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Friday, January 20, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Grand Ayatollah
Sistani is worried about an outbreak of civil war in Iraq, Nouri orders more
Iraqiya members arrested, the political crisis continues, and
more.
Iraq is a young nation. The years of war and sanctions have ensured that.
If you never grasped how young it was, understand that it has a CIA estimate of
roughly 26 million people currently and Aswat al-Iraq reports,
" The
Iraqi Education Ministry announced today that about 8 million students of
primary, intermediate and secondary schools will have their mid year
examinations tomorrow." A little less than a third of the population will
be taking exams in Iraq tomorrow. The CIA figure for the
country's median age is 20.9 years -- for Iraqi males it's 20.8 years and for
Iraq females it's 21 years.
Which is why the hatred Nouri al-Maliki fosters is all the sadder.
Unlike the exile the Americans put in charge, most Iraqis aren't carrying
decades old grudges. They simply aren't old enough to have done so.
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear
You've got to be taught
From year to year
It's got to be drummed
In your deaf little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
-- "You've Got to be Carefully Taught," written by Rodgers & Hammerstein, first appears in their
musical South Pacific
And though he's a failure as a prime minister, Nouri excells at teaching
hate.
And teaching fear by constantly screaming about "Ba'athists" all around
just waiting to overthrow the government. Referring to his rivals as "ants" that
he must apparently crush.
Always with the melodrama, like last October when Nouri repeatedly
commented on the "terrorists" and "Ba'athists" that he was 'forced' to arrest
because they were plotting an overthrow of the government. His spokesperson
insisted the information was solid and had come from the newly installed Libyan
government. Dropping back to the October 27th snapshot:
But back to those eyes and ears al-Asadi was
claiming, Al Mada
reveals that the government is
stating their source for the 'tips' about the alleged Ba'athist plot to take
over Iraq came from the Transitional Government of Libya. The so-called rebels.
A number of whom were in Iraq killing both Iraqis and US troops and British
troops, several years ago. And supposedly prepping to rule Libya currently so
you'd assume they had their hands full.Tim Arango (New
York Times) maintains that
"secret intelligence documents" were discovered by the so-called 'rebels' that
provided a link between Libya's late president Muammar Gaddafi and Ba'ath Party
members and that Mahmoud Jibril made a trip to Baghdad to turn over the info.
Jibril was acting prime minister who stepped down October 23rd. (We're back to
when puppet regimes meet!) One would have assumed he had other things to focus
on. It's also curious that this 'rebel' would have 'learned' after the fall of
Tripoli of a plot. Curious because, unlike a number of 'rebel' leaders in Libya,
Langley didn't ship Jibril in from Virginia, he was Gaddafi's hand picked head
of the National Economic Development Board (2007 to 2011). One would assume he
would have been aware of any big plot long before the so-called rebels began the
US war on Libya.Yet January 5th, Al Mada reported that hundreds of
those arrested were now being released. And that officials say the government is
expected to release every one arrested. When the arrests started taking place
weeks ago, the press estimate was over 500, with some noting over 700 but most
going with the lower figure. Dar Addustour
informed 820 Iraqis were arrested in that
crackdown.. Critics of the arrests noted that it appeared Nouri was
targeting Sunnis. Of those recent mass arrests, McClatchy Newspapers
states "Western diplomats scoff at the idea that the arrests were aimed at
thwarting a coup" and quotes one unnamed diplomat stating, "This is just
paranoia." AP notes that a
spokesperson for Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani declared that the country
"cannot bear further tensions among politicians."
The Bush administration was wrong to install him as prime minister in
2006 (the Iraqi Parliament wanted Ibrahim al-Jaafari) and Barack Obama's
administration was deadly wrong when they chose to insist that he be given a
second term in 2010.
He fled Iraq and Saddam Hussein and lived in exiles for years, decades.
