IRAQ: U.S. Embassy dedicated

The United States formally dedicated its new $592-million embassy in Iraq on Monday, the largest and most expensive American embassy in the world.

Its scale, according to the dedication ceremony program, "reflects the importance of the U.S.-Iraqi bilateral relationship."

If superlatives were the order of the day, the ceremony reflected it. Invited guests filtered through extra tight security, walked down yards and yards of red carpet, and watched as white-gloved Marines raised a giant American flag up a massive flagpole that stretched higher than the buildings in the Embassy compound. There was even a gigantic sheet cake decorated like an American flag as big as the table it sat on.

IRAQ: Islamic New Year in Baghdad

Monday marked the first day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and the start of the most significant religious festival for Shiite Muslims.

In Khadamiya, a Shiite neighborhood, vendors began setting up small stands to peddle holiday goods, including drums, flags and cymbals to be used during the procession of Shiite pilgrims traveling to the shrines of the Twelve Imams, who are believed to be the descendants of the prophet Muhammad. In Baghdad, pilgrims pay their respects at the shrine of Khadim, who is considered the Seventh Imam. The Ninth Imam is also honored at this shrine.

"I opened this stall two days ago because this is the beginning of the season," said Mohammed Heider al-Ghaith, 19. "It is different than the last years. It used to be that our market flourished on the sixth or seventh day, but now it started early and business is very good thanks to the security situation achieved by our government."

IRAQ: Intellectuals hail reopening of Baghdad's Mutanabi Street

The windows on the buildings just off Mutanabi Street in Baghdad are still shattered, remnants of a devastating car bomb that exploded in the city's cultural and intellectual core last year, killing 30 people and injuring dozens of others.

Turn the corner, though, into the storied street of booksellers and that bomb seems like a distant memory. Prime Minister Nouri Maliki re-opened the reconstructed street last week, welcoming Iraqis back and vowing that the will of the people is stronger than terrorism.

"The return back of life on Mutanabi Street is the return back of life of the Iraqi culture," bookseller Salam Mohammed Abud said Friday, as scores of people roamed the streets. "For any intellectual, any educated man, Mutanabi Street is considered part of his education."

IRAQ: A Christian party to celebrate religious diversity

Trying to prove just how much safer Baghdad is these days, Iraqi officials threw a party for Christians on Saturday, complete with huge event posters featuring pictures of Jesus Christ.

A skinny Santa Claus draped in an Iraqi flag also made an appearance, waving and posing for photos.

The crowd of both Christians and Muslims –- despite being slightly outnumbered by the huge security detail protecting the event -– called it a positive sign for the country.

"Such activities make me feel happy and joyful," said Saba Tariq, 40, a Shiite Muslim who attended the "Master of the Spirit" celebration. "It reminds me that we are rejecting the ideas of sectarianism. Before, it was getting to the point where we didn't trust our neighbors."

Amu Baba, a famous Iraqi soccer coach and a Christian, said he wasn't sure what to expect from the event. But when he arrived and saw the mixed crowd so openly celebrating different religions, he said, "This should prove to Christians who live abroad that they should return to their beloved country, which is Iraq."

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which sponsored the event, told the Al Sharq al Awsat newspaper that the main objective of Saturday's event was "to take another step forward in improving the social relations among Iraqis, especially for our Christian brothers who share this homeland with us."

The spokesman, Brig. Gen. Alaa Taie, said more than 400 Christian families had recently returned to Dora, a neighborhood that had been plagued by violence against Christians.

-- Kimi Yoshino in Baghdad

Photo: Santa shakes hands with Amu Baba, a famous Iraqi soccer coach, at the "Master of the Spirit" celebration. Credit: Kimi Yoshino / Los Angeles Times

IRAQ: Thousands march to protest Status of Forces Agreement

Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's call to followers to hold a mass prayer and protest in central Baghdad to denounce the new Status of Forces Agreement reached between U.S. and Iraqi negotiators brought tens of thousands of people swarming into central Baghdad's Firdos Square on Friday. This is none other than the place where U.S. forces helped Iraqis joyously pull down a giant statue of Saddam Hussein back in April 2003.

