At present, the November death toll for US service members stationed in Iraq is 17. M-NF's pattern of announcing monthly deaths a day or two (or three or four) after a month's end means that number could increase. It cannot, however, decrease. Unless you are the BBC which foolishly 'informs' today: "At the same time US military deaths continue to decrease with six US troops killed in November compared to 29 in the same month last year. " Looking at last month's deaths, the first thing you may try to do to excuse the BBC's idiotic claim is see how many 'hostile' deaths there were. When you find out that the number was seven, you probably won't be in the mood to excuse the fools at the BBC. You'll be less inclined when you note the not under investigation non-'hostile' deaths. For example, November 15th's: Chrisian P. Humphreys and Donald V. Clark. Both men died in a Mosul helicopter crash. Is the BBC saying the two men could have prevented their own deaths? Hard to see how short of refusing to serve in Iraq.
Seven US troops did not die in Iraq last month, 17 did. BBC wins Fool For The Day. And more than earns it.
Jomana Karadsheh (CNN) reports a double bombing at a Baghdad police academy which has claimed at least 16 lives (probably 17 since one of the bombings was a "suicide vest bombing") with forty-six people injured. Al Jazeera adds:
Elsewhere in the country on Monday, 15 people were killed and about 30 wounded in a suicide car bombing against a joint US-Iraqi patrol in the centre of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police said.
"A suicide bomber blew his car up in the path of a joint patrol between Iraqi police and the American military in Mosul al-Jadida," a police officer at the scene was reported by the AFP news agency as saying.
In this morning's New York Times, James Risen offers "End of Immunity Worries U.S. Contractors in Iraq" which notes that limbo the group is in now and why:
* "the weak and often corrupt Iraqi judicial system"
* "the lack of details on how the security agreement works"
* "whether the pact will be able to prosecute Americans for past crimes"
Yeah, when the treaty is only vetted by one side (Iraqi) and when it's not released to the American people, it's a little hard to figure out what's what. Risen estimates there are over 170,000 contractors in Iraq currently.
Bonnie reminds that Kat did two CD reviews over the holiday, "Kat's Korner: Labelle's neither 'back' nor 'now'" and "Kat's Korner: Break Up The Ass Kiss."
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
jomana karadsheh
cnn
the new york times
james risen
pretenders
labelle
kats korner
Monday, December 01, 2008
The 'Gospel' of the Interior Ministry
Oh, Alissa. Oh, Alissa.
I avoid you and your rag for a day thinking we can have a fresh start on Monday but Monday and the paper both arrive and there you are, playing the fool again.
"More Iraqi Dead Last Month, but Fewer Than Last Year" is the title and, yes, it's an awakward headline. Rubin can take comfort in the fact that she didn't write it (though the headline writer appears to have used the final sentence of her third paragraph -- so maybe not too much comfort).
This morning finds Rubin in an area that is not her strong suit (math) -- as we've noted many times before. And maybe that sent her mind reeling?
Who knows, who cares? She heads the Baghdad division for the paper and needs to be able to do her job. Doing her job requires that when numbers are tossed at her, she first address the numbers in question with the readers. That doesn't mean start crunching, that means discussing the numbers.
For example? Saying they come from the Ministry of the Interior is not enough. The reader needs to some gauge and, without it being given, the impression is the paper supports and backs up the numbers. The numbers are questionable and they come if and when the puppet government wants them released. November 10th, the UN Secretary General's spokesperson Michele Montas was asked about the death count and why the United Nations no longer released that information and the reply was "that the United Nations used to receive information from the relevant Iraqi ministries about fatalities, but that it had stopped receiving that information and has consequently stopped providing casualty figures."
The puppet government inflates and decreases the figures based on how it makes them look. Lying about the body counts is not new to this illegal war.
A recent sub-story last month was about how the death toll given by the US military differed from that given by the hospitals that received the dead -- time and again, the death toll differed. It was all so confusing, wrote the reporters who covered it, how that could be. Were they really confused? No, but they apparently were unable to say "LIAR!" in print. So they pretended it was confusing that the number of corpses -- verifiable -- given by local sources was always higher than the number provided by the US military.
