Monday, August 15, 2011

Iraq slammed with bombings, 70 reported dead over 100 injured

Yesterday in the Iraqi Parliament, Al Rafidayn reports, some thought they would be discussing the nomination of former Minister of the Interior Jawad al-Bolani to be Minister of Defense; however, it quickly arose that he had not in fact been nominated. Somewhere in that 'realization' is an indictment of the current government and Nouri's failure to appoint a Minister of Defense, a Minister of National Security and a Minister of the Interior back in December. Somewhere in that failure to fill those security posts may be the answer to the continued and, yes, rising violence in Iraq.

AP sees a "wave of violence" rolling through Iraq today with "nearly 60" dead. It was a series of attacks and the Washington Post offers an AFP - Getty Images slide show here. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) cites 67 dead and one-hundred and seventy injured -- 34 killed by a Kut car bombing and roadside bombing; 8 killed by a Twareej car bombing; 4 killed by twin suicide bombers in Tikrit; 8 killed by a suicide car bombing in Khan Bani Saad; 3 dead from four Baghdad bombings and "attacks also occured in Najaf, Kirkuk and Baqouba, killing at least 10 people".

Meanwhile does the New York Times name the Cabinet ministers? I thought that the prime minister did and then the Parliament gave them an up or a down vote. I ask becasue Micahel S. Schmidt and Yasir Ghazi (New York Times) declare, "The violence was so severe that the interior minister sent out a message to all of the country’s security forces and traffic police to clear the streets of parked cars." See, that post, Interior Minister, is vacant. If you're confused, you can click here for the Ministry of the Interior's page on their minister.

Annie Gowen (Washington Post) observes, "The attacks came after a period of relative quiet in the country, which had descended as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began in early August." As the violence slams Iraq today, grasp that Osama al-Nujaifi had to adjourn Parliament's session yesterday when MPs began physically fighting with one another (Dar Addustour has the story here).

In other news, Al Mada reports that Nouri and the Minister of Electricity have agreed to submit his (Electricity Minister) resignation to Parliament.


Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Operator Error" went up last night. On the latest Law and Disorder Radio -- airs this morning at 10:00 a.m. on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosts Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights) have a jam packed program which includes Michael Smith singing a Joe Hill song, Heidi Boghosian singing the praises of Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega's new documentary Better This World, discussions with attorneys Dennis James and Barbara Harvey on the Boycott Divestment Sanction movement and much more including Harper's Scott Horton attempting to process what went wrong with Barry. Oh, aren't you still "wowed" by him, Scott? (That was his term in 2008, "wowed.") It's fun to hear a worm squirm. Come on, Scott, is he not still "a 'hope monger' just when the nation needs one"? Again, your words. Come on, Scott, answer Ashford & Simpon's musical question: "Is It Still Good to Ya?" If Barack's not the man he was made out to be maybe you better slice off a piece of the blame pie for yourself. Or continue being a lying hypocrite. Your choice, of course.

We'll close with this from Debra Sweet's "Ten Years: Our Message" (World Can't Wait):

It's worth examining the administration's public statements, downplayed as they were, about the biggest loss of U.S. military personnel so far in Afghanistan. Their identities are being kept secret because "there is hesitancy to release the names because the majority were from secretive special operations forces."

Obama called a hasty press conference/pep talk Monday about the Wall Street crash, assuring us that “No matter what some agency may say, we've always been, and always will be a AAA country.” He went on to speak about the Saturday Chinook helicopter crash, which killed 22 Navy Seals, eight other US military personnel, and 8 Afghan soldiers:

“These men and women put their lives on the line for the values that bind us together as a nation... And some of them, like the 30 Americans who were lost this weekend, give their lives for their country."

Leon Panetta, who just moved from running the C.I.A. to the Pentagon, said “This is a reminder, a reminder to the American people that we remain a nation still at war.” Politico reported that Panetta said "the best way to honor those lost in the crash was to accept the risk and push on."


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