He's going to the United Nations

BULLY BOY PRESS &  CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

AS SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY CONTINUES TO DEMAND THAT CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O   BOMB HIMSELF (SEE "Kerry insists Obama must be bombed!" AND "THIS JUST IN! KERRY GOES BALLISTIC ON OBAMA!"), BARRY O CONTINUES TO STALL.

TODAY IN HIS WEEKLY ADDRESS, BARRY O ANNOUNCED THAT HE IS GOING TO GO TO THE UNITED NATIONS FIRST TO SEEK PERMISSION FOR A SELF-BOMBING.





FROM THE TCI WIRE:



Iraq received some attention from the world's press today.  For violence.  That's what the western media caught.  What they missed was how important today was.

Violence isn't the only story in Iraq.  Today was the nine month anniversary of the start of the ongoing protests.  Dropping back to the December 21st snapshot:

AFP says the new crisis "threatens to reignite a long-running feud between the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc" and Nouri and his State of Law political slate.  What the heck are we talking about?  Look at this Reuters photo (individual photographer is not credited by the news agency or we'd note him or her by name) of the thousands who turned out to protest in Falluja today demanding Nouri al-Maliki resign as prime minister.

After morning prayers, Kitabat reports, protesters gathered in Falluja to protest the arrests and Nouri al-Maliki.  They chanted down with Nouri's brutality and, in a move that won't change their minds, found themselves descended upon by Nouri's forces who violently ended the protest.  Before that, Al Mada reports, they were chanting that terrorism and Nouri are two sides of the same coin.  Kitabat also reports that demonstrations also took place in Tikrit, Samarra, Ramdia and just outside Falluja with persons from various tribes choosing to block the road connecting Anbar Province (Falluja is the capitol of Anbar) with Baghdad.  Across Iraq, there were calls for Nouri to release the bodyguards of Minister of Finance Rafie al-Issawi.  Alsumaria notes demonstrators in Samarra accused Nouri of attempting to start a sectarian war.

Aymenn J Al-Tamimi Tweets of today's protests:

1. Aymenn J Al-Tamimi ‏@ajaltamimi 20m

   #Iraq: Friday protest placard from #Fallujah: "We won't forget the targeting of mosques of the Ahl as-Sunnah': pic.twitter.com/Fwu7gCIMsI

   View photo     

Iraqi Spring MC notes Baghdad protested and called for the detainees to be respected, in Ramadi they noted the right of the citizens to defend themselves and the right to call for an unresponsive government to be dissolved, they gathered in Mosul (despite 5 bridges being closed to try to stop the protest),  they gathered in Tikrit, they gathered in Samarra,  and they gathered in Jawala,


National Iraqi News Agency quotes an Anbar sit-in organizer, Sheikh Mohammed Fayyad, stating: "The citizens participated in the prayers that held in the courtyard northern Ramadi and eastern Fallujah cities , stressing that the goal of this trickle is to send one again a message to the governing in Baghdad that our demonstrations are peaceful and backed by citizens deep conviction."


It's not easy to protest in Iraq.  As Shajwan Tweeted last month:

Shajwan ‏@Shajwaan

A protest is the citizens best way in speaking their needs, not in #iraq though! No freedom of speech! pic.twitter.com/kzEsjuBfhE

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

• 1 Retweet
• 

7:41 AM - 31 Aug 13

They have the Constitutional right to protest but, as the picture indicates, when they try to exercise that right, Nouri's thugs descend.   Nouri's worst attack on the protesters was the  April 23rd massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported 53 dead for several days now -- indicating that some of the wounded did not recover.  UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).



The theme of today's protests was solidarity with Basra.  Basra?  Sunnis are being killed there in targeted executions.  BRussells Tribunal explains:


