News & Views 10/16/07

Photo: Ahmed and his mother, Mahassen, were killed in the September 16 Blackwater incident. (Family Photo) – on CNN website

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

Iraqi: My son and my wife were slaughtered

Haythem could only recognize his oldest boy from his tall and slim physique as well as what was left of his shoes. His son's head had been blown away, his body charred beyond recognition. His wife of more than 20 years was torn apart. "Only part of her neck and jaw remained," Haythem told CNN. The rest of her was covered by a body bag. Choking back tears, he said, "Killing them was not enough, blowing up their skulls, they burned them and disfigured them." Haythem's wife, Mahassen, and his 20-year-old son, Ahmed, were among the 17 Iraqi civilians killed and 27 others wounded in a hail of gunfire September 16 in Baghdad. ….."Those who witnessed the incident say that my son's head was scattered and my wife held him and hugged him," Haythem said. "She was screaming, 'My son, my son! Help me! Help me!' " The car slowly rolled forward until Blackwater guards unleashed more shots that turned the vehicle into a fireball, according to the witnesses. "They understood the call for help. They sprayed her with bullets," he said.

Iraqi wants U.S. out

The first and only step that can be taken in making Iraq a stable country is a complete U.S. withdrawal, an Iraqi political analyst said during a speech Monday at Lehigh University. Raed Jarrar's speech, "Crisis in Iraq: Politics, Oil and Refugees," drew about 30 people. He focused on how mainstream media's analysis and commentary paints a drastically different picture of Iraq than what's actually happening there. "Most people think that the situation in Iraq is worse because of the American perspective and the lies that are constructed by the media," he said. Jarrar said most Americans don't know that 75 percent of Iraqis and American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should pull out of Iraq. He also said most don't realize about 90 percent of attacks in Iraq are against foreigners. "The major conflict is between Iraqis and the U.S. troops," he said. "The U.S. is not an observer of the Iraqi-Iraqi conflict -- they are a part of it." Sam Wechsler, a Lehigh senior and member of the Progressive Student Alliance, the group that sponsored the speech, said he thought Jarrar's speech was valuable. "Direct communication from an Iraqi is one of the best ways to inform the public on the situation at hand," Wechsler said. "It doesn't get better than having a figure like Jarrar come before a group and share firsthand experiences."

As violence falls in Iraq, cemetery workers feel the pinch

At what’s believed to be the world’s largest cemetery, where Shiite Muslims aspire to be buried and millions already have been, business isn't good. A drop in violence around Iraq has cut burials in the huge Wadi al Salam cemetery here by at least one-third in the past six months, and that’s cut the pay of thousands of workers who make their living digging graves, washing corpses or selling burial shrouds. …….Dhurgham Majed al Malik, 48, whose family has arranged burial services for generations, said that this spring, private cars and taxis with caskets lashed to their roofs arrived at a rate of 6,500 a month. Now it’s 4,000 or less, he said. Malik said that the daily tide of cars bearing coffins has been a barometer of Iraq’s violence for years. The number of burials rose and fell several times during Saddam Hussein’s persecution of Shiites, and it soared again during the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Then in the 1990s, the daily average fell to 150 or less, Malik said. With the current war, the burials again reached 300 daily.

Eid Pictures

The Eid finished yesterday and it was different a little bit this time. For the first time since four years, I have this quite nice feeling about the Eid. So, instead of drawing sad pictures from Iraqi daily life and since we used to these sad pictures to the extent that we consider them as a part of our daily life, I decided to make a kind of balance this time. I’ll reflect two pictures that attracted my attention during the two days off I had (Sunday and Monday). The first picture is the crowded streets of Baghdad. It was really nice to see so many big number of families moving going to the parks, giving their kids a chance to run in the yards, to play soccer and even to fight in a funny way with each other. I don’t know how to explain it. Is it because these families felt bored of the bad ideas and fear that control them or because they decided to break this fear and fight these bad ideas. But, anyway, the result was so positive that I felt Baghdad streets are so happy with the steps of the children and their parents. The second picture is related to the first one in one side only, the kids. Its really nice to see the kids playing in the streets but we miss our old peaceful games like soccer or marbles. Instead, I saw the kids specially the boys play with the fake guns. In each street, I saw a battle and kids shouting like” hey wait, I’m out of ammunition, let me refill my machinegun, its unfair to shoot me” or “my machinegun is bigger than yours and I have more bullets”. OMG, some of them look like real guns because they are made with the same size and same details accept for being made of plastic and they don’t kill innocents. When I saw these kids playing with the fake guns, I felt happy because they at least could have some fun but I felt so sorry because its not the type of fun I wished for them. Such a violent game destroys their personality because it teaches them that the only way to deal with life is by violence.

