THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Nick Pisa, in Rome
Desperate Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi begged for his life by
offering gold and money before he was killed, a witness has revealed.
Colonel Gaddafi after he was found hiding in a drain in Sirte
Hammad Mufti Ali, 28, has told how the former leader
frantically offered his captors riches beyond their wildest dreams after
he was dragged from his sewer hideaway.
The details emerged as mystery
still surrounded the final moments of Col Gaddafi's life and as his
body remained unburied amid calls for an investigation into his death.
Mr Ali, the commander of a brigade in Sirte, told Italian newspaper
Corriere Della Sera: "He was pulled from the drain and he was pushed
around.
Gaddafi's Final Moments
Watch all the footage of the dictator's capture and death. WARNING: Graphic content.
"He said he was willing to offer anything in exchange for his life - he said he had money and gold for us if we spared his life.
"He was losing a lot of blood - he was 69 years old and his body
could not take it. He was in a bad way. He had had wounds everywhere
from shrapnel and from being beaten."
Mr Ali added: "At one point someone screamed at him that instead of
talking about money, as a good Muslim he should have been praying for
his soul to be entrusted to God before dying.
"But he just kept saying he was ready to give us lots and lots of money and gold."
The dictator had taken refuge in this drain after a Nato airstrike
Col Gaddafi
is said to have had more that $200bn (£125bn) in cash and gold hidden
away with some of it spread in secret accounts across the world.
Reports earlier this year after the start of the revolution said he had flown some of his wealth to Zimbabwe.
The International Monetary Fund
has said it believes Libya had at least 140 tons of gold hidden away -
if not more and that the bulk was hidden in the vaults of the central
bank in Tripoli.
But he was thought to have taken several bars with him to use as bargaining chips.
Read more on Colonel Gaddafi's death:
:: Libya's Challenges On The Road To Democracy
:: Stark Warning To Other Middle East Autocrats
:: Confusion Over Gaddafi's Final Moments
:: Gaddafi Family Members: Where Are They Now?
:: Muammar Gaddafi: The Kitsch Dictator
:: Pictures: Anti-Gaddafi Fighters Celebrate
:: Pictures: Life And Times Of Libya's Former Leader
:: The Road To Revolution: How Civil War Unfolded
T
Desperate Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi begged for his life by
offering gold and money before he was killed, a witness has revealed.
Colonel Gaddafi after he was found hiding in a drain in Sirte
Hammad Mufti Ali, 28, has told how the former leader
frantically offered his captors riches beyond their wildest dreams after
he was dragged from his sewer hideaway.
The details emerged as mystery
still surrounded the final moments of Col Gaddafi's life and as his
body remained unburied amid calls for an investigation into his death.
Mr Ali, the commander of a brigade in Sirte, told Italian newspaper
Corriere Della Sera: "He was pulled from the drain and he was pushed
around.
Gaddafi's Final Moments
Watch all the footage of the dictator's capture and death. WARNING: Graphic content.
"He said he was willing to offer anything in exchange for his life - he said he had money and gold for us if we spared his life.
"He was losing a lot of blood - he was 69 years old and his body
could not take it. He was in a bad way. He had had wounds everywhere
from shrapnel and from being beaten."
Mr Ali added: "At one point someone screamed at him that instead of
talking about money, as a good Muslim he should have been praying for
his soul to be entrusted to God before dying.
"But he just kept saying he was ready to give us lots and lots of money and gold."
The dictator had taken refuge in this drain after a Nato airstrike
Col Gaddafi
is said to have had more that $200bn (£125bn) in cash and gold hidden
away with some of it spread in secret accounts across the world.
Reports earlier this year after the start of the revolution said he had flown some of his wealth to Zimbabwe.
The International Monetary Fund
has said it believes Libya had at least 140 tons of gold hidden away -
if not more and that the bulk was hidden in the vaults of the central
bank in Tripoli.
But he was thought to have taken several bars with him to use as bargaining chips.
Read more on Colonel Gaddafi's death:
:: Libya's Challenges On The Road To Democracy
:: Stark Warning To Other Middle East Autocrats
:: Confusion Over Gaddafi's Final Moments
:: Gaddafi Family Members: Where Are They Now?
:: Muammar Gaddafi: The Kitsch Dictator
:: Pictures: Anti-Gaddafi Fighters Celebrate
:: Pictures: Life And Times Of Libya's Former Leader
:: The Road To Revolution: How Civil War Unfolded
T
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Isn"t it disgusting that Gaddafi , after all the innocent lives he took , could try to barter for his.!!!!
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
HIS WIFE AND OTHERS ARE SAYING HIS HUMAN RIGHTS MAY HAVE BEEN VIOLATED.
IRONICALLY WASN'T COLONEL GADDHAFI VIOLATING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE?
IRONICALLY WASN'T COLONEL GADDHAFI VIOLATING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE?
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Badboy wrote:HIS WIFE AND OTHERS ARE SAYING HIS HUMAN RIGHTS MAY HAVE BEEN VIOLATED.
IRONICALLY WASN'T COLONEL GADDHAFI VIOLATING THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE?
Morning Badboy, his wife has a nerve, . His " Sons are alive, I wonder if the uhad he stood Trial he would have got life imprisonment at least.
His 2 Sons are alive , I wonder if they will try to claim all the millions which were sequestered by all the Banks .
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Badboy wrote:HIS WIFE AND OTHERS ARE SAYING HIS HUMAN RIGHTS MAY HAVE BEEN VIOLATED.
Ah bless, his rights were violated were they? Such a shame.....
Now, what should we worry about, the human rights of the 40,000+ he killed or Gaddafi himself.....?
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Thousands are flag waving and I really hope this will lead to good Governance in Libya and the Rebels fight has not been in vain.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Gaddafi has been buried in a secret desert location.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
sky news
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam is proposing to hand
himself in to the International Criminal Court, according to a National
Transitional Council official.
Colonel Gaddafi's son could hand himself into The Hague
Former intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi is also said to be considering the same course of action.
"They are proposing a way to hand themselves over to The Hague," Abdel Majid Mlegta, a military official with the NTC, said.
However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it had no confirmation the pair would be surrendering.
"We don't have confirmation about this now. We are trying to contact
the NTC for more information," said ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.
In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif and
al Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity after the UN Security
Council referred the Libyan situation to the court in February.
The news came as Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, said he had
been 'disgusted' by television images of Gaddafi's last minutes.
He said: "Almost all of Gaddafi's family has been killed, his corpse
was shown on all global television channels, it was impossible to watch
without disgust.
"The man was all covered in blood, still alive and he was being finished off."
More to follow...
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al Islam is proposing to hand
himself in to the International Criminal Court, according to a National
Transitional Council official.
Colonel Gaddafi's son could hand himself into The Hague
Former intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi is also said to be considering the same course of action.
"They are proposing a way to hand themselves over to The Hague," Abdel Majid Mlegta, a military official with the NTC, said.
However, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it had no confirmation the pair would be surrendering.
"We don't have confirmation about this now. We are trying to contact
the NTC for more information," said ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah.
In June, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif and
al Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity after the UN Security
Council referred the Libyan situation to the court in February.
The news came as Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, said he had
been 'disgusted' by television images of Gaddafi's last minutes.
He said: "Almost all of Gaddafi's family has been killed, his corpse
was shown on all global television channels, it was impossible to watch
without disgust.
"The man was all covered in blood, still alive and he was being finished off."
More to follow...
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Saif al Islam has been arrested in Libya and next stop will be the Hague.
