CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS STILL OUT OF TOUCH WITH WORKING PEOPLE.
THIS EVENING THESE REPORTERS RELAYED TO HIM THAT HIS HAWAIIAN VACATION LAST CHRISTMAS RESULTED IN SMALL AVIATION ENTERPRISES LOSING $200,000 DUE TO THE FACT THAT HIS VISIT CLAMPED DOWN ON FLIGHTS IN AND OUT.
"THEY'RE WELCOME," SAID BARRY O.
SO THESE REPORTERS EXPLAINED IT AGAIN.
"OH. THEY LOST $200,000. LOST," SAID BARRY O SLOWLY SEEMING TO GET IT. "WELL, SURE, I COST A LITTLE MORE, BUT I'M WORTH IT."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Yesterday evening, US Gen David Petraeus spoke with Law Professor Mike Newton at Vanderbilt University and the college has posted the talk online. Along with showing a lighter side than many may be used to -- he joked about when he was shot and how "You don't get a Purple Heart for getting shot by your own troops -- unfortunately" and, we'll note, he had the assembled laughing repeatedly. No one laughed -- though maybe they should have -- when he declared Iraq "the most democratic country in the Central Command area of responsibility" ("It might actually be Iraq, believe it or not."). He went to
Gen David Petraeus: What we have done there is been part of the international community, led by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, other elements that help with election monitoring and guidance and expertise. We have supported the Iraqi development of the security plan which they will carry out. We'll do some enabling, you know, our UAVs will be up, our intelligence gathering platforms, we'll provide a vareity of different forms of assistance. But they'll be the ones securing the polling places. And there will be thousands of polling places in Iraq. I forget how many tens of thousands of candidates there are, by the way. So this is certainly the way we'd like as we approach it. Now again, touch wood, there are threat streams out there, there are challenges -- al Qaeda desperately wants to disrupt this process. There are some other elements in society there that want to intimidate people. But at the end of the day, I think this is again roughly what we'd like to see in other countries. You know, by the way, one of the test questions that somebody gave me in one of these the other day is one that we've asked ourselves: "What's the most democratic country in the Central Command area of responsibility?" Remember those 20 countries? Egypt in the West, Pakistan in the North, Kazakstan in the west, Yemen in the south. It might actually be Iraq, believe it or not. Now you know some will argue Lebanon -- a pretty tough one. It's an itneresting political dynamic there. It's a pretty tough one. If you get it wrong there, you may not see the sun rise again. But, by and large, this is, in that region, an example of some form of representative and responsive governence -- again, touch wood -- that it continues and a strong man doesn't try take over and pull all the reigns of power to himself But I'm not sure that they'll let him. Again to elect the next prime minister will require a cross-sectaraian, cross-ethnic, cross-political coalition. You cannot be elected as a prime minister if you don't pull in -- Obviously it's going to be a Shia. We would suspect -- it's a Shia predominate country, well over 50% are Shia, 20% or so or Sunni, 18 percent or so Kurd, somewhere in there, and then some other minority elements Christians, Yazidis, Shabbat, Turkmen and so on. Well at the end of the day it's going to take one of the major Shia parties, probably pulling in some of the minor Shi'ite parties. It's going to take a major Sunni contribution. And it's going to take the Kurdish parties which tend in national elections to unify. And that's what it will require so it's going to be a team effort.
As Dominic Waghorn (Sky News) observes, "Iraq is preparing to go to the polls in an election that will be turning point for the country, for better or for worse." Waghorn reports from Jordan which is one of 16 foreign countries that voting will take place in. Voting begins March 5th and ends Sunday March 7th. In Iraq, Patrick Martin (Globe and Mail) says that "fear has become the currency of this campaign" and how it is thought to be unlikely that any single political party will win enough seats in the Parliament to appoint a prime minister without entering into coalition sharing agreements with other political parties. Martin informs that Nouri al-Maliki states publicly that he will form an alliance with the Iraqi National Alliance after the election but that's news to them and Sheik Jalal Eddin al-Saghir pronounces it "Impossible" and adding, "There can be no dictator in a true coalition." Gulf News offers a look at the candidates they consider to be contenders for prime minister. War Hawk Kenneth M. Pollack (Brookings Institution) gets one right, "The Iraqi elections are wide open and it is impossible to predict a clear winner with any degree of confidence." Hasan Kanbolat (Today's Zaman via Turkish Press) states, "The most powerful political party in Iraq is Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa Party. However, nationawide this party can count on only about 20 percent of the vote, so it will have to search for coalition partners." Martin Chulov (Guardian) reports that, while some polling indicates Nouri's State of Law Party will perform well, "it cannot win a majority of the new parliament's 352 seats without one of two post-election coalitions, both of whom say they will not countenance him being renominated as prime minister." Cholov quotes voter Hassan al-Kaisi on the campaigning by all the politicians, "All of them want to talk to us for two weeks every four years. Then they will disappear again behind their barricades, and start counting all the money they have stolen." Marc Santora (New York Times) adds, "Across the country, voters are reaping a windfall as candidates in Sunday's parliamentary elections offer gifts like heating oil and rice. When a candidate recently showed up in a poor village outside Baquba to distribute frozen chickens -- in literal homage to the political slogan 'a chicken in every pot' -- so many people rushed to get the free birds that many left disappointed after the supply ran out."
