Saturday, May 14, 2011

Sahwa will stand on the sidelines

Iraq, a country where, should you think, "It can't get worse," it usually does. Ayas Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports the latest news: Sahwa has stepped aside. The "Awakening" Councils, Sahwa and Sons Of Iraq are three names for a group of largely Sunni fighters the American military gave tax payer money to if they would stop attacking US forces and US property. Gen David Petreaus credited the 'movement' with turning the tide in Iraq. Sahwa is no more and that's largely because Nouri was too greedy to pay them. Now, in al-Anbar Province, the al-Dulaimi tribe is saying Sahwa is over and advising that the government considered Sahwa to be puppets all along. As a result, al-Dulaimi states that the fight between the government and 'terrorists' is between the two and that Sahwa should not attempt to step in or eliminate the conflict. al-Dulaimi is over 10,000 families and, counting those in Syria as well as those in Iraq, is an estimated three million people. In addition to there vast numbers, there is also the fact that they are highly influential when it comes to other Sunnis.

Meanwhile June 7th looms. What's that? As protests began to garner more and more attention. Nouri al-Maliki attempted to derail them. His chief weapon in this attempt was declaring February 27th that he was cleaning up corruption in 100 days. The 100 days comes to an end June 7th. Al Rafidayn reports on the debate as to whether or not Nouri can rid himself of the entire Cabinet.

Nouri's political slate for the 2010 elections was State Of Law. Muhammad al-Khaldi (Dar Addustour) reports that State Of Law's Jawad Albz is stating that there are ongoing talks between the US and the political blocs about US troops remaining in Iraq past 2011. Albz insists this is being done in secret and to avoid embarrassment.

Potentially complicating any such arrangement (or maybe it was done as a favor to Nouri to secure the arrangement?), Dar Addustour reports MP Yassin Obeidi, of the Iraqiya slate, states US forces -- accompanied by the Iraqi military -- raided his home and he is calling for an investigation into the raid.

While all this goes on, the New York Times attempts to channel Lily Tomlin's The Tasteful Lady. At least Lily played that for laughs. Michael S. Schmidt and Yasir Ghazi toss around terms like "tacky" leading one to wonder how far up the food chain reporters think they are? The police tell the American outlet judging Iraqi taste that they don't have the people to police such an issue. Nor would such an issue be a crime, but the paper seems to forget that. The police don't say, but should, that in the powder keg that is Iraq, looking for new ways to piss citizens off would probably enrage the population even more.

Of greater interest is an article Ned Parker and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) write, specifically this section (they're describing Baghdad):

There are deadlines in the future that could still turn Iraq's protests into something dangerous. But, for now, Tahrir Square, even with a few hundred protesters, resembles its old self: a weed-filled park, famous more recently as a hangout for loiterers, lowlifes, gigolos, glue sniffers and pill poppers.
The two cultures mix this Friday: A dwarf walks through the crowd hawking cigarettes and phone cards; a teenager peddles Arabic coffee from a golden urn; and middle-aged men sit on benches, staring vacantly, as always. The souk across the street, where X-rated films are for sale, does brisk business.

Gigolos? That's a pretty established term. Some man who 'gives' himself for money. Sometimes to women. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some wealthy Iraqi women engaged gigolos -- where wealth's displayed, that is often the case around the world. But, in Iraq, wealthy women wouldn't be picking them up off the streets. It wouldn't be safe for any woman to do that. That would just leave men. And while Iraq's got a large down-low population among the men, the Los Angeles Times wasn't overly interested in the targeting of gay men and men perceived as gay by Iraqi thugs and forces. (This despite the fact that a LA city council member felt the issue was hugely important.) So what is it that the reporters are attempting to tell us?

And one more time (because it is important), from Senator Patty Murray's office:




Chairman Murray Introduces Landmark Veterans Employment Legislation






Patty Murray




Senator Murray discusses her bill to provide help for veterans looking for work. Joining Senator Murray are from l to r Senator Chris Coons, Senator Jon Tester, and Eric Smith a currently unemployed Iraq War veteran.



