News & Views 12/27/07

Photo: A woman (L) looks at the body of her father, killed in a bomb attack, outside a hospital morgue in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, December 27, 2007. Three members of local citizen groups were killed and two others were wounded when they entered a booby-trapped house in Jurf al sakhr on Wednesday, police said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ)

REPORTS – LIFE IN IRAQ

Syriac...a language struggling to survive

Despite their strong commitment to their mother tongue, many members of the Syriac community refuse to send their children to schools where Syriac is the instruction language. A lot of parents voiced their fears over their children's future professional career, the lack of educational staff in Syriac-speaking schools and the declining influence of their language in Iraqi society. These days, an estimated 3 million of Iraq's Christians from the Chaldean, Assyrian and Syriac Churches speak the language and transmit it to their offspring. ……The general director of a Syriac culture and arts department in Iraq's Kurdistan region said that over half of the Syriac community cannot read or write in their native tongue because they were not taught in school.

Child freed, kidnapper detained in Kirkuk

Police forces on Thursday morning managed to release a child and to arrest one of his kidnappers in central Kirkuk, a police source said. "Police received information about kidnapping Harim Latief, a child," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "Police patrols immediately rushed to scene and started a crackdown operation in search for the child," he added.

Safer Baghdad hosts film festival

Baghdad is hosting its first international film festival in two years in a sign that its shattered cultural life is slowly reviving with improving security and a relative ebb in violence. With peace as its main theme, the four-day festival, which is organized by the Association of Iraqi Filmmakers Without Borders, opened at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel on Wednesday, according to media reports. As many as 63 films will be competing for the awards with Iraqi filmmakers participating with 21 films and documentaries.

Ancient church awaits restoration in Iraq desert

No-one celebrated Christmas in Al-Aqiser church on Tuesday, for what many consider to be the oldest eastern Christian house of worship lies in ruins in a windswept Iraqi desert. Armed bandits and looters rule in the region and no one can visit the southern desert around Ain Tamur unescorted, local officials say. But 1,500 years ago, the first eastern Christians knelt and prayed in this barren land, their faces turned towards Jerusalem. The remains of Al-Aqiser church lie in the windswept sand dunes of Ain Tamur, around 70 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, forgotten by most.

IRAQ: Saddam Provided More Food Than the U.S.

The Iraqi government announcement that monthly food rations will be cut by half has left many Iraqis asking how they can survive. The government also wants to reduce the number of people depending on the rationing system by five million by June 2008. Iraq's food rations system was introduced by the Saddam Hussein government in 1991 in response to the UN economic sanctions. Families were allotted basic foodstuffs monthly because the Iraqi Dinar and the economy collapsed. The sanctions, imposed after Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait, were described as "genocidal" by Denis Halliday, then UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq. Halliday quit his post in protest against the U.S.-backed sanctions. The sanctions killed half a million Iraqi children, and as many adults, according to the UN. They brought malnutrition, disease, and lack of medicines. Iraqis became nearly completely reliant on food rations for survival. The programme has continued into the U.S.-led occupation.

Broadcasts beam messages of hope to battered Iraq city

Three years after the Iraqi city of Fallujah was practically destroyed by a US assault, residents of the notorious battleground have found a new voice through their own TV and radio programmes. The former rebel bastion 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad now boasts a broadcast centre where dozens of employees work frantically producing material for two radio stations and a television channel. Despite a severe shortage of money and lack of expertise, the staff say they are determined to make programmes that express "the thoughts of freedom" and that will also help to counter what they call "Al-Qaeda ideology." Large parts of Fallujah remain in ruins after being pounded in 2004 during brutal fighting when US forces took on hardcore Sunni insurgents and Al-Qaeda fighters holed up in the city.

REPORTS – IRAQI MILITIAS, POLITICIANS, POWER BROKERS

The nationalist version of tribal mobilization

There was a brief reference to the Central Council of the Arab Tribes of Iraq in Al-Hayat last week (referred to in this post), where the point was that one of the sources of GreenZone anxiety about the "awakenings" is the fact that they might serve as a vehicle, or an occasion, for the mobilization of pan-Iraqi nationalism, with anti-occupation implications. This has been overlooked in the Western accounts of the whole awakening phenomenon, which talk about GreenZone (and US military) anxiety about the awakenings only in its other form, which is--you guessed it!--the sectarian "Sunni versus Shiia" perspective. The more things change (in Iraq), the more they stay the same (in the Western accounts).

From Juan Cole’s blog:

Sawt al-Iraq reports in Arabic htat Abd al-Jalil Khalaf, the police chief of Basra, told the al-Arabiya satellite news channel on Wednesday that a shadowy group calling itself "Commanding the Good and Forbidding what is Prohibited" has recently killed 50 women in the southern port. It is probably a puritanical Shiite group, and it says it objects to make-up (tabarruj or the wanton display of oneself in public). The women killed have been for the most part Muslims (both Sunni and Shiite), though two were Christians.

