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Monday,
October 22, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's targeting of
the Central Bank brings him some unwanted international attention, an
Iraqi legend -- one who found international fame as a singer and whose
lovers reportedly included a prime minister -- passes away, protests
return to Iraq, Barack mentions Iraq in a new advertisement, is nepotism
enriching the Biden family, and more.
The character of Pinocchio first appears at the end of the 19th century in Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio.
The wooden puppet who wanted to be a human boy had a nose that grew and
grew as he told more and more lies. In 1940, Disney would make the
film Pinocchio and reach new audiences. It and similar themed tales -- such as Aesop's The Boy Who Cried Wolf
-- experience popularity not just because they impart the lesson that
lying is wrong but also because we want to believe that those who lie
are made to suffer in some manner for their deceptions. We want to
believe that lying has consequences and we want to believe that because,
when we look around, we rarely see any punishment or even social
disgrace for lying. Bully Boy Bush, for example, with the help of a
compliant press, lied the country into an illegal war. And did so
without any apparent suffering.
First,
she claimed that Obama "ended the war in Iraq like he promised during
the 2008 campaign." Actually, A: It ended because of an agreement that
was entered into between the US and the Puppet Government of Iraq before
George Bush left office; B: the Obama administration did everything it could to NOT have to leave Iraq;
and, C: the occupation continues to this day with tens of thousands of
independent contractors and thousands of other civilian employees
staffing the enormous embassy and consulates around the country. But
the above are inconvenient facts that we are supposed to forget so we
can triumphantly trumpet: "Vote for Obama, he ended the war in Iraq!"
And we should also remember what Tim Arango (New York Times) reported September 26th:
Iraq
and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in
the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training
missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to General
Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed
to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence.
Were he a functioning journalist, Rainey might want to ask, "Is Barack saying Mitt's a better negotiator?"
The
ad includes this line, "Mitt Romney would have left 30,000 troops
there" -- so Barack thinks Mitt would have been able to have done that,
to have successfully negotiated the agreement that Barack's still
working on today?
So why Barack's sudden
interest in Iraq and Afghanistan today? The last of the three debates
between Barack and Romney is tonight. As we pointed out at Third yesterday,
the same media that loved to cluck about how the candidates weren't
talking about the wars, that same media that was in charge of the
debates hasn't been keen to ask questions about the wars.
According to Michael Gordon:
"Mr. Biden also predicted that the Americans could work out a deal with
a government led by Mr. Maliki. 'Maliki wants us to stick around
because he does not see a future in Iraq otherwise,' Mr. Biden said.
'I'll bet you my vice presidency Maliki will extend the SOFA' he added,
referring to the Status of Forces Agreement the Obama administration hoped to negotiate."
Feaver is responding to a critique of his earlier comments -- a critique by F. Gregory Gause III.
Feaver actually shouldn't have bothered. When you're either as stupid
or as much a liar as Gause, you don't deserve a response. In fact, we're
only going to include one paragraph. We were doing three but the
person I'm dictating this too just told me he's not sure how to clean up
everything. (Meaning turn so many curse words into work-safe ones.)
So we're wiping out everything and emphasizing one tiny sliver only:
In
the end, Maliki accepted a political deal brokered in Tehran that
returned him to the prime ministry with the support of Shiite political
groups closely aligned with Iran, like Muqtada al-Sadr's followers and
the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
The Erbil Agreement was negotiated by the US, not by Iran. Iran had nothing to do with the Erbil Agreement.
And briefly, one more section:
Once
that coalition was formed, no U.S. diplomatic effort, no matter how
skillful and concerted, was going to convince Maliki to alter the
original withdrawal agreement and allow a substantial U.S. force to
stay. Maliki was not so inclined anyway, but with the backing of Iran so
central to his return to power, there was no conceivable set of
inducements Washington could offer Maliki to move him off his position.
