I honestly can’t decide whether it’s hilariously funny or just plain downright tragic, the extent to which the Bushites’ have built their entire political “house” in Iraq on a foundation long ago laid and since then assiduously maintained by Teheran and Damascus.
Honestly, has nobody among the Bushites ever noticed this?
* There, back in the day, was Ahmed Chalabi, back in February and March 2003, going back to Iraq as the US-sponsored “liberator”– but travelling there via Teheran, where he held close consultations with the regime’s intelligence people.
* There has been Jalal Talabani, now the US-installed “President” of Iraq, visiting Syria over the past few days–m the first visit by an Iraqi head of state to Syria in over 30 years. The trip is scheduled to last six days. Talabani made the gracious gesture of traveling to the Asad family’s home village of Qardaha to visit the tomb of the late president Hafez al-Asad… Yes, that would be the same Hafez al-Asad who gave Talabani refuge for roughly 15 years, from 1975 through 1991.
* And there is SCIRI leader Abdel-Aziz Hakim, long puffed up by the Bushites and their obedient press corps as “the strongest Shiite politician in Iraq”, etc. The same man whom the Bushists were hoping– along with his always politically malleable sidekick, Adel Abdul-Mehdi– would help them organize the anti-Moqtada, anti-Maliki ‘coup’ they were planning a few weeks ago… And there he was, yet again today, still whingeing publicly about the US forces’ “arrest” (or actually, capture) of five employees from Iranian consular offices in northern Iraq last week.
… Well, we can forget for now (but probably not forever) about Chalabi. But let’s just look at the positions now being espoused by the kingpins of the US political “plan” in Baghdad: Talabani, Hakim, or, for example, Iraq’s ethnic-Kurdish Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari (who on Sunday told the BBC that Iraq needs a constructive relationship with Iran); or, come to that, PM Maliki himself….
So where are there any “converts” at all within the Iraqi political firmament for the Bushists’ plan for Iraq, namely that a firm battle has to be fought inside Iraq,and the broader region, against both Iran and Syria?
There are none. (AP’s Robert Reid, from Baghdad, has also made this point well.)
The Bushists’ anti-Iranian, anti-Syrian political plans for Iraq are built on sand.
This quite evident idiocy of the political dimension of the Bushists’ “Anything But Baker-Hamilton” plan for Iraq means that no level of military expertise– whether in the area of counter-insurgency or in any other kind of operations– can bring about “victory”.
(War, after all, being “an extension of politics by other means.” D’you think Bush has ever heard about that?)
And that makes the decision to pour an additional 21,500 US service-members into the imbroglio in Iraq even more unforgiveable.
38 thoughts on “Washington’s shaky political house in Baghdad”
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Helena,
* And there is SCIRI leader Abdel-Aziz Hakim, long puffed up by the Bushites and their obedient press corps as “the strongest Shiite politician in Iraq”, etc.
Why you don’t complete your sentence bout Abdel-Aziz Hakim!!?
He is Iran’s man in Iraq supported with his Bader militia which created and funded and guided by Iran (top Bader Commanders are Iranian from Bassej Forces).
Helena, The fact is Abdel-Aziz Hakim more Iranians than Ahmed Chalabi, whatever US did with Ahmed Chalabi in 2003 its a show hided many questions what Ahmed Chalabi did after that show to penetrates between Iraqi ground to spread the poisons to aid US “Rebuilding The Nation”
The Funny thing, today Hakim issue a statement accusing US breaking the “IRAQI SOVERANTY” by arrested three Iranians in his home in Jadriayah South/West Baghdad (BTW, its not his house he invaded and steal it from Tarik Aziz, he have it long time in normal residential area Al-Jaderiah very nice area)
“The Bushists’ anti-Iranian, anti-Syrian political plans for Iraq are built on sand.”
I think this is a short sighted view specially “anti-Iranian” one, as for “anti-Syrian” it is a matter of bring them to the negotiation table with Israelis as Israeli wishful to make a separate peace agreement with each neighbours that’s why Israelis refusing any collective peace agreements between her and her neighbours this obvious from long time as Israelis continuous refusing any international summate for peace talks, the last is the Saudi King Abdullah peace offer which most Arab states supported by Arab league offer Israeli a complete peace with her neighbours.
For some time now, I’ve had this awful Kissingerian word banging around in the recesses of my brain: something about “tilting” first this way, and then that way and then … until one group of Muslims, say Iraq, fights another group of Muslims, say Iran/Syria, until — as Henry the Horrible put it — “they hopefully kill each other off,” or something like that. Sort of like Israel/America killing off the PLO leadership until Hamas/Hezbollah began to develop after which Israel/America “tilted” towards the PLO while assassinating the Hamas/Hezbollah leadership until, “hopefully,” they kill each other off, or something like that.