  Sunni Endowment Diwan announced last Monday the closure of Sunni mosques in Barah following a number of assassinations and killings during the past weeks in the second largest city of Iraq.  The office of the Diwan in Basrah stated that Sunni mosques in Basrah will only call for prayers (Adan) from the speakers of mosques and advised Sunni sect members to hold prayers at homes for the sake of saving their lives.
Saad Qusay, a very active journalist and correspondent in Basrah raised concerns some days ago about the escalated violence, stating that not even one single day goes by without witnessing an assassination or killing by militants using silencer guns.
Targeted assassinations and killings
On 17 September an Imam of the Sunni mosque Balad Salama in the district of Abi Al-Kaseeb was assassinated, Elaph, a London-based and widely read electronic newspaper, reports. The Imam was shot dead, close to his mosque, by militants who were in a passing car in the district of Abi Al-Kaseeb, a widely Sunni populated district. Two other people from Basrah were assassinated by militias last Monday, Elaph said today. In the same district, militants kidnapped Talal Abdul-Hafed Faroq, a clerk of the Sunni Endowment Diwan, who owns a grocery shop, and killed him a while after the kidnapping, Basrah News Agency reported.
Sheikh Nateq Yasseen, an Imam and speaker of Al-Sibelyat mosque, was assassinated by militant groups. Sheikh Yasseen was a former member of the municipal council of Abo Al-Kaseeb district.
Two worshippers were targeted and got killed thereafter at the district of Al-Ma’kal in Basrah. Meanwhile, a cleric at the Sunni Endowment Diwan in Basrah was injured due to an explosion of a bombed car inside the yard of the Diwan. Abdul-Kareem Al-Kazragi, director of the Sunni Endowment Diwan of south Iraq said that a bomb was placed in a bus taking the Diwan’s employees. Luckily none of the employees was injured as they had to do overtime for auditing work and the bus exploded causing no human casualties. Mr. Al-Kazragi called for strengthening security measures for the protection of the Sunni Endowment Diwan offices.
In the Al-Zubair district west of Basrah, militants using guns with silencers killed a worshipper close to Al-Kudairi mosque. Two brothers were kidnapped in Al-Jomhoreya quarter in Basrah by unknown militants who killed them and thrown their bodies before their house. One of the two brothers owns a shopping center, according to a security sources speaking to the Basrah News agency.  Three civilians killed and eleven others injured last Sunday when a bombed car exploded at an industrial street in Basrah.


Today was the nine month anniversary of continuous protests in Iraq.  You might think the world media could make time to cover the brave people who turn out despite being targeted, despite being followed, despite being called "terrorists" by Nouri al-Maliki.  They have shown so much strength and so much courage and could inspire the whole world if only the world knew what was taking place in Iraq.


Meanwhile Dar Addustour reports a  man in Karbala today launched his own protest. To register his objection to the lack of jobs in Iraq, 30-year-old Ali Mohammed attempted to set himself on fire in front of a Karbala government building.  He and his wife have four children and no income. So he threw gasoline on himself and attempted to burn himself to death but security officials were able to stop him before he set himself ablaze.





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BULLY BOY PRESS &  CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


AS CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O CONTINUES TO DELAY ON BOMBING HIMSELF (SEE "Barry O delays bombing self, cites public opinion" AND "THIS JUST IN! BARRY O DELAYS BOMBING OF SELF!"), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY MAKES CLEAR THAT HE HAS HAD ENOUGH OF BARRY O'S DILLY-DALLY-ING.


REFERRING TO A SEPTEMBER 13TH INCIDENT INVOLVING BARRY O AND THE AMIR OF KUWAIT (HIS HIGHNESS SHAYKH SABAH AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL SABAH) IN WHICH GAS WAS PASSED, KERRY DECLARED TODAY, "SO THERE YOU HAVE IT.  GAS WAS PASSED.  GAS WAS USED."

THE SEPTEMBER 13TH INCIDENT ATTRACTED MINIMAL ATTENTION IN REAL TIME BECAUSE IT WAS SAID THEN THAT FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA HAD ACTUALLY BEEN THE ONE WHO FARTED. NOT WANTING TO EMBARRASS HER, THE PRESS HAD LOOKED THE OTHER WAY UNTIL THE AMIR OF KUWAIT BEGAN SPEAKING.

"IT SMELLED LIKE BOILED EGGS, I TELL YOU," SAID THE AMIR.  "I WAS GASPING FOR AIR AND I NOTED IN HORROR THAT OBAMA WAS LAUGHING.  I ALSO NOTED THAT HIS WIFE WAS ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ROOM.  SO IT STRUCK ME AS UNLIKELY THAT SHE HAD FARTED EVEN THOUGH OBAMA KEPT INSISTING IT WAS HER.  WHEN I PRESSED HIM ON IT, HE TRIED TO BLAME BO BUT NO WHITE HOUSE DOG WAS AROUND."

ONCE THE AMIR WENT PUBLIC WITH HIS ACCUSATION, SECRETARY KERRY AND U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN BEGAN DEMANDING ACTION -- THAT BARRY O CONDUCT AN ATTACK ON HIMSELF.

SPEAKING AT THE UNITED NATIONS TODAY, KERRY TRIED TO CONVEY THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION, "IMAGINE BEING DOWNWIND OF THAT.  AND WHAT IF IT IS IN WINTER, WHICH IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER?  IT MIGHT BE SO COLD THAT OPENING A WINDOW IS NOT FEASABLE.  THE U.S. MUST ACT.  I HAVE SEEN BARRY O EAT BEANS WITH EVERY MEAL!"




FROM THE TCI WIRE:




All of these words whispered in my ear
Tell a story that I cannot bear to hear
Just cause I said it, it don't mean that I meant it
People say crazy things
Just cause I said it, don't mean that I meant it
Just cause you heard it
Rumor has it 
-- "Rumor Has It," written by Adele and Ryan Tedder, first appears on Adele's 21


Rumor has it on Arabic Facebook sites (and other social media) today that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has passed away.   Last December,  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke.   The incident took place late on December 17th (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital.    Thursday, December 20th, he was moved to Germany.  He remains in Germany currently. All Iraq News reports his political party, the Kurdistan Patriotic Union, has issued a denial: "The reports that were posted via some Facebook pages regarding the death of Talabani are totally groundless."

