The Common Ills: Iraq snapshot

Friday, January 05, 2018

Iraq snapshot

Friday, July 5, 2017. Chaos and violence continue as reality battles the press.

The conflict between Baghdad and Erbil continues as Falah Mustafa Bakir (THE HILL) examines realities in Iraq:

We in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, after the 2003 war that the United States called Operation Iraqi Freedom, opted for a genuine partnership within the new Iraq, believing that it would be federal and democratic; a federal government based on consensus, wealth and power-sharing.
With many promises made by the international community before and after 2003, the system that was “planned” for Iraq clearly failed as a whole. We were assured that replacing platonic, non-functioning plans with a well-structured system of confederation for Iraq and Kurdistan could save us all.

Bakir notes the lack of power-sharing and other issues before zooming in on this important point:

In addition, media headlines glorifying Iraq these days neither positively serve the status quo nor properly portray the reality of the deep-rooted conflicts plaguing the country as a whole. Pretending otherwise is to allow bigger problems to ferment for the future.
The international community is responsible for supporting Iraq as a whole and not Baghdad alone, at the expense of Kurdistan. A strong, stable and thriving Kurdistan Region will positively contribute to a strong, peaceful Iraq that can be the beacon for co-existence in a part of the world where this is a rarity.

The western press repeatedly distorts reality in Iraq.

That's about to get a lot worse if the past is any indicator.

Elections are supposed to take place in May. As demonstrated many times -- but most infamously in 2010 -- the western press rushes to really distort reality in Iraq during the lead up to any election.

But, let's face it, they don't offer much even when it's not time for voting.

‏ @medialens

Iraq and Libya declared right up there with the worst. When was the last time anyone bothered evaluating the state of democracy in Iraq? Odd, because UK commentators claimed to be obsessed with Iraqi freedom and democracy in 2002-2003 

1 reply15 retweets13 likes

MEDIA LENS is 100% correct.

The press refuses to evaluate the state of Iraq.

Doing so? Well it might make them face reality and just how badly the war that they worked so hard to sell turned out.

So they lie or ignore and hope to hell no one catches on.

"Trust us!" They whine and moan and then their little whores -- yes, the media whores have their own whores -- people like Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Stevie Spielberg -- glorify one moment in time as if it's the reality of the press.

Reality? They can't even note that they're glorifying union-buster Katharine Graham.

They lie and they lie again.

If they were forced to report reality on Iraq, the world would be up in arms over just how badly the illegal war has gone, just how many lives it has cost and just how little has been achieved.

So you get nonsense about Hanan Mohsin al Fatlawi at HUFFINGTON POST today. Mohammad Tawhidi, who bills himself as "Imam," is a controversial figure. You would have thought HUFFINGTON POST would think twice about publishing his nonsense but you'd be wrong.

As for Hanan Mohsin, she's a homophobic -- so it's no surprise she's part of Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party. She's also cheered on terrorists and terrorism as well as salivated at the feet of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. She's nothing to be proud of and was part of burying women's rights despite Tawhidi attempting to sell her as something different.

Rah-rah b.s. is what we get more than enough of from the media.

Reality?

It remains in short supply.

This morning, the US Defense Dept announced:

Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq Jan. 1-4.

On Dec. 31, near Beiji, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS fighting position.

On Dec. 30, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tunnel system.

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five ISIS fighting positions, two tunnel entrances and a weapons cache.

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq Dec. 29, 2017.

Wait, ISIS was defeated, remember?

So why was the US coalition still bombing just days ago?

Probably because it's not defeated. Selling "victory" for Hayder -- to get him re-elected -- was always going to be iffy but to think you could do it from the start of December until the May elections demonstrates extreme stupidity.

Meanwhile REUTERS reports:

A government official and his brother were kidnapped Friday morning by unidentified gunmen in Diyala province, 60 km (60 miles) east of Baghdad, a police source said.
"Unidentified gunmen kidnapped the director of the Agriculture Division in the area of Saadiyah and his brother, north of Diyala province, this morning, and took them to an unknown destination," the captain of Diyala police said.

Looks like there are some issues still in Iraq.

Maybe the press could focus on that?

Probably not.

Hayder's using his 'moment' to try to dismantle the militias he brought into the Iraqi military.

Abdulla Hawez‏Verified account @abdullahawez 1 hour ago

Abadi’s plan envisages taking back the PMF’s heavy weapons and cutting their strength by half: "Abadi does not trust the Iranians, whose militia allies act like a state within a state, said a Shi‘ite lawmaker close to the prime minister."

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