Saturday, January 6, 2018

Is Juliette Kayyem a liar or just an idiot?





She begs the question with her Tweets.


 12h12 hours ago
Justin Raimondo Retweeted Juliette Kayyem
Someone tell this Harvard professor that 17 intelligence agencies did NOT endorse the Russia-gate conspiracy theory. Not ,of course, that the facts enter into it. But spreading lies is routine in her department
Justin Raimondo added,
A year ago today, 17 agencies of Intelligence Community concluded that Russia ordered an "influence campaign" during the 2016 election w/"a clear preference" for Donald Trump.…
1 reply10 retweets21 likes
 
 


Why does CNN use her as an analyst?

She's either stupid or a liar.

There were never 17 agencies saying that.

She's either fallen for a lie or decided she'd repeat it anyway.

CNN needs to fire people who lie -- intentionally or not -- to the American people.


This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 
Friday, July 5, 2017.   Chaos and violence continue as reality battles the press.


The conflict between Baghdad and Erbil continues as Falah Mustafa Bakir (THE HILL) examines realities in Iraq:



 We in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, after the 2003 war that the United States called Operation Iraqi Freedom, opted for a genuine partnership within the new Iraq, believing that it would be federal and democratic; a federal government based on consensus, wealth and power-sharing. 
With many promises made by the international community before and after 2003, the system that was “planned” for Iraq clearly failed as a whole. We were assured that replacing platonic, non-functioning plans with a well-structured system of confederation for Iraq and Kurdistan could save us all.



Bakir notes the lack of power-sharing and other issues before zooming in on this important point:

In addition, media headlines glorifying Iraq these days neither positively serve the status quo nor properly portray the reality of the deep-rooted conflicts plaguing the country as a whole. Pretending otherwise is to allow bigger problems to ferment for the future.
The international community is responsible for supporting Iraq as a whole and not Baghdad alone, at the expense of Kurdistan. A strong, stable and thriving Kurdistan Region will positively contribute to a strong, peaceful Iraq that can be the beacon for co-existence in a part of the world where this is a rarity. 



The western press repeatedly distorts reality in Iraq.

That's about to get a lot worse if the past is any indicator.

Elections are supposed to take place in May.  As demonstrated many times -- but most infamously in 2010 -- the western press rushes to really distort reality in Iraq during the lead up to any election.


But, let's face it, they don't offer much even when it's not time for voting.


 2h2 hours ago
Iraq and Libya declared right up there with the worst. When was the last time anyone bothered evaluating the state of democracy in Iraq? Odd, because UK commentators claimed to be obsessed with Iraqi freedom and democracy in 2002-2003
1 reply15 retweets13 likes










MEDIA LENS is 100% correct.

The press refuses to evaluate the state of Iraq.

Doing so?  Well it might make them face reality and just how badly the war that they worked so hard to sell turned out.

So they lie or ignore and hope to hell no one catches on.

"Trust us!"  They whine and moan and then their little whores -- yes, the media whores have their own whores -- people like Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Stevie Spielberg -- glorify one moment in time as if it's the reality of the press.

Reality?  They can't even note that they're glorifying union-buster Katharine Graham.

They lie and they lie again.

If they were forced to report reality on Iraq, the world would be up in arms over just how badly the illegal war has gone, just how many lives it has cost and just how little has been achieved.


So you get nonsense about Hanan Mohsin al Fatlawi at HUFFINGTON POST today. Mohammad Tawhidi, who bills himself as "Imam," is a controversial figure.  You would have thought HUFFINGTON POST would think twice about publishing his nonsense but you'd be wrong.

As for Hanan Mohsin, she's a homophobic -- so it's no surprise she's part of Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party.  She's also cheered on terrorists and terrorism as well as salivated at the feet of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.  She's nothing to be proud of and was part of burying women's rights despite Tawhidi attempting to sell her as something different.

Rah-rah b.s. is what we get more than enough of from the media.

Reality?

It remains in short supply.




