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Olde Tyme Religion
What a Car Bomb in Iraq Means for the Civil War in Syria
2013-01-07
by Walter Russel Meade

Iraq's and Syria's troubles are closely related--a fact the mainstream media often forgets, choosing instead to stubbornly define the Syrian war as a fight for democracy against a dictatorship and the violence in Iraq as a contained sectarian conflict. This shortsightedness fails to recognize that across the Middle East Sunnis and Shia are engaged in a struggle for political power and religious legitimacy. Sunni rebel groups backed by Sunnis in the Gulf are fighting a Shia regime in Damascus backed by a Shia theocracy in Iran. The same is happening in Iraq, where a Shia authoritarian regime backed by Iran is fighting Sunni groups backed by the Gulf Arabs. Other actors, like the U.S., Turkey, and the Kurds, make this a truly volatile international conflict. And it is Iraq where all of this is going to erupt next, writes Henri Barkey here at the AI:

Today Iraq is held together by a shoestring. . . . The Saudis have not given him [Maliki] much quarter and would like to see him go. He has made an enemy of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as each accuses the other of putting sectarian interests ahead of regional interests and stability. Turks provided refuge to the Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who escaped following his indictment on charges of helping Sunni death squads to operate in Baghdad. This increasing regional rift may be music to the ears of many Iraqi Sunnis, who have been heard saying, in effect, "the Ottomans are back in Istanbul, the Umayyad are about to re-conquer Damascus, and next Sunni Abbasid power will return to Baghdad."
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Iraq
Iraqiya bloc denies Hashimi travelling to Turkey
2012-02-11
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Al-Iraqiya Bloc's spokesman denied the news of vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi travelling to Turkey, stressing he is present in Sulaimaniya province, Kurdistan. Spokesman Haidar al-Mulla told Aswat al-Iraq that the news published yesterday on "the escape of Hashimi is baseless".

He pointed out that there agendas that want to "complicate the political scene and put hindrances before the national conference".

Mulla confirmed the intention of his bloc to proceed in convening the national conference to find real solutions to the crises that accumulated for the last few years.

On Thursday, news media, close to the Kurdish Alliance, reported that Hashimi left by a special plane to Turkey and he is not available in Sulaimaniya. TV Channel Anwar 2 reported that Hashimi fled to Turkey and the Turks asked him to leave Arbil after continued pressures on the Kurdish government to hand him over to Baghdad.

On 17 December last, an arrest warrant was issued against Hashimi and some of his bodyguards for "terrorism" allegations.

Shiite political circles rejected tackling Hashimi's case in the national conference, due in the coming days, where it is regarded as legal question, not political.
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Iraq
Amnesty International fears for 2 detained females
2012-01-30
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Amnesty International has expressed anxiety for the fate of 2 female employees, working in Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi's office in Baghdad who have been detained by Iraqi security forces and were torturee, a BBC report noted on Sunday.

"One of the 2 employees is called Rasha Namir Jaafa al-Hussein, who was arrested from her parent's house in Baghdad's Zayouna district on January 2, without an arrest warrant; the second is called Bassima Salim Qiryaqos, who was detained the same day by a 15-man force, dressed in military uniform, believed to be related to Hashimi's case," the BBC added.

"Amnesty International expresses fear that both arrested employees would face torture and maltreatment, because their arrest charges are related to the arrest warrant against Hashimi," the report pointed out.
Remind me, did AI ever get this worked up when Saddam was in charge there?
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Iraq
Iraqiya Bloc stops boycotting parliamentary sessions
2012-01-30
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqiya MP Khalid al-Alwani announced today that his bloc stopped boycotting the parliamentary session that lasted 43 days. The return to the cabinet meetings was not resolved yet, as he continued.

Iraq is living in real political crisis following the accusations uttered against vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi and the differences between Maliki and his deputy Saleh al-Mutlaq, both leading members of Iraqiyah bloc.

In an attempt to solve pending questions among all parties, President Jalal Talabani proposed making a general national conference, due at the beginning of the next month, to solve these questions, including those between Arbil and Baghdad on oil and gas law and the implementation of Article 140 of the constitution.
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Iraq
Iraq summons Turkish ambassador
2012-01-17
[Iran Press TV] Iraq's foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish envoy to Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
 over recent comments by a Turkish official about sectarian conflict in Iraq.

"The Turkish ambassador gave assurances that Turkish officials' statements were in good faith and he will inform his government in Ankara of the Iraqi position," Iraq's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Although the Iraqi officials did not specify which Turkish official the statements belonged to, the complaint apparently stemmed from remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this month. Erdogan had said a sectarian conflict in Iraq, if unleashed, could engulf the entire Mohammedan world.

Turkish foreign ministry responded by summoning Iraq's envoy to Ankara on Monday.

On Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
 criticized Turkey, saying it is playing a dangerous role in the region.

"Turkey is unfortunately playing a role which may lead to disaster and civil war in the region," Maliki told the US-based al-Hurra television.

Tensions in Iraq heightened after an arrest warrant was issued for Vice president Tariq al-Hashimi on charges of involvement in acts of terrorism against government officials.

The arrest warrant was issued on December 19 after Hashimi's bodyguards confessed that they had assassinated several Iraqi officials and army generals over the past years on his order.
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Iraq
Higher Judicial Council to reinvestigate Hashimi's case
2011-12-26
I think al-Maliki just blinked...
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Higher Judicial Council decided to re-investigate the case of vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi, which was done by one judge.

In a breaking news by semi-official Iraqiya TV, the five-judge committee decided to reinvestigate the case.

Iraqi Interior Ministry disclosed issuing an arrest warrant against Hashimi and broadcasted the confessions of his bodyguards for operating assassination attempts and bombings in 2009.
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Iraq
Confessions against Hashimi by his bodyguards
2011-12-21
Aswat al-Iraq: One of the bodyguards of Iraqi vice-president Tariq al-Hashimi confessed a number of assassination operations.

The first operation was directed against director of Risafa health department in 2009 and the second is the assassination of a foreign ministry official for financial rewards.

Well-informed sources said that an arrest warrant was issued today by the Higher Judicial Council against Hashimi for actions described as "terrorist acts".
Earlier, the confessions were due to be broadcast on Saturday last, but postponed for investigation reasons.
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Iraq
Iraqi leaders call for talks to end political crisis
2011-12-21
(Xinhua) -- Iraqi leaders on Tuesday called for urgent talks among the country's political parties to end the deepening political crisis after a judicial body issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi on terror charges.
A time to worry: Joe Biden is working the phones to defuse the crisis...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called on leaders of Iraqi political parties to hold an urgent meeting to resolve the political crisis that erupted after accusing the Sunni vice president of criminal masterminding terror charges, the state-run channel of Iraqia quoted Maliki's media advisor Ali al-Mussawi as saying.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani criticized the hasty action of issuing arrest warrant against Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, which sparked tensions among Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite communities.

In a statement on the website of his office, Talabani said that such move that "directly touch the national political reconstruction entails participation by all parties in actions and decisions with guaranteeing full independence of the judiciary and non-interference in its affairs."

He affirmed that the political parties "have to exercise utmost sense of responsibility and discipline" by avoiding provocative blurbs to provide appropriate environment for the calm political action.

Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi on Tuesday described the disclose of confessions of Hashimi's bodyguards as "clear tendency to spread suspicion among us."

Nujaifi called for "a national conference at a time when the political process is exposed to violent shocks."

The country's highest judiciary body issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi on terror charges Monday, based on the Article Four of the country's anti-terrorism law.

The latest political row came after Hashimi's Sunni-backed parliamentary bloc of Iraqia, headed by Ayad Allawi, boycotted the parliament sessions since Saturday in protest over Maliki's attempts to alleged monopolizing power after the U.S. troops pulled out of the country.

On Sunday, Maliki asked the parliament to withdraw confidence from his Sunni deputy Salih al-Mutlak after the latter described Maliki as "dictator."

The latest development shows the growing struggle between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's leading Shi'ite bloc and his political rivals, as the U.S. troops concluded their withdrawal plan Sunday, leaving less than 200 personnel in the country on training mission.
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Iraq
Hashimi Wants an Arab President
2010-04-04
[Asharq al-Aswat] Perhaps Jalal Talabani hasn't been the ideal president for Iraq over the past four years but nobody can claim that it is because he is a Kurdish president that Iraq's ties with Arab states are deteriorating. Tariq al Hashimi, one of two Iraqi Vice Presidents, whose term is coming to an end, suggested not appointing another Kurd to the presidential post so as not to hinder reconciliation with the Arabs. This remark could be described as racist, especially coming from a politician who is complaining about detestable sectarianism and its elements in Iraq and who based his electoral presentation on the idea of an Iraq for everyone.

Let us suppose that the Arabs really do not want another Kurdish president to head the Iraqi republic but an Arab; would it be right for the Iraqis to bow down to an order like this? Nobody outside [of Iraq] has the right to dictate to the Iraqis who they should choose as a president or to fill presidential positions unless the nominated candidate is hostile against other Arabs, in which case the decision remains in the hands of the voters.

If the Arabs are proud of historical leaders such as Salahaddin al Ayoubi and are not critical of Ayyubid rule of half the Arab world, then what harm will it cause them if another Kurd rules Iraq, especially as it is the Arabs who are against the idea of Kurdistan seceding from Iraq and insist on a united Iraq with Kurds and Arabs. In this case, the Kurd becomes Iraqi and it is his right to assume any position his people choose him for.

