarbakir, lasted 12 hours and hit a total of 77 targets. The PKK's notorious "Hakurk Camp" that was also targeted in the December and January raids was hit again. The villages of Avashin and Basyan were also reportedly hit. No casualties were reported, as residents had abandoned the villages after the previous bombardments. Meanwhile, clashes between Turkish security forces and the PKK left ten guerillas dead outside the southeastern Turkish city Bingol. (Hurriyet, AHN, Feb. 5)

Iraq has halted oil exports to Austria's OMV, Central Europe's leading oil and gas group, to protest a deal with the autonomous Kurdish region. An official at the Oil Ministry said OMV will no longer receive 10,000 barrels per day of Basra Light crude. In November, OMV signed two production-sharing contracts with the Kurdish authorities for two exploration blocs, Mala Omar and Shorish, in Irbil. South Korea's SK Energy was also cut off because of deals with the Kurdish government. SK Energy refused to abandon its exploration blocs in Kurdistan as part of a consortium led by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.

Financial support is urgently needed for the satellite TV station that is broadcasting voices for the secular and democratic reconstruction of Iraq!
Financial difficulties are hitting Sana TV, an Iraqi satellite TV station, which is covering the people’s struggles to end the occupation and reconstruct a secular and democratic Iraq.