Bagram, NEA, more

Tuesday. It's like winter these days, isn't it? I keep looking for the sun and seem to be missing it over and over. That's in part because when I'm not in classes this week, I'm in the library doing research. I never see outside unless I look out the window. But no one said grad school would be easy.

This week, unless it's Iraq, I really don't know about it. I get online for news right before I blog. It's just a really packed week. This is from Suzanne Ito's "ACLU Sues for Info on Bagram Detainees:"

This morning, we filed a lawsuit to enforce our April 2009 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about Bagram detainees. We’re looking for basic information, such as how many people are imprisoned at Bagram, who they are, how long they’ve been detained, and where and under what circumstances they were captured. We are also requesting records about the rules and policies that govern Bagram detentions, the process for prisoners to challenge their detention, and the conditions of confinement. So far, the agencies we requested the information from—the Departments of Justice, State, Defense and the CIA—have been less than forthcoming.
According to news reports, the military is holding more than 600 detainees at Bagram, and that includes not only Afghan citizens captured in Afghanistan, but also an unknown number of foreign nationals captured outside of Afghanistan and brought to Bagram. Some of these prisoners have been detained for as long as six years without access to lawyers, have been tortured, and only recently have been permitted any contact with their families. At least two Bagram prisoners have died while in U.S. custody, and Army investigators have classified those deaths as homicides.

So there was the serious. Here's the opening of a column that made me laugh, Richard Cohen's "Barack Obama Everywhere:"

"Stick out your tongue."
I did so, and the dentist wrapped some gauze around it and said, "I need to explain myself about the public option."
Stunned, I raised myself up in the chair and looked. It was Barack Obama.
"I'm both for it and against it," the president said. I tried to bolt but he had me by the tongue. I squirmed and cursed like Rahm Emanuel, and finally he had to let go. I ran from the exam room, pausing in the outer office to make my next appointment but the receptionist looked a lot like Barack Obama and so I kept on moving. Hitting the street, I jumped a cab. "The Washington Post," I said, "and step on it."
"You got it, buddy," the driver said -- and turned around. It was Barack Obama. "Let me tell you something," he said. "The public option is not what it sounds like. It’s not socialism. This is what I tried to explain on "Meet the Press," "Face the Nation," "State of the Union," "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," Jorge Ramos on Univision and, I think, "Sesame Street," although I may not have done that one yet.”

Barack is everywhere, isn't he? And forever in trouble. I know some big baby whiners (at The Confluence, for example) want us to be all upset about the NEA guy being in a scandal, want us to cry, "Unfair! Leave Barry and the White House alone!" What a load of crap. What a bunch of little turn coats The Confluence has become. I know Riverdaughter's taken her time off but it's not just that she's not there, the whole website has gone looney. They seem to reach to slam Republicans. It shouldn't be that difficult to call out Republicans. That's "A". "B" why are you doing it? Why are you worried what the minority party that controls nothing is doing?

Because you're a pathetic little candy ass cry baby. Because you want to prove you're 'left' and that means screeching at Republicans and using homophobia.

That's all The Confluence has to offer these days. It is a joke. I made the mistake of visiting today at the library and I just couldn't believe how pathetic it was. You'll notice they never do an Iraq post. They're like the most unaware people in the world. It reads like they listened to NPR for an hour to try to get an idea of what to write.

So anyway, this is from Yunji de Nies (ABC News):

This evening, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman released a statement on the controversial August 10 conference call, led by then-NEA communications director Yossi Sergant. On that call Sergant seemed to encourage artists to help support President Obama's agenda, which has now prompted the White House to issue new guidelines to prevent such a call from ever happening again.
In an effort to "clarify the issues," Landesman laid out a list of what he calls facts. While acknowledging that some of Sergant's language was inappropriate, the chairman says acted he unilaterally and points out that he has been stripped of his post as communications director, though Sergant is still an employee at the NEA. Landesman nevertheless defends the call, saying it "was not a means to promote any legislative agenda and any suggestions to that end are simply false. Rather, the call was to inform members of the arts community of an opportunity to become involved in volunteerism."

The NEA person (not Landesman, the one on that call) shouldn't have been demoted, he should have been fired. No administration makes a call where they enlist artists in anything that could be seen as propaganda. If this had happened under Bush, we'd be screaming our heads off. And we'd be right to.

I don't play this bulls**t of, "I'm a Democrat so I have rules for Republicans but look the other way for my own." That's bulls**t. The NEA person screwed up big time. And the sort of screw up that should send you packing. But don't worry, The Confluence will keep defending it. In their pathetic way.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Chaos and violence, a refugee camp in France is ripped apart, an Iraqi refugee in the US sues a school district for an assault on her son, a US soldier is charged with two counts of murder for alleged actions in Iraq, Iraq wants to shirk its debts and more.

A US soldier serving in Iraq was charged with two counts of murder. He's accused of murdering a contractor. A number of contractors have been murdered so we'll drop back to the Spetember 14th snapshot: "Meanwhile, AP reported yesterday that KBR contractor Lucas Vinson was shot dead on Camp Speicher (US base in Iraq) and a US soldier stands accused of the shooting. Tim Cocks and Ralph Boulton (Reuters) added the unnamed US soldier has been arrested in the shooting." Gregg K. Kakesako (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) reports Spc Beyshee O. Velez, 31-years-old, has been charged with "two counts of murder, three counts of assault, and one count of fleeing" in the death of Lucas Vinson

Turning to asylum seekers. Last Tuesday, Muntadhar al-Zeidi was released from Iraq prison. December 14th, Bully Boy Bush (still occupying the White House at that time) held a press conference in Baghdad with Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and US-installed thug, where they lied and smiled and signed the treaties Bush pushed through (Strategic Framework Agreement and the treaty masquerading as a Status Of Forces Agreement.). Muntadhar was a journalist attending the press conference. He hurled two shoes at Bush while denouncing him ("This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss you dog!" and "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.") World Radio Switzerland reports he wants to move to Switzerland and that he spoke of being tortured. RIA Novosti quotes him stating, "I do want to move to Switzerland, because this is a neutral country which did not support the occupation of Iraq."

al-Zeidi has celebrity and, therefore, he'll find it much easier to be granted refugee status than many other refugees. Ice News reports, "The Danish immigration minister has made an about turn on her policy of accepting Iraqi refugees under the United Nations agreement. Just eight weeks ago Immigration Minister Birthe Ronn Hornbech announced that Denmark would be accepting a quota of refugees from the Arabic nation." Hanna Hoshan (Al Arabiya) reports on Iraqi refugees in Syria who are concerned by the tensions between the governments of Syria and Iraq and fearful they may be deported as a result. Meanwhile Iraq and Afghanistan refugees seeking sanctuary in France have been assaulted. Iran's Press TV reports French riot police raidied refugee camp Calais beginning at dawn today, and that police carried "flamethrowers, stun guns and tear gas". Jerome Taylor and Robert Verkaik (Independent of London) note the French government has been under pressure from the United Kingdom to 'address' the issue and quotes UK Home Secretary Minist Alan Johnston stating the news "delighted" him and "Both countries [England and France] are committed to helping individuals who are geunine refugees, who should apply for protection in the first safe country that they reach." Delighted? China's Xinhua reports, "According to witnesses, most of the migrants, mainly Afghans including many minors, watched police destroy their shelters, while some held up placards protesting the action. . . . Many [paperless]* . . . immigrants from war-torn Afghanistan and some Arab countries head to France as a transit point, from where they try to enter England but, with entry into Britain becoming more difficult, the number of migrants stuck in Calais has increased, as has their shabby tent city." BBC News has a photo essay. Some press reports state that there were as many as one police officer involved in the raid for every immigrant -- looking at the photos it appears that there may have been two police officers for every immigrant. Nicolas Garriga (AP -- report has photos that are not in the BBC essay) reports, "Scores of police sealed camp exists about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and, amid angry denunciations from humanitarian groups present, extracted the immigrants from the crowd one by one, lined them up and led them to buses. Numerous immigrants were seen sobbing or quietly shedding tears. They were later taken away to special centers for processing." Angelique Chrisafis and Haroon Siddique (Guardian -- link has text and video of the bulldozers tearing the camp apart) quote human rights activists Sandy Buchan (Refugee Action) and Sylvie Copyans (Salam). Buchan states, "They should never have been allowed to rot there like this. It's appalling neglect and has allowed false expectation to be built." Copyans states, "It's exactly like when they closed Sangatte. They are saying no immigrants in Calais, they can't stay here. But if they are made to leave they will just go to another squat. It's more and more difficult every day." She's referring to the Red Cross camp in Calais that was torn apart in 2002. As many as 278 immigrants were arrested today. As the Belfast Telegraph observes, "Hundreds of Afghan and Iraqi migrants living in squalid conditions on the outskirts of Calais fled their tarpaulin homes yesterday in a bid to avoid being rounded up by armed police in an anticipated raid today." Angelique Chrisafis (Guardian) speaks to a few who made it out and are now sleeping on the street in Paris. Jon Snow (UK Channel 4) observes, "These are the human consequences of the allied adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. What is the moral obligation upon those who have participated in these 'wars of choice' for taking in the huddled masses who have fled their activities?"

