Some may remember the wave of good press Haider al-Abadi received in September 2014 when he announced that the bombings were over.
Maybe a few of those will even remember that the very next day the bombings continued.
Civilians are being targeted. They're being killed and wounded by the Iraqi government.
Not by "their government" because the Iraqi government has made clear it is not representing Sunnis.
When does Barack plan to address that?
Or are we supposed to pretend that he hadn't noticed what was going on until he forced Nouri al-Maliki out in August of 2014?
Because he knew.
They all knew.
The April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault. AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).
And before the massacre began, days before, the White House knew Nouri had ordered the forces to encircle the peaceful sit-in taking place. They knew he was refusing to allow members of Parliament to enter. They knew he had sent the forces in by helicopter after the governor of the province refused to allow them to cross over land to Hawija.
They knew.
Barack knew and did nothing.
And the slaughter took place.
A month before the slaughter, activists in Samarra put their message on display.
"Obama, If you Cannot Hear Us Can you Not See Us?"
They were calling for the US to help, for Barack to help.
Help never came.
And the Iraqi government slaughtered a peaceful sit-in.
The persecution continues.
The bombing of Falluja continues.
Iyad al-Dulami (MEM) reports:
Today, years later, Fallujah finds itself, once again, the prey of evil beings who wish to retaliate for its steadfastness. They continue to use the same argument time and again; that the city is harbouring terrorists. This has been the excuse for everything since 2004 when it was believed that Fallujah was harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. Since the beginning of 2014, Fallujah has been transformed into the city of death. Every day it is bombarded under the pretext of fighting [Islamic State]. What the media and the international community continue to ignore is the fact that the city is home to 150,000 civilians who refuse to leave the city out of fear that they will be subject to government blackmail in Baghdad.
Despite today’s constant violence in the city, many of the inhabitants of the neighbouring city of Ramadi have sought refuge in Fallujah. From the perspective of those fleeing, it is more dignified to go to Fallujah then to stand on the bridge to Baghdad awaiting mercy. Today Fallujah is being bombed and the world continues to see only what it wants to see. It is important for us to remind the people across the Arab and Islamic world that this city, which is bombed every day, was once a symbol of honour and resistance. It is in need of more than a prayer or a loaf of bread because the people of Fallujah are fighting for their lives and paying the price with the blood of their children. That is the dearest thing that can be offered to this steadfast city.
When Barack, when the world, is ready to address that injustice, they'll be ready to take on the Islamic State. Until then, it's all pretense and fakery.
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, on Sunday, gave Turkey 48 hours to remove troops from Mosul. That ticking alarm clock is about to buzz. So where do things stand? SPUTNIK reports:
Turkish troops remain in Iraq despite a partial withdrawal, Iraq's Defense Ministry spokesman Nuseir Nouri told Sputnik Arabic.
In a convoluted statement, the spokesman first denied that Turkish troops were present in Iraq, then saying that there are troops protecting the camps training Masoud Barzani-linked fighters. On Friday, up to 150 Turkish military personnel had been deployed in northern Iraq's Nineveh province allegedly to provide training to the fighters.
New content up at Third (finally):
- Truest statement of the week
- Truest statement of the week II
- A note to our readers
- Editorial: They'll take your money, they just won'...
- Media: You Better Sit Down Kids
- Congress and Iraq
- Carly Swings Tree To Tree (Ava and C.I.)
- Margaret Prescod goes where the silences are
- What straw breaks the US camel's back?
- Little Media's silence on Iraq
- RT celebrates 10 years
- This edition's playlist
- Barack talks Iraq and other things
- Highlights
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
