Marc Santora covers the missing Iraqi MP in "
Lawmaker Leaving Iraq Is Detained, Then Freed" (
New York Times) and Tina Susman and Raheem Salman cover him in "
Manhunt targets Iraq lawmaker whose plane was turned back" (
Los Angeles Times).
"He" is Mohammad al-Daini who has been publicly accused by al-Maliki's
government of various crimes in what can only be an attempt to try him
outside a court of law. For the record, law enforcement does not play
confessions when announcing suspects. Evidence is introduced in a court
of law. Proving how for-show the whole thing is, Santora notes al-Daini
was under 'surveillance' and his departure to Jordan could hardly have
been unknown. But it wasn't until he was in Jordanian air space that
the order came to "turn this crazy bird around, shouldn't have gotten
on this flight tonight" ("This Flight Tonight,"
Joni Mitchell, first appears on
Blue).
His flight then returned to Iraq and he is now 'missing.' Susman and
Salman pick up there noting that there was no arrest of him nor was he
taken into custody or detained when deboarding in Iraq. His own
security detail greeted him and escorted him from the airport. Now a
'manhunt' is ongoing. (See
Rebecca from last night on that and use the link she provides.)
Santora notes:
Not
only could the case worsen sectarian tensions, it could stall
cooperation between Shiite and Sunni politicians and lead to charges
and countercharges against other sitting lawmakers. Already, Mr.
Daini's defenders were calling for investigations into leading Shiite
members of the government who they claimed were involved in sectarian
violence.Susman and Salman add:
Daini
had been associated with Iraq's major Sunni political parties but
lately had become an independent in the 275-member body. Ahmed Alwani,
a fellow Sunni lawmaker, criticized the way Daini's immunity was lifted
and complained that it was not on the agenda and was rushed through.
Alwani called it a constitutional violation to order the jet turned
around before Daini's immunity was formally lifted."I
am not defending Daini, but we want the constitution to be applied,"
said Alwani, adding that there were politicians of various stripes with
shady pasts. "We want the law to be applied to all."Santora
notes the dispute over whether or not lifting of immunity can be done
with a simple majority or whether it requires a two-thirds majority, as
some members of Parliament maintain (al-Daini's was lifted with a
simple majority). To the tune of
Paul McCartney and Wings' "Band on the Run" . . .
Well, the plain flipped around with a sudden turn as we headed into the sun,And as we landed the security detail said "I hope you're having fun."MP on the run, MP on the runAnd the Jailer Man and Sailor Sam were searching every oneFor the MP on the run, MP on the run, MP on the run, MP on the runMaking the front page of the
New York Times is Campbell Robertson and James Glanz' "
Falling Revenues Threaten Rebuilding and Stability in Iraq"
-- which is actually the weakest of the three articles (yes, the paper
has three news articles on Iraq today). Why is it weak? This is Glanz'
beat and no reporter -- at any other outlet -- has covered it better or
longer than he has. But this article just doesn't make it. Tempting to
blame Campbell but most likely the scope is too big. The basics, Iraq
has to come up with a 2009 budget. Oil prices falling means a
'shortfall.' Alarmist noises are being made about how the people will
have to do without.
Do without?
What do they have?
What are they doing without?
Yes,
the reporters mention the lack of potable water -- but you really need
to do more than mention that lack. You might try noting that this fall,
again, we will see a cholera outbreak in Iraq. You might try noting
that there is a measles outbreak currently in Iraq. The people of Iraq
have not been served by the puppet government and the article fails by
reducing Congressional hearings (plural) to a brief summary and
ignoring all of the many reports from the
Special Inspector General For Iraq Reconstruction's office.
Instead
of getting anything fact-based, we've got an article that wanders from
here to there and back again and never really says much of anything.
There
is a long history of reports on why the reconstruction failed and never
took place. Crazies like Patrick Cockburn ignore that public record,
but the
New York Times -- with their long history of bowing to official-dom -- is the last one you expect to blow it off.
Laughable
statements such as "Wages now take up about 35 percent of the budget"
only further go to the problems. Do the reporters expect us to believe
billions are being spent on wages? Billions are not being spent on
wages. However, every weapon purchase from US industries has to be
announced and approved and wages would have to be in the billions to
meet what's spent yearly by the puppet government on weapons.
The
only strong point is noting that life in the provinces doesn't
necessarily have to be worse due to the fact that provincial leaders
have tended to sit on yearly budgets over and over. (In that, they
mirror al-Maliki.)
Reminder Samid Ali does a round up of regional news at
Wall St. Journal's Baghdad Life blog each day.
Iraq's Foreign Ministry announces:
25 February, 2009
Foreign Minister Receives Japanese Ambassador
Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari met in his office on 25/2/2009 Mr. Shoji Ogawa, Japanese ambassador in Baghdad.
During
the meeting they spoke about the latest developments on the political
position of Iraq and discussed ways of cooperation in all areas and how
to encourage Japanese investment in Iraq. The Minister welcomed the
presence of Japanese companies to participate in Iraq's reconstruction
and develop relations between the two countries at all levels including
political and social levels.
Mr. Ogawa stated that official
delegations and Japanese companies will visit Iraq soon to develop
cooperation between the two countries, the two sides also discussed the
opening of the Japanese office of the international aid (JICA) in Erbil
to facilitate the process of support, and discussed the participation
of Japanese companies in the oil and energy sectors and the Japanese
economic delegation visit to Iraq soon. An invitation by the Ambassador
was made to Foreign Minister Zebari to visit Japan; the Minister
accepted and specified a suitable date during the coming period.