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Hundreds Defect from the Yemen"s military
Hundreds defect from Yemen's military
By Hakim Almasmari, for CNN
November 20, 2011 -- Updated 0047 GMT (0847
HKT)
Defecting Yemeni troops guard anti-government
protesters during a demonstration Friday after noon prayers.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- More than 400 troops defected from the
Yemeni military Saturday evening, saying they would no longer attack unarmed
protesters.
The troops announced their defection after standing for hours in front of
tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Sanaa and vowing to support
their cause with their lives.
"We will stand with the will of the people and will not kill unarmed youth.
We are here to defend the people and we will do that," one soldier told CNN.
"The butcher must stand trial," the troops shouted as they marched in what
has been known as Change Square Sanaa.
The organizing committee in the square announced this week that dozens of
unarmed youth activists were killed by government forces over the past month.
The committee says nearly 1,000 youths have been killed by the government since
protests began in January.
Hours after the celebration, the defecting troops were welcomed at the
military compound of Gen. Mohsen Ahmar, who defected from the government forces
in March.
The majority of the troops were members of the Republican Guards and central
security forces, which are headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's eldest son
and nephew.
Youth activists celebrated the defection.
"With every day that passes, this oppressive regime is weakened," Abdul
Nasser al-Kulaibi, a youth protester in Sanaa, told CNN. "Saleh will soon be
surprised to see the rug beneath him pulled away and he will fall without
expecting it."
He added, "Change will happen and we will not stop marching against the
regime. More than 1,000 of us have died. It's too late to stop now."
Earlier in the day, state media reported that Saleh and senior government
officials visited thousands of Republican Guard troops and encouraged them to
stand firm in defending the country.
Saleh told the troops that Yemen's leaders are "willing to sacrifice for the
sake of the country, but you will stay. You will remain here even if we let go
of authority, because you are the authority," according to state media.
Saleh's country has been the scene of violent protests for months as his
opponents demand he leave power after 33 years in office. Government troops have
responded with live fire to protests, according to medics and opposition
sources.
The guards number more than 80,000 and are considered the most powerful force
in the country.
Saleh blasted the opposition forces and called them "gangs that cut off
roads." He said those who have defected are part of the past.
"Yemen will not collapse. Yemen is steadfast due to its people and military,"
Saleh said.
By Hakim Almasmari, for CNN
November 20, 2011 -- Updated 0047 GMT (0847
HKT)
Defecting Yemeni troops guard anti-government
protesters during a demonstration Friday after noon prayers.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- More than 400 troops defect, are welcomed by general who defected
- They say they will defend unarmed protesters, not attack them
- Majority of troops were members of Republican Guards and central security
forces - President addresses thousands of Republican Guards, calls defectors part of
the past
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- More than 400 troops defected from the
Yemeni military Saturday evening, saying they would no longer attack unarmed
protesters.
The troops announced their defection after standing for hours in front of
tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Sanaa and vowing to support
their cause with their lives.
"We will stand with the will of the people and will not kill unarmed youth.
We are here to defend the people and we will do that," one soldier told CNN.
"The butcher must stand trial," the troops shouted as they marched in what
has been known as Change Square Sanaa.
The organizing committee in the square announced this week that dozens of
unarmed youth activists were killed by government forces over the past month.
The committee says nearly 1,000 youths have been killed by the government since
protests began in January.
Hours after the celebration, the defecting troops were welcomed at the
military compound of Gen. Mohsen Ahmar, who defected from the government forces
in March.
The majority of the troops were members of the Republican Guards and central
security forces, which are headed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's eldest son
and nephew.
Youth activists celebrated the defection.
"With every day that passes, this oppressive regime is weakened," Abdul
Nasser al-Kulaibi, a youth protester in Sanaa, told CNN. "Saleh will soon be
surprised to see the rug beneath him pulled away and he will fall without
expecting it."
He added, "Change will happen and we will not stop marching against the
regime. More than 1,000 of us have died. It's too late to stop now."
Earlier in the day, state media reported that Saleh and senior government
officials visited thousands of Republican Guard troops and encouraged them to
stand firm in defending the country.
Saleh told the troops that Yemen's leaders are "willing to sacrifice for the
sake of the country, but you will stay. You will remain here even if we let go
of authority, because you are the authority," according to state media.
Saleh's country has been the scene of violent protests for months as his
opponents demand he leave power after 33 years in office. Government troops have
responded with live fire to protests, according to medics and opposition
sources.
The guards number more than 80,000 and are considered the most powerful force
in the country.
Saleh blasted the opposition forces and called them "gangs that cut off
roads." He said those who have defected are part of the past.
"Yemen will not collapse. Yemen is steadfast due to its people and military,"
Saleh said.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Gaddafi"s Son says he never intended to give himself up. He says he is ready to spill the beans about Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson and Prince
Andrew.
Andrew.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
3 December 2011
Last updated at 13:41
Three Nato troops killed by Afghan roadside bomb
Three soldiers from the
Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) have been killed
in Afghanistan, Nato officials have said.
The three, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, died when a roadside bomb exploded in the east of the country.
No further details were immediately available of the incident, which took place on Saturday.
More than 500 Nato troops have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan.
Last updated at 13:41
Three Nato troops killed by Afghan roadside bomb
Three soldiers from the
Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) have been killed
in Afghanistan, Nato officials have said.
The three, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, died when a roadside bomb exploded in the east of the country.
No further details were immediately available of the incident, which took place on Saturday.
More than 500 Nato troops have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan.
