Sunday, April 06, 2014

Hejira

The next time the White House pretends to have humanitarian concerns about some country, remember that Nouri continues his assault on Anbar and does so with no outcry.  Today?  NINA reports that a hospital in Falluja has been shelled by the military. The hospital isn't identified.  In the past. Falluja General Hospital and Falluja Teaching Hospital have both been shelled.  Nouri also continued the shelling of Falluja's residential neighborhoods and five civilians were injured.



That was far from the only violence.  National Iraqi News Agency reports 1 police member and 1 Iraqi soldier were shot dead in al-Zandjeli, a roadside bombing on al-Qaim bridge left 1 Sahwa leader dead and three people injured, a Baghdad sticky bombing left 1 person dead and three more injured, armed battles in Qayyarah left two Iraqi soldiers injured, 1 traffic police officer was shot dead in Mosul, a second police member was shot dead in Mosul, a Latifiya home invasion left 1 husband and wife and 4 of their children dead, a Rashad bombing killed 3 farmers and 4 other people, an al-Husseiniya roadside bombing killed 1 person and left eight other people wounded, a Tikrit suicide bomber took his own life and the lives of 5 police members leaving eleven more injured, 1 person was shot dead in Taji, a Madain sticky bombing left 1 person dead, 1 person was shot dead in Yusifiyah,  Nouri's security forces bragged they killed 2 suspects northeast of Baquba, and Baghdad Operations Command says they killed 1 suspect.

Meanwhile, parliamentary elections are supposed to take place April 30th.  As the date looms, many interesting developments occur.  Today's revolve around cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr.  For example, All Iraq News reports:


The head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, Ammar al-Hakim, and the head of Sadr Trend, Muqtada al-Sadr, discussed the political situation and the next elections.

A statement received by All Iraq News Agency cited "Hakim met Sadr in Najaf province on last Saturday night."

"Hakim confirmed the necessity of adopting national unified stances and to consolidate dialogue among the political sides," the statement added.

Interesting.  He and al-Hakim have been close, working partners since the summer of 2013.  But the meeting?  And it wasn't Moqtada's only meet-up today.   NINA adds:


Kurdistan leader Massoud Barzani discussed on Sunday with head of the Sadrists bloc cleric Moqtada al-Sadr the political and security situation in the country.
A statement by the presidency of the Region today, said that Barzani and al-Sadr held a telephone conversation during which they stressed the need to hold parliamentary elections as scheduled in a stable and quiet atmosphere.

Interesting since Moqtada was 'out of politics.'  Clearly, that's not the case.  He wouldn't be talking elections today with Ammar al-Hakim and with KRG President Massoud Barzani.






I'm traveling in some vehicle
I'm sitting in some cafe
A defector from the petty wars
That shell shock love away
-- "Hejira," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her album of the same name

 The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4489.

On this week's Law and Disorder Radio,  an hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights) topics  addressed include the attacks on Kessab (guest is Aram Hamparian) and Max Blumenthal speaks about Israeli apartheid.



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