Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Iraqi women, Iraqi skies, Iraqi political crisis

One of the many casualties of the illegal war is the rights of Iraqi women. Which is probably why the US press worked so hard to disappear Iraqi women. Rebecca Burns (In These Times) speaks with the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq's Yanar Mohammed. Excerpt.

RB: OWFI members have been beaten and sexually assaulted while demonstrating, just like female protesters in Egypt. Why are women targeted in this way?

YM: They wanted us to feel ashamed. Our organization made sure that these demonstrations had a female face. We had our slogans, our banners, which we carried every single Friday. This was not approved by al-Maliki’s government. And in an Arab society, if a woman is shamed, she is pushed out of the public arena. They expected that we would go hide in our homes and not show our faces to anybody. The same way in which women are forced to immolate themselves or made the victim of an honor killing, they wanted to force a political dishonoring on us in order to end us politically.

RB: How are the women who have been attacked in Tahrir Square faring today?

YM: All of them are back in the square. But we are very careful as to our whereabouts. Once we see security forces, we leave the square. We are not willing to be tortured again and again.

RB: Are you working to get women elected directly to Parliament?

YM: In Iraq, 25 percent of members of Parliament are required to be women, which is good. But more than half the women in Parliament are from the Religious Right. When we were beaten in Tahrir Square – 25 of us – not a single female Parliamentarian spoke out. In other words, those women are puppets.

Doug Moore (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) reports on a group of attorneys -- 12 Iraqi women and five US women -- who teleconference once a month:

The St. Louis lawyers hope that kind of moral support could help the Iraqi lawyers get women into more powerful positions in the legal system and in government. Islamic laws protecting women are inadequate or not enforced in a culture where men are in charge and women are treated as property. Domestic violence is often considered accepted practice.
[. . .]
[Nancy] Mogab said the ultimate goal is forming a group similar to a women lawyers' association here, and called on the Iraqi women to create a list of goals they want to accomplish.
"Together they will be able to provide a voice whereas a single lawyer can't do that there," Mogab said after the groups' third meeting earlier this month.
Law school classes in Iraq are an even mix of men and women, but there are very few women judges. And those who practice law have little influence in a male-dominated legal system.


Meanwhile Aswat al-Iraq reports that Sajida Saleh Hassan was assassinated in Baghdad today. She had been Director of Kazimiya Women's Prison. Her driver was injured in the attack. They also note a mortar attck in Baquba has left twelve people injured.


Hossam Acommok (Al Mada) reports that the US is stating that they are only flying planes and drones and helicopters in Iraq airspace to provide protection for the US Embassy in Baghdad (and its various councils throughout the country). Parliaments Security and Defense wants answers as to exactly what the US is doing in Iraq's skies. That would be the same Commission on Security and Defense which Al Mada reports declared ysterday that Iraqi forces are not going to be able to properly perform their duties and functions for five more years. While the security forces struggle to become ready, the presidency council just keeps signing off on death sentences. Al Rafidayn reports that that the presidency council has signed off on 23 more death sentences.

The political crisis continues in Iraq. Al-Manar reports that Iraqiya Ministers are attending Council of Ministers hearings again. That doesn't end the crisis. Iraqiya agreeing to attend Parliament sessions didn't end the crisis. Nouri started the political crisis by refusing to honor the Erbil Agreement which ended the political stalemate that lasted eight months following the March 2010 elections when Nouri didn't want to let go of the post of prime minister despite the fact that his State of Law came in second to Iraqiya. The US brokered a deal, the Erbil Agreement, which allowed Nouri to remain prime minister in exchange for other trade-offs that would benefit the other political blocs. Since this summer, Kurds have been calling for Nouri to honor the agreement. Nouri insists that its unconstitutional -- a claim he didn't make when he used the Erbil Agreement to stay on as prime minister.

Though Parliament attempted to be in session yesterday, there wasn't a quorum. Dar Addustour notes that Kurdish MP Mahmoud Othman is stating that this was shameful and that he believes some of the MPs who were not present were deliberately attempting to keep the session from taking place.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been saying since December that the way to end the political crisis is to hold a national conference. Al Sabaah notes that participants are stating yesterday's planning session for the national conference -- only the second meeting -- went well and that they agreed to stand united against terrorism and militias, that the process outlined in the Constitution is how disputes should be resolved, that all elementsof Iraqi society must be represented in the political process and that the Iraqi judiciary is a separate and independent body. In a sign of just how much nonsense this whole thing is, Dar Addustour reports that it was again asserted yesterday that Nouri al-Maliki can be prime minister for a third term. For those who've forgotten, this was supposed to be Nouri's second and last term. And, in February of last year, as unrest rocked the region, Nouri declared he would not run for a third term. Since then -- and the distraction of his failed 100 days of 'reform,' his attorney has asserted that Nouri isn't bound by any promise and that no law prevents him from seeking a third term. Little Saddam is well on his way towards lifetime rule.