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Libya......A War of muddled goals , painful sacrifice
Dec 11, 12:01 AM EST Iraq: A war of muddled goals, painful sacrifice By ROBERT H. REID and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
BAGHDAD (AP) -- In the beginning, it all looked simple: topple Saddam Hussein, destroy his purported weapons of mass destruction and lay the foundation for a pro-Western government in the heart of the Arab world. Nearly 4,500 American and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives later, the objective now is simply to get out - and leave behind a country where democracy has at least a chance, where Iran does not dominate and where conditions may not be good but "good enough." Even those modest goals may prove too ambitious after American forces leave and Iraq begins to chart its own course. How the Iraqis fare in the coming years will determine how history judges a war which became among the most politically contentious in American history. Toppling Saddam was the easy part. Television images from the days following the March 20, 2003, start of the war made the conflict look relatively painless, like a certain type of Hollywood movie: American tanks speeding across the bleak and featureless Iraqi plains, huge blasts rattling Baghdad in the "shock and awe" bombing and the statue of the dictator tumbling down from his pedestal. But Americans soon collided with the complex realities of an alien society few of them knew or understood. Who were the real power brokers? This ayatollah or that Sunni chief? What were the right buttons to push? America had its own ideas of the new Iraq. Did most Iraqis share them? Places most Americans had never heard of in 2002, like Fallujah and Abu Ghraib, became household words. Saddam was captured nine months after the invasion. The war dragged on for eight more years. No WMD were ever found. And Iraq drained billions from America's treasury and diverted resources from Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al-Qaida rebounded after their defeat in the 2001 invasion. In the early months, America's enemy was mostly Sunnis angry over the loss of power and prestige when their patron Saddam fell. In September 2007, the bloodiest year for U.S. troops, Shiite militias - part of a community that suffered terribly under Saddam - were responsible for three-quarters of the attacks in the Baghdad area that killed or wounded Americans, according to the then-No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno. Saddam had not tolerated al-Qaida. With Saddam gone and the country in chaos, al-Qaida in Iraq became the terror movement's largest and most dangerous franchise, drawing in fighters from North Africa to Asia for a war that lingers on through suicide bombings and assassinations, albeit at a lower intensity. As American troops prepare to go home by Dec. 31, they leave behind a country still facing violence, with closer ties to the U.S. than Saddam had but still short of what Washington once envisioned. Iranian influence is on the rise. One of the few positive developments from the American viewpoint - a democratic toehold - is far from secure. --- In 20-20 hindsight, the U.S. probably should have seen it coming. By 2003, communal rivalries and hatreds, fueled by years of Saddam's suppression of Kurds and Shiites, were brewing beneath the lid of a closed society cobbled together from the wreckage of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. Saddam's rule of terror kept all these passions in the pot. Lift the lid and the pot boils over. Remove Saddam and a new fight flares for the power that the ousted ruler and his Baath Party had monopolized for decades. A day after Saddam's statue was hauled down in Baghdad, the U.S. arranged what was supposed to be a reconciliation meeting in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, bringing together prominent clerics from the majority Shiite sect eager for a dominant role in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam's Sunni-dominated rule. One of them was Abdul-Majid al-Khoie, son of a revered ayatollah. Al-Khoie had fled to Britain during Saddam's crackdown against Shiites after the 1991 Gulf War. Now he and the other clerics were back in Iraq, freed from Saddam's yoke. As al-Khoie approached a mosque, a crowd swarmed around him. He was hacked to death in an attack widely blamed on Muqtada al-Sadr, a fellow Shiite cleric. In Baghdad, meanwhile, mobs looted and burned much of the city as bewildered U.S. soldiers stood by. "Stuff happens," then-U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld famously said at the time. "And it's untidy, and freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes, and commit crimes and do bad things. They're also free to live their lives and do wonderful things. And that's what's going to happen here." Within months, angry Sunnis had taken up arms to resist what they saw as a Shiite takeover on the coattails of the Americans. Their ranks were bolstered by former soldiers whose livelihood was taken away when the Americans, in a bid to appease Shiite and Kurdish leaders, abolished Saddam's military. In August 2003, a massive truck bomb devastated the U.N. headquarters, killing the chief of mission, his deputy and 20 other people. Two months later, rockets slammed into the U.S.-occupied Rasheed Hotel in the Green Zone, killing an American lieutenant colonel and wounding 17 people. One of the architects of the war, visiting Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, barely escaped injury. By then it was clear: America was in for a long and brutal fight. The triumphant scene of Saddam's statue falling would be replaced by new iconic images: the bodies of butchered Americans hanging from a bridge in Fallujah, military vehicles engulfed in flames, terrified hostages staring into a video camera moments before decapitation, and flag-draped caskets resting at open graves as aging parents and young widows wept for their loved ones. --- The Americans arrived with their own agenda for the new Iraq. That didn't always mesh with what the Iraqis had in mind. Phillip J. Dermer, a now-retired U.S. colonel who has returned to Iraq as a businessman, spent the summer of 2003 helping set up a city council in Baghdad. The idea was to give Iraqis a quick taste of democracy while issues like a constitution and national elections were being worked out. After months of preparation, the council was elected and got down to its first order of business: To the Americans' surprise, an al-Sadr representative came forward to change the name of the Shiite slum in eastern Baghdad from Saddam City to Sadr City in honor of the cleric's father, who was assassinated by the deposed regime. The measure passed unanimously. Dermer and his colleagues had been expecting a vote for something like a new budget for water. For Dermer it was a signal. The Iraqis had their own priorities. "We were so focused on getting this council together and hold their hands up to vote when the whole time something else was happening. We weren't aware of it, and we didn't catch it," he said. The Americans would soon learn the Iraqis were primarily interested in promoting their own religious or ethnic group at the expense of others. --- Increasingly, Sunni militants were targeting not just U.S. troops but Iraqi Shiites. Shiites initially held their fire and did not retaliate. Their highest-ranking cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, wanted Shiites to keep focused on the main prize: majority control of the government. All that changed with the bombing of a major Shiite shrine in Samarra in February 2006. Newly formed Shiite militias struck back against random Sunnis, often dragging them away in the dead of night. It was now Shiites against Sunnis, neighbor against neighbor. America was now in the middle of a civil war, partly of its own making, despite intense efforts by the Bush administration to resist that view. The U.S. seemed overwhelmed. Just keeping count of the death tolls was a challenge, leading to a bizarre U.S. military formula where a body found on the streets was listed as a "sectarian" victim if the fatal wound was in the head. If the wound were in the torso, it was counted as random violence. --- For Americans back home, Iraq was not a war with morale-boosting milestones that could point to progress. No Pacific islands secured, no heroic storming of the beaches at Normandy. No newsreel scenes of grateful civilians welcoming liberators with flowers. Instead, the war became a mind-numbing litany of suicide bombings and ambushes. "Progress" was defined by grim statistics such as fewer civilians found butchered today than yesterday. Soon it all began to sound the same, a bloody, soul-killing "Ground Hog Day" of brutality after brutality seemingly without purpose. Pacify one village, move on to another, only to have violence flare again in the first place. Sen. John McCain summed it up at a congressional hearing three years into the war: "What I worry about is we're playing a game of whack-a-mole here." A 24-year-old platoon leader in Ramadi expressed the same sentiment in a different way. "Every time we go out, we run," he told an Associated Press reporter in 2006. "If you stand still, you WILL get shot at." --- It was even worse for the Iraqis. Everyone was a potential target for death. Sunni militants, especially in al-Qaida, considered Shiites as much of an enemy as American soldiers. Shiite militias viewed all Sunnis as Saddam loyalists ready to bring back the old regime. By such twisted logic, mothers shopping for food in a market were just as legitimate a target as armed, uniformed soldiers. Car bombs and suicide attacks killed thousands. Sons, fathers and brothers disappeared - often without a trace - abducted by death squads and presumably buried in unmarked desert graves. Nearly everyone had a relative or a close friend who died or disappeared - more than 3,700 were slaughtered in the month of October 2006 alone, according to the United Nations. By the end of 2006, the U.N. estimated that 100,000 Iraqis were fleeing every month for sanctuary in Jordan and Syria. Death could come at any moment: from a bomb on a bus filled with people heading for work or from an errant shell on a home as a family enjoyed an evening meal. Or from foreigners. In September 2007, Blackwater contractors guarding a U.S. State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire on civilian vehicles, mistakenly thinking they were under attack. Seventeen Iraqis died. A U.S. federal judge dismissed the charges two years later because the case was built on testimony in exchange for immunity. A review by the AP in April 2009 showed that more than 110,600 Iraqis had died in violence since the U.S.