The raid comes a day after the European Union met to discuss the refugee issue. Deutsche Well reports that yesterday in Brussels, "The meeting was chaired by Sweden's Migration Minister Tobias Billstroem, whose country currently holds the EU Presidency. On Monday ahead of the talks, Billstroem stressed that resettling refugees in the European Union can be a crucial step in fighting [undocumented]* immigration. If a refugee stranded in Jordan had the chance to enter the EU [with proper papers]*, there would be no need for him to secretly cross the Mediterranean, Billstroem said. Jordan is for many migrants the starting point to illegally enter the EU in Cyprus." ("*" indicates that we're not using a term. We will some undocumented immigrants, we will say paperless, that's it.)

While Europe shames itself, the US can't puff its chest with pride. Tim Hull (Courthouse News Service) reports Amna al Qaisi is suing Tuscon Unified School District over a November assault by other students on her 13-year-old son whose targeting with abuse and threats had been witnessed by "teachers, monitors, administrations and the school nurse" prior to the assault but nothing was done. Everyday Christian provides a list of 16 things aid groups tell Iraqi refugees coming to the US ("You may be a victim of a hate crime" does not make the list). Peter Elliott (Everyday Christian) notes there are approximately 2 million Iraqi external refugees and, "The State Department has designated 10 aid organizations as administrators of resettlement efforts -- not just Iraqis -- four of which have overtly Christian ties in World Relief, Church World Service, Episcopal Migration Ministries and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service." Meanwhile Mike Giglio (Houston Press) reports that efforts by the YMCA International and their refugee director Dario Lipovac have resulted in Nahlah Qasim Radhi receiving a termporary (six month) visa to the US. Her son, Marwan Hamza, was a translator for the US military and was granted asylum. A car accident has left him in a coma. Mandy Kao (Titan Managemetn Corporation) has donated an apartment to Nahlah Qasim Radhi for the six month stay.

Along with Iraq's external refugees, there is also the internal refugee crisis. The NGO Pax Christi issued a statement on their delegation's visit to Iraq where they met with "Patriarch Cardinal Emanuel Delly, Bishop Rabban Al-Kass, Chaldean Bishop of Amadya-Shamkan and Erbil, Bishop Louis Sako, Chaldean Bishop of Kirkuk, Bishop Georges Casmoussa, Syriac Bishop of Mosul and Qaraqosh, Father NageebMikhail, OP, the Chaldean Seminary in Erbil and many other religious leaders and representatives of civil society groups in the north of Iraq," and spent time in Kirkuk, Mosul, Erbil and Dohuk:

The delegation encountered many good examples of work for peace. The extraordinary efforts among religious leaders in the oil city of Kirkuk made it possible for them to visit Sunni and Shiite mosques and to interact with Muslim leaders. In Dohuk they learned about the program of Bishop Rabban's coeducational, interreligious International School which brings together Muslims, Christians, Yezidie and Turkman to provide a base of human values and an introduction to human rights.
They learned from the Dominican sisters of Mosul about their commitment to peace education at a primary level and met dedicated health care professionals in Kirkuk who serve Muslims and Christians alike. In Erbil the delegation met with Iraqi Non-Violence group LaOnf, an Iraqi nongovernmental organization building a network on nonviolence. Pax Christi's organizational commitment to reconciliation and nonviolence made theseand other similar efforts particularly interesting to the delegation, which also experienced enormous tensions in the country. There were two major bombings while they were there and they encountered among people they visited a great fear of being kidnapped. Of the areas the delegation was able to visit, the level of security in the Kurdish provinces in the north of the country was much better than in the so-called disputed provinces, Mosul and Kirkuk. But even in the Kurdish provinces, the sense of long-term physical and economic security was lacking and UN representatives described human rights violations, particularly against political prisoners and women. 100,000 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) remain in the same area.Christians and other minority groups continue to feel threatened in Iraq and to leave the country. This fact is of deep concern to many people the delegation met, who believe that reconciliation is the way forward and that the loss to Iraq of the Christian community, which was established there in the second century, would be a grea ttragedy. At the same time, the delegation was told that the conflict in Iraq is political rather than religious, with violence erupting over the balance of power. Minority groups are faced with the choices to join the struggle for power, to remain neutral or to work for a society where everybody has a place. Finally, they heard from many people about the destruction of Iraq's infrastructure during the first Gulf War that had still not been repaired and about the impact of the long-lasting harsh sanctions that punished ordinary people. They were told that the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 destroyed security and created many new problems for the Iraqi people. The delegation agrees with the Iraqi non-violence network that "refuses occupation and war as a way to build democracy and establish rule of law, even when it is presented as the only possible option."

Last week the International Organization for Migration released it's six month profile on the 1.6 million internal Iraqi refugees in the 18 provinces and find the three needs remain: shelter, food and employment. On the last need, unemployment is highest for refugees in Kirkuk (99%) and 'lowest' in Baghdad and Diyala (60% and 58%). The high unemployment rate has resulted in many refugee children setting aside school in attempts to raise money "through begging, petty trade or doing the odd job." They note women head one-in-ten internal refugee families. The report also states, "Water too is emerging as growing issue." [As the central government in Baghdad continues to beg Turkey for more and more water (Turkey stands accused by its neighbors of using dams to divert the natural flow of the rivers), water is a pressing issue in Iraq.] Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy) observes, "According to IOMs interviews, most of the IDPs say that they would like to return to their place of origin. But few have, which is suggestive of the tenuous and patchy nature of security improvements. Despite some legislative and Prime Ministerial initiatives, little still appears to have been done to deal with the likely consequences of such returns, which could re-mix the communities separated by the sectarian cleansing of 2006-07 and create a tidal wave of competing property and reparation claims."

1 in 10 internally displaced families are headed by women. Women for Women's Zainab Salbi (at Huffington Post) explores the situation for women in Iraq today:


I visited my mother's grave yesterday and learned that her tombstone was destroyed by a missile two years ago in one of the clashes between the militias and the US troops. "Not even the dead are spared from the bombings in Iraq," I thought to myself. But at least my mother is not witnessing the pain many Iraqi women are witnessing as they try to find space for themselves in the "new Iraq."
Few of the women of my mother's generation -- a generation of educated women who have worked in all different sectors of the country -- are still holding on. They are few -- many professional women who were doctors, professors and journalists were assassinated in the past seven years as part of what I believe is a larger, strategic approach by extremist militias to "cleanse" Iraqi society of its intellectual and professional elite. Those who have survived the killings and the temptation to leave the country in search of a safer place to live have either retreated within the home or taken advantage of quotas that have opened opportunities for women to become members of the Iraqi parliament.
Today in Iraq, women have no one unified reality. At the same time as many women increase participation in the political sector -- Iraq's Parliament and local councils are required to have 25 percent female representation -- thousands more are experiencing brutal hardship and extreme poverty. There are now more destitute women in Iraq than ever before -- estimates of the number of war widows range from one to three million. These and other socially and economically marginalized women are vulnerable and at high risk of trafficking, organized and forced prostitution, polygamy, domestic violence, and being recruited as suicide bombers, something that the society is still trying to process and understand. In a single day's journey around Baghdad, one can see all these many and conflicting realities of Iraqi women -- that was my day today.