Though the Times of New York has always been skittish about the Ministry of Interior (for various reasons including security), the Times of Los Angeles has filed many reports on the thugs there and how, installed by Nouri al-Maliki, they've done pretty much what thugs do -- day after day. All this time later and Alissa J. Rubin's utilizing their questionable figures and not even telling her readers that the figures are in doubt? You know Pol Pot issued figures as well. One wonders how Alissa would have typed up those numbers?
On the plus, there seems to have been some effort on the part of the paper (judging by her article) to actually read the treaty since it's the most grounded Rubin's been when reporting on what it actually states. Even without that improvement, Alissa's not fool for the day because the BBC gets that 'honor.' (See next entry.) On the treaty, we'll note this from Sami Moubayed's analysis entitled "SOFA not sitting well in Iraq" (Asia Times):
If anything, the persistence of Muqtada in obstructing the pact -- and the weight he enjoys in the Shi'ite street -- have all added to his image as the only Iraqi leader who really matters anymore, at a grassroots level. Millions of Sunnis in Iraq are not happy with SOFA and find that the only leader who worked seriously on bringing it down was Muqtada.
Observers have been puzzled by the phenomenon of Muqtada, a rebel turned politician then kingmaker in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. He is now starting to appeal to Sunnis as well as Shi'ites. Some have accused him of being an agent of the Iranians while others claim he is the only Iraqi Shi'ite leader who enjoys certain independence from the mullahs of Tehran and wants Iraq independent and free of any foreign influence, be it American or Persian.
The young Muqtada (35) commands strong loyalty among ordinary Shi'ites in the slums of Baghdad, known as Sadr City, because of the vast charity network that he operates, modeled after that of Hezbollah in Lebanon. In addition to protection and a decent stipend for his followers, he also provides them with protection from other rival groups, like the Badr Brigade of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the Awakening Councils of Sunni tribesmen and al-Qaeda. Muqtada is currently making use of his relative independence from Tehran and promoting Iranian objection to SOFA. The Iranians are using both him and Maliki, for different purposes, to advance their interests in Iraq. Maliki unwillingly nods to SOFA thereby pleasing the Americans (and securing an extension of his mandate in office) while Muqtada says 'no' to it and drums up anti-American sentiment in the streets of Baghdad. Rather than clamp down on the Sadrists, Maliki turns a blind eye to the anti-SOFA activities, letting anti-Americanism boil while distancing himself from the rejectionist front.
Contrary to what many people believe, SOFA has united the Shi'ite community and created common denominators between Sunnis and Shi'ites as well. It has also created divisions within the Sunni community, between those who supported and those who continue to refuse it, mainly former Ba'athists and hardline Islamists. Maliki remains lukewarm about it and does not fully trust the Americans when they say that they will withdraw from Iraq in 2011.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq issued the following press release yesterday:
The Chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Mr. Faraj Al-Haydari, the Chief Electoral Officer Judge Qasim Sachit and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Staffan de Mistura today held a joint press briefing on the preparations for the governorate council elections. All stressed the importance of these elections scheduled to take place on 31 January.
"The IHEC is ready for elections on 31 January next year", said Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari who continued "we need civil society, Iraqi citizens and political parties to come together and help the elections succeed".
"Sixty-two days separate us from one of the most important elections in the history of Iraq. These are your elections, the elections you wanted to have, the first organized by yourselves with close association with the UN", said the SRSG in his opening remarks, adding that the governorate council elections will make a difference in the everyday lives of Iraqis, as the new elected councils will be expected to provide greater services and better support for Iraq’s local communities. "Let's all make sure that the Iraqis will go to vote, because it is their right, their duty and their opportunity to choose those they trust", he continued.
Central to these preparations has been a National Security Plan that will help provide a safe environment for voters to come out and cast their ballots. "We are concerned that some entities may be tempted to disrupt the elections, but we are also aware of unprecedented measures being jointly implemented by all Iraqi ministries who have been working together like never before", the SRSG told the media.
Of critical importance, are the anti-fraud measures put in place to combat attempts to manipulate the election results. "The 2009 elections will see for the first time the use of a voter list printed at the polling station level, one of the most significant anti-fraud measures to prevent multiple voting", said the Chief Electoral Officer. The SRSG continued by stressing that "high level technology measures will be implemented to ensure the ballots cannot be copied or tampered with".
Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari also encouraged all media outlets, political parties and civil society to apply to the IHEC to observe the entire process. "Observation is key and will provide the people of Iraq the confidence to come out and vote". The SRSG thanked the Ministry of Education for moving final exams to accommodate the elections adding that staff for the polling stations will be drawn from teachers, with full cooperation of the Ministry, to counter allegations of voter intimidation and election bias.
"Building a strong democracy in Iraq will only be possible if the Iraqi political leaders strongly mobilize to ensure a safe, peaceful and successful election", the SRSG concluded.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
the new york times
alissa j. rubin
sami moubayed
I avoid you and your rag for a day thinking we can have a fresh start on Monday but Monday and the paper both arrive and there you are, playing the fool again.
"More Iraqi Dead Last Month, but Fewer Than Last Year" is the title and, yes, it's an awakward headline. Rubin can take comfort in the fact that she didn't write it (though the headline writer appears to have used the final sentence of her third paragraph -- so maybe not too much comfort).
This morning finds Rubin in an area that is not her strong suit (math) -- as we've noted many times before. And maybe that sent her mind reeling?
Who knows, who cares? She heads the Baghdad division for the paper and needs to be able to do her job. Doing her job requires that when numbers are tossed at her, she first address the numbers in question with the readers. That doesn't mean start crunching, that means discussing the numbers.
For example? Saying they come from the Ministry of the Interior is not enough. The reader needs to some gauge and, without it being given, the impression is the paper supports and backs up the numbers. The numbers are questionable and they come if and when the puppet government wants them released. November 10th, the UN Secretary General's spokesperson Michele Montas was asked about the death count and why the United Nations no longer released that information and the reply was "that the United Nations used to receive information from the relevant Iraqi ministries about fatalities, but that it had stopped receiving that information and has consequently stopped providing casualty figures."
The puppet government inflates and decreases the figures based on how it makes them look. Lying about the body counts is not new to this illegal war.
A recent sub-story last month was about how the death toll given by the US military differed from that given by the hospitals that received the dead -- time and again, the death toll differed. It was all so confusing, wrote the reporters who covered it, how that could be. Were they really confused? No, but they apparently were unable to say "LIAR!" in print. So they pretended it was confusing that the number of corpses -- verifiable -- given by local sources was always higher than the number provided by the US military.
Though the Times of New York has always been skittish about the Ministry of Interior (for various reasons including security), the Times of Los Angeles has filed many reports on the thugs there and how, installed by Nouri al-Maliki, they've done pretty much what thugs do -- day after day. All this time later and Alissa J. Rubin's utilizing their questionable figures and not even telling her readers that the figures are in doubt? You know Pol Pot issued figures as well. One wonders how Alissa would have typed up those numbers?
On the plus, there seems to have been some effort on the part of the paper (judging by her article) to actually read the treaty since it's the most grounded Rubin's been when reporting on what it actually states. Even without that improvement, Alissa's not fool for the day because the BBC gets that 'honor.' (See next entry.) On the treaty, we'll note this from Sami Moubayed's analysis entitled "SOFA not sitting well in Iraq" (Asia Times):
If anything, the persistence of Muqtada in obstructing the pact -- and the weight he enjoys in the Shi'ite street -- have all added to his image as the only Iraqi leader who really matters anymore, at a grassroots level. Millions of Sunnis in Iraq are not happy with SOFA and find that the only leader who worked seriously on bringing it down was Muqtada.
Observers have been puzzled by the phenomenon of Muqtada, a rebel turned politician then kingmaker in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. He is now starting to appeal to Sunnis as well as Shi'ites. Some have accused him of being an agent of the Iranians while others claim he is the only Iraqi Shi'ite leader who enjoys certain independence from the mullahs of Tehran and wants Iraq independent and free of any foreign influence, be it American or Persian.
The young Muqtada (35) commands strong loyalty among ordinary Shi'ites in the slums of Baghdad, known as Sadr City, because of the vast charity network that he operates, modeled after that of Hezbollah in Lebanon. In addition to protection and a decent stipend for his followers, he also provides them with protection from other rival groups, like the Badr Brigade of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, the Awakening Councils of Sunni tribesmen and al-Qaeda. Muqtada is currently making use of his relative independence from Tehran and promoting Iranian objection to SOFA. The Iranians are using both him and Maliki, for different purposes, to advance their interests in Iraq. Maliki unwillingly nods to SOFA thereby pleasing the Americans (and securing an extension of his mandate in office) while Muqtada says 'no' to it and drums up anti-American sentiment in the streets of Baghdad. Rather than clamp down on the Sadrists, Maliki turns a blind eye to the anti-SOFA activities, letting anti-Americanism boil while distancing himself from the rejectionist front.