-led invasion. The actual number was likely higher because many of those listed as missing were doubtless buried in the chaos of war without official records. "They wanted Iraq to be a model for democracy to be followed by other countries in the region," a Shiite preacher, Sheik Muhannad al-Bahadli, said of the Americans in March 2007. "Look what happened in Iraq after four years of occupation: booby-trapped cars and bombs blowing up and killing Iraqis." --- In 2007, the tide began to turn, though historians will debate the reason for years. The change was probably a result of a confluence of events. Many Sunni militants concluded that they needed the Americans for leverage against the "real enemy" - the Shiites. Many Sunni insurgents resented al-Qaida's power grab and did not share its vision of a global jihad. Many Shiites recoiled against the brutality and gangsterism of some of their own Shiite militias. And finally the American military surge. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced he was sending 30,000 more troops to secure Baghdad and the provinces around it. Talk of a troop withdrawal in 2007, which had been widely expected, disappeared. With the Americans promising and paying for support, more and more Sunni insurgents switched sides and turned against al-Qaida. Eight months into the surge, Shiite militia leader al-Sadr declared a cease-fire and violence began dropping in the capital. Fighting continued. But the commanding general, David Petraeus, was able to tell Congress by the end of the year that the "military objectives" of the surge were being met. Skeptics, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, acknowledged the trend while noting that the second goal of the surge - to allow the Iraqis to establish a stable, effective government - remained unfulfilled. "The surge succeeded in those aspects where the Americans had full control, the military aspects," said Marina Ottoway, director of the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "There was no willingness to compromise. There still is no willingness to compromise." --- By New Year's Day 2012, America's role in the Iraq war will be over. For Iraqis, however, the war and the struggle to build a functioning democratic state continue. Bombs still explode, gunmen attack police checkpoints. Iraq's government, though far more representative than Saddam's regime, still falls short of an ideal. Tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, Arabs and Kurds remain unresolved. It's an open question who will ultimately govern in Iraq and whether Iran will in time come to dominate its weakened neighbor. America will not be abandoning Iraq. The U.S. will leave behind thousands of diplomats and security contractors, whose presence will influence the direction of the country for years to come. Still, the disappearance of uniformed troops will have a profound effect on Iraqis in ways that will take years to define. For the first time in nearly nine years, Iraq's future will be entirely in the hands of Iraqis. Less clear is whether America's mission was truly accomplished. Saad Eskander, who heads Iraq's National Library and Archives, said the Americans created as many enemies as they have allies, and are leaving with only part of the job done. "What the Americans have accomplished in Iraq is a 50/50 project. It's not completed. The other 50 is up to us," he said. "Either we are people who deserve this country or we don't deserve it." And what of the American legacy? "They did get rid of the Baathist Iraq state and Saddam Hussein from power. They did succeed in bringing a proto-democracy," said Theodore Karasik, an analyst at the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf. But the war also "permitted the rise of people who may not share America's point of view." History will be the judge, but for now many observers believe the costs in dollars and blood dwarf the war's achievements. "The U.S. and Iraqi forces scored impressive tactical victories against the insurgents in Iraq during 2005-2009, but the U.S. invasion now seems to be a de facto grand strategic failure," wrote Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Its tactical victories - if they last - did little more than put an end to a conflict it helped create." --- Reid, who reported from Cairo, Egypt, covered the Iraq war from 2003 until 2009. © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
I hope Bush and Blair read this report........will they have a conscience about the lies they told to invade Libya, I think not.!!!
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Gunfight erupts near tripoli airport
11 December 2011
Last updated at 01:47
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Gunfight erupts near Tripoli airport in Libya
Army chief Khalifa Haftar was part of a convoy which came under attack, a military spokesman said
Continue reading the main story
Libya Crisis
Gun battles broke out near the international airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, army officials said.
An army spokesman told Libyan TV two gunmen opened fire on
Saturday on a convoy accompanying army chief Maj-Gen Khalifa Haftar but
called it an "isolated incident".
It was reportedly followed by hours of clashes along the coastal road.
The violence adds to concerns over stability in Libya after the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.
'Exaggerated'
Army officials and rebels offered conflicting accounts of events.
Unnamed army officials told AP news agency that rebels
belonging to the Zintan brigade - who control the airport - were behind
the violence.
But a member of the Zintan brigade, Abu Bakr al-Ahrash, told
AFP that it was members of the army who attacked his unit near the
airport.
"They confiscated two pick-up trucks loaded with
anti-aircraft guns. They tried to take control of the checkpoint. They
wounded two of our fighters and arrested two others," he said.
Members of the Zintan brigade are holding Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam.
Col Ahmad Bani, spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said only that an army convoy returned fire after coming under attack.
One person was arrested, while an investigation is under way, he said.
"Media sources have exaggerated what happened. It was only
an isolated incident which did not have any political or criminal
background," he told al-Ahrar TV.
The clashes came on the same day as the country's governing
National Transitional Council held its first conference on national
reconciliation.
The NTC has given militias in Tripoli until 31 December to disarm and leave the city.
Last updated at 01:47
Share this page
140
Gunfight erupts near Tripoli airport in Libya
Army chief Khalifa Haftar was part of a convoy which came under attack, a military spokesman said
Continue reading the main story
Libya Crisis
Gun battles broke out near the international airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, army officials said.
An army spokesman told Libyan TV two gunmen opened fire on
Saturday on a convoy accompanying army chief Maj-Gen Khalifa Haftar but
called it an "isolated incident".
It was reportedly followed by hours of clashes along the coastal road.
The violence adds to concerns over stability in Libya after the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi earlier this year.
'Exaggerated'
Army officials and rebels offered conflicting accounts of events.
Unnamed army officials told AP news agency that rebels
belonging to the Zintan brigade - who control the airport - were behind
the violence.
But a member of the Zintan brigade, Abu Bakr al-Ahrash, told
AFP that it was members of the army who attacked his unit near the
airport.
"They confiscated two pick-up trucks loaded with
anti-aircraft guns. They tried to take control of the checkpoint. They
wounded two of our fighters and arrested two others," he said.
Members of the Zintan brigade are holding Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam.
Col Ahmad Bani, spokesman for the Libyan National Army, said only that an army convoy returned fire after coming under attack.
One person was arrested, while an investigation is under way, he said.
"Media sources have exaggerated what happened. It was only
an isolated incident which did not have any political or criminal
background," he told al-Ahrar TV.
The clashes came on the same day as the country's governing
National Transitional Council held its first conference on national
reconciliation.
The NTC has given militias in Tripoli until 31 December to disarm and leave the city.
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Cairo violence over beating of Woman
Cairo (CNN) -- Pro-democracy demonstrators battled
Egyptian police for a third straight day Sunday, their anger stoked by
images of a military police officer stomping on a woman's exposed
stomach over the weekend.
The latest round of street clashes has left at least 10 people dead
and 500 wounded since Friday, said Dr. Hisham Sheeha, a spokesman for
Egypt's health ministry. An 11th person, a boy arrested Saturday, died
in police custody from his wounds, the boy's attorney, Ragia Omran, said
Sunday.
Cairo's stock exchange plunged amid the new turmoil, while Saturday's
images of the woman's beating appeared to draw more people to the
streets.
"I will go down and fight the army and retrieve the honor of this
woman and those martyrs killed for the sake of Egypt's future," taxi
driver Ahmed Fahmy told CNN.
The woman and a male companion were set upon by more than 20 police
officers during Saturday's demonstrations in Cairo. She been dressed in a
traditional robe and headscarf -- but as police clubbed her and dragged
her down the street, those items were pulled away, exposing her midriff
and blue brassiere in a country known for its Islamic conservatism.
Then one of the police officers aimed a foot at her upper abdomen and
stamped squarely on it, while another officer jumped on the man as he
lay on the pavement nearby.
"The army were like vultures who found a prey," said Mohamed Zeidan,
who filmed the beating from a balcony overlooking Tahrir Square. He said
after he stopped filming the beating out of fear of being discovered,
"The soldiers even beat an older couple who tried to help her up."
A CNN crew that managed to escape Saturday's chaos witnessed other
beatings, with children, the elderly and people on their way to work
finding themselves on the end of police truncheons.
Images of the woman's treatment were splashed across the front pages
of Egyptian newspapers on Sunday and zipped around the world on social
media networks. But a spokesman for the military, which has ruled Egypt
since February's ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, had no
apologies.
