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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Israeli tank 'runs over injured mother' in Gaza City's Shejaiya: Euro-Med

2024-07-01

[NEWARAB] An Israeli tank ran over a Paleostinian woman in front of her son in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... City on Thursday, according to a rights monitor. Tank movement ~50 km/h. Woman walking < 5 km/h. Tank driver sees where he's driving using multiple periscopes. Woman has to listen and probably turn her head to notice a tank bearing down on her. Maybe she fell off a jeep According to Euro-Med Monitor, 65-year-old Safiya Hassan Musa al-Jamal was run over by a tank after she was injured by Israeli forces who stormed her house. Safiya's son, Muhannad al-Jamal, witnessed the incident. According to Muhannad, the incident started at 10 am when Israeli forces first began entering Shejaiya, with his mother, three sisters and niece being forced to the first floor to avoid shelling and gunfire. After sunset, Israeli soldiers stormed the house, with Muhannad saying that they "started firing at the walls randomly and threw five bombs amid gunfire" that injured him and his mother. Euro-Med Monitor also acquired testimony from his sister Areeji, who said that a female soldier provided aid to Safiya. Israeli soldiers told both Areeji and Muhannad that their mother would go to a hospital. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... Safiya and Muhannad were taken on top of Israeli tanks through the neighbourhood to the Mustaha Roundabout, where Safiya was placed on the road. After telling Muhannad she'd be taken to a hospital, a tank proceeded to run her over. "When I saw the scene, I thought I had gone insane and began to cry and scream," Muhannad said, adding that he quickly fled after an eruption of gunfire. Euro-Med noted in its report that it had documented other incidents where Israeli tanks had run over Paleostinian civilians, including on 29 February when sixty-two-year-old Jamal Hamdi Hassan Ashour was run over in the Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.

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Africa North

Why Is Impoverished Egypt Seeking A Nuclear Program?

2013-04-27

[Jpost] Why is Morsi committing to an investment of billions of dollars when it is embroiled in economic crisis that is fueling unrest in an already explosive political environment? Earlier this week, Egypt announced that it is seeking Russian assistance to revive its nuclear program. It seems to be a move by the Moslem Brüderbund-led government to solidify the country's position as a regional power, as well as a way to improve relations with Moscow since Cairo has been facing difficulties in getting aid from the International Monetary Fund. The move could also be seen as a play to increase Cairo's leverage with the West so that it receives the aid it desires without having to make too many concessions in return. Then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... revived the dormant program in 1996 and planned to start a bidding process, but was removed from power in 2011. Mubarak might have seen the nuclear program in a similar light as does the Brotherhood leaders today -- a way to gain regional and international influence. When Egypt first formed a nuclear research team back in 1961, the country was full of Soviet scientists. Zvi Mazel, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a former ambassador to Egypt and a Jerusalem Post contributor, told the Post that when Egypt first formed a nuclear research team back in 1961, the country was full of Soviet scientists. "Mubarak at the beginning didn't want a program," he said, noting that its 2006 launch came quite late in Mubarak's presidency, mainly because, by that time, Iran's program was at an advanced stage. "To build a reactor of the value of $4 billion is a political issue," said Mazel, adding that "for America it is seen as a kind of offense" to cooperate with Moscow on nuclear energy, since Cairo receives so much aid from the US. Egypt is the most important Sunni country, explained Mazel, and under the current circumstances -- when almost every country in the region is seeking a nuclear program -- Egypt must have one too. The difference between Mubarak's and Morsi's nuclear ambitions is that Egypt today is in much worse shape than it was a few years ago. The Islamist nature of the current leadership, he added, raises even more worries. A 2008 report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said that there were at least 13 states in the Middle East that recently announced or revived plans to develop civilian nuclear programs. The Moslem Brüderbund, an anti- Western and anti-Semitic organization with global ambitions, does not mix well with a nuclear program, which would be viewed as a major threat by Israel and the West. In a report by Ibrahim Said last year titled, "The bomb and the beard: The Egyptian Moslem Brüderbund's views toward weapons of mass destruction," Said quotes Hamdi Hassan, front man of the Brotherhood's parliamentary caucus, who said in 2006, "We [Egyptians] are ready to starve in order to own a nuclear weapon that will represent a real deterrent and will be decisive in the Arab-Israeli conflict." He goes on to quote the vice-spiritual guide of the Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohammed Habib, who stated in 2006, "I do not see any problem with Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon... according to nuclear deterrence theory, even if Iran has a nuclear weapon, it will be used to face the Israeli nuclear arsenal. And, this will create a form of balance between the two parties: the Arab-Islamic party on one hand and the Israeli party on the other." Egypt's desire for a nuclear program could also be seen as part of the greater Sunni reaction to Iran's program and what they fear will be a Shia nuclear bomb, which will cast a shadow over the entire region. Iran's program has already triggered a number of "civilian" nuclear programs in other Sunni Arab countries. A 2008 report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said that there were at least 13 states in the Middle East that recently announced or revived plans to develop civilian nuclear programs. The list includes 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... , Jordan and Turkey. The nightmare scenario of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East as a result of Iran's nuclear program is moving one step closer.