Contrary to what many people believe, SOFA has united the Shi'ite community and created common denominators between Sunnis and Shi'ites as well. It has also created divisions within the Sunni community, between those who supported and those who continue to refuse it, mainly former Ba'athists and hardline Islamists. Maliki remains lukewarm about it and does not fully trust the Americans when they say that they will withdraw from Iraq in 2011.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq issued the following press release yesterday:
The Chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Mr. Faraj Al-Haydari, the Chief Electoral Officer Judge Qasim Sachit and the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Staffan de Mistura today held a joint press briefing on the preparations for the governorate council elections. All stressed the importance of these elections scheduled to take place on 31 January.
"The IHEC is ready for elections on 31 January next year", said Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari who continued "we need civil society, Iraqi citizens and political parties to come together and help the elections succeed".
"Sixty-two days separate us from one of the most important elections in the history of Iraq. These are your elections, the elections you wanted to have, the first organized by yourselves with close association with the UN", said the SRSG in his opening remarks, adding that the governorate council elections will make a difference in the everyday lives of Iraqis, as the new elected councils will be expected to provide greater services and better support for Iraq’s local communities. "Let's all make sure that the Iraqis will go to vote, because it is their right, their duty and their opportunity to choose those they trust", he continued.
Central to these preparations has been a National Security Plan that will help provide a safe environment for voters to come out and cast their ballots. "We are concerned that some entities may be tempted to disrupt the elections, but we are also aware of unprecedented measures being jointly implemented by all Iraqi ministries who have been working together like never before", the SRSG told the media.
Of critical importance, are the anti-fraud measures put in place to combat attempts to manipulate the election results. "The 2009 elections will see for the first time the use of a voter list printed at the polling station level, one of the most significant anti-fraud measures to prevent multiple voting", said the Chief Electoral Officer. The SRSG continued by stressing that "high level technology measures will be implemented to ensure the ballots cannot be copied or tampered with".
Chairman Faraj Al-Haydari also encouraged all media outlets, political parties and civil society to apply to the IHEC to observe the entire process. "Observation is key and will provide the people of Iraq the confidence to come out and vote". The SRSG thanked the Ministry of Education for moving final exams to accommodate the elections adding that staff for the polling stations will be drawn from teachers, with full cooperation of the Ministry, to counter allegations of voter intimidation and election bias.
"Building a strong democracy in Iraq will only be possible if the Iraqi political leaders strongly mobilize to ensure a safe, peaceful and successful election", the SRSG concluded.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
the new york times
alissa j. rubin
sami moubayed
Sunday, November 30, 2008
And the war drags on . . .
An NPR correspondent and three members of NPR's Iraqi staff narrowly survived an apparent assassination attempt in Baghdad on Sunday after a hidden "sticky" bomb exploded underneath their parked, armored BMW.
The car exploded in a pillar of flame and was totally destroyed. No one was injured in the attack.
The bombing took place during a brief NPR reporting trip to western Baghdad's battle-scarred Rabiye Street.
The above is from Ivan Watson's "NPR Journalists Narrowly Survive Car Bombing" (NPR) and the link has an audio report by Watson on All Things Considered as well as a video clip. Staying with the topic of the press, Reuters photographer Ibrahim Jassam has been a prisoner in Iraq since Sept. 1, 2008 when US and Iraqi military forces drug him from his Mahmudiyah home. He has been held a prsioner since then at Camp Cropper. Reporters Without Borders and Journalistic Freedom Observatory have been calling for his release. Reuters reports that Iraq's Central Criminal Court has ordered that Ibrahim be released because "there was no evidence against" him; however, "There was no immediate response from the U.S. military to the ruling."
