It is interesting, isn't it? There are so many in the Middle East not even moved by these events and the USA Congress is spastic over the moment. If they cannot capture the 'cult of fear' of the Republicans party soon, the moment might get away.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Robert S. Beecroft (L) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Brett McGurk before departing from Arbil International Airport June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool
June 25, 2014
The Daily Star
After suffering from a decade of foreign occupation, (click here) Iraq entered a new phase of its 21st century history this month when a multipronged insurgency seized large parts of the country from the central government.
Signs of a recovery on the part of the Iraqi state aren’t encouraging. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to the Kurdish region to talk with Massoud Barzani, and was informed that a “new Iraq” had already emerged. The Kurdish authorities have begun to strike out on their own, seizing the city of Kirkuk, lying outside their regional government zone, and ignoring the central authorities to export oil, with one of the buyers being Israel.
Amid these worrying indications of the direction a “new Iraq” will take, there is the performance of the central government – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to give legal protection to U.S. military personnel who are being sent to salvage the situation.
This is the same Maliki who opposed such a move on principle a few years ago, when Washington and Baghdad were negotiating the future of the American military presence. It’s obvious that his objections weren’t based on principle, if one looks to the rapid acceptance of what was so unpalatable before.
Yet another Baghdad decision – no pay for state employees in insurgent-held areas until “hostilities” end – signals only retreat and expediency, instead of vision and resolve.
As American and Iraqi officials discuss ways to help the “new Iraq” move forward, people should remember that many of the players being asked to fix things are actually responsible for the current mess.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Robert S. Beecroft (L) and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Brett McGurk before departing from Arbil International Airport June 24, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/PoolJune 25, 2014
The Daily Star
After suffering from a decade of foreign occupation, (click here) Iraq entered a new phase of its 21st century history this month when a multipronged insurgency seized large parts of the country from the central government.
Signs of a recovery on the part of the Iraqi state aren’t encouraging. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to the Kurdish region to talk with Massoud Barzani, and was informed that a “new Iraq” had already emerged. The Kurdish authorities have begun to strike out on their own, seizing the city of Kirkuk, lying outside their regional government zone, and ignoring the central authorities to export oil, with one of the buyers being Israel.
Amid these worrying indications of the direction a “new Iraq” will take, there is the performance of the central government – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to give legal protection to U.S. military personnel who are being sent to salvage the situation.
This is the same Maliki who opposed such a move on principle a few years ago, when Washington and Baghdad were negotiating the future of the American military presence. It’s obvious that his objections weren’t based on principle, if one looks to the rapid acceptance of what was so unpalatable before.
Yet another Baghdad decision – no pay for state employees in insurgent-held areas until “hostilities” end – signals only retreat and expediency, instead of vision and resolve.
As American and Iraqi officials discuss ways to help the “new Iraq” move forward, people should remember that many of the players being asked to fix things are actually responsible for the current mess.
And what is especially tragic in this edition of the Morning Star is that if you don't act quickly DISH might not be yours at $10.00 per month of the Arabic Elite Super Pack.
With politics a hot issue these days, all the government officials both domestic and foreign are condemning the suicide bombing in recent days.
By Nizar Hassan
| The Daily Star |
BEIRUT: Lebanese politicians and foreign officials (click here) Tuesday condemned the suicide bombing that killed one and wounded 25 in a southern suburb of Beirut, the second such attack in less than a week.
Hezbollah, whose party headquarters is located in the oft-targeted suburbs south of Beirut, issued a statement condemning “this cowardly action and whoever is responsible for it,” adding that the party “hails the recent achievements by the relevant military and security forces, calling on them to keep up their blessed efforts in order to topple the criminal conspiracies and plans against Lebanon.”...
...“The security situation is dangerous in light of what is happening in Iraq and the Saudi-Iranian alienation,” Berri was quoted as saying, referring to the rift between the Sunni Gulf kingdom and Shiite Iran.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam also condemned the bombing, saying: “This criminal action ... is a clear attempt to undermine Lebanon’s stability and strike at its national unity.”
Hezbollah condemned “this cowardly action and whoever stood behind it,” calling on the military and security forces to continue their efforts “to thwart criminal conspiracies and plans against Lebanon and the Lebanese.”...
Here is an interesting clue to what is occurring. If one recalls Hezbollah responded well to border talks with Assad, Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah was causing a great deal of problems at the Syrian border. When Assad made movements toward securing the border between Syria and Lebanon with him as President in Syria, Hezbollah immediately took up the fight to support his presidency. Things quieted at the border. Now, with Hezbollah fighting for Assad in Syria, there are elements that don't like it. Hezbollah is Shi'ite just like Assad, but, the elements in Syria they are fighting are Sunni and evidently like to call themselves a Qaeda affiliate.
...Meanwhile, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group warned Hezbollah of more attacks in the southern suburbs in what appeared to be an indirect claim of responsibility for Monday’s suicide bombing in Tayyouneh.
Sirajeddine Zuraiqat, the religious guide of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, said the explosions were part of a series of attacks in response to Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria. “[Hezbollah] will not be living safely, until security is returned to the people of Syria and Lebanon,” he wrote on Twitter....
As much as The West wants to label this simply a problem for Iraq in it's central government, it is larger than that. It is sectarian. It is hatred between the religions and ethnicities. There is nothing The West can do to remedy this. There really isn't.
...Meanwhile, a French national who was detained during a police raid on a hotel in Beirut last week said the Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) recruited him to carry out a suicide attack in Lebanon, a source close to the investigation said. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal confirmed Tuesday that a French national had been arrested in Lebanon on suspicion of planning a terror attack.
The man, originally from the Comoros islands, confessed “to having been recruited by ISIS from abroad, tasking him to move to Lebanon and prepare himself for a suicide operation that would be scheduled later,” the judicial source told The Daily Star....
That is 'the thing' about The West being involved. The attacks by ISIL is retaliation for attacks on them. The more involvement, as Prime Minister Hariri stated, the more problems will result. When The West was in Iraq before, setting aside the illegality and immorality of it, the military was viewed as simply more fighters. The West are the infidels and the playground so to speak just added more contestants.
...adding that the detainee said he arrived in Beirut a week before his arrest accompanied by another person tasked with a similar mission.
According to the source, the suspect told investigators that a room was reserved for him and the other man, who then changed his mind and decided to leave Beirut two days before the ISF raided the hotel.
The detainee claimed that people he did not know used to come to the hotel and give him money to pay for his residence and food, the source said.
This is a holy war. People from all over the world will come to fight in it. There will be Saudis that will give money to them and all sorts of messy involvement The West would never appreciate. The West has no place in this. It is very messy and it has resulted because of the Iraq War, their JUSTIFIED view of the world through the deaths of so many and the continued tensions between the ethnicities and religions. It isn't going to end on a happy note.
The ONLY suggestion I have is for the United Nations to continue to insist on small arms reduction and nations need to convene a pact that completely eliminates shipments of any form of munitions into the area. Every potential shipment of arms, munitions and bomb making components should be stopped at borders and/or within ship routes and prevented from making port or the destination by land.
And by all means, those in Lebanon should get DISH and watch The World Cup. Absolutely.
