Friday, August 24, 2012. Chaos and
violence continue, Moqtada's followers are attacked in Sadr City, refugees in
Iraq and outside continues to need asylum, the PKK and Turks boast of their
'kills,' US House Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen wants the answers to some questions,
and more.
With Iraq, the temptation for some news outlets is to make 'good news.'
You can't manufacture good news and you look ridiculous when you try -- and if
you're a US official trying to manufacture good news, your latest wave of
Operation Happy Talk usually slaps you in the face -- meaning within 24 hours of
your remarks being published, a large wave of violence hits Iraq.
But one Iraqi family did get some good news, real good news, genuine good
news.
Chris Thompson (Windsor Star) reported
this week on the Putrus family. They left Iraq in 2009 and were fortunate in
that their refugee applications were processed. They ended up in Canada and it
was there that they bought one of the two winning Lotto tickets for a $3
million jackpot which means they won $1.5 million:
The family celebrated with a dinner at Mandarin restaurant, a
Chinese buffet.
Faiz plans to continue working as a granite designer at
Granite Design Works for now but plans to start his own small business in the
future, Faraj said.
"He told his boss he won that kind of money and he took a
vacation," Faraj said.
The family is also planning to buy a new larger house
and possibly rent out the modest bungalow they currently own.
The family, who
are Christian Chaldean, lived in Baghdad in 2008 when they travelled to Syria to
say goodbye to an aunt who was leaving to claim refugee status in Canada.
The
situation in Baghdad was chaotic and violent.
"Killing, robbing, and our
house got on fire," said Faraj.
While the family was in Syria, they received
word from Baghdad that the family home had burned to the ground, and everything
was lost. It was then they decided not to return, and would follow the aunt to
Canada.
"We didn't stop our life," Faraj said.
Again, that would be actual good news. Canada's goal is 2,500 Iraqi
refugees admitted each year. That goal is one less than the US has admitted
this year. Yes, Canada is much smaller than the United States. As of their
most recent tally, FY2012 has seen only 2,501 Iraqi refugees admitted to the
US. FY2010 was the first year the current administration, President Barack
Obama, was solely responsible. (FY2010 started October 1, 2009 and ran through
September 30, 2010.) That year, the number was 24,021 -- a drop of over a
thousand and each year since has seen a bigger drop (in FY2011, only 9,388 Iraqi
refugees were admitted). Anybody remember this:
We would pursue a diplomatic offensive with every nation in the
region on behalf of Iraq’s stability, and commit $2 billion to a new
international effort to support Iraq’s refugees.
That's from a July 14, 2008 column in the
New York Times entitled
"
My Plan for Iraq." Barack Obama wrote that column (or his name
was put on the byline). Lot of talk for very little action. Iraqi refugees
continue to suffer and the United Nations counts 29,453 Iraqis who fled for
Iraq for safety that have been forced to return as a result of actions in
Syria.
Syria and Iraq share a border, it's Iraq's neighbor on the north-west
side. Earlier this week,
Patrick Markey and Alistair Lyon (Reuters)
reported, "Syrian government forces fought rebels on Wednesday for control
of a military base and an airfield near the eastern town of Albu Kamal on the
Iraqi border, a local Iraqi official and a Syrian rebel commander said."
The conflict in Syria continues with fears that it might impact Iraq in
terms of violence. For now, it's only impact on Iraq has been the refugees who
have left Syria. Today UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards addressed the issue of
Syrian refugees seeking Iraq:
Meanwhile in Iraq, Syrian refugees staying in schools are being relocated
to Al Qaem camp. Seven schools have so far been vacated with a further nine
schools still occupied by some 1,760 refugees. The school year resumes in Iraq
in early October. 1,691 people are now residing in the Al Qaem camp, while some
100 Syrians have left the camp and returned to Syria. During the last week, 24
left the camp to live with relatives. UNHCR will shortly begin to expand the
camp by 230 tents in anticipation of new arrivals. The number of Syrians
crossing into Iraq has slowed over the past week, although the refugee
population increased slightly in the Kurdistan region. Across Iraq the total
number of refugees stands at 15,898. The number of Iraqi refugees returning
from Syria to Iraq has continued despite fewer people returning over Eid due to
a shortage of buses from Damascus. Most of those returning home are heading to
Baghdad. Several of those returning told UNHCR protection staff at the border
they had been attacked or robbed on the road between Damascus and Al-tanf on the
Syrian border, losing all their money, telephones and some documents. Some
returnees say they are assessing the security situation in Iraq before deciding
to stay.
This is part of regional issue.
