-Can anyone explain why the WAPO put the number "113" in the title instead of "1500"?
-AYS is back to blogging again after a very long hiatus, only this time he's showing more pessimism in his words.
-And if you are going to be in or around DC by May 14, consider reading this.
New points of view about the future of Iraq and the Middle East.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
This is the face of the resistance that many people are praising and cheering for and this is the resistance that many people like to describe as pure Iraqi and patriotic.
This is the resistance that some journalists and bloggers proudly celebrate its victims' count on their papers and websites.
I can't find any reason for supporting such crimes but a mere anti-freedom sick ideology.
Let the world understand that the change that happened in Iraq was necessary and it is what the people here wanted and expressed their support for enthusiastically in more than one occasion; we saw that clear when the people left the tyrant alone to face his fate, we saw it when the people refused to fight for that tyrant and instead chose to slap his statues with their shoes and used their bare hands to tear off his portraits and smash the idols.
And we saw it in its most clear image when the people challenged terrorism and pessimism and raised a purple finger to show what they really want for their future.
Freedom and democracy, yes, this is what Iraqis want, and this is what they say over and over again when they join the army and police and stand in lines to replace the lines being assassinated.
How "brave" this resistance was when murdered thousands of innocent people and what a "unique courage" it shows when choosing assassination instead of face to face confrontation.
The resistance is even weaker than to confront a new born army just starting to stand on its feet.
They made every Iraqi citizen their target.
How bad and evil are those who support this resistance and cheerfully parrot its victories over the Iraqi police, children and women.
Do they realize how sick they make me feel? Do they realize that making the people an enemy is a losing strategy?
We are so angry and sad in a way no one can imagine and our response will be strong and sharp against all those who back terrorism and advocate it.
Do they really think they can destroy a dream built with blood, sweat, pain and suffering!?
You who are smiling at today's massacre, I tell you that these coward attacks will not stop the Iraqi tide.
What you wish is not going to happen and you will not get away with what you did and you will not escape the punishment.
Remember that freedom lovers will remember everything and they will not forget anyone who stood against them even with a word.
You may think that we're weak right now and unable to protect ourselves, we may seem stumbling but this new born country will become a powerful giant soon and will then seek justice for its people.
We are not going to be evil like you and we will not seek blind revenge but we will seek justice through our State of law and then you shall be judged as you deserve.
Nothing can stop us from finishing what we started and what happened today will not pass unpunished.
Mohammed.
This is the resistance that some journalists and bloggers proudly celebrate its victims' count on their papers and websites.
I can't find any reason for supporting such crimes but a mere anti-freedom sick ideology.
Let the world understand that the change that happened in Iraq was necessary and it is what the people here wanted and expressed their support for enthusiastically in more than one occasion; we saw that clear when the people left the tyrant alone to face his fate, we saw it when the people refused to fight for that tyrant and instead chose to slap his statues with their shoes and used their bare hands to tear off his portraits and smash the idols.
And we saw it in its most clear image when the people challenged terrorism and pessimism and raised a purple finger to show what they really want for their future.
Freedom and democracy, yes, this is what Iraqis want, and this is what they say over and over again when they join the army and police and stand in lines to replace the lines being assassinated.
How "brave" this resistance was when murdered thousands of innocent people and what a "unique courage" it shows when choosing assassination instead of face to face confrontation.
The resistance is even weaker than to confront a new born army just starting to stand on its feet.
They made every Iraqi citizen their target.
How bad and evil are those who support this resistance and cheerfully parrot its victories over the Iraqi police, children and women.
Do they realize how sick they make me feel? Do they realize that making the people an enemy is a losing strategy?
We are so angry and sad in a way no one can imagine and our response will be strong and sharp against all those who back terrorism and advocate it.
Do they really think they can destroy a dream built with blood, sweat, pain and suffering!?
You who are smiling at today's massacre, I tell you that these coward attacks will not stop the Iraqi tide.
What you wish is not going to happen and you will not get away with what you did and you will not escape the punishment.
Remember that freedom lovers will remember everything and they will not forget anyone who stood against them even with a word.
You may think that we're weak right now and unable to protect ourselves, we may seem stumbling but this new born country will become a powerful giant soon and will then seek justice for its people.
We are not going to be evil like you and we will not seek blind revenge but we will seek justice through our State of law and then you shall be judged as you deserve.
Nothing can stop us from finishing what we started and what happened today will not pass unpunished.
Mohammed.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Between two birthdays.
This morning, the National Assembly approved Jafaris cabinet in an exceptional session; at the beginning of the session, Hachim Al-Hasani the chairman of the assembly read Dr. Jafari's letter and enumerated the 36 names of the future ministers as well as those of the deputies of the prime minister.
The formation still has a few vacancies as 4 names have not been agreed on yet and the corresponding ministries will be temporarily handled by other members of the government; the most important of these ministries are the defense which is going to be lead by Jafari and oil which will be lead by Chalabi, both for a short period until new ministers are chosen and agreed on.
The ministry of interior which was about to create a conflict had been assigned to Bayan Jabor of the alliance block.
After the names were told, Dr. Hachim called the Assembly to vote on the cabinet but some members requested the cabinet formation to be discussed one last time before voting.
The majority refused this rejected but they also wanted Dr. Jafari to talk about how the final draft was reached.
Jafari spoke about the difficulties that accompanied his attempts to satisfy the different blocks and get their agreement and he said that "the colorful formation is a great victory for democracy" he also mentioned that negotiations lasted till the early hours of this morning and he assured the Assembly that the remaining vacancies will be filled within a few days no more.
He said that the relatively long time that was needed to form this cabinet wasn't a bad thing as long as the reason behind that was to "get real representation of the different segments".
Jafari stressed that efficiency was the main parameter in choosing the ministers as the greatest danger facing the government is corruption which we inherited from the past regime.
The international reputation and integrity of the chosen ministers was considered in the process as Jafari mentioned and he also said that he realizes that Sunni people didn't get their full chance in the election and attributed that to the terror threats in their regions and added that the Sunni should have a role in the government equivalent to their demographic position, not only to the results of the election as "they were victims of poor security conditions in their cities".
Jafari's speech was met with long applause.
The voting went on and 180 out of the attending 185 members approved the cabinet and it was clear that most of Allawi's block voted with the cabinet although this block refused taking part in the government.
Signs of relief were seen on the faces after the voting was successfully over.
Later, representatives of the parliamentary blocks were given the chance to give short speeches; the 1st one to speak was Abdul Aziz Al- Hakim who congratulated Jafari on this success and said:
"We, the members of the alliance block will practice our duty here in monitoring the performance of the government and we will be stricter in monitoring the alliance representatives in the government than on others"
This statement was also applauded by the audience.
He urged the government to take serious steps to confront terrorism which he considered the most dangerous threat facing Iraq in this phase.
Al-Hakim also stressed on the importance of identifying and eliminating the Saddamists who have infiltrated the government offices.
He called the government to accelerate the process of building reliable security forces to replace the multi national forces.
This was a clear signal that Iraq will need the multinational forces for the time being. Notice that he didn't call for a pull out and he used the term multinational instead of occupation.
Al-Hakim called for "respecting the Islamic identity of Iraq and respecting human rights" and asked the government to pay more attention to the areas that suffered more from neglect in the past.
He ended his speech by saying a few words of condolence for the family of the female MP who was assassinated a few days ago then he pointed out to the role of the clergy in supporting the political process in a few quick words.
After that Dr. Maasoum, the spokesman of the Kurdish block gave a short speech; he congratulated Jafari and said that the long time that was consumed in the process is a healthy indication which proves that there are no more solitary decisions in Iraq and that everything has to be done through conversation and discussion "today's Iraq discusses and addresses differences and the time taken in these processes is for the best of the public interest".
