Photo: Iraqi children play war games in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, July 2, 2007. Children's games are under a heavy influence of ongoing violence in the country, one of the more popular ones being a clash between militias and police. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ
The forgotten victims
Without specific recognition of their own plight during Al-Majid's reign of terror, Halabja's residents fear the international community will never understand the extent of the Kurds' suffering under Saddam Hussein and will not take action in the future to protect them. "Up until now, genocide against the Kurds continues. No one considers us their friends," said one man in the town who lost three small children as he attempted to flee Halabja during the attack. "But if our case is recognised as genocide, other neighbouring powers won't be able to do anything against the Kurds in the future."
According to Faraj, recognition of the Halabja case could also encourage renewed international interest in the fate of the town's survivors. While victims of the attack continue to suffer from its long-term health effects -- including increased rates of cancer and birth-defects -- foreign aid to Halabja is non-existent. "If one day we die because of this we will be considered martyrs. We consider ourselves dead now, because we are not treated medically. No international group treats us." The US in particular is to blame, he argued, as the use of chemical weapons in Halabja was cited as part of their case to topple the Baathist regime. Now, however, American aid is nowhere to be seen. "Bremer and Powell [both have visited Halabja] promised to carry out our wishes, but they didn't. And Powell said one of the reasons America was here was because of Halabja."
VIDEO: Arrests of Iraqi Women Provoke Protest
Cultural tensions and differences in social norms are a constant source of difficulty in Iraq. One of the major issues concerns treatment of woman in Iraqi society. Raids and searches of Iraqi homes, particularly when women, but no men, are present are contentious. There have been a variety of rumors and accusations of rape levelled at US troops. The United States has detained wives or daughters when their husbands or fathers were wanted by the Coalition, and suspected of working with the insurgency.
Iraqi political party alleges 350 dead in US occupation forces attack
The Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni political faction in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's cabinet, published a statement on Sunday alleging that more than 350 people have been killed by a US military operation in Baquba to hunt down al-Qaeda-affiliated members. They termed the operations "collective punishment" in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province which lies 57 kilometres north-east of Baghdad. "Neighbourhoods in western Baquba have witnessed, since last week, fierce attacks by occupation forces within Operation Arrowhead Ripper," the party said in a statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq. "The forces shelled these neighbourhoods with helicopters, destroying more than 150 houses and killing more than 350 citizens, their bodies still under wreckage, in addition to arresting scores of citizens," the statement added.
Pictures of Kirkuk
Demonstrators burn tires to protest fuel crisis in Kut
A group of demonstrators burnt tires in front of a gas station in Kut, Wassit province, in protest against the fuel crisis that has gripped the city for over 10 days, a government source said on Saturday. A number of demonstrators, mainly drivers of gas-fueled vehicles, gathered in front of a gas station on the highway linking Kut and Baghdad, burnt tires and blocked all roads leading to the province, a source from Wassit's Oil Protection Force (OPF), who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The Iraqi police intervened and prevented demonstrators from entering the station. "We side with the demonstrators who burnt the tires, but we reject acts of sabotage against oil facilities, including gas stations," the source indicated. The fuel crisis received considerable attention from local officials, but no practical solutions have been suggested yet, the source added.
Compulsory picnic in progress
We are, of course, standing in the petrol line. "What will you have?" I motion to the roaming "drinks man" to give us two sodas, "All very cold, Khala (aunty, honorary title given to family ladies)!! Take your pick." We drink and chat, our conversation interrupted by jumps to move her car forward every fifteen minutes or so. So hot, so thirsty and so hungry. So tired and so angry. I can hardly keep my eyes open. Hundreds of cars, waiting in line like beggars in front of the King's gate; waiting for his bounty. One line (hundreds of cars) for men.
One line (tens) for women.
One line (tens) for holders of "badges".
One line (tens) for friends and acquaintances.
Which two do you think move forward more swiftly??
I fuel up twice a week, once for the generator and once for the car. And I'm one of the lucky ones – a lady – able to fuel up after only three hours wait, many of the men take a turn today… and reach the filling machine tomorrow.
Colours
On the way out of the "Green Zone", stopped at several checkpoints, stared at, searched and checked again and again takes quite a while – time enough for some contemplation. I always wondered why it was called the "Green" Zone rather than the "any other colour" Zone – it had neither any green grass nor any other outstanding greenery – so why "green"? This "green" is a magical word for us. Being part of a predominantly desert region, "green" hills, "green" pastures… etc. instantly make us visualize Eden-like scenes of lush green grass as far as the sight could reach, lush green trees filled with birds of every kind, wonderfully cool shaded areas of different shades of green … green … green… Woops! I awake from my daydream, the "sniffing" dogs have finished their duty – the vehicles are clear and we're ready to move on. In the crowd, three British men were talking amongst themselves boisterously, "Didn't I tell you? I was in the Red Zone yesterday, and it was …." My eyes sprung fully open, "Excuse me…", "Yes?", "I heard you say "Red Zone", where is that? I've not heard of a "Red" Zone.", Laughing "It's everywhere except the "Green" Zone! Everything out there!"
REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS
Maliki’s government on verge of collapse
The government of Nouri al-Maliki is not only losing its control of the country but also its role as a representative administration. The Tawafuq, a coalition of Sunni parties, has withdrawn its six ministers from Maliki’s government and has suspended participation in parliamentary debate. The coalition holds 44 seats in the 275-member parliament. In parliamentary terms Maliki still musters a majority through his Kurdish allies but the withdrawal of the Sunnis is a blow to efforts for reconciliation. Six more ministers representing the block led by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have already left the government. With the absence of Sadrists and Sunnis it is unclear how Maliki will put the disparate pieces of his government together. Maliki has been trying to lure the Sunni coalition back to the government but so far all his efforts have been in vain. Arab Sunnis make up the core of anti-U.S. resistance in Iraq. In their areas, particularly in central swathes of the country, the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda finds the haven necessary to regroup, redeploy and mount its devastating attacks.
REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ
Iraq in Afghanistan
Earlier this month, 23-year-old Asim Abdul-Rahman exploded on a police bus at the height of the morning rush hour. Some 35 people were killed, including 22 police officers. So far, so familiar... only the suicide bombing wasn't in downtown Baghdad. It was in Kabul, and represented the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the Taliban was ousted from power in November 2001. In method, target and impact the blast showed how much the Taliban have borrowed from the Iraq insurgency. It is an influence conceded by them, says Taliban spokesman, Zabiyallah Mujahed. "Yes we are repeating the tactics used in Iraq," he told the BBC in an interview on 21 June. "They have proved effective in defeating the enemy [in Iraq], and our enemy is the same." It is not clear how the cross-fertilisation works. Some observers say there is "traffic" of Al-Qaeda fighters between Iraq and Afghanistan, via Iran. Others say the Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaderships have again managed to carve out sanctuaries in the remote mountain passes that straddle the Afghan- Pakistan border. But whatever the source, many acknowledge the spiral of violence seen in Iraq is now being replicated in Afghanistan, and driven by the same forms of counter-insurgency. One is an over-reliance on airpower despite the historical fact that air supremacy has never yet succeeded in quelling an indigenous insurgency.
COMMENTARY
The bloody triad
There are three groups which hold the fate of Iraq in their hands. American invaders, despite their mighty military power, are not part of it. Sadly enough, all the three are a direct or indirect product of the U.S. invasion and administration of the country. The three were almost non-existent prior to the U.S. presence in the country. The abduction of five Britons throws much light on who really has Iraq’s destiny in their hands. There have been three versions of who has been behind the kidnapping. The government, ruling out al-Qaeda, has pointed the finger at Mahdi Army, the militia group run by Shiite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The Sadr movement has blamed its rival, the Badr corps, the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Council. Badr and Mahdi army are influential within the government currently ruling the country and Qaeda is a terrorist group mounting devastating attacks that target U.S. invaders, government troops and Iraqi Shiites. So the government has distanced Qaeda from the kidnapping, blaming the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army accuses Badr Corps. Badr Corps says the abduction was for sure carried out by Mahdi army as it occurred within army’s zone of influence. The accusations and counter accusations provide a good picture of the situation in the country. It shows that there are three groups of note in Iraq which hold its destiny in balance. These three groups – Qaeda, Mahdi Army and Badr Corps – are the most active and vibrant in Iraq. No one in Iraq can ignore their existence or responsibility for the calamities that began descending on Iraq with the advent of the Americans.
The US is in danger of digging a deeper hole in Iraq. Just when you thought that this Administration’s policy in Iraq could not possibly get more screwed up than it already is, first it announces the building of walls around select neighbourhoods in Baghdad and then it begins to arm Sunni insurgents to fight Al Qaeda! All this comes on the heels of all the other bad decisions of monumental proportions: disbanding the army; purging all civil servants who were members of the Ba’ath party; redefining the new democratic institutions along sectarian lines; eliminating tariffs at the border; underestimating troop requirements, etc. etc. The litany of errors goes on and on.
It goes to show what sort of a bubble the US is operating in. Doesn’t General Petraeus with his much touted strategic expertise realise that together these policies confirm all of the very worst suspicions held by the average Iraqi? The average Iraqi looks at the concrete walls and says, “Where have I seen these before? Why, in Israel and the West Bank of course!!” So, he concludes, the US is trying to do to us what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians. Sure enough, far from protecting residents hemmed in by the walls, these concrete barriers both make them sitting ducks for sectarian cleansing and hampers their access to schools, shops, hospitals and the requirements of daily life. In the minds of the hemmed in Iraqis, the wall is there to target them and control them and not to protect them.
IRAQI REFUGEES
Iraqis plead for security at UNHCR's doors in Amman
A long queue of Iraqis, who left their country in search of a better life, was lined up outside the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Jordanian capital of Amman. A few meters from the queue, dozens of people were lying on the ground, while others were trying to take shelter from the burning sun of a hot June afternoon, all wondering, "Why didn't they build an appropriate terminal for us, or an awning to protect us from the sun?" The independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) has made every effort to have the UNHCR-Amman office's part of the story but in vain the director apologized for replacement and the media spokeswoman was away for one-month-long leave, as the officials there stated. At the doors of the commission was a young woman in her early 30s trying to reunite with her husband, who left Iraq for Australia four years ago. "They rejected my husband's repeated requests to reunite us. I called on the commission in Amman to help me and my five-year-old daughter, but to no avail," the woman said, adding, "I am neither married nor divorced and I cannot return to Iraq for fear that I may not be able to enter Jordan again and lose my last chance to bring my family back together."
How to Help Iraqi Refugees
Iraq Moratorium Day – September 21 and every third Friday thereafter ~ "I hereby make a commitment that on Friday, September 21, 2007, and the third Friday of every subsequent month I will break my daily routine and take some action, by myself or with others, to end the War in Iraq."
Quote of the day: Iraq had no effect on the American people before President Bush’s illegal invasion of it. It has no effect on us now, unless you have loved ones being fed into the meat grinder that is making futility sausage. ~ Charley Reese
Photo: Iraqi children play war games in 
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