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Africa North

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood considers entering polls

2010-09-25

[Al Arabiya] The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition group, does not plan to heed calls for a boycott of November's parliamentary elections, a senior member of the moderate Islamist movement said on Thursday. "The official decision has still not been announced by the movement's political bureau," but "the plan for the Muslim Brotherhood is to participate in the legislative elections as in all elections," the group's front man Hamdi Hassan told AFP. "We have said that we will boycott the vote if there is unanimity among the opposition parties on such a boycott, but this is not the case. Instead, the opposition parties are gradually announcing their planned participation, so the position of the Muslim Brotherhood is to do likewise." Hassan said the group planned to field "at least 160 candidates" for the 506 seats being contested, with the number potentially rising to allow members to run for some of the 62 seats reserved for women. But he warned that if the government ended up "falsifying" the vote there would be "unprecedented violence, "... and believe me, most Mohammedan violence is precedented!... because the people no longer fear the security services." He also slammed a decision taken three years ago to replace the judges previously responsible for monitoring the polls with appointed officials. The officially banned but tolerated Muslim Brotherhood clinched 20 percent of seats in the 22D5 legislative polls by running as "independents," in a surprise win that commentators said rattled the ruling National Democratic Party. Earlier this month Mohamed ElBaradei, the former UN nuclear chief turned Egyptian reformer, called for a boycott of the upcoming elections ... which is a guarantee you're not gonna win... and warned of civil disobedience if demands for political reform are not met. That's how a suave former member of the international diplomatic set says, "Nice little country ya got there. Be a shame if something happened to it." The thing is, I don't think he's got the connections to do more than suavely hint at those two sentences, and I'm pretty sure if I know that, so does Mubarak, pere (pretend the proper accent sits over that first e, 'k?), the one currently carrying the title of President of Egypt. But the only other party to join him so far is the small al-Ghad party, whose founder Ayman Nur was the sole serious challenger to incumbent Hosni Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election. Members of Egypt's liberal Wafd party voted in favour of participating in the November elections at their general assembly on Friday, although 44 percent supported a boycott. Widespread irregularities were reported during elections in May for the Egyptian parliament's upper house, with the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie saying security officials had removed posters of his movement's candidates and prevented them from campaigning or meeting electors.

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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Is Rihanna ready to cover up for Abu Dhabi dollars?