Hussain Al-Sadr, the representative of Allawi's block had also started his speech by congratulating Jafari but he said:
"Dr. Jafari mentioned that he had discussions with all the parties before announcing the cabinet but actually he didn't discuss the formation with our block as he promised to do; in spite of that we are going to back this government and as you all saw, we've voted for it and we will support any step that serves this country".
This statement also met by applause from the audience.
Then came Mrs. Jacqueline's turn who represents the Christian block in the Assembly and she blamed the government and Dr. Jafari for not giving the Christian Assyrian block its deserved role and she expressed her hope that Assyrians will get more fair representation in the future and in spite of that she confirmed that her colleagues will support the new government.
Later, the representatives of the communist party, the Turkmen and a few Sunni MPs had their time to speak too. Misha'an Al-Juboori was obviously critical of the cabinet and although his party got only one seat in the Assembly, Juboori was speaking in the name of all Sunni!
On the other hand, the representative of the national coalition (a Sunni group) was more realistic and showed support to the government and said "we couldn't actively participate in the elections because of terror threats; therefore we will be working hard to ensure broader participation in the next round of elections".
Here Dr. Hachim announced the end of the session and many MPs flocked to shake hands with Dr. Jafari and congratulate him.
Something I also wanted to mention which is not a surprise at all is that Al-Jazeera totally ignored today's session and while it allocated long hours talking about the delay in announcing the government in the past few weeks, the channel chose to ignore the important event and was in stead broadcasting a history report with the running news subtitle talking about violence and explosions!
For years before 2003, a day like this (the 28th of April) was one of the worst days of the year. We were forced to watch disgusting theatrical celebrations showing Iraqis happily and cheerfully celebrating Saddam's birthday. While today I was following Iraq's birth with true joy and hope and instead of trying to avoid facing the TV screen like I used to do in the past, today I was flipping channels like crazy trying to find more and more details about this great event.
May Iraqis enjoy their emerging democracy and may the world see the fruits of Iraqi freedom.
Mohammed.
The formation still has a few vacancies as 4 names have not been agreed on yet and the corresponding ministries will be temporarily handled by other members of the government; the most important of these ministries are the defense which is going to be lead by Jafari and oil which will be lead by Chalabi, both for a short period until new ministers are chosen and agreed on.
The ministry of interior which was about to create a conflict had been assigned to Bayan Jabor of the alliance block.
After the names were told, Dr. Hachim called the Assembly to vote on the cabinet but some members requested the cabinet formation to be discussed one last time before voting.
The majority refused this rejected but they also wanted Dr. Jafari to talk about how the final draft was reached.
Jafari spoke about the difficulties that accompanied his attempts to satisfy the different blocks and get their agreement and he said that "the colorful formation is a great victory for democracy" he also mentioned that negotiations lasted till the early hours of this morning and he assured the Assembly that the remaining vacancies will be filled within a few days no more.
He said that the relatively long time that was needed to form this cabinet wasn't a bad thing as long as the reason behind that was to "get real representation of the different segments".
Jafari stressed that efficiency was the main parameter in choosing the ministers as the greatest danger facing the government is corruption which we inherited from the past regime.
The international reputation and integrity of the chosen ministers was considered in the process as Jafari mentioned and he also said that he realizes that Sunni people didn't get their full chance in the election and attributed that to the terror threats in their regions and added that the Sunni should have a role in the government equivalent to their demographic position, not only to the results of the election as "they were victims of poor security conditions in their cities".
Jafari's speech was met with long applause.
The voting went on and 180 out of the attending 185 members approved the cabinet and it was clear that most of Allawi's block voted with the cabinet although this block refused taking part in the government.
Signs of relief were seen on the faces after the voting was successfully over.
Later, representatives of the parliamentary blocks were given the chance to give short speeches; the 1st one to speak was Abdul Aziz Al- Hakim who congratulated Jafari on this success and said:
"We, the members of the alliance block will practice our duty here in monitoring the performance of the government and we will be stricter in monitoring the alliance representatives in the government than on others"
This statement was also applauded by the audience.
He urged the government to take serious steps to confront terrorism which he considered the most dangerous threat facing Iraq in this phase.
Al-Hakim also stressed on the importance of identifying and eliminating the Saddamists who have infiltrated the government offices.
He called the government to accelerate the process of building reliable security forces to replace the multi national forces.
This was a clear signal that Iraq will need the multinational forces for the time being. Notice that he didn't call for a pull out and he used the term multinational instead of occupation.
Al-Hakim called for "respecting the Islamic identity of Iraq and respecting human rights" and asked the government to pay more attention to the areas that suffered more from neglect in the past.
He ended his speech by saying a few words of condolence for the family of the female MP who was assassinated a few days ago then he pointed out to the role of the clergy in supporting the political process in a few quick words.
After that Dr. Maasoum, the spokesman of the Kurdish block gave a short speech; he congratulated Jafari and said that the long time that was consumed in the process is a healthy indication which proves that there are no more solitary decisions in Iraq and that everything has to be done through conversation and discussion "today's Iraq discusses and addresses differences and the time taken in these processes is for the best of the public interest".
Hussain Al-Sadr, the representative of Allawi's block had also started his speech by congratulating Jafari but he said:
"Dr. Jafari mentioned that he had discussions with all the parties before announcing the cabinet but actually he didn't discuss the formation with our block as he promised to do; in spite of that we are going to back this government and as you all saw, we've voted for it and we will support any step that serves this country".
This statement also met by applause from the audience.
Then came Mrs. Jacqueline's turn who represents the Christian block in the Assembly and she blamed the government and Dr. Jafari for not giving the Christian Assyrian block its deserved role and she expressed her hope that Assyrians will get more fair representation in the future and in spite of that she confirmed that her colleagues will support the new government.
Later, the representatives of the communist party, the Turkmen and a few Sunni MPs had their time to speak too. Misha'an Al-Juboori was obviously critical of the cabinet and although his party got only one seat in the Assembly, Juboori was speaking in the name of all Sunni!
On the other hand, the representative of the national coalition (a Sunni group) was more realistic and showed support to the government and said "we couldn't actively participate in the elections because of terror threats; therefore we will be working hard to ensure broader participation in the next round of elections".
Here Dr. Hachim announced the end of the session and many MPs flocked to shake hands with Dr. Jafari and congratulate him.
Something I also wanted to mention which is not a surprise at all is that Al-Jazeera totally ignored today's session and while it allocated long hours talking about the delay in announcing the government in the past few weeks, the channel chose to ignore the important event and was in stead broadcasting a history report with the running news subtitle talking about violence and explosions!
For years before 2003, a day like this (the 28th of April) was one of the worst days of the year. We were forced to watch disgusting theatrical celebrations showing Iraqis happily and cheerfully celebrating Saddam's birthday. While today I was following Iraq's birth with true joy and hope and instead of trying to avoid facing the TV screen like I used to do in the past, today I was flipping channels like crazy trying to find more and more details about this great event.
May Iraqis enjoy their emerging democracy and may the world see the fruits of Iraqi freedom.
Mohammed.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Let the work begin.
In a press conferefnce in Baghdad a few hours ago, Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jafgari announced that he handed the presidency council a draft that contains the names he included in his cabinet.
This resolution came after getting over the last bump that was delaying the process; the bump was actually created from within the Iraqi Alliance block itself. The story started after PM Jafari accused Al-Fadhilah Islamic Party of being too demanding by asking for the post of the oil ministry without having a qualified candidate while the spokesman of Al-Fadhilah put the blame on PM Jafari claiming that Jafari favored a candidate who lived abroad the post of oil ministry. The spokesman exact words were:
"It seems that Dr. Jafari thinks that the sons of Amara are not classy enough to get the post of the oil ministry".