The leader of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani sought to justify Talabani's suspicious visit to Tehran by saying that he was not invited to the Arab Summit -- suggesting that there is some kind of Arab racism against the president because he is Kurdish -- and that Talabani responded to their boycott by visiting Iran. I am not sure that the Arab Summit held in Sirte, Libya deliberately neglected Talabani and failed to invite him. I believe that the problem is an internal Iraqi one that relates to the fact that there are two principal positions; prime minister and president. According to the rules, the invite should have been extended to the Iraqi government. The evidence is that the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, who is also Kurdish, was present at the Arab Summit and represented Iraq. When he planned to withdraw because the Libyans were receiving expelled Iraqi Baathists, all the Arabs present tried to dissuade him. This is how Minister Zebari continued to participate in the conference.

The problem with the two principle positions also exists in Lebanon and the two positions also clash over invites to the summit. Let me remind you of the chaos that ensued at the Arab Summit in Oman when both the then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the late Prime Minister Rafik al Hariri insisted on attending the summit. Both sat down and were at odds. The same thing happened at the Beirut Summit.

My interpretation of the Arab aloofness is that the Arabs are searching for an excuse to keep away from Iraq's shifting sands. The Arabs don't care about who becomes president as long as he is not hostile towards them. Despite his disturbing closeness to the Iranians, President Talabani did not antagonize any Arab or Arab government. Also, the Arabs did not boycott Iraq because the president is Kurdush; in fact they boycotted when [Ghazi] Al Yawar, who is of Arab origin, was head of state. Matters have changed since. Today, Arab-Iraqi ties are less divided and everyone is waiting for the security and political situation [to improve] and the situation will not change much regardless of whether there is a president or a prime minister.
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Iraq
Sadrists to Veto Second al-Maliki Term - Sources
2010-03-30
[Asharq al-Aswat] The Sadrist trend and its leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, who remains in Tehran, are currently being courted by Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya bloc and Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, as both sides attempt to form a majority government. Delegations from the Iraqiya bloc and the State of Law coalition arrived in Tehran to meet with al-Sadr.

Prior to this, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and Vice President Adil Abdul Mahdi, both visited Iran on the eve of the election results, although it was announced that this visit came at the invitation of the Iranian government, and was an invitation for the Kurdish President and Shiite Vice President to participate in the Iranian Nowruz celebrations.

Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that negotiations with the Sadrist trend began before delegations were sent to Iran, and that Karar al-Khafaji, Chief of the Political Committee of the Sadrist Trend, met with a delegation from the State of Law coalition, and has been in communication with the Iraqiya bloc.

The Sadrist trend is a member of the Shiite National Iraqi Alliance, which won a total of 70 parliamentary seats at the recent Iraqi elections; however the Sadrist trend won 39 of these seats making it by far the most influential party in this alliance.

Senior sources within the Sadrist trend revealed that it is being represented by Qusay al-Suhail in the talks that are taking place in Tehran. Al-Suhail was the Sadrist Prime Ministerial candidate, and is a prominent figure in the trend. As for the State of Law coalition, it has sent Ali al-Adeeb, a senior member of the Dawa Party to negotiate on behalf of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The second State of Law coalition negotiator is former First Deputy Speaker of the Council of Representatives Sheikh Khalid al-Attiya, although it is not known whether Sheikh al-Attiyia traveled to Tehran with Adeeb, or whether he remains in Iraq. Sources indicate that the Sadrists have so far been successful in managing the negotiation file.

A senior member of the Sadrist trend, Nassar al-Rubaie, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Sadrist trend is not vetoing any prime ministerial candidate. However, senior officials close to al-Sadr contradicted this, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that there is a red line with regards to al-Maliki and that at this stage the Shiite alliance "is more important than names." The sources say that the National Iraqi Alliance is capable of choosing a replacement for al-Maliki "for the ultimate goal."

With regards to the National Iraqi Alliance, the Sadrist leadership confirmed that there are certain pre-requisites that cannot be compromised or put aside. One senior Sadrist official who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said that "the pre-requisites [for forming a majority government] are national partnership in the management of the state, developing institutes on the basis of competence and moving away from quotas and favoritism, and respecting facts and not marginalizing others."

For his part, Mohamed al-Bahadli, al-Sadr's chief representative in southern Iraq, told Asharq Al-Awsat that "dialogue between the victorious blocs and the others has begun, and everybody knows that we are not with any component or against any component, we are with everybody in order to establish a partnership government."

He added "we do not want to fall into the same mistakes that occurred in the past and which cost the Iraqi people a lot, today we are working to resolve all of these errors through dialogue and developing mechanisms to ensure the political process in a way that puts Iraq at the forefront."

