Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Iraq snashot

Tuesday, September 19, 2023.  Turkey kills three security force members in Iraq (three more injured), Iraq's prime minister meets with the US Secretary of State, Ronald DeSantis continues his war on education and wants to talk 'decency' -- no, he's not calling out Lauren Boebert for groping that man in public -- and much more.


Starting with Iraq where an attack in Kurdistan has been carried out.  Salar Salim and Abulrahman Zeyad (AP) report:

An airstrike on a military airport in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region killed three people Monday, local officials said.

The region’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement that the attack on the Arbat Airport, 28 kilometers southeast of the city of Suleimaniyah killed three of its personnel and injured three members of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Drone attack on the KRG?  Hmm.  Who could that be?  Who spring sto mind?  The government of Turkey?  







Al Jazeera’s Abdelwahid said that Turkish drones have been hovering in the area for the past three days.

“The Sulaymaniyah province is home to anti-Turkish and anti-Iran groups, and both these countries have been conducting air raids in and around Sulaymaniyah,” Al Jazeera’s Abdelwahid said, adding that we still do not know who is behind the attack.

The government of Turkey has sent ground forces into Iraq and set up bases -- in violation of Iraq's sovereignty -- and under the pretext of fighting 'terrorism.'  Even when they're killing children, they insist they're killing terrorists.  When they attacked vacationers at a resort, they insisted it was to kill 'terrorists.'  The attack on Monday left three Iraqi military officers dead and three more wounded.  AFP reports:


Around 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) Monday, “the drone entered Iraqi airspace, crossing the border from Turkiye, and bombarded the Arbat airfield,” which is mainly used by crop-spraying aircraft, said General Yehya Rassoul, spokesman of the federal armed forces commander in chief.
“This attack constitutes a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said, adding: “Iraq reserves the right to put a stop to these violations.”
[. . .]
“These repeated attacks are incompatible with the principle of good neighborliness between states. They threaten to undermine Iraq’s efforts to build positive and balanced political, economic and security relations with its neighbors,” Rassoul said.
[. . .]
The United Nations mission in Iraq condemned the attack on Arbat airfield.
“Attacks repeatedly violating Iraqi sovereignty must stop,” it said. “Security concerns must be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy — not strikes.”


Because it was the PUK -- the political party of the Talabani family -- that was attacked, the Talabani family weighed in.  Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) notes:


Bafel Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the dominant Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, confirmed Monday's drone strike. He said those killed and wounded were members of the Iraqi Kurdish counter-terrorism force.

"We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the Agricultural Airport of Arbid in Sulaymaniyah, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of six heroic Peshmerga," he said.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s internal security forces, Asayish, said the counter-terrorism force was attacked and three members were killed during a training mission inside the airport.

Iraqi Kurdistan's Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani condemned the drone attack and demanded the intervention of the federal government authorities to "prevent these attacks from recurring".


Azhi Rasul (RUDAW) reminds, "In April a drone strike targeted a convoy carrying US military personnel, including Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi, near Sulaimani International Airport. Abdi blamed Turkey for being behind the attack."


Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, prime minister of Iraq, is not currently in Iraq.  He's in the United States and he will address the United Nations this week.  




REUTERS notes, "Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York on Monday and received an invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden to visit Washington, Iraqi state media reported." If they meet, it would be the first face-to-face between Mohammed and Joe.  MEMO notes, "Biden and Sudani have yet to meet since Sudani took office last year after being appointed by a coalition of parties, predominantly Shia Muslim groups close to Tehran. He has since walked a diplomatic tightrope between the US and Iran, two countries that in the past have fought out their rivalry on Iraqi soil." Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) adds:

Last week, Assistant Treasury Secretary Elizabeth Rosenberg visited Iraq and met Mr Al Sudani and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq Ali Al Alaq.

They discussed bilateral relations and measures taken by the bank to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, the central bank said.

Washington has been pressing Iraq since last year to stop the flow of the dollar through the foreign currency auction run by the Central Bank of Iraq to countries under US sanctions, including Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has applied strict measures on requests for international transactions from Iraq, rejecting many and delaying others.


The US State Dept issued the following yesterday:

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani today on the margins of United Nations General Assembly in New York.  Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Sudani renewed their commitment to continue strengthening the partnership between the two countries and reaffirmed the principles in the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.  The Secretary also encouraged the Government of Iraq to continue sustainably developing energy resources and combating climate change and underscored U.S. support for re-opening of the pipeline with Türkiye.  The Secretary urged the Iraqi government to continue its cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to foster the KRG’s stability and resiliency.  The Secretary commended the Prime Minister’s commitment to judicial independence in Iraq’s recent conviction and sentencing of multiple individuals on terrorism charges in connection with the killing of U.S. citizen Stephen Troell.  The Secretary conveyed an invitation from President Biden to the Prime Minister to visit the White House soon and reiterated the U.S. commitment to assisting Iraq in achieving a secure, stable, and sovereign future.