After being approved by the presidency council, the list will be submitted to the National Assembly to gain trust in tomorrow's session which is not a regular session since the regulations of the Assembly state that sessions are to be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week, so apparently the decision to hold an exceptional session tomorrow was made to relief the tension on the streets caused by the delayed announcement of the new government.
It's highly expected that the presidency council will approve the cabinet without objections and so will the National Assembly tomorrow as the names of the cabinet members were chosen after prolonged negotiations that finally led to an agreement among the major blocks of the Assembly (except for Allawi's block that chose not to take part in the cabinet) something we have expected some time ago.
So the majority of the Assembly members-or at least the key members-have already agreed on the nominations submitted by Dr. Jafari.
After the discussions on this subject have ended, there will be a more critical mission awaiting the National Assembly, which is the writing of the new constitution of Iraq and if the interim government is going to last for 6 months only, the constitution will last for the a much longer time.
Still, I expect drafting the constitution to be a relatively smoother process than anticipated because the politicians and the Assembly Members have gained some sort of experience from the negotiations in the last several weeks and the began to know how to deal with their differences. I see that they're learning what can be done and what cannot be, what can be tolerated and what cannot be, how to respect each other and above all; how to respect the people and their responsibilities toward to the people.
News link here and here in English and here in Arabic.
This resolution came after getting over the last bump that was delaying the process; the bump was actually created from within the Iraqi Alliance block itself. The story started after PM Jafari accused Al-Fadhilah Islamic Party of being too demanding by asking for the post of the oil ministry without having a qualified candidate while the spokesman of Al-Fadhilah put the blame on PM Jafari claiming that Jafari favored a candidate who lived abroad the post of oil ministry. The spokesman exact words were:
"It seems that Dr. Jafari thinks that the sons of Amara are not classy enough to get the post of the oil ministry".
After being approved by the presidency council, the list will be submitted to the National Assembly to gain trust in tomorrow's session which is not a regular session since the regulations of the Assembly state that sessions are to be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of each week, so apparently the decision to hold an exceptional session tomorrow was made to relief the tension on the streets caused by the delayed announcement of the new government.
It's highly expected that the presidency council will approve the cabinet without objections and so will the National Assembly tomorrow as the names of the cabinet members were chosen after prolonged negotiations that finally led to an agreement among the major blocks of the Assembly (except for Allawi's block that chose not to take part in the cabinet) something we have expected some time ago.
So the majority of the Assembly members-or at least the key members-have already agreed on the nominations submitted by Dr. Jafari.
After the discussions on this subject have ended, there will be a more critical mission awaiting the National Assembly, which is the writing of the new constitution of Iraq and if the interim government is going to last for 6 months only, the constitution will last for the a much longer time.
Still, I expect drafting the constitution to be a relatively smoother process than anticipated because the politicians and the Assembly Members have gained some sort of experience from the negotiations in the last several weeks and the began to know how to deal with their differences. I see that they're learning what can be done and what cannot be, what can be tolerated and what cannot be, how to respect each other and above all; how to respect the people and their responsibilities toward to the people.
News link here and here in English and here in Arabic.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
One of the brilliant Iraqi bloggers who had been using the Friends of Democracy Arabic blogging tool has started a blog in English.
Now you go and read his thoughts on Iraq and his city "Diwaniyah" in English here.
Now you go and read his thoughts on Iraq and his city "Diwaniyah" in English here.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Same old argument, new inquisitors.
I have received these two pieces (registration required) in an e mail last night, I read them (well, most of them actually) got pissed of, then I thought "why should I bother? It's just another piece of nonsense" so I forgot about them for a while until I saw them this morning again during my morning tour on blogs and I read Ahmed's response to it and I thought I could say a few words.
I think one of the most telling signs of ignorance is when someone pretends to know everything about a subject he's relatively clueless about. I really don't know exactly how informed the authors of these two pieces are about the situation in Iraq before and after the 9th of April but I'm positive that any common Iraqi with ordinary intelligence is way more informed.
There are actually a million stories I can tell to make a comparison between pre and post-Saddam Iraq and to show how dramatically life has improved since April 2003 and the list doesn't necessarily start from the security which is much better off now than under Saddam who murdered 3 million Iraqis during his reign; a figure that dwarfs any post-liberation body count or my salary as a dentist which increased by a hundred folds and doesn't end by the huge change in the Iraqi army that changed from a tool of repression for both, the conscripted soldiers and the civilian population to a security preserving tool that young Iraqis volunteer to join.
Technology and communications had their share too; we moved from a country where your e mail needs two weeks to pass through the filters of the Mukhabarat to a country where people like me can publish their thought to the entire world by a click!
And as our author of honor here is British I'd like to add that before April 2003, being caught while listening to the anti-war BBC radio could throw the listener in jail for indefinite time.
Anyway, if I wanted to talk about every single positive change, I should probably write a book about it as a blog post can't hold all that information.
By European and American standards, Iraq could be considered hell on earth and I agree; life is difficult here, really difficult for many Iraqis and it would be almost impossible for a European or an American but the question here is this: is it more difficult now than under Saddam?
The answer is NO.
What really irritated me was calling the historic January election "fraudulent and meaningless"!
I ask here; what are the proofs for such an insulting statement?
Could it be true that all the 8+ million Iraqis who went to cast their ballots on that day were fools!? And could it be true that those people risked their lives just to please someone!?
I believe the author here used the wrong "weakness point" to attack the administrations/policies he doesn't agree with because he actually offended a whole nation; a nation of men and women who woke up in the morning of that day and each one of them was expecting death on the hands of the terrorists yet that didn't stop them from saying their word.
Saying that Iraq was better off under Saddam is in my opinion similar to saying that Germany was better off under Hitler or that Romania was better off under Ceausescu.
The other brilliant statement of our inspired author is really amazing; I don't know how he reached the conclusion that Iraqi is moving towards having a regime similar to that of Saddam's, which he at the same time portrayed as the worst possible scenario!!
I need you to help me figure this out; if the appearance of a regime similar to that of Saddam and the Ba'ath is the worst thing that can happen, then how could things be better when Saddam himself was in power!?
And what are the signs he saw that made him come up with this theory?
Okay, let me think…
Was it the 1st free election in Iraq in half a century?
Or maybe it was the two peaceful transfers of power within one year?
Or, was it pluralism and the parliament of 275 members who represent all the components of the Iraqi society?
Maybe it's the PM, Jafari who's busting his a** negotiating with the other parties to form a cabinet that ensures national unity?
Maybe I'm not seeing the truth and maybe I'm having confused daydreams after receiving heavy doses of the Bush-Blair propaganda, after all I'm just a simple Iraqi who lived 25 years in Iraq before and after Saddam.
I leave you to decide which perspective is more acceptable.
I think one of the most telling signs of ignorance is when someone pretends to know everything about a subject he's relatively clueless about. I really don't know exactly how informed the authors of these two pieces are about the situation in Iraq before and after the 9th of April but I'm positive that any common Iraqi with ordinary intelligence is way more informed.
There are actually a million stories I can tell to make a comparison between pre and post-Saddam Iraq and to show how dramatically life has improved since April 2003 and the list doesn't necessarily start from the security which is much better off now than under Saddam who murdered 3 million Iraqis during his reign; a figure that dwarfs any post-liberation body count or my salary as a dentist which increased by a hundred folds and doesn't end by the huge change in the Iraqi army that changed from a tool of repression for both, the conscripted soldiers and the civilian population to a security preserving tool that young Iraqis volunteer to join.
Technology and communications had their share too; we moved from a country where your e mail needs two weeks to pass through the filters of the Mukhabarat to a country where people like me can publish their thought to the entire world by a click!
And as our author of honor here is British I'd like to add that before April 2003, being caught while listening to the anti-war BBC radio could throw the listener in jail for indefinite time.