Nursing his hatred, telling himself that some day he had his vengeance. And when
he got what he wanted, the death of Saddam Hussein, he still couldn't move
forward. Fahad Abdullah tells Jasim Alsabawi
(Rudaw), "Maliki should have used the opportunity after the
withdrawal of the US forces to begin a new era for the rise of Iraq and embrace
everyone under one Iraq." There is nothing left in him but the hatred as he
chases ghosts.
It's just the ghost of what you really want
And it's the ghost of the past that you live in
And it's the ghost of the furture you're so frightented
of
All he has are the ghosts of the past. He goes after political rivals and
threatens Iraq's internal safety. Already he's declared Vice President Tareq
al-Hashemi a terrorist and demanded Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq be
stripped of his title. al-Hashemi and al-Mutlaq are both Sunni and members of
Iraqiya. The Iraqiya aspect goes to the political rivalry (Iraqiya bested State
of Law in the March 2010 elections -- Ayad Allawi heads Iraqiya, Nouri heads
State of Law). The Sunni aspect could further the divisions between the sects
and, some fear, return Iraq to the days of 2006 and 2007 when the sects were in
an open war against one another.
Ali al-Tuwaijri
(AFP) reports that Nouri's forces arrested Ghabdan al-Khazraji, the
Deputy Governor of Investments Diyala Province, and attempted to arrest the
Deputy Governor of Administrative Affairs Talal al-Juburi.but he's now in the
Kurdsitan Regional Government. The two are Sunni and they are also members of
Iraqiya. The arrest follows Wednesday's arrest. Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) explained, "Baghdad
Provincial Council Vice President Riyadh al-Adhadh was arrested on terrorism charges and stands accused of
financing a terrorist group in Abu Ghraib. Adhadh is a Sunni doctor who founded a free clinic in
Adhamiya and is the focus of an English-language documentary on
Iraq. The Iraqi Islamic Party condemned the action and called it an " unprecedented escalation" in the political
arena."
As the political crisis continues, Roy Gutman, Sahar Issa and Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy
Newspapers) report: Prime
Minister Nouri al Maliki's security services have locked up more than 1,000
members of other political parties over the past several months, detaining many
of them in secret locations with no access to legal counsel and using "brutal
torture" to extract confessions, his chief political rival has
charged.Ayad Allawi, the secular
Shiite Muslim leader of the mainly Sunni Muslim Iraqiya bloc in parliament, who
served as prime minister of the first Iraqi government after the Americans
toppled Saddam Hussein, has laid out his allegations in written submissions to
Iraq's supreme judicial council.The reporters call the above
"the second major broadside this week" and note: "London's Guardian newspaper
reported Monday on an extortion racket involving Iraqi state security officials
who systematically arrest people on trumped-up charges, torture them and then
extort bribes from their families for their release." From the Guardian
article by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad: "Look," he added, "the system now is just like under
Saddam: walk by the wall, don't go near politics and you can walk with your head
high and not fear anything. But if you come close to the throne then the wrath
of Allah will fall on you and we have eyes everywhere."He described the arrest of the Sunni vice-president
Tariq al-Hashimi's bodyguards who, it was claimed by the Shia-dominated
government, had been paid by Hashimi to assassinate Shia officials. (Hashimi was
on a plane heading to Kurdistan when government forces took over the airport,
preventing him from leaving. After a standoff, he was allowed to fly but his men
where detained.)"Look what happened
to the poor bodyguards of Hashimi, they were tortured for a week. They took them
directly to our unit and they were interrogated severely. Even an old general
was hanging from the ceiling. Do you know what I mean by
hanging?"In the constricted space of
the car he pulled his arms up behind his back."They hang him like this. Sometimes they beat them
with cables and sticks and sometimes they just leave them hanging from a metal
fence for three days. They are torturing them trying to get them to confess to
the bombing of the parliament."Al Mada reported, yes, another
secret prison run by Nouri. The Human Rights Committee in Parliament declared
Wednesday that another secret prison ("Briagde 56") exists and it is run by
Nouri (as were the others). They do not yet know the location of the
prison.