Reporting from Diyala Province, Andrew Lee Butters (Time magazine)notes Abdul-Nasser al-Mahdwe, the governor, is "more worried about an elite counterterrroism unit run by Maliki's office, which ihe acuses of arresting scores of opposition politicians and government critics in Diyala." Rebecca Santana (AP) reports on Kirkuk where election excitement/frenzy appears to be at a peak within Iraq as people stand in the streets waving flags and campaign paraphernalia while Gabriel Gatehouse (BBC News) reports, "With less than a week to go until the Parliamentary vote, the streets of Baghdad and other Iraqi cities have become crowded with election posters." Andrew England (Financial Times of London) provides this view of Baghdad, "Security is noticeably tight as the Imams' Bridge, even by Baghdad standards. Pedestrians are frisked from shoulder to toe; vehicles are thoroughly searched at a police checkpoint lined by concrete blast walls and none carrying weapons is allowed to pass."
Today on NPR's Morning Edition, Quil Lawrence discussed various issues of the election with Renee Montagne.
Today on NPR's Morning Edition, Quil Lawrence discussed various issues of the election with Renee Montagne.
Renee Montagne: Now one thing that American officials who are trying to stay out of this, you know, but they have long worried about Arab-Kurdish tension in Iraq. Are you seeing those tensions coming out in the election?
Quil Lawrence: Absolutely, it's almost part of the campaign, particularly in the province of Nineveh, the capital of which is Mosul, in the north of Iraq. There is an extremely -- well, an Arab nationalist governor up there and he won his election essentially by stoking ethnic tensions and we had the same thing break out last month. Governor Atheel al-Najafi decided to take a trip into one of the disputed territories near the city of Mosul. He has every right to go there legally. He's the governor of the province, but he certainly knew that he would be going through a Kurdish town. It's sort of like the Nazi march through Skokie, Illinois, if you ask the Kurds about it. It's extremely inflammatory.
Reneee Montagne: And Skokie, of course, many of its citizens had survived the Holocaust.
Quil Lawrence: Exactly, exactly. That would be the way the Kurds would interpret this. When the governo came through, there were peple who greeted him with eggs and tomatoes and he says that there was even an assassination attempt. His bodyguards grabbed 11 people from the crowd and arrested them and took them all the way back to Mosul.
Rumors are political currency in Iraq. Alalam reports rumors, which Nouri denies, that popular cleric Muqtada al-Sadr would be arrested if he returned to Iraq (he is presumed to be in Iran currently). DPA reports that Nouri and Sadrists are in the midst of an accusation exchange and they quote the spokesperson for the Sadrist bloc, Salah al-Obeidi, stating that the rumors of arresting al-Sadr came from Nouri's office. . Henry Meyer (Bloomberg News) reports Nouri's charging "unspecified neighboring countries of funding his opponents in" the election. Buying elections? We'll again note Martin Chulov (Guardian) report that Saad al-Alusi, formerly of Iraq's National Intelligence Service, has accused Nouri of giving southern tribal leaders huge numbers of guns (apparently 10,000) in order to buy their votes. Nouri's mouthpiece Ali al-Dabbagh insists that, yes, the guns were given, but it was long planned for them to be given so this wasn't a bribe and had nothing to do with the elections. Hassen Jouini (AFP) reports on another candidate vying for votes, Sharif Ali bin Hussein who is a relative, on his mother's side, of Iraq's King Ghazi who rulled from 1933 through 1939. Hussein now heads the Constitutional Monarchy Party in Iraq. Jouini notes, "The realities of Iraq have hampered any effort at campaigning for most would-be MPs, however - violence in the country remains high, despite having fallen markedly from its peak from 2005 to 2007, and candidates fear political assassinations. Sharif Ali is no different. While he has some posters scattered across the capital and conducts interviews with television news stations in his home, he is not organising public rallies or distributing flyers on the street."