2009-12-29

The organizers behind acclaimed Barbadian singer Rihanna’s planned concert in Abu Dhabi on New Year's Eve are denying media reports that the star has been told to trade in her trademark revealing, raunchy stage gear for a more wholesome look in her gig at the Emirates Palace Hotel in the emirate. “The facts and figures recently reported around Rihanna’s Abu Dhabi concert are totally inaccurate,” said concert organizer Flash in a statement quoted by the United Arab Emirates-based English-language newspaper Gulf News. The wardrobe row surfaced after the British tabloid the Daily Mirror claimed in a report over the weekend that Rihanna had been instructed to dress more conservatively for her show in Abu Dhabi and that the 21-year-old star was “tearing her hair out over what to do" about it. The article also claimed Rihanna was being paid a whopping $500,000 for her performance, a sum for which the Daily Mirror said the star is likely to leave her latex body suits and extravagant bras in the closet. So Rihanna’s team is now said to be working around the clock to somehow figure out a way to make Rihanna's daring stage outfits go along with the local traditions in Abu Dhabi, which prides itself as the more mature and conservative brother of neighboring, freewheeling Dubai. But Rihanna's supposed scrambling for a more wholesome look so as to not upset her conservative fans might prove a challenge. “She knows that she'll have to compromise her style to fit in with local traditions, but a huge part of her show is her sexy stage gear,” an unidentified source told the Daily Mirror. Aside from maybe having to cover up in a sweater and a pair of jeans in her planned New Year's Eve gig, the British tabloid also suggested that Rihanna and her crew might also have to ring in the new year with soft drinks and juice instead of champagne, saying the singer may have to obtain a special license to store alcohol in her dressing room during the concert. The incident is likely to mark this year's last wardrobe row in the Middle East, but it's certainly not the year's first. Only two months ago, Islamic conservatives in Egypt branded pop singer Beyonce's concert in Cairo an "insolent sex party." Hamdi Hassan, a lawmaker from the Muslim Brotherhood, reportedly submitted a written complaint about the concert to the Egyptian Interior Ministry. He said the posters advertising the show, in which Beyonce was shown wearing a revealing outfit and gripping a pair of motorcycle handlebars extending from her hips, threatened Egypt's "social peace and stability."

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Africa North

Egypt Islamists appalled by Beyonce concert

2009-11-07

[Al Arabiya Latest] Singer Beyonce, who put off a gig in Malaysia following Islamist outrage over her "gyrating moves" and "sexy outfits," was due to perform in Egypt on Friday under tight security, at the Red Sea resort of Port Ghalib. Hamdi Hassan, a lawmaker from the Muslim Brotherhood, has written to the speaker of the house and the interior minister labeling her planned night show a "sex party" and demanding to know why she was allowed to perform. He said the concert advertisement, in which the comely diva wears a leotard fitted with motorbike handlebars extending from her crotch and a headlight nestled in her cleavage, "threatens social peace and security." "I do not know who agreed to this sinful, unacceptable advertisement, or indeed who agreed to these blatant sex parties," Hassan wrote, accusing the government of encouraging "sin and debauchery."

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Africa North

Beyonce gig violates Sharia law: Egypt MP

2009-10-26

Healthy young lass. Drinks a glass of milk every day. [Al Arabiya Latest] Two weeks before American superstar Beyonce Knowles is scheduled to hold her first ever concert in Egypt, an Islamist MP publically blasted the government for accepting to host the event and accused the government of violating Sharia law. "Titties are against shariah. She got titties. She's against sharia, Q.E.D." The bootylicious pop diva is set for a government-approved gig at the Red Sea resort of Port Ghalib, irking Muslim Brotherhood member Hamdi Hassan, who slammed the government for allowing a singer "who appears naked in her clips" to perform, which he said would spread vice. But, dewd! I heard she made the greatest music video ever! That's what that guy said, ain't it? "The government is trying to make people indulge in sin and licentiousness to cover up the other crimes it is committing against them," Hassan said in a parliament session. The tickets are going for $400 apiece. If you got that kinda jack then you're likely no stranger to sin and licentiousness. Hassan highlighted what he called government double standards for refusing to allow an Islamic band that sings religious songs for children to enter the country. Hush little baby don't you cry, Once you detonate you'll blow sky high!

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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Possible Quarantine of Entire Nation of Egypt

2009-04-25

(translated) Renewed state of anxiety and fear after the death of 25 because of the situation of avian flu, and a number injured to 68 cases, and the lack of effective ways to cope with the disease, especially after the announcement of producers to 90% of birds, including non-compliant conditions, and to provide MP, Dr. Hamdi Hassan requested briefing In which he referred to the possibility of a ban on the health of Egypt, due to increased rates of deaths and injuries, explaining that the imposition of quarantine would be forced to Egypt under the International Health Regulations, which was signed by Egypt, began implementation in July 2007, pointing out that it may continue to 6 months . Dr. Hamdi Hassan told «Egyptian today»: The mortality rates and the diversity of ages of infected places Egypt in real danger, particularly as the state is facing the most serious episodes of mutation of the virus transmission to a pig farm, where the pregnant pig of the virus is transmitted to humans and again,

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Egypt blocks opposition convoy headed for Gaza