From Roads to Iraq Blog:

Iraqi resistance women battalion - Iraqi Islamic Resistance Front [Jaami or Jama’a for better Arabic], announced the formation of women fight-battalion to fight the American occupation. Dr. Saif Al-Din Mahmmoud Jaami spokesman said: We saw their enthusiasm, motivation and rush to liberate the country, that is why we decided to involve them in the battle against the enemy. The women battalion called “Nasiba Al-Ansariya”.

Iraq says it does not repudiate Iran border treaty

Iraq said on Thursday it had not repudiated a 32-year-old border treaty with Iran, despite a declaration by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that the accord over which the countries waged a decade of war was now void. Talabani's office said on Thursday that his remarks earlier this week did not amount to a formal repudiation of the accord. "The Algiers Treaty is valid and not void. It is still in force and no party can unilaterally cancel the treaty. This fact is recognized by the president and he did not mean in his passing and improvised remarks to cancel the active treaty," Talabani's office said in a statement. Talabani's earlier remarks had threatened to reopen a border dispute that caused one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the Middle East.

Iraqi govt. says Algiers Agreement still in force, seeks alternative

An Iraqi presidential statement on Thursday said that the Iraqi-Iranian 1975 Algiers Accord is still in force, denying any intention by the government to cancel it, while an official spokesman said that the government is seeking an alternative to the agreement which "violates" Iraq's sovereignty. "President Jalal al-Talabani's improvised comments were not meant to cancel the Algiers Accord between Iraq and Iran," read a presidential statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The current agreement is valid and no single party has the right to cancel or tear it up…This is a fact known by the president," the statement indicated.

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ

U.S. Defends Soldiers' Actions in Killing of 2 Iraqis in Baqubah

Two Iraqi men killed by American soldiers north of Baghdad on Tuesday, including a member of a U.S.-backed security force, were shot after one of them fired on the soldiers and the other then attempted to pick up a weapon, according to an account of the incident provided by U.S. military officials on Wednesday. Military officials also said the soldiers, after shooting the men, placed their hands in plastic cuffs to prevent them from setting off explosives in a possible suicide attack. The killings have angered many residents of Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, and threatened to sour relations between U.S. soldiers and the Sunni force of volunteers they have worked with to combat the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The shooting took place in the al-Mustafa district of western Baqubah as American soldiers were on a mission searching for a man involved in suicide bombings. According to the U.S. military's version of events, at about 3 a.m. the patrol spotted a man, later identified as Uday Hassam Mohammed, in civilian clothes and carrying an AK-47 assault rifle, and shouted at him to drop the weapon. When he did not, and then fired several shots at the Americans, the soldiers returned fire, striking him in the face, said Maj. Mike Garcia, a U.S. military spokesman in Diyala province. Another man, later identified as Hadi Jasim Rasheed, attempted to pick up Mohammed's weapon. The soldiers deemed him a threat and shot him, Garcia said.

Mohammed was a member of the U.S.-backed local volunteer security force, one of more than 70,000 people across the country now working with the U.S. military in the fight against insurgents. But the U.S. military said that at the time of the shooting, he was not wearing his orange reflective vest or belt identifying himself as such, but rather carrying them in a pouch. A photo taken by a Washington Post special correspondent, after the American soldiers had left the scene, shows Mohammed on the ground with the vest across his chest. Garcia said that it appeared to have been placed there and that the vest was lying next to the body when the American soldiers left. Both slain men had been bound in plastic handcuffs. Iraqis who gathered at the scene of the shootings used the vest and the handcuffs as evidence that the killings were unjustified and alleged that the men were first captured and then shot. During a funeral procession later in the day, people carried banners denouncing the U.S. military and decrying what they called the "criminal" killings. A suicide bomber detonated his charge near the procession, killing at least four people.

Garcia called the allegations that the U.S. soldiers executed the men "preposterous at best." When the soldiers first approached the men, they found that Rasheed was breathing, so the squad leader ordered his unit to put cuffs on both men before rendering aid, so they could not detonate any explosives, Garcia said. Rasheed died soon afterward, and when the soldiers turned over Mohammed, they found that he was also dead, Garcia said. …..Muntasir Shadhan al-Khilani, 29, who identified himself as a member of the volunteer force, said he was on his way to deliver tea to Mohammed not long before the shooting. He said he saw Mohammed handcuffed, on his knees, surrounded by American soldiers. "I got scared and ran back to the base and told our commander," Khilani said. "During that time, we heard shooting." "The Americans assassinated them both," he said. [Pictures of this incident at the Faces of Grief blog. – dancewater]

Report: Israel is aiding in Turkish operations

Personnel from Israel's Aerospace Industries are assisting the Turkish army in activating Israeli-made unmanned aircrafts for use in military operations in Kurdish northern Iraq, Turkish sources were quoted as saying in a report to be published Thursday in the Turkish Daily News. Ten days ago, Turkish television reported that Turkey had begun using the Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), which Israel leased to the Turkish army in a 2004 deal. The Turkish News Daily quoted a Turkish army source saying that because of a shipment delay on the part of Israeli companies, the Turkish Air Force has been prevented from acquiring crucial intelligence abilities. Turkey has accused the Israeli companies of not following through with their end of the deal regarding the sale of the UAVs.

