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May 8, 2012 NRA invades Iraq: New gun laws ensure peace and tranquility

In a startling development the U.S. National Rifle Association has successfully invaded Iraq.No American media has reported on the issue, nor have they reported on the the following:

CRI (1) reports that the Iraqi government on Sunday legalized the possession of one gun in each house in the country, as Iraqi army soldiers started the gradual handover of security control to the police, government officials said.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said in a statement that the Iraqi security authority "decided to license a rifle or a pistol in each house, on condition that the owner must register it (the gun) in the nearest police station."

Violence in Iraq has ebbed from its climax in 2006 and 2007 when sectarian conflicts pushed the country to the brink of a civil war, but sporadic shootings and bombings still occur across the country.

That Maliki's government decided the best way to still the violence is to arm each household can only be explained by a coordinated and evidently successful  attack by the NRA. 
No NRA spokesperson agreed to comment. (Actually, no NRA spokesperson was asked to comment.)

1) China Radio International , (CRI) is the only overseas broadcaster in the People's Republic of China. CRI was founded on December 3, 1941 and is owned and operated by the state. CRI is one of the "three central media organizations in China" along with China National Radio (CNR) and China Central Television (CCTV).

 

March 29 2012 You can easily help prevent destruction in Iraq and Turkey

We've done a lot to destroy much of Iraq. YOU CAN HELP PREVENT FURTHER DESTRUCTION OF THE SOUTHERN MARSHES. A proposed dam on the Tigris River in Mesopotamia will have a devastating effect on parts of Turkey and Iraq. Particularly, the unique antique town Hasankeyf, with a past of at least 10,000 year of continuous settlement, in the mainly Kurdish populated Southeast of Turkey and  Marshlands in South of Iraq, the largest wetlands of the Middle East cultivated by Millions of “Marsh Arabs“, are threatened by the Ilisu Dam. It is one of the most controversial dams in the world.
[IRAQ CIVIL SOCIETY]  HAS THE FULL STORY.

Sign the petition at: UNESCO

The marshes, ordered destroyed by Sadaam, [in an attempt to drive out Shi'a opposition groups in southern Iraq] were a  part of a traditional culture that depended upon them for their livelihood. Rich in fish and fowl, they were referred to as the original Garden of Eden.

For some time, there have been efforts to develop plans to restore the Mesopotamian marshes and return the Ma'dan people to their ancestral homes. There are now two major projects to restore the Marshes. The first to start working was AMAR (Assisting Marsh Arabs and Refugees), which is helping the Ma'dan people to survive in the refugee camps in Iran, and has also done a considerable amount of research on the ecology and hydrology of the Marshes from the scientific literature. The second project, Eden Again, is a more recently initiated program sponsored by the Iraq Foundation and the U.S. Department of State to develop a viable plan to restore the Marshes. The Eden Again Project, led by project directors Dr. Azzam and Dr. Suzanne Alwash, and project manager Michelle Stevens, is developing a hydrological model to determine how much water will be needed to restore the marshlands, how to reintroduce the ecologically important springtime flood pulse, and how best to wash out accumulated salts and pollutants. Project members are also examining remote sensing data from satellite photos to define habitat types within the marshlands, and are compiling a list of focal plant and animal species that can serve as biological indicators of successful habitat restoration. Eden Again is also working with representatives of the Ma'dan people to find out what they need in order for them to eventually return to their homes in the Marshes. According to Dr. Stevens, the two projects, AMAR and Eden Again, have been working together to come up with a comprehensive plan to restore the Marshes. Whereas AMAR tends to emphasize human needs more strongly, Eden Again is more focused on restoring the environment of the Marshes. There is, however, considerable overlap between the efforts of the two projects, which gives both the potential to devise a truly comprehensive program to restore the Mesopotamian marshlands to their former splendor. [Iowa State University] http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/marshes.htm

Feb 24 2012 Two conversations: Syrian Slaughter, Iraqi Bombings, and Iran

We stand in the cold drizzle and talk of Syria. The Lieutenant, a disabled Vietnam vet, is wearing his khakis, smoking his cigarette, and talking loudly of the cruelty of the Syrian government. I listen.

"They are killing women and children. The bastards. They're bastards, you know. These people should be hung. They don't even let the Red Cross in. No food. Nothing," he rants. He goes on for quite a while before I find a place to break in with some quiet assent, a word for the future, and a damp goodbye.