Am
I doing the Saudi Arabia snapshot? No. You can't be an expert on
everything. And that's something that the writer might consider. So
when he was brushing up on Saudi Arabia for those bad articles he wrote
during this period, he missed the coverage in the Iraqi press. Nouri
was fine with it. Nouri wanted US troops on the ground. He'd made that
clear when he visited DC in the summer of 2009.
The issue was immunity. That was the big issue with the SOFA in 2008. It was the big issue as 2011 drew to a close.
If you don't know what went down, maybe you should find another topic to address?
We
may return to this idiot tomorrow when I can hopefully be a little more
calm on this topic. But there are neocons who are more factual than
Gause The Third is. Again, we embrace the tales like The Boy Who Cried Wolf because we want to believe that those who lie get punished.
It's
four years later, and here I am back speaking at the public area on the
edge of the Hofstra campus before the presidential debate. It saddens
me to report that the ills I spoke of in the presidential campaign four
years ago remain unchanged. The corporate media still uphold the
charade of the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates. The
commission is still controlled by the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Its' still is funded by large corporations like Anheuser-Busch. The
commission still excludes any candidate outside of the Democratic and
Republican parties even if the candidate is on enough ballots to win
the electoral college. Both the Green Party and Libertarian candidates
are on enough ballots to win, but are excluded from the debates. And by
the the terms of the Democratic-Republican debate agreement, Debate
hosts such as my alma matter Hofstra are even excluded from scheduling
other qualified presidential candidates to speak on campus. I am
disappointed that my college would sell out the quest for knowledge so
cheaply.
Of course, the corporate media
never reports on these restrictive terms of the agreement. nor do they
report that debate sponsor Anheuser-Busch is not an American company. It
is owned by Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate. Lastly, the corporate
media failed to report on the biggest debate stories of the year that 3
of the 10 sponsors have pulled out of the debates because they realized
that the debate is not nonpartisan. The YWCA, Philips Electronics, and
British advertising firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty have all pulled out of
sponsorship. The YWCA and Phillips have issued statements that the
debates are bi-partisan, not nonpartisan.
I
support one of the candidates wrongfully shut out of the debates, Green
Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Dr. Stein is on 85% of
the ballots in the country. She has called for all qualified candidates
who could win the electoral college to be in the debate. She
understands that the corporate control of the debates and our democracy
needs to be remedied. She has consistently supported the reforms called
for by the occupy movement. She has chosen anti-poverty crusader Cheri
Honkala as her running mate. As Green Party candidates, they follow the
party policy of refusing all corporate donations.
On the topic of the presidential tickets, Barack's running mate and current Vice President Joe Biden is in the news cycle. Charlie Gasparino (Fox Business) reports that when Hill International's president David Richter was asked about the success of the subsidiary HillStone International:
Richter
didn't mince words. It really helps, he said, to have "the brother of
the vice president as a partner," according to a person who was
present.
The "brother" Richter was referring to during the meeting is James Biden, the younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden.
Since
November 2010, James Biden has been the executive vice president of
Hill International's housing subsidiary despite little if any documented
work history in residential construction. And if the company's
projections are accurate, both Hill and Biden are on the verge of a huge
payday, beneficiaries, some analysts believe, of James Biden's
connections to the Obama Administration through his older brother.
Indeed,
the Iraq project may be the most lucrative single development in Hill's
history. Since 2011, Hill, located in Marlton, NJ., has been losing
money; the shares were recently trading at $3.82, down about 28% this
year on New York Stock Exchange trading.
We'll
cover Iraqi oil tomorrow but the above is breaking in the news cycle
and I know and like Joe Biden but I don't play favorites. Hopefully,
the story is not as bad as it sounds but we noted it here the day it
broke, we didn't try to hide it or play personal favorites.
Turning to Iraq and violence, Al Rafidayn reports
a Nineveh Province roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier
and left another injured and a Salahuddin Province roadside bombing
left one police officer injured. Also in Salahuddin Province, All Iraq News notes a Samarr cemetery bombing targeted a mosque but left no one dead or injured. Alsumaria reports
a Shirqat bombing targeting a police chief that left his assistant
injured, 1 Sahwa was shot dead in Azlerarip, 1 woman was killed in
Wasit, 2 security officers shot dead in Baghdad, and the Turkish
military continued to shell northern Iraq.
