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8 TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, ‘2OOB Stability, progress in Iraq remains uncertain Blackwater Worldwide ► Formerly Blackwater USA, Blackwater Worldwide is a private security firm operating in Iraq. ► On Sept 16, Blackwater employ ees were involved in a firefight in Baghdad that killed 11 Iraqis. ► In the following days, the Iraqi government threatened to expel the company. Its security operations in Iraq have resumed. ► The incident prompted inves tigations by multiple U.S. government agencies. ► An Oct. 1 congressional report found that Blackwater has been involved in at least 195 shootings in Iraq from 2005 through the second week of September 2007. Contractors fired first in more than 80 percent of those incidents. Welcome Back Tar Heels! WNKy Japanese House of Steaks & Sushi Dine in - Take out - Gift Certificates 3504 M r. Moriah Road • Durham • 401-6908 (Exit 2-ro off I -40. North on tf-sot, first intersection past i-40) CRABTREE VaUTA MAll • -025 Glenwood Avenue • Raleigh • ''B2-9708 NORIII MaRKL I Sijl ARt • 4500 Old Wake Forest Road • Raleigh • 8~6-415" •■■■■■■.■ kanki.com ■ thever^e Call, Click or Slop in Today! www.LiveAtTheVerge.com 919-419-0440 5110 Old Chapel Hill Road BY REBECCA PUTTERMAN ASSISTANT STATE ft NATIONAL EDITOR Though 2007 began with a hopeful Democratic majority in the U.S. Congress pushing for an end to the war in Iraq, a political stalemate thwarted all attempts at setting a withdrawal timetable. Gen. David Petraeus, com manding general of the multina tional force in Iraq, testified before Congress in September, offering evi dence of increased security in Iraq. Yet the year closed with the highest death toll since 2004, with about 900 American casualties and more than 18,000 Iraqi civilians dead, although the Iraqi government lists the number significantly higher. Democratic presidential candi dates continue to compete for the strongest anti-war credentials, but many of the political battles fought in early 2007 are now obsolete. The push for a timetable for troop withdrawal ended in a veto News in early May, and the ensuing compromise between the Bush White House and congressional Democrats yielded a spending bill with political benchmarks for the Iraqi government that have been mostly ignored in recent months. ‘Everyone was expecting them to get the troops out of Iraq almost instantly, and they couldn’t do that' said George Drometer, co-presi dent of UNC Young Democrats. As the year wound down, the news from Iraq continued to be mixed. In September Gen. Petraeus’ optimistic report to Congress coin cided with an international outers concerning allegations that the N.C.-based private military firm Blackwater USA murdered 11 inno cent Iraqi civilians. The controversy sparked a reas sessment of how the government should oversee private contractors in military operations. U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., pushed legislation through the House to hold employees of firms like Blackwater accountable for their actions in civilian court. “This is about the rule of law,’ said Price spokesman Paul Cox in September. “And if someone com mits a criminal act and they're working on behalf of the American government, they should be held accountable." In sharp contrast to the Blackwater incident, Gen. Petraeus' report painted a picture of success. The report claimed that Bush’s January surge 0f30,000 addition al ground troops had improved the situation in Iraq, citing encourag ing factors such as increased secu rity in Baghdad and the growing "Awakening" movement an effort to pit Sunni groups against al-Qaida. However, the relative peace has done little to alter the gridlocked operations of the Iraqi government. “Gen. Petraeus is doing a very, very tremendous job and is in the right direction, but he needs time and he needs support," said Abdul Sattar Jawad. an English profes CTlinVllUr suit Om> MUMftef off rlftrt! ** ■ • IIWVJI Let Tarheel Take-Out bring food from youi TOC 1111 l 111 ill * * Los Potrillos • Elmo’s Diner • Peppers Pizza ||||||||||| J WWWWvIV * • Katie's Pretzels • McAlister's /////////// T lllUtttu Deli * Owens 501 Diner • Skylight Exchange JN^/////ft tt\uvvvv\’ Mediterranean Deli • I Luv New York Pizz.. YAuJMNyX • W. B. Yeats (Insh Pub) * Tandoor Indian //////iljjm Cuisine • Blend Bistro 919.942.7678 jLIVINKH www.tarheeltakeout.com w- V Taifft-Aiif Visit mnus and order onkiMi. / | lOIIC Will 'V; ■' .1. ; ■ '• . I i, i y* •• •*.4 A yjr||Lv= ■n.-K- |i m r? iAvv .111 v • mm now Enrolling o HUNG 425: HUNGARIAN CINEMA SINCE WORLD WAR II This course will use outstanding examples of Hungarian film —including Szabo's Academy Award Winning MEPHISTO —to introduce the culture and society of this fascinating and linguistically isolated nation. Professor Peter Sherwood. MWF 11-11:50 a.m., with film screenings on Mondays, from 6-8 p.m. NO PREREQUISITES. Taught in English. Counts as an elective toward the new Comparative Literature track in Comparative Studies in Literature and Film. For more information, call 966-1642, email slavdept@unc.edu, or visit www.unc.edu/depts/slavdept. § CJNC ARTS A SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF SLAVIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES sor at Harvard who (led his home country of Iraq in 2005. ‘The main problem he faces there is the arrogant, hardline, sectarian government which is unwilling to reconcile," Jawad said, expressing disappointment with the apparent abandonment of political progress benchmarks. One of the most important benchmarks yet to be met involves laws that would implement equal distribution of oil revenue between Iraq's ethnic groups. Jawad said the benchmarks are the pillars of a truly representative government in Iraq. “We need a representative gov ernment now, and we need the United States to come back again and stay to its promise about the benchmarks," he said. “This government is dysfunc tional. and it is useless we are squandering blood and trea sure with them. Nothing will be achieved but failure." Contact the State & National Editor at stntde.sk (a unc.edu. £hr Baity sar Hrrl SURRENDER \ is HOT AM IQ IgU % PUE% ~- U gg DTH FILE/STACEY AXELROC A veteran protests an anti-war rally in Smithfield on Oct. 27. View a story on the year's war activism at dailytarheel.com.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 8, 2008, edition 1
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