UrukNet - Daily Information from Occupied Iraq - newsletter 01 Nov 2008

The lying woman of Washington
Khalid Amayreh in Occupied Jerusalem
It is true that Condoleezza Rice is smarter than her conspicuously ignorant boss, President George Bush. However, in terms of moral character, it is amply clear that Rice is at least as dishonest and mendacious as her boss is. After all, we are talking about a woman who knows little or no moral distinction between truth and falsehood and between right and wrong. This the very woman who two years ago had the guts to congratulate her Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, on the "success" of the Nazi-like blockade Israel had been imposing on the Gaza Strip, which destroyed the Gaza economy and pushed 1.5 million innocent human beings to the brink of Auschwitz. A silent genocide, after all, is still genocide, and it makes no difference if the victims die in gas chambers or die a slow, agonizing death as a result of starvation...

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Afghan resistance statement
Peace Jirga or a New Formula to Compensate for the US Fiasco in Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
...It is a matter of a shocking concern that, on the one hand our land and country are under occupation; our home and hearth have been ruined; our people have been forced to immigration and displacement; they have been shackled and tortured and, above all, these flagrant violations are continuing intermittingly. Despite all these, a peace jirga is ostensibly held to establish peace. The participants, even by the way of inadvertence, do not point to the brutalities and atrocities committed by the foreign troops in Afghanistan and the region; they did not raise their fingers to this serious issue, nor to the bloodshed unleashed by the troops. Even the participants could not say that the presence of the foreign troops in Afghanistan was itself a problems. By and large, the participants of the jirgas are striving, on the behest of the USA, to put the blame on those who are protecting and safeguarding our national dignity, integrity and sovereignty of the land...

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MNF arrest women instead of their wanted relatives – MP
Aswat Aliraq
An Iraqi legislator on Saturday said that most female detainees at Multi National Force (MNF) prisons were arrested instead one of their family members the forces were actually looking for, adding that this issue violates Iraq’s constitution. "There are 13 women arrested at MNF jails, and the Iraqi parliament’s human rights committee hired lawyers to follow up their cases and refer them to Iraqi courts," a committee member, Shazha al-Ibosi of the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) told Aswat al-Iraq. Concerning female detainees at Iraqi prisons, Ibosi said, "There are 100 female detainees at Iraqi detention centers in Baghdad, 25 to 30 of them are under 18 years old"...

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How Babylon was spoiled by war
Richard Holledge

...John Curtis, the keeper of the department of the Middle East at the British Museum, visited Babylon before the invasion and several times since, in a flurry of dramatic helicopter rides and a border dash, complete with highway robbers demanding antiques at gunpoint. "It’s the same as the other shows in that we look at Babylon and what it means to European thought and tradition," he says. "What makes ours different is that there is much more focus on Babylon today." Mr Curtis was one of the first to ring the alarm bells about the post-invasion vandalism. Not a man prone to exaggeration, as long ago as Dec 2004 he nevertheless filed a report saying: "It is regrettable that a military camp of this size should have been established on one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. This is tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain." He listed the damage, including the digging of trenches, the building of a landing zone for helicopters that flattened the ground, deep ruts from vehicles and fuel leakage. Pieces of pottery and cuneiform inscriptions were found in banks of spoil and in the soil used to fill sandbags...

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2 civilians killed by U.S. warplane fire west of Mosul
Aswat Aliraq
Two civilians were killed when a U.S. warplane opened fire at their vehicle west of Mosul city on Saturday, a military source in Ninewa province said. "The U.S. aircraft targeted a civilian vehicle in northern Zammar district, (60 km) west of Mosul, killing two civilians on board," the source told Aswat al-Iraq...


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Free the Palestinian Journalists!
Kawther Salam
...I add my voice to the President of International Federation of journalist, general secretary Dr. Aidan White, who issued a statement on October 31, 2008, asking both Palestinian sides to free the imprisoned journalists without conditions. I also ask the illegal Israeli occupation to free the Palestinian journalists who they hold under administrative arrest since many years. Personally, I remind both the PA and Hamas, that holding journalists is inhuman and illegal...