"So Iraq is as important as ever," US House Rep Bill Delahunt said Thursday as he chaired the US House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, "albiet, it may be forgotten by some." Wally, Kat, Ava and I attended the hearing and due to so little Iraq coverage in Western media today, we'll drop back to it today. Congressional Research Service's Ken Katzman was among those appearing before the subcomittee. He didn't read his opening statement, he summarized it and we'll note this section.

Ken Katzman: In general, Iraq's political system can be characterized by peaceful competiton rather than violence; however, sectarainsim and ethnic and factional infighting continue to simmer and many Iraqi views and positions are colored by efforts to outflank, outmanuever and constrain rival factions. These tendencies will only grow in the run-up to the January 16, 2010 national elections in Iraq which may also concurrently include a vote, a referendum, on the US-Iraq agreement subject to --that that would have to be approved by the National Assembly to have the referendum -- that decision has not been taken yet. Compounding the factional tensions is the perception that Prime Minister Maliki is in a strong position politically. This is largely a result of the strong showing of his Dawa Party in the January 31, 2009 provincial elections. His showing in those elections was in turn a product of his benefitting from an improved security situation, his positions in favor of strong central government as opposed to local tendencies or regionalism, and his March 2008 move against Shi'ite militias who were virtually controlling Basra and Um Qasr port. Although Maliki's colalition was the clear winner in these elections, the subsequent efforts to form prvoincial administrations demonstrated that he still needs to bargain with rival factions including that of the radical, young, Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr who is studying Islamic theology in Iran with the intention of trying to improve his standing in the clerical heirarchy. Possibly as a result of his strengthened position, Maliki is seen by rivals as increasingly authoritarian. He is widely assesed by US and Iraqi experts as attempting to gain control of the security services and build new security organs loyal to him personally rather than to institutions. Some have accused him of purging security officials he perceives as insufficeintly loyal. He has also reportedly been using security forces to intimidate opponents including in Diyala Province. For example. 4,000 Special Operations commandos, part of the Iraqi security forces -- the official forces of Iraq, report to Maliki's office of the commander in chief and not to the Defense or Interior Ministries. Some of Maliki's opponents and critics say these political tactics mimic the steps taken by Saddam Hussein when he was rising to power to centralize his rule.

It should have reminded the Subcommittee members of when US Ambassador Chris Hill appeared before the full House Foreign Relations Committee and always seemed confused (a natural state for Hill, granted) when asked of rumors that Nouri was attempting to consolidate his power. Committee Chair Howard Berman, for example, received a non-response.

Chair Howard Berman: According to Ken Pollack, in the most recent of the National Interest , over the past year, and I quote, "Malaki has been deploying more of Iraq's nascent military power to the north and goading the army into regular provocations with the Kurdish militia," the pesh merga. My questions are: Is Pollack's assertio accurate? And a little more detail -- you touched on this, but what are the prospects that there will be a serious outbreak of hostillities between Arabs and Kurds? Are growing Kurdish-Arab tensions the biggest threat to Iraqis stability?

Hill responded in his usual rambling form, randomly strung together words that a generous person would count as 21 run-on sentences.

Chair Howard Berman: Let me interject --

Chris Hill: Yeah?

Chair Howard Berman: -- only because I only have about 20 seconds left .

Chris Hill: Yeah?

Chair Howard Berman: But is this assertion regarding purposeful deployments in the nature of provocations by the Iraqi army to the north?

Chris Hill: Yeah. I haven't read Dr. Pollack's article.

Yeah? That's how a US Ambassador speaks to Congress? Yeah? So Chris Hill -- in the best Condi Rice fashion -- played Beat The Clock, stringing together nonsensical words, stammers and "uh"s to keep the clock ticking down about an article he never read. He could inform he'd had a 36 hour sleepover in the Kurdistan region but he intentionally and repeatedly avoided all questions -- from Democrats and Republicans (Ranking Member Dan Rohrabacher attempted to follow up on Berman's question and got the same run around) -- about Nouri attempting to increase his own power. US House Rep Sheila Jackson Lee is asking him about Nouri's power-grab in relation to Camp Ashraf and, yet again, he stalls and never can supply her with an answer. She even has to explain the basics to him, that regardless of whether Nouri is in control or the US is in control, the State Dept lodges objections to human rights abuses at the very least.


Related, Alsumaria reports that representatives from Baghdad, Damascus and Ankara met in New York today -- Turkey in the position of counselor -- over the increased tensions between Syria and Iraq. And they note that Jalal Talabani, Iraqi President will speak to the United Nations about that. Of course, he will speak about other things as well. And that was underscored in the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee hearing on Thursday as US reps spoke of the need to get Iraq back to its pre-Gulf War status in terms of agreements and laws and commerce. That's part of the two agreements signed by the US as well. That's, in fact, among the reasons why Bush didn't want to renew the United Nations mandate nor did Nouri. Nouri wouldn't be in charge of as much money as he is now without the 'occupation' of Iraq 'ending.' People have yet to grasp what the security agreements actually did and why Nouri and Bush wanted them. But, in fairness, the Thursday hearing wasn't covered by the press, now was it? Talabani is expected to call for an end to the $25 billion in reparations Iraq owes Kuwait. The 'thinking' is that, "Saddam did it! Not Iraq!!!! Saddam's gone!!!!" It's amazing, considering how reparations effect so many countries -- including the US where there are calls for reparations to be made for slavery -- that the notion that one leader died so there is no longer an obligation to make reparations goes unchallenged. But it does, day after day, week after week, with no comment or objection. And were Iraq still under the UN mandate for the occupation, it wouldn't have a shot at getting the reparations cancelled. Among the many reasons Nouri didn't want to renew the UN mandate.

On the tensions between Syria and Iraq, AP reports Nouri's created "a backlash over a bitter fight he picked with Syria" -- a backlash within the Iraqi government. Nouri insists that Ba'athist in Syria (a secular group) teamed up with al Qaeda in Mesopotamia (a fundamentalist group) to carry ou the bombings of Bloody Wednesday aka Black Wednesday on August 19th. Nouri has been fortunate in that the Western press has largely been happy to spin for him and indicate that he's requesting two people be turned over. But it's not just the US, here's Robert Fisk (Independent of London) reporting earlier this month, "Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, demands an international tribunal because Syria won't hand over a couple of Iraqi Baathists whom he blames for the suicide bombing deaths of at least 100 civilians in Baghdad." A couple? Nouri's asking Syria to hand over 179 people. And because of the August 19th bombings? No. Nouri was demanding those 179 people be turned over to Iraq in his face-to-face August 18th meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A day before the bombings. Nouri's been very lucky, very lucky, that the Western press has been so eager to run with his morsels and refused to explore the public reality. (Most of which was reported in the Arab press well before the bombs of August 19th began exploding.) AFP also reports on Talabani's intention to call for an investigation. (Left unstated is that Talabani's trip to the US is only in part due to the UN, he's also having medical treatment while he's here.) As Talabani gears up for his US trip, Iyad Al Samarraie, Speaker of Parliament, is visiting France. Alsumaria reports his trip is "to promote bilateral releations and cooperations between both countries' parliaments." Meanwhile Iran's Fars News Agency reports that Yasin al-Mamouri who heads Iraq's Red Crescent Society began his visit to Iran yesterday. The Tehran Times adds, "Al-Mamouri is scheduled to inspect Iran's Red Crescent Society's different organizations and sectors in his one-week travel." Iran continues to hold US citizens Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd. The three were visiting in Iraq and hiking in northern Iraq when they allegedly crossed into Iran July 31st. They have been prisoners ever since. Kiersten Throndsen (KBCI CBS 2 -- link has text and video) reports on efforts by family members to have the three released.