Egypt: Activists, security forces clash
The Arab Spring: 2011 defining moment
Second round begins in Egypt elections
"What was woman like her doing in a conflict zone?" asked the
spokesman, Maj. Mohamed Askar. "She must have participated in the
attacks on the military and the Cabinet."
Askar questioned why the woman has not come forward to identify herself.
"Our troops do not just attack people for no reason," he said. "If
she had nothing to hide then she would have presented herself. Where is
she?"
Two people who know her, including the man seen being beaten
alongside her in the video, told CNN the woman is a political activist
and student. She does not want to speak to reporters now, but a
journalist who saw the incident and was beaten as well said the woman
suffered "serious bruises and cuts" as a result.
"I started to run, but she froze and fell to the ground when another
protester bumped into her," said Hassan Mahmoud, the journalist. "I
tried to help her get up, but the soldiers were brutal even when I told
them I was a journalist. They even continued to beat her after her body
was exposed."
Some Egyptians questioned the authenticity of the video. Cairo
businessman Shehab Ali said there was "something fishy" about it to him.
"The army officer is wearing a pair of sneakers, which is not
standard military attire considering they are all in full gear and
wearing flak jackets," he said. "And how come the woman is not wearing a
t-shirt or anything else under the traditional Arabic robe, although
it's freezing cold and winter now?"
But cabdriver Fahmy said the images brought tears to his eyes.
"I grew up admiring our army and chanted, 'The army and the people, one hand,' " he said. "This seems like the enemy."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the reports of
violence on Sunday and said her thoughts are with the families of those
killed or injured.
"I urge Egyptian security forces to respect and protect the universal
rights of all Egyptians, including the rights to peaceful free
expression and assembly ... Those who are protesting should do so
peacefully and refrain from acts of violence," she said in a statement.
Tahrir Square has been the epicenter of anti-government
demonstrations since last January, when the revolt against Mubarak
began. Fresh protests sprouted in November, when the generals named
Mubarak-era premier Kamal Ganzouri as a caretaker prime minister until
parliamentary elections are complete.
Hundreds of police and troops swept through the plaza on Saturday,
barricading nearby streets, chasing off protesters and setting tents on
fire. Authorities arrested 14 people Friday and 150 on Saturday, nine of
them women, said Adel Saeed, the spokesman for the general prosecutor's
office.
"They have been accused of inciting violence, resisting arrest,
throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at security forces, burning public
property," Saeed said.
Sunday, demonstrators hurled more rocks and Molotov cocktails and
police and soldiers, injuring 58 of them, Interior Ministry spokesman
Gen. Marwan Mustapha said.
Protesters captured an army officer in uniform and beat him before
debating whether to swap him for a demonstrator who has been captured by
the military. Several newly elected lawmakers and religious leaders
from Cairo's al-Azhar University tried to negotiate a truce between
protesters and security forces, but failed and were asked to leave.
The Egyptian stock market went into a nosedive amid the latest
violence, losing 6 billion Egyptian pounds (about $1 billion) at its
opening Sunday and finishing down nearly 3.5%.
Ganzouri criticized the unrest as an "attack on revolution" Saturday
and condemned protesters for throwing stones and damaging public
property. He also denied that security forces were using live ammunition
against demonstrators.
In addition, 213-year-old Egyptian maps and other artifacts were
destroyed after a library in Cairo was set ablaze during Saturday's
clashes, officials said.
The original manuscript of the "description of Egypt" and
"irreplaceable maps and historical manuscripts preserved by many
generations since the building of the Scientific Center in August 1798
during the French Campaign" were destroyed in the fire, Ganzouri said in
a statement.
CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this article
Egyptian police for a third straight day Sunday, their anger stoked by
images of a military police officer stomping on a woman's exposed
stomach over the weekend.
The latest round of street clashes has left at least 10 people dead
and 500 wounded since Friday, said Dr. Hisham Sheeha, a spokesman for
Egypt's health ministry. An 11th person, a boy arrested Saturday, died
in police custody from his wounds, the boy's attorney, Ragia Omran, said
Sunday.
Cairo's stock exchange plunged amid the new turmoil, while Saturday's
images of the woman's beating appeared to draw more people to the
streets.
"I will go down and fight the army and retrieve the honor of this
woman and those martyrs killed for the sake of Egypt's future," taxi
driver Ahmed Fahmy told CNN.
The woman and a male companion were set upon by more than 20 police
officers during Saturday's demonstrations in Cairo. She been dressed in a
traditional robe and headscarf -- but as police clubbed her and dragged
her down the street, those items were pulled away, exposing her midriff
and blue brassiere in a country known for its Islamic conservatism.
Then one of the police officers aimed a foot at her upper abdomen and
stamped squarely on it, while another officer jumped on the man as he
lay on the pavement nearby.
"The army were like vultures who found a prey," said Mohamed Zeidan,
who filmed the beating from a balcony overlooking Tahrir Square. He said
after he stopped filming the beating out of fear of being discovered,
"The soldiers even beat an older couple who tried to help her up."
A CNN crew that managed to escape Saturday's chaos witnessed other
beatings, with children, the elderly and people on their way to work
finding themselves on the end of police truncheons.
Images of the woman's treatment were splashed across the front pages
of Egyptian newspapers on Sunday and zipped around the world on social
media networks. But a spokesman for the military, which has ruled Egypt
since February's ouster of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, had no
apologies.
Egypt: Activists, security forces clash
The Arab Spring: 2011 defining moment
Second round begins in Egypt elections
"What was woman like her doing in a conflict zone?" asked the
spokesman, Maj. Mohamed Askar. "She must have participated in the
attacks on the military and the Cabinet."
Askar questioned why the woman has not come forward to identify herself.
"Our troops do not just attack people for no reason," he said. "If
she had nothing to hide then she would have presented herself. Where is
she?"
Two people who know her, including the man seen being beaten
alongside her in the video, told CNN the woman is a political activist
and student. She does not want to speak to reporters now, but a
journalist who saw the incident and was beaten as well said the woman
suffered "serious bruises and cuts" as a result.
"I started to run, but she froze and fell to the ground when another
protester bumped into her," said Hassan Mahmoud, the journalist. "I
tried to help her get up, but the soldiers were brutal even when I told
them I was a journalist. They even continued to beat her after her body
was exposed."
Some Egyptians questioned the authenticity of the video. Cairo
businessman Shehab Ali said there was "something fishy" about it to him.
"The army officer is wearing a pair of sneakers, which is not
standard military attire considering they are all in full gear and
wearing flak jackets," he said. "And how come the woman is not wearing a
t-shirt or anything else under the traditional Arabic robe, although
it's freezing cold and winter now?"
But cabdriver Fahmy said the images brought tears to his eyes.
"I grew up admiring our army and chanted, 'The army and the people, one hand,' " he said. "This seems like the enemy."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the reports of
violence on Sunday and said her thoughts are with the families of those
killed or injured.
"I urge Egyptian security forces to respect and protect the universal
rights of all Egyptians, including the rights to peaceful free
expression and assembly ... Those who are protesting should do so
peacefully and refrain from acts of violence," she said in a statement.
Tahrir Square has been the epicenter of anti-government
demonstrations since last January, when the revolt against Mubarak
began. Fresh protests sprouted in November, when the generals named
Mubarak-era premier Kamal Ganzouri as a caretaker prime minister until
parliamentary elections are complete.
Hundreds of police and troops swept through the plaza on Saturday,
barricading nearby streets, chasing off protesters and setting tents on
fire. Authorities arrested 14 people Friday and 150 on Saturday, nine of
them women, said Adel Saeed, the spokesman for the general prosecutor's
office.