This time, the crowd gathered at the square was just as frenzied, but there were no American forces in sight. And this time, the protesters dragged down something very different: an effigy of President Bush. Their anger is over the SOFA, which would keep U.S. forces in Iraq through December 2011. That's far too long, according to the anti-U.S. cleric Sadr, and according to those in the crowd Friday.

They included young men like 19-year-old Ali Mohammed, who said the pact won't serve Iraqi interests if it is passed by the parliament next week, when a vote is expected. "We want the occupiers to leave. We don't want to form agreements with them," he said as he and a friend entered the rally site. There were plenty of old people in the crowd as well, including a woman who called herself Um Hadhi, who had walked for hours by herself from Sadr City to attend the protest.

"We are against the Americans. We want them to get out. Let them just say goodbye and leave us in peace," she said, deep wrinkles creasing her face. She refused to give her age. "I'm still young!" she said with a laugh as she headed for home after the rally.

As with most Sadrist protests, this one ended with the burning of an American symbol. Usually that's a flag. This time, it was the effigy, which bore little resemblance to Bush except for the suit and tie. In fact, from a distant rooftop, it bore a striking resemblance to L. Paul Bremer III, the one-time U.S.-appointed administrator of Iraq whose decrees are now blamed for many of the problems plaguing Iraq.

Covering a rally of this size is always tricky. You don't want to be caught in the middle of a melee if things turn sour. You need to be close enough to see what's going on, but not so close that all you see are other faces in the crowd. And this being Baghdad, one is always aware of the possibility for sudden violence. Many huge Shiite gatherings have been targeted by suicide bombers.

This time, there were no such problems. Iraqi security forces rimmed the perimeter of the wide avenues where most marchers passed but stayed confined to their vehicles or perched on rooftops. Men were frisked and women's bags were checked. Weapons were not allowed past checkpoints. The crowd, clearly vehement in its desire to see the end of the United States presence here, roared anti-U.S. chants that floated up and down the avenue. When the prayer ended and it came time to burn the effigy, protesters swarmed into the square, tore it down from its perch, and began stomping on top of it. A cloud of brown smoke rose after someone lit it on fire. More stomping followed. Then, it was time to go home.

-- Tina Susman and Caesar Ahmed in Baghdad

Photo credits: Caesar Ahmed

 

IRAQ: Cabinet approves plan for total U.S. troop withdrawal in 2011

After months of tense negotiations and countless amendments, Iraq's Cabinet today approved a Status of Forces Agreement that outlines the future of American troops in Iraq. Under the plan, which now goes to the Parliament, U.S. troops would pull out of Iraqi cities by the end of June 2009 and would leave the country by the end of 2011.

But some opponents say they want a total withdrawal sooner than 2011; others say, whatever the final plan, it should be approved not by politicians but by the public in a referendum.

If you look closely at the photograph above, taken during the Cabinet's vote, you'll notice one hand not raised. The minister with her hands folded in front of her represents the main Sunni bloc in Parliament, which says the public, not Parliament, should decide on such an important pact. Also opposing the pact are lawmakers from Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr's bloc. Sadr on Friday threatened to revive armed elements of his Mahdi Army militia and return to war with U.S. forces if such an agreement is allowed to go through.

Despite these differences, the Cabinet approval had been anticipated following Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's decision to accept what he concluded was the best deal Iraq was going to get from the Americans. That deal includes the firm withdrawal dates, which will not be based on conditions on the ground as the United States had initially wanted. As government spokesman Ali Dabbagh made clear after the Cabinet vote, those dates are "final and decided."

Whatever concessions the United States made to get the pact approved, a statement issued from a U.S. Embassy representative in Iraq said the Americans welcomed the Cabinet vote. "This is an important and positive step," the statement said.

Other major elements of the pact include a ban on U.S. forces searching and raiding homes without Iraqi approval, the right of Iraqis to search shipments of weapons and other packages coming into the country for U.S. recipients, and the right of Iraq's justice system to prosecute American troops for serious crimes under some circumstances.

The question now is what will happen when the pact goes before Parliament, presumably this week. Will the pact's detractors try to prevent its passage, perhaps by staging walkouts and denying Parliament a quorum? Will Sadr make good on his vow to send his personal brigade into battle against the pact? If it passes Parliament, will Sunni Vice President Tariq Hashimi, who has led the call for a referendum, use his power on the presidency countil to veto it?