Al Sabaah
reports that the National Alliance is studying a list of requirements
President Jalal Talabani has made for the national conference with the apparent
intent of discussing them in Sunday's pre-national conference meet-up. Al Mada reports that the
Sadr bloc is stating Moqtada al-Sadr might -- only might -- attend the national
conference. Whether he does or not, the Sadr bloc stated Moqtada is following
all the developments. Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq leader Ammar al-Hakim is
calling for a return to political parternership and a return to Constitutional
rule. Aswat al-Iraq
quotes Kurdish Alliance MP Shwan Mohammed Taha stating, "If Iraqi
politicians differ on the venue of the conference, how they will be able [to]
find the solutions to the present crisis.[. . .] We, as the Kurdish Alliance,
have no problem withwhere it shall be convened, but we welcomefor it to be held
in Kurdistan." They also quote Kurdish
Alliance MP Ashwaq al-Jaff stating there is a need to "finalize the agenda
before entering the conference to avoid any surprises, which may lead certain
bloc to withdraw."
al-Hakim and al-Sadr's groups are part of the National Alliance and Al Mada notes rumors that
the National Alliance is calling for Mahmoud al-Mashhadani to become the new
Deputy Prime Minister. He would replace Saleh al-Mutlaq whom Nouri has insisted
since December must be stripped of his post. Ibrahim al-Jaafari heads the
National Alliance and he states that they would be happy for Nouri and al-Mutlaq
to resolve the matter themselves. If not, al-Jaafari expresses the opinion that
al-Mutlaq should announce his resignation.
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani was Speaker of Parliament from 2006 until the end
of 2008. After initially praising him, the Bush administration decided they did
not care for the Sunni politician and launched a public relations war against
him (which the New York Times enlisted in portraying him as depressed
and hiding in his father's home when he was, in fact, in Jordan on a diplomatic
trip). The US backed off somewhat after 2007 came to a close and they'd been
unable to force him out as Speaker of Parliament. Considering the charges
against some Sunni politicians, it's strange that he'd be accetable. Damien Cave and Richard A.
Oppel Jr. (New York Times) wrote in June of 2007, "Iraq's leading
political blocs agreed yesterday to remove the Sunni speaker of Parliament,
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, from his position. The move came after accusations arose
that his bodyguards assaulated a Shiite lawmaker yesterday as al-Mashhadani
cursed him and then dragged him to the speaker's office." Despite that
assertion, al-Mashhadani remained as Speaker of Parliament for the rest of 2007,
through 2008 and only left in December 2008 by his own choice.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki keeps creating tension in the
bilateral relations between Turkey and Iraq in a systematic way. By pointing to
Turkey as a target, the Iraqi government ensured the issuance of an arrest
warrant for Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi.
Maliki has been making offensive statements against Turkey. Most
recently, the tension was escalated by a new attack on the Turkish Embassy in
Baghdad on Jan. 18, 2012. In this way, we see there are attempts to ensure the
artificial tension is replaced by a new crisis.
Turkey is the only country that did not close its embassy in Iraq
after 2003. Even though there have been three attacks against the embassy in
Baghdad. Turkey still remained committed to its work in the country. The Turkish
Embassy in Baghdad is one of only a few diplomatic missions outside the Green
Zone which is known for its heightened security and surrounded by tall walls in
downtwon Baghdad. The protection of the Turkish Embassy, located in the
al-Wazireya neighborhood, where high-level executives used to live in the city,
is the responsibility of Iraqi security forces. The Turkish Embassy is visibly
connected to the neighborhood in which it is located; the embassy's
relationship with nearby residents is such that the embassy supplies electricity
to them. And the neighborhood also serves as the natural protector of the
embassy. This is why it won't be too difficult to determine where and how the
attack was staged.