Because stupid knows no political spectrum, let's move over to CODESTINK whose latest actions will find some of their new 'friends' ditching them. Reza Fiyouzat provides a strong critique of the latest 'action' in "Code Pink in Iran" (Dissident Voice):
Code Pink has gone to Iran (starting, I believe, November 22), on a friendly, people's diplomacy kind of mission. According to LA Progressive's Linda Milazzo (Nov. 24) and according to Code Pink’s blog, their entourage is having a wonderful time in Iran, being led in part by Rostam Pourzal, a lobbyist for the Iranian government (at least, that's what he should legally register as, really!). He has taken the Code Pink activists to some ministries, as well as (on the civil society side) cafes, restaurants, bazaars, and places of gathering where they have met with so many amazing women and men, all of whom were really cool, compassionate and intelligent, and above all peace-loving. People have acted generally enthusiastically toward the American people --diplomats upon learning that they, Code Pink's Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, were on a people's mission for peace. It's like, Oh my god! They want peace!
Benjamin's descriptions are at times patronizing and at times quite frustrating to read, though I should admit she sounds sincere in her intent. I do doubt their judgment though. Code Pink did support Obama, and Jodie Evans, in an interview on Air America radio program, Clout, sounded ecstatic about Obama’s election, saying, "War is over!" (Meaning it not literally, of course, but believing that with Obama as president, the whole mess will soon come to a speedy end.) As if!
Anyway, on the patronizing side … Here’s the problem: Benjamin sounds surprised to have met so many interesting, intelligent people who like and want peace!
CODESTINK just lost all their centrist buddies they cozied up to (and that Jodie threw some dimes at). They can't do a damn thing to end the illegal war but, Jodie and Medea hope, a trip to Iran will get them some headlines! The destruction of CODESTINK (friends predicted it and I was wrong and they were right) has been one long and embarrassing chapter. Medea did her part to destroy the Green Party and now she's destroying the peace movement. It's a real shame publicity stunts took priority over ending an ongoing and illegal war. It's a real shame electing Barack was seen by CODESTINK as part of a peace movement.
But the thing is you can only be a patsy once when you reach their desperation level. You'll see a number of people do a slow walk away from CODESTINK over this latest effort. The charge will be that they've lent themselves to propaganda and those who might defend them? CODESTINK burned those bridges.
They've offered what now? Four years of action to 'stop' the war on Iran. The war that never started. They've been lazy, inefficient and defocused. And there's not a lot of support for them anymore. Doubts began circling when they set themselves up as a DC lobby group. Then came their move to the center. The ones they've been courting? They'll see this trip not just as propaganda but as "enemy propaganda." It's a real shame the left wasn't good enough for CODESTINK and a real shame that the illegal war wasn't important enough for them to focus on.
In the real world, Iraqis and US service members had no choice but to focus on the illegal war:
They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)
Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4,204. And tonight? 4207 is ICCC's count. Just Foreign Policy's counter estimates the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war to be 1,288,426 same as last week.
Let's turn to the treaty which is the ultimate violence. Here's Adam Ashton of McClatchy Newspapers:
Influential religious leaders across Iraq are voicing reservations about a U.S.-Iraq security agreement that allows Americans to remain in the country for another three years.
Some are cautious in their criticisms. Others -- ones who generally are tied to political parties that fought the pact -- forcefully condemn the treaty.
Their comments filtered out Saturday as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki met with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of multinational forces in Iraq, to plan for the treaty's implementation.
And that's about all that he has to say worth quoting. He really is a disgrace. In his own paper, he can tell what the US officials are saying but writing for McClatchy he repeats the lie that the US troops will be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Modesto Bee readers should make a special point to ask him why he lied when he returns from Iraq. This is worth quoting from the Washington Post:
Sistani, the official said, considered parts of the agreement "a mystery" -- especially those pertaining to the legal jurisdiction of U.S. forces and the mechanisms to control U.S. troops' entry into and exit from Iraq.
Sistani said the pact provided "no guarantee" that Iraq would regain sovereignty and questioned whether Iraq's assets would be protected under it. He also said he fears that Iraq's government is too weak to implement the agreement and will buckle to "American pressure," the official said.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is correct that the agreement is "a mystery" -- there are two versions. He's also correct to question everything about it. Though it's not surprising that he would have serious issues after reviewing the treaty, it's amazing that the US press can continue to pretend that it promises things that are not promises.
In easily recognized violence, Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy) notes 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad today. Laith Hammoudi notes 30 corpses discovered in Diyala Province yesterday and 1 in Baghdad, a Baghdad bombing that wounded four people, a Baghdad sticky bomb that wounded three, a Baghdad bombing that claimed 1 life and wounded three people, and 2 people shot dead in Mosul.