Anyway, if I wanted to talk about every single positive change, I should probably write a book about it as a blog post can't hold all that information.
By European and American standards, Iraq could be considered hell on earth and I agree; life is difficult here, really difficult for many Iraqis and it would be almost impossible for a European or an American but the question here is this: is it more difficult now than under Saddam?
The answer is NO.
What really irritated me was calling the historic January election "fraudulent and meaningless"!
I ask here; what are the proofs for such an insulting statement?
Could it be true that all the 8+ million Iraqis who went to cast their ballots on that day were fools!? And could it be true that those people risked their lives just to please someone!?
I believe the author here used the wrong "weakness point" to attack the administrations/policies he doesn't agree with because he actually offended a whole nation; a nation of men and women who woke up in the morning of that day and each one of them was expecting death on the hands of the terrorists yet that didn't stop them from saying their word.
Saying that Iraq was better off under Saddam is in my opinion similar to saying that Germany was better off under Hitler or that Romania was better off under Ceausescu.
The other brilliant statement of our inspired author is really amazing; I don't know how he reached the conclusion that Iraqi is moving towards having a regime similar to that of Saddam's, which he at the same time portrayed as the worst possible scenario!!
I need you to help me figure this out; if the appearance of a regime similar to that of Saddam and the Ba'ath is the worst thing that can happen, then how could things be better when Saddam himself was in power!?
And what are the signs he saw that made him come up with this theory?
Okay, let me think…
Was it the 1st free election in Iraq in half a century?
Or maybe it was the two peaceful transfers of power within one year?
Or, was it pluralism and the parliament of 275 members who represent all the components of the Iraqi society?
Maybe it's the PM, Jafari who's busting his a** negotiating with the other parties to form a cabinet that ensures national unity?
Maybe I'm not seeing the truth and maybe I'm having confused daydreams after receiving heavy doses of the Bush-Blair propaganda, after all I'm just a simple Iraqi who lived 25 years in Iraq before and after Saddam.
I leave you to decide which perspective is more acceptable.
Iraq's political scene, today.
It's become almost certain that the Iraqi list led by Allawi is not going to take part in the formation of a national unity type of government. Allawi warned the upcoming government from adopting a sectarian mindset in dealing with the situation and he expressed his wishes that such thing won't happen but he stressed that he will keep supporting the government regardless of his lists role in it.
At the same time, the negotiations with Ghazi Al-Yawir regarding the role of the Arab Sunni in the government are about to reach an a positive end and thus announcing the new formations is expected to happen soon once approved by the presidency board.
Meanwhile, the tension brought by the Mada'en case has begun to fade and we are not hearing much about it in the news or on the streets anymore and it seems that this was associated with reaching an agreement about the post of the ministry of interior. We have pointed out the correlation between the two cases earlier and we said that the exaggeration is a result of a conflict over who should control the security file.
I have heard news saying that Hadi Al-Amiri (from Badr org. of the SCIRI) had pulled back his nomination for the post and that Bayan Jabur, the ex-minister of construction and the moderate Shea't had replaced Al-Amiri.
Al-Amiri said that there are some parties trying to create distrust between the SCIRI and the US administration and he confirmed that his party has no intentions in monopolizing the security file or eliminating certain elements related to the past regime.
He also stressed that "Badr had disarmed its men and that it's an entirely civic, political organization that has representatives in the Assembly and working with the rest of Iraqis to build a democratic country and wipe away the pains of the dark years".
In another development, the "association of Muslim scholars" condemned the latest attacks that targeted a number of She'at mosques and described the attacks as "terrorism and mere crimes".
It seems like that came the association is being subjected to intense pressures after the warnings from She'at parties calling the association to clarify its position from these operations and through this rejection, the association tries to break the isolation and remove the doubts about its involvement in terror attacks, plus they don't want the negotiations between the Sunni Arabs and the She'at coalition to fail as a failure would cost them their last chance to negotiate for a role in the new government.
However, I still see that this condemnation is not from the heart as they wouldn't have done that without pressures from other parties and without an internal conflict between the two wings of the association; one wants to take part in the political process while the other more radical one wants to keep on fighting; a method that have brought them nothing but the people's contempt.
The Sunni-in trouble-situation was visible in the negotiations with the She'at alliance as the Sunni couldn't till now agree among themselves on a common political leadership as they have too many differences among their different groups.
Anyway, the way negotiations are moving suggests that the Sunni are closer now to the political choice than they're to the armed choice and this calls for some optimism for the coming phase despite the escalated violence from the radical wing which refused to stop the violence in an attempt (I consider futile) obviously aiming at forcing the moderate Sunni to abandon the political process.
I think this attempt is futile as military ways have proven to be fruitless and many of those who supported it in the 1st place have begun to realize this fact.
While some observers see that there's deterioration in the security conditions and are using this to support their vision about failure of the change in Iraq I see this escalation of violence as a last wave that cannot stop the wheel from moving as this wheel is gaining more momentum from the people while the extremists are losing whatever little momentum they have.
The Iraqi people have agreed on a certain way to build their future and it’s definitely different from that of terror and I believe that no sane person can think that terror can defeat the whole people.
Yes. We're bleeding but they're bleeding too and considering the reserves of each camp; we're far more capable of winning this battle.
All the car bombs and the assassinations against the army and IP had led to nothing but an increase in the number of operating Iraqi security forces and murdering the recruits didn't lead to anything but more lines of recruits showing more determination and bravery.
The terrorists have lost the people and who loses the people's trust loses the war eventually.
Mohammed.
At the same time, the negotiations with Ghazi Al-Yawir regarding the role of the Arab Sunni in the government are about to reach an a positive end and thus announcing the new formations is expected to happen soon once approved by the presidency board.
Meanwhile, the tension brought by the Mada'en case has begun to fade and we are not hearing much about it in the news or on the streets anymore and it seems that this was associated with reaching an agreement about the post of the ministry of interior. We have pointed out the correlation between the two cases earlier and we said that the exaggeration is a result of a conflict over who should control the security file.
I have heard news saying that Hadi Al-Amiri (from Badr org. of the SCIRI) had pulled back his nomination for the post and that Bayan Jabur, the ex-minister of construction and the moderate Shea't had replaced Al-Amiri.
Al-Amiri said that there are some parties trying to create distrust between the SCIRI and the US administration and he confirmed that his party has no intentions in monopolizing the security file or eliminating certain elements related to the past regime.
He also stressed that "Badr had disarmed its men and that it's an entirely civic, political organization that has representatives in the Assembly and working with the rest of Iraqis to build a democratic country and wipe away the pains of the dark years".
In another development, the "association of Muslim scholars" condemned the latest attacks that targeted a number of She'at mosques and described the attacks as "terrorism and mere crimes".
It seems like that came the association is being subjected to intense pressures after the warnings from She'at parties calling the association to clarify its position from these operations and through this rejection, the association tries to break the isolation and remove the doubts about its involvement in terror attacks, plus they don't want the negotiations between the Sunni Arabs and the She'at coalition to fail as a failure would cost them their last chance to negotiate for a role in the new government.
However, I still see that this condemnation is not from the heart as they wouldn't have done that without pressures from other parties and without an internal conflict between the two wings of the association; one wants to take part in the political process while the other more radical one wants to keep on fighting; a method that have brought them nothing but the people's contempt.
The Sunni-in trouble-situation was visible in the negotiations with the She'at alliance as the Sunni couldn't till now agree among themselves on a common political leadership as they have too many differences among their different groups.
Anyway, the way negotiations are moving suggests that the Sunni are closer now to the political choice than they're to the armed choice and this calls for some optimism for the coming phase despite the escalated violence from the radical wing which refused to stop the violence in an attempt (I consider futile) obviously aiming at forcing the moderate Sunni to abandon the political process.
I think this attempt is futile as military ways have proven to be fruitless and many of those who supported it in the 1st place have begun to realize this fact.