On the topic of the continued occupation of Iraq, Dar Addustour
reports that Sadr bloc MP Ali al-Tamimi told Alsumaria that the position of
Moqtada al-Sadr and the bloc is that the presence of the US Embassy on Iraqi
soil as well as all the contractors staffing the US mission are as threatening
and dangerous as the military and that these are "occupation forces." Drexel University's
professor Robert Zaller explains (at The Triangle), "There will be
residual forces in Iraq as trainers and advisers, but these will be private
contractors and black-ops types. We are not leaving behind any potential
hostages we cannot disavow if necessary. There will also be security for the
mega-sized embassy -- the world's largest -- we leave behind in Baghdad's Green
Zone. In addition, the U.S. retains a consulate of 1,320 people, which will
remain in the port of Basra; a staging base should we ever return; and a
tripwire for future hostilities with Iran. In short, the American occupation of
Iraq is not over. As long as that is the case, we cannot say the war is over,
either."
In the US new data on military suicides has been released. Elisabeth Bumiller (New
York Times) reports, "Suicides among active-duty soldiers hit
another record high in 2011, Army officials said on Thursday, although there was
a slight decrease if nonmobilized Reserve and National Guard troops were
included in the calculation." Bumiller notes, "Asked if he was frustrated by the
jump last year in suicide by active-duty soldiers, General [Peter] Chiarelli
said no." That resonse should tag Chiarelli and follow him around for the
duration of his service. Anna Mulrine (Christian
Science Monitor) covers the data and emphasizes what it found on
self-medicating and the military's assertion that now they can deal with the
problems (as opposed to looking the other way at other times). It'll be
interesting to see in a year or so if, indeed, the military is helping service
members get help or if, as has often been the case, they're just using
self-medication as an excuse to drum them out of the service.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 20, 2010
Contact:
Statment of Eleanor Smeal On The Decision of Kathleen Sebelius and
the Obama Administration Not to Broaden the Religious Exemption for
Contraceptive Coverage
The Feminist Majority Foundation applauds the decision of Kathleen
Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary, and the Obama Administration not
to broaden the religious exemption for contraceptive coverage under the
Preventive Care package of the Affordable Care Act. This request, primarily by
the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, would have denied millions of
American women contraceptive coverage, including students, teachers, nurses,
social workers, and other staff (and their families) at religiously-connected or
associated schools, universities, and hospitals, as well as institutions, such
as Catholic Charities.
At last -- concern for women's health trumps pressure from the
Catholic Bishops. Millions of women who may have been denied access to birth
control with no co-pays or deductibles will now have full access. I am
especially pleased that college students at religiously affiliated institutions
will now have coverage for birth control without co-pays or deductibles under
their school health plans beginning in Auust 2012.
Birth control is the number one prescription drug for women ages 18
to 44 years. Right now, the average woman has to pay $50 per month for 30 years
for birth control. No wonder many low-income women have had to forgo regular use
of birth control and half of US pregnancies are unplanned. This decision will
help millions of women and their families.
Insurance plans that cover employers and employees must cover
contraception with no co-pays or deductibles starting August 2012, and
non-profit religious institutions under this new rule that do not currently
cover contraception must do so with no co-pays or deductibles beginning August
2013. Moreover, student insurance plans at religiously affiliated universites
must cover contraception with no co-pays or deductibles beginning August 212.
Only women who work directly for a house of worship, such as for a church,
synagogue, or mosque itself, are exempted from this required
coverage.
Women's rights and pro-choice groups, including Feminist Majority
Foundation, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the National Women's Law Center, the
National Council of Jewish Women, the National Organization for Women (NOW), and
NARAL Pro-Choice America, urged the Obama Administration not to consider the
broader religious exemption.
In August, the US Departmentof Health and Human Services (HHS)
announced new guidelines, developed by the Institute of Medicine, that will
require private insurance plans under the Preventive Care packageofthe
Affordable Care Act beginningon or after August 1, 2012 to cover without co-pays
or deductibles as a variety of services, such as an annual well-woman visit and
cancer screenings, counseling, such as for domestic and interpersonal violence,
and testing for HIV and STIs, as well as all FDA-approved contraceptives,
breastfeeding support, lactation service, and supplies.
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