Iraq |
Iraqi Sunni politicians reject visit by Iran's Soleimani to Falluja |
2016-05-29 |
[Al Ahram] Sunni politicians in Iraq condemned on Saturday a visit by Iranian General Qassem Soleimani to Shia paramilitary forces fighting alongside the Iraqi army to drive Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... Three politicians from the province of Anbar told Rooters the visit by Iran's al-Quds brigade commander could fuel sectarian tension and cast doubt on Baghdad's assertions that the offensive is an Iraqi-led effort to defeat Islamic State, and not to settle scores with the Sunnis. Falluja, which lies about 50 kilometers (32 miles) west of Baghdad, is a bastion of the insurgency that fought the US occupation of Iraq and the Shi'ite-led authorities that replaced former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, a Sunni. In recent days, Iranian media published pictures of what they said was a visit by Soleimani to Falluja and a meeting he held with the leaders of the Iraqi coalition of Shi'ite militias known as Popular Mobilization, or Hashid Shaabi. It is the second time Soleimani has appeared in Iraqi conflict zones. About a year ago, witnesses said he was present when Popular Mobilization fighters ousted Islamic State An Iraqi government front man did not confirm Soleimani's visit and stressed that Iranian advisors are present in Iraq in order to assist in the war on Islamic State (IS group) in the same capacity as those of the US-led anti-IS group coalition. Member of parliament (MP) Hamid al-Mutlaq rejected that, however. "We are Iraqis and not Iranians," he said. "Would Turkish or Saudi advisers be welcomed to assist in the battle?" he added, drawing a parallel between the three regional powers bordering Iraq -- mainly-Sunni ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , and Shia Iran. "Soleimani's presence is suspicious and a cause for concern; he is absolutely not welcome in the area," said Falluja parliamentarian Salim Muttar al-Issawi. "I believe that the presence of such an official from the (Iranian) Revolutionary Guard could have sectarian implications," said another MP from the city, Liqaa Wardi. Falluja was the first city captured by Islamic State in Iraq in January 2014, and is the second-largest still held by the ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , their de-facto capital. The Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq, a hardline political organization formed after Saddam's ouster to represent Sunnis, rejected the participation of the Shi'ite militias in the fighting in Falluja. "The militias ... didn't come to liberate areas, as they claim, but to carry out their sectarian goals with direct guidance from Iran," it said in a statement on Friday. Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had been cornered by the banditti... rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia traded accusations over Soleimani's role in Iraq. "The presence of Iran's military advisers in Iraq under the command of General Qassem Soleimani is at the request of the country's legitimate government in order to fight terrorists," an Iranian foreign ministry front man said, according to the Fars news agency. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir was quoted as telling Russia's RT channel Soleimani's presence in Iraq was "very negative." |
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Iraq |
Hezbollah’s Iraq branch fighting Fallujah battle |
2016-05-26 |
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Iraqi military front man said troops were trying to tighten the encirclement of Falluja by advancing on the western front, near the village of Khalidiya. Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... Iraqi Defense Ministry published an official report which includes statements confirming that the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades are involved in the battle of Fallujah. Days ago, a YouTube account linked to Kata’ib Hezbollah, a US-designated terrorist organization and Iranian proxy, has uploaded a video showing a large convoy of its rocket launcher systems being sent to the front lines near Iraqi city of Fallujah. From its part, days ago, Harakat al Nujaba, or Movement of the Noble, an Iranian-supported Shiite militia which operates in both Iraq and Syria, has said it is clearing a road in eastern Anbar province in preparation for an upcoming offensive to retake Fallujah from the ISIS. Also, Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force ‐ the external operations wing of the Revolutionary Guards ‐ was spotted in a picture said to be taken near Fallujah. A picture of Soleimani in the "Fallujah operations room" was posted to the Facebook account of Harakat al Nujaba. Fear civilian casualties will worsen sectarian strife On Wednesday morning Iraqi troops concentrated artillery fire on Falluja's northern and northeastern neighborhoods, according to a resident contacted via the Internet. A Falluja hospital source said that six non-combatants were killed and 11 maimed on Wednesday morning, raising the overall corpse count since Monday's launch of the government offensive to 35 - 21 civilians and 14 holy warriors. "Fierce fighting is now raging around the city," Save the Children said in a statement on Wednesday, calling for safe civilian exit routes to be established as quickly as possible. Falluja's population is around 100,000, according to U.S. and Iraqi government estimates. The offensive is part of a government campaign to roll back ISIS' seizure of wide tracts of northern and western Iraq. Baghdad's forces retook Ramadi, the Anbar picturesque provincial capital near Falluja, in December but have not yet tackled a bigger challenge - IS-held djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , Iraq's largest northern city. The Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq, a hardline political organization formed after Saddam's ouster to represent Sunnis, has condemned the assault on Falluja as "an unjust aggression, a reflection of the vengeful spirit that the forces of evil harbor against this city". Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim holy man urged government forces battling to retake Falluja. Sistani wields enormous influence over Iraq's Shi'ites. It was at his call that Shi'ite militias regrouped in 2014 in a coalition known as Hashid Shaabi (Popular Mobilization), to stem Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... 's stunning advance through the north and west. Hashid Shaabi will take part in encircling Falluja but will not enter the city unless the Iraqi army fails in doing so, said Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organisation, the largest component of the Shi'ite coalition. "Our decision is to encircle the city from the outside and let the security forces operate; if the security forces are unable to cleanse the city, we will then go in,'' he said, according to video recording on the state-run TV channel. |
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Home Front: WoT |
Sheikh Who OKd Killing Americans in Iraq Gets White House Reception - PJM |
2013-06-28 |
Secret Mooslim Outreach event. Please use rear entrance. Bin Bayyahs website claims that he met June 13 with senior Obama administration officials at the White House. Nonetheless, it was the Obama administration which sought the meeting with Bin Bayyah, his websites account said. We asked for this meeting to learn from you and we need to be looking for new mechanisms to communicate with you and the Association of Muslim Scholars (another name used for the IUMS), Gayle Smith, senior director of the National Security Council, reportedly said. Bin Bayyahs June 13 account placed other senior officials in the meeting, including: Rashad Hussain, the U.S. special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and White House spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri. But the account was later changed to delete the reference to Donilons presence at the meeting. Ah yes, the odious Tom Donilon with John Brennan perhaps hiding in a broom closet ? Smith also thanked Bin Bayyah for his efforts to bring more understanding amongst humanity during the meeting, the Bin Bayyah account said. The White House did not respond to repeated requests for comments between June 14 and Tuesday. Unanswered "repeated requests" essentially confirm the event. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Dupe URL: As protests grow, Syrian regime gets religion |
2011-08-02 |
One day before the start of Ramadan, the once avowedly secular regime of Bashar Assad in Syria has found religion amid growing civil unrest threatening to reach the capital Damascus. A new government-run religious TV station, Nour A-Sham (The Light of Syria) began test broadcasts on Friday, the official SANA news agency reported. The channel is to broadcast Friday sermons and religious programming "to provide a correct understanding of Islam and Islamic rules," SANA reported. Meanwhile, in the coastal city of Tartus, a conference titled "Reform From a Religious Point of View," brought together the country's Minister of Religious Endowments and pro-regime clerics, trying to subdue the popular uprising through religious argumentation. "The clerics are complementing the role of the security forces," Faraj Bayrakdar, a Syrian poet and dissident living in Sweden, told The Media Line. "Every tyrannical regime has used clerics to get legitimacy, and Assad's is no exception." Assad's Baath party, which took control of the country in a military coup in 1963, traditionally banned public religious discourse as part of its secular, Socialist and pan-Arab ideology. The regimes newfound religiosity comes as the death toll in the country dramatically peeked over the weekend and the once secular agenda of the anti-government opposition, which called for political reform, has taken on an increasingly religious tinge. At least 45 civilians were killed in the central Syrian city of Hama on Sunday, as troops and tanks stormed civilians shouting "God is great!" Three weeks ago in Istanbul, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Support of the Syrian People issued a religious opinion (fatwa) declaring support for the Syrian revolution to be a religious obligation. In their closing statement, the Istanbul clerics called on pro-Assad clerics to stand up to him or "face the consequences in this world and the afterlife." In addition to dispatching troops, Assad has adopted a variety of tactics to quell protests now into their fifth month. He has blamed foreign interference for instigating the protests, boosted subsidies and promised democratic reform. Nothing has worked, and Bayrakdar said the Syrian public isnt buying the regime's new religious veneer either. The killings are now estimated to have reached in excess of 1,400 people and even those far removed from the violence are witness to them through pictures and videos sent by cellphone cameras, he said. Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center, a Qatar-based think tank, said Assad was acting out of concern that Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and prayer, might spur a surge of new protests. The president is trying to counterbalance religiously inspired calls to protest via an alliance with clerics who favor the status quo. "This is a preemptive move to try and retake control of the situation," Hamid told The Media Line. "There is no justification for protests because a series of reforms is underway," Minister of Endowments Muhammad Abd A-Sattar Al-Sayyid was quoted by London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, adding that Syrian clerics have religiously prohibited demonstrations. The daily reported that religious figures and mosque imam's across the country has been directed to discourage protests during Ramadan. |