KPCC offers another report from Quil Lawrence which includes:
The race even includes a prominent cleric running with his own strictly secular party. Ayad Jamal al-Din studied at the world's most famous Shiite religious schools in Najaf and the Iranian city of Qom. The black turban he wears indicates that his family descends directly from the Prophet Muhammad. But Jamal al-Din says this doesn't mean he wants an Islamic state.
Iran and the theocracy there have hijacked the Shiite turban, he says, adding that he believes the vast majority -- even among clerics -- thinks that Iranian-style government has been a failure. What people in Iraq want is very simple, he says.
"The Iraqi on the street wants security and services. [He] does not think of a secular or religious government, just services and security," Jamal al-Din says.
Ayad Jamal Aldin is the leader of the Ahrar Party and today they issued the following:
The race even includes a prominent cleric running with his own strictly secular party. Ayad Jamal al-Din studied at the world's most famous Shiite religious schools in Najaf and the Iranian city of Qom. The black turban he wears indicates that his family descends directly from the Prophet Muhammad. But Jamal al-Din says this doesn't mean he wants an Islamic state.
Iran and the theocracy there have hijacked the Shiite turban, he says, adding that he believes the vast majority -- even among clerics -- thinks that Iranian-style government has been a failure. What people in Iraq want is very simple, he says.
"The Iraqi on the street wants security and services. [He] does not think of a secular or religious government, just services and security," Jamal al-Din says.
Ayad Jamal Aldin is the leader of the Ahrar Party and today they issued the following:
The leader of the Ahrar Pary 374, Ayad Jamal Aldin, today urged voters not to boycott this weekend's parliamentary elections
He targeted the Iraqi diaspora who will vote on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with his message of change.
Ayad Jamal Aldin said: "It is vital that every Iraqi living outside the country that can vote, does vote.
"Every Iraqi who does not vote is tacitly supporting the decline, division and destruction of our country. Those who do not vote are choosing an Iraq of violence, intimidation, and sectarianism.
"This government has lost control and is being driven by people determined to divide and destroy Iraq for their own ends.
"There is more violence and more bloodshed today because these influences are fearful of the Iraqi people. They fear us because they know that this weekend, the power is with the people.
"This weekend, every Iraqi gets to make a choice between more of the same - more violence, more division, and more corruption or a change for the better with security, unity, and jobs.
"I urge all Iraqis, regardless of religion or sect, to exercise your power and vote for a peaceful and united Iraq, free from corruption and outside influences."
For further information, contact:
Ahrar Media Bureau
Tel: +964 (0)790 157 4478 / +964 (0)790 157 4479 / +964 (0)771 275 2942
press@ahrarparty.com
Tel: +964 (0)790 157 4478 / +964 (0)790 157 4479 / +964 (0)771 275 2942
press@ahrarparty.com
About Ayad Jamal Aldin:
Ayad Jamal Aldin is a cleric, best known for his consistent campaigning for a new, secular Iraq. He first rose to prominence at the Nasiriyah conference in March 2003, shortly before the fall of Saddam, where he called for a state free of religion, the turban and other theological symbols. In 2005, he was elected as one of the 25 MPs on the Iraqi National List, but withdrew in 2009 after becoming disenchanted with Iyad Allawi's overtures to Iran. He wants complete independence from Iranian interference in Iraq. He now leads the Ahrar party for the 2010 election to the Council of Representatives, to clean up corruption and create a strong, secure and liberated Iraq for the future.
Iraqi voters are also outside the country which is why 16 other countries will have plling stations. Iraq's Sunni vice president Tarek al-Hashemi is in Syria. For those who have forgotten, al-Hashemi vetoed (as a member of the presidency council) an early election law in late 2009 citing the fact that it did not take into account Iraq's large refugee population. Alsumaria TV reports that he "thanked Syria for its 'historic' stand of embracing refugees despite bilateral political rows." Iran's Press TV notes that he "is also expected to meet with representatives of hs countr's expatriates" while in Syria.
