CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O, ENDING A VACATION IN WHICH HE APPARENTLY MANAGED TO KEEP HIS SHIRT ON, TOLD REPORTERS HE HAS A HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR, THAT REPUBLICANS WILL PUT PARTISANSHIP BEHIND THEM. IT'S THE EQUIVALENT OF THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WHO RUNS TO THE TEACHER AND SAYS, "THAT STINKY, BUGGER PICKER NEEDS TO STOP CALLING PEOPLE NAMES!"
MEANWHILE SLATE'S TIM NOAH OPINED LAST MONTH, "BAN THE BENJAMINS! HUNDRED-DOLLAR BILLS ARE FOR CRIMINALS AND SOCIOPATHS!" THE LOS ANGELES TIMES NOTES THAT MONDAY BARRY O "PAID FOR TREATS WITH A $100 BILL."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
2 US soldiers were killed in Iraq yesterday. CNN reports this morning, "Two U.S. service members were killed in central Iraq on Sunday night while supporting Operation New Dawn, according to a statement from the U.S. military in Iraq." AFP quotes an unnamed military spokesperson stating, "This was one incident resulting in the death of two US service members. These are the first deaths of any US service member in 2011." Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) explains, "The U.S. military declared its formal combat operations over at the end of August, and the remaining soldiers are largely present to train Iraqi forces. However, American troops are called in by Iraqi forces on occasion for sensitive missions."
In other reported violence, Tang Danlu (Xinhua) reports 3 dead and twenty injured from a Baquba roadside bombing "immediately followed by a suicide car bombing". Reuters updates with 28 wounded and states it was an attack on Iraq's "intelligence services". AFP notes 1 police officer and 1 Iraqi Christian woman (Rafah Toma)were shot dead in Baghdad today -- the woman in her home.
"I am attached to this place," Moahmmed Tawfeeq (CNN) quotes Rafah Butros Tomas explaing, "Every other day I come here [Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad]. I feel like my soul is in this place with them." Our Lady of Salvation Church was attacked October 31st, setting off the latest wave of attacks targeting Iraq Christians. CNN spoke with her about her cousin who was among those killed in the assault on the Church. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) quotes Yonadam Kanna, a Christian MP, stating that al Qaeda is becoming the catch-all for blame, "Everything is hanged on Al Qaeda. These people are both criminals and terrorists." John Leland (New York Times) reports, "Iraq's dwindling Christian minority has been terrorized in recent months by deadly attacks for which extremist groups have claimed responsibility. But police officers said Ms. Toma's killing appeared to be a simple robbery."
First off, al Qaeda in Mespotamia doesn't claim credit. A splinter group -- or a thought-to-be splinter group -- has been claiming credit. If you're claiming credit -- pay attention, this is PoliSci on terrorism -- you do so in the immediate aftermath. The act and claiming credit are part of the message (the act of terrorism) that is supposed to inspire fear. So you do it within 24 hours in our fast-paced society today.
If you're doing it days afterwards -- as was the case with last week's Baghdad's bombings -- what may be happening is that no one else is claiming credit and you see that and think you can pass some attack off as your own. So you step forward and say, "It's me!!!! I'm the one!!! I'm so all important!!!!" It's not that different -- and maybe j-schools should be closed and all reporters should once again have to 'intern' doing the police beat? -- from false confessions to a crime. The waves of attacks on Iraqi Christians since the start of the war have not been all al Qaeda in Iraq. Has this wave been al Qaeda in Iraq? Judging by the statements and the actions and their locations, an educated (but not informed) guess would say a little less than a third could have been al Qaeda in Iraq. The Christian MP is correct that you cry "al Qaeda in Iraq!" and then pretend the problem went away.
That's (A). (B)? An elderly woman was robbed. She was murdered. She was robbed in the middle of the night when she would obviously be home. Her house was picked out of every other house in Baghdad. To claim that she wasn't targeted? That's insane. Of course she was targeted. And that targeting may have included being targeted for being a Christian. A neighbor insists she wore gold and that's why this took place. Visible gold actually would go a long way towards identifying her as a religious minority -- as a look at the strata of Iraqi society would quickly demonstrate. My point here is the woman was likely targeted. That includes the notion that it was fine to rob from her and that it was fine to kill her -- a possible outcome that was known -- on some level -- when the robber made the decision to enter the house.