2008-09-11

Egyptian authorities on Wednesday blocked an opposition convoy headed for the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip to protest its continued closure and protest Israel's punishing blockade, a security official said. Another security official said police had stopped an initial part of the convoy, made of about 50 judges, independent MPs, members of the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood and activists from other parties, in Ismailiya, on the Suez Canal, with a second part of the convoy set to leave Cairo in the afternoon. Police have set up further checkpoints on the road between Ismailiya and the town of al-Arish in northern Sinai, about 30 miles (45 kilometers) from Rafah, the security official said. "The authorities have reinforced security measures on ferries crossing the Suez Canal into the Sinai peninsula," he added. The Rafah crossing in southern Gaza is the territory's only one that is not under the control of Israel, which sealed off the coastal strip after the democratically-elected Hamas seized power there in June 2007 in a move that aid agencies say has created a humanitarian crisis. "We want the Israeli blockade that is making our Palestinian brothers live in inhuman conditions to be lifted," said Muslim Brother MP and convoy spokesman Hamdi Hassan before leaving Cairo. "We also want to denounce the Egyptian government which is keeping the Rafah crossing closed in agreement with Israel, which makes life even more difficult for the Palestinians," he added, noting that the Egyptian government has destroyed tunnels that were the only means the Gaza Strip had to receive aid. While Israel allows extremely limited amounts of aid through its crossings with the Gaza Strip, Egypt has been clamping down on the tunnels that take many staples from its territory into Gaza. Earlier this month in honor of Ramadan, Egypt opened Rafah briefly to allow thousands in and out of the besieged Hamas-run territory, including Palestinians requiring treatment in Egyptian hospitals, and Palestinians holding Egyptian passports. Egypt has refused to open the Rafah crossing permanently. In related news, Egyptian police trying shot dead a Sudanese man who tried to slip across the frontier overnight, medical and security sources said on Wednesday, bringing to 23 the number of African migrants killed at the border this year.

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Home Front: WoT

US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Meets Muslim Brotherhood

2007-04-08

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A top U.S. Democratic congressman met a leading member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, an outlawed opposition group, during a recent visit to the country, the Islamic fundamentalist group and U.S. officials said Saturday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer met with the Muslim Brotherhood's parliament leader, Mohammed Saad el-Katatni, twice on Thursday - once at the parliament building and then at the home of the U.S. ambassador to Egypt, said Brotherhood spokesman Hamdi Hassan. U.S. Embassy spokesman John Berry would only confirm that Hoyer, who represents Maryland, met with el-Katatni at U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone's home at a reception with other politicians and parliament members. Though officially banned since 1954, the Brotherhood is tolerated by the government and has become Egypt's largest opposition group and President Hosni Mubarak's most powerful rival. Its members, who run as independents, make up the largest opposition bloc in parliament, holding about one-fifth of its 454 seats. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has refused in the past to meet with the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Africa North

Egypt police arrest 28 Muslim Brothers

2006-05-30

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday police had detained 28 of its members in Alexandria during chamber of commerce elections. The detainees were merchants affiliated with the officially banned opposition group, said Hamdi Hassan, official spokesman for the Brotherhood’s parliamentary bloc. They were arrested on Sunday. The Brotherhood said security forces had stopped its supporters from voting in the elections in Alexandria to guarantee victory for government-backed candidates, who won the ballot with a large majority. Hassan said the merchants face charges of obstructing the elections. “What obstructed the elections were the government and the security forces since they stopped merchants and candidates from entering the chamber,” he told Reuters. The police also arrested the Brotherhood’s four-man media team for the elections on Saturday. “Security means are the only means to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood because they (the state) consider the group banned and so they can’t deal with us politically,” said Ali Abdel-Fattah, a senior Brotherhood figure in Alexandria.