Meanwhile, as noted in yesterday's snapshot, the Kurdistan Regional Government published a letter they sent to Oslo's DNO International (oil company) objecting to "the recent misleading and incomplete publications by the Oslo Stock Exchange ('OSO') in relation to its internal arguments and disputes with DNO." The KRG feels it was caught in the crossfire "between DNO and OSE" and that the KRG Minister was targeted in the battle with "misleading information." The letter notes these decisions by the KRG:
1) Suspend all DNO's operation and its involvement in the Kurdistan Region with immediate effect, and appoint the other PSC [Production Sharing Contract] Contractor Entities to manage the day to day operations instead. All oil exports will cease and DNO shall not be entitled to any economic interest in the PSCs during the suspension period.
2) The suspension period shall be for a maxium period of 6 weeks, and during which DNO must find ways to remedy, and to our full satisfaction, the damage done to KRG reputation, and once and for all to sort its internal problems with OSE and any other disputes that they may have with any other third parties with respect to any claims related to the PSCs ("Claims").
3) If within this suspension period, DNO satisifes KRG's requirements; all its PSC rights will be reinstated with our continuous support to its operations. However, if DNO fails to remedy the damages caused and fails to remove any other Claims the KRG may consider termination of DNO's involvement in the Kurdistan Region with or without compensation. Any compensation, if offered, will factor in the magnitude of the damages caused to the KRG.
Marianne Stigset and Meera Bhatia (Bloomberg News) report, "The exchange disclosed that the Kurdish authority acted as a middleman in a transaction of 43 million shares of DNO in October last year. DNO had sought to keep the authorities' role undisclosed after a probe discovered contacts between Natural Resource Minister Ashti Hawrami and DNO Chief Executive Officer Helge Eide. DNO is delivering 45,000 barrels a day from its Tawke field through a pipeline to Ceyhan, Turkey. It owns 55 percent of the field, which has reserves of 150 million to 370 million barrels. Other companies in the region are Heritage Oil Plc, which is combining with Turkey's Genel Energy International Ltd. and Addax, bought by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec. Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd. also explores in the area." Hassan Hafidh (Dow Jones) reveals that the source of tension began when KRG Minister of Natural Resources Ashti "Hawrami was annoyed by a document released Friday by the Oslo Stock Exchange that showed him involved in the sale of DNO's shares to Genel Enerji in October 2008. The document named him holder for the U.K. nominee account into which 175.50 million kronor ($30.04 million), or 4.8%, of the Oslo-listed oil exploration company's shares were sold and where Genel Enerji was the beneficiary." AP's Sinan Salaheddin adds, "Oslo-based DNO was the first independent Western oil company to secure an oil deal in post-Saddam Iraq, signing a production sharing contract with the Kurds in June 2004 to develop the Tawke field. DNO also has stakes in two other oil fields in the region, which are both still at the exploration level." Spencer Swartz (Wall St. Journal) reports, "DNO scrambled Tuesday for a response to the situation" and quotes the company's CEO Helge Eide stating, "Our main priority is now to seek dialogue with the [Kurdish government] as soon as possible and try to bring clarity to the situation and what is needed to find a solution."
In other resource news, Muhanad Mohammed, Tim Cocks and David Stamp (Reuters) explain $85 million contracts for the installation of gas turbines have been awarded by the Baghdad government to Iraq's URUK Engineering Services (for a Taji power plant) and Canada's SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (for a Hilla power plant).

As Barack continues pushing what Trina, Ava and I have dubbed ObamaBigBusinessCare, PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform airs this Thursday on most PBS stations. It is a 90 minute special (that should start at 9:00 p.m. EST on most PBS stations) which is pools the talents of NOW on PBS, Tavis Smiley and Nightly Business Report. Tonight on HDNet World Report, Tamara Banks reports from Iraq in a documentary entitled Iraq: Inside the Transition which begins airing at nine p.m. EST.Independent reporter David Bacon knows a country's greatest natural resource is always the people. In "A Factory Like A City" (Political Affairs), he combines text and photos to tell the story:Last month Toyota announced it would close the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California, after General Motors annnounced it was withdrawing from the partnership under which the plant has operated for over two decades. The plant employs 4500 workers directly, and the jobs of another 30,000 throughout northern California are dependent on its continued operation. Taking families into account, the threatened closure will eliminate the income of over 100,000 people.People have spent their lives in the NUMMI plant in Fremont, probably more time with the compressed-air tools at their workstations than with their families at home. The plant is like a city, thousands of jobs and thousands of people working in a complicated dance where each one's contribution makes possible that of the next person down the line. And like a city, it supports the people who work in it. David Bacon's latest book is Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which just won the CLR James Award. Bacon can be heard on KPFA's The Morning Show (over the airwaves in the Bay Area, streaming online) each Wednesday morning (begins airing at 7:00 am PST).

At a US House Veterans Subcommittee hearing today, US House Rep Debbie Halvorson declared, "We need to make sure that we truly do care and don't just give it lip service." Agreed. We'll cover the hearing in tomorrow's snapshot and other veterans and service member related issues. (If the hearing gets no press, I'll go through my notes. If it gets press, we'll probably just highlight various outlets. The hearing was on the VA and prescription drugs, by the way.)

iraq
the honolulu star-bulletingregg k. kakesako
marianne stigsetmeera bhatiabloomberg newsdow joneshassan hafidhrobert fiskthe independent of londontim cocksdavid stampmuhanad mohammedkiersten throndsenthe tehran times
pbsnow on pbstavis smileynightly business report
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david baconkpfathe morning show

Isaiah, Iraq, Debra Sweet, Third

Monday, Monday. Ugh on Mondays. We need a laugh. Here's Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Grouch of Wrath"







Ha-ha, Tina Fey lost. Ha-ha. C.I. campaigned heavily for Toni Collette for months now and was telling us Collette was winning. I'm glad to see C.I. was correct. I hate Tina Fey.



Okay, Debra Sweet's issued a call for donations for World Can't Wait:



I'm taking a moment to appreciate and thank those who keep World Can't Wait on our mission to stop the crimes of our government. You know who you are...
you give frequent flyer miles to get me across the country quickly

you are volunteers in our National Office, and you buy materials and help with rent

you send a monthly sustainer or respond to fund appeals

you make copies at work or pay for enlargements to be visible; you make the black hoods worn with the orange jumpsuits to protest torture or paint the banners

you spend evenings phone-banking donors, editing copy for the website, researching stories, writing flyers, standing outside high schools with them

This movement really needs all of us, and all ways of giving are important.

BUT right now financial gifts are most urgently needed to carry out the actions below, in addition to responding to emergencies.

Please take a moment to make an donation now:
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Meanwhile, Iraq doesn't even make the main page of Google. These are the top four Iraq stories if you search:

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4345
Washington Post - ‎1 hour ago‎
21, 2009, at least 4345 members of the US military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4345 Atlanta Journal Constitution
all 33 news articles »
Email this story

Telegraph.co.uk
UK army 'rotten', Iraq probe told
BBC News - ‎14 hours ago‎
Troops in Iraq routinely used banned interrogation methods they did not think were illegal, lawyers told the inquiry into the 2003 death.
UK lawyer says Iraq abuse hurt military's standing The Associated Press
Baha Mousa soldiers 'not just a few bad apples' Telegraph.co.uk
PRESS TV - guardian.co.uk - www.worldbulletin.net - The Associated Press
all 133 news articles »
Email this story

Earthtimes (press release)

Copter Crash Kills US Soldier in Iraq
New York Times - Steven Lee Myers - ‎Sep 20, 2009‎
The crash occurred Saturday night at the air base in Balad, the largest American airfield in Iraq. The helicopter, a UH-60 Black Hawk, is the one most ...
Iraq helicopter crash kills US soldier Reuters
Black Hawk crash kills US service member in Iraq The Associated Press
WXVT - Fort Worth Star Telegram - KTUU - WKYC-TV
all 337 news articles »
Email this story

US military deaths in Iraq war at 4345
The Associated Press - ‎Sep 20, 2009‎
20, 2009, at least 4345 members of the US military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4345 Atlanta Journal Constitution
all 123 news articles »
Email this story

It's good that the death toll is getting noted; however, it's 4346. The military announced another death today (the 21st). Guess AP is sleeping on the job.

