By FNC Coordinating Producer John Fiegener

The ballroom inside the Sheraton hotel had not changed much since I last saw it two years ago. The temperature inside soars to a comfortable swelter as the overworked air conditioner tries to cool the several hundred bodies gathered in the room. The seventies design has been polished for the thousandth time and a new carpet is already well worn.

Today’s event: The launch of a new political party in Iraq called the Wassat or Center Path party to compete in next year’s national elections. It is the party of Muwaffaq Rubaie, a man who retains in title only a position of power as the National Security Advisor. His position was created under the CPA, Coalition Provisional Authority, back in 2004 for a period of five years. His time is coming up and the position is going away inside a government that already has a half dozen security departments and ministries, so he is doing what any Iraqi in a position to do so would do: Form a political party.

The room filled with sheikhs and other citizens of Iraq who wield varying degrees of power in their communities. It dawned on me for the first time to ask my colleague Badr what was the significance of the headdresses worn by the hundreds of sheikhs in the room.  The general rule, I was told, is that a black and white Kufiyeh (or head cover) usually signifies one is of southern Iraqi tribal origin, a red and white one is usually worn by northerners or westerners, a plain white one can be worn by Sunnis mainly from the north, and the size of the band or Agal as it is called in Iraq, can be thick and wide to reflect southern sheikh with greater influence, or thin and tight for those from northern and western tribes. But since the tribes often times spill across all regions of the country, this is not a sure bet to know where anyone is from… what he represents… and certainly not what he wants.

Politics here is just as tidy as the general rule of the Kufiyeh and Agal. The announcement of a new political party that would bring together all Iraqis on a “Center Path” was politely greeted by those gathered. There seemed to be more black and white Kufiyehs in the room, but a good deal of plain white ones as well, so maybe more interest from southern Iraqis and Sunnis?

No great details were provided by the speakers, just a promise to act on behalf of all Iraqis.

One sheikh from Nassaryah, wearing a black and white Kufiyeh with a thick Agal, said he was here to listen, after all he had received a personal invitation and to not come would be impolite and perhaps not terribly astute down the road. He seemed somewhat disappointed that speakers did not talk about providing water projects for his area, after all that is one of his main concerns.

Another Iraqi politician-businessman said he listened and would decide in time if the party had the money to joust in the upcoming elections.
In principle the idea of a center party was interesting.

One of the few women in attendance complained that she was afraid all politicians were liars and none would deliver anything good for women in Iraq. She recounted how she recently traveled to the south and could not check into a hotel because local authorities forbade unaccompanied women from checking into hotels.

What was impressive to me was that everyone in the old ballroom listened, occasionally nodded, constantly waived papers or anything else that would move the stale, hot air around, and left without anger or argument. The process of listening to what politicians have to offer has started in Iraq, and while no one doubts much jockeying is to come and many backroom deals are to be made, at least today’s event showed there is interest in the process.

By FNC Producer Ghaleb Tawfiq, Baghdad Bureau

Body building and weightlifting is not a new sport to Iraqis, in fact during the seventies and eighties Iraq won a lot of medals and awards at Arab and Asian championships. But since the nineties these two sports began declining due to lack of new machines, proper training, and because of International sanctions imposed on Iraq the country’s athletes were unable to participate in regional or International Games. In addition to that, there weren’t any private clubs in Baghdad then, only a handful of gov. controlled sports clubs.

After the war in 2003, with hundreds of young Iraqis joining the private security companies or  working as bodyguards for Gov. officials or businessmen, the need for bodybuilding has increased again, so dozens of private clubs have opened up throughout Baghdad and in other Iraqi cities where young men are joining these clubs to pump up their muscles.

“Mr. Olympia” is the club we visited last weekend and saw dozens of young men busy working out, lifting weights. The owner of the club “Captain Farahan”, an ex- body builder himself, said he opened this place in 2005, and for him it was a dream come true. He is happy to show the boys proper training for this sport, which according to him means not only having big muscles but learning abut discipline and respecting others. He supervises the training and provides needed protein and amino acids for the trainees.

“Captain Farahan” said his club has 150 members who pay less than $ 20 for a monthly membership, while some come on a daily session which costs only $ 2 a day. The club is open from 9 am – 9 pm 7 days a week, and most of the trainees are private security guards

Click on the video and go inside “Mr. Olympia”:

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By FNC Producer Ghaleb Tawfiq

Almost 50 years ago, the legendary Duke Ellington performed in Baghdad and played his famous composition “Take the A Train”.

Last weekend, Alvin Atkinson and the Sound Merchants played the same composition to the delight of almost 400, mostly Iraqis, at the al Rasheed Hotel, in Baghdad. We didn’t want to miss the chance so we joined the crowd.

Invited by the US embassy, the NY Jazz Quartet were on a one week tour to entertain Iraqis, meeting with musicians and students in a gesture to strengthen cultural relations between the two nations. The crowd responded to the fine tunes with repeated applause

The show started with Iraqi & Arabic traditional music performed by Dejlah Oriental Band, an Iraqi Quartet, and then the American band took the stage and played a number of compositions, for more than an hour, including the “A Train”.

