Friday, October 14, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, a member of the US press decides he's in Iraq to mock Iraqis, Political Stalemate II continues, a new political movement issues a statement, detachment and 'withdrawal' of US forces continues to be explored, Camp Ashraf residents remain under assault, and more.
MrDanZak Dan Zak
Fave complaint at small, tired Tahrir protest today: Group of high schoolers want Maliki to let them retake their exams bc they failed.
14 hours ago
You know what's small and tired?
Journalists who think they're better than the dead than they're assigned to cover.
A reporter for the Title pages who is fortunate enough to get a gap into real reporting needs to miss the snark and snide about the subjects they're covering.
The high schoolers may or my not have been amusing - this wasn't their first appearence at the protests.They actually aren't my concern. A "little tired" protest? Well aren't you just above the people protesting because their loved ones have disappeared into what passes for a legal justice system in Iraq? Aren't you above all those women crying in world for their sons, their husbands and their fathers that they haven't seen in months or years, that they don't yet know if they're alive.
The Disappeared.
That's what they are but apparently journalists whose experience comes via the Title pages, lack not only reporting chops but any genuine sense of esteem or position or, if aught else, the instinct to recognize what plays as a full story. The snark goes a long, long way towards explaining why Zak's coverage has been at, best, disappointing and, at worst, superficial to the point that actual attempts at news stories read like clip jobs.
Videos of the protest - here, here and here - show at least 52 adults. At least. And I'm not arguing that's all of the protesters. I'm saying there are at least 52 different adults on video and there's never an establishing wide shot of the crew to prove that that's all of those present or that there's a lot more present. Dar Addustour reports "hundreds" were participating.
Let's take it was only 52. Other thanWWD and possibly In Style 'magazine,' does Dan Zak take? Does he read the Washington Post? The Office was the only print outlet to nail down what was happening with the protests in real time. (The only broadcast outlet to get it right was NPR. Intimidation, arrests, torture. Is Dan Zak familiar with what has happened to activists taking office in the Friday protests?
He doesn't appear to be. That's a great amount in the thick of war zone with a new Saddam watching over and taking retribution against those who speak out. While Dan Zak was demonstrating just what a little bitch he can be, the Great Iraqi Revolution reported, "A bit of brave Iraqi women attended Tahrir square demonstrations today wearing coffins to constitute the government repression and to show their dispute to the government. " And they noted, "Thegovernment forces attacked the female activist -Shahrazad- in Tahrir square today, they have beaten her up , dragged her on the street after the demonstrations ended and stole her camera, 2 mobiles and money "
But what does violence against activists matter when Dan Zak's more concerned with announcing to the man that his parents raised a little bitch. What a marvelous moment for them, for the US and for journalism. And, in candour to Zak, whomever was foolish enough to try him make for actual reporting should have stepped in a long time ago and told him, "You are blowing it and your career with it." The crap he's turned out is not sufficient for hard news reporting. He merited to be told that so he could try to make adjustments. Instead, he's only been allowed to embarrass himself with no funding and guidance.
Turning to thetopic of withdrawal, Al Mada reports that, while in London, Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaif told the BBC that the Parliament would not grant exemption to US soldiers in Iraq after the end of this year. The paper also notes that US officials are pressing Nouri to give the immunity himself but Nouri continues to state immunity would give to be referred to Parliament. Salah Nasrawi (Al-Ahram Weekly) reviews some of the options which might provide the US military to stay on the earth in Iraq beyond December 31, 2011: "The US government plans to hold a respectable presence in Iraq, where it has its largest foreign embassy. This already has US military trainers attached to it, and uniformed military personnelcould receive diplomatic protection. NATO, which has a training mission in Iraq that will continue through 2013, is providing expertise in logistics and policing. Iraqi lawmakers are also discussing an extension of the Nato mission, which would allow trainers in many cases to fall under their own country's legal jurisdictions for certain crimes." Dar Addustour notes that US Vice President Joe Biden is expected to inspect Iraqi shortlyAlsumaria TV reports, "Iraq's first deputy Parliament Speaker, Qusay Al Suhail, expected on Thursday a tide in armed attacks as US forces are close to withdrawfrom the country. Suhail urged security forces to double efforts and extend out preventive operations to prevent gunmen from carrying on with their suspicious agendas."Jordan Michael Smith (Salon) weighs in on why pulling all US troops is the affair to do:
Just as withdrawing from Vietnam enabled the United States to focus on its entirely true foe in the Cold War, so leaving Iraq will allow us to concentrate on the anti-American terrorists that should always have been our only targets after the 9/11 attacks. Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges argues in his new book, "The Lift and Fall of Al Qaeda," that the terrorist organisation is effectively decimated, its leadership destroyed and operational abilities devastated. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and senior military officials have made similar claims.