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Campaign Against the Israeli Genocide
Kawther Salam
Hebron, or "Al-Khalil" in Arabic, is the second oldest city in Palestine, with almost 170.000 Palestinian inhabitants. Hebron, which is aged 5,500 years, is adapting the spiritual shrine of the Ibrahimi Mosque, where the Prophet Abraham and his wife Sara lie entombed. Since 1967 Hebron has been occupied by Israel . During these years, the illegal settlers, armed American Jewish terrorist squatters from terrorist organizations like "Kach", the "Jewish Underground" and others, live under constant protection in the heart of Hebron and near its Old City. They are protected by over 5000 soldiers who have converted the heart of the old city of Hebron into hell. The Old City resembles a concentration camp, for the Palestinians living...

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The other election circus
Khaled Amayreh
...Following the collapse of the Kadima- Shas talks, and Livni's truly racist refusal to contact Israeli Arab parties for possible inclusion into her would-be government, Israeli President Shimon Peres told the Knesset this week that elections would be held in Israel in order to safeguard the vital interest of the Jewish state. Peres urged politicians and political parties to do some soul-searching and not be too feverish about the elections. However, instead of soul-searching, a torrent of electioneering-oriented speeches and statements by various politicians gave a foretaste of an election that is likely to be frantic and quite polarising...

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Studs Terkel: The Passing of An Icon
Despite his advanced age, the news came as a shock. An era had passed. On October 31, author, activist, actor, broadcaster, and mensch for all seasons Louis "Studs" Terkel died peacefully at his Chicago North Side home at age 96. Already weakened by other ailments, his health declined further from a fall in his home two weeks earlier....

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Dozens of soldiers deploy as child, toy gun spotted near Bethlehem
Ma'an news
Moments after seeing a young child playing with what was in fact a toy gun, Israeli forces deployed in three neighborhoods south of Bethlehem and beseiged the area. The main road between Bethlehem and Hebron was closed for two hours as armed soldiers searched the area, ransacking several homes and destroying furniture in a frantic search for the supposed weapon...


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Could Awakening Fighters Rejoin Insurgency?
By Katharina Goetze in London and Daud Salman and Zaineb Naji in Baghdad (ICR No. 274, 31-Oct-08)
As American forces hand back control of the largely Sunni militia forces known as the Awakening (al-Sahwa) Councils to the Shia-led government, there are fears that sectarian rivalries could prompt some members of these groups to rejoin the insurgency. With violence in Iraq at a four-year low, and United States troops gradually preparing to withdraw, power relations are changing. The United States-financed Awakening Councils, sometimes called the Sons of Iraq, who have been credited with playing a major role in battling al-Qaeda, are to be taken over by the Iraqi authorities. The government says it will now foot the bill for the 100,000 al-Sahwa members – four-fifths of whom are Sunni – but there are serious doubts over its commitment...

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The Cost of Slumber
Dahr Jamail
...In early September, a cholera outbreak spread across southern Iraq and into Baghdad. It continues today, as scores are dead, hundreds sick, and it is still not completely contained. I received an email from Iraq recently, describing the condition of children in the al-Ghaziliya area of Baghdad. They sound to me like children in Somalia, suffering from the same chronic malnourishment, thin limbs, distended bellies, pencil necks, disease and starvation (...) The question I ask myself is what will protect our country from collapsing under the burden of this enormous guilt of having systemically wrecked and destroyed another nation with such impunity? What will protect us from the awareness of being complicit in such unlawful and willful destruction?...

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Iraqi refugees reject return offer
Shane Bauer, Aljazeera.net
Maruj has not been back to her country since an armed group kidnapped her son and blew up her house in Mosul four years ago. Today, she sits outside the UN refugee agency's (UNHCR) office in Damascus, thumbing the cross that hangs around her neck. After being told that they could not guarantee that she would be relocated to Canada, she looks defeated and hopeless. "There is no solution for us," she says, gazing vacantly at the throngs of people lined up at the door. "The government says it will pay us to go back to Iraq, but we would be crazy to return now."..

