January 2007
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January 27th, 2007
Iran has demanded the removal of the UN official in charge of inspecting the country's nuclear programme...
Saudi Arabia's king has said Iran is putting the Gulf region in danger...
"...the U.S. government shipped him to Syria where he was tortured, instead of to Canada
for investigation or prosecution."
...the Algerian men - known only as Q and K - were sent back to their homeland "despite the risk
that they would be tortured".
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January 18th, 2007
Iraq's Civil War
Iraq Invasion Statistics
I've been trying for quite some time to figure out what is happening in Iraq and why. I've done a lot of reading
and I've learned a few things that help to explain the horrific reality of present-day Iraq. I think that I've come to
understand the strategies employed by the different factions in Iraq's Civil War. This has helped me to make sense
of what has appeared to be senseless violence. I am going to try to explain what I think is really going on and why.
It has to be much more complicated than "they are terrorists who hate freedom."
Let's begin by looking at a map of the Middle East.
Who Lives Where
A vast majority of Muslims (about 85%) are Sunni. A majority of Arabs are Sunni. Most of the people in Indonesia,
Central Asia, and North Africa are Sunni. Saudi Arabia, with its holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is the centre of the
Sunni world, though Cairo, Damascus, and Baghdad (former capitals of the Caliphate) are also of great importance.
Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, and Azerbaijan are the only places where Shia Muslims make up the majority of the population.
There are significant Shia populations in Southern Lebanon, (sometimes referred to as Hezbollah-stan) Afghanistan,
Yemen, and Syria. Iran is considered to be the centre of the Shia world; its government and people are mostly Shia.
Shia's holiest places are Qom in Central Iran, and Karbala and Najaf in Southern Iraq.
Iraq's Shias
The most important Shia in Iraq is an Iranian, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. Sistani, a moderate, has told his
followers not to fight the American forces in Iraq. Sistani recognized that the Americans would remove obstacles
to Shia power; first by toppling Saddam Hussein's regime, and later by fighting against Sunni insurgent groups.
While Iraq's constitution was being drafted, Sistani echoed US rhetoric about spreading democracy and freedom.
Sistani called for elections; elections that he knew the Shia would win. He was right. In early 2006, Iraq became
the first Arab State to be ruled by the Shia through the election of the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
Maliki's government is a coalition of Shia political parties. Two of the most influential figures in Maliki's
government are the cleric/militia leaders Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim and Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Sunni Factions
The Sunni forces fighting in Iraq's Civil War are made up of many different factions, though they fall into two
broad categories. One group fights for political reasons, the other for religious reasons. These two groups find
common ground in their belief that the Shia are unworthy of controlling Iraq. They believe that Shia control
of Iraq is completely unacceptable. They believe that the Shia government is a US puppet that stays in power
only because it is protected by US forces. They know that the Americans will have to leave Iraq eventually.
They think that their brutal campaign against Americans and Shia alike will hasten American withdrawal.
When the Americans finally do leave, the Sunni fighters believe that they will be able to topple the Shia
government and seize power for themselves. Though the two groups disagree on what to do with that power, it
is in the interest of both groups to continue the attacks. Their collaboration seems to embody the spirit of
the old saying "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Political Fighters
The Sunni factions that fight for political reasons seek to regain control of Iraq so that they might rule over
it as they have in the past. Among these fighters are tribal Iraqis from the western desert, former members of
Saddam Hussein's regime and the Ba'ath Party, as well as Iraqi nationalists who feel disenfranchised by the
Shia rise to power.
"Just as Hulaku entered Baghdad, the criminal Bush entered it, with Alqami,
or rather, more than one Alqami." - Saddam Hussein, April 28, 2003
The Sunni-Shia rift in Iraq goes way back. As US forces seized control of Baghdad in 2003, Saddam Hussein
reminded Sunnis of the ancient feud. Saddam's quote refers to the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258.
It is said that the Mongol commander Hulaku was able to conquer the city only with the help of Alqami,
a Shia who's name lives in Sunni infamy as a symbol of Shia treason. Saddam's point wasn't subtle; just as
the Shia betrayed the country during the Mongol invasion, they betray it again during the American one.
Patriotic Iraqis were bound to punish the Shia for their perceived treason. It was clear then that Civil
War was coming.
Religious Fighters
The other group of Sunni fighters in Iraq's Civil War are fighting for religious reasons. Most of these fighters
are religious extremists who belong to groups like Al Qaeda or one of its many clones. These groups
contain both Iraqis and foreign fighters. They believe that they are fighting a holy war. They see both
the Shia and the Americans as enemies of Islam. Their ultimate goal is to establish an Islamic state in Iraq.