Okay, let's talk Third. Here's who worked on the latest edition:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, and Ava,

Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,

Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,

C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,

Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),

Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,

Mike of Mikey Likes It!,

Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),

Trina of Trina's Kitchen,

Ruth of Ruth's Report,

Wally of The Daily Jot,

Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,

Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends

and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.

And Dallas. And we worked hard because Ava and C.I. both wanted real sleep time, they wanted to go to the Emmys "with no dark circles under our eyes" (Ava). (Don't ask about make up. Jim made a joke and Ava let him have it.) (And seriously, they do have the right to insist we wrap up quickly. They're the ones who've never taken a week off -- the only ones -- in the almost four years of the site.) So what did we get?

Truest statement of the week -- Bob Somerby earned this one. We weren't planning on a Truest but Betty and C.I. tossed this out and we all agreed it was a truest.

A note to our readers -- Jim breaks down the edition.

Editorial: The walk-away from Iraq wasn't Pamplona... -- I really love this and love the Pamplona reference (that reference via Ava and C.I.). This is about how the walk away from Iraq started a long time ago.

TV: Republicans should boycott SNL -- Ava and C.I.'s classic. This was really something. And my grandfather wanted to add something. I have two grandfathers but I'm closest to my mother's dad because he's always been there. He lives two streets over and if he wasn't over at my folk's house growing up, I was over at his house. This is my grandfather who's a Socialist and he thinks it's shameful "in 2009 that any Socialist would hide who they are." I agree.

Roundtable -- Great roundtable. I think Ava and Marcia own this one. They do a really great job.

Iraq -- Our Iraq coverage.

The never-ending fashion disaster -- I love this and was happy to work on it. Rebecca and Betty always are proposing fashion pieces re: Michelle. This one is really good because the woman has no clue of how to dress. Not in those photos from last week.

Raed Jarrar tries to 'correct' Ava and C.I. (Dona)... -- Dona wrote this one about Raed Jarrar insisting that Ava and C.I. were wrong last week, he doesn't believe the SOFA means the end of the Iraq War. As Dona pointed out in her e-mail reply -- and as the screen snap illustration demonstrates -- Raed has a counter on his site counting down the SOFA with the lie that it means all US forces withdraw from Iraq.

US had prior knowledge of assault -- about the assault on Camp Ashraf.

We applaud Joe Wilson -- We tried to do this last week, this topic, and had no luck. This time it worked. Thank goodness.

Winter Soldier coverage -- We covered Winter Soldier. We're not in the mood to pretend like everyone did and that's sort of lie that refuses to hold anyone accountable and allows the silence on Iraq to continue.

CCR announces Free Speech Victory -- CCR press release.

ETAN demands justice for mass atrocities -- ETAN press release.

An evening with Janis Ian, October 22nd -- Janis Ian will be doing a concert in a very intimate setting in Dallas on October 22nd.

Highlights -- Ruth, Marcia, Kat, Betty, Rebecca, Stan, Wally, Cedric, Elaine and I worked on this.



And that's what we have. And I'm going to sleep. Well, we're watching a movie. Then I'm going to sleep. Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, September 21, 2009. Chaos and violence continue, the US military announces deaths, a shoe tosser is dead, the drug situation in Iraq gets some attention, an inquiry in England hears about British soldiers abusing Iraqis ("The detainees were not terrorists or insurgents. They were never tried or convicted of any offense.") with one ending up dead, and more.

Today the US Defense Department issued a release announcing "the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Senior Airman Matthew R. Courtois, 22, of Lucas, Texas, died Sep 20 as a result of a non-hostile incident on Abdullah Al Mubarak Airbase, Kuwait. He was assigned to the 366th Security Forces Squadron, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation." DoD is supposed to supply the names to the deaths M-NF have announced. Yet again, M-NF 'forgot' to make an announcement. Yesterday M-NF did make an announcement, the US military announced: "JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- One U.S. service member was killed and 12 others were injured when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter went down inside of Joint Base Balad at approximately 8 p.m. Saturday. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense. The names of service members are announced through the U.S. Department of Defense official website at http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/ The announcements are made on the Web site no earlier than 24 hours after notification of the service member's primary next of kin. The cause of the incident is unknown and is under investigation. More information will be released as soon as it becomes available." The two announcements bring to 4346 the number of US service members who have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war. Giddy with the Cheese Whiz, Steven Lee Myers (New York Times) added Sunday that only 8 -- only 8! -- US service members have died this month ("among the lowest monthly tolls since the war began in 2003"). The toll is now 9. And the New York Times reported the monthly toll in July and August as 7 for each month. (After the Times reported their monthly total, the US military punked them yet again by upping it to 8. The paper couldn't correct because their entire coverage hung from the hook of "low, low, low!!!!!") In addition, Myers declared, "The helicopter crash was the first since two reconnaissance helicopters collided while under enemy fire in January near the northern city of Kirkuk, killing four soldiers." That would be the last US military crash. The last crash of a US helicopter? Tim Cocks (Reuters) reports, "The last reported incident was on July 17, when a U.S. State Department helicopter crashed near Baghdad, killing two crew members. In January, two U.S. military aircraft came under enemy fire and crashed into each other, killing four soldiers."

Last week (see Wednesday and Thursday snapshots), Ahmed Abdul Latif threw a shoe at the US military in Falluja and was shot. Nawaf Jabbar and Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) reported that Latif fell to the ground after being shot according to eye witness Ahmed Mukhlif who says that then "the four U.S. Humvees stopped and a man stepped out, his rifle pointing toward the wounded Iraqi, and a policeman intervened and prevented the American from firing again." Saturday an Iraqi correspondent for McClatchy reports that Ahmed Abdul Latif died in the hospital Thursay and quotes his brother stating, "Maybe now he is at peace." Earlier, an Iraqi correspondent at McClatchy had noted of Ahmed Abdul Latif:

A man who lived through the "cleansing" of Fallujah by occupation forces. Two battles - not one. He saw his city burn, his friends killed, his neighbours maimed. His mind broke, and he became imbalanced. He roamed the streets with long unkempt hair, disheveled clothes and a wild look in his eyes. Whenever he saw an American military convoy pass, he would shake his fists in the air and raise his voice and swear at them. He would sometimes pick up a pebble and hurl it at them.

In Iraq, Camp Ashraf is where Iranian dissidents belonging to MEK live. They have been in Iraq for decades. Following the 2003 invasion, the US provided protection to Camp Ashraf and declared them protected persons under the Geneva Conventions. The US turned over control of Camp Ashraf to Nouri al-Maliki's government at the start of the year -- after getting assurances from him that he would not assault the camp or ship the dissidents back to Iran. Despite assurance, Nouri launched an attack on Camp Ashraf July 28th resulting in at least 11 deaths, hundreds injured and thirty-six residents hauled away. Yesterday, Michael Holden and Elizabeth Fullerton (Reuters) report that Archbishop Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the Anglican Church, issued a statement on Camp Ashraf. From the Archibisoph of Canterbury's website: The continuing situation in Camp Ashraf, together with the fact that the 36 people taken from the camp in July have not been released, constitutes a humanitarian and human rights issue of real magnitude and urgency. There is a strong argument in terms of international law that the Ashraf residents are "protected persons". Both the government of Iraq and the government of the United States -- as the agency responsible for the transfer of the residents to another jurisdiction -- have an obligation to secure the rights of these residents and to defend them from violence or abuse. I am in contact with our own government as well as representatives of other governments to urge that the current situation be remedied urgently. A very significant step towards the long-term security of the residents will be the establishing of a UN monitoring team to visit the camp. Meanwhile I hope that all concerned will listen to what those across the world who are deeply anxious about these human rights violations are saying, and respond as a matter of urgency. In the same humanitarian spirit I would also urge those who have been demonstrating their concern by not taking food to bring their fast to an end. Further loss of life would only compound recent tragic events.