Israel obviously and fully comprehends its own strategy of divide->conquer->make miserable->expel, but doesn’t have the population or material resources necesary to carry out the policy without massive support and subsidy from America. Unfortunately for Israel’s neighbor/victims, it doesn’t much matter whether America’s obtuse and ignorant “leadership” understands Israel’s policy or not as long as America’s actual destruction of Iraq and threats to destroy Syria and Iran as well advances and accomplishes that Israeli policy. From the standpoint of the tail that wags the dog, it rather helps that the wagged-dog dosn’t have much of a brain as long as it bites whomever the tail can’t knock over by itself.
I seriously doubt that serving Israel’s interests factors much into the equation…imo it is more about serving the perceived interests of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States to protect Big Oil and the Carlyle Group (this time bringing Daddy’s Gulf War to a “proper” conclusion)…obscene ignorance of Iraq’s colonial history, sectarian divides, Iranian regional ambitions…and a stubborn effort to have the stigma of defeat passed on to the next Administration (not much unlike LBJ in 1967-8).
Anybody got any real idea why the US remains in Iraq ? No I mean REALLY ?
That’s the crux of the whole thing.This has been a journey without a clear and honest destination.
No doubt Bush has been and continues to lie…But what is the real goal ? No good listening to what Cheney has to say on the matter.He wouldn’t be able to tell the truth if his life depended on it.
Now somebody is going to say “Iran”. If indeed there is an attack on Iran then America should remember this and nail someone’s ears to the wall while they start impeachment.And not before time.
“it is more about serving the perceived interests of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States to protect Big Oil and the Carlyle Group (this time bringing Daddy’s Gulf War to a “proper” conclusion)”
Hey Truesdell, I can agree with that to a large extent. Although I frequently rail against the Zionist influence on American foreign policy, I don’t really believe this is the main driving factor. I think the neocons and AIPAC serve more as enablers and political cover (keeping the left at bay) for the likes of Dick Cheney and Poppy Bush, than as dog-wagging tails. The USofA is capitalism gone mad. It’s all about short-term profits. The Israelis understand that, and they are certainly not above using it to their advantage.
John C and Truesdell,
I could be the devil’s advocate and push back, claiming that the lobby/AIPAC/neocons are the main driving force, and the military-industrial-oil complex are politely and obligingly going along. And we could probably go on for quite a while presenting arguments and counter-arguments, each supported by evidence. It may even be a fun way to review the evidence. But ultimately, it is not an argument that would have a definitive and convincing answer. I guess I am trying to say that in the social sciences, the relative roles of extremely powerful synergistic forces are (next-to-) impossible to determine. The bottom line is that a ME where the countries are making democratic progress, and forming alliances instead of hating each other about how to cross their arms in prayer, would be extremely threatening for all of the above. And inversely, a ME overflowing with hatred, war, bloodshed, is great for all of them. [A simple thought: the countries of the ME and North Africa have much more in common than the countries comprising the EU or OECD. They have historically closer roots, and even their much-hyped “historical feuds and animus” do not even come close to what has been the case in Europe for the past 2000+ years. Can you imagine what a disaster for Capitalism and Zionism it would be if these countries could actually exhibit some form of unity? I know it sounds like a wildly hypothetical proposition, but just try to imagine it. It would basically be “Game Over”.] So I really don’t think there is a realistic way to look at the question “Who’s the dog and who’s the tail?” That metaphor is over-rated IMHO, and assumes a unidirectional flow of influence and power, which is seldom the case in social and political contexts.
Cheers.
I was saddened to hear about the dreadful act of blowing up the shrine of Abul-Qadir Geelani in Baghdad. His mere existence was a testament to the stupidity of what is happening in Iraq. He was a Hanbali scholar, born into a Shi’i family on the Caspian coast of Iran (one of his names was Hassani al-Husseini, since his lineage could be traced to both of Ali’s sons, through his mother and father). The rigid minded reactionaries of Baghdad in those days who didn’t like his open discourse and his embracing of Jews and Christians among his followers had found ways to put him down: they ridiculed his Farsi-accented Arabic, and called him Sheik-al-Ajami or Sheikh al-Majusi. His ecumenical approach to faith was seen as a threat to “the establishment”, but his fearless devotion to speaking the truth ultimately won over the masses. He refused to teach to the elite, and would say that the path to truth and enlightment is not closed to anyone. I stumbled upon two of his treatises a while ago [Malfuzat (Utterances) and Jala’ al-Khawatir (The Cleansing of Cares)] and found them deeply humanist; they could go head to head with Spinoza or Schopenhauer’s best works on human nature, actually far more intelligible and concise, although written several centuries earlier.