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The fallen and burn pits

The next year, on Sept. 11, 2007, insurgents released a second video. This time, a produced propaganda piece showed close-ups of Maj. Gilbert's badly decomposed corpse exhumed from a grave, still in a flight suit. It displayed his military ID, and singled him out as "America's baby killer."
It was anguishing proof that his body still existed.
"His whole body is still over there somewhere, buried in a shallow grave," Ronnie Gilbert said. "All we're asking for is: Bring him home."
"For five years! Five years we have been waiting patiently," Kaye Gilbert cried. "Patiently waiting for the Air Force and everyone over there to do their business. Find our son."
When the U.S. pulled out of Iraq in December, the family could wait no longer. Maj. Gilbert's sister in Arlington questioned the Pentagon's prisoner of war/missing personnel office.
"Well, if our troops are no longer there, who is looking for him?" Rhonda Jimmerson asked. "Who is putting that effort in?"

The above is from Jim Douglas' "North Texas family seeks pilot's body left in Iraq" (WFAA -- link is text and video). The fallen is Maj Troy Gilbert whose plane went down in November 2006 while he was assisting US service members on the ground under fire ("credited with saving about 20 American commandos"). All the family has is a small amount of tissue from the crash. They say that during combat, they were understanding that a war was going on but US President Barack Obama has declared that over and declare the war over so why can't they get their son's body? Partly because that tiny bit of tissue from the plane crash? That's all it took for the US military to classify the fallen as "body accounted for." So no efforts are being made to recover Troy Gilbert's body.

Does no one remember what Barack prattled on about in his State of the Union just last month? "Those of us who've been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops," he declared. "When you put on that uniform, it doesn't matter if you're black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When you're marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you're in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind."

Leaving no one behind? Troy Gilbert's been left behind. His body was taken by insurgents and surfaced a year later in a propaganda film. No, his body has not been recovered and how telling that one month after Barack was prattling on about his (White) grandparents yet again (he trots them out whenever he feels the need to use their service to the US to make up for his own lack of service) the Gilberts have to meet with the Defense Dept to argue that a little tissue from their son's body -- a full body seen in a propaganda video -- does not count as Troy Gilbert being "recovered" from Iraq. Maybe instead of trashing the lives of 5 American service members by releasing members of the League of Righteous to do favors for England, maybe instead of doing that, Barack could have focused on bringing home the body of Troy Gilbert? A man who let terrorists go when they were in American custody -- ringleaders of the death of five American service members -- had a lot of nerve trying to hide behind his ill informed notion of what being in the US military was like.

And for any who are late to the party on the news of the League of Righteous, let's drop back to the June 9, 2009 snapshot:

This morning the New York Times' Alissa J. Rubin and Michael Gordon offered "U.S. Frees Suspect in Killing of 5 G.I.'s." Martin Chulov (Guardian) covered the same story, Kim Gamel (AP) reported on it, BBC offered "Kidnap hope after Shia's handover" and Deborah Haynes contributed "Hope for British hostages in Iraq after release of Shia militant" (Times of London). The basics of the story are this. 5 British citizens have been hostages since May 29, 2007. The US military had in their custody Laith al-Khazali. He is a member of Asa'ib al-Haq. He is also accused of murdering five US troops. The US military released him and allegedly did so because his organization was not going to release any of the five British hostages until he was released. This is a big story and the US military is attempting to state this is just diplomacy, has nothing to do with the British hostages and, besides, they just released him to Iraq. Sami al-Askari told the New York Times, "This is a very sensitive topic because you know the position that the Iraqi government, the U.S. and British governments, and all the governments do not accept the idea of exchanging hostages for prisoners. So we put it in another format, and we told them that if they want to participate in the political process they cannot do so while they are holding hostages. And we mentioned to the American side that they cannot join the political process and release their hostages while their leaders are behind bars or imprisoned." In other words, a prisoner was traded for hostages and they attempted to not only make the trade but to lie to people about it. At the US State Dept, the tired and bored reporters were unable to even broach the subject. Poor declawed tabbies. Pentagon reporters did press the issue and got the standard line from the department's spokesperson, Bryan Whitman, that the US handed the prisoner to Iraq, the US didn't hand him over to any organization -- terrorist or otherwise. What Iraq did, Whitman wanted the press to know, was what Iraq did. A complete lie that really insults the intelligence of the American people. CNN reminds the five US soldiers killed "were: Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California; 1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska; Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Gonzales, Louisiana; Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, New York; and Pfc. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama." Those are the five from January 2007 that al-Khazali and his brother Qais al-Khazali are supposed to be responsible for the deaths of. Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Robert H. Reid (AP) states that Jonathan B. Chism's father Danny Chism is outraged over the release and has declared, "They freed them? The American military did? Somebody needs to answer for it."