Saturday, Alsumaria reported
"hundreds of teachers" had taken to the streets on Friday in Basra to
protest the lack of advances in education and their living conditions.
In addition, they demanded the government imporve the public services
and address the crumbling infrastructure. That was actually the second
day in a row of protests in Basra. Al-Hasany reports
that Friday, following morning prayers, various social sectors in Basra
turned out to demonstrate. Some had signs and placards with carttons
calling out the government's corruption and authoritarian nature,
others decried the ongoing violence, and some called for the United
Nations to step in and end the unjust rule by a corrupt government. As
you look through the pictures that illustrate the article, it's clear
that "hundreds" turned out on Friday, possibly even "thousands." The
protesters are all male but they're of all ages -- including the little
boy carrying a sign decrying the lack of public services. In a possible
response to the teachers, Alsumaria added
State of Law MP Mohammed Chichod has stated that basic services can
wait and that it is more important that the government focus on the
military and weapons. (State of Law is Nouri's political slate.) Dar Addustour reports
a Maysan Province demonstration on Sunday in which people gathered
(dozens) to protest the lack of basic services as well as a probelm
specific to the province, sinking homes. Though the protest was
peaceful, the people were surprised to see Nouris security forces storm
in using batons and attacking the people, hurling threats and insults at
the people, firing into the air and injuring one child who was shot.
This morning, All Iraq News reports,
the Maysan Province Council questioned the provincial governor and two
of his deputies about yesterday's attack and demanded the launch of an
investigation to determine what took place and that a formal apology be
made to the family of the child shot on Sunday as well as to the
families of any other injured children. For those who remember
January 2011, this is how it started in Iraq. Scattered protests
building up to the February 25th protests across Iraq, as the cry for
improved basic services, jobs and addressing 'the disappeared' in Iraq's
'justice' system. As various governments were threatened in the region
and a few brought down, Nouri grew worried. That's when he made his
'promise' that he wouldn't go for a third term (since rescinded by his
attorney and many others), insisted that he would fix things in 100
days, begged Iraqis to stop protesting. It was kick the can, what Nouri
always does. Stall, distract and hope your opponents are exhausted and
just give up. In this case, Nouri's opponents were the Iraqi people. Now it would appear that the protests are re-starting.
Dropping back to Saturday,
" In other scandals, Nouri fired Sinan al-Shabibi as Governor of the
Central Bank (despite Article 103 of the Constitution making clear that
he doesn't have that right -- Parliament does). Since then a warrant's
been put out for al-Shabibi who is said to be in Europe. An unnamed MP tells Al Mada
that Nouri fired al-Shabibi because the man refused to loan Nouri $63
billion that Nouri said was for the government's budget. Al Mada notes
that Moqtada al-Sadr is calling out Nouri's attempts to politicize the
Central Bank and he also asks where is the reform that Nouri promised in
early 2011?" Today Prashant Rao (AFP) reports,
"The targeting of Iraq's well-respected central bank chief appears to
be a move by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to consolidate power and
sends a bad message to international investors, experts and diplomats
say." Long time Iraq observer Joost Hiltermann of the International
Crisis Group tells Rao, "The Maliki government will claim it (the move
against Shabibi) is part of long-standing efforts to root out
corruption. It looks more like a long-standing effort to gain control
over independent institutions." Michael Peel (Financial Times of London) adds: Some
analysts see the affairs as more evidence of a growing autocracy
established by Mr Maliki, particularly since the withdrawal of US troops
in December. The paradox of power in his administration is that, while
his coalition grouping controls well under half the parliamentary seats,
he has steadily increased his authority over important security and
financial institutions. In December, Tareq al-Hashemi, vice president,
fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest on terrorism
charges, claims he says were orchestrated by the premier.