To try to destroy the tomb of this Hanbali yet Ajami/Majusi Sufi saint in this stupid instigated “war” between Iraq’s Sunni and Shi’i is so tragically ironic.
Highly recommended:
The Islamist imaginary: Islam, Iraq, and
the projections of empire
Abstract
This article analyses the complex relationship between Islam and American imperial
assertions in the Middle East. While a variety of Islamic movements and governments
have historically been enlisted as ‘friends’ of the American project, Islam
today is most useful as the ‘enemy’ of choice in the so-called global war on terror.
Today, when the logic of US withdrawal from Iraq gains support daily in America,
only the Islamist imaginary provides arguments still found credible by a frightened
American populace to sustain the occupation. The Islamist imaginary and the diffuse
fears it evokes, unconstrained by logic or realism and quite unrelated to facts on
the ground, is now more essential to empire than ever before. It is only reasonable to
expect that the Islam imagined by empire will be with us for some time to come.
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/articles/17512867/1/1/ijcis.1.1.7.pdf
David, believe it or not Tariq `Aziz used to be a very decent and very idealist person. I know that well because he was a good friend of ours who slept many nights on our couch after late nights of eating, drinking, and talking together. We went very different ways, but he never forgot his friends. I do not know what happened in his mind that allowed him to participate in what he did, but I think like many he got trapped in that situation and made the “best” of it for himself. Maybe in the end he even came to believe in what he was part of, I don’t know. So, so sad, really.
Yet more confirmation, if it were needed:
Iran offered the US a package of concessions in 2003, but it was rejected, a senior former US official has told the BBC’s Newsnight programme.
One of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell’s top aides told the BBC the state department was keen on the plan – but was over-ruled.
“We thought it was a very propitious moment to do that,” Lawrence Wilkerson told Newsnight.
“But as soon as it got to the White House, and as soon as it got to the Vice-President’s office, the old mantra of ‘We don’t talk to evil’… reasserted itself.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6274147.stm
If Bush’s objective in Iraq is oil (and I truly believe it is), there are opinions circulating from knowledgable people in the industry that suggest he has shot himself in the foot:
…oil companies will only invest in countries that are stable enough – and, more to the point, where the entity in charge of oil resources is likely to remain so, either because it is a legitimate bureaucracy or because it is, say, in control of the armed forces that protect the oil fields. In Iraq, these conditions are not fulfilled. There is no legitimate government, and what government there is controls little of the country, including not enough of the oil infrastructure. And THERE WILL BE NO LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT AS LONG AS US FORCES REMAIN IN IRAQ – and, in all likelihood, not until the civil war has run its course,and some form of new power structure is put in place by consensus or by force. And that new power structure will certainly not be bound by contracts, nor even by laws, put in place at the time of the US occupation. So today’s law is unlikely to have any practical application.
(Mostly for D. Matthews)
I’ve been wondering about the oil concessions myself and had decided that the absolute minimum the Republicans need for a “victory” is not just that the Green Zone regime is not overthrown, but that they can somehow get the oil out too. Of course pacifying the whole territory of the former Iraq would do the trick, but it seems like a great deal more than is strictly necessary and a great deal more than they can accomplish. But to create a totally secure zone that contains as much petroleum and as few Muslims as possible ought to be possible for a sole remaining superpower, one would think. It didn’t occur to me that the oil companies might not be interested in investing even so, yet presumably they wouldn’t be.
Clearly I was thinking about it wrong, and I’m glad you set me straight. Militant Republicans must worry about such things much more than I do, but they seem to be acting as if they are making the same mistake.
They could be thinking “geopolitically,” I suppose, when they think about Iraqi oil, with the great thing being not to grab it for themselves but to deny it to anybody else — meaning mostly Iran. In that case, though, why should having a deal with the Green Zone pols urgently matter?
From the other side, what is M. Barham Salih up to, that he should attach so much importance to it? Curiouser and curiouser.
Happy days.
JHM,
You (and I) are basing our assumptions on that Mr. “Jerome de Paris” is correct. He blogs principally at European Tribune. I’m thinking of joining in order to tease some more information out of him.
I seriously doubt that serving Israel’s interests factors much into the equation…imo it is more about serving the perceived interests of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States to protect Big Oil and the Carlyle Group
Truesdell , recently there are some leaking news saying, that Turki Al-Faisal met with Israeli officials in Jordan to discuss the case of Iran!!!, also some news leaked that the Saudi forgiven Minister met Israeli PM Omlert and there were talks about Iran also!!..
in all Saudis rejected these news and dismissed any hidden talks with Israelis, but we don’t worry much about what those Gulf countries saying all in one they are in line with Israeli interested we like it of not.
