Monday, October 27, 2014

Jurf al-Sakhar is liberated?


Michael Georgy, Dasha Afanasieva,  Isabel Coles and Angus MacSwan (Reuters) report that a Jurf al-Sakhar suicide bomber took his own life and the lives of "at least 27 Shi'ite militamen" today.  Jurf al-Sakhar?  Yes, that is the same town AP was (and still is) filing reports on this morning -- reports that the Iraqi military have retaken the city.  At some point, AP will play catch up and note the bombing.  Right now, they're still too busy spinning 'good news!' and 'turned corner!' and all the other crap that keeps losing wars going.

Al Jazeera notes it was a suicide car bomber and the reason Jurf al-Sakhar is so important at this moment:


 Jurf al-Sakhar is part of a predominantly Sunni strip of territory that runs just south of Baghdad and lies on a road usually taken by Shia pilgrims, when they head in large numbers to the holy Shia city of Karbala further to the south.
Pilgrims will be taking the route again next week in order to commemorate the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Imam Hussein --  one of the most revered Shia martyrs.


Meanwhile, CodeStink's latest efforts to be Annette Bening in Mars Attacks face a monkey wrench.  As they Tweet non-stop in favor of the Iranian regime, urging whatever supporters they have left to contact politicians (and Hillary Clinton), Iran faces more charges in the media.  Al Arabiya News reports:
Shiite militias, linked to the Iranian government, continue to commit war crimes and human rights abuses in Iraq in retribution to attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to a report by Amnesty International.

Reports suggest that these militias, which the Iraqi government is reportedly dependent on, are being funded and supported by Iranian authorities.

At The Hill, Heshmat Alavi makes similar points:

 In the heat of the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group that has invaded large parts of Iraq and Syria, a recent report by Amnesty International gives a stark warning that not addressing extremism in its entirety and making the wrong decisions can lead to the deepening of the sectarian rift in Iraq and eventually trigger an irreversible disaster.
The document, which is based on thorough research in war-torn areas in Iraq, gives horrendous accounts of crimes recently committed in Iraq by Shiite extremist groups against the background of the fight against the Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS or ISIL). Groups sanctioned, backed and funded by the Iranian regime, and agents of the administration of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have been targeting the Sunni community seemingly in reprisal or revenge for Islamic State attacks and at times also to extort money from the families of those they have abducted.


Poor CodeStink.  Poor Medea, Jodie, all the losers.  If they actually worked on peace, they might serve the world a little better.  Instead, they're just a non-stop waste of time.

On the militias, Human Rights Watch's Sarah Margon penned a column for the Washington Post last week which noted:
The lines between Shiite militias and official security forces have been blurred for years. But with the Iraqi army’s near-total collapse this summer, their strength has increased. Politicians, security force personnel and civilians alike have told Human Rights Watch that these militias “control security” throughout much of Iraq, a point only reinforced by the recent appointment of Mohammed Ghabban, a Shiite politician with strong links to the Badr Brigade, a notorious militia, as Iraq’s interior minister.
In certain parts of Iraq under siege by the Islamic State, the militias continued the fight even after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes shifted to other targets. They did this primarily by attacking Sunnis who didn’t flee the Islamic State advance, considering any remaining families “collaborators,” and ransacking, burning and even demolishing scores of Sunni villages. In some cases, they traveled from village to village in U.S. Army-issued Humvees, which were probably obtained from the Iraqi government.

This relentless arson and pillaging has resulted in death, destruction and, according to local sources, the displacement of more than 7,000 families in recent months. When we pulled over to the side of the highway to speak with a family living in an abandoned strip mall, a man in his late 40s told me, “I am no more afraid of Daesh” — the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State — “than I am of the Shiite militias and the Iraqi government.” 



Back to CodeStink, they've got a soft spot in what passes for their brains when it comes to the government in Iran.  My remarks are not calling for an attack on Iran or indicting the Iranian government as the worst in the world, they are, however, noting that the constant white washing CodePink gives the Iranian government is appalling.  Reza Fiyouzat has called out their nonsense from the left, such as in "Code Pink in Iran" (Dissident Voice):


Code Pink has gone to Iran (starting, I believe, November 22), on a friendly, people's diplomacy kind of mission. According to LA Progressive's Linda Milazzo (Nov. 24) and according to Code Pink’s blog, their entourage is having a wonderful time in Iran, being led in part by Rostam Pourzal, a lobbyist for the Iranian government (at least, that's what he should legally register as, really!). He has taken the Code Pink activists to some ministries, as well as (on the civil society side) cafes, restaurants, bazaars, and places of gathering where they have met with so many amazing women and men, all of whom were really cool, compassionate and intelligent, and above all peace-loving. People have acted generally enthusiastically toward the American people --diplomats upon learning that they, Code Pink's Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, were on a people's mission for peace. It's like, Oh my god! They want peace!
Benjamin's descriptions are at times patronizing and at times quite frustrating to read, though I should admit she sounds sincere in her intent. I do doubt their judgment though. Code Pink did support Obama, and Jodie Evans, in an interview on Air America radio program, Clout, sounded ecstatic about Obama’s election, saying, "War is over!" (Meaning it not literally, of course, but believing that with Obama as president, the whole mess will soon come to a speedy end.) As if!
Anyway, on the patronizing side … Here’s the problem: Benjamin sounds surprised to have met so many interesting, intelligent people who like and want peace!


While CodeStink again trolls for the Iranian government, the alleged peace group has still not noted the latest US death in Iraq.



Kat's "Kat's Korner: Stevie Nicks' 24 Karat Classic" and "Kat's Korner: Aretha Knew You Were Waiting For This" and Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Barack Prepares" went up Sunday.



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