Another way the White House has demonstrated that, lip service aside, they don't give a damn about the veterans? They refused to back then-Senator Evan Bayh's Burn Pit Registry bill. They refused to work on an official list of those veterans (and contractors) exposed in Iraq and Afghanistan to burn pits. They didn't want to spend the money. So they worked with Senator Jim Webb to ensure that the bill never left the Senate Veterans Committee. And yet Barack likes to grand stand and pretend what a great friend to veterans he is. Want to be a friend to veterans, Barack? You don't have to have a photo op dinner with them, just give them the health benefits they deserve and are owed.

Patricia Kime (Marine Corp News) reports:


Army Reserve wife Rosie Torres, 38, stood in line Jan. 19 at a Texas Health and Human Services office to apply for assistance with her mortgage, bills and groceries.
Mounting debt related to her husband’s medical bills has pushed the couple into arrears; between insurance deductibles, house payments and overages, they owe more than $55,000.
LeRoy Torres, 39, a Reserve captain and former Texas state trooper, was assigned to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2008 and believes exposure to the camp’s open-air burn pits left him with debilitating respiratory problems. He can’t walk long distances, perform daily tasks or even roughhouse with his kids.
But although he can't work full time, between his drill pay and Rosie’s part-time pay, they make too much to qualify for a grant.

Rosie Torres is with BurnPits 360 which addresses the issues of exposure to burn pits and, next week, the first ever Burn Pit Symposium takes place:


1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deplyoment to Iraq & Afghanistan
February 13, 2012

sponsored by
Office of Continuing Medical Education
School of Medicine
Stony Brook University

Location
Health Sciences Center, Level 3, Lecture Hall 5
Anthony M. Szema, M.D., Program Chair
Stony Brook
University
Medical Center


This program is made possible by support from the Sergeant Thomas Joseph Sullivan Center, Washington, D.C.


2 WAYS TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE

* Register with your credit card online at: http://www.stonybrookmedicalcenter.org/education/cme.cfm

* Download the registration form from:
fax form to (631) 638-1211

For Information Email: cmeoffice@stonybrook.edu


1st Annual Scientific Symposium on
Lung Health after Deployment to Iraq & Afghanistan
Monday, February 13, 2012
Health Sciences Center
Level 3, Lecture Hall 5

Program Objective: Upon completion, participants should be able to recognize new-onset of lung disease after deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

8:00 - 9:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast (Honored Guest, Congressman
Tim Bishop

9:00 - 9:30 Peter Sullivan, J.D., Father of Marine from The Sergeant Thomas Joseph
Sullivan Center, Washington, D.C.

9:40 - 10:10 Overview of Exposures in Iraq, Anthony Szema, M.D., (Assistant
Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Stony Brook University)

10:10 - 10:40 Constrictive Bronchiolitis among Soldiers after Deployment, Matt
King, M.D. (Assistant Professor of Medicine, Meharry Medical College,
Nashville, TN)

10:40 - 11:10 BREAK

11:10 - 11:40 Denver Working Group Recommendations and Spirometry Study in
Iraq/Afghanistan, Richard Meehan, M.D., (Chief of Rheumatology and
Professor of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO)

11:40 a.m. - Microbiological Analyses of Dust from Iraq and Afghanistan, Captain Mark

12:10 p.m. Lyles, D.M.D., Ph. D., (Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone Endowed Chair of
Health and Security Studies, U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI)

12:10 - 12:20 Health Care Resource Utilization among Deployed Veterans at the White
River Junction VA, James Geiling, M.D., (Professor and Chief of Medicine,
Dartmouth Medical School, VA White River Junction, VT)

12:20 - 1:20 LUNCH AND EXHIBITS
Graduate students Millicent Schmidt and Andrea Harrington (Stony Brook
University) present Posters from Lung Studies Analyzed for Spatial
Resolution of Metals at Brookhaven National Laboratory's National
Synchrotron Light Source

1:20 - 1:40 Epidemiologic Survey Instrument on Exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan,
Joseph Abraham, Sc.D., Ph.D., (U.S. Army Public Health Command,
Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD)

1:40 - 2:10 Overview of the Issue Raised during Roundtable on Pulmonary Issues
and Deployment, Coleen Baird, M.D., M.P.H., (Program Manager
Environmental Medicine, U.S. Army Public Health Command)

2:10 - 2: 40 Reactive Oxygen Species from Iraqi Dust, Martin Schoonen, Ph.D.
(Director Sustainability Studies and Professor of Geochemistry, Stony
Brook University)

2:40 - 2:50 BREAK

2:50 - 3:15 Dust Wind Tunnel Studies, Terrence Sobecki, Ph.D. (Chief Environmental
Studies Branch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research
and Engineering Laboratory, Manchester, NH)

3:15 - 3:45 Toxicologically Relevant Characteristics of Desert Dust and Other
Atmospheric Particulate Matter, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Ph.D. (Research
Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)

3:44 - 4:15 In-situ Mineralogy of the Lung and Lymph Nodes, Gregory Meeker, M.S.
(Research Geochemist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO)


Continuing Medical Education Credits

The school of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brooke designates this live activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.


The following commmunity sites -- plus the Guardian, On The Wilder Side, The NewsHour and Antiwar.com -- updated last night:





David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which won the CLR James Award. ImmigrationProf Blog notes this article on Bacon and his latest exhibit:

On February 2, the Center for Cultural Investigation of the Autonomous University of Baja California mounted an exhibition of 18 large photographs, taken by photographer David Bacon, on the border wall, next to the garita, or gate, between Mexicali, in Mexico, and Calexico, in the United States. The photographs, which measure about 6' by 4', hang on the steel beams that make up the wall in the section of the border that lies between the two cities. They hang on the Mexican side, next to the lanes where traffic lines up, waiting to cross into the U.S. At times, hundreds of cars spend over an hour in the lines, giving drivers ample opportunity to look at and react to the images. The show, called "Beyond Borders," consists of images that document the process of migration. Some show the life of Mexican migrants in the U.S., while others were taken in migrants' home communities in Mexico. Three photographs show children working in the fields in northern Baja California, including one taken just a few miles from the Mexicali gate itself.

In an interview with local media at the show's opening reception, in a park across the street from the wall, Bacon explained, "As a photographer, I've tried to create images that aren't neutral. They are, first, a reality check, showing what life is actually like, trying to do it through the eyes of people themselves. But they are also a form of social criticism - of poverty, of the discrimination and unequal status migrants face, especially in the U.S., but even in Mexico itself. Therefore, they're also a call for social change. So what better place to show them than on the wall itself? The Center is using an object hated on both sides of the border, and reclaiming it as a site for developing popular culture, and even more, a space where people can be urged to make changes so that some day we live in a world where the wall itself will not exist."

Luis Ongay, director of the Center for Cultural Investigation of the Autonomous University of Baja California, said that many people will see the show, because of its location where cars and pedestrians are crossing to the United States. "We know this is an open space, it's bringing the museum into a public space." He invites people to give their comments on its Facebook page.



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Monday, February 06, 2012

Iraq snapshot

Monday, February 6, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, a judicial effort is underway to strip an Iraqiya member of immunity, the Iraqi military is said to be 'infiltrated,'  the National Lawyers Guild calls for all charges to be dropped against Bradley Manning, Roberta Flack releases her first new album in almost nine years, and more.
 
 
In the US, an album was released today as a download.  That's news for many reasons including that albums are released on Tuesday in the US.  So what album's so special that it alters the street date?  Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles.  Amazon currently is preselling the new collection on sale for $9.99 on disc but you can download it right now from Amazon, all 14 tracks (one is a live track from 1972, all the others are studio tracks recorded for this album), and if you do it right now, you're getting an amazing bargain because it's only $3.99. Roberta Flack's not just someone I've called a friend for years, she's also a living legend, one of the all time music greats, a four-time Grammy winner known for such classics as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly With His Song," "Oasis," "Set The Night To Music" (with Maxi Priest), "Where Is The Love?" (with the late Donny Hathaway, we'll link to his daughter Lalah Hathaway), "The Closer I Get To You" (with Donny)," "Feel Like Making Love," "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" (with Peabo Bryson), the Ashford & Simpson classic "Uh-Uh-Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes)," "Making Love" and Janis Ian's"Jesse."  Kat will have a review up here tomorrow of the album.  The songs she covers are "In My Life," "Hey Jude," "We Can Work It Out" (the first single for the album), "Let It Be," "Oh Darling," "I Should Have Known Better," "The Long & Winding Road," "Come Together," "Isn't It A Pity," "If I Fell," "And I Love Him," "Here, There And Everywhere" (this is the live track, from her 1972 Carnegie Hall concert), "I'm Looking Through You" and "Yesterday."  John Lennon collectors take note, the album booklet includes a little seen photo of Yoko Ono, John and Roberta.  It's a great album, it's been almost 9 years since Roberta put out her last album and, again, right now, it's $3.99 to download the entire album, all 14 tracks, at Amazon.  That's a sale price, not a regular price.  The sale won't last forever.
 
Moving over to Iraq, Aswat al-Iraq quotes Iraq's Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi stating today, "The Constitution must be adjusted in such a way that it shares in transforming Iraq into a State of Modern Civilian Institutions, enablingthe citizen to enjoy his national fortunes, and to activiate a balance between the Constitution and the nation to evaluate civilian institutions rather than looking for loopholes that marginalize partners."  The news outlet reports he was responding to "certain paties that he did not name [who were] . . . exerting pressure on the Iraqi Judiciary."   Al Rafidayn reports that the Supreme Judicial Council has notified the Parliament that they want the immunity (that all members of Parliament are granted) lifted from MP Haidar al-Mullah because he noted that the judiciary was politicized. One of the judges over Iraq's 160 courts is stating that this statement was a personal "assault" and is demanding that the immunity be lifted. (If this lifting of immunity took place, not noted in the story, it would the first time such a thing happened. It would set a very dangerous precedent.) al-Mullah, no surprise, is a member of Iraqiya. Nouri's targeting them and now the court he controls is as well. al-Mullah states the judge in question is Judge Sayad al-Lami. The article notes other members of Iraqiya may be targeted -- two who share stories of requests from months ago that were apparently not followed up on.  Barbara Surk (AP) notes that Haidar al-Mullah is a Shi'ite member of Iraqiya and that he told the AP, "We will not be silenced. I have the right to express my opinion and criticize inappropriate acts."

Iraqiya came in first in the March 2010 elections. That should have been the end of Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister (his State of Law came in second). But the White House wouldn't hear of it. With their backing, he began an eight-month long stalemate where nothing could move forward. And like the spoiled child he is, he got humored. In November 2010, various parties met in Erbil and signed off on the US brokered Erbil Agreement which would allow Nouri to remain prime minister in exchange for other agreements -- such as Ayad Allawi (leader of Iraqiya) leading an independent national security counsel and the referendum on Kirkuk finally taking place (the Constitution required that it take place at the end of 2007, Nouri refused to obey the Constitution in his first term). Nouri got the post he wanted and then trashed the Erbil Agreement. Since this summer, the Kurds have been calling for a return to the Erbil Agreement. Iraqiya joined them in that call. In October, Nouri insisted a "coup" had been discovered -- by Libya, no less -- and ordered the arrests of over 800 Sunnis -- including elderly college professors -- and this was the beginning of his targeting of Sunnis and Iraqiya (a mixed coaltion which recognizes Sunni, Shi'ites, Turkmen, et al -- all Iraqis). In December, after several photo ops with US President Barack Obama -- who couldn't stop slobbering over Nouri and the 'democracy' he was leading in Iraq -- Nouri returned to Iraq and immediately had tanks surround various Iraqiya officials homes in Baghdad. He declared that Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq should be stripped of his post (and immunity) for remarks al-Multaq made comparing Nouri to Saddam Hussein and began insisting that Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was a terrorist. After making this assertion for several days (Saturday and Sunday) and having al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq (and their bodyguards) pulled off a flight to the KRG (they were then allowed to fly out there for their meetings), Monday (December 19th) arrived and Nouri issued an arrest warrant for Tareq al-Hashemi.

Al Mada notes al-Hashemi has filed another request for his case to be transferred to Kirkuk. Rudaw interviews al-Hashemi. Excerpt:

Rudaw: Are you sure you can prove your innocence in a court of law?

Tariq al-Hashimi: I can defend myself and my bodyguards. According to what I have heard, one of my bodyguards, Major Ahmed Shawqi, had bought a car and sold it later. The car was later used in a suicide car bomb in Madayin area. I didn't know about it at that time but knew that he was a car dealer before he started working with me. That's all I have heard and frankly I wouldn't expect him to be involved in any illegal acts. Regarding myself, I can defend myself anytime in a fair trial. I hope my guards are also provided that opportunity, and justice according to the law. I am optimistic that whenever there is proper justice, then I will go before a court and defend myself. Because there is a lawsuit, I am not evading responsibility. All I have asked for is a fair trial. That kind of trial cannot be provided under the current circumstances in Baghdad. Therefore, I have asked the trial to be transferred to another place, based on Article 55 of Iraq's Penal Code. This is a normal procedure and has to do with protecting my life and will also provide the chance for the facts to be discovered. I have been deprived of this legal right and they won't allow for the trial to be transferred to Kirkuk.

Rudaw: Do you feel that your presence in the Kurdistan Region has put the Kurdish authorities in a tough position?

Tariq al-Hashimi: I am now a guest of the leadership and all citizens of this (Kurdistan) Region. If they feel Tariq al-Hashimi's presence has embarrassed them, then God's land is immense and I have not really forced them (to have me here). I came here based on a demand from President Jalal Talabani. I am still holding the vice-president's post and have not resigned. I have not been also removed from my position by Parliament. So, I am still a government employee. The president has asked me to stay in Kurdistan and Mr. Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Region, has said 'Tariq al-Hashimi is our guest.' I have been staying in Kurdistan based on this. Whenever the people of this region no longer want to host me, then God's land is vast. I really do not want my presence here to cause the smallest embarrassment to the leadership and people of Kurdistan.

 
Abdul Aziz al-Talabani is a member of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's clan or tribe.  Al Rafidayn reports that he states the clan met in Sulaymaniyah Friday to discuss Tareq al-Hashemi and they are demanding that the KRG turn al-Hashemi over to Baghdad.
 
From al-Hashemi to al-Mutlaq, Aswat al-Iraq reports, "Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq discussed with a delegation from Ahrar Bloc the recent political situation in Iraq and the importance of unifying ranks to contain the present crisis, according to a statement issued by his office. The statement, as was received by Aswat al-Iraq, said that Mutlaq valued the initiatives made by Ahrar Bloc and the Sadrist Trend to minimize the gaps among political blocs in order to achieve political stability." Al Rafidayn notes the rumors that al-Mutlaq is expected to put a formal apology to Nouri in writing and that Sadrist MP Odai Awad explains that they've been working on this for some time but only now have they had significant results.
 


Ali Hussein (Al Mada) contributes a column that notes some close to Nouri desire for Iraqiya to be hit by an earthquake, the real question for Iraqis is whether or not it is in the country's interest to allow some politicians to carry out their plans to rid the country of their political opponents.  Dar Addustour reports that it is hoped today's meeting at Jalal Talabani's Baghdad headquarters of the national conference prepratory committee will result in some concrete steps to resolve the political crisis.  However, not only has this been the hope forever but resolution really wasn't in the air today.  Earlier, Aswat al-Iraq was reporting that Parliament would discuss the 2012 federal budget.  However, Ayad al-Tamemi (Al Mada) reports that there was a lack of a quorum so they recessed without doing so.
 
 
While the political crisis continues, the security situation continues to falter. Al Mada notes that the adviser to the minister on reconciliation noted Saturday that Nouri's government will 'close' the "Awakenings" (Sahwa, Sons Of Iraq) this year. Al Mad had previously reported on the talk of this taking place, this is a report on the official announcement having been made. As Sahwa gets phased out, Ali al-Saadi (Dar Addustour) reports "military expert" Abbas al-Awad has declared that Iraq's military has been invaded and sweeping changes and a review of all the appointments that have been made must take place to purge it of "terrorist elements." The ease with which car bombs have made it through checkpoints is something the analyst finds especially disturbing.  And in more bad news for Iraqi forces, Al Mada notes that the Ahmed al-Khafaji, the Ministry of Interior's Undescretary for Federal Security Affairs, declared today that in July the Iraqi army will leave the cities and provinces and move to the borders and the Interoir Ministy will be over security for Iraqi cities and towns.  Why is that bad news?  As National Alliance MP Uday Awad reminds, "It is worth noting that the heads of the security ministries remain vacant despite a year having passed since the current government was formed."

 
Turning to some of today's reported violence, Reuters notes a Balad Ruz mortar attack which claimed 1 life and left thirteen people injured (the target was a crumbling building in which homeless Kurds were living), an Abu Saida roadside bombing which injured one person, a Mahmudiya roadside bombing injured three people and, late last night, a Jalawla sticky bombing left one police officer injured.  KUNA adds a Mosul bombing left four Iraqi soldiers injured.
 
 
Iraq is setting records for executions -- over 50 this year so far. Al Mada reported on Thursday that the Iraqi Embassy in Riaydh (Saudi Arabia) was explaining that although they were carrying out death sentences, they did not have any Saudi prisoners who were of or worked for the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Yet Saturday, Al Mada reports, the same Iraqi Embassy announced they were delaying the execution of Saudis and, oops, they needed to review the list of names because there may have been an error and the list of names is compiled from multiple lists from multiple locations in Iraq so the Ministry of Justice is going to review the list to determine which names are on it and which aren't. Accuracy on a list of people to be executed is, apparently, only important if another country objects to your lists. Al Rafidayn reports the Iraqi Central Criminal Court handed down a death sentence today on a man who allegedly kidnapped two French citizens (brothers) and someone with the Iranian consul. Allegedly? The man gave a 'confession' (including that he had killed one of the brothers). Iraq''s 'confessions' tend to result from prolonged torture. This is made more even more likely when we're discussing crimes from 2004.  Aswat al-Iraq notes that Bernard Valiro, spokesperson for France's Foreign Ministry, declared today that France opposes capital punishment and as to Iraq's "execution of 34 persons on 19 January last, and 17 on 1st of February, 2012, France denounces the increase resort to execution verdicts."

In England, a 104-year-old Iraqi male made the news over the weekend.  The Daily Mail reports, "Taufeek Khanjar is thought to have become the oldest person to be declared a British citizen when he took part in a citizenship ceremony in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey." Saturday Al Mada reported on Warina Zaya Bashou, an elderly Iraqi woman, a 111-year-old, born in Ramadi and who lived with her children and grandchildren in al-Anbar (she immigrated to the US in 2003).  She remembers the Ottoman Empire and the British occupation and all the governments that followed.  She rated the monarchy highly.  The US Citizenship and Immigration Services say the woman (who became a naturalized citizen last month in Detroit) was born in 1900 but the woman maintains she was born July 10, 1885 (which would make her 127) and seems highly likely considering what she lived through.  Iraqi women in Iraq today are living through a great deal in the land of orphans and widows.  Dar Addustour reports that Parliament's Committee on Women in Childrean has referred to the Minister of State and Parliamentary affairs a proposed law which would provide interest free loans for Iraq's widows and divorced women.   Lat Friday's snapshot included:
 
 
Reuters notes Halima Dakhil who pays $210 for rent for her and her children. And that Iraqi widows receive $85 a month from the government and $13 a month for each child.  This is ridiculous and shameful as Nouri spends billons on toys for warfare.  Gender-traitor Ibtihal al-Zaidi shows up in the story to insist, "I agree it is little.  But there is a real plan to increase these benefits."  Let's hope all the widows and children living in poverty can afford to wait for al-Zaidi to get around to addressing the "real plan."
Who is this woman who goes along making excuses?  Now in his second term as prime minister, Nouri appointed his stooge, Ibtihal al-Zaidi, to be Minister of the State for Women's Affairs. . She's gotten herself in trouble in the last weeks in Iraq. She's declared that she doesn't believe in equality, that Iraqi women need their husband's permission before doing anything (presumably their son's or father's permission if they're widowed, divorced or unmarried) and has come up with a little dress code for Iraqi women employed by the government. Al Mada reports today that MP Safia al-Suhail is calling the gender traitor out and asking that al-Zaidi appear before Parliament to explain this dress code (which bans certain skirts, t-shirts and sneakers among other items -- but only for women) and al-Suhail points out that al-Zaidi's remarks are troubling and run contrary to the oath the Minister of Women's Affairs took when assuming her office.
 
Sunday Al Mada reported that MP Safiya al-Suhail stated that the statements had been confusing and what they were calling for was a meet-up between al-Zaidi and the women in Parliament.  al-Suhail also again noted that al-Zaidi's statement of not believing in equality runs counter to Article 14 of the Constitution.   Article 14 reads: "Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, origin, color, religion, sect, belief or opinion, or economic or social status."
 
 
Turning to the US, Bradley Manning is in the news as the US military announced Friday night that they were moving to a court-martial. The Bradley Manning Support Network's Jeff Paterson responded, "This administration owes all Americans an honest explanation for their extraordinary retaliation against Bradley Manning."


This move to a court-martial is not a surprise. Last month, Josh Gerstein (POLITICO) reported, "Another military officer has formally recommended that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning face a full-scale court martial for allegedly leaking thousands of military reports and diplomatic cables to the online transparency site WikiLeaks." In addition, Article 32 hearings are almost always rubber stamps. Monday April 5th, WikiLeaks released US military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7, 2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel (Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring classified information to his personal computer between November and May and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of classified information." In March, David S. Cloud (Los Angeles Times) reported that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December.

AP has a video report on the move to court-martial here. Luis Martinez (ABC News) explains, "Manning faces 22 charges, including aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy, theft of public property or records, and transmitting defense information. Aiding the enemy is a capital offense that could bring the death penalty, but Army prosecutors have said they will instead pursue life in prison if the 24-year old Manning is convicted. Manning could also face a reduction in rank to the lowest enlisted pay grade, total forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge." Matthew Hay Brown (Baltimore Sun) notes, "There was no word on whether the as-yet-unscheduled court-martial would also be held at Fort Meade, one of three installations within the military district equipped to host such a proceeding."

The Associated Press offers this summary of the scattershot defense offered by Bradley's attorneys, "Manning's lawyers countered that others had access to Manning's workplace computers. They say he was in emotional turmoil, partly because he was a gay soldier at a time when homosexuals were barred from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. The defense also claims Manning's apparent disregard for security rules during stateside training and his increasingly violent outbursts after deployment were red flags that should have prevented him from having access to classified material. Manning's lawyers also contend that the material WikiLeaks published did little or no harm to national security." Scattershot? That defense remains incoherent until it is has a larger statement attached to it such as "And he's innocent" or "and that's why he did what he did."

The Bradley Manning Support Network has a number of events planned including:
 
Olympia, Washington Tuesday, February 7 -- Noon The Evergreen State College, Lecture Hall 3 Sponsored by SDS and the "Re-Interpreting Liberation" program Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army intelligence analyst, faces life in prison for allegedly sharing the "Collateral Murder"video of a US helicopter attack that killed 11 civilians and wounded two children in Baghdad,…
 
This evening the National Lawyers Guild issued a call for all charges against Bradley to be dropped:
 
Contact:
Nathan Tempey,
Communications Coordinator,
212-679-5100, ext. 15

The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls for the dismissal of all charges against Bradley Manning. The Army announced on Friday that Manning will face a general court martial for allegedly leaking classified information about U.S. policy and practices relating to, among other things, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
NLG President David Gespass, said, "Manning's prosecution is calculated to distract us from the real problem, that the U.S. government is once again hiding from the public proof of crimes committed in our name."
Manning is a U.S. Army soldier accused of transferring classified data to his personal computer and sending it to the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. He faces 22 charges including "aiding the enemy," a capital offense.
Kathleen Gilberd, executive director of the NLG's Military Law Task Force (MLTF) said, "Manning is being prosecuted for patriotic acts akin to the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. His prosecution highlights both the way that military proceedings subvert fundamental due process rights and the dangers of government secrecy to a free society."
The potential for prosecutorial abuse stems from the power that commanding officers have as the convening authorities over court martial hearings. The convening authority selects the officer who first investigates a case, recommends charges against the accused, and then selects the "members" of the court martial, who form the jury. Particularly in a high profile case such as this, where the government has already indicated its determination to convict and punish Manning, the ability of the convening authority to control the process and the outcome is overwhelming.
"The court martial system is fraught from beginning to end with the danger of command influence," noted MLTF Chair James Branum. "It has permeated this case from the beginning and emanated from the Commander-in-Chief on down, making due process impossible. In this situation, dismissal of all charges is the only just option."
The Military Law Task Force grew out of the National Lawyers Guild's Military Law Offices, which provided counsel for GIs in Asia during the Vietnam War. The MLTF includes attorneys, legal workers, law students and "barracks lawyers" interested in draft, military and veterans issues. It is an active committee of the National Lawyers Guild and has been providing representation and advice to service members for decades.
The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 and is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
###
 
 
Staying with legal, on this week's Law and Disorder Radio -- a weekly hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights) -- topics explored include Mumia Abu-Jamal being in General Population and we'll excerpt that.
 
Michael Ratner: Heidi, we know over the last few weeks we've been covering what's happening with Mumia.  We know that he got taken off death row, that he got his death sentence removed, that he's now serving a life sentence, then got moved into a medium security prison but got put into very bad conditions, into solitare in that prison and we've been asking people to write about that, to protest about it and now we have an update and I think it's a good one but I want to hear from you, Heidi.
 
Heidi Boghosian: I think this is an example, Michael, in which pressure from the public -- and there was enormous pressure on the Dept of Corrections in Pennsylvania -- to move Mumia out of the hole, solitary confinement, administrative custody, where he was for 50 days after leaving death row at SCI Greene, and if finally worked.
 
Michael Ratner: Now the hole is 24 hours --
 
Heidi Boghosian: 23 hours --
 
Michael Ratner: 23 hours of walls.
 
Heidi Boghosian: It's been likened to spending time alone in a small bathroom.
 
Michael Ratner: Oh my gosh.
 
Heidi Boghosian: Over 5,000 signatures on a petition were gathered, in a matter of days, calling for the DoC to move him into General Population.  As of this airing, last week, he finally was moved into General Population.
 
Michael Ratner: That's really wonderful news and a very heroic struggle.  I mean, we still have to get him out.  But this has been remarkable to finally have that achieved is amazing.  When's your next visit, Heidi?
 
Heidi Boghosian: As we tape this, the next day to see him in General Population for the first time.  So I look forward to reporting on that visit.
 
Michael Ratner: Oh, that's very exiciting.
 
Heidi Boghosian: It will be a contact visit.
 
Michael Ratner: A contact visit.  Unbelievable.  That's really great.
 
Heidi Boghosian: Yes.
 
Michael: Well that's really incredible and we'll report on it next week.  Thank you, Heidi.
 
Heidi is one of Mumia's attorneys and has been for years.  For those that don't know what a contact visit is, you and the prisoner sit in the same area with no divider.  Usually, it's one open area where all the prisoners who can have contact visits are gathered and visiting with their friends, family and attorneys.  On the Law & Disorder that began airing January 23rd, Heidi explained what the visits with Mumia had been like:
 
 
Michael Ratner: Let me ask, and I want you to go on, when you visit him, he comes into the room or where ever you visit him in shackles?

Heidi Boghosian: Yes. And it's noteworthy that years ago at SCI Greene, he also was in shackles until [Bishop] Desmond Tutu visited him a few years ago and complained that this was inhumane treatment because essentially he's behind thick plexi-glass in a small 4 by 6 roughly foot holding unit and there are little perforated holes on the side so you can hear each other. But, so now he's back in the shackles. His phone call privileges have been --

 
Michael Ratner: Wait a second. You talk to him through a wall?

 
Heidi Boghosian: Yes, you're sitting on one side of a thick plexi-glass partition. So you're in the same room but it's divided in half by plexi-glass.
 
 
So they won't have pleix-glass between them in a contact visit.  In a perfect world, we'd have time to note the Guantanamo update this week.  I'd like to.  I have a feeling we won't have time this week and that I'll have to grab a different segment from the updates. 
 
 
 
 
 
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