While some observers see that there's deterioration in the security conditions and are using this to support their vision about failure of the change in Iraq I see this escalation of violence as a last wave that cannot stop the wheel from moving as this wheel is gaining more momentum from the people while the extremists are losing whatever little momentum they have.
The Iraqi people have agreed on a certain way to build their future and it’s definitely different from that of terror and I believe that no sane person can think that terror can defeat the whole people.
Yes. We're bleeding but they're bleeding too and considering the reserves of each camp; we're far more capable of winning this battle.
All the car bombs and the assassinations against the army and IP had led to nothing but an increase in the number of operating Iraqi security forces and murdering the recruits didn't lead to anything but more lines of recruits showing more determination and bravery.
The terrorists have lost the people and who loses the people's trust loses the war eventually.
Mohammed.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
The i.ct.f (the Iraq counter-terror force) is under formation now as part of the special operations brigade of the Iraqi army while Iraq will have the biggest anti-terror training field in the Middle East. Source: Al Sabah.
The commander of the brigade said that four consecutive courses are arranged in order to select the most eligible elements among the applicants for joining this highly specialized force.
From 809 applicants, only 350 have passed the primary tough tests which are called (the selection) and it's planned to select only 100 men after passing through another intensified course of training and this group will be sent outside the country to receive further training for two month by trainers from the MNF about handling terror threats and fighting terror cells.
The remaining 250 who will fail to pass the last course will be joined to the commandos forces of the army. (if the ones who fail are going to be commandos, then definitely no one would like to mess with the 100 guys who would pass the tests!)
The anti-terror training center will be the 1st of a kind in the Middle East as the source said where members of the i.ct.f will receive training about urban war tactics and the members of this unit will be equipped with highly advanced American weapons and equipments.
10 of the best qualified men from this unit are going to chosen to train other special forces units for the Iraqi army including commandos, paratroopers and quick response units.
Here's a short briefing on the operations of the Iraqi security forces in the last 24 hours:
A number of terror nests fell in the hands of the Iraqi security forces in the last 24 hours in different spots in Iraq. Link in Arabic:
The 204th battalion of the Iraqi army discovered a weapon cache in Al Khass suburb in Diyala province where 88 artillery shells (of calibers ranging between 82 and 120 mm) were found in addition to other materials used in manufacturing IEDs like wires, timers and other materials of military use.
In kahanaqeen, also in Diyala province the security forces located two other weapons caches; the 1st contained 15 pounds of TNT, 13 (82 mm) mortar rounds and a small number of 100 mm artillery shells, while in the 2nd location, 21 shells of 100 mm caliber were found and a large number of IEDs of different sizes. All the located materials were transferred and detonated under control in another place.
In Kirkuk, a police patrol disarmed an IED placed near a stadium used a camp for accommodating Kurdish refugees and In Hawijah (south of Kirkuk) 17 wanted terrorists were detained.
Meanwhile in Samawa, a terror cell that was carrying out operations in Baghdad was arrested.
The leader of this group Omar Attimimi was arrested in a previous operation.
The members of the group were arrested while they were trying to purchase weapons and ammunition from a specialized gang of smugglers that works in Samawa but they never reached their destination and were busted on their way to the meeting.
Mohammed.
The commander of the brigade said that four consecutive courses are arranged in order to select the most eligible elements among the applicants for joining this highly specialized force.
From 809 applicants, only 350 have passed the primary tough tests which are called (the selection) and it's planned to select only 100 men after passing through another intensified course of training and this group will be sent outside the country to receive further training for two month by trainers from the MNF about handling terror threats and fighting terror cells.
The remaining 250 who will fail to pass the last course will be joined to the commandos forces of the army. (if the ones who fail are going to be commandos, then definitely no one would like to mess with the 100 guys who would pass the tests!)
The anti-terror training center will be the 1st of a kind in the Middle East as the source said where members of the i.ct.f will receive training about urban war tactics and the members of this unit will be equipped with highly advanced American weapons and equipments.
10 of the best qualified men from this unit are going to chosen to train other special forces units for the Iraqi army including commandos, paratroopers and quick response units.
Here's a short briefing on the operations of the Iraqi security forces in the last 24 hours:
A number of terror nests fell in the hands of the Iraqi security forces in the last 24 hours in different spots in Iraq. Link in Arabic:
The 204th battalion of the Iraqi army discovered a weapon cache in Al Khass suburb in Diyala province where 88 artillery shells (of calibers ranging between 82 and 120 mm) were found in addition to other materials used in manufacturing IEDs like wires, timers and other materials of military use.
In kahanaqeen, also in Diyala province the security forces located two other weapons caches; the 1st contained 15 pounds of TNT, 13 (82 mm) mortar rounds and a small number of 100 mm artillery shells, while in the 2nd location, 21 shells of 100 mm caliber were found and a large number of IEDs of different sizes. All the located materials were transferred and detonated under control in another place.
In Kirkuk, a police patrol disarmed an IED placed near a stadium used a camp for accommodating Kurdish refugees and In Hawijah (south of Kirkuk) 17 wanted terrorists were detained.
Meanwhile in Samawa, a terror cell that was carrying out operations in Baghdad was arrested.
The leader of this group Omar Attimimi was arrested in a previous operation.
The members of the group were arrested while they were trying to purchase weapons and ammunition from a specialized gang of smugglers that works in Samawa but they never reached their destination and were busted on their way to the meeting.
Mohammed.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
This (if proves to be accurate) is good news indeed.
It also proves that even if there were no surveillance planes watching, there are good Iraqi guys with open eyes who reject terrorism and are willing to help justice rule.
This will not bring the poor victims back to live but it will certainly save other lives from being brutally ended.
It also proves that even if there were no surveillance planes watching, there are good Iraqi guys with open eyes who reject terrorism and are willing to help justice rule.
This will not bring the poor victims back to live but it will certainly save other lives from being brutally ended.
Friday, April 22, 2005
An excellent post by Ali, actually it's one of his best posts ever and I strongly recommend that you read it.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
I found a couple of interesting cartoons on New Sabah; in the 1st one here, the Captain of the aircraft is giving this announcement "Ladies and gentlemen; the atmosphere is democratic but there are a few sectarian bumps ahead, thank you".
The use of a jet plane to symbolize the democratic process in Iraq was obviously to say that democracy is something new to Iraqis just like air transport which is new to most Iraqis who depended on ground transport for a very long time.
The passenger back there is saying "Nazil" which in Iraq slang is short for "stop the vehicle so that I can step down" and is commonly used when someone is traveling in a bus or a taxi.
The word was chosen here to say that there are people who are not used to the modern and civilized ways of life (of politics here). So the passenger got scared when he heard the word "bumps" and he seems reluctant to trust the new ways which although could be risky sometimes but they're safer and much faster most of the time.
The 2nd cartoon is dealing with the struggle for political reform in the region.
The man with the Arabic head-wear obviously refers to the Arab leaders while the bottle refers to political reforms.
The Arab guy is looking anxiously at the man holding the thick club (who represents America of course) and says helplessly "it's bitter.. but I'm going to drink it".
I personally doubt that many regimes will have that drink because unfortunately many of the Arab leaders are stupid enough to prefer the club over the "bitter medicine".
The use of a jet plane to symbolize the democratic process in Iraq was obviously to say that democracy is something new to Iraqis just like air transport which is new to most Iraqis who depended on ground transport for a very long time.
The passenger back there is saying "Nazil" which in Iraq slang is short for "stop the vehicle so that I can step down" and is commonly used when someone is traveling in a bus or a taxi.
The word was chosen here to say that there are people who are not used to the modern and civilized ways of life (of politics here). So the passenger got scared when he heard the word "bumps" and he seems reluctant to trust the new ways which although could be risky sometimes but they're safer and much faster most of the time.
