Towards a global perspective . . .

I received an email to day, asking for an update on Can Iraq Form a New Government, my previous post about the Iraq election.  I had done a significant investigation at the time, and that post had a lot of detail and analysis of the ongoing process.   At the time I wrote the piece, I got interested responses from regional (i.e. Kurdish and Turkish) news outlets and even Iyad Allawi’s Office.  Since then, I haven’t revisited the subject because the dynamic hasn’t really changed.  The sources of my information have had less detailed discussion on the issue than they did when I wrote previously.   It is as if the situation is frozen.  Nothing has changed so there is nothing to say.

I do think the recent US interventions have unfortunately, and most likely inadvertently, tightened the deadlock.   Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, we haven’t been paying a lot of attention to Iraq.   When we do hear something, we hear about a prolonged and possibly rather disorderly process reflecting an incompetent or maybe recalcitrant embodiment of Democracy.   There are, in fact, some interesting and reasonably democratic forces at play, along with some that are less so.  In any case, the type of democracy they have is somewhat complicated, especially at the current stage they.   The situation is sometimes represented as a competition between two guys, Iyad Allawi and his people, and Nouri Al Maliki and his people.  We see Mr. Allawi insisting that he won, while Mr. Al Maliki is being a very bad sport, using all of the resources he can muster as the incumbent to change the outcome, so far without success.  And, at some level, this is all too true.

But there are some significant, and quite reasonable players driving events behind the scenes.   Read the rest of this entry »

It has been brought up that I might seem to be advocating for Kurdish independence from Iran.  That was not my point.  I  support civil rights for the Kurds in Iran and everyone else there as well.   But my point was that the Kurds have been disenfranchised within the ‘modern’ countries where they reside, and that the European colonialists, by alternately supporting their quest for civil rights, and sovereignty, then opposing them at their convenience and for the furtherance of their own purposes, has seriously aggravated the problem.

The situation of the Kurds in Iraq is, I think, very fragile at present.  The convenience to the US of their independence is passing.  Yet they have used it well over the last 10 years, and it would be a good thing if they were rewarded for their success.  For them to become, at least, a self governed, federalist state of Iraq and be free to continue their progress would be good for the Kurds and good for Iraq.   They have much recent experience in developing a working state infrastructure to share.   And, their assertion of self direction and self government would be a safety valve of sorts for all of the Kurds in the region.  Of course this would only be true if the Kurds possessed the freedom in the countries where they reside to speak their language and and express their ethnicity without fear of reprisal.

This is my response to the previous entry, a poetic description of the conditions under which many Kurds live, and have lived for the last century.   The letter was posted on Facebook by a friend of the author, a Kurdish dissident in Iran, who was recently executed after about 5 years on death row in Iran’s notorious Evan Prison. The Kurds have many sad stories.  The story below is similar to other stories the Kurds tell.  And the ending is consistent as well, with the Kurdish experience.  The Peshmerga, the Kurdish militia, are “those who don’t fear death.”

I spent some time in Kurdish Iraq last summer.  They are doing pretty well there right now.  But, they have terrible stories to tell and their suffering continues in their feelings for lost relatives and friends and homes. Across the northern mountainous region of the Middle East and Persia, the Kurds are, and have been persecuted and disenfranchised for a hundred years and more.   Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s Niqash Newsletter, which is published in English, Arabic an Kurdish, had some interesting stories.  In fact, this is a great little news outlet for those interested in seeing events in Iraq from a variety of Iraqi perspectives.    I have been getting the newsletter in my email for some time.   You can also get an RSS feed if you prefer.   If you are interest in Iraq, it’s worth your while to at least scan the Niqash headlines occasionally.

Today, there is a story about how the Sadrists have increased their legitimate power in the government.  Savvy Sadrists by Alice Fordham talks about the sophisticated political means they used to win the confidence of the electorate, and obtain seats in the Iraqi Parliament.   It contradicts the oft promoted view of the Sadrists as a bunch of ignorant thugs Read the rest of this entry »

I saw this great little video on GritTV today.  When I visited Kurdistan, I saw that the women were strong and independent.    Banaz, the female half of the couple who hosted me there, was a business woman who handled most of the business end of the schools.   She received an award as Business Woman of the Year in Suleimaniya during the year before I met her.

This film tells a little of the tragic past and something about their way into the future.     In Iran as well, Architecture is a popular career for women.