This morning, the US Defense Dept announced:

Strikes in Iraq
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq Jan. 1-4.
On Dec. 31, near Beiji, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of four engagements against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS fighting position.
On Dec. 30, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of seven engagements against ISIS targets:
-- Near Beiji, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an ISIS tunnel system.
-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed five ISIS fighting positions, two tunnel entrances and a weapons cache.
There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq Dec. 29, 2017.

Wait, ISIS was defeated, remember?

So why was the US coalition still bombing just days ago?

Probably because it's not defeated.  Selling "victory" for Hayder -- to get him re-elected -- was always going to be iffy but to think you could do it from the start of December until the May elections demonstrates extreme stupidity.


Meanwhile REUTERS reports:

 A government official and his brother were kidnapped Friday morning by unidentified gunmen in Diyala province, 60 km (60 miles) east of Baghdad, a police source said. 
 "Unidentified gunmen kidnapped the director of the Agriculture Division in the area of ​​Saadiyah and his brother, north of Diyala province, this morning, and took them to an unknown destination," the captain of Diyala police said.


Looks like there are some issues still in Iraq.

Maybe the press could focus on that?

Probably not.

Hayder's using his 'moment' to try to dismantle the militias he brought into the Iraqi military.


  1.  1h1 hour ago
Abadi’s plan envisages taking back the PMF’s heavy weapons and cutting their strength by half: "Abadi does not trust the Iranians, whose militia allies act like a state within a state, said a Shi‘ite lawmaker close to the prime minister."
2 replies7 retweets5 likes
 
 







The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, PACIFICA EVENING NEWS and LATINO USA -- updated:




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Thursday, January 4, 2018

Want to make a change?

You don't make a change by doing the same thing over and over.

So how about supporting a Green in a state race?

  1.  6h6 hours ago
    Greens running for state or federal office in 2018 (so far): : 36 : 18 : 10 : 9 : 8 : 6 : 5 : 3 : 2 : 2 : 2 Who says Greens don't run down ballot?
    13 replies85 retweets159 likes
     
     



A number of e-mails have come in over the years saying, "I'd vote Green" for president but "I don't want to waste my vote."

Voting your beliefs is never 'wasting' a vote.

But here's some state elections you can make a difference in, so how about giving it a try?

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 
Thursday, January 4, 2018.


We are going to again stress the need to please read James Risen's piece for THE INTERCEPT.






















As 2017 was coming to close, the Iraqi government began pursuing new ways to persecute the Palestinians in Iraq.   Though largely ignored in the US, there was outcry from the international community.  Iraqi officials may now be feeling pressure.   MIDDLE EAST MONITOR reports:

The Palestinian Ambassador to Iraq, Ahmed Aqel, said the Speaker of Iraq’s Parliament, Salim Al-Jubouri, has promised him to find a legal formula during the next few days to preserve the Palestinian refugees’ rights in Iraq.
The ambassador met with Al-Jubouri in his office in Baghdad to discuss the issue of Palestinian refugees in Iraq and other issues.
[. . .]
Iraq abolished last month Resolution 202 which gave Palestinian refugees in Iraq the same rights as Iraqi citizens except citizenship, army service and political action.


Will there be any actual effort?  At this point, no one knows.

Today, for example, Hayder al-Abadi served up this Tweet:


 2h2 hours ago
PM receives leaders of Iraq’s Christian denominations, says Iraq’s religious diversity is a source of pride & strength, and that the is working with all communities to build a prosperous, fair and equal society for all Iraqis
1 reply8 retweets15 likes







Photos and empty promises come easy for Hayder.  Follow through?  Not really so much.


Which makes pieces like Jack Watling's "The Remarkable Resilience of the Prime Minister of Iraq" (THE ATLANTIC) puzzling -- unless you remember the long, long history of western journalists doing puff pieces for despots around the world.

