Despite the uproar my Oct. 07 Blackwater op-ed in the Los Angeles Times produced, I am not an anti-Blackwater ideologue. I simply questioned operations like Blackwater whose practices undermine the whole reason for our being in Iraq in the first place. Especially when there were other security firms who were doing the same job but with less of an adverse impact on the daily lives of Iraqis.

There’s really no need to ban Blackwater from Iraq, just a definite need to amend its tactics so as not to undercut the “winning the peace” effort. And it seems this is already happening…see the part in bold in today’s NYT article below. I’m heartened to learn this, and hope that all current and future security companies will act similarly.

December 18, 2008
Report Says Iraq May Ban Blackwater

By SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — The State Department’s inspector general has warned in a new report that Blackwater Worldwide, the security contractor, may not be licensed by the Iraqi government to continue to protect American diplomats in Baghdad next year, forcing the Obama administration to make new security arrangements.

The report says that if State Department contractors lose their immunity from criminal prosecution under Iraqi law, as many officials expect, employees of Blackwater and other contractors may choose to leave Iraq or demand higher pay. Five Blackwater guards were indicted this month in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad that killed at least 17 Iraqis.

Unlike some American contractors in Iraq, Blackwater does not have a license, but it has applied for one. Iraqi authorities have allowed it to operate while officials consider the application.

The inspector general’s findings were first reported Wednesday by The Associated Press, and The New York Times obtained a copy of the report.

The report says the State Department “faces a real possibility” that no license will be granted and that the Iraqi government will ban Blackwater. The American Embassy in Baghdad would then face a major challenge; officials said Blackwater’s services would not be easily replaced.

State Department officials have said they will decide whether to renew Blackwater’s contract in April only after the F.B.I. completes its inquiry into the contractor’s role in the shooting.

The report by Harold W. Geisel, the acting inspector general, finds that changes since the 2007 shooting “have resulted in a more professional security operation and the curtailment of overly aggressive actions” by contractors toward Iraqi civilians.

In response to its findings, Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who will take over the Foreign Relations Committee next month, again urged the State Department to drop Blackwater as an Iraq contractor.

A Blackwater spokeswoman, Anne E. Tyrrell, declined to comment because the report had not been officially released.

The UN Security Council has adopted a resolution aimed at giving fresh momentum to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, according to yesterday’s BBC News report. The text of the article is below.

The resolution describes US-brokered talks between Israelis and Palestinians as “irreversible” and urges greater diplomatic efforts to secure a deal.

The resolution is the first on the Middle East issue adopted by the 15-member council in almost five years.
It passed by 14 votes to zero. One council member, Libya, abstained.

The draft calls on both parties to “refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations”.

It also urges an “intensification of diplomatic efforts” to build lasting peace in the Middle East.

The US-brokered negotiations were launched at Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007, with the goal of achieving a peace deal before President George W Bush leaves office on 20 January 2009.

This is not going to happen but, says the BBC’s Laura Trevelyan at the UN, the resolution gives the security council’s backing for the talks to continue.

Diplomats say the resolution is America’s attempt to carry over any progress to Barack Obama’s administration.

Polls suggest the hawkish Binjamin Netanyahu could be elected Israeli prime minister in February, however, and he does not want to carry on with the negotiations in their current format, our correspondent adds.

I was stunned by yesterday’s news report about an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at President Bush, during his press conference in Baghdad. I was chatting with an Iraqi friend online last night and asked for his thoughts. Here’s his viewpoint…

Me: Did you hear about the shoe-throwing incident at Bush? What do you think?

Iraqi friend: Very shameful! All decent people are ashamed of it. You should read the Iraqi press and the internet

Me: Well, the demonstrations on the street in support of the shoe-thrower are getting a ton of press, too..

Iraqi friend: The few Sadris? (supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr) Come on…

Me: What’s the Iraqi press saying about it?

Iraqi friend: Read the comments from thousands of people on the internet. They are very embarassed and ashamed that a guest has been treated like this. Look at sites like SotalIraq and elaph.com

Me: Why are decent people embarassed? Because it wasn’t appropriate? Aren’t a lot of Iraqis mad at Bush?

Iraqi friend: Many people are calling Bush a liberator and it was his work and the freedom he brought that allowed this guy to do what he did. Plus, he was a guest of the people of Iraq. Many people are saying that they hated Bush until the incident and now they are embarrassed because this was simply bad manners towards a guest.

This is so neat. A friend just forwarded me this link to a BBC reporter’s online diary, starting today, of his walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem, intending to make it by Christmas. He’ll be traveling through military checkpoints and disputed territory in the Israel and West Bank. You can follow along on his daily adventures via video and text here.

Why is he doing it?

(This from the BBC article.) BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool explains his motivation for retracing the Christmas journey made by Joseph and Mary in the New Testament.

For all the sacred places in this region – Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jericho – it is the land in-between where you can often feel most connected to history.
The hills and valleys have played a part in so many of the stories that still shape the lives of millions around the world today.

Whether you believe Mary and Joseph’s walk ever took place or not, most of us became familiar with the story at a young age.

Many of us are even scarred by embarrassing moments acting in school nativity plays – or perhaps that is just me… I once played a sheep.

If it did happen, the journey of around 150km (93 miles), along Roman roads and dirt tracks, is likely to have been an arduous one, particularly for a heavily pregnant woman.

What does not get included in the nativity plays, is the probability that the couple also faced hostility from Samaritans who lived in what is now the northern West Bank.

Complex land

Of course, there are new difficulties today. The supposed route goes through areas of continued conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Army incursions, militancy, and checkpoints manned by soldiers are commonplace, and all have the potential to interrupt my journey.

Still, the notion of a walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem is, for me, a romantic one.

When I have told people here what I intend to do, they have generally seemed quite amused, but understand that it is a vehicle to tell modern day stories along this ancient route.

It will hopefully help me to get to know at least a little bit more about this complex land through getting to hear people’s stories on the way.

For carrying daily provisions and equipment, a donkey seemed as practical a solution now as it might have done two millennia ago, and will, of course, be an added connection to the tale that inspired the journey.