Some background: In the late 80s, and especially, 1988, Saddam Hussein accelerated what was already an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kurds to Genocide.  The Barzanis were specifically targeted because Mustafa Barzani was a significant leader in the Kurdish struggle for independence.  He was, and is, a great hero to most Kurds in Iraq, and some in Iran.   His son, Masoud Barzani, is now President of the Kurdistan Region Government of Iraq.

I could have written more.  I should have written sooner.  But, here’s something now.

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Pakistan
The Pakistani army has balked at attacking yet another province.   Apparently, they don’t really want to wipe out the man who connects them with the Taliban.  With more than 2 million internal refugees created so far by doing America’s bidding, perhaps they are getting tired of destroying their own country.  The Kerry Luger bribe might not be enough to cover it.  The US has told the Pakistani Army, either clean up (attack) Quetta or we’ll send in the drones.  The message hasn’t been well received.   Apparently,  American Diplomats in Pakistan are being harassed, and there is resentment and even hostility towards their US benefactors in the Pakistani military. *

Meanwhile, Pakistani President Zardari has suggested that the membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization could help with their counter-terrorism campaign.**  Pakistani Prime Minister Gilani has also requested membership in the SCO for Pakistan and reached out to them with a vision of  “shared peace”.  ***  He is working hard to solidify alliances and trade agreements with the neighboring ‘Stans’ who comprise the core membership in the SCO along with Russia and China.   I don’t think they can join while there is a perception that America controls their military actions.   Even so, while the US operates with lump sums (big ones), the Chinese and Russians are doing an increasing amount of business on the ground in Pakistan.

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Afghanistan
President Obama has announced an expanded commitment to the ‘war’ in Afghanistan, committing 30K more troops in addition to the 20K troops he OK’d earlier this year.  The Generals say that we need even more troops.  And the Generals concede that there are only 100 Al Qaeda operatives on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.  So what gives?  If this is the best ‘Jobs Program’ Obama can come up with, we have a serious problem.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have reached out to the SCO for support as well.  They promised not to mess with their neighbors.  They just want their country back. ****   Kyrgyzstan, an Afghan neighbor and full member of the SCO,  is looking into trading some of it’s national debt for assisting in Afghanistan. *****   I’d say China is teaching it’s children well.

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Yemen
The Yemeni government is fighting a civil war on two different fronts.  The Yemeni Government blames the Iranians and accuses them of arming the ‘insurgents’, but there is no confirmation for their accusation, and it’s an easy out for them to blame the Iranians for any failures they have.******   The Saudi’s have joined in the war on the Northern front, enthusiastically bombing Yemeni towns. *******  Now, the US has now engaged in Yemen.   It is rumored that a couple of recent strikes on Al Qaeda were perpetrated by Americans.   The Yemeni government insists that they are responsible, and you might say that’s true, whether their men our ours physically launched the missiles.  Certainly that’s how the Yemeni people feel.  And they aren’t very happy about it either.

A significant Al Qaeda operative was the target of one of the strikes, but he escaped though while ‘terrorists’ were apprehended and killed.   The other strike killed at least 30  civilians including women and children, causing significant upset in the population.   Could you call the murder of 10 civilians with Hellfire missiles ‘terrorism’?  What ever happened to police actions.  Now, it’s all armies.

The Yemeni-American preacher who had been in contact with the soldier who recently killed 13 people on a killing spree at fort Hood was rumored to have been at both sites.     Since he has repeatedly denied any connection with Al Qaeda (unusual for Al Qaeda suspects not in custody), it seems unlikely he would be hanging out with their leadership.    It seems he might have been the target of the second strike, which killed the women and children, and which may have be conducted by Americans.

If they wanted him for conspiracy or as an accomplice to the crime, one would think they could just ask the Yemeni government to pick him up and extradite him. . . . .  perhaps secretly, as in rendition, if there’s a public relations problem.   I’m not advocating the latter.  In fact, I’m not sure this guy would be convicted if given a fair trial.   But it would certainly be better than killing 30 innocent people with Hellfire missiles.

By the way, when did our war on Yemen begin?  Was it the reference in Obama’s Afghanistan speech?   Kind of like Bush’s references to the Axis of Evil?  Obama doesn’t even need to use hyperbolic language.  He just mentions a country, and that’s enough.   Of course, the Saudi’s were already there, softening things up.