IRIN noted Monday, "From April to August, the
number of Syrians registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan,
Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq nearly quadrupled, from 40,000 to more than 155,000,
with recent marked increases in Jordan and Iraq. About 75 percent are believed
to be women and children." For
UNICEF, Salam Abdulmunem reports on an Iraqi refugee
camp:
Recently, the local Department of Education, with assistance from
UNHCR and UNICEF, started a summer school to help the children make up for lost
time. Almost 150 boys and girls are registered in this school. But with the new
academic year quickly approaching, a shortage in space is anticipated for almost
500 children who have already been registered to join the regular school.
Later, when I visit the nearby UNICEF-supported Child Friendly
Space (CFS), I meet Perween Abdulaziz, a social worker who works with the NGO
Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) and runs the CFS. Ms.
Abdulaziz tells me that, while some of the children have seen violence, most of
the children’s fears come from hearing their parents talk about an uncertain
future. The structure and activities provided to them through the school and CFS
are essential to bring back some sense of stability to their lives, she tells
me.
That's Dohuk which is in the Kurdistan Region Government. The KGR's
received positive reports as a result of UN inspections of their refugee camp.
Sadly, that is not true of all of Iraq. For example, last week
Rudaw reported on a camp in Anbar Province
(which Nouri's Baghdad-based government is over):
Iranian Kurdish refugees residing in
Waleed camp suffer from lack of services such as drinking water, electricity and
a medical center. In
addition, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior is pressuring them to leave.
Waleed is located in Anbar province in the west, near the Syrian border.
The camp -- which accommodates 120 Palestinian families, 24 Kurdish families and
19 Arab families from Ahwaz, Iran -- was established in June 2009.
For the past three months, the Iraqi government has
been using various tactics to force the families to leave the camp, such as
removing basic services like electricity and water. However, residents of the
camp have been defying the government’s decision.
Nouri's never shown any respect for refugees. As the waves of refugees
fleeing Iraq reached record levels and became the largest refugee crisis in the
Middle East since 1948, Nouri made noises about giving some of the oil millions
to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to help cover the costs but Nouri never forked over
the money. When the Syrian refugees need somewhere to go, Nouri's original
response was to insist that Iraq couldn't handle refugees. Only after he was
shamed on the world stage did he take the refugees in and then he shoved them
into either abandoned or unused buildings. Now he's trying to force them out
because the unused buildings were often schools and Iraqi children are resuming
their school year.
IRAP’s advocacy on behalf of LGBT Iraqis with the Dutch government
has led the Netherlands to change their policy toward LGBT asylum seekers from
Iraq, who now have a presumption of asylum. The reform also includes the
creation of a set allocation for the admission of LGBT Iraqi refugees, along
with a new expedited process. Around two weeks ago, we led a private
fact-finding tour for a representative from the Dutch Office of the Asylum
Minister. This was in addition to significant research conducted about the
plight of LGBT refugees in the are and the resultant news coverage we
received in conjunction with two other NGOs.
On the bright side, some American taxpayers may
be relieved to learn that Iraq's sanction-busting activities signal nothing more
than the vitality of public corruption; sound strategic arguments support Iraq's
continuing official hostility toward Iran.
But the practical impact of
that corruption is essentially the same. The likelihood that at least some of
the billions the U.S. and its allies have supplied to Iraq is being used to
systematically undermine allied strategic objectives in the Middle East is
enough to sour any U.S. taxpayer on continued support for the Malaki
government.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee released the following today:
In Letter to Secretary Panetta,
Secretary Geithner, Ros-Lehtinen Requests Details of Iran's Involvement in Iraq,
Afghanistan
Asks What Obama Administration, Iraqi
and Afghan Governments are Doing to Counter Tehran's Efforts
(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of
the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of
Defense Leon Panetta and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
requesting details on Iran’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chairman
Ros-Lehtinen also is asking the Administration for information on the Iraqi and
Afghan governments’ actions in addressing the Iranian regime’s attempts to gain
influence within these countries. For a signed copy of the letter, please click
here. Text of the
letter follows:
Dear Secretary Panetta and Secretary Geithner:
I am writing to raise concerns about Iranian attempts to circumvent
U.S., European Union, and other bilateral and multilateral sanctions through use
of the financial sectors of Iraq and Afghanistan, and about what the
Administration is doing or considering doing to counter these efforts
effectively.
As described in two New York Times articles over the past
week, and on the heels of the recent Treasury designation of the Elaf Islamic
Bank in Baghdad, the Iranian regime is trying to access the financial sectors of
Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the energy sector of Iraq, to provide Tehran
with crucial foreign currency reserves at a time when sanctions are having an
effect.
Reports indicate that the Elaf Islamic Bank is still allowed to
participate in the Iraq Central Bank’s daily auction, at which commercial banks
can sell Iraqi dinars and buy United States dollars. These auctions are a
crucial pathway for Iranian access to the international financial system. As
Iran seeks to bolster its reserves of dollars and other convertible foreign
currency to stabilize its exchange rates and pay for imports, the Iraqi
government reportedly not only allows companies and individuals to circumvent
the sanctions but also does not enforce penalties for
non-compliance.