Saturday Brian Knowlton (New York Times) reported on Camp Ashraf supporters demonstrating in DC. 26-year-old Iranian-American Hamid Goudarzi who is on a hunger strike stated, "I'm getting weaker every day. But I'm here to the end." Knowlton added, "The protesters are calling for the resumption of American protection of the camp until a United Nations presence can be arranged and for the release of 36 members who have been detained since the clash at Camp Ashraf, which is home to about 3,400 people."
Turning to the topic of drugs. Most people are familiar with a "mule" in the drug trade: A person carries drugs -- sometimes swallowing them in a balloon so that they carry the drugs inside of their body -- across a border. On the latest Inside Iraq (Al Jazeera -- video link), Dr. Abdul Rahman Hamid of Al Muthanna Province, explains how camels are used, "The smugglers perform surgery on these animals. They usually cut open the camel's hump, place the drugs inside and stitch them back up and then cover the stitches with the camel's hair so it won't be noticeable. It is criminal what they're doing to these animals." Inside Iraq began airing Friday and Jasim Azzawi explored the topic of drugs which have plauged Iraq in recent years. Iranians have been blamed for the influx, US troops have been blamed, British troops have been blamed, 'security' contractors and other contractors (labor brought in to build or work in non-security roles) have been blamed.

Jasim Azzawi: To discuss the drug problem in Iraq, I'm joined from London by Mustafa Alani, director of security and terrorism studies at the Gulf Research Centre, and from Tehran by Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor of political science at Tehran University. Gentlemen, welcome to Inside Iraq. Mustafa Alani, drugs in Iraq prior to 2003 were generally unknown and unavailable simply because users, they went to jail for so many years, and traffickers were executed. Today drug abuse and drug trafficking has become endemic in Iraq, threatening the very fabric of Iraqi society. Has the Iraqi government lost the war on drugs?

Mustafa Alani: I think we still have a chance that if the government has a willing -- the intention to fight the war and the capability to fight the war, I still think we have a chance to save the country. You are right, previous regime was able to basically to maintain the country clean from-from the drug. We had a zero rate of drug using and drug trafficking. In 2007, we have 14,000 drug users in Iraq -- this is an official figure from the Iraqi government. So in four years, between 2003 and 2007, we have 14,000 people start to use drug. The government is certainly blamed here but there is another factor actually. We cannot put the blame only on the government door. Another factor because it is an occupied country, because neighboring countries getting benefits from that. So it is a very complicated picture but the government? I think still we have hope that the government going to act soon with determination and put the fighting drug as a priority. I believe we still have some chance to save the country from the drug problem.

Jasim Azzawi: Complicated? Indeed it is and bleak as the way you portrayed it. And Iran somehow stands accused of facilitating if not perhaps looking the other way for drug traffickers and drug to come from Iran into Iraq, Dr. Sadegh Zibakalam?

Sadegh Zibakalam: [. . .] I must disagree with you, both gentlemen, with you, Dr. Jasim, and also with Mr. Mustafa Alani in London. First of all, I don't think that the fact that there was no drug problem under Saddam regime is any credit to that regime --

Jasim Azzawi: Why is that?

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- as I am sure both you gentlemen -- as I am sure both you gentlemen are aware. There is no such a problem, there is no drug problem in almost all the entire ruthless, police-less state and dictatorship countries. There is no drug problem in North Korea, there was no problem -- drug problem -- under old Communist regime and of course there was no drug problem --

Mustafa Alani: Well this is an achievement.

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- under Saddam. When you have democracy -- when you have democracy, you're bound to have drug problem because it is one of the fundamental questions posed by --

Jasim Azzawi: That argument, Sadegh Zibakalam, is absolutely flawed. You are not going to win any argument by stating that, once you become democracy, then it's okay to have drug problem and it's okay to have abusers --

Sadegh Zibakalam: I am not --

Jasim Azzawi: -- and its okay to have traffickers.

Sadegh Zibakalam: I am not saying --

Jasim Azzawi: That's exactly what you just said.

Sadegh Zibakalam: I am not say -- No, no, no. I am not saying that, if you have a democracy, you must have drug problem. All I am saying, all I am saying is that democracy begins with this fundamental, principle question: Is the individual free to do what he or she likes or is the individual --

Jasim Azzawi: I cannot believe --

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- must do what the state believes --

Jasim Azzawi: I cannot believe --

Mustafa Alani: This is unbelievable.

Jasim Azzawi: -- that a professor of political science, a professor of political science is saying that. Basically, you are justifying drug trafficking, drug abuse, Dr. Zibakalam.

Sadegh Zibakalam: No, no. I am -- I am neither justifying the-the drug traffic or the taking drugs --

Jasim Azzawi: Let me ask you another question.

Sadegh Zibakalam: I'm saying that if you look, you have --

Jasim Azzawi: Is Iran responsible for the drug inundated Iraq or not?

Sadegh Zibakalam: You haven't let me to finish my --

Jasim Azzawi: Go ahead.

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- previous comment.

Jasim Azzawi: Go ahead.

Sadegh Zibakalam: You have the drug problem in-in Germany, you have the problem, drug problem, in the United States. Everywhere that you have democratic society, you have some kind of -- some kind of drug problem. Are you going to tell me that there is no drug problem in-in-in Western societies?

Jasim Azzawi: Indeed --

Sadegh Zibakalam: Are you going to tell me

Jasim Azzawi: Indeed --

Sadegh Zibakalam: no western country --

Jasim Azzawi: -- there is a lot of problems. Sadegh Zibakalam, we started by saying that the strict application of the law under the previous regime prevented anybody from even thinking of using it, let alone trafficking it. But let us move on to Mustafa Alani. Mustafa Alani, if the Iraqi government is busy right now fighting terrorism and insurgency and militias and all that -- and, indeed, it is -- and perhaps, as you said, fighting drug abuse and trafficking is not at the top of its priorities because simply those people are very difficult to catch. Explain to me in that case, how is it possible that fields are being cultivated with poppy seeds in Diwaniya, in Kifil and even in the orchard fame of Diyala [Province]. These are well known, as we say in the Arab world, بهذا الشكل الصارخ المتاحة, so flagrantly available, that any police officer will be able to identify it.

Mustafa Alani: Actually, you have to understand the complication of the issue of fighting drug in Iraq. The political militia involved very heavily. Here the warlord involved. Outside. And I can name the Iranian hand in this. The Iranian have a good reason why to encourage drug use in Iraq. They fighting the drug in their country, no doubt about it. They losing every year, 100 to 200 of their soldiers in fighting the drug. But when it come to Iraq, there a question of turning blind eye for a number of reasons. First, they think that, in the beginning, they thought that if you can allow the drug to go to Iraq, American forces are going to use drug and then you can get benefit. Secondly, most of the dru -- of the people who are involved in smuggling drug, they are involved in smuggling explosives and arms to Iraq. And they have a link to the Iranian intelligence services.

Jasim Azzawi: Is this with the sanction and the knowledge of the Revolutionary Guards [branch of Iran's army]?