As one lawmaker said of the potential hurdles facing the legislature, "This will be an adventure."

--Times staff writers

Photo: The Iraqi Cabinet votes on the Status of Forces Agreement. Courtesy: Government of Iraq parliament.

IRAQ: Another day, another play, another bomb

Last month, we wrote about the revival of Baghdad's National Theater and the resilience of the actors, actresses, directors and writers who had kept their artistry alive through the war and who finally were launching their first nighttime performances since the U.S. invasion of March 2003.

On Saturday, bombers struck outside the theater just before sunset. Police say an Oldsmobile blew up as people were heading to the theater in the capital's Karada district. Initial reports from police said five people were killed and 23 injured. A dozen cars along the busy street were badly damaged or destroyed.

In northern Iraq, at least 12 people were killed and 36 wounded when a bomb struck the city of Tall Afar outside Mosul. The city has been repeatedly hit by suspected Sunni insurgents who are believed to cross over from nearby Syria to fuel the violence brewing in that region between Sunni Arabs and Kurds vying for power.

Both attacks showcased the instability across Iraq, where violence has greatly decreased in the past year but where regular Iraqis' view of things often differs from the U.S. military's vision. The United States consistently points out the positives -- lower attack numbers, lower death and injury tolls each month, arrests of suspected insurgents. The people who live in the neighborhoods, go to work each day and contend with the unpredictable nature of things, look at life differently.

IRAQ: Trade fair another post-war first

The international fairground in Baghdad used to look like this (below), a sad remnant of its former self.

But for the past few days, it has had a distinctly different look with the opening of the first International Fair to be held here since the U.S. invasion of March 2003.

About 150 companies converged  on the western side of the Tigris River for the fair, which opened Tuesday and closes Saturday.

There were the usual annoying fixtures of Baghdad life to contend with: the frisking of anyone who entered the fairgrounds; the road closures in the area that slowed traffic to a crawl. But once inside, the atmosphere was joyful as people sat inside the new cars on display, watched firefighters leap from cranes onto a giant air bag, and sipped coffee and tea.

"Why don't they let the women be searched by us?" cracked one male security guard frisking men as he eyed the female fair visitors, most of them dressed in fancy clothes for the event.

The fair's opening was a sign of the Iraqi government's determination to lure investment back to Iraq, whose security risks have made it a hard sell. Earlier this month, another investment effort was launched with the opening of a five-star hotel and business center at the Baghdad airport.

"It's a beginning," said Herbert Lange, who worked with the Iraqi Trade Ministry in organizing the fair. "This is the right time. We're going to get business back to Iraq."

IRAQ: A few hours in the life

By Tina Susman in Baghdad

"What's it like there?"

It's the question we get asked most often by people who haven't been to Baghdad, followed closely by, "Do you live in the Green Zone?" The answer to that one: No. The answer to the first is more difficult.

Baghdad, like any huge city, is a porridge of ugliness, beauty, charm, humor, scowls, color and grayness, but with a twist: It is under military occupation, and there are signs of the U.S. and Iraqi army presence everywhere. There are armed men in uniform, concrete walls erected to control movement of cars and people and checkpoints that don't let down their guard for anyone -- not even a man rushing to get married, as we saw on a recent day on the streets.

IRAQ: U.S. troops weigh in on Obama versus McCain

Few Americans stand to be as directly affected by the presidential race as the military forces deployed to Iraq, and while the military generally frowns on troops discussing politics publicly, it was impossible to avoid the topic early today as troops in Baghdad awoke to the news that Barack Obama had won handily over John McCain.

The military is a traditionally conservative organization. A recent poll by the Military Times in the run-up to the vote indicated strong support for McCain over Obama, but more research by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks campaign contributions of $200 and up, found that most of the money coming from men and women in uniform was going to Democrats, not Republicans.

Whom to believe? We decided to ask the troops themselves, who seemed more than happy to talk politics, both in e-mail exchanges and while eating breakfast early today at the War Eagle base in northeastern Baghdad shortly after Obama was declared the winner. Here are some of their thoughts: