The Common Ills: Iraq's a bit more than Tikrit (as abuse in Anbar makes clear)

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Iraq's a bit more than Tikrit (as abuse in Anbar makes clear)

World Bulletin notes that Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Albadi has issued a statement which includes, "Our security forces have reached the center of Tikrit and they have liberated the southern and western sides and they are moving towards the control of the whole city."

And others echo the statement.

Few point out that the assault on Tikrit continues.

That taking the city was supposed to take a few days but is now a month long adventure that has still not achieved its military goals.

What is being accomplished in Tikrit?

Better question: what's being accomplished because of Tikrit?

One thing that's being accomplished is that the press has put all eyes there and has repeatedly ignored what's taking place in Anbar Province.

Iraqi Spring MC has a video that the press will probably continue to ignore.

Watch how the Iraqi forces treat a citizen they've detained.

Grasp that they do this knowing they are recording one another.

They stroke and play with the man's beard in a manner that is the behavior of a predator.

They slap him and hit him repeatedly.

This is a civilian. A Sunni civilian, so he doesn't matter to the forces, but the man is a civilian.

And for their amusement, they hit him. Repeatedly.

Who's minding the Iraqi forces?

Where's that political solution?

And on the outskirts remains thug Nouri al-Maliki, former prime minister and forever thug.

Loveday Morris and Liz Sly (Washington Post) have a report on him worth reading but a strong criticism of it?

It's past time that every report on Nouri make clear he's refused to surrender the prime minister residence to Haider al-Abadi.

Morris and Sly flirt with that reality, "Inside the walls of his shaded villa in the heart of Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, Nouri al-Maliki still greets his visitors in the same marble floored office where he worked for eight years as prime minister."

If you don't know that he's refused to vacate the residence, the opening statement means nothing (and they don't pick it up later on).

Nouri wants back in power and thinks he'll seize it in the next election.

He also slams the deal between Baghdad and Erbil (over oil) as unconstitutional.

Nouri's sudden concern for the Iraqi Constitution is touching.

Almost as touching as his insisting that he was illegally robbed of the post of prime minister because he got the most votes.

But when Iraqiya beat Nouri's State of Law in 2010, the most votes didn't matter to thug Nouri.

The following community sites -- plus Antiwar.com and Jody Watley -- updated: