Friday, November 23, 2012

The powder keg Iraq

In Iraq, the political crisis on top of the political crisis continues.  Kitabat notes things are so fraught that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has had to weigh in to try to resolve the situation.  The Grand Ayatollah is calling for the Constitution to be followed with regards to the conflict.  All Iraq News notes that Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karabalai has joined the Grand Ayatollah's call.


The crisis results from Nouri sending forces into the disputed areas after years of refusing to implement Article 140 of the Constitution (which states that disputed areas will be resolved via census and referendum).  The Kurds see this is as an attempt by Nouri to seize the areas and claim them for the Baghdad-based area.  Realizing too late that Barack Obama's for-show trip to Asia was a mistake, the White House is scrambling to get more face-to-face diplomats into Iraq.  (The trip was a joke and Barack made a fool of himself.  Americans didn't give a damn about the visit, his reception on the trip was lukewarm and Hillary Clinton seized all the news interest with her trip to the MidEast leaving Barack looking like a glorified extra on the world stage.)  Reuters adds:

 Washington intervened to end a similar standoff in August and is now again in contact with Iraqi and Kurdish officials to ease tension mounting over the formation of a new command center for Iraqi forces to operate in the disputed areas.
A legislator with the Sadrist bloc, a critic of Prime Minister Nour al-Maliki within his coalition, said the talks were not serious and dismissed the entire conflict as a sham.


Iraqi politicians are attempting to resolve the issue as well.  Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi visited with KRG President Massoud Barzani Wednesday and returned to Bahgdad yesterday to meet with Nouri al-Maliki.  All Iraq News notes that they met late yesterday evening and that a statement issued by al-Nuajaif called the meeting productive.

Bit by bit, all of the political blocs are getting into the process.All Iraq News notes that the National Alliance leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari is preparing a paper on the issue.  Alsumaria notes that Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman is calling for Nouri al-Maliki and Massoud Barzani to sit down together (this echoes Moqtada al-Sadr's call for a working lunch between the two to be hosted by Moqtada).Kitabat reports that sources are stating Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and KRG President Massoud Barzani are discussing the option of withdrawing confidence from Nouri. Dar Addustour reports that Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi traveled to Erbil yesterday to meet with Talabani and Barzani to discuss this issue.  All Iraq News says that Moqtada al-Sadr, leader of the Sadr bloc, has given the green light for such talks. 

Kitabat picks up the story about Nouri al-Maliki declaring that Kuridstan officials could not leave the country without the federal government/s permission -- that would be Nouri's permission.  It is intended to be an inflammatory insult.  It has no teeth.  Not unlike when Nouri was screeching that the KRG had to hand over Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and they didn't have to do that and they didn't do that.  They will continue to do as they want.  They share a border with Turkey which doesn't take orders from Nouri.  Hurriyet Daily News notes:


The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement on its website today calling for the Iraqi government to “not make imaginary assumptions about the expectations of the Turkish public, but to listen to advice instead,” according to daily Hurriyet. 
The statement was released Nov. 23 in response to a statement issued by the Iraqi Prime Ministry several days before that accused Turkey of “meddling with regional problems." 

 And we'll close with this from observations on the region by Khalaf Al Habtoor (Gulf News):

Conversely, the real news barely gets a front-page mention primarily because the American readership is disinterested in what their military has perpetrated in Afghanistan and Iraq in their name. How many care that thousands of their troops were sacrificed under democracy’s standard when, in reality, Iraq has fallen into the arms of America’s enemy Iran? Conversely, the real news barely gets a front-page mention primarily because the American readership is disinterested in what their military has perpetrated in Afghanistan and Iraq in their name. How many care that thousands of their troops were sacrificed under democracy’s standard when, in reality, Iraq has fallen into the arms of America’s enemy Iran? 
Where is their fury over up to one million lost Iraqi lives and the squandering of more than one trillion of their tax dollars? 


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Iraq: Persecution of women, protests, corruption and more

In Iraq, Parliament's Human Rights Commission announced earlier this week that they will begin making prison inspections due to the increased reports of women being abused and treated poorly in prison, Al Mada reports.  The announcement led the Ministry of Justice to announce mid-week that they are responsible for prison interrogations.  And outside of prison?  Hanaa Edwar states, "Day after day, I am seeing more indicators that there is discrimination against women who choose not to wear hijab in Iraq."  Dina al-Shibeeb (Al Arabiya) speaks with Hanaa Edwar who founded the Iraqi Women's Network and is the General Secretary of Iraqi al-Amal Association:

 Edwar, also founder of Iraqi Women’s Network, sounded the alarm about attempts to force women to wear the hijab, especially in government offices.
Head of Iraq’s Ministry of Women, Ibtihal Kasid al-Zubaidi, ordered in January that women working in government offices dress “modestly.” Zubaidi axed tight pants, short skirts and colorful clothes.
Zubaidi, who segregated genders in her ministry, was lambasted as "anti-female" and her ministry described as an "anti-women ministry."
Edwar’s Iraqi Women Network, made up of 18 civil society organizations, protested against Zubaidi’s policy, describing it as seeking to curb women’s civil liberties.
More women are approaching Edwar to file their complaints about government institutions and even TV channels belonging to religious political which enforce strict dress code and gender segregation.

Hanaa Edwar also decries the increase in temporary marriages in Iraq.  Kelly McEvers (NPR's All Things Considered -- link is audio and text) reported on temporary marriages in October of 2010 with Robert Siegel observing in the introduction that the practice is popular in Iraq but had not been in Iraq where it was banned by Saddam Hussein.  After the US invaded Iraq in 2003, things changed.  Excerpt:

 KELLY MCEVERS: This woman is so ashamed about what happened to her, she doesn't want to give her name. A mother of three, she says her husband abandoned her when she found out he preferred men. She had no way to support the family.

Unidentified Woman: (Foreign language spoken) 

MCEVERS: A religious figure in her neighborhood promised to help. He brought her to his home, locked the door and had sex with her. He offered her $15.
For the man at least, it was a brief moment of muta'a, the Arabic word for pleasure and the Arabic word for temporary marriage.

Unidentified Woman: (Foreign language spoken)

MCEVERS: The woman says the man who had sex with her worked with leading Shiite religious clerics in the Iraqi City of Najaf. It's one of the most revered places in Shiite Islam.
We're standing on a main street in the Holy City of Najaf. Just down some of these smaller streets are the offices of the Marjah. That's the four top clergymen for the Shiite community in all of Iraq.


Demonstrations have not vanished in Iraq. Al Mada reports that yesterday, for the third day in a row, special needs persons staged a strike outside the Kurdistan Parliament in Sulaimaniya.   They are staging a hunger strike, spokesperson Iara Mohammed explained, that the money allocated to those with special needs does not meet the most basic needs.  Meanwhile, a strike is threatened in Babylon.  Al Mada reports that teachers in Babylon are considering going on strike for, among other reasons, a lack of protection and accountability.  A school headmaster was killed and Wednesday saw demonstrations over it.  It is not felt that the death is being taken seriously or being investigated as needed.

Al Mada also notes that Iraqiya is pushing for Parliament to host Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for questions about the Russian arms deal.  The $4.2 billion deal was signed with much fanfare weeks ago only to have Nouri announce it was off.  Corruption rumors have swirled around the deal.   Al Rafidayn notes that one target of the rumors continues to be Nouri's spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh.  al-Dabbagh has publicly denied involvement in the deal.  However, All Iraq News reports National Alliance MP Jawad Albzona notes that his al-Dabbagh's dismissal as spokesperson this week does not answer any questions and that al-Dabbagh is seen as a major player in the arms deal.



In other news, All Iraq News notes that, as the religious holiday of Ashura approaches, the Ministry of Health has sent Iraqis a text message warning them that terrorists are attempting to use foods, beverages and medicine to poison Iraqis. So Iraqis should be fine if they avoid all medicine.  And all food.  And all liquids.  Al Mada notes that Parliament's Integrity Commission disputes their ranking by Transparency International on the corruption index.  Today is the International Day to End Impunity.  Transparency International explains:


 Friday, 23 November marks the International Day to End Impunity. At Transparency International we view impunity as getting away with bending the law, beating the system or escaping punishment. Impunity is anathema to the fight against corruption.
Earlier this month, activists, businesspeople, politicians, public officials, journalists, academics, youth and citizens who convened at the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Brazil made it clear that transparency alone is not enough but must be accompanied by prosecution and punishment.
In a joint declaration, the gathering of 1,900 representatives from 140 countries called on political, business and community leaders everywhere “to embrace not only transparency in public life but a culture of transparency leading to a participatory society in which leaders are accountable.”
“We are watching those who act with impunity and we will not let them get away with it,” said the declaration, adopted in Brasília on 10 November.
The International Day to End Impunity is organized by IFEX, a global network that defends and promotes free expression. Events in more than 14 countries raise public awareness about what creates and sustains a culture of impunity. Transparency International supports the goals of protecting journalists and others engaged in the vitally important work of exposing corruption.
Dictionary definition of impunity im·pu·ni·ty  [im-pyoo-ni-tee]
noun
1. exemption from punishment.
2. immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.
Many of Transparency International’s some 100 national chapters are involved in initiatives that work toward ending impunity for corruption in their country, including helping in the detection of corruption, facilitating access to the judiciary, strengthening the judiciary’s independence and capacity, or by analysing and monitoring how corruption cases are being judged.
TI’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALACs) offer the opportunity for citizens to pursue complaints about corruption. ALACs also play an instrumental role in identifying corruption hotspots that demand reform or official action. These centres are already functioning in more than 50 countries.
Our Rwandan ALAC pursued a case of land grabbing involving a mining cooperative president who sought to renew the mine’s certificate under his name. With the help of the ALAC, an investigation was launched with the Public Prosecutor Authority; after being taken to court the cooperative president’s was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined nearly US$3,500.
Many TI chapters have conducted election monitoring, including in Serbia, Bahrain and the Dominican Republic. In Venezuela, our chapter is part of an initiative, Alerta Electoral, which monitors electoral irregularities including potential misuse of taxpayer money by political candidates.
Several TI chapters are also working to improve whistleblower protections by advocating for strong legislation and assisting whistleblowers. These include chapters in Hungary, Lebanon and Zambia.
Our chapter in Ireland has established “Speak Up”, a free, secure helpline and online system for employees considering reporting wrongdoing. The Ireland chapter is also campaigning for the passage of a national whistleblower law that would cover all employees.
The need to fight impunity was also stressed at the closing session of the 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference, which called for the promotion of a culture of transparency leading to a participatory society in which leaders are held accountable.
Transparency International believes that ‘impunity undermines integrity everywhere’ and is proud to participate on 23 November along with citizens who are fighting to end impunity for corruption and other crimes.

Press contact(s):

Chris Sanders
Manager, Media and Public Relations
press@transparency.org
+49 30 3438 20 666


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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Nouri throws a lit match on oil soaked Iraq

All Iraq News reports that cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has offered his Najaf home for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani to meet for a working lunch to address the ongoing conflict.  Conflict?  Nouri's sent the Tigris Operation Command into the disputed territories.  The Kurds, noting he has refused to implement the Constitution's Article 140 (which outlines how disputed areas will be resolved) for six years, see this as Nouri's attempt to claim the areas for the Baghdad-based government and deny them to the KRG.  Friday shots were exchanged.  Liz Sly (Washington Post) quoted  Tuk Hurmatu's Mayor Shalal Abdul stating "everyone started shooting at everyone else."

Al Mada notes Moqtada's statement about the working lunch was read by Moqtada's spokesperson Salah al-Obeidi.  If you're trying to find out what's going on, skip Press TV.  It's Iranian-state TV and is has more than a vested interest.  And skip American jerks who don't know any better but treat Press TV as gospel.  I'm reading one such idiot right now. The inciting incident was Nouri sending the Tigris forces into the disputed areas.  This was done in the midst of a political crisis -- an already existing one -- that Nouri created by targeting Iraqiya.  If you're too stupid to know that -- as Digital Journal is -- then just don't cover the issue.  If you're as stupid as Digital Journal is, you're harming the dialogue, so excuse yourself from the table.

What's taking place isn't a surprise nor is the rising tensions.  This was what the RAND Corporation study predicted would happen back in 2011.  And it was predicted before too.  Yes, there were many idiots.  There was Chris Hill, for example.  Barack's first US Ambassador to Iraq told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that it was just a typical land dispute.  He had no idea.  (About so many things.)

Zanko Ahmad (niqash) offers:

Then in September 2012, the formation of a new military command post – the Tigris Operation Command - in Kirkuk, in the middle of the area of disputed territories, saw tensions escalate again. High ranking Kurdish officials called the new outpost a conspiracy by Baghdad to take control of Kurdish areas while Arab politicians saw the new Iraqi forces as a positive addition to local security in areas that are still some of Iraq’s most dangerous.
And ever since the formation of this military command, analysts have speculated that, if the matter was not handled slowly and carefully, there was potential for clashes between the two military forces present – the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces, tasked with protecting the Iraqi Kurdish territory, and the Iraqi army sent in by al-Maliki’s office.

The events of the past week in the district of Tuz Khurmatu in the Salahaddin province have proven them right.

Last Friday there were clashes between forces made up of the Iraqi police and army and Iraqi Kurdish military with allegiance to one of the two major political parties running the semi-autonomous region, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK. Clashes between the two groups left one civilian dead and wounded two PUK military members, five Iraqi police and eight members of the Iraqi army.


The incident was extremely worrying with many fearing that it could be the spark that ignited a more heated military exchange. The first response by Barzani, who heads the PUK and who is also the President of the Iraqi Kurdish region, was to ask the people of Iraqi Kurdistan to be prepared for any unwanted eventualities. Of the heads of the two major political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, Barzani has been the most confrontational. 

Moqtada's not the only one offering assistance.  AFP reports that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with KRG President Barzani yesterday, "The speaker's office said Osama al-Nujaifi met Kurdistan president Massud Barzani on the second day of an initiative aimed at reducing tensions between Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad, which he warned could lead to civil war."  All Iraq News reports al-Nujaifi returned to Baghdad today with plans to meet with Nouri.  Alsumaria notes that Barzani conveyed to al-Nujaifi that the Kurds would prefer to resolve the crisis with dialogue.

If you're an idiot -- like Digital Journal -- you look at what's happening and say, "Bad Kurds!"

This is not on the Kurds.  This is Nouri.  Nouri doesn't control the Peshmerga -- the KRG's elite fighting force.  He has refused to nominate a Minister of the Interior, a Minister of National Security or a Minister of Defense so that he can be in charge.  That's in violation of the Constitution.  In fact, he shouldn't even be prime minister because you have to form a Cabinet -- in full, not partial -- per the Constitution to become prime minister.  (Someone is named prime minister-designate.  From that moment, they have 30 days to name a Cabinet.  If they don't, the Constitution requires a new person be named prime minister-designate.)  Nouri got around that because the White House wanted the US puppet to remain in place so the US government brokered a contract called the Erbil Agreement which circumvented the Iraqi Constitution.

He controls all the non-Kurdish forces and does so illegally.  The most prized forces in Iraq?  The Peshmerga. They were not disbanded -- because they were not part of Saddam Hussein's government, they were part of the semi-autonomous KRG.  They protected the KRG throughout the 90s.  They did not training from the US.  They are the most capable military force in Iraq to this day.  And Nouri doesn't control them.  Earlier this year, he tried starving them, refusing to include them in the 2013 federal budget.  To be in the budget, they'd have to be under Nouri's control.  The KRG did not say, "Take our Peshmerga!"

So quit pretending Nouri's an innocent player because the Iranian government wants you to believe he is.

If you're not getting who is causing the problem, read this Al Mada report. Nouri's just announced that KRG officials may not leave Iraq without the permission of the federal government (his permission).  That is a serious move and one intended to further inflame tensions.  That's on Nouri and no one else.  He just threw a lit match on oil soaked Iraq.

So the likes of Digital Journal need to grasp that they can be a stooge for the Iranian government all they want, but grasp that they are lying.  And if you're being a stooge as some way to 'protest' a war on Iran, you're an even bigger idiot.  Lies start wars, they don't stop or prevent them.  Being a stooge for the Iranian government just means that if you are against US war on Iran, it looks like you're against it because you're a stooge and no one's going to take you seriously.  So you're not only spinning for the Iranian government to make despot Nouri look like the victim, you're ensuring that as the push continues for US war on Iran, no one needs to listen to you.  You also tar and feather the rest of us associated with No War On Iran as stooges. So get your act together or excuse from the table because we don't need you nullifying all of our voices.

Lastly, Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) reports on Iraq's past royalty and the relation of the country to it today:

 July 14, when King Faisel II and members of his family were killed in 1958, is celebrated as a national holiday here. Bridges and roads are named after that date.
But there are calls by some politicians to revoke those celebrations. The Iraqi post office, responding to popular demand, has issued stamps commemorating Iraq’s King Faisel and his son and grandson who later took the throne.
And at an unprecedented exhibit of photographs and royal memorabilia recently, hundreds of Iraqis came daily to marvel at a history some didn’t know they’d had, or reminisce about a more peaceful time.

 The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.


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