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Iraq

Anbar Tribesmen Take on al-Zarqawi

2006-02-11

By Mahan Abedin A report by al-Hayat on January 26 that “Tribal Popular Committees” have been formed in Ramadi (capital of Anbar province) to hunt down Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers, “for the purpose of expelling them from the Iraqi border to Syria,” does not come as a surprise. Indeed, over the past year various reports have surfaced pointing to increasing friction between Anbar tribesmen and al-Zarqawi’s followers who dominate the insurgent landscape along the crucial Euphrates River valley. What is interesting about the latest reports is that Anbar tribesmen and the “Iraqi resistance” are willing to hunt down and kill al-Qaeda affiliated fighters in Iraq. Previously, the tribesmen had merely warned al-Zarqawi’s followers to stay away from their areas and to desist from persecuting the Shi’ite minority in Anbar. The al-Hayat report quotes one Sheikh Usamah al-Jad’an (the head of the al-Karabilah tribe in Qaim) as saying: “the Tribal Committees have started a military campaign against the terrorists.” The real question here is how serious the so-called “Tribal Popular Committees” are at pursuing al-Zarqawi and his men. In other words, do the committees have real teeth, or are they merely the latest propaganda stunt by the Arab Sunni guerrilla movement? It is worth noting that the Arab Sunni guerrillas and their political representatives (in the form of the two Arab Sunni blocs that participated in the December 15, 2005 elections) see the inclusion of Arab Sunnis in the new government (which has yet to be formed) as an adjunct, rather than an alternative, to the insurgency. Clearly it suits their interests to sideline al-Qaeda in Iraq, at least in the propaganda sphere. For its part, the Iraqi government is not overly-impressed by the counter-insurgency initiatives of the Anbar tribesmen. Adel Abdul Mahdi, vice president of Iraq and a leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), described the latest initiative in a typically cryptic manner: “We support any request by the people of Anbar. However, we have to say frankly that no-one ought to seek the help of saboteurs against terrorists, terrorists against saboteurs, or would-be suicide bombers against those beheading people. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi government have to face up to these challenges” (al-Hayat, February 3). Naturally, the Iraqi government prefers to be at the forefront of the struggle against the insurgency. Yet, there is a more pressing reason why the latest developments are seen as unwelcome by the Baghdad government. The increasing mobilization of Anbar tribesmen converges with increasing confidence by the two Arab Sunni blocs (namely the Sunni Islamist “Iraqi Accord Front” and the much smaller neo-Baathist “Iraqi Front for National Dialogue” led by Saleh al-Mutlaq) in using quasi-official platforms to promote the insurgency and pressure the government to make unreasonable concessions. On February 1, the Iraqi Accord Front threatened to call for civil disobedience if the government did not respond to its demands, which include releasing detainees and disbanding militias (al-Mashriq, February 2). Al-Mashriq also quotes Tariq al-Hashimi, the secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, as calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, also a former senior commander of the Badr organization, and his deputies. This kind of aggressive posturing (which is completely at odds with the electoral weight of the two main Arab Sunni blocs) comes at a time when the insurgency is picking up strength, as evidenced by the relentless attacks on U.S. forces in the Baghdad, Anbar, Salahudin and Nineveh provinces. It is exactly this kind of propaganda, political and guerrilla coordination that the Iraqi government and the U.S. establishment in Iraq had been dreading for a long time. For its part, the victorious Shi’ite coalition has started a counter-propaganda campaign through opinion pieces in the daily al-Adala (issued by SCIRI). An opinion piece by Hamdi Hassan implicitly accuses the Arab Sunnis of refusing to accept their electoral defeat (al-Adala, January 30). Another opinion piece by Abbas Mizban follows on the same theme, but this time explicitly rejecting accusations of fraud and violations in the recent elections (al-Adala, January 31). Leaving aside the political and propaganda dimensions of recent developments, it is clear that the gulf between al-Zarqawi and the Iraqi resistance is widening. A major point of friction is the increasing proclivity of the nationalist insurgents to negotiate with the U.S., both at a tactical and strategic level. The latest negotiations, which reportedly took place in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, have apparently ground to a halt because of U.S. rejection of insurgent demands. Apparently, the insurgents had proposed a one-year truce with U.S. forces, conditional on the United States removing half its forces from Iraq within a year, allowing the insurgents to hold official posts and increasing Arab Sunni representation in the new government (al-Sabah, February 2). The negotiators, according to al-Sabah, are described as “Baathists, Islamists and high-ranking former Republican Guard and intelligence officers.”