In other news,
Barbara Lee makes an idiot out of herself here
-- and we thought 2008 was the lowest she could go. It's never a good
idea to give away everything before you go into a meeting with someone
from an opposing branch of government. She disgraces herself and calls
into question every principle she ever espoused. The member of the
House who voted against the Afghanistan War
once wrote:
We
must respond, but the character of that response will determine for us
and for our children the world that they will inherit. I do not dispute
the president's intent to rid the world of terrorism -- but we have
many means to reach that goal, and measures that spawn further acts of
terror or that do not address the sources of hatred do not increase our
security. Now, because she drank Barack's Kool-Aid long
ago, she cries (as George W. once did), "Bring it on!" She should be
ashamed of herself and considering how she allowed her "Barack duties"
to interfere with her Out Of Iraq duties, she might need to step her
ass down from that caucus. I've bit my tongue hoping she'd pull her act
together. I'm done biting my tongue. As
Kat pointed out long ago, Barbara Lee makes a great show out of appearing to do something; however, Lee never does a damn thing.
She's
assisted in that planned weakness by a lot of faux progressives who
give her credit for doing nothing. Ask anyone who attends the hearings,
she breezes in for her media attention and then rushes right out. It
doesn't even matter to her if her 'questions' (speeches) are answered
(replied to). And the backdoor deals she made with leadership in late
2007 are going to bite her in the ass.
Related,
Andrew Malcolm (Los Angeles Times' Top of the Ticket) seems surprised by this:
However,
Obama still lags the audience-drawing power of one President Bill
Clinton. Sixteen years ago this week, when there were millions fewer
Americans, Big Bill drew nearly 15 million more viewers -- 66.9 million
for his first congressional speech in 44.2 million homes for a 44.3
rating.Because Bill actually excited people and wasn't a
media creation. Bill also attempted to do things for the people in the
brief time he had a Democratically controlled Congress. A fact
forgotten by the losers who pile on. Barack may not have a
Democratically controlled Congress after 2010 (he may). If he doesn't,
his record will not compare favorably to Clinton's -- not in what he
pushed through and certainly not in what attempted. Bill could also
speak in a non-robatic, strip-the-gears manner.
Kristoffer Walker is the 28-year-old Iraq War veteran who announced he would not return to Iraq.
Green Bay Post-Gazette reports,
"Army Spc. Kristoffer Walker is trying to hire an attorney with
experience dealing with the military in the wake of his decision not to
return to his unit in Iraq."
The Spectator (right-wing student newspaper) has an editorial
arguing he should go back. We disagree with that editorial but, to its
credit, it has a factual basis. It's a real shame that a student
newspaper is more concerned with the facts than the editorial boards of
the Green Bay Post-Gazette or the Journal-Times. Again, we disagree
with the editorial and the conclusions it draws but it doesn't pass
spin off as 'fact.'
We'll close with an excerpt from Glen Ford's "
A Challenge to ‘Radical' and ‘Pan-Africanist' Obamites" (
Black Agenda Report):
An "Open Letter to the People of Zimbabwe,"
widely circulated on the Internet in February, demands "the U.S.,
British and other imperialist governments" end economic sanctions
against that nation and otherwise keep their "hands off Zimbabwe!"
Although honest progressives may differ on the political character of
Robert Mugabe's regime - now joined in a power-sharing relationship
with the opposition, whose leader's allegiances are likewise subject to
dispute - there can be no equivocation about the Zimbabwean people's
"right to self-determination and sovereignty without any imperialist
interference."Washington's
blatant and longstanding campaign for regime-change must be denounced
and resisted in all its manifestations - no ifs, ands or buts. The
economic sanctions are, as the letter describes them, "collective
punishment of the Zimbabwean people." The signers correctly and
"unequivocally denounce these sanctions as war crimes and the officials
who initiated them as war criminals."Well
said - but there's a great disconnect between the words and some of the
names listed as endorsing the letter. A number of the signers are
full-throated, religious-like followers of Barack Obama, one of the
"war criminals" that has supported and, as president, extended U.S.
sanctions against Zimbabwe.These unabashed Obamites, several of whom I debated at a large forum in Harlem, in December,
make a great noise about "imperialists" in general while pledging
undying "solidarity" in the struggle against such "criminals," yet in
their daily practice labor mightily to absolve President Obama of
culpability for his crimes. It requires rivers of obfuscation and
oceans of purposeful omission to separate the Commander-in-Chief and
President of the United States from the crimes planned and carried out
in his office. The perpetrators of this bizarre fantasy - that the
"imperialists" are out to get Mugabe, but Obama isn't one of them -
deepen confusion among the public, especially African Americans, and
make a mockery of true solidarity. In the light of ever-unfolding
events, they make themselves and progressive politics appear
ridiculous, as they tip-toe around the mountainous facts of Barack
Obama's actual presidency - not the wishful one they have invented.Lastly,
Melena Ryzik (New York Times) reports
on a memorial service for Odetta Tuesday night at the Riverside Church
with Harry Belafonte, Maya Angelou, Steve Earle, Rattlesnake Annie and
others in attendance:
Mr.
Belafonte gave perhaps the most stirring speech. "The paper would not
yield," he said of his effort to write down his remarks. "The ink
blurred, because the space left by Odetta could not be easily
verbalized."The e-mail address for this site is
common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraqthe new york timesmarc santorajames glanzcampbell robertsonraheem salmanandrew malcolmkristoffer walkerthe wall st. journalsamid aliglen fordjoni mitchellodettamelena ryzikpaul mccartney
tina susman