Its obvious these regimes or those ruling families are US dressed in Arabic dress ruling the Gulf.
Just reminder of some incident from the history of these some like Sheiks Al-Sheriff Hussein Bin Ali ( اللاشريف) met with Golda Meir as she came covered herself/dressed as Arab ( dressed as Arab Man) met with him discussing the creation of Israel..
David look to yourself first when you said “three worthless islands 40 years ago” what a strange thinking and anaive thoughts from some one give accuses for invading another land by Iran by saying its worthless!!
This your moral and your values of Iran and its behaviours, the mysterious man “he is not Iranians not Shia’ts” and “affected /caught by Saddam’s Chemicals Gas” !! he was in the wrong place in the wrong time.
It’s All About The Oil…Is It?
Bush to Propose Restoring Iraqi Factories to Create Jobs
(needs login)
Paul A. Brinkley, the deputy undersecretary for business transformation, the Pentagon official at the center of the program to revitalize the state-owned enterprises, who has surveyed some of the companies in Iraq: “What we are doing is assessing these factories. We are bringing in expertise. We are bringing international industry to bear to create demand for these factories.”
Oh, Iraqis! We have DESTROYED YOUR SOCIETY, UTTERLY and COMPLETELY! I AM SO SORRY!]
Proffesional Iraqi Expatriates Needed For Working In Iraq
If you have a four-year college degree and five years experience, are a US citizen, able to get security clearance and are willing to return to Iraq for one year to help in the reconstruction efforts you are qualified. Most professional degrees required.
Also, we will be making visits to these cities to recruit on these dates:
http://www.arabicnews.com/advertisements/ossiraq/ossiraq.html
In other news of Democracy teaching
An American woman who was killed here on Wednesday when gunmen fired on her convoy of vehicles was apparently ambushed minutes after leaving the headquarters of a prominent Sunni political party, where she had been teaching a class on democracy.
The woman and three guards — a Hungarian, a Croatian and an Iraqi — were killed.
More mercenaries in name of democracy in Iraq
actually, everything the Bush administration has done would be extremely funny – IF ONLY it were a video game.
Maybe we can make an alternative reality for these nutcases and let them drag the world into WW3…..
مهاجمة بوش
وفي مقابلة أخرى نشرتها صحيفة كوريري ديلا سيرا، قال المالكي إن بوش أكثر ضعفاً من أي وقت مضى بعد فوز الديمقراطيين في الانتخابات التشريعية الأخيرة، مشيرا إلى أن قادة الإدارة الأميركية في واشنطن شارفوا على النهاية لا الحكومة العراقية.
جلال الطالباني أكد أن العراق لم يطلب زيادة القوات الأميركية (رويترز)
وفي السياق ذاته قال الرئيس العراقي جلال الطالباني إن الحكومة العراقية لم تطلب من الأميركيين إرسال مزيد من القوات العسكرية إلى العراق، مشددا على أن العراق بحاجة إلى دعم قواته والعمل على تطهير المدن ممن سماهم الإرهابيين، ولكن إذا قدم المزيد من القوات الأميركية إلى العراق فهم مرحب بهم.
وفي تصريحات أخرى على هامش زيارته لسوريا قال الطالباني إن العراق سيطلب من سوريا تسليم مساعدين كبار للرئيس العراقي السابق صدام حسين يشتبه في أنهم سرقوا ملايين الدولارات ويدعمون المسلحين في العراق.
http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F75B8C58-E096-4F73-BF06-07D5090DACB9.htm
New Tone from “political house in Baghdad”
Maliki accusing BUSH very weak in any time after midterm election!!
Talabani also said “Iraqi government did not asked US to send more troops to Iraq”
He added that there are many old regimes personal in Syria should be handed to Iraqi government those who steal millions of Iraqi money!
Talabani do you need also US to hand you Sheikh L. Paul Bremer for missing $US9.0 Billions dollar when he was in power for ONE year during CPA time?
Looks the new Bush Strategy for Iraq gives “Tooooll Leesan” (طول اللسان ) for Talabani, Malki and Hakeem to object US policies in Iraq!!!
Well we got “Sovran Government not Puppet” Congratulations for all Iraqis….
Oh he swallow his words back… the master gives him some lashes on his….