I don't have the heart to bring up Fallujah. Every day the Syrian slaughter reminds me of Fallujah, especially the assault on Homs. Fallujah has become a symbol to me of the utter illogical cruelty of our invasion and occupation of Iraq;  where we crushed the innocent civilians with every bit as much gusto as the Syrian government has mustered now.

---

Later I'm on the phone to Baghdad, and the news is not good.

"The neighborhood is closed since yesterday. We cannot go anywhere. The older children cannot go to college. We are trapped. Again. There is no hope."

"But there is hope in the future...the  young ones who are coming out of college," is my reply. It is also my hope.

He tells me, "This is a dead hope. I have been in Syria for 4 years before I come back now. Baghdad is not Baghdad. It is Iran. Even the cars that blew up yesterday are Iranian taxis. Everything is Iran here. Do you think these children can change that?"

"Do you know," he continues, "the government paid 60 million for their cars? 60 million American. Now they ride in safety in their armoured cars. They don't care for the people. Only themselves and all they can steal. This is Baghdad now."

The conversation shifts to the children and how they are coping with the madness around them. Little K has taken to biting. Each time he is upset, each time he hears a loud noise, each time he is angry he bites. Usually his mom, but anyone around is in danger. They don't know what to do about it, how to handle it, how to punish, reward, prevent...

The line is cut and I am in the rain again, or maybe it's tears.

Nov 28 2011 Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative-a defense against Western domination.

As a measure of the growing maturity of the Iraqis who are engaged in the non-violentm Iraqi-led transformation of Iraq we note the presence of an Iraqi delegation at the South Asian Social Forum. No longer are progressive Iraqis thinking of themselves as isolated and powerless. Their resistance to the domination of of Iraq by corporations and capital is laudable.

Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative - مبادرة تضامن المجتمع

A message to all members of Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative - مبادرة تضامن المجتمع

28th November 2011 Press Release by the Iraqi delegation at the South Asian Social Forum Dhaka, Bangladesh, 24th November 2011 An Iraqi delegation composed by eight members of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (www.iraqicivilsociety.org) took part in the South Asian Social Forum (Dhaka, 18-22 November 2011, www.wsfsouthasiabd.org) meeting local representatives of social movements, unions, professional organizations and political parties of Bangladesh. South-South coordination proved to be fundamental to break the isolation of Iraqi civil society. On November 23rd in Dhaka a meeting was held between the Iraqi delegation and seven local political parties and union members, aimed at creating direct links with Iraqi social movements, not mediated by Iraqi governmental forces.  Activists from Brazil, Belgium, Germany, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, India, Italy, France, Pakistan, Canada, and Turkey’s Kurdistan participated in the meeting as well. Iraqis spoke about the need of creating direct links with the people of South Asia and its social movements. Due to Iraq's isolation for decades form its geographical surroundings and from the world social movements, political life has been controlled by parties and Iraqi communities didn't have opportunities to discuss about regional and global issues. The Iraqi delegation stressed that such an absence from the global civil society must end: Iraqi social movements, unions and NGOs must take initiative to join international struggles for freedom and social justice. Participants in the meeting stressed on the urgency to re-establish an Iraqi cultural and political role in the region and the world, wishing the complete withdrawal of US troops. Turning the page of war and occupation is essential to develop a new scenario where social and civic action re-builds on new bases what was destroyed by war. The Iraqi delegation finally took part in the International Council of the World Social Forum, where the plan to organize in 2012 the Maghreb-Mashreq Social Forum (Tunis) and in 2013 an Iraqi Social Forum (Baghdad) was discussed and approved. The second will be an open space for independent movements and networks operating in Iraq, with a clear position against the project of New-Liberalism that western powers tried to implement through the war, which aims at full transition to the market economy and domination of Iraq by corporations and capital. Iraqi people hold human rights, national sovereignty and social justice higher than economic profit, and will resists foreign grab of their resources. The Iraqi group was composed by representatives of the Engineering Professional Union (Electricity section), Al Masalla Organization for Human Resources Development, Iraqi Women Network, Tamouz Organization for Social Development, Information Centre for Research and Development, Basrah Civil Forum, Iraqi Centre for Research and Studies, in addition to the Italian NGO Un ponte per... (www.unponteper.it) who facilitated coordination through the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative. Active support of the network Alternatives International (www.alterinter.org) and financial help by Karibu عربي

Visit Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative - مبادرة تضامن المجتمع at: http://icssi08.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

November 11, 2011 Baghdad, Iraq: The good, the bad, the treacherous.

