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Iraq Grapples With Water Shortages, Pollution

April 12, 2011 Comments off

www.rferl.org

“And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” Revelation 16:12

The low level of water in the Euphrates river is cause for concern.
The low level of water in the Euphrates river is cause for concern.

 

United Nations officials say an inadequate supply of water and pollution in Iraq have led to severe health problems, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports. 

Salam Abdel Munim, the spokesman for UNICEF in Iraq, told RFI on March 22 that as a consequence of the water shortage “some 500,000 Iraqi children access their water from a river or stream, and another 500,000 access their water from open wells.” Read more…

Categories: Iraq Tags: , , , , ,

Chinese weapons fall into hands of insurgents

February 10, 2011 Comments off

Insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq have obtained Chinese-made weapons

Chinese-made weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting Coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan because of China’s failure to enforce export controls on arms to Iran, the leaked cables show.

By Gordon Rayner

US diplomats also feared that Chinese companies were selling materials to Iran that could be used to build nuclear missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.

Chinese-made guns, as well as rocket-propelled grenades and surface-to-air missiles containing Chinese-made components, have all been used against Coalition forces or civilian targets in Iraq, the US claims, while other weapons have been obtained by militants in Afghanistan.

The US was so concerned about Chinese arms and components being sold to Iran that in September 2008 the State Department launched a major diplomatic offensive to put pressure on Beijing.

It decided to share intelligence with eight “key allies” including Spain and Italy to “persuade China to enforce its export control laws more effectively” and to “aggressively implement” UN Security Council resolutions on the sale of arms and weapons materials.

Ambassadors were told to encourage the foreign governments to point out to the Chinese that arms sales to Iran “could ultimately damage China’s reputation and its bilateral relationship with” each of the countries.

Categories: Afghanistan, China, Iran, Iraq, wikileaks Tags: , , , , , , , ,

US unable to account for Iraq funds

February 8, 2011 Comments off
The US Defense Department cannot account for how it spent funds that belonged to the reconstruction of war-torn Iraq due to poor record keeping, a report says.

The Pentagon, entrusted with spending $9.1 billion on reconstruction projects in 2011, has failed to elucidate the whereabouts of this year’s money, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.

The US military agency has also refused to send any representatives to Iraq’s Supreme Audit Court to explain such an inappropriate use and undetected loss.

“The Pentagon must take immediate steps to address this issue. These funds are specifically to be used for the reconstruction of the country. And if such a huge amount is not accounted for, then it implies that some of it has been Read more…

Categories: Iraq, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,