While the Shiite movements have turned their attention to Tehran, Baghdad, and Najaf, the Sunni leadership are holding meetings and communicating [in order to form a majority government]. Leader of the Iraqi Accord Front, Iyad al-Samarrai, met with three senior Iraqiya bloc figures in the past 48 hours. Al-Samarrai met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Rafi al-Issawi, the leader of the Tajdid List Tariq al-Hashimi, as well as Osama Nujaifi.
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Iraq
Iraq PM aims to ease security fears
2009-06-28
Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, has attempted to ease concerns that a wave of violence will follow the pullback of US combat troops from cities and major towns. More than 250 people have been killed in a series of attacks in recent days, raising fears that Iraqi security forces will struggle to cope after the June 30 withdrawal.

But al-Maliki said that the planned move showed that Iraqi institutions were ready to ensure the safety of their own people and would be celebrated as "victory day". "We are on the threshold of a new phase that will bolster Iraq's sovereignty," he said on Saturday. "It is a message to the world that we are now able to safeguard our security and administer our internal affairs."

Al-Maliki has blamed the recent violence on fighters from al-Qaeda in Iraq, but said they would not be successful if the country remained united. He made the remarks as parliament met to debate the reasons for the apparently deteriorating security situation.

Tariq al-Hashimi, Iraq's Sunni vice-president, echoed the concerns of many Iraqis when he urged "our people to be more cautious and avoid, whenever possible, crowded areas unless there is something important".

In a statement posted on his website on Saturday, al-Hashimi urged Iraqi security forces to increase their presence in public areas, markets and mosques.

Saleh al-Mutlaq, a Sunni member of the Iraqi parliament and the leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, told Al Jazeera: "Iraqis have a right to be scared, they know very well that the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq will leave a political vacuum in the country. This is an irresponsible withdrawal from Iraq, because there is not much change in the political process or the American policy in Iraq adopted by the previous US administration.

"Al-Maliki is not aware of the consequences after the American troops leave the country, he wants to deliver what the Iraqis want - an end to the occupation."

Ayad Allawi, a former Iraqi prime minister, said that the surge in violence was likely to continue unless "drastic measures" were taken. "Always we anticipated that once there was a drawdown in forces ... the Iraqi institutions - military and police - are not capable of shouldering the responsibility. Nor will the political landscape in the country encourage stability," he told Al Jazeera.

US forces are also to leave all cities and major towns of Iraq by the end of June, including Mosul and Kirkuk, where levels of violence remain persistently high.

A "small number" of US troops would be left in some Iraqi cities after the June 30 deadline at so-called Joint Security Stations to train and advise local security forces, a military spokesman said. The US military will also continue to provide intelligence and air support to Iraqi security forces.
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Iraq
5 Iraqis shot dead ahead of provincial elections
2009-01-30
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Attackers in Iraq killed three Sunni Arab provincial election candidates and two election workers Thursday in violence that has startled an eager electorate in the run-up to the polls Saturday. Omar Farouq al-Ani, an Iraqi Islamic Party member running for a council seat in the capital, was gunned down near his Amriya home in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Al-Ani, whose party is the most prominent Sunni Arab movement in Iraq, was driving home from an election rally when he was attacked.

Hazem Salem Ahmed, a Sunni Arab from the National Unity list, was shot dead outside his home in the northern city of Mosul, police said. Abbas Farhan al-Jabouri of the Development and National Reform list and two election workers were found shot dead in the Diyala province city of Mandali a few hours after they were kidnapped, police said.

It is not known whether the attackers were rival supporters, militants who oppose the staging of the elections, or killers intent on sectarian retribution.

Another incident on Wednesday night is also thought to be election-related. The Iraqi Islamic Party is questioning whether a woman gunned down in western Baghdad was slain because attackers mistook her for one of its candidates. Mayyada al-Bayati was killed when the attackers stormed her house in the Yarmouk neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official told CNN on Thursday.

A party official said al-Bayati is the sister-in-law of one of its female candidates seeking a Baghdad council seat. Party officials believe al-Bayati was killed because the attackers mistakenly thought she was the candidate. Tariq al-Hashimi, one of Iraq's two vice presidents, is the Iraqi Islamic Party's most prominent member.

Of the more than 14,400 candidates participating in the local elections, nearly 4,000 of them are women.

Iraq's provincial elections are scheduled for Saturday. At stake are 440 seats on local councils, which name the regional governors. Iraqi, U.S. and U.N. officials have consistently warned against a possible uptick in attacks ahead of Iraq's all-important provincial elections. Security forces ramped up efforts to protect candidates and election centers. Overall, there has not been widespread election-related violence.
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