Mustafa Alani: Certainly, I think we have the policy of turning blind eye here. Not necessarily they are involved directly but if-if a same smuggler is successful to smuggle arm and explosive to Iraq --

Jasim Azzawi: Let's listen --

Mustafa Alani: to be used against American. Let them -- let him. I don't care whether he smuggle drug as well because, again, there is general benefit from that. But certainly the Iranian government against drugs use inside Iran --

Jasim Azzawi: Let us listen from Sadegh Zibakalam.

Sadegh Zibakalam: Mr. Mustafa's comment and saying that Iran is responsible or a party to drug problem in Iraq and the Iranian officials, Revolutionary Guards, etc, etc, they literally let drugs to be taken into Iraq, Jasim, actually reminds me of what many Iranian leaders say against -- against the Americans, against the British, against --

Jasim Azzawi: What do thaty say? Go ahead and remind us.

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- for doing the same thing -- for doing the same thing to Iran. I mean one -- one after the other Iranian leaders come on the television at the Friday prayers and blame the United States for -- for propagating and spreading drug in Iran and now Jasim is doing the same thing only this time he is blaming Iranian for -- no, no -- the drug problem. We must -- we must be realistic and we must face the reality. Iran is suffering because --

Jasim Azzawi: In that case, Sadegh Zibakalam, explain to me [crosstalk] this, this drugs in the hundreds, if not thousands of tons, coming into Iraq. Where is it coming from because Iraq's neighboring countries are very well known. You have Turkey, you have Syria, you have Saudi Arabia, you have Kuwait. Are you telling me it's coming from

Sadegh Zibakalam: Mr. Jasim --

Jasim Azzawi: -- from these countries or as the report indicates --

Sadegh Zibakalam: No, no, no, no. I-I-I -- You --

Jasim Azzawi: --and the confiscation by Iraqi security officers occasionally shows drugs are coming from Iran.

Sadegh Zibakalam: You asked me the question and I answered you. Iran shares more than one-thousand kilometer border which is mountain and desert and it is not controllable neither by the Iranians nor by the Americans nor by anyone else. And that -- and that one-thousand kilometer border is with Afghanistan. And we all know that Afghanistan is the -- is the motherland for producing narcotic and drug. Iranian, as Mustafa said, Iranians are losing many of their soldiers, Revolutionary Guard, etc, etc. But the point is that the amount of opium which is growing in Afghanistan is so huge that no matter how you hard -- no matter how you hard try, at the end of the day, some smuggler can manage --

Jasim Azzawi: I get the point, I get the point --

Sadegh Zibakalam: -- inside Iran. I'm from Iran.

Jasim Azzawi: -- that the problem is so overwhelming that even the Iranian security borders are incapable of handling it. But, Mustafa Alani, the first shipment that was caught in Iraq was on the 25th of September, 2003. Of all places, it was in Bab Sharqi, downtown Baghdad, after traffickers managed to bribe custom officers on both sides of the border and bring it into Iraq. Will we see an increase in the drug trafficking in the next phase?

Mustafa Alani: I believe so for a very simple reason. I mean if we look at, if you monitor the way, the roots of this, it's coming from Pakistan, Afghanistan to Iran. Iran is basically the-the-the-the major part of the drug coming to Iraq -- if not 99%, it's coming from Iran, from the southern border of Iran into two provinces in Iraq, Basra and Amara [Amara's the capital of Maysan Province] then going to Sulaymaniyah. From Sulamaniyah going to -- first, part of it going to be used in Iraq -- then you have the north route going to Turkey, to European market. Then you have south route going to the Gulf states. So we are going to see an increase if the government's not going to act really --

He will go on to refer to "armed groups" in Iran and Iraq linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard. (Sadegh Zibakalam will never get a word in.) Sinan Salaheddin (AP) reports today that crime in Iraq is increasing and quotes Qassim al-Moussawi, publicity flack for Iraq's military, stating that it is one-time insurgent groups and gangs and AP notes, "Some members of Iraq's security forces are also involved, perhaps a sign that militants are still infiltrating the security services."

Meanwhile the Kurdistan Regional Government is highly upset with Oslo's DNO International which is an oil company in Norway (semi-big, it's their fourth largest oil company). The KRG has published [PDF format warning} a letter they sent to DNO objecting to "the recent misleading and incomplete publications by the Oslo Stock Exchange ('OSO') in relation to its internal arguments and disputes with DNO." The KRG feels it was caught in the crossfire "between DNO and OSE" and that the KRG Minister was targeted in the battle with "misleading information." As a result of the harm they feel is being done to their reputation as open brokers, they have decided to:

1) Suspend all DNO's operation and its involvement in the Kurdistan Region with immediate effect, and appoint the other PSC [Production Sharing Contract] Contractor Entities to manage the day to day operations instead. All oil exports will cease and DNO shall not be entitled to any economic interest in the PSCs during the suspension period.

2) The suspension period shall be for a maxium period of 6 weeks, and during which DNO must find ways to remedy, and to our full satisfaction, the damage done to KRG reputation, and once and for all to sort its internal problems with OSE and any other disputes that they may have with any other third parties with respect to any claims related to the PSCs ("Claims").

3) If within this suspension period, DNO satisifes KRG's requirements; all its PSC rights will be reinstated with our continuous support to its operations. However, if DNO fails to remedy the damages caused and fails to remove any other Claims the KRG may consider termination of DNO's involvement in the Kurdistan Region with or without compensation. Any compensation, if offered, will factor in the magnitude of the damages caused to the KRG.

Oil and labor were two topics addressed at the tail end of Democracy Now! today when Amy Goodman briefly spoke to the president of General Federation of Iraqi Workers, Rasim Awadi, and the president of the Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq, Falah Alwan (link has text, video and audio):


AMY GOODMAN: Who is in charge in Iraq?

FALAH ALWAN: I think both the occupation forces and the authorities which were imposed by the occupation itself. As you know, after 2003, the occupation imposed authorities according to dividing the people, dividing the society, according the religion, the language, the tribe, the -- and they imposed a so-called "governing council." Until now, the authority is still as it was before. They created a religious atmosphere of the society. They imposed very oppressive laws against women, against the workers, and against the whole freedoms. Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: Falah Alwan, I want to switch gears, as we come to the end of the discussion -- that's oil privatization. [Joe] Biden, our Vice President, was in Iraq promoting privatization. What's happening with oil and workers in Iraq?

FALAH ALWAN: Well, I think privatization of the oil is the economical dimension of the occupation itself. So, it is the main important issue for the occupation to impose the privatization, but there is a mass refusing to this project. That is why they are privatization -- privatizing the oil indirectly by the leases or by the contracts with the companies. You can see that the US administration insists to impose this so-called oil law in the time that they are never intervene to impose a worker law or to urge the Iraqi authorities to expand the workers' rights. I think the privatization of the oil is a strategic task of the US administration. So, it is a main dimension of the occupation.

AMY GOODMAN: Rasim Awadi, you're here in the United States. You're going back to Iraq on Wednesday. Your final message to the American people?

RASIM AWADI: [translated] We first ask that the American people put pressure on their government to withdraw American forces from Iraq. And second, we ask the American people to assist us in reinstalling our infrastructure, from education, water, electricity; all these things that have been abandoned in our society. And during our trip now, we got a lot of support from the American working class through their unions, and we thank them for that support. And the American working class showed their support and willingness to aid the Iraqi working class.

The two are completing a speaking tour in the US that ends tomorrow in DC. Iraq Veterans Against the War notes:

Last week, the tour was in Pittsburgh meeting with AFL-CIO delegates at their national convention, where they passed two resolutions:
The first urges the U.S. to end the silence on labor rights in Iraq. To read the full text of the resolution, click here.
The second re-affirms the AFL-CIO's 2005 resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of all troops and contractors from Iraq. To read the full text of the resolution, click here.
[. . .]