Baghdad, Iraq: The good, the bad, the treacherous.
November 11, 2011 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

In the midst of the good news from Iraq about the emerging civil society organizations and their good non-violent works for peaceful transition to a more democratic society we find ourselves dismayed at the rising violence.

Baghdad is once again a city of fear in which parents, reporting to us, are afraid to let their children go out to play, shopping is becoming scary, and just going to work, if you are lucky enough to have a job, is an event filled with dread. The lack of central electricity is still an issue and generators (one for your house, one for the neighborhood) are still the mainstay.

Journalists are once again under fire, and freedom of the press is no longer guaranteed. Assassinations and attacks  of reporters have increased lately, and press offices are also being attacked by 'them'. The 'them'... Some say these are government backed forces who seek out media critical of the regime, or media trying to publish honest accounts of the situation on the ground. It is a sad, and dangerous, state of affairs.

On the good side of the ledger:

Mercy Corps is expanding its Baghdad offices and continuing its work of building schools and medical clinics, teaching women to read and empowering people with disabilities.

The final declaration of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) third conference is now available, offering a window of hope for all who wish for progress in Iraq. Looking at the list of over 100 Iraqi representatives of emerging and growing NGOs yields insight into the current momentum.

All in all we remain hopeful, but it is obvious that the road ahead is treacherous for the good people who still believe that Iraq can find non-violent paths to more peaceful tomorrows.

Please write your representatives to try and alter the distribution of funds slated for Iraq. As it stands now: the non DoD allocations increase the 2012 moneys destined for Iraq's military (about US$ 2 Billion), and decrease the allocations for civil society measures. Foreign Assistance.gov reports that support for Human Rights, Health, Education and Human services have dropped to $300 million each. Allocations for the environment and Humanitarian Assistance have been cut to zero.

 

Today in Iraq:

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims, killing one Iranian and wounding four others in Baghdad's northwestern Kadhimiya district, a police source said.

#2: Gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at an Iraqi army checkpoint, killing one soldier and wounding another in Baghdad's northern Adhamiya district, late on Saturday, police and hospital sources said.

#3: "Two policemen have been injured in an attack by a group of unknown gunmen, who used silencer-fixed guns in their attack on a police patrol in west Iraq's Jami'a district on Monday" the Security Source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, adding that the attackers have escaped to an unknown destination.

#4: In another incident, "an explosive charge, planted on the roadside blew off close to western Baghdad's Baya'a Garage, wounding 3 civilians and causing severe damage to a number of vehicles, parked in the garage."

#5: Four Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast east of Baghdad on Monday, a security source reported. "An explosive charge, planted on the roadside in one of a main road, leading to east Baghdad's al-Sadr city, has blown up early on Monday, wounding 4 civilians and causing damage to a number of vehicles, parked close to the venue of the blast," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#6: Three terrorists, wearing explosive belts, have been killed while driving a booby-trapped car in west Baghdad on Monday, according to the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC). "Three terrorists, wearing explosive belts and driving a booby-trapped car close to a checkpoint in west Baghdad's al-Jami'a district, have been killed close to a checkpoint," the BOC statement was announced on the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV Satellite Channel on Monday.

Taji:
#1: Two roadside bombs went off near the car of an Electricity Ministry employee, killing him and wounding seven others, including four policemen, in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, police and hospital sources said. The second bomb went off when police rushed to the scene.

Tikrit:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army patrol, killing one officer and wounding a soldier north of Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, a source at the police operations centre in Salahuddin province said.

Samarra:
#1: A cop was killed by unknown gunmen in Samarra city, security sources said here today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that "unknown gunmen with pistols equipped with silencers attacked a group of cops west of Samarra that led to the killing one member of the patrol before fleeing to unknown destination.

Mosul:
#1: A soldier was killed when a mortar shell landed at an Iraqi army checkpoint in northern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a local police source said.

#2: A bomb attached to a car exploded, wounding a prison guard officer, in eastern Mosul, a local police source said.

#3: Gunmen in a car shot dead a teenager in western Mosul, a local police source said.

Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Gunmen using silenced weapons shot dead a police lieutenant colonel near his house in central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, late on Saturday, a local police source said.

Nov 8 2011 121Contact needs a classroom full of young artists

Hi.

We are looking for a classroom of grade school artists to exchange paintings and words with a group of Iraqi students.

The Iraqi NGO "Kids and Women Organization" has been providing art classes to grade school students for about one year. The students are between 5 and 14 years old. They live in the city of Numaniyah in Wasit province, in Southern Iraq.

