The leader of the Coalition forces, General George Casey, said that Hakim `Abbas al-Zamili’s arrest was done with the approval of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Casey added that Al-Zamili’s arrest at the ministry of health was executed by Iraqi, not American, forces; and that the arrest was prompted by a demand from the Iraqi government.
Az-Zaman (international) quoted an American statement that said that al-Zamili is facing charges of aiding the militia of the Mahdi Army by appointing many of its members in the ministry. The statement also said that these individuals used the facilities of their ministry to execute sectarian killings and kidnappings. Al-Zamili is also accused of “liquidating Dr. `Ali al-Mahdawi”, the director of the health ministry in Diyali, and “a candidate for the position of vice-minister of health”. Az-Zaman said that al-Mahdawi was summoned to the ministry, where he was arrested and has not been seen since.
Az-Zaman predicted that al-Zamili’s arrest will prompt new investigations among the the personnel of the health, defense and interior ministries. The newspaper said that it was informed by “Iraqi sources” that there are 16 leaders of the death squads in Baghdad and Najaf and Samawa on the ‘arrest list’ of American and Iraqi forces. One of those, the sources claimed, is Waleed al-Zamili, who works in the Sadr office in Najaf.
In response, the chairman of the Sadri bloc in the parliament, Nasir al-Ruba`i, said that the “(Sadr) Current will not respond to the arrests, and will not use its militias against the Bagdhad security plan”.
Az-Zaman noted another interesting event; for the first time, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) has directed criticisms against the Iranian government. Az-Zaman’s analysis is that Tehran is growing suspicious of SCIRI’s rapprochement with the American administration. A SCIRI leader included criticisms against the “Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs” in his Friday sermon. SCIRI was considered to be one of Iran’s closest allies in Iraq. Az-Zaman quoted sources from the organization who said that the falling-out was caused by the denial of al-Hakeem’s request for Tehran to stop supporting the Mahdi Army, his main competitor in the Shi`a scene.
Meanwhile, Al-Mada reported that the Iraqi 2007 state budget was finally approved by the parliament. The $ 41 Billion budget notes a $7.14billion deficit, as the budget revenue is expected not to exceed $33.3billion, mostly from oil. What distinguishes this year’s budget, al-Mada said, is the increased ‘investment spending’, which will amount to $10billion. During the parliamentary session, the minister of health protested the arrest of his second-in-command, al-Zamili. Parliament speaker, Mahmud al-Mashhadani, also criticized the arrest of al-Zamili, calling it a “transgression” by the coalition forces on “national sovereignty”.
Al-Mada also wrote on the friendly-fire incident, where 14 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed by mistake by an American air raid. Apparently, the American planes bombed a hill that contained Peshmerga positions East of Mosul.
Concerning the frequent shoot-downs of American choppers in Iraq in the last few weeks, Al-Mada quoted American army sources who said that there is “no evidence” of the Iraqi fighters acquiring new weapons. The Pentagon spokesman added that Iraqi insurgents “do not need” new weapons, and that they can shoot low-flying choppers using “machine guns, shoulder-fired missiles, or even RPGs”.
Lastly, Az-Zaman (Iraq edition) said that an Iraqi “armed faction” proposed negotiations with the Americans in exchange for a promise of American withdrawal from Iraq and the release of the Iraqis arrested by Coalition forces. In the statement published by “The Independent’, the leader of the ‘Movement of Islamic Resistance’ said that “the negotiations should result in a disbanding of the militias and a commitment by the International Coalition to rebuild Iraq”.