بيان: الناطق الرسمي باسم الحكومة ينفي ماتناقلته الصحيفة الايطالية بشأن مهاجمة المالكي الادارة الامريكية
Ali Al-Debag the spokesman for PM said Malik did not accusing Bush administration (you know, Italian journalists and newspaper)
PM Malik Website
http://www.iraqi-pm.org/
TERRORISM: IRANIAN ARRESTED IN ERBIL IS WANTED IN AUSTRIA
http://www.kurdmedia.com/articles.asp?id=10303
Breaking news (news because the very airing of the thing is another indication that the “tectonic plates” are shifting):
Wonderful drama on Brit television tonight called The Trial of Tony Blair. It’s about how “the [post Blair/post Bush] world has changed”. And how in those changed circumstances Blaiur gets Pinochet’d. Or to put it more politely, dropped in the shit. I.E., his upcoming date with a War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague. A consummation devoutly to be desired.
Best line in the thing is new Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s, “This is a man who thinks he’s on a mission to save the world when all he does is start wars.”
“The Trial of Tony Blair”
Tupharsin, the problem with things like this is they diffuse public anger and energy through useless entertainment. People watch the movie, and feel almost as good as if they had really gotten rid of the scoundrels. Then they turn their attention to other bits of trivia, and leave the scoundrels to go about their business. Of course, the same can be said of the time we spend on blogs like this one.
John C.,
Came across – can’t remember where, it may have been in L. Lapham’s latest collection – a well turned phrase that “crystallised” matters. Lapham, if it was Lapham, was talking about the breakthrough discovery the neocons made – that they could convert intellect into influence – alchemy! – well, in relation to the programme in question, I think the more of this stuff that wells up and gets into circulation the better. Unfortunately it’s not the straight “hydraulics” of being in a “think tank” on the Potomac and being able to pick up the phone and speak directly to polticians – or people close to politicians – or indeed to other “opinion formers”. That sort of “insider” stuff is like throwing up a pre-fab…it can be done in days – or in terms of the “work-up” – Rumsfeld’s word, not mine – that was done to get the war “aloft” – a few months. “Ordinary” people, by definition, do not have that sort of “access”. So it’s necessarily – and regrettably – a much harder slog, a much more drawn out affair. Grain of sand by grain of sand. Would that it weren’t. But it is. But it’s still got to be done. In the end the only thing our lords and masters are afraid of is “the people”. It’s like turning a huge ship. It takes time. But it’s got to be done. And it’s programmes like tonight’s – and articles – and blogs – and over-the-fence conversations – etc. – that will get it turned. If anyone is any doubt about how important that is…well, all you need to do is register the effort the other side put into “making their case”. Well, more than making the case: setting and dominating the agenda…and the terms of discourse. Once minds get turned they don’t get turned back. AEI, AIPAC, the Republican party, the “defence” industry etc. are desperate to keep the discourse from “breaking out”. You see it in a tiny, local way on this and every other blog. Vadim and Co. are like worker ants – they rush here and there every day trying to keep the genie in the bottle. It’s called “managing perceptions”. And the point about that film is that it’s yet another instance – a very good one – of how the manager perceptions lever is slowly being wrested from their grasp. So don’t knock it. On the contrary. Help it on its way. Talk it up. Something’s building – think of Helena’s post a week or two ago about the perceptible mood shift that’s clearly evident from numbers and reception on that weekly vigil she takes part in. From little acorns…
Salah,
You can further your Iran-bashing agenda by including a link to the CNFI (Congress of Nationalities for a Federal Iran):
http://www.iranfederal.org/eng/
You will be happy to see that it is replete with CIA-funded entities decrying the many ethnic “bloodbaths” of the Ayatollahs’ regime in Tehran. Most of their members are crypto-Marxists, albeit ones with an enigmatic affection for Western governments, and their security/intelligence apparatus. One of them is the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (www.pdki.org) whose mastermind Ghassemloo is said to have been killed in Europe by the Ayatollahs. Another is the Komeleh- Revolutionary Party of Kurdistan (www.komala.org) that has a long and interesting history of pendulating between Moscow and Washington. Today their logo is still a big red star – nothing wrong with that, as long as your main offices are not in Washington and London, and your operations are not coordinated with the British and US secret services. And the one you will probably most relate to is the Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz (DSPA), who consider themselves “the representative of nation of al-Ahwaz (Arabistan) in UNPO”. Remember, the same ones who invited the great martyr, the hero of Qadessiyah, to invade the Majousis to free them from oppression.
May the bombs start to rain down on Iran any day, and Iran be broken up into 28 “nations”, each with its own CIA station and a US air and/or naval base (kind of like Qatar, Bahrain, the 7 “United” Emirates, …)
Death to the Safawis and Majousi Ayatollahs!
John C. and Tupharsin,
I agree with Tupharsin’s emphasis on the “counter-message”. “They” are really afraid of the genie sneaking out of the bottle, and people regaining the courage to discuss taboo topics:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/01/18/motion.html??