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Iraq |
Iraqi lawmakers seek review of security forces |
2009-08-22 |
[Asharq al-Aswat] Iraqi lawmakers called Friday for a review to find and fix acknowledged shortcomings in the country's U.S.-trained security forces that were revealed by a wave of bombings this week, including attacks on government buildings in Baghdad. Lawmakers also called for an emergency session of parliament to address the security concerns, the deputy speaker said, as anger continued to mount over the attacks. The bombings have shaken public confidence in Iraq's security forces and caused some to wonder if the security transition from U.S. to Iraqi hands is happening to rapidly. A bombing Friday at a vegetable market in southern Baghdad exposed more lapses in security. An explosives-packed truck used in the attack passed through an Iraqi police checkpoint but was not searched minutes before exploding at the market's front gate, an Iraqi police official said. Two people were killed and 20 were wounded. The recommendation for a security review came out of a meeting of Iraq's political blocs and the ministers of defense, interior and national security, said deputy speaker Khalid al-Attiyah. The meeting was called by the parliament speaker to look into the bombings Wednesday, which primarily targeted government buildings, including the foreign and finance ministries. The attacks killed at least 101 people and wounded more than 500. The attacks revealed "breaches and soft areas in our security system," al-Attiyah said. "This matter requires a comprehensive review of the system and finding the shortcomings in order to fix them." The lawmakers and officials called for compensation to be paid to those wounded in the attacks and to relatives of those killed. They also recommended the creation of a joint committee of officials from the interior, defense and national security ministries to determine how to better investigate and prosecute insurgents. The Iraqi government said it was increasing security at checkpoints near government buildings and markets and keeping concrete blast barriers around potential targets. While Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has blamed Al Qaeda in Iraq and accused them of stoking sectarian violence, authorities have detained 11 members of Iraq's security forces on suspicion of negligence. New details emerged Friday about the attacks Wednesday at the foreign and finance ministries. The truck bombs were water tankers that were loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer and artillery shells, said Maj. Gen. Jihad al-Jabouri, commander of an Iraqi bomb disposal unit. The truck bomb that exploded near the Foreign Ministry held two tons of explosives, while the one that targeted the Finance Ministry held one and a half tons of explosives, he said. The bombs were likely built in Baghdad because it would be impossible to drive such a bomb from a long distance, he added. Clerics roundly criticized the Iraqi government during Friday prayers, calling for the prosecution of those officials responsible for security lapses. "If the government is unable to protect the people, it can get the help from the occupying troops who are the reason for this catastrophe in Iraq," Sheik Ahmed Hassan al-Taha said during services at Baghdad's main Sunni mosque. But Sheik Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammadawi blamed American troops during a sermon in the city of Kufa, saying the U.S. wanted Iraq's security forces weak so U.S. troops could remain in the country longer. U.S. troops withdrew from Iraqi cities on June 30, and the recent bombings have raised fears about the readiness of Iraqi forces to provide security as the U.S. winds down combat operations. Under an Iraqi-U.S. security pact that took effect Jan. 1, American forces will withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving up to 50,000 U.S. troops in training and advising roles. The U.S. military has not been asked to help provide additional security in Baghdad or elsewhere in Iraq, though it has been asked by Iraq for help in gathering intelligence and analyzing evidence as part of the investigation into the recent bombings, said Maj. David Shoupe, a U.S. military spokesman. In the Abu Ghraib area west of Baghdad, gunmen killed a bodyguard of a prominent tribal official during a drive-by shooting, an Iraqi police official said. Sheik Abdul-Rahman Dhahir al-Dhari escaped injury, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for the same reason as the others. Al-Dhari is the cousin of Sheik Harith al-Dhari, who heads the Association of Muslim Scholars and has been accused by Iraqi authorities of having ties to Sunni insurgents. Meanwhile, the U.S. military continued to release or hand over to the Iraqi government thousands of detainees nationwide, under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact. Among the latest released was Amer al-Husseini, who ran anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's office in Baghdad. The U.S. has not released any details about allegations behind al-Husseini's detention. Al-Husseini told The Associated Press it was because he was al-Sadr's aide. He pledged his continuing support to al-Sadr and predicted the release of other Sadrists in the coming days, saying the cleric was pressing the Iraqi government for their release. |
