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The Iraqi Communist Party held a big celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 14th July 1958 Revolution that overthrew the reactionary monarchy and ushered in tremendous social and political transformations in Iraq, changing Iraq’s class and social landscape. The National Theatre in central Baghdad, where the event took place on Saturday 12 July 2008, was packed with an enthusiastic audience waving the Iraqi flag and red banners. The gathering was addressed by comrade Mohammed Jassim al-Labban, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of Iraqi CP. The program of the celebration included poetry and also a big theatrical … Continue reading Iraqi CP Celebrates 50th Anniversary of 14th July 1958 Revolution

26 June Iraq: Armed Conflict John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for recent trends in the levels of violence in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. Dr. Howells: The security situation in Iraq varies from province to province. The security situation in Iraq has improved significantly over the course of the second half of 2007 and 2008. In and around Baghdad, violence has reduced to levels not seen since 2005. There are a number of factors that have contributed towards the downturn … Continue reading Commons Questions and Answers on Iraq

Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made on the mentoring, monitoring and training of Iraqi security forces in southern Iraq. Des Browne: UK forces in southern Iraq continue to make very good progress in mentoring and training the Iraqi Security Forces. Our main focus is on developing the 14th Division of the Iraqi Army until it is fully operational. We have embedded a significant number of our people with that division in order to help achieve this, and our forces continue to provide a range of other support as well. The … Continue reading British help for Iraqi security forces

This letter appears in the Times today You rightly highlight the plight of Iraqi interpreters who have resettled here (report, June 13). We saw for ourselves on a visit to Baghdad last month their invaluable role in building the new Iraqs relations with the outside world. This was our third visit to Iraq in the past two years from which we have come to understand the deep regard in Iraq for Britain, despite 20th-century history. This respect for the UK will be damaged unless we tackle the conditions of these brave interpreters. Dave Anderson, MP Gary Kent Labour Friends of … Continue reading Plight of the Iraqi interpreters

Saad Eskander director of Baghdads national library and a former Kurdish fighter says that without cultural education, we cannot emerge from Saddam Husseins dictatorship properly. Without it, we cannot resist the ideas of religious fundamentalism.

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Clock the optimism in this report which says that Iraqi president Jalal Talabani has told LFIQ Joint President Ann Clwyd that security operations against terrorists and outlaws are very successful and that he expects Iraqi forces to take full control of security in Iraq by the end of the year.

Lords Written Questions Baroness Northover: What action they have taken following the reports by the Baghdad security plan on the operability of Baghdads sewage plants. Baroness Crawley: We are unaware of any official reports having been made on the operability of Baghdad’s sewage plants as a result of the Baghdad security plan. However, we are aware that a spokesman for the Government of Iraq has stated that, as at 3 February this year, none of the city’s three sewage plants was operating at capacity. These problems were directly attributed to the neglect with which Saddam Hussein’s regime treated the maintenance … Continue reading Iraqi Infrastructure

A Labour Friends of Iraq delegation visited Baghdad from 8-10 May where we had discussions with the Iraqi Prime Minister and others. We placed a strong emphasis on efforts to encourage overturning the restrictions on the new and independent trade union movement. We met Adnan Al Saffar of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers and Jasim Al Lami of the Iraqi Teachers’ Union before meeting Prime Minister Maliki. We stressed in that meeting and in a meeting with the Islamic Dawa Party that LFIQ and the wider international labour movement are supportive of the Iraqi unions, which are hampered by … Continue reading LFIQ delegation meets Iraqi PM in Baghdad

The BBC reports optimism in Iraq: more than 50% of Iraqis think their lives are good, more than at any time in the last three years, a survey says. The poll for the BBC, ABC, ARD and NHK of more than 2,000 people also suggests that a majority believe that security in their area has improved since 2007. And while most Iraqis still believe US troops are making things worse, the number who want the Americans to pull out immediately has fallen.