I just watched Joe Lieberman on Democracy Now! (yes, it’s Monday) say that if we don’t act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow’s war.”  I’d say it’s a done deal.   Guess that answers the question as to whether we were on the scene in those recent strikes.   +

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Iran
The voices for change in Iran will not be silenced by brutality.  Ayatollah Montazeri, the rightful heir to Khomeini died this week.   He would have preferred a more muted role for the Welayat Faqih and for the clergy in the Islamic Republic.   I suppose it’s a waste of time to consider the ‘path not taken’ at this point.   Montazeri has been supporting the dissidents who have been in the streets repeatedly since the June election which the opposition claimed was fraudulent.  With his death so close to Ashura, renewed protests are assured.

Ashura falls on today, December 27th.   This is the day of atonement for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson.   This is the most important Shi’ite holiday, when many people are in the streets.   Not surprisingly, there have been clashes between protesters and the police.   According to Al Jazeera, 5 protesters have died, including Mir Hossein Mousavi’s nephew, who is rumored to have been shot.  The Iranian police say that some of these people died in a car accident, and only one was killed by a bullet,but they don’t know how this happened, because the police weren’t using bullets.++   I don’t think that’s going to fly at this point.   On Democracy Now! this morning, Hadi Ghaemi said Mousavi’s murder was reportedly an assassination.  He was shot point blank.The chief of Police in Tehran said that 300 demonstrators were arrested Sunday.

In the US, Sanctions have once again been passed by Congress.  They are unilateral as China and Russia are critical of the use of sanctions to limit Iran’s nuclear program, and will not support them in the Security Council.  The US can enforce them by penalizing other countries that trade with Iran, not Russia and China, of course.  No, we can only penalize our friends.

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Palestine
Egypt is blocking the Viva Palestina Convoy, an International initiative to bring material assistance and moral support to Gaza from entering.  Of course, Israel isn’t a possible alternative point of entry.  Their vindictive and racist agenda is not open to question or debate.   Israel has allowed little in the way of building materials into Gaza since they bombed it to rubble a year ago.  There is little water and minimal food for survival.   Few are allowed out for medical care and medical supplies are inadequate within.   There is no fuel for cooking and heating.  Now Israel is building an underground wall to block the tunnels in Rafah that provide the inhabitants of Gaza with what little they have.  Then what?

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Israel
The deal to free Gilad Shalit from Hamas is slowly progressing.   The deal would have Israel trade 1000 prisoners for Shalit.   A significant portion of the Israeli public is not just in favor of the trade, but insistent on it.    They say there are a few Palestinian prisoners with ‘Israeli blood on their hands’ who are being disputed.   100 or 150 of the prisoner’s will be released only on the condition that they are barred from Palestine.   Last I heard, Marwan Barghouti is among those likely to be released, though his brother Abdullah is one of the handful who are likely to be rejected.   +++

Marwan is the interesting brother, though.  He’s a Fatah hero who ran for President of Palestine from prison in 2006.   Surely he will be on good terms with Hamas if they can free him along with 1000 others from Israeli prisons.  Seems like he might be just what the Dr. has ordered for Palestine.  A man who with good connections to both Fatah and Hamas, a man who is popular with the people, a revolutionary hero with political ambitions.   Perhaps the Israeli apartheid is finding it’s Nelson Mandela.

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Lebanon
Ha’aretz says US President Obama has suggested to the new Lebanese government that they should ‘crack down’ on Hezbollah ‘arms smuggling’.    It seems that he missed the point that the new government has integrated the Opposition, of which Hezbollah is a significant member, and passed a law to legitimize Hezbollah as a  necessary part of their defense infrastructure.   In that case, I’m not sure you can call it smuggling.  In the same article, they say refer, once again, to the pirate arms shipment from Iran that it supposedly confiscated last month. ++++     [see next post]

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The Kurds

There’s more violence in Kirkuk and Mosul.   I’ve been reading about the runup to the Iraq war, and the Kurds were in it up to their eyeballs.  Who can blame them, after the horrific abuse they have suffered from Sadam.  However, from an objective standpoint, it seems like the US could have supported them without destroying the rest of Iraq.  Even now, the contention over Kirkuk is complicated, but there is a paragraph in the constitution that says exactly how to handle it.  But, the Iraqi government isn’t willing to implement it.   The International Crisis Group says it could spark a civil war in Iraq to do so.