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Africa North |
Tunisians unhappy with Qaradawi's visit |
2009-03-15 |
Several Tunisian politicians and members of non-governmental organisations expressed unhappiness with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi's visit to Tunisia this week. The protesters called the chairman of the Association of Muslim Scholars "a symbol of intolerant salafist ideology." Al-Qaradawi arrived in Kairouan on Sunday (March 8th) to participate in "Kairouan: Capital of Muslim Culture in 2009" celebrations. "We express strong unhappiness with a policy that honours and celebrates a symbol of intolerant salafist ideology, who is known for attacking our country, especially the gains of Tunisian women," said a statement issued by the Association of Democratic Women on Wednesday. The protesters said al-Qaradawi is known for harbouring a "hidden enmity towards Tunisia". In his 2001 book, entitled "Secular Extremism in the Face of Islam: Tunisia and Turkey as Examples", al-Qaradawi accused the Tunisian authorities of hostility towards Islam and Muslims. He also accused one of Tunisia's most prominent poets, Saghir Oulad Ahmed, of being an infidel. Ahmed then filed a lawsuit against al-Qaradawi, but according to human rights sources in Tunisia, the courts have yet to examine the case. "We can't forget that he has previously attacked Tunisia," said Mondher Thabet, Secretary-General of the Liberal Social Party, "and it was shameful behaviour in which he used maximum degrees of violence." Thabet said that he did not shake al-Qaradawi's hand because he wanted to make his point clear. Kairouan was selected to be the capital of Muslim culture for the year 2009 by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO). The city, situated some 150 kilometres southeast of Tunis, is "on the forefront of Arab and Muslim cities in North Africa with a glorified history and distinguished, rich contributions in the service of Arab and Muslim culture," ISESCO said. Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi attended the opening ceremony on behalf of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had taken will with the flu and was unable to attend, according to the official Tunisian news agency. Not all of the reaction to al-Qaradawi's visit was negative. The head of banned Islamist Ennahda Movement, Rashed Ghanouchi, issued a statement from London in which he expressed the movement's "joy over the visit by distinguished scientist sheikh al-Qaradawi." "The organising committee of the celebration should allow the Tunisian audiences who are eager to meet with Sheikh al-Qaradawi and to directly listen to him have enough opportunities for that and not to just restrict the occasion to festivities." Adel Chaouch, an MP representing the opposition Attajdid movement, said that he was surprised by al-Qaradawi's visit because of his previous position on Tunisia. But he also said that al-Qaradawi could correct the mistakes of the past. "I personally will welcome him if he can revisit his ideas. I don't consider him to be revolutionary or an enemy of regimes." |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Iran slams Arab reports of apology |
2008-10-15 |
Tehran has rejected recent reports released by Arab media that a senior Iranian official has apologized to Egyptian scholar Qaradawi. "Publishing false reports... will never tarnish the close ties and the brotherhood that exists among officials and scholars of Islamic countries. Such reports contradict the principles of Muslim unity and lack any value," read a statement released by the Iranian embassy in Riyadh. "Iranian officials regularly hold discussions with religious and political figures in the Muslim world with the aim of strengthening views on Islamic unity ... and countering the ever-increasing plots and threats of the Zionist regime," the statement explained. The statement came after several Arab media outlets claimed that the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ali Akbar Velayati had apologized to Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi over articles published by an Iranian website. The website criticized Qaradawi's stance after he launched attacks against Shia groups and organizations, accusing them of trying to spread their teachings in Sunni states. Velayati met the President of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, Yusuf Qaradawi, at the sixth conference on Al-Quds in Doha. According to an IslamOnline report, there was a warm exchange between the two officials, who sat next to each other during a special reception. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
Iraqi insurgency supporters rally in Damascus | |
2008-08-01 | |
The Association of Muslim Scholars, an Iraqi Sunni group staunchly opposed to the United States-led occupation of Iraq, vowed in a conference in Damascus this week to continue fighting foreign soldiers in Iraq. The association -- made up of political, religious and tribal Sunni Iraqi figures -- held a four-day conference that focused on ridding Iraq of US-led forces. The conference, which ended on July 28, was not organised by the Syrian government and Syrian officials did not attend. It was the first time that five-year-old association held its conference in Damascus.