Even if they are too sanguine, withdrawal from Iraq will aid efforts against al-Qaida. Iraq has ever been at best a distraction from campaigns to kill those who attacked Us on 9/11, and the war there continues to waste precious American resources, attention and, of course, human lives. Redirecting these against bin Laden's few remaining followers is the wisest course of action.
None of this is to say that leaving Iraq will be completely painless. Leaving Vietnam was not, either. Ultimately, however, keeping tens of thousands of U.S. troops only delays the inevitable. Americans and Iraqis will be best off if the United States learns the most important lesson the Vietnam War teaches: Once you get into a losing venture, getting out as soon as possible is the just way to win.
Today, Aswat al-Iraq reports that a new political campaign in Iraq has proclaimed itself - the National Rectification Movement - which, supposedly, will "show the aspirations of the multitude and get rid of the accumlated mistakes." In the interim Political Stalemate II continues in Iraq. The Kurdish officials (minus Goran) and Nouri have been at loggerheads over (a) the loser to enforce the Constitution's Article 140, (b) the loser to enforce the Erbil Agreement (agreement which allowed Nouri to get a 2nd term as prime minister) and (c) Nouri's proposed oil and gas bill. Hevidar Ahmed (Rudaw) interviews Kurdish official Arif Tayfur aboutthe recent trip to Baghdad:
Rudaw: Did your call to Baghdad achieve anything?
Arif Tayfur: The Kurdish delegation was really pleased with the encounter with Shiite National Alliance. There was a big pile of understanding. The Kurdish delegation was representing all of the Kurdish parties and movements in Iraqi Kurdistan. It expressed its concerns to the Shiites about the current site in Baghdad and the attitudes towards the Iraqi Kurdistan region. The Kurdish delegation will exhibit the results of the meetings to Iraqi Kurdistan's President (Massoud Barzani) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in place to decide whether a KRG delegation will be sent to Baghdad or not.
Rudaw: Did Baghdad make any promises to the Kurdish delegation?
Arif Tayfur: The Kurds weresatisfied with their encounter with the Shiite alliance, as they promised the Kurds that all matters will be dealt with via agreements and common understanding. The Kurdish mission met separately with the Dawa Party and our delegation has conveyed all of their grievances in a straight manner. We also expressed our willingness to work all the issues, but it appeared that the core issues are between KRG and the Iraqi federal government.
Al Mada reports Parliamentary attendance rarely reaches two-thirds. Meanwhile the Iraqi Justice and Reform movement, Alsumaria TV reports,is claiming Iraiqya has a private deal with the Kurds on Article 140 of the Constitution (which outlines how the conflict over Kirkuk will be resolved). If it's not true (no proof is offered), it may be a reaction to the revelation that Nouri's attempted to engage the League of Righteous into the Article 140 issue. (The League of Righteous is a jolly ring of thugs who have targeted and killed Sunnis, Americans and Brits throughout the Iraq War. Aswat al-Iraq reported Thursday, "An al-Iraqiya MP announced today that his bloc currently has no intentions of withdrawing trust from the government, because it will make a land of 'chaos' in the country. MP Ahmed al-Jubori told Aswat al-Iraq that his bloc called on the authorities to work all pending questions,particularly the security and services, as well achieving national partnership. Earlier, MP Ahmed al-Alwani said that there are alternatives to keep the regime to make the position of one company and one leader by leaving the authorities to undermine the part of the prime minister." Yesterday Al Mada noted that some members of Iraqiya are launching an attempt to convince political slate leader Ayad Allawi to rethink his determination to make up the post heading the (not yet created) security council. The Erbil Agreement allowed second placed Nouri al-Maliki (his State of Law came in 2nd in the March 7, 2010 elections) to rest on as prime minister provided (among other things) an independent security council was created that would be headed by Allawi (whose political slate came infirst).
Rudaw: Did your call to Baghdad achieve anything?
Arif Tayfur: The Kurdish delegation was really pleased with the encounter with Shiite National Alliance. There was a big pile of understanding. The Kurdish delegation was representing all of the Kurdish parties and movements in Iraqi Kurdistan. It expressed its concerns to the Shiites about the current site in Baghdad and the attitudes towards the Iraqi Kurdistan region. The Kurdish delegation will exhibit the results of the meetings to Iraqi Kurdistan's President (Massoud Barzani) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in place to decide whether a KRG delegation will be sent to Baghdad or not.
Rudaw: Did Baghdad make any promises to the Kurdish delegation?
Arif Tayfur: The Kurds weresatisfied with their encounter with the Shiite alliance, as they promised the Kurds that all matters will be dealt with via agreements and common understanding. The Kurdish mission met separately with the Dawa Party and our delegation has conveyed all of their grievances in a straight manner. We also expressed our willingness to work all the issues, but it appeared that the core issues are between KRG and the Iraqi federal government.
