There was actually not much difference between what Bush told the Knesset on Israel’s 60th birthday celebration and Obama’s remarks before the Jewish audience in Florida. Both had a perfunctory one-liner about the Palestinians. Although the senator had pegged his election campaign to the attractive theme of “change,” meaning that his administration would disavow the policies of the Bush administration and negotiate with adversaries, he stressed “we should not negotiate with Hamas or Hezbollah” unless “they renounce terror, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements.” On this subject, he continued, “I have a fundamental difference with President Carter and his decision to meet with Hamas.”

Read in full: Obama is no saint - Middle East Times

There is a strong likelihood that the fighting may spill over to neighbouring Iraq, where PKK’s headquarters are based. The evidence for that is ongoing as Turkey continues on a regular basis to conduct air raids into Iraq’s Kurdistan region in the north. That could drag Iraqi Kurds into the conflict as well.

WASHINGTON, May 30 (IPS) - An intensifying fight between Turkey and a reorganised Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) threatens to introduce a new element of instability to the Middle East at a time when some of the most chronic crises in the region are taken on by regional actors, ironically with Turkey itself playing a key role as a peace mediator.

That has left the United States in a dilemma over whether to continue with its traditional policy of giving a green-light for a militaristic approach by Turkey to deal with the long-standing Kurdish issue, or to pressure its longtime ally to try harder for a political solution.

Turkish and PKK sources have claimed since the start of this year to have killed hundreds and dozens from the other side, respectively, signifying the resurgence of old hostilities in the region.

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قتيل وخمسة جرحى بحادث أمني واحد في عموم العراق منذ بعد ظهر السبت

خلا المشهد الأمني في عموم العراق، منذ الثانية بعد ظهر السبت وحتى منتصف الليل، إلا من حادث واحد قتل فيه أحد المدنيين وأصيب أربعة آخرون بجروح عندما فجرت القوات الأمنية سيارة مفخخة كانت تستهدف موكب محافظ نينوى في الموصل. فيما اعتقل خمسة أشخاص ليرتفع إلى (21) عدد المعتقلين والقتلى إلى أربعة والجرحى (11)، خلال الـ (24) ساعة الماضية.

وقال مصدر مسؤول في شرطة نينوى للوكالة المستقلة للأنباء ( أصوات العراق) إن القوات الأمنية “تمكنت من تفجير سيارة مفخخة، عصر السبت، كانت مركونة على جانب الشارع العام في منطقة (المعارض) شرقي الموصل، ما أدى إلى مقتل مدني واحد وإصابة أربعة آخرين بجروح.”
وأوضح أن السيارة “كانت مركونة على أحد جانبي الطريق الذي كان عائدا منه موكب محافظ نينوى دريد كشمولة، إلا أن أفراد الحماية تمكنوا من إطلاق النار عليها وتفجيرها عن بعد.”
وتقع مدينة الموصل، مركز محافظة نينوى، على مسافة (405 كلم) إلى الشمال من العاصمة بغداد.
وفي البصرة (590 كلم جنوب بغداد)، قال مصدر من شرطة المحافظة إن قواته ” ألقت القبض على خمسة مطلوبين وضبطت كميات من الذخائر، خلال عمليات تفتيش ودهم نفذتها، السبت، في مناطق مختلفة من البصرة.”
وفي ميسان، قال قائد شرطة المحافظة اللواء علي وهام المالكي لـ ( أصوات العراق) إنه تقرر “حظر سير جميع أنواع الدراجات النارية في شوارع المحافظة، اعتبارا من (السبت)، بسبب كثرة استخدامها من قبل المسلحين في عمليات الإغتيال.”
وتقع مدينة العمارة، مركز محافظة ميسان، على مسافة (390 كلم) إلى الجنوب من العاصمة بغداد.

اصوات العراق - قتيل وخمسة جرحى بحادث أمني واحد في عموم العراق منذ بعد ظهر السبت

The hospital administration and the two groups, the Conservation Centre of Environment and Reserves in Fallujah and the Monitoring Net of Human Rights in Iraq, say that in 2006 they found "5,928 new illness cases that were unknown before in Fallujah," over 70 percent of which were "cancers and abnormalities" in children below 12 years of age.

"In the first six months of 2007 there were 2,447 cases, more than 50 percent of these cases were children. Simply, this means that most of the victims are children, and this will threaten the new generation in this city."

FALLUJAH, Apr 14 (IPS) - Fallujah remains a crippled city years after the November 2004 U.S.-led assault.

Unemployment, and lack of medical care and safe drinking water in the city 60 km west of Baghdad remain a continuous problem. Freedom of movement is still curtailed.

Fallujah has suffered more perhaps than any other city through five years of occupation. But it got a great deal worse in 2004.

The city suffered two devastating U.S. military attacks during 2004. Many of the buildings were destroyed, or heavily damaged. Several collapsed under the heavy bombing, and were never rebuilt. The heaps of concrete slabs and piles of rubble remain where they were.

"We wonder why we have been targeted by Americans since the first days of the occupation," Dr. Mohammad Abed from al-Anbar University told IPS. "This city sacrificed thousands of its citizens through five years of occupation just because they said ‘no’ to a project that threatens their country’s future."