The 2nd cartoon is dealing with the struggle for political reform in the region.
The man with the Arabic head-wear obviously refers to the Arab leaders while the bottle refers to political reforms.
The Arab guy is looking anxiously at the man holding the thick club (who represents America of course) and says helplessly "it's bitter.. but I'm going to drink it".
I personally doubt that many regimes will have that drink because unfortunately many of the Arab leaders are stupid enough to prefer the club over the "bitter medicine".
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
The role of Tehran in creating the sectarian conflict in Iraq has became more than obvious after the failure of all the attempts to provoke a conflict between the Sunni and the She'at.
The astounding successes of Iraq in democracy and writing the constitution and building a free community is causing a panic the neighborhood.
We mentioned earlier that the Mada'en crisis is a fake and we pointed out that intrinsic and extrinsic parties had taken a stance to invest this story.
These parties revealed their ugly face by directing a frank call for holding arms and raise an internal fight.
Ha'iri (the Ayatollah from Iran who had always been supportive of Sadr and trying to interfere in Iraq's internal situation) released a fatwa today that called the She'at to carry arms and fight the "Nasibah" in a signal to the Sunni population (link in Arabic).
Mohammed.
The astounding successes of Iraq in democracy and writing the constitution and building a free community is causing a panic the neighborhood.
We mentioned earlier that the Mada'en crisis is a fake and we pointed out that intrinsic and extrinsic parties had taken a stance to invest this story.
These parties revealed their ugly face by directing a frank call for holding arms and raise an internal fight.
Ha'iri (the Ayatollah from Iran who had always been supportive of Sadr and trying to interfere in Iraq's internal situation) released a fatwa today that called the She'at to carry arms and fight the "Nasibah" in a signal to the Sunni population (link in Arabic).
Mohammed.
Is there no source of pictures for our media other than our blog!!?
In the 1st time it was Al-Sabah, now Al-Mendhar joins the club. What's wrong with these people!
In the 1st time it was Al-Sabah, now Al-Mendhar joins the club. What's wrong with these people!
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Renovating Syria; a must read of two parts by Amarji.
The reason why I'm so interested in following Syrian blogs right now is because these blogs complete the missing circle from the history of the (once/still) Ba'ath-ruled countries.
Blogging started in Iraq after the Ba'ath regime was toppled (I'm not forgetting Salam of course) and adding what we are reading now on blogs coming out of Syria can give a better insight on the pro-post Ba'ath life in two neighboring countries.
The reason why I'm so interested in following Syrian blogs right now is because these blogs complete the missing circle from the history of the (once/still) Ba'ath-ruled countries.
Blogging started in Iraq after the Ba'ath regime was toppled (I'm not forgetting Salam of course) and adding what we are reading now on blogs coming out of Syria can give a better insight on the pro-post Ba'ath life in two neighboring countries.
Ferid is photoblogging from the graduation party at the Baghdad's college of dentistry.
It's really heartening to see that students refuse to be intimidated and continue to practice their normal life after the sad incident that took place in Basra last month.
See the whole photo album here. Great photos!
It's really heartening to see that students refuse to be intimidated and continue to practice their normal life after the sad incident that took place in Basra last month.
See the whole photo album here. Great photos!
A fake crisis... But why?
It's become clear now that there were no 60, 100 or 150 hostages taken in Mada'en and not even 10 despite the 1000 protestors who appeared in Firdaws square and despite all the statements, threats and condemnations coming from politicians.
I frankly doubted the accuracy of the news from the beginning although it was reported by major media.
I realize that there's a critical security situation in that small town and I can confirm that Mada'en is infected with a lot of gangs which should be dealt with strictly but I can't imagine how a hundred people could be kidnapped from the streets! This needs too many fighters and too many vehicles and a large place for hiding the hostages.
Some time ago, the TV showed the terrorists who blew up the police station of the town several months ago and after that the locals asked the government to rebuild the station and the ministry of interior promised to consider the request which indicates that a peace- loing society strongly exists in the town.
However, let's go back to the main point.
As some people started to talk more about the background of the problem, the new theory suggests that the crisis apparently originated from a tribal conflict about some government-owned lands; the tribes in question are the Jubour (mixed She'at and Sunni) and the Albu-Darraj (mainly She'at). However, the conflict never reached the degree where killings and kidnappings can happen as most tribal conflicts can be solved through negotiations.
The claim that the lands were given by the government to the Salafi groups is not true, the truth is that these lands were used by some of the locals to plant crops and build houses and they don't officially belong to any of the arguing parties.
The head of the "Sunni property department" expressed his readiness to send a delegate for investigating and solving the case in cooperation with a She'at delegate in order not to give the case a sectarian scope but in fact, this suggestion painted the case with a sectarian dye. It's common sense that the conflict has to be solved by the authorities not by clerics or, they can leave it to the tribes' Sheikhs if no governemnt interference was desired.
Then why did this happen? Let's go back a few days in time and try connecting the events.
The news suggested that the visit of senior American officials was aiming at participating in drawing the outlines of the face of the Iraqi security forces.
The American government denied the story but a She'at figure stressed that the American government is intervening to stop certain She'at parties from controlling the security systems for reasons he considered unconvincing.
That's why the crisis was fabricated in Mada'en and that's why it got mentioned by prominent Assembly members and the PM and other senior politicians even before they had certain news about the situation.
I think the motive was to put pressure on America and other members form the Iraqia list and the Kurdish alliance by submitting a new security formula that rescues the Shea't from an imminent genocide on the hands of the extremist Sunnis so they demand a greater active control over the security systems to confront the challenges threatening the She'at leaders and people.
It's true that She'at were threatened many times and sustained many atrocities but so did the other segments of the people here and faking such crisis is not in the interest of the country; especially after we've seen many signs of unity among all Iraqis against terrorism. Someone comes now and ruins this by faking sectarian troubles ignoring everything about the higher national interest and the critical nature of the moment.
Many parties and leaderships have been seeking control over the security file and this had been clear since as early as April 2003 when everyone began offering their services or their militias' services in keeping security and protecting lives and property since they had trained and armed militias.
But the motive behind this is clear as well, I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said that I see a Saddami way of thinking here; 30 years ago Saddam made the basement of the republican palace his head quarters, he took control over the Mukhabarat file (which was called the department of public relations at that time) and the generals who lead the 1968 coup used to laugh when Saddam's name was mentioned saying "who's that guy? Isn't he the one sitting in the basement signing badges and distributing rifles!?"
Those generals didn't realize how dangerous those badges and the elements carrying those badges and rifles could be. Saddam didn't need to build an army and he didn't need many stars on his shoulders to overthrow the generals who had whole divisions under their command.
Is someone trying to revive this strategy now?
I think yes.
Ali points out other possibilities in a post he wrote yesterday.
Mohammed.
I frankly doubted the accuracy of the news from the beginning although it was reported by major media.
I realize that there's a critical security situation in that small town and I can confirm that Mada'en is infected with a lot of gangs which should be dealt with strictly but I can't imagine how a hundred people could be kidnapped from the streets! This needs too many fighters and too many vehicles and a large place for hiding the hostages.
Some time ago, the TV showed the terrorists who blew up the police station of the town several months ago and after that the locals asked the government to rebuild the station and the ministry of interior promised to consider the request which indicates that a peace- loing society strongly exists in the town.
However, let's go back to the main point.
As some people started to talk more about the background of the problem, the new theory suggests that the crisis apparently originated from a tribal conflict about some government-owned lands; the tribes in question are the Jubour (mixed She'at and Sunni) and the Albu-Darraj (mainly She'at). However, the conflict never reached the degree where killings and kidnappings can happen as most tribal conflicts can be solved through negotiations.