طارق الهاشمي: تصريحات عدنان الدليمي في مؤتمر اسطنبول لها ما يبررها
العراق اليوم / وكالات
في حفل الإستقبال الذي أقامته سفارة جمهورية العراق في منزل السيد سفير العراق الدكتور صلاح الشيخلي تكلم السيد طارق الهاشمي نائب رئيس الجمهورية أمام مستقبليه من الشخصيات العراقية في لندن عن القضية العراقية وتناول الكثير من أبعادها المأساوية والحلول الممكن اتباعها لإخراج العراق من مأزقه الحالي . ومما قال الهاشمي :لقد انجزت الكثير من المهام في لندن من خلال اللقاءات مع المسؤوليين البريطانيين . كان بودي وأنا اتحدث إليكم أن أنقل لكم من العراق أخبارا سارة ، لكن مع الأسف أجدني مطرا أن أقول أن العراق يتعرض الى فاجعة وهي بحاجة الى تعاون كل أبناء العراق على وضع حد لها . إن المشهد الذي يراه العالم عن العراق يفهم منه أن العراقيين يقتل بعضهم البعض وقد أصبح مسرح لتصفية الحسابات الأجنبية وساحة لصراعات لسنا طرف فيها. وفي واشنطن قال لي الرئيس الأمريكي نحن نفهم أن الشعب العراقي لديه غريزة كره الإحتلال ومقاومته والتعبير عن رفضه ، لكن الذي لا نفهمه هو مايجري من تصفيات متبادلة بين أب أنا أرفض تلك التصريحات النارية للدليمي وهي لاتخدم العراق.ما الذي دعا الدليمي الى ذلك القول؟ إذن هناك مبررات وهي لم تأت من فراغ ناء الشعب العراقي نفسه . أنا أقول ( أي الهاشمي ) إن العراقيين أصبحوا ضحايا لإغراءات تقدم لهم من الخارج . وإن ما حصل من تفجير في الجامعة المستنصرية هو خسارة كبيرة . كثير ما أسئل عن الحل لما يحصل من احتراب في العراق وأنا أقول إن مايحصل هو أبعد بكثير من قابلية شخص واحد على الحل . لكن في اعتقادي أن المشكلة في العراق من الممكن أن تحل إذا ما امتلك العراقيون زمام أمرهم وامتلكوا قرارهم بعيدا عن الآخرين عندها يمكن للعراق أن يتعافى مما هو فيه
https://vintage.justworldnews.org/archives/002344.html
Angst-Ridden Germans Look for Answers — And Find Them in the Koran
“A soon-to-be-published study on Islamic life in Germany confirms the Cologne doctor’s impression. The study sheds light on a phenomenon that may seem surprising given the image of Islam in Germany, where the religion is often associated with terrorism, forced marriages and honor killings: In Germany, some 4,000 people converted to Islam between July 2004 and June 2005. The study, which was financed by the Interior Ministry and carried out by the Soest-based Muslim institute Islam Archive Germany, reveals that the number of converts increased four-fold in comparison to the previous year.”
Excuse me for sticking in something completely different, but as far as I know, what follows is the first interview with Muqtadá al-Sadr ever obtained by a Western reporter, and since it is in Italian, I’m worried that it might be neglected. (Please let me know if there is something wildly wrong with the translation.)
“A Secret Army Against Us, But the Shiites Will Know How to Fight Back”
by Renato Caprile [correspondent of La Reppublica of Rome]
He feels stalked and goes into hiding. He sleeps no more than one night in the same bed. Some of his most faithful allies have already turned their backs. He has even moved his family to an undisclosed location. Muqtada al-Sadr feels that the end is near. Enemy forces, forces infiltrated amongst his own people! Yet for him it is not about al-Málikí, whom he considers little more than a puppet, so much as about ’Iyád al-‘Alláwí, the former prime minister, whom the Americans have never stopped aiming [to empower]. He [‘A.] is the true director of the operation which proposes to wipe him [S.] off the face of Iraq, him and his Mahdi Army.
[Q1] How is it that al-Málikí, who up until a short time ago even saw to it that there were six ministers of your movement in his cabinet, is suddenly so aware that the religious militias, and especially yours, are the true problem that must be solved?
[A1] Between me and Abú Asárá [al-Malikí] there has never been much good will. I have always suspected he was up to something and I never confided in him. We only met a couple of times. The last time he said to me, “You are the backbone of the country,” and then went on to admit to me that he was “obliged” to fight. Obliged, you see?
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[Q2] The fact remains that he is on the brink of [?] unleashing an iron fist against his own people.