A
group of intellectuals, academics and political analysts gathered in
Salahaddin on Oct. 20 to talk about the current political situation in
Iraq. At the meeting, Kurdistan Regional President Massoud Barzani
said, "We welcome constructive talks with Baghdad."
Deputy
Iraqi Prime Minister Roj Nuri Shaways and Barham Salih, deputy
secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), were also
in attendance.
According
to the official website of the presidency of the Kurdistan Region,
those at the meeting "praised the role of the President Barzani in
building the new Iraq and in creating the new Iraqi government. They
also informed Barzani that Iraq is deeply upset by the current political
crisis and that their mission in visiting the Kurdistan Region is to
take a positive message back to Baghdad in order to end this political
crisis."
Alsumaria notes
that today's meet-up was with Nouri who spoke of the need for real
solutions. Nouri's second term may end before the political crisis is
resolved. The crisis is usually pegged to December 2011. The political
stalemate pre-dates the crisis. Political Stalemate I is the eight
months after March 2010 when Nouri brought the country to a stand still
as he demanded a second term as prime minister. The US-brokered Erbil
Agreement (November 2010) ends Political Stalemate I. Nouri's trashing
the contract starts Political Stalemate II. In the summer of 2011,
Moqtada al-Sadr, the Kurds and Iraqiya called for a return to the
Erbil Agreement so you can see that as the start of Political Stalemate
II or you can date it back further when Nouri refuses to create an
independent national security commission headed by Ayad Allawi as
outlined in the Erbil Agreement.
Afifa
Iskandar passed away Sunday. The singer was not just an Iraqi
institution, she was acclaimed throughout the region. She was also an
actress, knew pretty much everyone, reportedly was the mistress of one
prime minister, retired to avoid another prime minister, a very
interesting life. All Iraq News reports
she was 91-years-old, born in 1912 to an Iraqi father and a Greek
Christian mother. The paper explains she began singing at the age of
five and gave her first concert when she she was 8-years-old (gave the
concert in Erbil).
Alsumaria notes
that she married at the age of 12 and that she began singing in Baghdad
clubs in 1935. She'd go on to sing at all the leading clubs including
Cabaret Abdullah and the Paradise. In 1938, she'd travel to Egypt where
she wowed Cario. The History News Network shares a story of a social get together where Afifa Iskander performed:
To
compare any singer to Um Kulthoum was the biggest compliment a singer
could receive, especially in the fifties (this is before Arab rock had
been invented). Afifa Iskander deserved it, not because of her
overpowering voice nor her magnetic presence (factors which had made Um
Kulthoum a star) but because of the warmth of her personality and the
astonishing way she sang Iraqi ballads and made them her own. She was
Iraq's Um Kulthoum because she sang Iraqi songs that spoke to Iraqis
everywhere in the same way that Um Kulthoum, despite her great Arab
following, sang primarily to Egyptians; and she became a national icon
precisely because she was able to sing songs that did not imitate the
style of Egyptian or Lebanese chanteuses, but were profoundly, natively
Iraqi.
Al Rafidayn notes
that she will be buried in a Baghdad cemetery near her mother. Her
mother was a strong influence and played four instruments. Last month, Warvin reports,
she was admitted to Baghdad Medical City Hospital, suffering from
intestinal bleeding. Afifa was celebrated for her singing and her beauty. Jabra Ibrahim Jabra shared a recollection in his posthumous Princesses' Street: Baghdad Memories:
Some
of the writers were not happy at the Brazilian Cafe unless they sat on
the front line chairs facing the street, which was always noisy and busy
with its ever-changing scenes, people, colors, carriages, cars, and
lottery ticket sellers shouting, "Five thousand dinars! Five thousand
dinars!" The din did not ceasue until about midnight, especially
because next to the cafe was a famous nightclub, in which Afifa Iskandar
sang.