Further, the status of joint Iraqi-Iranian oil fields raises
potential sanctionable upstream activities, which are particularly concerning
given reports that some Iranian oil is finding its way to Iraqi ports for
export.
A similar potential challenge to sanctions implementation and
enforcement exists with Afghanistan. Kabul and Kandahar are now reportedly
being utilized as financial centers through which the Iranian regime can
circumvent sanctions. According to press reports, Afghan money traders said
they were told this month by American officials not to conduct business with
Arian Bank, an Afghan bank owned by two Iranian banks, because the Iranian
regime was using Arian to move cash in and out of Afghanistan. Given
longstanding difficulties encountered by the U.S. and other responsible nations
with Afghanistan’s widespread corruption and lack of financial controls, I am
concerned not only that Afghanistan could be transformed into a mechanism used
by the Iranian regime to circumvent sanctions, but that such an arrangement
could inadvertently provide Tehran greater leverage over the Afghan
government.
Accordingly, I would appreciate if you would provide the following
information (which, given its potential sensitivity, may be transmitted in
classified form):
- the overarching U.S. strategy to address these Iranian efforts to
evade sanctions;
- what actions the U.S., our allies, and the Iraqi and Afghan
governments are taking to counter such sanctions evasion;
- whether the Administration will condition security cooperation with
Iraq and Afghanistan on such activities with the Iranian regime;
- which Iraqi and Afghan banks, or other financial institutions,
maintain correspondent accounts with designated Iranian banks or their
affiliates;
- a determination as to whether joint Iranian-Iraqi oil fields are
sanctionable under the Iran Sanctions Act; and
- an analysis of the impact of Iran’s use of Iraqi and Afghan
financial institutions on the effectiveness of bilateral and multilateral
sanctions regimes.
Given the U.S. investment of blood and treasure in Iraq and
Afghanistan, it is vital that the Iraqi and Afghan governments cooperate with
the U.S. and other responsible nations to address the Iranian threat. Failure
to cooperate should be met with a reconsideration of bilateral security
arrangements.
Thank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to
receiving your response.
Sincerely,
ILEANA
ROS-LEHTINEN
Chairman
US House Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was not Chair of the House Foreign
Relations Committee until January 2011. Past examples of Congressional
leadership on Committees really don't apply to her so possibly, for once,
something actually will come out of this. I hope so and would love for the
Detroit Free Press editorial board to be 100% correct and myself 100%
wrong.
Today Moqtada al-Sadr's Baghdad office was targeted with a bombing
which,
Baghdad Operations Command tells Alsumaria,
resulted in the deaths of 2 people with "several" more left injured. There are
conflicting reports with two bombs placed uner the speaker's podium for Friday
prayers or with the attack being done via mortar..
All Iraq News reports 3 dead and eleven
injured with two bombs -- one near a booth by the podium.
UPI notes the death toll from the
bombings has climbed to two. In addition, a
Baquba roadside bombing has left two police officers
injured.
All Iraq News notes 4 corpses discovered
dumped in Mosul (all had gunshots to the head).
AFP adds a Khan Beni Saad bombing
targeted a Shi'ite family and claimed 1 life with three more injured.
All Iraq News notes a fire broke out in a
nightclub near Baghdad's National Theatre killing six people.
AP reports that the fire was "set off"
by assailants with a bomb and grenades and that, along with the 6 dead, twelve
were injured.
Turkey and the PKK continue to add up 'wins.'
Alsumaria notes that the PKK announced today that
they have killed 22 Turkish soldiers (from August 22nd to the present) and that
they have injured twelve others while kidnapping an official of Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Reuters reports Turkey announced 16 PKK
were killed by Turkish forces by Thursday and
UPI adds that, on Friday, Turkey's government boasted "at
least 21 members" of the PKK had been killed. (See the earlier "
Turkey and the PKK" from this morning. Again,
we've attended this dance before.) Late today,
Dogan News Agency reported the PKK
released Hayrullah Tanis, the official they had kidnapped on Thursday.
Roseanne Barr and Cynthia McKinney were special guests, they
were not in the original line-up. Having them there increased the sense of
activism that this conference was more than just about gaining knowledge
about the latest advancements of the NWO, it was in fact about a movement. It
was the chance to make a difference in our world through both traditional
and non-traditional channels, and it was of course about getting the word out
to as many people as possible. If Roseanne Barr can draw attention to this
issue, then bless her for her celebrity. If we can laugh at the ridiculous
circus of politics, and stand up in the front row for truth then the
presence of politicians are more than welcome, they are
necessary.
If people in this country had any brains in their head, they'd
vote 3rd party. Ron Paul, Jill Stein, Roseanne Barr, someone who isn't a total
moron with their head so far up big business' collective ass that they can't see
cars coming when they try crossing the street. Even ALF would be better.