To claim she wasn't targeted makes no sense at all when the know facts are examined. Joe Smith breaks into same-sex couple Paul and Bill's home, robs then and kills them it may not just be robbery. If Joe's selected them over others, it may be because they are gay and it may be a hate crime. This impression that reports are trying to give is false and they need to stop it. This is not an either/or.
An elderly woman's home was broken into. She is a Christian. Saying, "Oh, well it's robbery because she had this or that on but it wasn't a hate crime," is b.s. She was selected and targeted and that was likely because she was a Christian. I think (I could be wrong) that's the point the Christian MP was making about terrorism and criminal. A crime took place and the woman was likely targeted for that crime because she was a Christian.
Ned Parker and Raheem Salman (Los Angeles Times) reported yesterday on Baghdad priest Father Nadheer Dako who spent December 31st at the burial for the elderly couple (Janet Mekha and Fawzi Rahim) who died in Thursday's wave of bombings targeting Christians in Baghdad. They note, "In 2007, he had played a cat-and-mouse game as he hid from would-be kidnappers who surrounded his church; that same year he narrowly escaped a bomb apparently meant for him. He had watched too many Christians leave the city for safety elsewhere. But he was not going to let himself fall into depression." While he chooses to stay, some are leaving. Anne Barker (Australia's ABC) notes, "Many Christians have already fled Baghdad or left the country altogether." Friday, Rawya Rageh (Al Jazeera) reported on the mood in the aftermath of the targeting:
Rawya Rageh: Houses that should have been adorned with Christmas decorations, pockmarked by violence instead. Iraqi Christians once again under attack.
Falah: If they want us to leave, we will leave. If they want us to sleep on the street, we will sleep on the street If they want us to join them and be terrorists, we will do.
Rawya Rageh: The most recent round of violence began in October when gunmen stormed this Cathedral in Baghdad, a siege that ultimately left more than 40 worshipers dead. Signs of that attack still scar the site, with no sign of letting up. Just last week, al Qaeda warned of more attacks during the holidays resulting in what the already dwindling community described as their grimmest Christmas ever. This is what Christmas Eve mass looked like at one of Baghdad's largest Churches, celebrations canceled, congregations decimated. The UN says thousands have fled to northern cities and neighboring countries. The government had promised increased security and both the Prime Minister and Church leaders have been urging Christians not to flee. But some say, it's not that simple.
Father Saad Sirop Hanna of St. Joseph's Church: Reality imposes itself on people's choices and lives. What the Church had announced is that we want our community to remain intact in this country but the reality is much more powerful. Change is minimal and slow.
Rawya Rageh: The Christian community in Iraq is now facing a difficult choice.
Falah: If they want us to leave, we will leave. If they want us to sleep on the street, we will sleep on the street If they want us to join them and be terrorists, we will do.
Rawya Rageh: The most recent round of violence began in October when gunmen stormed this Cathedral in Baghdad, a siege that ultimately left more than 40 worshipers dead. Signs of that attack still scar the site, with no sign of letting up. Just last week, al Qaeda warned of more attacks during the holidays resulting in what the already dwindling community described as their grimmest Christmas ever. This is what Christmas Eve mass looked like at one of Baghdad's largest Churches, celebrations canceled, congregations decimated. The UN says thousands have fled to northern cities and neighboring countries. The government had promised increased security and both the Prime Minister and Church leaders have been urging Christians not to flee. But some say, it's not that simple.
Father Saad Sirop Hanna of St. Joseph's Church: Reality imposes itself on people's choices and lives. What the Church had announced is that we want our community to remain intact in this country but the reality is much more powerful. Change is minimal and slow.
Rawya Rageh: The Christian community in Iraq is now facing a difficult choice.
CNN quotes Kiyour Kizarab whose Baghdad home was targeted in the bombings, "I am 60 years old and I gave a lot to this country, but this tough situation is like a message asking me to leave my country. If these attacks will continue, and the government can't stop them, then I don't think we will have a future here." Thursday's attack -- and the robbery if the woman was targeted because she was Christian -- signal a change. Christian families in Baghdad and Mosul had been keeping their children out of school during this wave, keeping them at home so that they would be safe. However, just as the October 31st attack demonstrated that attacks could take place anywhere in public, even a church, last week's bombings demonstrated that even if you are in your own home -- even if you are holed up there -- you can still be a target. May Akl (Daily Star) reports on the latest underground railroad:
The voice at the other end of the phone line from Beirut suddenly became nervous. "No, no, no, please!" the panicking nun said. "You cannot mention my real name, you understand, what we are doing is illegal."