Now a less visible form of destruction is being spread, he said. "The new wave of destruction is represented by tearing the social tissue apart. The Americans are paying tremendous amounts of money to get people of Fallujah to fight each other."

(more…)

US soldiers abuse Iraq German embassy guards

German diplomats obtain financial compensation for abused Iraqis, but receive no apology from US.

BERLIN - US soldiers abused Iraqis guarding the German embassy in Baghdad, according to a press report quoting a confidential report from the embassy.

The weekly Der Spiegel, in its issue appearing Monday, says that ambassador Hanns Schumacher had told Berlin that three off-duty guards were arrested by US soldiers and ill-treated.

One of them had been taken out of Baghdad and held for four months in a prison camp near the southern city of Basra, he alleged.

Der Spiegel says German diplomats had complained and obtained financial compensation for the Iraqis, but received no apologies from US officials.

A foreign ministry spokeswoman refused to confirm the report for reasons of personal and political security.

Source: Middle East Online

“No one is safe from US abuse in Iraq”

This is supposed to be news?

Ali

حذرت مسؤولة نسوية من خطورة استمرار الحالة المتردية التي تعيشها المرأة في العراق خصوصا ما يتعلق باتساع ظاهرة القتل حرقا والانتحار وختان الاعضاء التناسلية في بعض المناطق.
وقالت وزيرة شؤون المرأة بالوكالة نرمين عثمان ان ظاهرة انتحار الفتيات حرقا في اقليم كردستان سببها ان القانون والتغييرات الفكرية لم تكن متوازية وتغيير القوانين في الأقليم لم يصحبه تغيير اجتماعي.
واضافت عثمان ان جرائم القتل التي توصف بجرائم الشرف موجودة وتؤكدها الأرقام التي تنشرها حكومة اقليم كردستان.
واكدت عثمان ان تغيير القوانين في اقليم كردستان بتغليظ العقوبة على مرتكبيها واعتبارها جريمة جنائية مثلها مثل باقي جرائم القتل لم يكن كافيا لإنهاء هذه الظاهرة.
وتشير وزيرة شؤون المرأة الى ان تغيير القانون لم يصحبه تغيير في الفكر الاجتماعي اوالموروثات الاجتماعية وخصوصا في الأوساط العشائرية والريفية.

مواضيع مرتبطة

Women’s Rights Gorilla’s Guides

The crowd gathers at a relief centre dedicated to feeding the destitute, in particular widows and orphans.

They form a queue waiting to receive food. Children who have both parents dead first, widows with children next, widows with no children last.

Of course when there are so many they will not get very much:

The humanitarian crisis in Iraq is escalating. Surviving amidst conflict and upheaval are taking their toll on the people of Iraq.

This is hitting children hardest. Their childhoods are being stripped away from them. Many children have lost a parent or have to flee the communities that have supported them and so are forced to survive and help their families by working on the streets, undertaking hazardous work.

As the last remaining international child protection agency in southern Iraq, War Child is determined to continue its work helping children and their families. But we urgently need your help.

Why help?

An estimated 655,000 people have died as a result of this war. That’s the population of Liverpool, Windsor and Maidenhead combined.

This is nothing short of a humanitarian emergency. But with funding drying up, War Child desperately needs your help to support the hardest hit children and their families.
War Child will deliver simple but effective income generating projects, such as processing dates, or brick making. With those and other projects, we will work to protect children including those living and working on the streets.

In the time it has taken you to read this, a child will have been killed and 5 more will have been forced to leave their homes finding themselves separated from their families and the very communities who protected and supported them. This is fundamentally wrong.

With your help, we can do something about it.

Read in full W A R C H I L D Iraq Appeal.

ارتياد الأسواق في الأعياد موروث شعبي، يتساوى فيه الأغنياء والفقراء، فليس ثمة من يجرؤ على تجاهل رغبة أطفاله في ارتداء ملابس العيد، كما أنه لا يوجد من يمكنه أن يكون مقصرا في الاحتفاء بضيوف العيد، غير أن السمة الرئيسية التي شهدها عيد الفطر هذا العام في محافظات الجنوب على وجه خاص هو الارتفاع الحاد في الاسعار.

فقد شهدت الأسواق في محافظات جنوب العراق ارتفاعا حادا في الأسعار قبل عيد الفطر وخلاله وحتى اليوم الاخير منه، فيما تراجع وبشكل كبير حجم الاقبال على الطلب نتيجة لذلك.
وقال علي الفحام ( تاجر جمله لملابس الأطفال )من مدينة النجف، للوكالة المستقلة للأنباء(أصوات العراق) إن "عدد المتبضعين خلال هذا العيد، هو أقل من العام الماضي، بسبب ارتفاع الأسعار، والذي يعود إلى إقرار قانون الضرائب، إضافة إلى هجرة التجار بسبب تردي الوضع الأمني."

(more…)

Pilgrims walking to Karbala.
( The photograph was taken in Najaf)

Mother and Child Karbala

How to cool off after you have walked to Karbala.

Meanwhile in Baghdad

Four-year-old Hibba Ali cries as she is treated for a head
injury in hospital.She was injured in an early morning
shooting in Zafaraniya (East Baghdad). An American led
patrol opened fire indiscriminately apparently after being
fired on by alleged JAM members.

The American fire killed one person and wounded 6 others.

All were civilians and all were residents of the neighbourhood.

Ali