"They have been accused of inciting violence, resisting arrest,
throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at security forces, burning public
property," Saeed said.
Sunday, demonstrators hurled more rocks and Molotov cocktails and
police and soldiers, injuring 58 of them, Interior Ministry spokesman
Gen. Marwan Mustapha said.
Protesters captured an army officer in uniform and beat him before
debating whether to swap him for a demonstrator who has been captured by
the military. Several newly elected lawmakers and religious leaders
from Cairo's al-Azhar University tried to negotiate a truce between
protesters and security forces, but failed and were asked to leave.
The Egyptian stock market went into a nosedive amid the latest
violence, losing 6 billion Egyptian pounds (about $1 billion) at its
opening Sunday and finishing down nearly 3.5%.
Ganzouri criticized the unrest as an "attack on revolution" Saturday
and condemned protesters for throwing stones and damaging public
property. He also denied that security forces were using live ammunition
against demonstrators.
In addition, 213-year-old Egyptian maps and other artifacts were
destroyed after a library in Cairo was set ablaze during Saturday's
clashes, officials said.
The original manuscript of the "description of Egypt" and
"irreplaceable maps and historical manuscripts preserved by many
generations since the building of the Scientific Center in August 1798
during the French Campaign" were destroyed in the fire, Ganzouri said in
a statement.
CNN's Ben Wedeman contributed to this article
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Bombings in Iraq
Baghdad (CNN) -- A wave of explosions in Baghdad
Thursday killed at least 63 people and wounded 185, authorities say,
raising fears about the stability of the country amid political upheaval
that threatens to undo Iraq's government just days after U.S. troops
withdrew from the country.
The explosions -- four car bombs and ten roadside bombs -- occurred
within two hours of one another, targeting residential, commercial and
government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told
CNN.
The violence comes as Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political
leaders square off over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice
President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security
detail into a death squad that targeted government and military
officials.
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has demanded Kurdish lawmakers
hand over the Sunni vice president, who has denied the charges and
refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish
region.
The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the
height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily
mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods.
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility, though the
attacks resemble previous bombings that have been claimed by both the
Sunni and Shiite insurgents as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Among the attacks was a parked car bomb explosion outside the offices
of the Integrity Commission, the country's main anti-corruption body,
that killed at least one person and wounded five others, said the police
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to release details to the media.
At the Medical City hospital in central Baghdad, doctors treated the
wounded whose bodies were peppered with what appeared to be shrapnel
from explosions, according to CNN television footage.
Images of bloodied, battered bodies and destroyed storefronts and homes were broadcast on Iraqi television stations.
While violence in Iraq has fallen off in recent years, the latest
spate of attacks are among the worst since August when a series of
coordinated bombings killed at least 75 people in 17 Iraqi cities.
The attacks come amid heightened sectarian tensions, raising fears
that the political turmoil in Iraq could spark a return of sectarian
bloodshed that nearly ripped the country apart during the height of the
war.
Al-Hashimi has denied the charges against him, saying the accusations
are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his Sunni-backed
Iraqiya minority political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc.
The warrant for al-Hashimi's arrest was issued just days after
Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament amid claims it was
being cut out of the political process by al-Maliki.
The prime minister has said failing to hand over al-Hashimi or allowing him to flee to another country "could cause problems."
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.
Thursday killed at least 63 people and wounded 185, authorities say,
raising fears about the stability of the country amid political upheaval
that threatens to undo Iraq's government just days after U.S. troops
withdrew from the country.
The explosions -- four car bombs and ten roadside bombs -- occurred
within two hours of one another, targeting residential, commercial and
government districts in the Iraqi capital, two police officials told
CNN.
The violence comes as Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political
leaders square off over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice
President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is accused of organizing his security
detail into a death squad that targeted government and military
officials.
Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has demanded Kurdish lawmakers
hand over the Sunni vice president, who has denied the charges and
refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish
region.
The seemingly coordinated explosions Thursday struck during the
height of morning rush hour, hitting a number of Baghdad's primarily
mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods.
There have been no immediate claims of responsibility, though the
attacks resemble previous bombings that have been claimed by both the
Sunni and Shiite insurgents as well as al Qaeda in Iraq.
Among the attacks was a parked car bomb explosion outside the offices
of the Integrity Commission, the country's main anti-corruption body,
that killed at least one person and wounded five others, said the police
officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to release details to the media.
At the Medical City hospital in central Baghdad, doctors treated the
wounded whose bodies were peppered with what appeared to be shrapnel
from explosions, according to CNN television footage.
Images of bloodied, battered bodies and destroyed storefronts and homes were broadcast on Iraqi television stations.
While violence in Iraq has fallen off in recent years, the latest
spate of attacks are among the worst since August when a series of
coordinated bombings killed at least 75 people in 17 Iraqi cities.
The attacks come amid heightened sectarian tensions, raising fears
that the political turmoil in Iraq could spark a return of sectarian
bloodshed that nearly ripped the country apart during the height of the
war.
Al-Hashimi has denied the charges against him, saying the accusations
are politically motivated amid the rivalry between his Sunni-backed
Iraqiya minority political bloc and al-Maliki's Shiite majority bloc.
The warrant for al-Hashimi's arrest was issued just days after
Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament amid claims it was
being cut out of the political process by al-Maliki.
The prime minister has said failing to hand over al-Hashimi or allowing him to flee to another country "could cause problems."
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh contributed to this report.
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Another example that the Sunnis and Shiites will never co-exist in Iraq
Clash Over Regional Power Spurs Iraq’s Sectarian Rift
Michael Kamber for The New York Times
Iraqis waiting to apply for police jobs in Baquba, where a Sunni-backed proposal on regional control led to mostly Shiite protests.
By JACK HEALY
Published: December 23, 2011
BAQUBA, Iraq — The governor has fled this uneasy city. Half the members of the provincial council are camped out in northern Iraq, afraid to return to their offices. Peaceful protesters fill the dusty streets, though just days ago angrier crowds blockaded the highways with burning tires and shattered glass.
Related
Enlarge This Image
Michael Kamber for The New York Times
Tribal sheiks in Baghdad called on Friday for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi to face trial on charges he led a death squad.
All of this because the local government here in northeastern Diyala Province recently dared to raise a simple but explosive question, one that is central to the unrest now surging through Iraq’s shaky democracy: Should a post-American Iraq exist as one unified nation, or will it split into a loose confederation of islands unto themselves?
A dire political crisis exploded in Baghdad this week, after an arrest warrant was issued against the Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, accusing him of running a death squad. But years of accumulated anger and disenfranchisement are now driving some of the country’s largely Sunni Arab provinces to seek greater control over their security and finances by distancing themselves from Iraq’s Shiite leaders.
Many Sunni leaders have rallied to the cause while top Shiites in Baghdad have fought the efforts, aggravating the sectarian divisions among the country’s political elite.
“They feel that they have no future with the central government,” said Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, a prominent Sunni.
This development comes at a moment of rising tensions and could herald a near-breakdown of relations between the countryside and the leaders behind the concrete walls and concertina wire guarding Baghdad’s Green Zone. It has splintered communities within provinces along religious lines, while deepening the sense of political uncertainty pervading Iraq in the days after the American military’s withdrawal.
“We’ve reached a point where the exasperation with the entire political process is so big in Sunni majority areas,” said Reidar Visser, an expert on Iraqi politics and the editor of the blog historiae.org. “They are just fed up and disillusioned.”