We got to see their wonderfully expressive paintings during our recent trip to Iraq, and in talking with the organizers decided to build an exchange program that will be fun and educational for all involved.

The theme of the first exchange is "Everyday life" and the paintings will be accompanied by words describing one day in the life of the artist.

If you are interested please contact bruce@121Contact.org and we'll arrange the details.

Please pass this on to anyone you think might want to take part in this program.

In loving kindness,
Bruce and Nisreen

Nov 5 2011 Maliki's Shameful Attacks on Sunnis, and Sadaam's Attacks on Shiites

Maliki's Shameful Attacks on Sunnis, and Sadaam's Attacks on Shiites
November 5, 2011 by Bruce Wallace 121Contact

We don't disagree with the New York Times editorial of Nov. 5, 2011 titled, "The Prime Minister and the Sunnis" 

We do, however note that the sentence, "The majority Shiites were badly persecuted under Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-led regime" oversimplifies a complex situation, and marks history from an arbitrary and biased point.

Sadaam's greatest travesties against the Shiite population were not against 'the majority Shiia', but were focused attacks on particular groups of Shiia that he perceived as specific enemies of his government. In both the North and the South of Iraq there were groups of Shiia that were aiding the Iranians in the Iraq/Iran war. Sadaam sought to punish these groups with sadistic, broad attacks that killed many innocent people along with his perceived enemies, but they were not random aggressions motivated by religious concerns. We don't condone these attacks. They were a brutal part of his most brutal years in power. We do, however, wish to put them in a broader historical context.

On the other hand, Maliki's recent roundups of Sunnis, especially in Mosul and Baghdad, seem to target random groups based solely upon their religious beliefs. The perception of sectarian oppression is once again becoming widespread and this elevates the spectre of sectarian violence to levels unseen in years. Maliki also effectively banned Mosul's non-violent civil protests against these detentions by imposing a curfew the night before the planned events.

We call on Maliki to free those recently arrested without charges, allow non-violent civil demonstrations, and move a little closer to the Rule of Law which holds so much promise for the Iraqi people.

 

Nov 1 2011 Ground Zero: A Monument to Violence?

Ground Zero: A Monument to Violence?
Nov 1, 2011 by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

It is with great anger and sadness that I write this piece about the monument ‘they’ are planning to site at Ground Zero.  It will carry the Green Beret motto and depict a lone U.S. commando on horseback in the Afghan mountains; a monument to violence at the very spot at which so many victims of violence were murdered. 

My anger is directed both at the group of cowardly members of Wall Street banking firms (they ask to remain anonymous) who have privately financed this monument to violence,  and to the bureaucrats  that are allowing this to go forward. Where was the public hearing?  Where was the sensitivity? 

In a particularly callous statement one of the private backers was quoted by CNN as saying, “We wanted to do [this]…because every day since 9/11, we've had to look at that hole in the ground." A statement seemingly cold to the fact that for so many Ground Zero is much more than a ‘hole in the ground.’ 

My sadness stems from the lack of compassion inherent in this proposal. We have just witnessed 10 years of useless loss and devastation as a result of our invasion and occupation of Iraq and the ongoing operations in Afghanistan. The American lives lost are countable, as are the wounded soldiers who gave so much for so little. The ‘collateral damage’ (as the military likes to refer to innocent civilians killed or wounded in or as a result of war) was enormous. Millions of displaced persons, hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, and countless wounded and traumatized victims follow in the wake of the wars. 

And this speaks nothing of the tax dollars that went from the American people into the pockets of those who profit handsomely from military actions. Don’t forget: the US10 billion dollars a month we spent (for ten years) in Iraq, did not just vanish into the air. And now we are spending that much on both Iraq and Afghanistan.   

My hope is that we can stop the statue from ever sitting at Ground Zero, and let our government, and those heartless bankers know we need monuments to peaceful solutions, not to violent profit taking.

Oct 31, 2011 Baghdad Days: The House is Falling

Baghdad Days: The House is Falling October 31, 2011
by Bruce Wallace, 121Contact

Noor, kaif halich? We are fine. Alhamdulilah. We are fine.

Yes, I know it is 4AM here but I just could not sleep. Oh sister, the house is falling. I am living in endless panic. I cannot go on. No. Everything is all right. But I am filled with worries. There is no sleep for me. I need to talk to someone. I need to talk to someone who is far away. I can call you because you are far away and I know I will not wake you. I know you will help me.