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

Shi'ite tribal leaders in Iraq say Islamism on rise

Shi'ite Islamist political parties are imposing strict Islamic rules in the oil-producing southern provinces of Iraq and using their armed wings to create a state of fear, a group of tribal Shi'ite leaders said. The four tribal leaders approached Reuters on condition of anonymity, fearing assassination if their names or even their home provinces were made public. "Fear rules the streets now," said one of the sheikhs. "We cannot speak our minds, people are not allowed to oppose them. They would immediately disappear or get killed. The evidence of that is I am talking about it but cannot use my name." The fear is not unfounded -- two provincial governors and a police chief were blown up by roadside bombs in August, apparent victims of infighting between the Shi'ite parties for political dominance in the region, source of most of Iraq's oil wealth. Aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the reclusive religious leader of Iraq's Shi'ites, have also been killed. The sheikhs said the conservative religious attitudes meant only religious music was now allowed to be played in public places and dancing was forbidden, as was drinking alcohol. Women were also harassed for wearing clothing deemed inappropriate.

Iraq fears action 'may escalate'

Unilateral action by Turkey in Iraq could have "very grave consequences" and set a worrying precedent, Iraq's deputy prime minister has warned. Barham Saleh told the BBC such action could destabilise the region and prompt other neighbouring states to step in. Turkey has said its patience has run out over the handling of Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq. It is seeking parliamentary permission for a cross-border operation to pursue Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members. Ankara argues the group is a terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of at least 15 Turkish soldiers in the past two weeks, and says the Kurdish separatists enjoy freedom of movement in northern Iraq.

Iraq urges urgent Turkey talks, sends VP for talks

Iraq sent a senior government official to Turkey on Tuesday and called for urgent talks to head off an incursion by the Turkish army into Iraqi territory. Turkey's parliament is expected to give the government the green light on Wednesday to send troops into Iraq to hunt down Kurdish separatists blamed for a recent escalation in violence. The prospect of NATO's second-largest army crossing into the semi-autonomous, oil-rich Kurdish region of Iraq helped push crude prices to an all-time high of $88 a barrel on Tuesday. "The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to have an urgent dialogue between the two countries," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement. Iraq's Sunni Arab vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, flew to Turkey on Tuesday to discuss the issue of possible Turkish attacks in northern Iraq, his office said.

From Missing Links blog:

Today, Tuesday Oct 16, Al-Hayat puts the results this way:

Ammar al-Hakim, the son of the SIIC leader, failed to convince Sunni tribal leaders to fight for the establishment of a federal region in [western] Iraq. The Anbar Awakening Council, which includes those tribal leaders, said it rejects federalism utterly and completely [literally "in its details and in its entirety"]. In Anbar, Sheikh Ali al-Hatem, head of the General Council of Arab and Iraqi Tribes, which is the political wing of the Anbar Awakening Council, told Al-Hayat that "Sheikh Ahmad abu Risha (head of the Iraq Awakening) is not able to take any decision without reference to the major parties," adding that "the proposal by SIIC to fight for the implementation of federalism in the country is not acceptable, and it cannot be proposed at the present time, because those clauses in the Constitution which talk about federalism were decided on by the Americans, and not by Iraqis," and he added that the Anbar Awakening Council completely and utterly rejects the proposal." My italics, for this reason: The defining characteristic of the Sunni political parties and the other "reconcilables", as opposed to the Sunni resistance, is that the former group has bought into a political process that was set up under American auspices. The Sunni resistance demands not only an end to the occupation, but also an end to all of the political trappings that the Americans brought with them.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

VIDEO: U.S. uncovers weapons caches in Iraq

Except that they don’t actually find anything. It does look at a brick factory on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Inquiry urged on Hunt Oil contract in Iraq

Democratic lawmakers moved Monday toward investigating Hunt Oil's oil exploration contract in Iraq, saying the company's ties to President Bush raised questions about whether it had insider information that helped it reach the deal. U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, asked Hunt to turn over all Iraq-related communication with the U.S. government by Nov. 2. The lawmakers also demanded that Ray Hunt, Hunt Oil's chief executive, submit copies of information he may have received about Iraq as a member of Mr. Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. A Hunt spokeswoman said the company would cooperate with the request for "certain limited information." Last month, Mr. Bush said he was concerned about Hunt's deal if it jeopardized Iraq's ability to pass a national oil-sharing law. In their letter to Hunt, Mr. Waxman and Mr. Kucinich asserted that Hunt's deal "may have undermined U.S. national policy of working toward the passage of an oil revenue sharing plan." Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's oil minister has called Hunt's deal illegal. Congressional Democrats have jumped into the fray, saying Hunt Oil signed its deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government because it has insider information about the future of Iraq's national oil law.