We
need to start branding politicians with the companies that own them. You know:
"Property of:" then list the company names. The more you saw & the types you
saw would determine whether you should bother voting for them. I'd also like to
see fist fights in the Senate & House like they have in other government
meetings in other countries. I've said it before but it would make things more
interesting & some reality TV company could make money from it. It's
practically Jerry Springer anyway; we may as well be honest about
it.
So, why would Roseanne Barr be the best president ever:
1. She wasn't
born to money. She came from lower income so she knows what that's like. Her
entire TV show concept was based off that experience. That's better than the
mainstream politicians you see who generally came from money or are part of some
political dynasty. I feel she's more "of the people" than most folk in
politics.
2. She conquered Hollywood. When she started out, she actually took
command on her show. Most people in her shoes would be all docile & meek.
She wasn't. People probably call me a bitch; I feel if people are calling a
woman a "bitch" and saying she's "difficult," she's probably doing something
right.
If she did this in Hollywood, do you honestly think she'd let some
s[**]thead career politician push her around? Or some high power lobbyist? I
can't see that happening. I'd hope she'd tell the prick just where to go; we
need more people willing to do that sort of thing. If she told Hollywood execs
where to go early in her career, I could see her doing the same thing to some
Washington insider.
Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate for President of the
United States, promises a Manhattan-project jobs program that would ignite our
economy, repair our crumbling infrastructure, and put the US in the lead at the
forefront of the world’s newest and hottest technologies. She will put forward
the health care policy most of us wanted in 2009: the public option, effectively
Medicare for everyone. She will withdraw our troops out of Afghanistan and
implement the advice George Washington gave in his farewell address: “The great
rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our
commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as
possible.” Jill Stein will bring to the table a demand for an equitable tax
system, not one in which the wealthy pay too little and we the 99% have to close
schools, fire police, and shutter fire stations to make up the difference.
Climate change and food security are at the top of her agenda, as is getting the
money out of politics. A Jill Stein presidency will herald the liberation of a
democracy currently hijacked by wealthy Americans like the Koch brothers and by
corporate banksters like Lloyd Blankfein the CEO of Goldman
Sachs. From the perspective of those of us in the 99%, the only
plausible reason to fail to vote for Jill Stein is that voting for her will take
votes away from Obama who would be better for the 99% than Romney. Let me
explain why this fails to show that we should not vote for Jill
Stein.
My explanation requires we distinguish the significant issues that
affect all of us in the 99% from those issues that divide us. Some of the issues
that unite us include the need for jobs, a vibrant economy, accessible health
care for all, a fair tax policy, a democracy in which we have a voice, security
from foreign threats, and an environment that will allow us to live healthily as
well as allow our children and grandchildren to live healthily after us. The
emotionally inflammatory issues that divide us are promulgated by the media,
politicians, and even some religious leaders. These red herring issues draw us
away from the basic issues that unite us: our economy and a vibrant
democracy.
First of all, thanks to everyone who has volunteered, donated, and
helped spread the word up to this point! We’re definitely gaining
momentum!
As you know, this battle is far from over and we need all hands
on deck every single day to make a dent in the corporate machine known as the
United States presidential campaign.
So, let’s dive in with three easy
ways to help today:
1. Make sure you’re connected to us! Since we don’t have a
multi-million dollar budget for paid advertising like our competitors, social
media is one of our best options for raising awareness. And, if you saw the
impact it had for the Howard Dean campaign, the revolution in Egypt, and even
the protests in Madison - you know it’s an imperative force for advocacy. We
need all of you with us everywhere you can be!
(FYI - There’s not much happening on those latter two platforms
yet, but we’re hoping to ramp things up in the coming
months!)
2. Help us get media coverage on three target outlets: The Colbert
Report, The Daily Show, and The Rachel Maddow Show. These three sources could
help us reach millions of sympathetic voters!
On Facebook - Leave a message on their walls, privately message
them, comment on their posts - whatever it takes to get their attention
(respectfully please!):
On Twitter (copy and paste - or create your own
tweet!):
- PLEASE @StephenAtHome - have #Green Party #POTUS candidate
@jillstein2012 on the @Colbertreport!
- Hey @TheDailyShow - how about having #Green Party #POTUS candidate
@JillStein2012 on the show?
- Hey @maddow - how about having #Green Party #POTUS candidate
@JillStein2012 on the show?
Email:
colbertweb@gmail.com
Rachel@msnbc.com
guestpitch@thedailyshow.com
3. Donate! The Green Party is the
only one that doesn't accept corporate donations. It makes these campaigns all
the more challenging, but it also ensures we are only beholden to the people -
you. Not Wall Street. Not the 1%. Every donation helps!
Thanks so much for your continued support! Together, we can reclaim
democracy!!