This is why I call her Sister Mary. Sister Mary does not launder money nor trade drugs. Instead, she leads an association that assists clandestine Christian Iraqi refugees whose plight leads them to travel to Lebanon by foot.
She anticipated more refugees after the church massacre last October 31, a dark day for Iraq's Christian community, though the incident received little attention from international media and policymakers. A terrorist group took the Lady of Deliverance church in Bagdad by siege, holding the congregation hostage and killing 46 Chaldean worshipers, including two priests celebrating mass, and wounding some 67. This was not the first act of violence against Iraq's dwindling Christian community, but it was by far the most horrific. And it was not the last act of violence targeting the Christians of the Middle East.
After surviving millennia of religious and cultural persecutions in its own cradle, Christianity in the Middle East, could face demise at the hands of this Christian West. In fact, political alliances sought by Western states and, most importantly, by the United States leverage existential threats against the remaining Christian minorities in the Middle East. Rescue is not high on the agenda.
Friday the US State Dept issued the following statement from Acting Dept Spokesperson Mark C. Toner: "We condemn the violence against Christians carried out overnight by terrorists in Iraq. President Talabani, Prime Minister Maliki, and virtually every political bloc and major religious leader in Iraq have denounced attacks on Christians and stressed the centrality of Christians in the fabric of Iraqi society. We commend the Government of Iraq for increasing its security measures to protect Christian communities since the October 31 suicide bombing attack at Our Lady of Salvation Church. We call on the Government of Iraq to redouble its efforts to protect Christians and apprehend the terrorists who are behind these acts." The Toledo Blade's editorial board offers, "The attacks have been intense in recent months. They made Iraqi Christians' observance of Christmas dangerous and thus restrained. With U.S. withdrawal from Iraq scheduled for this year, it might be time for President Obama to consider a program that would admit Iraqi Christians to the United States."
The voice at the other end of the phone line from Beirut suddenly became nervous. "No, no, no, please!" the panicking nun said. "You cannot mention my real name, you understand, what we are doing is illegal."
This is why I call her Sister Mary. Sister Mary does not launder money nor trade drugs. Instead, she leads an association that assists clandestine Christian Iraqi refugees whose plight leads them to travel to Lebanon by foot.
She anticipated more refugees after the church massacre last October 31, a dark day for Iraq's Christian community, though the incident received little attention from international media and policymakers. A terrorist group took the Lady of Deliverance church in Bagdad by siege, holding the congregation hostage and killing 46 Chaldean worshipers, including two priests celebrating mass, and wounding some 67. This was not the first act of violence against Iraq's dwindling Christian community, but it was by far the most horrific. And it was not the last act of violence targeting the Christians of the Middle East.
After surviving millennia of religious and cultural persecutions in its own cradle, Christianity in the Middle East, could face demise at the hands of this Christian West. In fact, political alliances sought by Western states and, most importantly, by the United States leverage existential threats against the remaining Christian minorities in the Middle East. Rescue is not high on the agenda.
Friday the US State Dept issued the following statement from Acting Dept Spokesperson Mark C. Toner: "We condemn the violence against Christians carried out overnight by terrorists in Iraq. President Talabani, Prime Minister Maliki, and virtually every political bloc and major religious leader in Iraq have denounced attacks on Christians and stressed the centrality of Christians in the fabric of Iraqi society. We commend the Government of Iraq for increasing its security measures to protect Christian communities since the October 31 suicide bombing attack at Our Lady of Salvation Church. We call on the Government of Iraq to redouble its efforts to protect Christians and apprehend the terrorists who are behind these acts." The Toledo Blade's editorial board offers, "The attacks have been intense in recent months. They made Iraqi Christians' observance of Christmas dangerous and thus restrained. With U.S. withdrawal from Iraq scheduled for this year, it might be time for President Obama to consider a program that would admit Iraqi Christians to the United States."
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