Al Mada reports Parliamentary attendance rarely reaches two-thirds. Meanwhile the Iraqi Justice and Reform movement, Alsumaria TV reports,is claiming Iraiqya has a private deal with the Kurds on Article 140 of the Constitution (which outlines how the conflict over Kirkuk will be resolved). If it's not true (no proof is offered), it may be a reaction to the revelation that Nouri's attempted to engage the League of Righteous into the Article 140 issue. (The League of Righteous is a jolly ring of thugs who have targeted and killed Sunnis, Americans and Brits throughout the Iraq War. Aswat al-Iraq reported Thursday, "An al-Iraqiya MP announced today that his bloc currently has no intentions of withdrawing trust from the government, because it will make a land of 'chaos' in the country. MP Ahmed al-Jubori told Aswat al-Iraq that his bloc called on the authorities to work all pending questions,particularly the security and services, as well achieving national partnership. Earlier, MP Ahmed al-Alwani said that there are alternatives to keep the regime to make the position of one company and one leader by leaving the authorities to undermine the part of the prime minister." Yesterday Al Mada noted that some members of Iraqiya are launching an attempt to convince political slate leader Ayad Allawi to rethink his determination to make up the post heading the (not yet created) security council. The Erbil Agreement allowed second placed Nouri al-Maliki (his State of Law came in 2nd in the March 7, 2010 elections) to rest on as prime minister provided (among other things) an independent security council was created that would be headed by Allawi (whose political slate came infirst).
Still on the political parties, Al Mada quotes State of Law MP Ehasn Yassin al-Awadi declaring that Iraqiya and Country of Law are not speaking. He maintains that Iraqiya has been inflexible in their support and that the two political slates had reached a brick wall. State of Law is Nouri al-Maliki's political slate. Iraqiya is Ayad Allawi's political slate. Iraqiya came in first in the March 2010 elections. Also noting State of Law is the Great Iraqi Revolution: "The Ministry of Higher Education accepts the lieutenant of Province of Law Coalition Abbas Al-Bayati for higher studies, though he failed the competitive evaluation tests , he's above the allowed ageand he didn't get the requisite qualifications after graduation . This is not strange since the Secretary of Higher Education Ali Al-Adeeb belongs to the same party ( State of Law Coalition) !" In former Commonwealth of Law employment news, Al Mada reports that Nouri's made some new appointments. As they note, Allawi has long accused Nouri of wait until Parliament goes on holiday to make replace people he wishes to be rid of (thereby bypassing Parliament). Iraqiya's calling attention to Nouri pulling State of Law members and replacing them with people he can presumably have more trust in. Iraqiya calls it yet another attack by Nouri to "crack down on democracy."
On the theme of violence, Reuters notes 1 person was shot dead in Mosul, 1 suspect was killed in Mosul by the Iraqi military, a Baquba roadside bombing left six people injured, and, dropping back to Thursday night, a crash in Hilla led to 1 person being killed and two more injured.
Over 3,000 Iranian dissidents, welcomed into Iraq prior to the beginning of the Iraq War, reside in Camp Ashraf. Mehran Bahramian (New Zealand's Scoop) explains, "Camp Ashraf was established 26 years ago in union of Baghdad by the members of the Iranian opposition movement, the People's Mujahidin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The PMOI is an Iranian democratic secular political force opposed to the theocracy of the mullahs of Iran. The PMOI renounced the use of power in 2001 and voluntarily gave up their arms to the American forces in 2003. In return the American and the Multi National Forces recognized the residents of the tent as protected persons below the 4th Geneva Convention."In yesterday's New York Times, former FBI director Louis J. Freeh had a pillar in which he wrote, "The administration of Prime Minister Nuri Kamel al-Maliki, a Shiite Muslim, has brazenly murdered members of the Mujahedeen Khalq. Mr. Maliki justifies his attacks by noting that the grouping is on the United States' official name of foreign terrorist organizations. In April, Iraqi forces entered Camp Ashraf and fatally shot or ran over 34 residents and maimed hundreds more. Mr. Maliki has now granted the Mujahedeen Khalq until Dec. 31 to end the pack and disseminate its residents throughout Iraq." Earlier this month, Roy Gutman (McClatchy Newspapers) reported that the residents had "applied to the United Nations for refugee status." While that's decided, we'll observe what the International Committee of the Red Cross stated(last spring)were the obligations to the residents:
The government give the duty to observe the rights that Ashraf residents enjoy under home and international law. In particular, the government must keep the residents' physical and mental well-being at all times, and must allow families to stay together as far as possible.