The claim that the lands were given by the government to the Salafi groups is not true, the truth is that these lands were used by some of the locals to plant crops and build houses and they don't officially belong to any of the arguing parties.
The head of the "Sunni property department" expressed his readiness to send a delegate for investigating and solving the case in cooperation with a She'at delegate in order not to give the case a sectarian scope but in fact, this suggestion painted the case with a sectarian dye. It's common sense that the conflict has to be solved by the authorities not by clerics or, they can leave it to the tribes' Sheikhs if no governemnt interference was desired.
Then why did this happen? Let's go back a few days in time and try connecting the events.
The news suggested that the visit of senior American officials was aiming at participating in drawing the outlines of the face of the Iraqi security forces.
The American government denied the story but a She'at figure stressed that the American government is intervening to stop certain She'at parties from controlling the security systems for reasons he considered unconvincing.
That's why the crisis was fabricated in Mada'en and that's why it got mentioned by prominent Assembly members and the PM and other senior politicians even before they had certain news about the situation.
I think the motive was to put pressure on America and other members form the Iraqia list and the Kurdish alliance by submitting a new security formula that rescues the Shea't from an imminent genocide on the hands of the extremist Sunnis so they demand a greater active control over the security systems to confront the challenges threatening the She'at leaders and people.
It's true that She'at were threatened many times and sustained many atrocities but so did the other segments of the people here and faking such crisis is not in the interest of the country; especially after we've seen many signs of unity among all Iraqis against terrorism. Someone comes now and ruins this by faking sectarian troubles ignoring everything about the higher national interest and the critical nature of the moment.
Many parties and leaderships have been seeking control over the security file and this had been clear since as early as April 2003 when everyone began offering their services or their militias' services in keeping security and protecting lives and property since they had trained and armed militias.
But the motive behind this is clear as well, I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said that I see a Saddami way of thinking here; 30 years ago Saddam made the basement of the republican palace his head quarters, he took control over the Mukhabarat file (which was called the department of public relations at that time) and the generals who lead the 1968 coup used to laugh when Saddam's name was mentioned saying "who's that guy? Isn't he the one sitting in the basement signing badges and distributing rifles!?"
Those generals didn't realize how dangerous those badges and the elements carrying those badges and rifles could be. Saddam didn't need to build an army and he didn't need many stars on his shoulders to overthrow the generals who had whole divisions under their command.
Is someone trying to revive this strategy now?
I think yes.
Ali points out other possibilities in a post he wrote yesterday.
Mohammed.
With the time for Iraq to have its elected governemnt approaching, it seems that newspapers and research institutes are paying more attention to one of the important issues that are to be decided by the elected governemnt which is hopefully going to replace the interim governemnt at the beginning of 2006 if everything moves according to the planned schedule.
I think this poll conducted by AL-Sabah newspaper goes well with the other poll by Al-Mindhar that Chrenkoff has reported about.
AlSabah's poll included 1089 samples and the results came as follows:
Do you support the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq?
-Immediately: 13.04% (142 votes)
-According to a time table: 80.81% (880 votes)
-Don't know: 6.25 (67 votes)
I think this poll conducted by AL-Sabah newspaper goes well with the other poll by Al-Mindhar that Chrenkoff has reported about.
AlSabah's poll included 1089 samples and the results came as follows:
Do you support the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq?
-Immediately: 13.04% (142 votes)
-According to a time table: 80.81% (880 votes)
-Don't know: 6.25 (67 votes)
Monday, April 18, 2005
Some news from Iraq.
Security:
General Hikmat Mousa from the ministry of interior, discredited the news about more than a hundred people taken hostages in Mada'en and he stressed that news agencies had exaggerated the situation.
The general told "New Sabah" that three battalions from the special forces of the ministry of interior are positioned around the town and on the roads leading to it from the Hafriyah, Khalsah and Al-Wahda suburbs.
He added that these forces are waiting for engineering and other support units to begin cleaning the town from weapons, IEDs and unexploded ammunitions. The operations will extend later to include the rest of the suburbs in the region south-east of Baghdad.
This afternoon, Al-Fayhaa TV broadcasted clips showing the Iraqi security forces arresting many suspected terrorists and evacuating a number of weapon caches.
Iraqi authorities announced yesterday that security forces had arrested many suspects among whom were a number of the most wanted terrorists, namely "Kareem Abbas Sari" who's leading a terror cell of 41 fighters and 4 suicidal recruits supposed to be non-Iraqi.
Primary investigations revealed that the leader of the cell was receiving financial support from "Mahmood Younis Al-Ahmed" who's currently leading the remaining Ba'athists in Syria. It's worth mentioning that there's a million $ reward on Al-Ahmed's head.
Mean while the 104th battalion of the Iraqi Army arrested 4 more terrorists in Mosul after receiving intelligence about a number of terrorists preparing for attacks in the city. Some amount of weapons was also confiscated in the operation.
In the city of Baquba, 22 suspects were arrested and large amounts of weapons and ammunitions were found.
A joined task force from the Iraqi and American armies launched an offensive on a number of terror nests in Jurf Al-Sakhr and Alexandria south of Baghdad; 4 terrorists were killed and 11 arrested at the end of the operation which helicopters and tanks were providing backup for.
From AlSharq Al-Awsat.
Other news outlets reported that Izzat Addori's nephew was captured a couple of days ago in Baquba also. This guy was leading a terror cell in the city and he's a former imtelligence officer in Saddam's regime.
Today's session of the National Assembly:
During the discussions, one member said that the residents of Baghdad are complaining from the strict security measures in Baghdad which include blocking many bridges and main streets in Baghdad during the sessions of the Assembly. The member said that he met a person who told him "if I knew that elections were going to lead to this situation I wouldn't have gone for the elections".
Another member responded to this statement saying "this is an insult to the assembly and I have many points against this idea. The inconvenience and discomfort caused by the necessary security measures cannot be compared to the importance of what were doing here, we represent the people and we're trying to draw the lines that lead the country to a better tomorrow, so everyone has got to tolerate the exceptional circumstances we're going through"
Here the chairman commented "the security measures are necessary to keep the political process moving; if something bad happens and-God forbid-we lost some of the members in an attack, the people will hold the government accountable for the incompetence.
My comment:
I think the media and sometimes the people too are exaggerating the side effects of the strict security precautions in Baghdad but they will be complaining even more if no enough protection was provided for the Assembly. You can't please everyone, eh?
Women rights:
The association of Kurdistan women demanded from the future government to assign 30% of the ministries to women (at least 10 out of 31) and to allow female members of the Assembly to head some of the committees of the Assembly.
The association had also requested that women should be granted a higher percentage (40%) of the seats in the parliament in any future elections.
The chief of the association Mrs. Nisrin Birwari emphasized the brave role of Iraqi women in the success of the elections and expressed her happiness with the current percentage of women inside the Assembly which she considered as a pioneer experience in the region.
But she added that women are looking forward to getting a higher representation and occupying more important seats in the future administrations.
Negotiations for the formation of the new governement:
The elected Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jafari said that his cabinet is going to include 31 ministries and that the "door is still open for the political powers to participate in the formation".
Reports attributed the delay in announcing the new formation to the stubbornness of Allawi's list and the conditions put by this list to be part of the new government.
Allawi stated in a televised interview on Al-Iraqia TV that his list is seeking the post of either the defense or interior ministries in addition to 3 other less sovereignty related ministries.
"We are waiting for an answer from the other major two lists and we're certainly willing to participate in the government if we get a positive response. Our demands are based on parliamentary eligibilities and on the principles of national unity government.
Society:
Ibrahim Al-Jafari met a number of the prominent Iraqi Christian clerics to discuss a number of the issues that concern the religious minorities in Iraq like providing security for the churches and protecting freedom of belief.
Protests:
Thousands of Al_Shorja merchants and workers protested yesterday near the building of Baghdad's trade chamber to ask compensations for the damages caused by the huge fire that destroyed their stores.
It was reported that 1000 business owners and 6000 workers working in those stores were affected by the fire.
Primary investigations suggest that the fire originated from an electric bad contact as the electric installations in the building were disorganized and not receiving proper maintenance.
Baghdad's municipal department is cooperating with the civil defense department on removing the rubble and reopening the adjacent streets.
Mohammed.
General Hikmat Mousa from the ministry of interior, discredited the news about more than a hundred people taken hostages in Mada'en and he stressed that news agencies had exaggerated the situation.
The general told "New Sabah" that three battalions from the special forces of the ministry of interior are positioned around the town and on the roads leading to it from the Hafriyah, Khalsah and Al-Wahda suburbs.
He added that these forces are waiting for engineering and other support units to begin cleaning the town from weapons, IEDs and unexploded ammunitions. The operations will extend later to include the rest of the suburbs in the region south-east of Baghdad.
This afternoon, Al-Fayhaa TV broadcasted clips showing the Iraqi security forces arresting many suspected terrorists and evacuating a number of weapon caches.
Iraqi authorities announced yesterday that security forces had arrested many suspects among whom were a number of the most wanted terrorists, namely "Kareem Abbas Sari" who's leading a terror cell of 41 fighters and 4 suicidal recruits supposed to be non-Iraqi.
Primary investigations revealed that the leader of the cell was receiving financial support from "Mahmood Younis Al-Ahmed" who's currently leading the remaining Ba'athists in Syria. It's worth mentioning that there's a million $ reward on Al-Ahmed's head.
Mean while the 104th battalion of the Iraqi Army arrested 4 more terrorists in Mosul after receiving intelligence about a number of terrorists preparing for attacks in the city. Some amount of weapons was also confiscated in the operation.
In the city of Baquba, 22 suspects were arrested and large amounts of weapons and ammunitions were found.
A joined task force from the Iraqi and American armies launched an offensive on a number of terror nests in Jurf Al-Sakhr and Alexandria south of Baghdad; 4 terrorists were killed and 11 arrested at the end of the operation which helicopters and tanks were providing backup for.
From AlSharq Al-Awsat.
Other news outlets reported that Izzat Addori's nephew was captured a couple of days ago in Baquba also. This guy was leading a terror cell in the city and he's a former imtelligence officer in Saddam's regime.
Today's session of the National Assembly:
During the discussions, one member said that the residents of Baghdad are complaining from the strict security measures in Baghdad which include blocking many bridges and main streets in Baghdad during the sessions of the Assembly. The member said that he met a person who told him "if I knew that elections were going to lead to this situation I wouldn't have gone for the elections".
Another member responded to this statement saying "this is an insult to the assembly and I have many points against this idea. The inconvenience and discomfort caused by the necessary security measures cannot be compared to the importance of what were doing here, we represent the people and we're trying to draw the lines that lead the country to a better tomorrow, so everyone has got to tolerate the exceptional circumstances we're going through"
Here the chairman commented "the security measures are necessary to keep the political process moving; if something bad happens and-God forbid-we lost some of the members in an attack, the people will hold the government accountable for the incompetence.
My comment:
I think the media and sometimes the people too are exaggerating the side effects of the strict security precautions in Baghdad but they will be complaining even more if no enough protection was provided for the Assembly. You can't please everyone, eh?
Women rights:
The association of Kurdistan women demanded from the future government to assign 30% of the ministries to women (at least 10 out of 31) and to allow female members of the Assembly to head some of the committees of the Assembly.
The association had also requested that women should be granted a higher percentage (40%) of the seats in the parliament in any future elections.
The chief of the association Mrs. Nisrin Birwari emphasized the brave role of Iraqi women in the success of the elections and expressed her happiness with the current percentage of women inside the Assembly which she considered as a pioneer experience in the region.
But she added that women are looking forward to getting a higher representation and occupying more important seats in the future administrations.
Negotiations for the formation of the new governement:
The elected Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Jafari said that his cabinet is going to include 31 ministries and that the "door is still open for the political powers to participate in the formation".
Reports attributed the delay in announcing the new formation to the stubbornness of Allawi's list and the conditions put by this list to be part of the new government.
Allawi stated in a televised interview on Al-Iraqia TV that his list is seeking the post of either the defense or interior ministries in addition to 3 other less sovereignty related ministries.
"We are waiting for an answer from the other major two lists and we're certainly willing to participate in the government if we get a positive response. Our demands are based on parliamentary eligibilities and on the principles of national unity government.
Society:
Ibrahim Al-Jafari met a number of the prominent Iraqi Christian clerics to discuss a number of the issues that concern the religious minorities in Iraq like providing security for the churches and protecting freedom of belief.
Protests:
Thousands of Al_Shorja merchants and workers protested yesterday near the building of Baghdad's trade chamber to ask compensations for the damages caused by the huge fire that destroyed their stores.
It was reported that 1000 business owners and 6000 workers working in those stores were affected by the fire.
Primary investigations suggest that the fire originated from an electric bad contact as the electric installations in the building were disorganized and not receiving proper maintenance.
Baghdad's municipal department is cooperating with the civil defense department on removing the rubble and reopening the adjacent streets.
Mohammed.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Update on Mada'en crisis.
This morning I decided to make my stay at the clinic shorter than usual because I wanted to follow the developments of the hostage-taking case in Mada'en.
Since the clinic is located in the southern part if Baghdad and it would theoretically take half an hour to reach Mada'en, I took permission from my boss and decided to go as close as possible to the event zone.
I went to the local garage and got on a mini bus that was heading in that direction; I had doubts that the road would be open but I thought that since people are already going there, then maybe the road isn't blocked yet.
We reached a point less than 8 miles from Madae'n when we found that all the roads that lead to the town were sealed, so I got off the mini bus just like the rest of the passengers did and I walked to get a cup of tea from a nearby small cafeteria.
While being there I saw a lot of troops (Iraqi and American) moving towards Madae'n while I counted more than 6 fully armed Apache helicopters patrolling the skies above and around Mada'en.
I was listening to some folks talking about the situation over there; more than one person mentioned that many families especially Shea't have already departed the town and headed to Al-Kut at an earlier time to avoid being caught in the fight.
Later on Al-Iraqia TV, the State minister for security affairs reported before the National Assembly that five battalions from the Iraqi Army in addition to many units from the IP are participating in the assault on the terrorists who have taken control over the town. The minister also confirmed that a number of hostages have been freed after searching a number of suspected houses and buildings. However, no accurate statistics are available till now.
Related news stories here.
Since the clinic is located in the southern part if Baghdad and it would theoretically take half an hour to reach Mada'en, I took permission from my boss and decided to go as close as possible to the event zone.
I went to the local garage and got on a mini bus that was heading in that direction; I had doubts that the road would be open but I thought that since people are already going there, then maybe the road isn't blocked yet.
We reached a point less than 8 miles from Madae'n when we found that all the roads that lead to the town were sealed, so I got off the mini bus just like the rest of the passengers did and I walked to get a cup of tea from a nearby small cafeteria.
While being there I saw a lot of troops (Iraqi and American) moving towards Madae'n while I counted more than 6 fully armed Apache helicopters patrolling the skies above and around Mada'en.
I was listening to some folks talking about the situation over there; more than one person mentioned that many families especially Shea't have already departed the town and headed to Al-Kut at an earlier time to avoid being caught in the fight.
Later on Al-Iraqia TV, the State minister for security affairs reported before the National Assembly that five battalions from the Iraqi Army in addition to many units from the IP are participating in the assault on the terrorists who have taken control over the town. The minister also confirmed that a number of hostages have been freed after searching a number of suspected houses and buildings. However, no accurate statistics are available till now.
Related news stories here.
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