IRAQI REFUGEES

UN refugee chief warns of N.Iraq refugee crisis

The U.N.'s refugee chief warned on Tuesday of the danger of a refugee crisis in northern Iraq, a day after Turkey's cabinet asked parliament for permission to launch an attack there against Kurdish separatists. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres also urged the international community to do more to help Jordan and Syria deal with masses of Iraqi refugees, including by taking in some of the refugees themselves. "The northern governorate, or Kurdistan ... has been the most stable area of Iraq," Guterres said during a visit to Brussels. "It is an area also where you find Iraqis from the south and central Iraq who came seeking security. "I can only express our very deep concern about any development that might lead to meaningful displacements of population in that sensitive area," Guterres told reporters.

How to Help Iraqi Refugees

ANOTHER Way to help: The Collateral Repair Project

COMMENTARY

AMERICAN KILLINGS IN IRAQ

You may remember that the Iraqi resistance has called by the US spinners by different names at different stages of invasion and occupation: 1. First they were "dead enders" and "Saddam's hunch men," etc. That was before arresting Saddam Hussein. 2. Next they were called insurgents, after the puppet government was installed. Insurgency means revolting against a legal, recognized government. 3. At last they are being called Al Qaeda terrorists. Every anti-occupation group is now referred to as Al Qaeda. Every man killed by the troops is an Al Qaeda leader.

Of course, calling the Iraqi resistance Al Qaeda fits well with the permanent "war on terror". Bush can now have his "legal" justification for the war on Iraq: it is part of his war on terror. The recent slaughter of innocents is not the first. It has become a pattern. The US army is becoming more dependant on air strikes--massive air strikes on civilians--as part of an intimidation campaign. Last week, they slaughtered from the air a large group of men and children who gathered one Ramadan (the Fasting month in Islam) evening to play a traditional game which needs two groups of men sitting facing each other. A ring is hidden in the hand of a member of one group, the others in the facing group have to guess where the ring is hidden. Usually this game attracts bystanders. The US Army said, of course, that they had killed Al Qaeda terrorists. Before that, men, women and children were sleeping on the roof of a house, which is an Iraqi habit in summer. They were air struck and accused of being Al Qaeda terrorists. Of course, there were other slaughters of wedding gatherings, of funeral gatherings. Any gathering is hit from the air. When women and children are killed, the US army announces that he regrets but it is the fault of the terrorists who hide behind civilians.

The Real Iraq We Knew

By 12 former US Army captains

Today marks five years since the authorization of military force in Iraq, setting Operation Iraqi Freedom in motion. Five years on, the Iraq war is as undermanned and under-resourced as it was from the start. And, five years on, Iraq is in shambles. As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we've seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it's like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it's time to get out. [They go on to list all that is not working in Iraq – with no mention that the US military did much of the damage – and then say that we have to have a military draft or get out right away. They do not present the draft as a sure-fire thing at all. – dancewater]

The Iraqi Genocide

Why has not the Turkish parliament given tit for tat and passed a resolution condemning the Iraqi Genocide? As a result of Bush’s invasion of Iraq, more than one million Iraqis have died, and several millions are displaced persons. The Iraqi death toll and the millions of uprooted Iraqis match the Armenian deaths and deportations. If one is a genocide, so is the other. It is true that most of the Iraqi deaths have resulted from Iraqis killing one another. But it was Bush’s destruction of the secular Iraqi state that unleashed the sectarian strife. Moreover, American troops in Iraq have killed more civilians than insurgents. The US military in Iraq has fallen for every bit of disinformation fed to it by Al Qaeda personnel posing as “informants” and by Sunnis setting up Shi’ites and Shi’ites setting up Sunnis. As a result, American bombs and missiles have blown up weddings, funerals, kids playing soccer, and people shopping in bazaars and sleeping in their homes. Not to be outdone, Bush’s private Waffen SS known as Blackwater has taken to gunning Iraqi civilians down in the streets. How do Blackwater and Custer Battles killers escape the “unlawful combatant” designation? One can only marvel at the insouciance of the US Congress to the current Iraqi Genocide while condemning Turkey for one that happened
90 years ago.

Quote of the day: Don't ever let them pull you down so low as to hate them. (also cited as: I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.) - Booker T. Washington