Iraq will not continue

Iraq will not continue



Those who believe that the current form of government in Baghdad - the outcome of the occupation of Iraq by American forces - is sustainable are hugely mistaken.This is exactly what worries the current nervous prime minister, who is working hard to strike a new deal that will give U.S. military presence an upper hand in Iraq.


Under current agreements U.S. occupation troops are to leave by year's end.The prime minister is banking on statements by his army generals, among them the chief of staff, that Iraqi troops are still not prepared to defend the country and their readiness will take at least ten more years.


The prime minister understands that the sinking of the ship in the mud that will be left in the aftermath of U.S. troops withdrawal will lead to damages worse than those inflicted on the country by the occupation itself.He now senses that almost everybody is his enemy, even those within his closest circle working for him under the political or factional banner.This is the kind of characteristic that breeds dictators in the course of time.


It is therefore wrong to say that Iraq's status quo is the product of constitutional agreement organizing relations between its sects and factions or external stakeholders, namely the U.S. and Iran.The Iraqi people still have tremendous potential despite policies meant to crush their latent power. The emergence of this latent power will restore the balance in power distorted by bloody iron fist gripping the country so far.


Nothing is stable in Iraq, and the threads keeping the political system in place are weaker than ever. And among certain categories, like the political framework residing in the Green Zone and the rest of the people, there are no threads at all.There is an enormous event in store for Iraq - an event that will pass in its enormity the revolutions that took place in both Tunisia and Egypt.


By Fatih Abdulsalam, Azzaman





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Christian abducted, tortured and beheaded



An Iraqi Christian man was abducted, tortured and then beheaded. The victim was from Kirkuk, northern Iraq. Police found his body this morning. He had been kidnapped three days ago and the family had received a ransom request.


However, negotiations for his release did not work out and so he was brutally murdered. For the archbishop of Kirkuk, his death is an “inhuman act” because it goes “against every human and religious principle”. Iraqi Christians have been living in a state of high tension since the killing of Osama Bin Laden, fearing possible revenge by local Muslim extremists.


Ashur Yacob Issa was 29 years old and had three children, a source in Kirkuk told AsiaNews. He was abducted three days ago for ransom. His kidnappers wanted US$ 100,000 to release him. However, negotiations with his family “did not work out”, a local Christian said.


The incident came to a terrible end this morning, when police found the young man’s body, by the side of a bridge. The body showed “horrific marks of torture”, the source said. The head had been cut off and the eyes gauged out of their socket.


The crime sent a shockwave through the city, especially in its Christian community. although the victim was kidnapped in order to get a large sum of money, the death of Osama Bin Laden by the US on 2 May has raised the tension level in the Christian community. Since then in fact, it has been living in fear of possible reprisals by Muslim extremists.


Speaking to AsiaNews, Mgr Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk, condemned the murder of the young man, calling it an “inhuman act” that goes against “every human and religious principle”. “No man who believes in God and respects life can commit such acts,” the prelate said.Now Mgr Sako’s concern is for the widow and her fatherless children.


However, in a warning to the perpetrators of this act, the archbishop said, “Let them think about those who are left without a father and a husband. Even if human justice is not done, divine justice shall, sooner or later”.


Lastly, the archbishop of Kirkuk called on police and security forces officials, both local and national, to undertake joint action “so that all people of good will can work together to protect defenceless citizens.”


By Asia News


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Shi'ite groups behind Iraq killings



Shi'ite militias rather than Sunni Islamist al Qaeda are behind a recent wave of assassinations of Iraqi government, police and military officials in Baghdad, security officials said.


Militants have used silenced guns and bombs stuck to their targets to kill more than 38 officials in the last five months, according to Baghdad security operations. Interior Ministry sources have reported at least 51 such killings to Reuters in the same period.


"This issue is the biggest concern for the security apparatus currently," said Major-General Hassan al-Baidhani, chief of staff for Baghdad's security operations command."The graph line of (other) terrorist operations has decreased a lot ... but assassinations using sticky bombs and silenced weapons have started to rise," he said.


Among those killed last week were the director general of the Iraqi State Cement Co. Four assassinations were carried out in Baghdad on Sunday and Monday in which three officers at the Interior and Defense Ministries were killed, an Interior Ministry source said.Violence has fallen sharply since the height of sectarian carnage in 2006-07 but remains a constant in Iraqi life. Much of it is routinely blamed on al Qaeda.


While Iraqi and U.S. forces have made strides against a stubborn insurgency, militants have stepped up attacks on soldiers and police in a bid to destabilize the government as U.S. troops, in Iraq for more than eight years after toppling Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, prepare to withdraw by year-end.


A surge in violence from Shi'ite groups complicates the security picture at a time when the U.S. military is deciding how quickly it can safely withdraw its remaining units.


SUNNIS TARGETED, BAATHISTS FEARED


Both Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim groups are behind the killings, but the recent spree targeting senior police and army officers in Baghdad has been carried out by Shi'ite groups concerned about a return of Saddam's outlawed Baath party after U.S. troops leave, senior security officials told Reuters.


Many of Iraq's Shi'ite political party leaders believe Baathists, who dominated Iraq under Saddam, will try to return to power by leading a military coup, using senior Sunni officers in the ranks of the army and police, security officials said.


"The most dangerous threat facing Iraq in 2012 is the Baath Party because it seeks to regain power," said a senior Interior Ministry official named to his post by a Shi'ite Islamist party.Baathists have the experience, money and leaders to stage a coup, he said.


The Interior Ministry said at least 11 senior officers working at the Interior and Defense Ministries have been killed in separate shootings in Baghdad in the last two months. Defense Ministry statistics showed eight senior officers were assassinated in the last week of April alone.


Brigadier-generals Moayed Khalil, Ihsan Ali, Riyadh Majeed Rasheed, Mohammed Hameed, Taha Ahmed and Brigadier Emad Hashim Ahmed were among the Defense Ministry officials killed in the last two months.


"Most of the officers who were killed in the Ministry of Defense were Sunnis," said a Shi'ite Defense Ministry officer who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.Ministry officials said hit lists have been issued by Shi'ite militias and published on websites, and some officers have received phone calls telling them they will be killed.


"Officers are living in a fear. These groups have people everywhere, in the police, in the investigations departments and in the groups of cleaners in the streets," the Shi'ite officer said. "The dangerous thing is that the officers' addresses are being leaked by security officials."


HOW TO AVOID ASSASSINATION


Noting the increase in assassinations of "important figures who work with the state," the Interior Ministry issued measures to help officials avoid being killed.


A pamphlet advises government workers to forego daily habits and routines, rent houses close to work, avoid deserted roads and dangerous areas, do security checks on bodyguards and get self-defense training.


"The killer is a skilled hunter," said a senior Interior official who declined to be named.The attackers follow their victims for days before shooting them with silenced handguns, which draw less attention, or attaching small bombs to their cars.


"The attackers are associated with powerful sides in the political process," a senior police official said. "We are facing difficulties stopping them. They have state badges and legal permits to carry weapons."


Reuters