FOR A HIGH RESOLUTION VERSION OF THIS PHOTO CLICK HERE



With the unemployment rate among young veterans at over 27%, Chairman Murray introduces a landmark bi-partisan bill that will require job skills training for every separating service member; create new pathways to private sector and federal employment

WATCH VIDEO HERE of Senator Murray and Eric Smith, an veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq who has struggled to find employment at home despite the skills he acquired in the military.


(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee introduced major legislation to help veterans struggling to find work and to address rising unemployment among our nation’s heroes. Senator Murray’s bill, the Hiring Heroes Act of 2011, is the first of its kind to require broad job skills training for all service members returning home and comes at a time when more than one in four veterans aged 20-24 are unemployed. In addition to requiring that each separating service member attend a transition assistance program, the bill will also create new direct federal hiring authority so that more service members have jobs waiting for them the day they leave the military, and will improve veteran mentorship programs in the working world. Read more about the bill here.



The following are Senator Murray’s remarks at today’s press conference:



Thank you all so much for coming out today.



I first want to thank Senators Tester, Begich, and Coons for joining us today to speak about this critical issue in their states and across the nation.



I’d also like to say a special thank you to Senator Murkowski who couldn’t be here today, but who has joined a growing list of sponsors and has helped to bring support from across the aisle to an effort that should certainly never be partisan.



I also want to thank Eric Smith for coming here from Baltimore to tell all of you a first-hand account of what it’s like to come home from two tours in Iraq serving our nation, only to have to fight every day to find work.



And finally I want to thank all of the veterans service organizations and their representatives that are joining us to help introduce this landmark bill – they include the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and the American Legion



Today, with the help of everyone here, we are taking a huge step forward in rethinking the way we treat our men and women in uniform after they leave the military.



For too long in this country we have invested billions of dollars in training our young men and women with new skills to protect our nation - only to ignore them once they left the military. For too long, at the end of their career we patted our veterans on the back for their service and then pushed them out into the job market alone.



And where has that left us today?



Today, we have an unemployment rate of over 27% among young veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. That is over one in five of our nation’s heroes who can’t find a job to support their family, don’t have an income that provides stability, and don’t have work that provides them with the self-esteem and pride that is so critical to their transition home.



And all too often we read about the results of veterans who come home - often with the invisible wounds of war –who can’t find the dignity and security that work provides. We read about it in skyrocketing suicide statistics, problems at home, substance abuse, and even in rising homelessness among our young veterans.



But I also have heard about it first-hand from the veterans that we’ve failed to provide better job support to. I’ve had veterans tell me that they no longer write the fact that they’re a veteran on their resume because they fear the stigma that they believe employers attach to the invisible wounds of war. I’ve heard from medics who return home from treating battlefield wounds who can’t get certifications to be an EMT or to drive an ambulance. I’ve talked to veteran after veteran who’ve said they didn’t have to go through the military’s job skills training program, or that they were never taught how to use the vernacular of the business world to describe the benefits of their experience.



These stories are as heartbreaking as they are frustrating. But more than anything they’re a reminder that we have to act now.



The bill we are introducing today allows our men and women in uniform to capitalize on their service, while also ensuring the American people capitalize on the investment we have made in them.



For the first time, it would require broad job skills training for every service member as they leave the military as part of the military’s Transition Assistance Program.



Today, nearly one-third of those leaving the Army don’t get this training.



This bill would also allow service members to begin the federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a truly seamless transition from the military to jobs at the VA, Homeland Security, or the many other federal agencies in need of our veterans.



This bill will also require the Department of Labor to take a hard look at what military skills and training should be translatable into the civilian sector, and will work to make it simpler to get the licenses and certification our veterans need.



All of these are real, substantial steps to put our veterans to work.



And all of them come at a pivotal time for our economic recovery and our veterans.



You know, I grew up with the Vietnam War - and I have dedicated much of my Senate career to helping to care for the veterans we left behind at that time.The mistakes we made then have cost our nation and our veterans dearly and have weighed on the conscience of this nation. Today we stand on the brink of repeating those mistakes.



We can’t let that happen. Our nation’s veterans are disciplined, team players who have proven they can deliver under pressure like no one else.



It’s time for us to deliver for them.



Thank you.



###

Matt McAlvanah

Communications Director

U.S. Senator Patty Murray

202-224-2834 - press office

202--224-0228 - direct

matt_mcalvanah@murray.senate.gov

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yasir ghazi