[A2] It is effectively unleashed already. Yesterday evening they arrested four hundred and some of my people. It is not we that they wish to destroy, it is Islam. We are only one obstacle. For the moment we shall offer no resistance.
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[Q3] Do you mean you are going to disarm?
[A3] The Qur’án forbids killing in the month of Muharram [21 January through 18 February 2007]. So they’ll do all the killing then. There is no better time for a true believer to die, Paradise is guaranteed. But God is merciful, we are not all going to die. After Muharram, we’ll see.
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[Q4] Some claim that the army and police have been extensively infiltrated by your men and that the Marines by themselves will never manage to disarm you.
[A4] It’s really exactly the other way around: it is our militia which is swarming with spies. It doesn’t take much doing to infiltrate an army of the people. It is precisely those people who by soiling themselves with unworthy actions have discredited the Mahdi. There are at least four armies ready to unleash themselves against us. A “shadow” about which nobody ever talks, trained in great secrecy in the deserts of Jordan by the American armed forces. On top of that, there is the private army of Allawi, the unbeliever who will soon succeed Maliki, which stands ready at the al-Muthanná military airport. On top of that, there is the Kurdish _peshmerga_ and finally the regular American troops.
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[Q5] If what you say is true, you have no hope of resisting.
[A5] For all that, we are still who we are. We represent the majority of the country that does not want Iraq turned into a secular state and a slave of the Western powers, as Allawi dreams to the contrary.
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[Q6] For a week now you have been officially targeted. The regime claims that without their leaders the religious militias are much weaker militarily.
[A6] I am well aware of it. That is why I have moved my family to a safe place. I have even made a will and I continually move around so they have trouble knowing exactly where I am. But even should I have to die, the Mahdi would continue to exist. Men can be killed, but not faith and ideas.
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[Q7] It is said that you were present in the crowd at Saddam’s execution. Is that true?
[A7] It’s utter nonsense. If I had been there, they would have killed me also. As for Saddam, I’m certainly not going to cry for the man who massacred my family and my people by tens of thousands. The only thing is, I would have executed him in a public square so that all the world saw it.
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[Q8] If you were not there yourself, do you deny that there were a lot of your men in that room?
[A8] No, they were not my men. They were people paid to discredit me. To make me look like the person really responsible for that hanging. Listen to the audio again, the proof is that in reciting my prayer they left out some basic passages. Stuff that not even a child in Sadr City would ever have done. The object was to make Muqtadá look like the real enemy of the Sunnis. And they’re getting away with it. At a time when I have been received with full honours in Saudi Arabia! But suddenly after that show under the scaffold, my spokesman al-Zarqání, who was on the pilgrimage to Mecca, has been arrested. A subtle way to let me know that I am no longer on their list of friends.
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[Q9] In any case, the war between you and the Sunnis goes on.
[A9] It is true that we are all Muslims and all sons of the same country, but they must first distance themselves from the Saddamites, from the radical groups, from men like Bin Ladin, over and above just repeating their “No” to the Americans. The only thing that will be enough is for their ulema to accept our conditions [and issue a fatwa against killing Shiites]. So far they have not done so.
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[Q10] Perhaps there will be nothing but bloodshed in Iraq’s future?
[A10] If the future is a country split three ways, I see no alternatives. And that is what Bush wants, so as to have better control. It is certainly not what the Iraqis want. In my opinion, there is only one possible way to arrive at a solution: immediate American withdrawal.
(19 January 2007)
A short-term “surge” of U.S. troops to stabilize Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, should be complemented by “comprehensive political, economic and diplomatic efforts,” Hamilton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington.
Hamilton faulted the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for pursuing sectarian rather than national interests. “In the absence of pressure, there will be no national reconciliation,” Hamilton said. “In the absence of national reconciliation, there will be sectarian violence without end.”
كشف الرئيس جلال طالباني ان المسؤولين الايرانيين أبلغوه خلال زيارته طهران نهاية العام الماضي استعدادهم لاجراء محادثات مع الجانب الأميركي للتوصل الى تفاهم يرضي الطرفين ويمتد من افغانستان الى لبنان. وروى الملابسات التي أدت الى إحباط لقاءين سعى الى ترتيبهما بموافقة الطرفين.
http://www.daralhayat.com/special/01-2007/Item-20070118-36c2bae0-c0a8-10ed-0090-682e1368798b/story.html
JHM,
You beated me.. I spent all the evening translating that interview and as was going to post it.. there it was already.
Good for the readers of JWN, since your English is better than mine.
However there is a little error at the beginning of A5 :
Siamo in tanti anche noi.
just means “We are many too” and not
For all that, we are still who we are.
There are other slight other differences. If you are interested to see how I translated, write me here and let your Email : rohcris at vtx dot ch
Thanks JHM – and Christiane.
Thanks Salah, for this:
It’s All About The Oil…Is It?
Posted by Salah at January 18, 2007 01:26 PM
However, have you seen this?:
Iraq Amended Draft Law Sets Out New PSA Model by Hassan Hafidh Date: 1/17/2007
An amended copy of a draft Iraq hydrocarbon law sets out a new model for production-sharing agreements, or PSAs, with Western companies, a senior Iraqi oil official said Tuesday.
(…)
The new draft law recommends the Iraqi government sign development and production contracts, or DPCs, along with service or risk production contracts with foreign companies to upgrade the country`s war-ravaged oil industry.
The 38-page document states: a model contract could be based on service contract, development and production contract or risk contract.
D. Mathews,
Yes I knew this “Oil Production Sharing Contract” according to different reporting news, the companies will end got 70%-90% of the profits of Iraqi oil production simply it’s a theft contacts…
The normal contracts (US/UK/Dutch companies) had with Saudis and other Gulf States and other oil producing countries, their share is 40%, the reasons as they claiming about Iraqi production Sharing contracts are the security problem!!
The main player of drafting this contract according to one news source is US BIG OIL resident in US embassy in Baghdad they drafted the contracts (reported as “help Iraqi of Drafting the contracts”, like the Iraqi constitution that drafted By Noah Freedman).
From Iraqi side for four years they tried to finalised this contact, is Adel Abdul Mahady, Ama’ar Al-Hakim (Cheek Syeed, as Iraqi calling him) with his many trips to US meeting US officials, finally oil Minister Ali Shuhristani (Iranian proxy) who was in jail during Saddam time and he fled from the prison (some news saying done by Iranian intelligence or by Moasad).
Last month due to 114 member of Iraqi parliament went to Hajj in Saudi one of the Al-Tawafuq suggested that due to Iraqi Parliament suffering most of the time absences more than 50% of its members, this problem causing delay and chaos, so they can not pass any bill!! So he suggested to parliament to reduce the passing vote to 35-40 voices!! This is paving the road to pass the Oil Production Sharing Contracts when introduce to Parliaments any time soon.
Please check this links
Table Of Iraq’s Oil Exports And Kirkuk Tenders In 2006
Will Iraq’s Oil Blessing Become a Curse?
While the ISG is eager to have Iraqis take up security issues by themselves, they are not so quick to have Iraqis take charge of their economy or more importantly, the development of their massive oil reserves. The ISG team advocates for the sharing of oil revenues throughout the country, a departure from the current Iraqi constitution that states revenue from new oil fields goes to local provinces. If carried out, this reform would help lessen the pressure for division within the country.
Following this sensible proposal is one much more radical–complete privatization of the oil industry, combined with foreign investment, and technical assistance by the U.S. government. This directly contradicts the ISG’s earlier recommendation that, “The President should restate that the U.S. does not seek to control Iraq’s oil” and guarantees that the U.S. and multinational corporations will be vying for control and power in Iraq for decades. Clearly this section of the report was heavily influenced by commission members James A. Baker III and Lawrence Eagleburger, whom have sought access to Iraqi’s oil for most of their political careers, as well as by the longstanding consensus of U.S. corporate and government opinion about the importance and claimed legitimacy of maintaining U.S. control of Iraqi oil.
Can’t Stay the Course, Can’t End the War, But We’ll Call it Bipartisan
Following this sensible proposal is one much more radical–complete privatization of the oil industry, combined with foreign investment, and technical assistance by the U.S. government. This directly contradicts the ISG’s earlier recommendation that, “The President should restate that the U.S. does not seek to control Iraq’s oil” and guarantees that the U.S. and multinational corporations will be vying for control and power in Iraq for decades. Clearly this section of the report was heavily influenced by commission members James A. Baker III and Lawrence Eagleburger, whom have sought access to Iraqi’s oil for most of their political careers, as well as by the longstanding consensus of U.S. corporate and government opinion about the importance and claimed legitimacy of maintaining U.S. control of Iraqi oil.
Shutdown illustrates US oil dependence
John C
You are quite right. attention has moved along to the next Prime Minister and the Mayor of London commenting on words said during a catfight on reality TV.
The whole thing has been headlines for days in the quality press.
This is under no circumstances`an invitation for anyone to take sides or offer an opinion on the young ladies involved.
“Firing up a PowerPoint presentation, Maliki and his national security adviser proposed that U.S. troops withdraw to the outskirts of Baghdad and let Iraqis take over security in the strife-torn capital.”
PowerPoint = end of world civilization
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/20/AR2007012001446.html