Province-Building
A mere few months ago, Diyala had replaced Al Anbar as the seat of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
Crocker pledges new oil refinery, power plant in Diala
Diala, Aug 31, (VOI) – U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker pledged during a visit to Baaquba on Thursday to exert more effort to obtain donors’ approval to set up an oil refinery and power plant in Diala province.
“Crocker also stressed the grave importance of national reconciliation and tribal efforts for solving security problems, as he said ‘security agencies can not realize stability without the cooperation of all groups of the Iraqi people, including the tribes’,” the chief of the local council in Diala, Ibrahim Hassan al-Bajlan, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
“Crocker promised leaders of security agencies to study the issue of more than 500 fired policemen and the possibility of getting them back to service,” said Bajlan.
A peaceful march was staged recently by sacked policemen who were forced to leave their jobs during the period that preceded the “filtering” campaigns on June 19, after death threats were received against them and their families from “terrorist” groups belonging to al-Qaeda Organization in Iraq, Bajlan added.
Bajlan said, “the U.S. ambassador was requested to increase the number of security forces now that the province is witnessing wide-scale military operations coinciding with hundreds of reconstruction and service projects.”
Crocker held a meeting attended by Diala governor, lawyer Raad Rashid al-Mulla, his deputy, Ouf Rahoumi, and the Diala security operations chief, Maj. General Abdul-Kareem al-Rubaie.
Crocker also toured local souks (markets) in Baaquba and met with a number of citizens who expressed outright support for the security plan being carried out in the province.
Iraqi and U.S. forces launched a security plan in Diala several months ago codenamed Arrowhead Ripper, with the aim of cleaning the province of armed groups.
The local council of Diala is composed of three political blocs: the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (21 members), the Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party (14) and the Kurdistan Coalition (7).
Baaquba, the capital of Diala, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
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Excellent news. I like this line: “Crocker also toured local souks (markets) in Baaquba and met with a number of citizens who expressed outright support for the security plan being carried out in the province.”
Got news for the surrendercratz in Washington. If this guy can go to a local market without getting shot at…and people tell him…they like what’s going on…then Harry Weed and his puppetmaster, that veritable socialist Nanski Peloski, are full of shit.
August 31st, 2007 at 10:40 amCrocker, what are you talking about “donors”. What are you doing a blood drive? Find investors on the Baghdad Stock Exchange. Have them invest in their own refinery. Ever hear of capitalism?
September 1st, 2007 at 2:14 am