He asserts that as the first Iraqi leader since the U.S. invasion in 2003 to have spent his entire life within the country, he is better able to understand what Iraqis have been through, and to make changes.

Every other prime minister after the toppling of Saddam Hussein spent years in exile or working abroad, but Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, 53, never fled Iraq, despite Mr. Hussein’s having ordered the execution of his father and other close relatives.

“I am a product of the institutions of the state,” Mr. al-Sudani said in a recent interview in Baghdad, “and I understand the citizens and their priorities.” He described himself as part of “a second generation” of post-Hussein politicians, and said those with his background were closer to the people and understood that “the street wants a change.”

Mr. Sudani’s assessment is born of 20 years of holding government jobs, from mayor to minister. During that time, he has managed to win over Iraqis of almost all political stripes, coming across as straightforward — even earnest — and pragmatic.

But he faces formidable obstacles, given the challenges confronting Iraq. Among them are global warming, the persistent and growing influence of Iran, and the entrenched system of corruption in a country where a high percentage of jobs are in government, and where applicants often must pay a bribe or have a political connection even for low-paying positions.



Meanwhile, THE MAJORITY REPORT spoke with Jessica Valenti regarding the right-wing attacks on rights are linked.



In other news, Ronald DeSantis remains a fake ass.  Despite lying to Norah O'Donnell last week on THE CBS EVENING NEWS that he would treat all Americans the same, we all know that's not true.  The most recent proof?   In a column, attorneys and co-presidents of The League of Women Voters Florida chapter Cecile M. Scoon and Debbie Chandler (TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT) write:


Across our spacious skies, amber waves of grain, and the purple mountain majesties of our great but struggling nation, many people and organizations are working to extend the fundamental right to vote to all lawful citizens. Special plans for expanding the foundational right to vote to all lawful citizens are being made for National Voter Registration Day on September 19. In the face of efforts to expand the franchise, there are several states focused on making it harder for citizens to vote and adding difficulty to registering voters, including here in Florida.
In a 2021 ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker found that Florida officials have spent the last 20 years intentionally making registering voters and voting more difficult by creating a variety of prohibitions erroneously. Since Judge Walker's order, the Florida legislature has “gifted” Floridians with yet another nearly 100-page law with a slew of even more prohibitions, increased criminal penalties, and fines related to voting. This new government “fix”, also known as Senate Bill 7050, directly impacts any organization that wishes to register voters in Florida.
The League of Women Voters, a more than a century-old non-partisan organization, whose volunteer members are dedicated to registering and educating voters, has made the difficult decision to change its way of doing business in Florida due to this newly enacted law. Dedicated volunteers will no longer collect completed paper voter registration forms and return them to their local Supervisors of Elections on a voter's behalf. Gone are the days when hundreds of skilled volunteers with paper registration forms, pens, and clipboards will register voters in neighborhoods and at community events. Senate Bill 7050 sets fines for even inadvertent errors so high, the League’s yearly budget could be affected.



You know who works to suppress the vote?  People who don't believe in democracy.  People who don't respect the will of the people.  People named Ronald DeSantis.

You know, people who use their political office to destroy your child's future.  My heart goes out to parents with children currently in The New College of Florida.  That was actually a good university prior to Ronald.  But his war on education has harmed the university and it will harm the future of the students -- in fact, parents and students should consider suing Governor Ronald.  Aneeta Mathur-Ashton (THE MESSENGER) explains:


The New College of Florida saw a dramatic drop in its national ranking amid an ongoing conservative overhaul. 

In its newly revamped ranking system report released Monday, U.S. News and World Report now lists the university, located in Sarasota, Fla., as tied for 100th place — a notable 24-spot decrease from its previous ranking.

The trend, while startling, reflects a decrease seen across the map for universities located in the state — with the University of Florida dropping one spot, the University of South Florida dropping three spots, and Florida State University dropping three spots. 

The drop in rankings comes amid a massive conservative overhaul that has been going on since January after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new majority to the university’s board of trustees and tasked them with transforming the school into the "Hillsdale College of the South,” a private conservative Christian school in Michigan. 



You know what probably didn't drop?  The tuition parents and students are paying.  They should sue Governor Ronald for the way he's destroyed their education -- both in terms of what they could be learning and also in terms of  how little their degrees will now be worth as the university had been turned into a national dirty joke.


On Ronald and his war on education, Chauncey DeVega (SALON) observes:



DeSantis' and the larger Republican fascist and white right's plans to erase the real history of Black America and the color line include teaching that white on Black chattel slavery was basically a type of jobs program and not a centuries-long institution of human trafficking, torture, rape, murder, war, dislocation, and exploitation on a global scale that killed many millions of Black people. Such a reading of history is inaccurate, based on lies and willful distortions of fact and historiography, intellectually dishonest, and is right-wing dogma and disinformation masquerading as "scholarship".