What could this awful ruling be?   Article 140 says that they will take a census in Kirkuk and have a referendum there to decide whether or not it is part of Kurdistan.  Since  Kurdistan is part of Iraq and, for now, no one is disputing that, it seems like a fair solution.  Maybe the loser will be upset, but as in any democratic action, the winner will have a measure of truth on their side.   On the other hand, not following through has Kurds once again talking about independence.

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The United States
Looks like ‘Conservative Democrats’ are urging Obama to shelve Climate Change and work on a much needed Jobs Bill instead.  I bet they can’t pat their heads and rub their bellies at the same time either.

• *              New York Times
• **            Pakistani Associate Press
• ***          The Nation
• ****        Pakistani Defense Forum, Global Military News, Xinhua
• *****      Central Asia News, Ferghana, RU
• ******    Glenn Greenwald interview with Gregory Johnson
• *******  Al Arabia News
• +               Democracy Now!  Headlines.
• ++            Al Jazeera
• +++         IBA, Jerusalem; Ha’aretz
• ++++      Ha’aretz

There is still conflict in the system, but they are finding ways to work together that benefit everyone.   The government of Iraq is in some ways strangled by the necessity of developing every action through laws created in an environment that is not unified.   The KRG is not without problems, but they do have an established structure, and they have been more or less disengaged from the ongoing civil war, which has allowed them to focus on other issues of governance.

Although nationalized oil production would be a good thing, the Baghdad Government doesn’t have anyone competent to run it.   They also don’t have a legal framework for it (other than the Saddam era laws), and they are under huge pressure to privatize.   The result appears to be an administration too internally conflicted to come up with a constructive solution.

By successfully integrating the Kurdish Region as a Federalist State, they can take advantage of the Kurdish progress in this area to begin developing resources for all of Iraq.     Read the article below: Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t had reliable internet access so I am going to start at the beginning and insert the pieces I have written:

About 6 AM, I arrived at the airport hotel in Amman, where the cafe provided a cup of cappucino made with instant Nescafe, and settled in to wait for a decent hour to awaken my traveling companion.   Amman was more run down than I expected, given that their dinar is worth $1.40 American, while even 1000 UAE Dhiram only amount to $.27, just over a quarter.   Broken sidewalks crumble into dusty streets.   Facades are generally colorless and drab.   Cars zip along, often ignoring the rare signals at intersections.  Traffic moves  with an organic flow, like the currents in a creek.     Even the hotel at the airport, recently sold to a chain, has construction all around the grounds.   The pools are closed for renovation, and the gardens are in disrepair.   Queen Alia Hotel is now the Golden Tulip.   According to the gardener, who showed us the Jasmine and a few other ornamentals remaining in the garden, the Golden Tulip is an international chain of more than 1000 hotels.  The name sounds Chinese to me, but the facade is all English and Arabic.

So, here I am, at the Queen Alia Airport, outside of Amman, with Micca, a woman from Minneapolis who will be teaching with me at the school in Suleimaniya.  Read the rest of this entry »

The following is from a clip from Al Iraqiya News in Baghdad.  Al Iraqiya is the state run TV station in Iraq, which is subsidized by the US government.   I saw the clip with translations overlaid on Mosaic News Report on Link TV.

The story was about unemployment in Iraq, and numbers of unemployed men in a crowded day labor market were interviewed.  The place is an open air, cement structure, crowded with men sitting and waiting on benches and walls, and on the ground.  Several of the men were from outlying provinces.   Men reported working 1 day per week and 3 days per month.   They complained about the wages being 10,000 Iraqi Dinar per day instead of the expected 30,000 Iraqi Dinar per day.  That would be about $8.70 per day instead of $26.  If a man works 1 day per week, then his income is $8.70 per week and $39.15 per month. Since he sits and waits on the days that he doesn’t work, he has full time occupation for less than $500 per year.

A number of men complained that foreign workers are being brought in and paid well for jobs that Iraqi workers could be doing.   At the end of the presentation, the reporter summarized the situation as follows “One thing is certain.  God is the one who provides.“  What does that mean?   What does it mean in a country where foreign influences have destroyed the civil infrastructure, and now continue to undermine it through channeling resources away from the native population and into a divided and failing global economy, to say that ultimately, God alone provides?