Their final stop will be in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to appear at a Congressional briefing to urge U.S. representatives to uphold labor rights in Iraq. Call your Rep and urge them to attend the Iraqi delegation's Congressional Briefing next week, Tuesday, September 22nd at 4:00 PM in the Cannon House Office Building, Room 441.
To find your representative's phone number, use this searchable online congressional directory or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your representative's office. Remember that telephone calls are usually taken by a staff member. Ask to speak with the aide who handles the foreign policy.
Please Sign the Petition!
We still need your signature on the petition to Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton, calling on her to support the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain in Iraq. To add your name, click here.

Turning to England where an inquiry resumed today at Finlaison House in London with opening statements. BBC explains, "The inquiry, led by Sir William Gage, is focusing on Baha Mousa's [September 16, 2003] death, detainees' treatment and army methods." The Telegraph of London adds that Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa was 26-years-old when he died and that the inquiry heard from the attorney for Baha's family, Rabinder Singh, who stated, "This case is not just about beatings or a few bad apples. There is something rotten in the whole barrel." Michael Evans (Times of London) reports the UK Defence Ministry's attorney, David Barr, declared the behavior of the British soldiers involved was "appalling" and that he stated, "The mistreatment of the detainees went further than the application of these prohibited conditioning techniques. [. . .] It has stained the reputation of the British Army." Evans notes that the inquiry was shown a tape of Cpl Donald Payne cursing Iraqi prisoners whom he termed "apes" (and there's a minute of the video with his story at the link). The Guardian quotes another Iraqi detainee (not named) stating he heard Baha cry, "Oh my God, I'm going to die, I'm going to die. Leave me alone, please leave me alone for five minutes." (Actually, Rabinder Singh quoted the witness and that's not the full quote. We'll do an excerpt in a moment.) Richard Norton-Taylor (Guardian) adds, "The lawyer representing Corporal Donald Payne, the only soldier to have been jailed for the Basra crimes, suggested there was a cover-up and co-ordinated attempt to single out his client for blame."

The inquiry will not meet tomorrow but it will meet Wednesday and Thursday and here testimony. They will also meet next week. The inquiry was announced May 14, 2008. Like everything else to do with Iraq in England, it has moved very, very slowly. October 15, 2008, the public inquiry began. William Gage, the chair, declared at the opening of today's hearing, "I know you have, Mr. [Gerald] Elias, one or two things to say, but before you do, can I just say, as everybody hear I am no doubt is well aware, this is the first day of the second session of the hearings in this inquiry. In this session we hope to complete Module 1, which I don't think there will be any problem about. We also hope to complete Module 2 by Christmas, which again I hope there will be no difficulty about, but it does mean that everybody has to concentrate on the essential issues." Rabinder Singh opened by quoting from a 1966 Amnesty International report which detailed the abus of prisoners in Aden by the British military, practices which were banned in 1972 and which, in 1977, were sworn to be off limits by the UK Attorney General when appearing before the European Court of Human Rights. But they were used again.

Rabinder Singh: Some members of Iraq's security forces are also involved, perhaps a sign that militants are still infiltrating the security servicesBaha Mousa, whose name rightly appears in the title of this public inquiry, was a car trader and hotel receptionist, just 26 years old. He had, just months earlier, lost his young wife to illness. They had two young sons, now left as orphans. On September 14, 2003, Baha was taken into custody, a healthy young man, and subjected to beatings over 36 hours which left 93 separate injuries. He died the following day. His father, Colonel Mousa, still grieves for his son and will be here later this week to seek justice at this inquiry. Baha was a human being, yet to his guards, he was known as "Fat Boy" or "Fat Bastard." His last moments are described in the witness statement of D002 at paragraph 54. That is, I think, going to be put up on the screen for us. Thank you. I quote:
"Baha Mousa was in the same room as on the first day but during the second day he was taken to another room. I could hear him and it sounded like he was in the next room. During the evening of the second day, I heard Baha Mousa screaming, 'Oh my God, I'm going to die, I'm going to die. Leave me alone. Please leave me alone for five minutes. I am very tired. I am going to die.' He was screaming all the time and I heard him many times. I could also hear the soldiers shouting at him in English. Baha Mousa was shouting, 'Just let me rest for a minute or two.' After the screaming stopped, I did not see or hear Baha again, but I did not yet know that he was dead."
Kifah Taha Musa Matairi was also a human being, an electrician, but to his guards he was known as "Grandad." He was beaten to within an inch of his life. This resulted in him having acute kidney failure. The others detained at BG Main were also beaten. They were people like us, all human beings. As such they were entitled to basic human rights. Human rights flow from our common humanity, our recognition that others can suffer as we do. Yet to British soldiers, Iraqi civilians were routinely known as "Ali Babas." The detainees were not terrorists or insurgents. They were never tried or convicted of any offense. They were eventually released after an unnecessary time in detention without even being charged. This was not on any view the sort of 'ticking bomb' scenairo that apologists for torture usually imagine when they contemplate the possibility of legalising torture. So it is that there is a path which leads from such clinical musings in ivory towers to a man dying in a filthy latrine in Iraq.

We'll try to continue to cover the inquiry this week. This isn't the "Afghanistan snapshot," but I will note that tomorrow on the first hour of NPR's The Diane Rehm Show (begins airing and streaming online at 10:00 a.m. EST), Diane's topic will be Afghanistan and her guests will include the Washington Post's Rajiv Chandrasekaran (as well as Paul Pillar and Karin von Hippel). That's tomorrow. I will also note a special on PBS Thursday. First, we do not support what Trina, Ava and I have dubbed ObamaBigBusinessCare. PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform airs this Thursday on most PBS stations. It is a 90 minute special (that should start at 9:00 p.m. EST on most PBS stations) which is pooling the talents of NOW on PBS, Tavis Smiley and Nightly Business Report. That is a certainly a pool of deep talent. But I haven't seen the special and if it endorses ObamaBigBusinessCare, don't read that as my endorsement of it. We'll continue to note the special in the snapshots this week. You can see a preview online. Kat's "Kat's Korner: If you can get ahold of it, We Came To Sing! is amazing" and Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Grouch of Wrath" went up last night. We'll close with this from Sherwood Ross' "What Can Individuals Do To Oppose Warfare State?" (Yubanet):Americans who voted for peace last November but are getting only more war are increasingly disillusioned as "change we can believe in" pans out to be mere "chump change."The majority of Americans, polls show, would slash the military budget by over 30 percent yet President Obama has increased it by four percent. A majority of Americans want U.S. troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan but the Pentagon will garrison 50,000 in the former indefinitely and dispatch perhaps 20,000 more to escalate the war in the latter.Since voting doesn't bring the desired change in national policies, people wonder what they can do individually. The answer is quite a lot. "Things have gotten bad enough in the minds of enough Americans that there is an opening for creating a mass movement for real change, and that movement is already growing all around us," writes citizen/activist David Swanson of Charlottesville, Va., in his new book "Daybreak"(Seven Stories Press). Swanson is cofounder of the anti-war After Downing Street Coalition.He ticks off a number of examples where grass-roots citizen groups won a round vs. the Establishment:# In North Dakota, farmers defeated efforts by St. Louis-based Monsanto to sell genetically engineered seeds.# Threatened by corporate big-box stores, Utah local businesses created a successful "Buy Local First" campaign.# Hundreds of towns and cities have enacted resolutions against enforcement of unconstitutional provisions of the USA Patriot Act.# Chicagoans who had no good grocery stores banded together to create an organic urban farm and sell produce through a local market.# Recognizing that America's Great Plains are the "Saudi Arabia of wind power," Rosebud Sioux are building windmills on their South Dakota reservation.# Americans have created some 300 worker-run businesses.# More than 100 towns have stopped corporations from dumping toxic sludge on farms.# Residents of Tallulah, La., banded together to shut down an unwanted juvenile prison.Swanson writes, "We will not create the necessary rebirth of American democracy by sending e-mails and making phone calls. We must do those things (but they are not enough). We must educate. We must create new media. We must lobby. We must march."


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