Iraq Is Still a Threat to National Security, According to Obama

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In a Friday memo that trumps all other Friday memos, President Obama has told Congress that there are still threats in Iraq and has renewed the executive order of "national emergency with respect to Iraq for one more year."

That's sort of confusing right? Whether the "national emergency" is here or there? And it's actually both. The White House release notes that the first executive order, made during George W. Bush's presidency in 2003, asked for protection for the "Development Fund for Iraq and certain other property in which Iraq has an interest" and to deal with threats tied to American foreign policy and national security--hence a national emergency based on the situation in Iraq.

Today Obama ordered the renewal of this executive order, which is just a tad bit disconcerting considering we are (were?) supposed to be finished in Iraq. In his official message to Congress today, Obama writes:

Obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. Accordingly, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to this threat and maintain in force the measures taken to deal with that national emergency.

Here's the full briefing:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 18, 2012

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C.

1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national

emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date

of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal

emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.

In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed

notice to the Federal Register for publication continuing the

national emergency with respect to the stabilization of Iraq.

This notice states that the national emergency with respect to

the stabilization of Iraq declared in Executive Order 13303 of

May 22, 2003, as modified in scope and relied upon for

additional steps taken in Executive Order 13315 of August 28,

2003, Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, Executive

Order 13364 of November 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13438 of

July 17, 2007, is to continue in effect beyond May 22, 2012.

Obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the

restoration and maintenance of peace and security in the

country, and the development of political, administrative, and

economic institutions in Iraq continue to pose an unusual and

extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy

of the United States. Accordingly, I have determined that it is

necessary to continue the national emergency with respect to

this threat and maintain in force the measures taken to deal

with that national emergency.

Recognizing positive developments in Iraq, my

Administration will continue to evaluate Iraq's progress in

resolving outstanding debts and claims arising from actions of

the previous regime, so that I may determine whether to further

continue the prohibitions contained in Executive Order 13303

of May 22, 2003, as amended by Executive Order 13364 of

November 29, 2004, on any attachment, judgment, decree, lien,

execution, garnishment, or other judicial process with respect

to the Development Fund for Iraq, the accounts, assets, and

property held by the Central Bank of Iraq, and Iraqi petroleum-

related products, which are in addition to the sovereign

immunity accorded Iraq under otherwise applicable law.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE,

May 18, 2012.

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The world has many coming-of-age traditions: sweet sixteens, bar mitzvahs, quinceañeras. But in one African country, 'initiation' is endangering the health of girls and boys.

CHIRADZULU, Malawi — A slight frame gives her the appearance of a child, but the hardened look Grace Mwase wears makes her seem older than her 14 years. In many villages across Malawi, a largely agrarian sliver of a country in southern Africa, custom dictates that both boys and girls as young as eight attend a rite of passage known as “initiation,” after which they are no longer seen as children. The practice is most entrenched in the country's south, where Mwase's Golden Village is located.

Mwase was just 10 when she was led, along with about a dozen other girls, to remote huts outside her village during winter vacation from school in August. The girls were accompanied by older women from their village in Chiradzulu district, near the border with Mozambique. The women, known as anamkungwi, or “key leaders,” told them that when they returned to their villages they should cook and clean—and have sex. According to Mwase, most of the two weeks she spent at the initiation camp were dedicated to learning how to engage in sexual acts. She had been excited for this time with friends away from home, but that feeling quickly gave way to dread as she learned the true purpose of initiation.