While the candidates cannot move freely and many Iraqis are out of the country, the drones will move freely and have free reign in Iraq. Alsumaria TV reports that drones will be used to patrol throughout the elections. Meanwhile Afif Sarhan (IslamOnline.net) reports on Christian candidates in Mosul where Christians are being persecuted with some being murdered (at least 12) and many more fleeing. Candidate Kammar Bashar tells Sarhan, "The only loser in all this violence is our minority which, although representing only 5 percent of the parliamentary seats, is being the first choice for extremists and militants in the northern region."
Independent Catholic News reports, "Pax Christi International have submitted a written intervention for the 13th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva which opened yesterday. In the [document], Pax Christi highlights the desperate situation of Iraq's minorities which are in danger of being wiped out." Yesterday's snapshot included:
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a [PDF format warning] four-page report entitled "Iraq Displacement in Mosul, Situation Report No. 1" which notes the 683 families who have fled Mosul between Feb. 20 and 27, and notes that 12 Iraqi Christians have been killed during this time period. (At least one other was wounded but survived a shooting.) The displaced have scattered but the largest number, 331 families, have settled for now in Qaraqosh.
OCHA has released [PDF format warning] "Iraq Displacement in Mosul Situation Report No. 2" which notes the total number of Iraqi Christians fleeing Mosul has now reached 4,320 (720 families -- a 5% increase)
The 720 displaced families are in the two Ninewa districts of Al Hamdaniyah and Tilkaif (204 families) and have also crossed over to Erbil and Dahuk governorates (17 families in Dahuk and 23 families in Ainkawa in Erbil governorate). The number of IDPs in Qaraqosh in Al Hamdaniya district has increased to 278 families (1,668 people) and 35 families (210 people) have moved to Namrood, while the number of IDPs in other Al Hamdaniya districts remains the same as reported on 28 February, i.e. 60 families (360 people) in Bartalah; 66 families (396 people) in Bashiqa; and 22 families (132 people) in Krmales.
Those in Tilkaif town in Talkaif district have decreased from 40 to 16 families; Batnay has increased to 63 families (378 people); Tal Usquf has increased to 91 families (546 people); and Alqosh has increased to 84 families (504 people).
There are protection concerns for the Christian families who have remained in Mosul. Unconfirmed reports indicate that many individuals cannot move freely beyond their homes, such as going to work or attending university, out of fear for their safety. At present, it remains unclear how many Christian families were residing in Mosul before the displacement. Furthermore, the motives for and perpetrators of the killings of 12 Christians during January and February 2010, which triggered the recent displacement, are still not clear.
Independent Catholic News reports, "Pax Christi International have submitted a written intervention for the 13th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva which opened yesterday. In the [document], Pax Christi highlights the desperate situation of Iraq's minorities which are in danger of being wiped out." Yesterday's snapshot included:
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a [PDF format warning] four-page report entitled "Iraq Displacement in Mosul, Situation Report No. 1" which notes the 683 families who have fled Mosul between Feb. 20 and 27, and notes that 12 Iraqi Christians have been killed during this time period. (At least one other was wounded but survived a shooting.) The displaced have scattered but the largest number, 331 families, have settled for now in Qaraqosh.
OCHA has released [PDF format warning] "Iraq Displacement in Mosul Situation Report No. 2" which notes the total number of Iraqi Christians fleeing Mosul has now reached 4,320 (720 families -- a 5% increase)
The 720 displaced families are in the two Ninewa districts of Al Hamdaniyah and Tilkaif (204 families) and have also crossed over to Erbil and Dahuk governorates (17 families in Dahuk and 23 families in Ainkawa in Erbil governorate). The number of IDPs in Qaraqosh in Al Hamdaniya district has increased to 278 families (1,668 people) and 35 families (210 people) have moved to Namrood, while the number of IDPs in other Al Hamdaniya districts remains the same as reported on 28 February, i.e. 60 families (360 people) in Bartalah; 66 families (396 people) in Bashiqa; and 22 families (132 people) in Krmales.
Those in Tilkaif town in Talkaif district have decreased from 40 to 16 families; Batnay has increased to 63 families (378 people); Tal Usquf has increased to 91 families (546 people); and Alqosh has increased to 84 families (504 people).
There are protection concerns for the Christian families who have remained in Mosul. Unconfirmed reports indicate that many individuals cannot move freely beyond their homes, such as going to work or attending university, out of fear for their safety. At present, it remains unclear how many Christian families were residing in Mosul before the displacement. Furthermore, the motives for and perpetrators of the killings of 12 Christians during January and February 2010, which triggered the recent displacement, are still not clear.