Do you know yesterday Ahmed amd his friend came home all shaking. When the car dropped them off at the checkpoint,  when they came from school, he said, the soldiers who are surrounding the neighborhood they looked at the kids, Ahmed and his friend,  in that funny way. One of them said, “I would love to take you home with me.” My son was in tears. Frightened. He and his friend are only 12 years. My son doesn’t know of homosexual things, but he knew something is wrong. He said, “He looked at me in the funny evil way. I was frightened.”  I was in shock. How can I send them again to the school? I don’t know whom should I worry about…my daughter, or to take care of my son. They are innocent of such details of rape or sex or such things. So I sat with him and forced myself to talk with him about these details instead of his studies. I have to frighten him to make him watch out. This is a big responsibility. It is not easy. This is happening here. Can you imagine?  In our neighborhood. Can you imagine? We are surrounded now, like years ago. The checkpoints are in each place.

You ask me to take him from school and to school? To walk with him? Sister, I have 3 children. Shall I cut myself in three and take care of each child? Hammed? He is working each day, Alhamdulilah.

Hammed? Yes. He is still going to work every day. And what of his coming and going? He insists to go to work, of course. But they are killing again. Each Sunni in our neighborhood is in fear again. They are killing again; the teachers, the intellectuals, especially the professional with a job…Now we are becoming like Mosul; like Baghdad of 2006. Hammed says, “Keep the children at home.” How can I deny them school? This is impossible. They will go crazy if I lock them in the house.

Did you hear of the bombs in Amariyah? Adhamiyah? Here in Fadhil? You think this is coincidence? We are the target. They will come for us, and we don’t know when. We are living with this fear. It is of every moment. Maybe I don’t think about it at every moment. But it is there. And I will think about it again. I know.

And I tell you I am tired. I am torn…of worrying about the boy, the girl, the work, the money. And when they go out the burden is like a mountain on my chest. And when they come home I feel it is lifted. I am tired of the fear and it is taking my sleep, and I have no energy to do anything; to shop; to take the children to school; to clean the house…what for?

Hammed tells me I have to be strong. For the children.  I am strong. But, sister, I am tired.

Oh, sister, I call you. Do you hear me? Can you help me?

[the connection is cut]

 

 

 

 

 

Oct 288 2011 Hope in the Ruins: Two faces of Iraq

As we begin our work in support of Iraq's newly emergent NGOs we find ourselves looking at two Iraqs at once. There are over 150 NGOs connected by the ICSSI, and they are doing marvelous work as leaders in a civil society movement that is helping more and more people each day. Scores of international peace workers are now working to help them, mintoring, guiding, training, and most of all listening to them delineate their needs. This is the hopeful face of a new Iraq.

On the other hand, yesterday, Baghdad saw 5 bombings and an assassination attempt. 33 people died , and 84 people were wounded. [IraqToday] The rest of the country was still wrapped in newly resurgent rounds of violence as 9 adults and one child were killed, and 4 wounded were recorded.

Mosul has become a particular region of concern. Long after the 2008 top-secret cables revealed the extent to which the Coalition Forces ignored repeated random attacks on Sunnis in the area,  the problem not only persists, but has been on the rise in recent months, peaking just days ago.

Captured Libyan documents indicate Gaddafi supported a number of Baathists who were intending to overthrow the Iraqi government. This has led to mass arrests in Mosul, and surrounding areas of Ninewa Province, of suspected Baathists.

While Maliki's State of law Coalition and followers of radical Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr praised the actions, the people of Mosul were planning mass protests against what they see as a politically motivated campaign against Sunnis in the area. Security forces announced that the arrest campaign was directed against Baath Party elements who were planning to sabotage the country.

The government responded to the planned protests with a curfew. They denied that the curfew was intended to stifle the protesters, instead claiming it was in the interests of safety.

All this while Iraqi-led organizations, small land large, (e.g.,  Iraqi Children and Women, Women's Freedom, Kids and Environment, Save the Children-Iraq, Women for Peace, , LaOnf-Noviolence,  ... [the list goes on and on since there are now hundreds of such NGOs in the country]) are changing the mind-set of Iraqis young and old. At the same time that they deliver direct aid (monetary, physical, and psychological), they are also teaching.

Their overall lesson: Iraq can be changed by Iraqis, and this change can happen without violence, if Iraqis are committed to working together across all the ethnic/religious/political divides that hinder progress.