New content at Third:
Truest statement of the week
Editorial: The Treaty
A note to our readers
TV: Rosie and Other Bombs
The E-Z Bake critics of Panhandle Media
Video On Demand?
Book discussion roundtable
Simon Assaf's "Iraq deal does not end the war"
Then and Now
Greens and Marcelo
Highlights
Note
Pru notes "Mass demonstration in Iraq" (Great Britain's Socialist Worker):
Iraqi supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel Shia cleric, demonstrated in their tens of thousands in Baghdad on Friday of last week.
They were protesting at the Status of Forces Agreement negotiated between the US and Iraq’s government.
This sets a timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops from the country by 2012. But it also grants the US some 50 permanent military bases, control over Iraqi airspace and the right to seize any Iraqis who work against US interests. The deal will also allow the US to intervene if the Iraqi government is threatened by popular rebellion.
Protesters toppled an effigy of George Bush on a plinth that once displayed a statue of Saddam Hussein. Sadr has vowed to relaunch the armed resistance if Iraq’s parliament approves the accord.
» email article » comment on article » printable version
© Copyright Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original and leave this notice in place.
If you found this article useful please help us maintain SW by » making a donation.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
and the war drags on
donovan
npr
ivan watson
reza fiyouzat
mcclatchy newspapers
the washington post
the socialist worker
the third estate sunday review
The car exploded in a pillar of flame and was totally destroyed. No one was injured in the attack.
The bombing took place during a brief NPR reporting trip to western Baghdad's battle-scarred Rabiye Street.
The above is from Ivan Watson's "NPR Journalists Narrowly Survive Car Bombing" (NPR) and the link has an audio report by Watson on All Things Considered as well as a video clip. Staying with the topic of the press, Reuters photographer Ibrahim Jassam has been a prisoner in Iraq since Sept. 1, 2008 when US and Iraqi military forces drug him from his Mahmudiyah home. He has been held a prsioner since then at Camp Cropper. Reporters Without Borders and Journalistic Freedom Observatory have been calling for his release. Reuters reports that Iraq's Central Criminal Court has ordered that Ibrahim be released because "there was no evidence against" him; however, "There was no immediate response from the U.S. military to the ruling."
Because stupid knows no political spectrum, let's move over to CODESTINK whose latest actions will find some of their new 'friends' ditching them. Reza Fiyouzat provides a strong critique of the latest 'action' in "Code Pink in Iran" (Dissident Voice):
Code Pink has gone to Iran (starting, I believe, November 22), on a friendly, people's diplomacy kind of mission. According to LA Progressive's Linda Milazzo (Nov. 24) and according to Code Pink’s blog, their entourage is having a wonderful time in Iran, being led in part by Rostam Pourzal, a lobbyist for the Iranian government (at least, that's what he should legally register as, really!). He has taken the Code Pink activists to some ministries, as well as (on the civil society side) cafes, restaurants, bazaars, and places of gathering where they have met with so many amazing women and men, all of whom were really cool, compassionate and intelligent, and above all peace-loving. People have acted generally enthusiastically toward the American people --diplomats upon learning that they, Code Pink's Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, were on a people's mission for peace. It's like, Oh my god! They want peace!
Benjamin's descriptions are at times patronizing and at times quite frustrating to read, though I should admit she sounds sincere in her intent. I do doubt their judgment though. Code Pink did support Obama, and Jodie Evans, in an interview on Air America radio program, Clout, sounded ecstatic about Obama’s election, saying, "War is over!" (Meaning it not literally, of course, but believing that with Obama as president, the whole mess will soon come to a speedy end.) As if!
Anyway, on the patronizing side … Here’s the problem: Benjamin sounds surprised to have met so many interesting, intelligent people who like and want peace!
CODESTINK just lost all their centrist buddies they cozied up to (and that Jodie threw some dimes at). They can't do a damn thing to end the illegal war but, Jodie and Medea hope, a trip to Iran will get them some headlines! The destruction of CODESTINK (friends predicted it and I was wrong and they were right) has been one long and embarrassing chapter. Medea did her part to destroy the Green Party and now she's destroying the peace movement. It's a real shame publicity stunts took priority over ending an ongoing and illegal war. It's a real shame electing Barack was seen by CODESTINK as part of a peace movement.