Saturday February 20th, AFP reported that Adnan al-Dahan has become the fifth Iraqi-Christian killed that week (at least one other has been wounded) and that the shopkeeper's corpse was found today in Mosul. His family is among the over 700 that have fled Mosul as Christians have again been targeted. Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) speaks with them including Warda, his widow, who explains why they didn't leave Mosul earlier (her husband had been kidnapped and returned when a ransom was paid), "He said 'if all of us Christians leave, who is going to stay in the land of the prophets and pray in our churches?' He said 'we were all born in Mosul and we will die in Mousl'." (You can also read Arraf's article here.) Independent Catholic News reports, "Pax Christi International have submitted a written intervention for the 13th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva which opened yesterday. In the [document], Pax Christi highlights the desperate situation of Iraq's minorities which are in danger of being wiped out." Yesterday's snapshot included:
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a [PDF format warning] four-page report entitled "Iraq Displacement in Mosul, Situation Report No. 1" which notes the 683 families who have fled Mosul between Feb. 20 and 27, and notes that 12 Iraqi Christians have been killed during this time period. (At least one other was wounded but survived a shooting.) The displaced have scattered but the largest number, 331 families, have settled for now in Qaraqosh.
OCHA has released [PDF format warning] "Iraq Displacement in Mosul Situation Report No. 2" which notes the total number of Iraqi Christians fleeing Mosul has now reached 4,320 (720 families -- a 5% increase)
The 720 displaced families are in the two Ninewa districts of Al Hamdaniyah and Tilkaif (204 families) and have also crossed over to Erbil and Dahuk governorates (17 families in Dahuk and 23 families in Ainkawa in Erbil governorate). The number of IDPs in Qaraqosh in Al Hamdaniya district has increased to 278 families (1,668 people) and 35 families (210 people) have moved to Namrood, while the number of IDPs in other Al Hamdaniya districts remains the same as reported on 28 February, i.e. 60 families (360 people) in Bartalah; 66 families (396 people) in Bashiqa; and 22 families (132 people) in Krmales.
Those in Tilkaif town in Talkaif district have decreased from 40 to 16 families; Batnay has increased to 63 families (378 people); Tal Usquf has increased to 91 families (546 people); and Alqosh has increased to 84 families (504 people).
There are protection concerns for the Christian families who have remained in Mosul. Unconfirmed reports indicate that many individuals cannot move freely beyond their homes, such as going to work or attending university, out of fear for their safety. At present, it remains unclear how many Christian families were residing in Mosul before the displacement. Furthermore, the motives for and perpetrators of the killings of 12 Christians during January and February 2010, which triggered the recent displacement, are still not clear.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a [PDF format warning] four-page report entitled "Iraq Displacement in Mosul, Situation Report No. 1" which notes the 683 families who have fled Mosul between Feb. 20 and 27, and notes that 12 Iraqi Christians have been killed during this time period. (At least one other was wounded but survived a shooting.) The displaced have scattered but the largest number, 331 families, have settled for now in Qaraqosh.
OCHA has released [PDF format warning] "Iraq Displacement in Mosul Situation Report No. 2" which notes the total number of Iraqi Christians fleeing Mosul has now reached 4,320 (720 families -- a 5% increase)
The 720 displaced families are in the two Ninewa districts of Al Hamdaniyah and Tilkaif (204 families) and have also crossed over to Erbil and Dahuk governorates (17 families in Dahuk and 23 families in Ainkawa in Erbil governorate). The number of IDPs in Qaraqosh in Al Hamdaniya district has increased to 278 families (1,668 people) and 35 families (210 people) have moved to Namrood, while the number of IDPs in other Al Hamdaniya districts remains the same as reported on 28 February, i.e. 60 families (360 people) in Bartalah; 66 families (396 people) in Bashiqa; and 22 families (132 people) in Krmales.
Those in Tilkaif town in Talkaif district have decreased from 40 to 16 families; Batnay has increased to 63 families (378 people); Tal Usquf has increased to 91 families (546 people); and Alqosh has increased to 84 families (504 people).
There are protection concerns for the Christian families who have remained in Mosul. Unconfirmed reports indicate that many individuals cannot move freely beyond their homes, such as going to work or attending university, out of fear for their safety. At present, it remains unclear how many Christian families were residing in Mosul before the displacement. Furthermore, the motives for and perpetrators of the killings of 12 Christians during January and February 2010, which triggered the recent displacement, are still not clear.
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