People often wonder how it is that Muslims can justify the killing of other Muslims. Though the vast majority of
Sunnis worldwide get along with the Shia, (marriages between Shia and Sunni are common) there are many
who believe that the Shia are not "true" Muslims. Some of these believe that the Shia are enemies of Islam.
For these right-wingers, an Iraq ruled by the Shia and occupied by Americans provides a double opportunity to kill
"infidels." Though the religious fighters opposed Saddam for his secular ways, they preferred him to today's Shia
rulers, who they see as collaborators in an American war against Islam. They perceive the American Invasion
of Iraq as a modern-day crusade where non-Muslims came from overseas to put the (perceived non-Muslim) Shia in
control of Baghdad, ancient capital of the Caliphate. They believe that it is their religious duty to drive out
the Americans and overthrow the Shia.
The Shia Hit Back
Until the February 2006 bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, the Shia (on the orders of Sistani)
had exercised great restraint in not responding to the attacks of Sunni extremists. However, in light of the
daily Shia death toll, outrage over the destruction of Al-Askari served as a sort of tipping point. Shia militias
were activated and violent attacks against Sunnis increased. Shia death squads attacked the inhabitants of Sunni
neighbourhoods. A predictable cycle of violence ensued, as Shia neighbourhoods like the Baghdad slum of Sadr City
were hit back in retribution. Tens of thousands of ordinary Iraqis, Shia and Sunni alike have been killed. Most of
the victims of the Civil War have had nothing to do with the insurgency or the militias. Innocent blood has been
spilled on both sides, and there is no end in sight.
Possible Outcomes
I don't know what's going to happen next, but I'm certain that things are going to get worse.
It is likely that the Civil War will morph into a region-wide conflict, with Saudi Arabia backing the Sunnis,
and Iran backing the Shia. A Middle Eastern nuclear arms race has already begun.
Whatever happens, it is clear to me that the US invasion of Iraq will go down as one of the greatest disasters in
history. Saddam Hussein was not a threat, he merely pretended to maintain his WMD stockpiles in order to deter
Iran, his enemy next-door. In light of the history and demographics of the region, the catastrophic "unintended
consequences" of the US Invasion of Iraq should have been entirely predictable to war planners. It seems obvious
that the Washington neo-conservatives who pushed for the war either didn't do their homework, or didn't care about
what was to happen, so long as they could control Iraq's oil. If Saddam's rule was truly unacceptable, the smart
move would have been to mobilize US special forces and hand Iraq's keys to Qusay. It is too late for that now.
Empowering Iran
If anyone is to benefit from this mess, it is Iran. Tehran watched the US remove a dangerous neighbour and
replace it with a natural ally. Saddam Hussein was willing to fight a brutal eight year war with Iran to
prevent the Iranian Revolution (and the resulting Shia empowerment) from spreading into Iraq.
The US sold WMD's to Saddam (and implicitly approved of their use against Iranian soldiers) as Saddam
prosecuted his war. Saddam once said that the greatest mistake of his presidency was not the invasion of Kuwait,
but that he had passed on a chance to arrest and execute Iranian Ayatollah Khomenei, who lived in exile in Najaf
before seizing power in the Iranian Revolution.
Having contributed greatly to Iran's security, the US now claims that Tehran poses a great threat to world peace.
The Persian bogeyman is said to be hiding under our beds, armed with nuclear weapons. If the US were to attack Iran,
Iran would certainly be capable of retaliating, either through conventional means, or through Iraq's Shia militias,
militias controlled by old friends who now control Baghdad. Did you know that almost everyone in Nouri Al-Maliki's
government, militia leaders included, lived in exile in Iran during Saddam's rule? The question I'm left with is,
Why did the Americans hand Iraq over to Iranians? If Iran is such a threat, how could the Americans have made such
a catastrophic mistake? Perhaps this cartoon says it all.
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January 12th, 2007
Keith Olbermann on Bush's Troop "Surge"
Keith Olberman Special Commentary - youtube video
Great commentary about Bush's most recent catastrophic mistake
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January 8th, 2007
WMV File - 1M
Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility
using low-yield nuclear "bunker-busters"...
Transneft's Druzhba pipeline was shut down at Poland's border with Belarus...
...issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.
"In order to avoid offending religious fundamentalists, our National Park Service
is under orders to suspend its belief in geology..."
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January 1st, 2007
Happy New Year
Eric Blumrich Flash Animation detailing Saddam's illustrious CIA career.
A combination of global warming and the El Ni?o weather system is set to make 2007 the
warmest year on record with far-reaching consequences for the planet...
The Romanian president said EU entry was an "enormous chance for future generations",
while Bulgaria's leader said it was a "heavenly moment".
The Yukon is set to celebrate its second year without a murder...
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