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Iraq

Iraqi Los Pepes formed to hunt down Zarqawi in Anbar

2006-02-07

A report by al-Hayat on January 26 that “Tribal Popular Committees” have been formed in Ramadi (capital of Anbar province) to hunt down Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his followers, “for the purpose of expelling them from the Iraqi border to Syria,” does not come as a surprise. Indeed, over the past year various reports have surfaced pointing to increasing friction between Anbar tribesmen and al-Zarqawi’s followers who dominate the insurgent landscape along the crucial Euphrates River valley. What is interesting about the latest reports is that Anbar tribesmen and the “Iraqi resistance” are willing to hunt down and kill al-Qaeda affiliated fighters in Iraq. Previously, the tribesmen had merely warned al-Zarqawi’s followers to stay away from their areas and to desist from persecuting the Shi’ite minority in Anbar. The al-Hayat report quotes one Sheikh Usamah al-Jad’an (the head of the al-Karabilah tribe in Qaim) as saying: “the Tribal Committees have started a military campaign against the terrorists.” The real question here is how serious the so-called “Tribal Popular Committees” are at pursuing al-Zarqawi and his men. In other words, do the committees have real teeth, or are they merely the latest propaganda stunt by the Arab Sunni guerrilla movement? It is worth noting that the Arab Sunni guerrillas and their political representatives (in the form of the two Arab Sunni blocs that participated in the December 15, 2005 elections) see the inclusion of Arab Sunnis in the new government (which has yet to be formed) as an adjunct, rather than an alternative, to the insurgency. Clearly it suits their interests to sideline al-Qaeda in Iraq, at least in the propaganda sphere. For its part, the Iraqi government is not overly-impressed by the counter-insurgency initiatives of the Anbar tribesmen. Adel Abdul Mahdi, vice president of Iraq and a leader of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), described the latest initiative in a typically cryptic manner: “We support any request by the people of Anbar. However, we have to say frankly that no-one ought to seek the help of saboteurs against terrorists, terrorists against saboteurs, or would-be suicide bombers against those beheading people. The Iraqi people and the Iraqi government have to face up to these challenges” (al-Hayat, February 3). Naturally, the Iraqi government prefers to be at the forefront of the struggle against the insurgency. Yet, there is a more pressing reason why the latest developments are seen as unwelcome by the Baghdad government. The increasing mobilization of Anbar tribesmen converges with increasing confidence by the two Arab Sunni blocs (namely the Sunni Islamist “Iraqi Accord Front” and the much smaller neo-Baathist “Iraqi Front for National Dialogue” led by Saleh al-Mutlaq) in using quasi-official platforms to promote the insurgency and pressure the government to make unreasonable concessions. On February 1, the Iraqi Accord Front threatened to call for civil disobedience if the government did not respond to its demands, which include releasing detainees and disbanding militias (al-Mashriq, February 2). Al-Mashriq also quotes Tariq al-Hashimi, the secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, as calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, also a former senior commander of the Badr organization, and his deputies. This kind of aggressive posturing (which is completely at odds with the electoral weight of the two main Arab Sunni blocs) comes at a time when the insurgency is picking up strength, as evidenced by the relentless attacks on U.S. forces in the Baghdad, Anbar, Salahudin and Nineveh provinces. It is exactly this kind of propaganda, political and guerrilla coordination that the Iraqi government and the U.S. establishment in Iraq had been dreading for a long time. For its part, the victorious Shi’ite coalition has started a counter-propaganda campaign through opinion pieces in the daily al-Adala (issued by SCIRI). An opinion piece by Hamdi Hassan implicitly accuses the Arab Sunnis of refusing to accept their electoral defeat (al-Adala, January 30). Another opinion piece by Abbas Mizban follows on the same theme, but this time explicitly rejecting accusations of fraud and violations in the recent elections (al-Adala, January 31). Leaving aside the political and propaganda dimensions of recent developments, it is clear that the gulf between al-Zarqawi and the Iraqi resistance is widening. A major point of friction is the increasing proclivity of the nationalist insurgents to negotiate with the U.S., both at a tactical and strategic level. The latest negotiations, which reportedly took place in Iraq, Syria and Jordan, have apparently ground to a halt because of U.S. rejection of insurgent demands. Apparently, the insurgents had proposed a one-year truce with U.S. forces, conditional on the United States removing half its forces from Iraq within a year, allowing the insurgents to hold official posts and increasing Arab Sunni representation in the new government (al-Sabah, February 2). The negotiators, according to al-Sabah, are described as “Baathists, Islamists and high-ranking former Republican Guard and intelligence officers.”

Link

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