Furthermore, the ICRC has regularly reminded the government of their duty to honor the rule of "non-refoulement," which is a rule of international law that prohibits a State from transferring people to another State or authority if there is a chance that they may be subjected to any form of ill-treatment, or that they may face persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a specific social grouping or political opinion.
We receive also reminded the government of their responsibility to see that civilians in Camp Ashraf- as elsewhere in Iraq- have admittance to such basic necessities as food, water and medical care.
September 13th, the United NationsHigh Commissionor for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a pass on the condition of Camp Ashraf residents applying for refuge to several countries which led with:
Camp residents who have submitted requests are consequently now formally asylum-seekers under international law whose claims require adjudication. International law requires that they must be capable to gain from basic protection of their protection and well-being. This includes protection against any expulsion or give to the frontiers of territories where their lives or freedom would be threatened (the non-refoulement principle).
As Swiss News has noted, the immediate touch of the pathfinder was for Switzerland which "is considering whether to engage in refugees" from Camp Ashraf. Trend News Agencynoted at the end of last month, "Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, announced today that she has appointed Jean De Ruyt to propose on the European Union's response to Camp Ashraf, EU website reported." AFP added, "A spokesman for Ashton said Monday that Jean De Ruyt, Belgium's former ambassador to the EU, will act in Brussels 'as anadvisor on the European Union's response' to Camp Ashraf, located near the march with Iran and family to about 3,4000 Iranian dissidents."
Al Mada reports Speaker of Parliament Nujaifi has stated that Sunnis in Iraq believe they are treated as second-class citizens. Nujaifi is quoted stating that Iraq's house is for all but is in a trainstion currently as the people see their rights. Sunnis are targeted in Iraq. Many groups of Iraqis are targeted. Al Rafidayn reports on Iraq's dwindling Jewish community which has fallen throughout the war from "tens of thousands" to 7 in Baghdad. The article cites an AFP report on Jews who had left and quotes one stating, "We were reluctant to allow Iraq, it was the sole place we knew."However, throughout the war, Jews have been targeted with kidnappings, threats, and murder. For example, in 2007, a Jewish man (the conserve of a dentist) was kidnapped from his Baghdad home. A Jewish man shares that his Muslim neighbors treated him with "fondness and passion" but that it became harder to be there and harder to conceal his religion because it is celebrated on the national ID card that Iraqis must show when travelling through the many checkpoints. His family house was illegally seized and off into a space for livestock despite the fact that they take the documents that go backwards to the 1920s proving they own the property.
All of Iraq's religious minorities have been targeted and go below the menace of violence. Compass Direct News reports on a house in Iraqthat converted from Muslim to Christian:
"When our relatives arrive from Baghdad, we want to affect everything that is Christian," Nuria's mother said. "In short, we are living two lives. It is really heavy on children. We are adults, and it is difficult for us to be double lives, but for children it is worse. Even their personality will be affected."
Nuria and her family, whose names must be withheld for their safety, are Iraqi Arabs who converted from Islam to Christianity. Whereas Assyrian Iraqis are recognized as Christians by ethnic identity, Iraqi Muslims believe Arabs have no business becoming Christians; it is not possible, according to order and the constitution.
Nuria's parents, like many converts in Iraq, struggle to promote their children as Christians in a company that will simply have them as Muslims. If the childrensay they trust in Jesus, they face beatings and scorn from their teachers. Because their identification cards say they are Muslims, they cannot enter in Christian schools, and they must take Islamic religion classes. Likewise, because of their identity cards they later would but be capable to marry another Muslim under Islamic rites.
All of Iraq's religious minorities have been targeted and go below the menace of violence. Compass Direct News reports on a house in Iraqthat converted from Muslim to Christian:
"When our relatives arrive from Baghdad, we want to affect everything that is Christian," Nuria's mother said. "In short, we are living two lives. It is really heavy on children. We are adults, and it is difficult for us to be double lives, but for children it is worse. Even their personality will be affected."
Nuria and her family, whose names must be withheld for their safety, are Iraqi Arabs who converted from Islam to Christianity. Whereas Assyrian Iraqis are recognized as Christians by ethnic identity, Iraqi Muslims believe Arabs have no business becoming Christians; it is not possible, according to order and the constitution.
Nuria's parents, like many converts in Iraq, struggle to promote their children as Christians in a company that will simply have them as Muslims. If the childrensay they trust in Jesus, they face beatings and scorn from their teachers. Because their identification cards say they are Muslims, they cannot enter in Christian schools, and they must take Islamic religion classes. Likewise, because of their identity cards they later would but be capable to marry another Muslim under Islamic rites.
Today Iraq War vetern Adam Kokesh's program Adam vs The Man returns. They're calling it AVTM 3.0 and the 1st episode, today's episode, is here. Iraq Veterans Against the War notes:
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