Hayder's accomplished so very little but if you're able to ignore the squalor so many Iraqis live in, if you're able to ignore the widows and orphans, if you're able to ignore the government persecution, if you're able to ignore so much, he might actually have accomplished . . . well . . . breathing.  He's still breathing.  Installed by the US in 2014 and he's still breathing.

The biggest howler in the piece?  Hard to say but this one surely ranks near the top:

Taha al Tamimi, a former advisor to the governor of Basra and political advisor to the British government, said that corruption in Iraq extends to its senior-most politicians. Anti-corruption institutions have proved unable to confront senior political figures, but al Tamimi predicted this will change, and that there would be little opposition to serious corruption charges against former Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, and some of his allies.


How will it change?

The courts are corrupt.

How is it going to change?

And while I would love to see Nouri behind bars, I don't believe it's as simple or as easy as Taha al-Tamimi portrays it.

Is Nouri corrupt?

Yes.

He's enriched himself and fleeced the Iraqi government.

But Hayder going after Nouri?

They are from the same political party (Dawa) and Hayder belongs to Nouri's political slate (State of Law).  Hayder's shown no independence from Nouri.  Even in the face of Nouri's attempts to return as prime minister, Hayder seems both inept and oblivious.

Hayder's only 'bragging right' is the so-called defeat of ISIS.  (So-called?  The Islamic State remains in Iraq.)

In May, Iraq's supposed to hold elections.  In four months, Hayder's victory or 'victory' may look even less impressive.


The editorial board of THE CHICAGO TIMES argues for a continued US military presence in Iraq:


 The U.S. and Baghdad are stepping up talks about maintaining a U.S. military presence in the country, USA Today recently reported. It’s not known how large an American contingent would be involved, but its role would likely mirror that of U.S. troops in the bid to defeat the Islamic State group — advising Iraqi commanders and providing surveillance and intelligence help. James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and now a foreign affairs analyst, told USA Today that the new contingent probably would be smaller than the current force of 5,500 soldiers.
Keeping American boots on the ground in a part of the world as unstable as Iraq is never an easy decision, but it behooves both Iraq and the U.S. to hammer out a deal. Iraq’s peace is desperately fragile.
[. . .] 
An American military intelligence presence is needed in Iraq to ferret out and neutralize whatever the Islamic State group is up to, whether that be web propaganda or suicide bomb attacks in Baghdad.



Huh?

The US military has to remain "in Iraq to ferret out and neutralize whatever the Islamic State group is up to"?

Wouldn't that actually be the responsibility of the Iraqi government?

And what's with tasking the US military for everything under the sun?

The US military is trained to wage war.

But it's already been tasked with reconstruction and rebuilding in Iraq.  It's also supposed to have helped democracy take root.

Now we're going to also push off spying duties and bodyguard duties onto the US military?

That's a hell of a burden for a group that returns home only to have to battle for timely treatment from the VA.

And in Iraq?

They get to be the target of the Shi'ite militias that Hayder brought into the government.


KURDISTAN 24 reports:


The head of Iranian-backed militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq recently called on the Iraqi government and Parliament to review the United States’ military presence in the country.
During a ceremony over the weekend marking the anniversary of “victory and liberation” over the US in Iraq, Qais al-Khazali, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Shia militia—a faction within the Hashd al-Shaabi—said defeating America in the country was a victory against the most powerful force in the world.
“We are honored to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the US defeat,” Khazali said while addressing supporters in Baghdad.
“The defeat of the occupier [US] led to the restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty which the US wanted to violate,” he stated, adding the Asaib Ahl al-Haq inflicted damages to American troops “without killing the innocent or relying on suicide bombings.”

The report goes on to note that he is also accusing the US of creating ISIS. Did it? Maybe so, maybe no. We've noted this before and how the lack of a response to it has not helped. But that's for the US image in general. Right here? We're talking about the image in Iraq -- we're talking about painting a bulls eye on the backs of US service members in Iraq. In his ATLANTIC piece, Jack's convinced that Hayder can control the militias. Then maybe he can prove that by getting them to cease making that charge?

The following community sites updated:



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