On Friday, thousands of protesters marched through largely Sunni cities to condemn the warrant for Mr. Hashimi’s arrest. In Samarra, where the destruction of a Shiite shrine in 2006 set off waves of violence, 2,000 demonstrators filled the streets after Friday Prayer, waving signs that declared, “The people of Samarra condemn the fabricated charges against Hashimi.”
The schism is one thread of a growing battle between Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a Shiite, and politicians from the political opposition and Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority.
Security forces who take orders from Mr. Maliki — sometimes personally — have arrested dozens of people tied to opposition politicians in recent weeks. The government accused Mr. Hashimi, the Sunni vice president, of running a death squad from his offices in central Baghdad, a charge he denies. And Mr. Maliki has urged Iraqi lawmakers to unseat his own deputy, Mr. Mutlaq, who frequently inveighs against the prime minister.
A leading political coalition supported by many Sunnis and secular Iraqis has boycotted Parliament, refusing to attend sessions, and its ministers and lawmakers have threatened to resign en masse. An American-backed partnership government uniting Iraq’s three main factions — the Shiite majority, Sunnis and Kurds — appears poised to fall.
That discord is resonating in the largely Sunni provinces around the capital, places that once hewed to a rigid nationalism cultivated by Saddam Hussein.
In recent months, Anbar, Salahuddin and Diyala Provinces have each pushed for a public vote on creating their own regional governments.
Mr. Maliki has pushed back harder. His supporters contend that the movement threatens to destabilize the central government. They say that regions controlled only by local security forces would provide safe havens for Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Baath Party and other Sunni-aligned militant groups at a tenuous moment so soon after the American military withdrawal.
During a trip to Washington this month, Mr. Maliki was asked in a meeting about the movement for greater regional control and offered a brusque reply, according to an American who met with Mr. Maliki during his visit.
“His response was: ‘Everything those people are doing is illegal. The only way to deal with them is through a legal process, and not a political process,’ ” said the American, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid jeopardizing access to Iraqi leaders. “This is not a guy who has any interest in compromising.”
Early Friday morning, Iraqi police commandos arrested a leading advocate of Salahuddin Province’s push for regional status and seized his computer and reams of documents, security officials said. They did not say why he had been detained.
The provinces are not seeking a total divorce from the rest of Iraq, just a wider separation in the mold of Kurdistan, the relatively prosperous and safe area in northern Iraq. The Kurds, who have lived for decades as a people apart from the rest of Iraq, have their own Parliament and president, command their own security forces and have signed lucrative oil deals with foreign companies without Baghdad’s approval.
Reporting was contributed by Omar al-Jawoshy from Baghdad, Duraid Adnan and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times from Baquba, and an Iraqi employee of The Times from Samarra.
A version of this article appeared in print on December 24, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Clash on Regional Control Spurs Iraq’s Sectarian Rift.
Michael Kamber for The New York Times
Iraqis waiting to apply for police jobs in Baquba, where a Sunni-backed proposal on regional control led to mostly Shiite protests.
By JACK HEALY
Published: December 23, 2011
BAQUBA, Iraq — The governor has fled this uneasy city. Half the members of the provincial council are camped out in northern Iraq, afraid to return to their offices. Peaceful protesters fill the dusty streets, though just days ago angrier crowds blockaded the highways with burning tires and shattered glass.
Related
- Blasts Rock Baghdad as Political Crisis in Iraq Deepens(December 23, 2011)
Enlarge This Image
Michael Kamber for The New York Times
Tribal sheiks in Baghdad called on Friday for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi to face trial on charges he led a death squad.
All of this because the local government here in northeastern Diyala Province recently dared to raise a simple but explosive question, one that is central to the unrest now surging through Iraq’s shaky democracy: Should a post-American Iraq exist as one unified nation, or will it split into a loose confederation of islands unto themselves?
A dire political crisis exploded in Baghdad this week, after an arrest warrant was issued against the Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashimi, accusing him of running a death squad. But years of accumulated anger and disenfranchisement are now driving some of the country’s largely Sunni Arab provinces to seek greater control over their security and finances by distancing themselves from Iraq’s Shiite leaders.
Many Sunni leaders have rallied to the cause while top Shiites in Baghdad have fought the efforts, aggravating the sectarian divisions among the country’s political elite.
“They feel that they have no future with the central government,” said Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, a prominent Sunni.
This development comes at a moment of rising tensions and could herald a near-breakdown of relations between the countryside and the leaders behind the concrete walls and concertina wire guarding Baghdad’s Green Zone. It has splintered communities within provinces along religious lines, while deepening the sense of political uncertainty pervading Iraq in the days after the American military’s withdrawal.
“We’ve reached a point where the exasperation with the entire political process is so big in Sunni majority areas,” said Reidar Visser, an expert on Iraqi politics and the editor of the blog historiae.org. “They are just fed up and disillusioned.”
On Friday, thousands of protesters marched through largely Sunni cities to condemn the warrant for Mr. Hashimi’s arrest. In Samarra, where the destruction of a Shiite shrine in 2006 set off waves of violence, 2,000 demonstrators filled the streets after Friday Prayer, waving signs that declared, “The people of Samarra condemn the fabricated charges against Hashimi.”
The schism is one thread of a growing battle between Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, a Shiite, and politicians from the political opposition and Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority.
Security forces who take orders from Mr. Maliki — sometimes personally — have arrested dozens of people tied to opposition politicians in recent weeks. The government accused Mr. Hashimi, the Sunni vice president, of running a death squad from his offices in central Baghdad, a charge he denies. And Mr. Maliki has urged Iraqi lawmakers to unseat his own deputy, Mr. Mutlaq, who frequently inveighs against the prime minister.
A leading political coalition supported by many Sunnis and secular Iraqis has boycotted Parliament, refusing to attend sessions, and its ministers and lawmakers have threatened to resign en masse. An American-backed partnership government uniting Iraq’s three main factions — the Shiite majority, Sunnis and Kurds — appears poised to fall.
That discord is resonating in the largely Sunni provinces around the capital, places that once hewed to a rigid nationalism cultivated by Saddam Hussein.
In recent months, Anbar, Salahuddin and Diyala Provinces have each pushed for a public vote on creating their own regional governments.
Mr. Maliki has pushed back harder. His supporters contend that the movement threatens to destabilize the central government. They say that regions controlled only by local security forces would provide safe havens for Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Baath Party and other Sunni-aligned militant groups at a tenuous moment so soon after the American military withdrawal.
During a trip to Washington this month, Mr. Maliki was asked in a meeting about the movement for greater regional control and offered a brusque reply, according to an American who met with Mr. Maliki during his visit.
“His response was: ‘Everything those people are doing is illegal. The only way to deal with them is through a legal process, and not a political process,’ ” said the American, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid jeopardizing access to Iraqi leaders. “This is not a guy who has any interest in compromising.”
Early Friday morning, Iraqi police commandos arrested a leading advocate of Salahuddin Province’s push for regional status and seized his computer and reams of documents, security officials said. They did not say why he had been detained.
The provinces are not seeking a total divorce from the rest of Iraq, just a wider separation in the mold of Kurdistan, the relatively prosperous and safe area in northern Iraq. The Kurds, who have lived for decades as a people apart from the rest of Iraq, have their own Parliament and president, command their own security forces and have signed lucrative oil deals with foreign companies without Baghdad’s approval.
- 1
- 2
Reporting was contributed by Omar al-Jawoshy from Baghdad, Duraid Adnan and an Iraqi employee of The New York Times from Baquba, and an Iraqi employee of The Times from Samarra.