"What was taken by force cannot be restored by any other means," said Harith al-Dhari, the association's secretary-general. He claimed that the majority of Iraqis "reject the occupation and believe in the option of resistance". Dhari, who has expressed opposition to al-Qaeda in Iraq, was re-elected to another two-year term at the conference. | |
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Iraq | ||
Sunni leaders head in rectal defilade: Sunnis majority population in Iraq | ||
2007-12-15 | ||
'US is the main irritant in Iraq' By Ahmed Janabi Al-Dhari says the resistance has chosen not to engage al-Sahwa militias to avoid internicine fighting Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, head of the Association of Muslim Scholars, is arguably one of the most influential Iraqi Sunni leaders today.
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Iraq | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Declare victory and get out | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2007-11-29 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
By MARTIN SCHRAM Scripps Howard News Service The Democratic presidential pack is desperate. Five senators, a governor and a representative are seeking one surefire way to capture hearts, minds and votes whenever they are asked what should be done about Iraq now that post-surge statistics show violence there has at least temporarily declined.
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Iraq | |
Iraq gov't seizes HQ of Learned Elders of Islam | |
2007-11-14 | |
The Iraqi government seized the west Baghdad headquarters of a powerful Sunni Muslim group Wednesday, cordoning off the building and accusing the group of supporting al-Qaida, officials said. The Association of Muslim Scholars, a hardline Sunni clerics group with links to insurgents, has its headquarters in the Um al-Qura mosque in the capital's Sunni-dominated Ghazaliyhah neighborhood.
The head of the Sunni Endowment held a news conference at the mosque later Wednesday, accusing the clerics group of supporting al-Qaida. "The Association of Muslim Scholars has regrettably been attacking any tribal awakening, resistance or worshippers whenever they form a force to purge their neighborhoods of al-Qaida elements. The association has always justified killing and assassinations carried out by al-Qaida," Ahmed Abdul-Ghafoor al-Samarraie, the Sunni Endowment chief, told reporters. "The association no longer has a place here... These headquarters now belong to the Sunni Endowment," he said. | |
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Iraq |
Good Political News From Iraq |
2007-09-09 |
The Iraqi parliament is preparing to debate controversial draft laws on oil and gas, accountability, justice, resources and the provinces. According to Salim Abdullah, a member in the Sunni Accord Front, the parliament will approve the Accountability and Justice Laws concerning the return of the Baathists to senior administrative and military positions, in addition to the Provinces Law that will regulate this week's provincial elections that is a significant step towards forming federal regions in Iraq. Abdullah added: "The Oil and Gas and the Resources Laws will be subjected to some [amendments and] yet it is likely that the laws will be approved by the parliament because of some understandings between [major] political blocs inside the parliament to legislate the laws." The Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni religious authority, and Khalaf Al Alian from the Accordance Front issued statements warning against ratification of the laws because it would incite factions. Sources in the Shiite coalition said that US President George W. Bush urged Iraqi leaders to speed up the ratificaton of oil and gas, accountability, justice, resources and the provinces laws during his last visit to Al Anbar. Muna Kuba, a researcher in economic affairs at Baghdad University, told Gulf News: "There is US pressure on Iraqi leaders to pass some laws [that will favour] American political and economic interests in Iraq. I believe that Americans seek to create [an environment] to assure them of higher profits before investing in Iraq's oil sector, the largest oil reserve in the world." After the formation of the Shiite-Kurdish Coalition besides the Sunni Islamic Party, political observers in Baghdad believe that ratification of the laws will not face strong opposition. Waleed Abdul Sahib, a member of the Shiite Dawa Party led by Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, told Gulf News: "I think we must have a political consensus in the parliament to pass the laws, [which are] important to promote the reconciliation process." Sahib added: "The government should [make] Iraqi citizens [aware] that these laws will ensure justice to each Iraqi city and that every Iraqi will have his or her share of natural resources. ... the problem [lies] in media inside and outside Iraq which described the laws as illegal [without] being aware of the nature of the ... laws." In other words, the NYT will be working overtime to spin this into bad news. |
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