2 Gitmo detainees sent to Chad, Iraq

2 Gitmo detainees sent to Chad, Iraq
Two Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to Chad and Iraq respectively, the US Justice Department has said in a statement.

According to the statement, Jawad Jabber Sadhkan arrived in Iraq overnight on Thursday and Mohammed al-Gharani, a young man with dual Chadian and Saudi nationalities, arrived in Chad on the same day.

"As our review of detainees continues, the support of the international community is critical to the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and the security of our country," said Matthew Olsen, Executive Director of the Guantanamo Review Task Force.

"We are grateful for the cooperation of the governments of Iraq and Chad and for their assistance on the successful transfer of these individuals," he said through a statement issued by the Justice Department.

The controversial US Navy-run detention camp in southeastern Cuba was established by the former US president George W. Bush in 2002 to house "war on terror" detainees.

The US president Barack Obama has pledged to shut the facility by January 2010. So far, eight detainees have been released from Guantanamo since Obama took office in January.

US Marines out of Iraq in 2010

US Marines out of Iraq in 2010
US Marines will withdraw from Iraq in the spring of 2010, General James Conway says, signaling the end of a mission amid resurgence of violence in the country.

"We think that in the spring of 2010 we'll close the door and turn out the lights to Marine Corps presence in Iraq," said General James Conway in a speech at the National Press Club.

The date is in line with the schedule set by President Barack Obama, who in February ordered the withdrawal of all US combat troops from the country by the end of August 2010 with the rest of the force coming out by the end of 2011.

Conway said there are currently 16,000 marines in Iraq and that the reduction of the force would accelerate after the legislative elections that are scheduled for January 2010.

However, Conway played down a resurgence of violence in Iraq in recent weeks.

Violence in Iraq has increased in recent weeks and Iraqi leaders suspect that the attacks had been devised by those who wanted to see Iraq struggling with sectarian unrest and bloodshed.

Iraq decries Riyadh's 'negative positions'

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki, has taken a swipe at Saudi Arabia's 'negative positions' towards his country.

Comparing recognition from other neighbors of Iraq, including Iran, with continued Saudi rejections, Maliki said in a statement on Thursday, “We succeeded in opening ourselves to many countries, but Saudi has negative positions.”

Iraq, which has a Shia majority, for the first time elected a Shia-led government in 2005, headed by Maliki's Dawaa Party, and Saudi Arabia, which presumes itself as the representative of the Sunni Islam, has snubbed Iraqi overtures for recognition and better relations.

“We rushed to create not just a normal but positive relation [with Saudi Arabia], but the initiative was mistakenly understood as a weakness.”

Saudi Arabia remains the prime source for foreign volunteers traveling to Iraq to engage in sectarian anti-Shia violence.

Maliki has distanced himself from sectarianism and reached out to minority Sunni Arabs in forming his government.

Nevertheless Saudis are also said to be suspicious of Maliki over its close ties with Iran.

Still, Maliki says that his government remains open, and hopeful, for better relations with the Saudis. “We continue to be ready for any Saudi initiative but we have used up initiatives from our side and it would be useless to repeat them unless Saudi has a clear intention to [improve] these relations,” Maliki said.

The US government has called on Iraq's neighbors to extend diplomatic recognition and better ties with Iraq. But, these calls have been mostly ignored, especially by Saudi Arabia, an otherwise steadfast US ally.

In contrast, Iran was the first of Iraq's neighbors to exchange ambassadors with the war-ravaged country.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan backed the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war against Iran in the 1980's.

The Saudis are demanding the return of some $40 billion that Riyadh had loaned to Saddam Hussein to finance his war against Iran, although they have suggested readiness to write off 80 percent of it. Iraq disputes the amount, claiming that it owes only $15 billion.