But the thing is you can only be a patsy once when you reach their desperation level. You'll see a number of people do a slow walk away from CODESTINK over this latest effort. The charge will be that they've lent themselves to propaganda and those who might defend them? CODESTINK burned those bridges.
They've offered what now? Four years of action to 'stop' the war on Iran. The war that never started. They've been lazy, inefficient and defocused. And there's not a lot of support for them anymore. Doubts began circling when they set themselves up as a DC lobby group. Then came their move to the center. The ones they've been courting? They'll see this trip not just as propaganda but as "enemy propaganda." It's a real shame the left wasn't good enough for CODESTINK and a real shame that the illegal war wasn't important enough for them to focus on.
In the real world, Iraqis and US service members had no choice but to focus on the illegal war:
They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)
Last Sunday, ICCC's number of US troops killed in Iraq since the start of the illegal war was 4,204. And tonight? 4207 is ICCC's count. Just Foreign Policy's counter estimates the number of Iraqis killed since the start of the illegal war to be 1,288,426 same as last week.
Let's turn to the treaty which is the ultimate violence. Here's Adam Ashton of McClatchy Newspapers:
Influential religious leaders across Iraq are voicing reservations about a U.S.-Iraq security agreement that allows Americans to remain in the country for another three years.
Some are cautious in their criticisms. Others -- ones who generally are tied to political parties that fought the pact -- forcefully condemn the treaty.
Their comments filtered out Saturday as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki met with U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. Ray Odierno, commander of multinational forces in Iraq, to plan for the treaty's implementation.
And that's about all that he has to say worth quoting. He really is a disgrace. In his own paper, he can tell what the US officials are saying but writing for McClatchy he repeats the lie that the US troops will be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Modesto Bee readers should make a special point to ask him why he lied when he returns from Iraq. This is worth quoting from the Washington Post:
Sistani, the official said, considered parts of the agreement "a mystery" -- especially those pertaining to the legal jurisdiction of U.S. forces and the mechanisms to control U.S. troops' entry into and exit from Iraq.
Sistani said the pact provided "no guarantee" that Iraq would regain sovereignty and questioned whether Iraq's assets would be protected under it. He also said he fears that Iraq's government is too weak to implement the agreement and will buckle to "American pressure," the official said.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is correct that the agreement is "a mystery" -- there are two versions. He's also correct to question everything about it. Though it's not surprising that he would have serious issues after reviewing the treaty, it's amazing that the US press can continue to pretend that it promises things that are not promises.
In easily recognized violence, Hussein Kadhim (McClatchy) notes 1 corpse discovered in Baghdad today. Laith Hammoudi notes 30 corpses discovered in Diyala Province yesterday and 1 in Baghdad, a Baghdad bombing that wounded four people, a Baghdad sticky bomb that wounded three, a Baghdad bombing that claimed 1 life and wounded three people, and 2 people shot dead in Mosul.
New content at Third:
Truest statement of the week
Editorial: The Treaty
A note to our readers
TV: Rosie and Other Bombs
The E-Z Bake critics of Panhandle Media
Video On Demand?
Book discussion roundtable
Simon Assaf's "Iraq deal does not end the war"
Then and Now
Greens and Marcelo
Highlights
Note
Pru notes "Mass demonstration in Iraq" (Great Britain's Socialist Worker):
Iraqi supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr, the rebel Shia cleric, demonstrated in their tens of thousands in Baghdad on Friday of last week.
They were protesting at the Status of Forces Agreement negotiated between the US and Iraq’s government.
This sets a timetable for the withdrawal of combat troops from the country by 2012. But it also grants the US some 50 permanent military bases, control over Iraqi airspace and the right to seize any Iraqis who work against US interests. The deal will also allow the US to intervene if the Iraqi government is threatened by popular rebellion.
Protesters toppled an effigy of George Bush on a plinth that once displayed a statue of Saddam Hussein. Sadr has vowed to relaunch the armed resistance if Iraq’s parliament approves the accord.
» email article » comment on article » printable version
© Copyright Socialist Worker (unless otherwise stated). You may republish if you include an active link to the original and leave this notice in place.
If you found this article useful please help us maintain SW by » making a donation.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq
and the war drags on
donovan
npr
ivan watson
reza fiyouzat
mcclatchy newspapers
the washington post
the socialist worker
the third estate sunday review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)