Social theorist and cultural critic Henry Giroux, has correctly described DeSantis' weaponization of education in the service of a white supremacist fascist agenda as being an example of "apartheid pedagogy". In an essay at the LA Progressive, he explains:




Apartheid pedagogy is about denial and disappearance—a manufactured ignorance that attempts to whitewash history and rewrite the narrative of American exceptionalism as it might have been framed in in the 1920s and 30s when members of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan shaped the policies of some school boards. Apartheid pedagogy uses education as a disimagination machine to convince students and others that racism does not exist, that teaching about racial justice is a form of indoctrination, and that understanding history is more an exercise in blind reverence than critical analysis. Apartheid pedagogy aims to reproduce current systems of racism rather than end them. Apartheid pedagogy most ardent proponent is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who has become America's most prominent white supremacist.

Apartheid pedagogy is a form of white supremacy; white supremacy is inherently violent. Apartheid pedagogy is not new. Its roots can be traced back to slavery, the end of Reconstruction, and the Jim and Jane Crow terror regime and "separate but equal". Today's attempts by the "conservative" movement to reverse the gains of the civil rights movement are but a continuation of that centuries-long white supremacist political project to protect and expand white privilege and white domination over every area of American life. Apartheid pedagogy as seen in DeSantis's Florida is also part of a much larger global project as seen in Orban's Hungary, Putin's Russia, and other parts of the "Western" world, to end multiracial pluralist democracy.

DeSantis' intent is irrelevant; racism and white supremacy are not a matter of intent but of outcomes and results. For example, DeSantis has supported gerrymandering, voter suppression, voter harassment, voter intimidation, arrests for largely non-existent "voter fraud", and other policies targeting the Black community in Florida as a way of keeping him and other Republicans in power. Rolling Stone highlights how DeSantis still refuses to publicly and in direct terms condemn neo-Nazis and other white supremacists and to disavow their support of him. One of DeSantis's senior campaign staff members was recently fired after he posted a campaign video online that featured Nazi imagery. DeSantis and his spokespeople claim that they had no knowledge of the staffer's white supremacist politics. Such a denial has no credibility given the larger pattern of white supremacist and other racist behavior by DeSantis and his administration and supporters. The white supremacist mass murderer in Jacksonville envisioned himself as a soldier in that global struggle. Signaling his devotion to that evil cause, he wore a Rhodesian army patch on his tactical vest.



In other Ronald news, the man who dresses like he's standing in line at Sam Goody waiting to purchase Barbra Streisand's EMOTION album has the nerve to criticize the dress habits of others. Isaac Schorr (MEDIAITE) reports:



Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis slammed Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) for wearing shorts and hooded sweatshirts inside the upper chamber of Congress on Monday, deeming his wardrobe “disrespectful” of the institution.

“Did you guys hear the U.S. Senate just eliminated its dress code because you got this guy from Pennsylvania — who’s got a lot of problems, let’s just be honest — like how he got elected, well I mean he got elected because they didn’t want the alternative,” began DeSantis, inserting a veiled swipe at former President Donald Trump and Mehmet Oz, his handpicked GOP candidate into his critique of Fetterman.

“He wears like sweatshirts and hoodies and shorts, and that’s his thing. So he would campaign in that — which is your prerogative, right? I mean, if that’s what you want to do,” he continued. “But to show up in the United States Senate with that and not have the decency to put on proper attire? I think it’s disrespectful to the body, and I think the fact that the Senate changed the rules to accommodate that I think speaks very poorly to how they consider that.”


Fetterman dressed appropriately for his swearing in.  After that?  Well, the rules have been changed.  Don't like it?  Why is that?  Do you know his health?  I don't.  But I do know John has had health issues.  The change in dress code might be for that reason.  It might be just because Chuck Schumer thought the rules needed to be updated.

What I do know is that ridiculous vest that Ronald wears constantly is a joke and manages to make him look both shorter and fatter.  Know what else I know?  He's calling out the Senate, Schumer and Fetterman for clothes and to toss out the word "decency."

Decency?


Decency?  Where is his condemnation of US House Rep Lauren Boebert?  Or does he think it's appropriate for her to act as she did in the video?





She's a member of Congress who chose to go out in public on a date with her boyfriend -- while she's still married.  No, that divorce is not final.  The two are merely separated.  Not only did she elect to take another man out on a date but she was tickled pink when, in an auditorium filled with people (including children), her date groped her breasts and then she went to town on his clothed lump -- at one point in the video, she's not just grabbing his crotch, she's jerking him.  


But Ronald wants to talk the 'decency' of John wearing shorts?  Not the groping display in public that was really offensive and would have been if it were two unknown people but is only more offensive because one of the two people is a member of Congress.

I think Ronald's offended that John, even with health problems, is both better looking than Ronald and more real and sincere to voters than Ronald is.





We'll close with this from Will Lehman:




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