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Was Syria Complicit in US Attack?
Jason Ditz, Antiwar.com
With Syrian officials demanding a formal apology for last Sunday’s attack and US officials painting it as a "warning" to the Syrian government to do more about policing its borders, it would come as quite a surprise to learn that the two governments may have communicated about the attack in advance. Yet, according to the Sunday Times, this appears to be the case. According to the report, Syrian radar detected the invading helicopters but senior officials turned down a request to intercept, saying "the American operation was expected." Apparently, the operation was intended to be a "snatch and grab" raid aimed at capturing wanted militant Abu Ghadiya. But it seems the militants detected the helicopters’ approach and a fire-fight broke out, leaving several people dead. The Syrian government, prepared for a reported kidnapping but not the bloodbath that ensued, then felt the need to publicly castigate the US for an attack they had secretly signed off on...

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Lebanon detains 'Israeli spies'
AlJazeera.net
Two people accused of spying for Israel have been arrested in Lebanon, the Lebanese army says. The army did not name the two detainees or say when they were captured. A statement released on Saturday by the army said: "The [Army] Directorate of Intelligence, after a series of investigations in the Bekaa region, detained two people belonging to a network of espionage and terrorism linked to the Israeli enemy. "They admitted gathering information on political party offices and monitoring the movements of party figures for this enemy."...

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Al-Maliki stressing US departure
ROBERT H. REID
Iraq's prime minister is pushing the idea that the U.S. departure is in sight in a bid to sell the security deal with Washington to Iran. To reinforce the message, the Iraqis are asking for changes to the deal that would effectively rule out extending the U.S. military presence beyond 2011. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his allies are also describing the agreement not as a formula for long-term U.S.-Iraqi security cooperation — the original goal when the talks began earlier this year — but as a way to manage the U.S. withdrawal. It's unclear whether this will be enough to win over the Iranians and Iraqi critics — or whether the U.S. will go along with the demands submitted by the Iraqi Cabinet this week...


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SS Dignity bids Gaza farewell
Palestinian Information Center
The SS Dignity left the Gaza Strip on Saturday with the foreign sympathizers on board after four days of their arrival where they toured various installations in the beleaguered Strip and brought with them medical supplies to the Shifa hospital in Gaza city. Thousands of Palestinians were at the dock to see the foreign activists off. For his part, MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular anti siege committee, said in a statement that the second sea voyage to the Strip had accomplished a number of targets including enhancing international solidarity with the Palestinian people and drawing the world's attention to the accumulated dangers of the Israeli siege on Gaza...

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EU slams brutality carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villagers
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC
The European Union slammed on Friday the ongoing violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villagers in the occupied West Bank especially as the settlers escalated their attacks during the Olive picking season. In its statement, the EU presidency said that the EU condemns the acts of violence and brutality carried out by the settlers against the Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank...

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Clashes reported Friday between fighters and soldiers in Gaza
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC
For the first time since the Egyptian –mediated truce was declared between resistance fighters in Gaza and Israel four months ago, armed clashes were reported on Friday east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli sources reported that a number of military vehicles came under Palestinian gunfire and that resistance fighters fired two anti-tank shells at the invading forces. The sources did not report any injuries among the soldiers and said that this incident could be an indication for the end of the truce...


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Settlers and soldiers assault nonviolent Palestinian resistance, 60 year old Brit among the injured
Najib Farrag, PNN
After days of settler attacks on Palestinian farmers, journalists and workers, a foreigner is among the wounded. A 60 year old British citizen was walking with farmers on eastern Bethlehem lands en route to the olive groves. The Tekoa Settlement was built in 1977 on part of the land making the route to the remaining fields perilous. The Israeli army has declared the only path a "closed military zone." On Saturday afternoon soldiers blocked the route and began pushing the farmers and international supporters. When the group backed up settlers from Tekoa Settlement charged from the other direction. The settlers were swinging sticks and tools. Several people were injured including the 60 year old British national who was rushed to a nearby clinic. The farmers did not reach their lands today...


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November 1, 2008: 10 Iraqis Killed, 9 Wounded
Margaret Griffis, Antiwar.com
Few casualty reports came out of Iraq again today; however, at least 10 Iraqis were killed and another 9 were wounded across the country. Meanwhile, an Iraqi parliamentarian said that women in MNF jails were detained when wanted male relatives were not locatable. Also, Iraq has set aside about 25%, or $15 billion, for reconstruction.....

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