Wars Cost $15 Billion A Month, GOP Senator Says

From Juan Cole’s blog:

DPA reports in Arabic that Syrian border authorities found and confiscated Israeli-made listening devices that appeared to be on their way to Iraq.

From Roads to Iraq Blog:

Syria seized Israeli spy-devices heading to Iraq - Reported by Syrian media, Syrian costumes in Bab Alhawa borders with Turkey confiscated Israeli spying devices heading to Iraq, Syria costumes explains that the tapping and listening devices were found in 2 packages among 22 other packages discovered in the truck which was heading to Iraq.

IRAQI REFUGEES

Clowns help Iraqi refugee children overcome trauma

Members of a Baghdad clown troupe help refugee children in Syria relax for a while. Red noses and silliness have popped up in recent months at UNHCR centres across Damascus, bringing some laughter and happiness to young Iraqis suffering from the traumas of life as refugees. The UN refugee agency first learnt about the positive benefits of clowns when a local troupe was hired last World Refugee Day (June 20) to perform in the tense and unhappy waiting room at the main UNHCR Registration Centre in Damascus. UNHCR clerks noted that the children were more relaxed during the registration appointment. Three people came forward when UNHCR put out a message that it was looking for Iraqi clowns to perform a regular show at the registration centre as part of its "Back to School" campaign for young Iraqi refugees. They became UNHCR's first outreach volunteers from the Iraqi community.

Out of Iraq: The Haves, Have-Nots, and Dogs

The last time I was in Baghdad, I'd gone to fetch my dog. Wiley had stayed with me for most of the two years I'd been based in Iraq as a reporter, and now, 10 months after my departure, it was time for Wiley to leave, too. But as my taxi pulled up to Baghdad International Airport, with Wiley in a plastic kennel propped sideways in the open trunk, I worried about what lay ahead. We'd arrive at the airport, and I'd be thrust, I feared, into a role I did not want but could not avoid -- the American carrying her dog away from a war zone while desperate Iraqis had no way out. We all try to pretend day-to-day that our differences of nationality, race and class don't matter to us, but airports in war zones have a way of making clear that they do. When it's time to go, what passport you have in your hand and how much money you have in your wallet are matters of life and death, a haves-vs.-have-nots wedge that most people stateside don't ever experience. Okay, you 26 million Iraqis living in daily mortal fear for yourselves and your children -- y'all hang tight! American chick with her Australian shepherd? You're good to go, little lady!

Video: Iraq-Jordan: Mouna, a double amputee - Part V: Walking again

MOUNA: It’s better with legs. I don’t want to go back into a wheelchair. Of course I’m happy, I’m very happy. COMMENTARY: Mouna is gradually gaining confidence… Her uncle, who’s taken on the role of father, continues to support and encourage her Soon, they’ll be returning to their loved ones in Baghdad.

How to Help Iraqi Refugees

ANOTHER Way to help: The Collateral Repair Project

COMMENTARY

State of the World 2008

When [Zalmay] Khalilzad was appointed [US ambassador] to Iraq I told him, that deck of cards with Saddam and so on, how many Shia were there? No idea. None? Three? Four? Five? Thirty five! Saddam was not pro-Shia or pro-Sunni. Saddam was pro-Saddam. If you are with him, you are all right. If you are not with him, you are not all right, whether you were Sunni or Shia or whatever.

Q: Are governments in the Middle East focusing more in recent months on the possibility of a post-American Iraq?

The idea has probably developed a little bit, but not very much. Now I say very, very bluntly: The Americans have broken Iraq and destroyed it. They cannot fix it. Iraq needs to be fixed by the Iraqis with the support of their neighbors. It's crazy for some of the neighbors to say, The Americans have broken it; let them fix it. It's crazy. The Americans-one day they are going to pack up and go. What do they care? Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have got to get together.

Local Power in Iraq

As an Iraqi put it, ‘The United States got rid of one Saddam only to replace him with 50.’ These local powers could lead Iraq into a second violent civil war, or to becoming an imperial protectorate with a privileged military and sharp class divisions, says Charles Tripp. Now that the first phase of the Iraqi civil war seems to have ended, it is time to consider the political processes it may have left in its bloody wake. It is crucial for Iraqis and others to get a sense of the stability and durability of present arrangements. Are they a mechanism for reconciling the ferocious enmities of the past five years in Iraq, or likely to lead to a more violent second phase of the civil war? There have been two main patterns during these years of violence and massive population displacement. One is the localization of politics, grounded in the insecurities, fears and ambitions of ruthless local leaders across Iraq. This thrives on community feeling, which is sometimes tribal, sometimes ethnic and sectarian; it also springs from rivalry and jostling for power within a provincial arena. The other pattern is the emergence of a politics at national level under US auspices, which has much in common with the politics of a protectorate. Both are dangerous for the future, but both may contribute to the emergence of a distinctive, likely troubled, Iraqi politics.

Quote of the day: He’s a ruthless little bastard. You can be sure of that. – Richard Nixon, US President, referring to Donald Rumsfeld, 1971 [A clear case of ‘it takes one to know one’ I guess. –dancewater]