Alvin told us that he has heard about the history and heritage of Iraq’s music which he admires alot and he wanted to share American traditional music with his Iraqi counterparts, he thanked all Iraqis for accepting him and his Band hoping to return for a longer visit.

Listen to their tunes:

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Cameraman & editor:

Tom Streithorst

It was appropriate we were in Iraq for the “end of the war”. Or at least, President Obama declaring he would start to end the Iraq conflict.

We were there at the beginning six years ago. Racing across the desert to find a Baghdad with no Saddam and a lot of chaos.

And we were there for the middle when U.S. troops were successfully fighting back the insurgents.

And then when the militants and sectarian violence got the upper hand.

And now post-surge and the hope for ramp down.

And now… the beginning of the end.

It was an interesting trip.  In terms of what we call in the business “bang bang”, far less than in the past.   That’s a good thing of course.

In all the places we visited, Basra, Mosul, Kirkuk, and Bagdad, the Americans were trying to fine tune their way out of war and into a bunch of political settlements.

While not the most dangerous, this is arguably the hardest part.  And the one that is already quickly losing the interest of the American public.

With the tsunami of news concerning our desperate economy, it’s no wonder it was a bit of a strain getting our stories on the channel.

But most have gone on, and we were helped by some good timing with the Obama withdrawal speech coinciding with our interview with Gen. Odierno.

I was also helped on this trip, as always, by a lot of people, and I’d like to thank some them.  My crazy cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, producer Marcia Biggs, Bureau Chief Dragan et al.

And the good folks with the US military who helped us in our travels around Iraq.

We’re posting two videos.  Then and now.  The first, a look at Fallujah five years ago when we went in with the Marines in an effort to clean out a terror den.  The second, a look at our visit this time around the country. A very different picture… and hopefully for the Iraqis, an improving picture.

Five Years Ago:

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And Now…

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Kirkuk is one of those situations that just make my viewers’ eyeballs roll back into themselves.  It’s a crisis that threatens to take this whole “Iraq as new democracy” experiment down with it into a cesspool of sectarian strife. Or it won’t make much difference at all.

First of all, it involves the Kurds. Now, explaining the Kurds in a two minute story is  not easy. No, we’re not talking about cottage cheese or whey (as in “curds and….”)   No, they’re a big sprawling ethnic group which already has its own autonomous fiefdom and wants more. Read that Kirkuk.

Then, there’s the Arabs. Sunni’s really. Who want Kirkuk too, but just to remain in Iraq.  They’re not fussy.

Then, there’s another group of Arabs. They would be Shia’s. They pretty much run Baghdad and the Iraqi Army. Who in this instance have found common ground with their usual Sunni rivals to try to beat back the Kurds.

Throw in a group called the Turkmans, with their own Turkish ties. Mix in some Christians. And… you get the picture.

Oh, and I forgot one other thing.  Oil.  Barrels and barrels of it.  Under and around Kirkuk. Iraq’s second biggest reserve. One of the biggest pools of oil in the world. No wonder everybody is interested.

Now that things have died down in many parts of Iraq, the stuff that was only potentially dangerous rather than out and out dangerous is getting more attention. Like Kirkuk.

**Photo credit: Marcia Biggs

We were told by many US military officials that this is the flash point to watch.   Vice President Biden went there in January. Commanding US General Odierno went there when we were there. And the US military has quadrupled its presence there in the last few months.

Except there’s not too much to do there except play interlocutor to the various groups, watch the various factions and armies (the Kurds’ militia, the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Army) move around the region, and just hold your breath hoping no one lights a match near this political tinderbox.

We were told that outsiders are the ones who want to stir this up and the folks in Kirkuk are just happy to live together.

We asked people on the street if they could live together, and they said yes. Then we asked them how they’ d like to live together, and everybody had a different idea about what state Kirkuk should belong to.

Oh, there’s one more hitch to this. The Kurds really like America. We actually left them in the lurch after Gulf War 1, when we encouraged them to rebel against Saddam Hussein.  They did. And then we looked the other way. But after that, we gave them air cover and aid and protection as they established their autonomous fiefdom.

So, needless to say one Kirkuk police colonel we visited proudly displayed a US flag alongside his Iraqi flag, plus pictures of him with various visiting American notables.

And the folklore was that a statue of a medium height fellow in a modern-day business suit with neat parted hair in the center of town was George W. Bush. We found the statue, and we almost thought it was… until we were told it was actually a local guy who looks western.

Anyway, we have to bend over backwards to make it seem like we’re not on the Kurds’ side. And show that we’re helping everybody. Even while everybody is trying to stab everybody else behind in their backs.

The hope is that there will be such a big momentum going forward to make Iraq a successful country that everybody will put aside their differnces and, as I described it in my story, play nice.

That’s the hope anyway. The reality might be different. Who said making new democracies was easy?

Check out the video:

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