When the presidential candidates finally get to their foreign policy debate, they aren’t likely to dwell on Iraq.
No wonder. That subject doesn’t reflect well on either political party.
Nothing more clearly reveals the sad state we’ve left behind than the case of Riyadh al-Adhadh, a Sunni doctor who thought democracy could change his country. Elected deputy chairman of the Baghdad Provincial Council, Dr. Riyadh has been jailed for the last eight months, wrongly accused of terrorism. He suffers from serious health problems.
That's the opening of the latest column by Philadelphia Inquirer's Trudy Rubin, entitled "An innocent jailed Iraqi poses test for Baghdad" which is being syndicated and picked up by various papers. It's an important column and one that will hopefully get people thinking and maybe even help Iraq make it into one of the presidential debates.
Iraq wasn't 'fixed.' It was broken when foreigners invaded. Foreigners still hold influence and occupy despite Barack's claim that the war is over. At the right-wing Strategy Page, they note today, "American Special Forces (and intelligence specialists) are back, to help the government deal with the Sunni Arab terrorists. The Sunni-Shia conflict remains a major issue in Iraq, as does fear of Iranian aggression and influence. The Americans had the most success against the Sunni terrorism, and the government wants to get some of that American know-how back. "
But pretend not to notice who's back in Iraq because Barack declared the war over. That means it ended because a US president never lies, right? It's not like there is historical pattern of US presidents lying, right? Ghalib Zenjal (Kitabat) attempts to sort through the new obstacles between the US government and its devotee Nouri al-Maliki while pointing out that the US continues to control Iraq's air space.
You wouldn't know the war was over by the violence. Alsumaria reports an armed clash in Salahuddin Province left 1 man dead and two more injured, a Nineveh Province roadside bombing left one person injured and a Diyala Province bombing left five people injured -- one teacher and four children. In addition, Bushra Juhi (AP) reports that a Taji bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left three more injured and a Baghdad bombing claimed 4 lives and left eleven people injured. Press TV notes a Samarra home invasion left 1 man dead and two of his family injured, a Falluja roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer and left another injured. Also Kitabat reports that Turkish warplanes bombed northern Iraq last night in pursuit of the PKK and that, although no known deaths or injuries resulted, the farming land in the region was damaged. Two Thursdays ago, there was an attack on a Tikrit prison. Kitabat reports Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has weighed in saying that the blame for the attack and the escapes that followed rests with those in charge of the country's security.
Who is over the prisons? That would be Nouri. Though last week, as the criticism got a little much and a little intense, he quietly slid it over the Ministry of Justice. (Nouri has refused to appoint a Minister of Interior, Defense or National Security. By refusing to appoint anyone, he controls these ministries.)
The political crisis continues in Iraq. Alsumaria notes Jalal Talabani, president of Iraq, issued a statement today insisting that what was needed was a road map to repair the relationships. All Iraq News notes the statement was issued after he met with Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi. Being a member of Iraqiya, al-Nujaifi most likely raised the Erbil Agreement.
For those who have forgotten, to end political stalemate one (March to November 2010), the US government brokered a contract with the leaders of the political bloc, the Erbil Agreement. It called for various groups to get various things and they would, in exchange, allow Nouri to be prime minister for a second term. Nouri couldn't have a second term per the Constitution because his political slate, State of Law, had come in second to Iraqiya (led by Ayad Allawi). Nouri used the contract to get his second term but then refused to honor it. And the US government that swore that they would stand by the contract they negotiated and vouched for? They said nothing. By the summer of 2011, Moqtada al-Sadr, the Kurds and Iraqiya were all calling for a return to the Erbil Agreement. Nouri caused this political stalemate by refusing to honor the contract that he signed, the one that allowed him to have a second term as prime minister. It is beyond stupid to pretend that anything other than a return to the Erbil Agreement will end the current political stalemate.
Yesterday, Al Mada reported State of Law is calling for the National Conference to be held on the 15th. Some may have rejoiced. Most were probably wary since Osama al-Nujaifi and Jalal Talabani have been calling for that since December 21st while Nouri and State of Law have repeatedly undermined the effort. Revealing it was just nonsense on the part of Nouri, Alsumaria reports today that Nouri is saying that before any meet-up could take place the so-called Reform Commission's paper be implemented. The Reform Commission? A group of Nouri supporters with a bunch of nonsense that even Nouri's Shi'ite allies refused to sign off on. Nouri's now attempting to force it to be accepted in order for a national conference to be held.
Al Mada reports today that the Kurdistan Alliance states they are in agreement with Iraqiya that no demands by Nouri as a precondition for a national meeting should be accepted. Furthermore, the Kurdistan Alliance states that the problems are not minor and require serious attention. They also note the need to return to the Erbil Agreement.
Meanwhile the following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, Tavis Smiley, Jody Watley, Antiwar.com, Pacifica Evening News, ACLU, PRI and Dissident Voice -- updated last night and today:
Lastly, Dar Addustour notes a US report. The report is Tim King's "Iraqi 'Video Camera Sniper' Credited With Killing 200+ Americans May Have Been Israeli?" (Salem-News):
(SACRAMENTO, CA) - Fewer things are more shocking than this report; that a deadly, notorious sniper in the Iraq War, on the side of the insurgency, was actually an Israeli. The information is filtering in.
The allegation is that a sniper who came to be known as
'Juba' is actually a member of the Israeli Defence Forces. There is no
proof at this point, however as I explain below, there are logical
connecting points between the sniper killings and the U.S. top officer
in command during the worst years of the Iraq war.
This sniper terrorist, as the video posted below shows,
was able to kill hundreds of our own servicemen like a coward, from the
shadows, in hiding.
The video description on the Vimeo page reads, "Juba is
an IDF sniper hunting US troops in Iraq using hi-tech Israeli wi-fi
cams linked to HQ then uplinked to net in real time he had document +200
confirmed kills."
Why would this situation exist?
One possible reason is that the Iraq war was not as much of a war, as it was an exercise
in war; a practice session for those in the military and defense
communities who want to perfect their weapons and are aware of that
terrible fact... that all testing in the world with regard to war is
less than the actual results of war itself.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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