Desmond Stewart introduced me to
Afifa Iskandar at her request, for he used to give her private English
lessons. To my surprise, I found her to be young, bright, and thirsty
for knowledge and culture. Desmond and I used to boast that we were the
only two men in Baghdad, on going to the nightclub, whom the "artiste"
would offer a drink and pay for it, not the contrary.
Another memory is shared in the book Outside In Marginality in the Modern Middle East (Eugene Rogan, editor):
[Amin]
Al-Mumayyiz's wedding party in 1940 was a different affair. By then he
was a diplomat, and had moved house to al-Salihiya, a leafy suburb.
The musical entertainmnet started with the chalghi accompanied by
singing of maqams and pastas by professionals and amateurs. At
midnight, the then renowned singer Afifa Iskandar arrived with her takht
(band) headed by Salih al-Kuwaiti. They came from the Otel al-Jawahiri
(which belonged to the Kuwaiti brothers) after the end of their
peformance there. Afifa danced and sang and charmed all present with
her smiles and jokes.
Skies explains that last year, during Ramadan, the series Baghdad Beauty
aired -- a series tracing "the life of Affifa Iskandar, one of the
first Iraqi singers which started to gain her fame in the 50s of the
last century. [. . .] She sang in the same cabaret in which her father,
Iskancer, plays the violin. Known personalities attend to the cabaret to
listen to her. Among them, Naseem, the British, who reprsent what the
UK wants from Iraq, Bakir Sidqi, an Iraqi Army leader, and lately a Nazi
German, who offers his country as a new ally to Iraq."
In 2010, Hadani Ditmars (CounterCurrents) remembered
a trip he took to Iraq and seeking out a Catholic doctor who as very
popular in Baghdad, "Young and old, rich and poor, Kurds and Arabs, even
Afifa Iskander -- the former star of Baghdad's old cabaret scene and
mistress of Abdul Karim Qassim (the Iraqi leader who flirted with
Russian Communists and was overthrown in the 1963 CIA-backed Baathist
coup) -- came in for a visit. She was in her eighties then and being
treated for dysentery, in a neighourhood that, less than a decade
earlier, had been middle class."
General
Abdul Karim Qassim overthrew the (British installed) Iraqi monarchy in a
1958 coup and was Prime Minister of Iraq until 1963. For demanding that
the British and American venture Iraq Petroleum Company share ownership
and profits with the Iraqi government, Qassim was targeted for
overthrow by the CIA during the Kennedy administration. When Saddam Hussein came to power, Afifa Iskandar declared her retirment in order to avoid performing for him. As one of Iraq's legendary and most popular singers, she'd performed before the previous prime ministers and the royal family.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia
notes that, in the thirties, the "best-known" were "Muhammad Kubbanshi,
Salima Murad, Afifa Iskandar, and Sabiha Ibrahim." She would perform in
the film Layla in Iraq (1949) directed by Ahmed Kamal Morsy and an Iraqi film classic, the second film from the Stuiod of Baghdad. From 1930 to 1950, Susannah Tarbush (Saudi Gazette) notes,
"Saleh Al-Kuwaity was the pre-eminent song writer in Iraq, writing
songs for stars such as Zakiya George, Munira Al-Hawazwaz, Afifa
Iskander and Zohour Hussein." In June 2008, Akhbaar notes, Afifa Iskandar was one of the artists honored during a cultural salute in Baghdad.
Earlier this year, Kurd Net noted
a concert that was "reviving the Iraqi folklore song festival performed
by a group of Iraqi artists in Sweden" and that among the famous and
beloved Iraqi songs being performed were ones originally presented by
Afifa Iskandar. Rotanata Radio notes that one of the songs she made famous was "It Burned My Soul."
It burned my soul when we parted
I cried and drowned them in my tears
What did my heart say when we parted
It burned my sould when we parted
As I bid farewell I say how can I forget them
My heart, for God's sake, go with them
I would rather die than us be apart
I want those who left me to come back the journey
I want to give them part of my soul as a keepsake
I've experienced every kind of affliction
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