A version of this article appeared in print on December 24, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Clash on Regional Control Spurs Iraq’s Sectarian Rift.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Egyptian court rules against virginity tests
From Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
December 27, 2011 -- Updated 1510 GMT (2310 HKT)
A group of mainly women protesters chant and sing in Tahrir Square on November 26, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Cairo (CNN) -- An Egyptian administrative court
issued an order Tuesday banning virginity tests for female detainees,
months after several women alleged they were subjected to such
examinations following a March protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The ruling comes in the case of Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old
marketing manager who took the country's military led-government to
court in August, alleging she was among those subjected to the test
after her arrest during the March 9 protest. She said she faced death
threats after bringing the case.
"Justice has been served today," Ibrahim told CNN. "These tests are a
crime and also do not comply with the constitution, which states
equality between men and woman. I will not give up my rights as a woman
or a human being."
Aly Hassan, a judicial consultant affiliated with Ministry of
Justice, said the order only affects the use of such tests in military
prisons and on women in temporary detention.
"Those tests are not considered a crime or else the file would be in
the Criminal Court," Hassan said. "It's the circumstances of the alleged
test that may be in question here."
In March, the human rights group Amnesty International reported that
Egyptian troops beat, shocked and strip-searched women arrested during
the protest in Cairo and forced them to submit to virginity tests.
Egyptian authorities initially denied requiring virginity tests, but
in May, a senior general who asked not to be identified acknowledged the
practice.
Beaten activist: 'There is no justice'
The general said the tests were performed as a safeguard against the
women accusing authorities of sexual assault, and he defended the tests.
"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine,"
the general told CNN at the time. "These were girls who had camped out
in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the
tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."
But Ibrahim said her treatment clearly showed the tests were meant to "degrade the protesters."
"The military tortured me, labeled me a prostitute and humiliated me
by forcing on me a virginity test conducted by a male doctor where my
body was fully exposed while military soldiers watched," she said.
Another protester arrested in the March 9 protest, Salwa Hosseini,
offered a similar account, according to an Amnesty International report
on the allegations.
In addition to Ibrahim, a member of the No to Military Trials to
Civilians group, Maha Mamoun, joined the legal action even though she
was not subjected to a test, said Ahmed Ragab, an attorney with the
Hisham Mubarak Law Center who handled Ibrahim's case.
Ragab said government lawyers initially denied that the tests were
administered and the case was repeatedly delayed before Tuesday's
ruling.
From Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
December 27, 2011 -- Updated 1510 GMT (2310 HKT)
A group of mainly women protesters chant and sing in Tahrir Square on November 26, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Ruling involves military prisons and temporary detention, governemnt consultant says
- Woman who says she was subjected to virginity test says justice has been served
- "I will not give up my rights as a woman or a human being," Samira Ibrahim says
- Women arrested during March protests say they were subjected to the examinations
Cairo (CNN) -- An Egyptian administrative court
issued an order Tuesday banning virginity tests for female detainees,
months after several women alleged they were subjected to such
examinations following a March protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
The ruling comes in the case of Samira Ibrahim, a 25-year-old
marketing manager who took the country's military led-government to
court in August, alleging she was among those subjected to the test
after her arrest during the March 9 protest. She said she faced death
threats after bringing the case.
"Justice has been served today," Ibrahim told CNN. "These tests are a
crime and also do not comply with the constitution, which states
equality between men and woman. I will not give up my rights as a woman
or a human being."
Aly Hassan, a judicial consultant affiliated with Ministry of
Justice, said the order only affects the use of such tests in military
prisons and on women in temporary detention.
"Those tests are not considered a crime or else the file would be in
the Criminal Court," Hassan said. "It's the circumstances of the alleged
test that may be in question here."
In March, the human rights group Amnesty International reported that
Egyptian troops beat, shocked and strip-searched women arrested during
the protest in Cairo and forced them to submit to virginity tests.
Egyptian authorities initially denied requiring virginity tests, but
in May, a senior general who asked not to be identified acknowledged the
practice.
Beaten activist: 'There is no justice'
The general said the tests were performed as a safeguard against the
women accusing authorities of sexual assault, and he defended the tests.
"The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine,"
the general told CNN at the time. "These were girls who had camped out
in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the
tents Molotov cocktails and (drugs)."
But Ibrahim said her treatment clearly showed the tests were meant to "degrade the protesters."
"The military tortured me, labeled me a prostitute and humiliated me
by forcing on me a virginity test conducted by a male doctor where my
body was fully exposed while military soldiers watched," she said.
Another protester arrested in the March 9 protest, Salwa Hosseini,
offered a similar account, according to an Amnesty International report
on the allegations.
In addition to Ibrahim, a member of the No to Military Trials to
Civilians group, Maha Mamoun, joined the legal action even though she
was not subjected to a test, said Ahmed Ragab, an attorney with the
Hisham Mubarak Law Center who handled Ibrahim's case.
Ragab said government lawyers initially denied that the tests were
administered and the case was repeatedly delayed before Tuesday's
ruling.
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
KHAMIS GADDAFI HAS BEEN KILLED NEAR BANI WALID
Badboy- Platinum Poster
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Badboy wrote:KHAMIS GADDAFI HAS BEEN KILLED NEAR BANI WALID
Badboy, since I started this thread a year ago , nearly every Country in the Middle East is at War and Countries like Lebanon and Yemen are being dragged into it by association , it really is frightening because the damage done to the infrastructure , like Libya, will take years to put right, if ever. In the meantime all these refugee camps will be spawning future Terrorists. Life is very cheap it seems.
BTW, that was clever of you finding this thread ,
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Number of posts : 30555
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Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
I TYPED IN LIBYA IN RIGHT HAND SEARCH BOXPanda wrote:Badboy wrote:KHAMIS GADDAFI HAS BEEN KILLED NEAR BANI WALID
Badboy, since I started this thread a year ago , nearly every Country in the Middle East is at War and Countries like Lebanon and Yemen are being dragged into it by association , it really is frightening because the damage done to the infrastructure , like Libya, will take years to put right, if ever. In the meantime all these refugee camps will be spawning future Terrorists. Life is very cheap it seems.
BTW, that was clever of you finding this thread ,
Badboy- Platinum Poster
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Number of posts : 8857
Age : 58
Warning :
Registration date : 2009-08-31
Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Badboy wrote:I TYPED IN LIBYA IN RIGHT HAND SEARCH BOXPanda wrote:Badboy wrote:KHAMIS GADDAFI HAS BEEN KILLED NEAR BANI WALID
Badboy, since I started this thread a year ago , nearly every Country in the Middle East is at War and Countries like Lebanon and Yemen are being dragged into it by association , it really is frightening because the damage done to the infrastructure , like Libya, will take years to put right, if ever. In the meantime all these refugee camps will be spawning future Terrorists. Life is very cheap it seems.
BTW, that was clever of you finding this thread ,
Yeah well see, I would never have thought of anything as simple as that.LOL
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Number of posts : 30555
Age : 67
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Registration date : 2010-03-27
Re: THE DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST
WATCHING FILM ABOUT GADDAFI, HE WAS A CHILD RAPIST AMONG OTHER THINGS puke:
CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 6 WERE KILLED FOR THEIR PARENTS ACTIONS.
ONCE ORDERED ALL CAMELS TO BE KILLED IN TRIPOLI.
CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 6 WERE KILLED FOR THEIR PARENTS ACTIONS.
ONCE ORDERED ALL CAMELS TO BE KILLED IN TRIPOLI.
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