Iraq has three security ministries.  One person should head each one.  But Nouri never nominated people to head the ministries.  Back in July 2012, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed, "Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a lasting power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet positions, including the ministers of defense, interior and national security, while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support."

The Iraqi Constitution explains how someone becomes prime minister.  First, the Iraqi president names a prime minister-designate.  That person then has 30 days to put together a cabinet.  Putting together a cabinet includes nominating the people, getting Parliament to agree on the people (vote their consent).  The only way someone moves from prime minister-designate to prime minister is via the Cabinet.  This does not mean a partial Cabinet.  The reason for this clause is that this is supposed to demonstrate that the person can work with the Parliament, provide leadership and, where needed, make the needed compromise.  An Iraqi who was part of drafting the 2005 Constitution e-mailed that "the entire purpose [of this process] was to prevent a Maliki type from becoming prime minister.  His failures in his second term can be traced to his failure [as prime minister designate] to work with the parliament."

How did Nouri move from prime minister-designate to prime minister when he failed the only task for the position?  Failure to name a Cabinet (in full) in 30 days means the Iraqi president is supposed to name another person to be prime minister-designate.

Nouri was able to ignore the Constitution in 2010 because his being named prime minister-designate ignored the Constitution as well.  The prime minister-designate is supposed to come from the political party or political slate that won the most votes.  Nouri's State of Law came in second to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya.  Allawi should have been named prime minister-designate.

Nouri at first screamed for a recount.  When that didn't change the outcome signficantly, he dug in his heels and refused to relinquish his position.  For eight months, he refused to step down. Having the backing of the United States allowed him to do that.  They should have eased him out.

They actually should have listened to Gen Ray Odierno who was the top US commander in Iraq at the time.  Before the March 2010 elections, Odierno was saying Nouri might not come in first (a prospect the press refused to entertain) and Odierno was saying that Nouri might refuse to step down.  But the idiot Chris Hill, apparently half-baked on who knows what, insisted that wasn't going to happen and went around Odierno to the White House which chose to believe Hill and not Odierno.  History has demonstrated the lousy US Ambassador to Iraq to be an idiot and Odierno to be someone with keen observational skills.

The White House didn't just cover for Nouri to keep him in power for eight months after the elections, they also pushed and prodded the leaders of the various political blocs to sign off on a contract known as The Erbil Agreement.  This contract circumvented the Iraqi Constitution to give Nouri a second term (illegally give him a second term).  Since The Erbil Agreement gave him a second term, Nouri was not required to meet the 30-day rule for naming a Cabinet.

And the effects of that illegal maneuver by the US government can be immediately seen in the increased violence today.


"We are new to democracy, as a country, we are new to that."  We'll come back to that quote.  Right now, let's look at some of today's violence.

National Iraqi News Agency reports 1 Mosul shop owner was shot dead in his store, a roadside bombing near Tikrit claimed 1 life and left another person injured. and an Iraqi army officer was shot dead outside Rashad.  EFE reports, "Nine people were killed and 30 others injured Thursday in a bombing at a market west of Baghdad, Iraqi police told Efe.  The attack took place in Abu Ghraib, home of the notorious prison." Fu Peng (Xinhua) focuses on another bombing, "Also, at least two civilians were killed and 30 wounded when a truck bomb detonated near a house of a police officer in Imam Ahmed district in the city of Tuz-Khurmato, some 180 km north of Baghdad, a local police source anonymously told Xinhua.  The huge blast left some 15 nearby houses and several private cars damaged, the source said."   All Iraq News notes that the corpses of 10 young adults (ages "17 to 25") were discovered in Baghdad (all were shot dead).  EFE adds the ten were all men.  AFP provides this context, "Summary executions were commonplace at the height of the Sunni-Shiite conflict when many thousands of people were killed in cold blood. But this was the first time in several years that such a large number of bodies had been found in one place."  Found?  Reuters reports "unusual vehicle traffic" to and from an abandoned building caught the attention of children who entered them empty building and found the corpses "inside one of its rooms" according to a police source.  Fang Yang (Xinhua) also notes a police source for the information that the corpses "were blindfolded and handcuffed with bullet holes in the heads." That's 24 reported dead and 61 reported injured.

But that wasn't all the violence.  NINA reports:

Police source told NINA that gunmen opened fire, using guns with silencers, at a shop owner in Ishaqi district, south of Tikrit, killing him instantly, for cooperating with security forces.
He added that 3 improvised explosive devices went off near the body of the deceased, when people and security forces gathered, killing 5 persons and wounding 18 others.

Killed for cooperating with security forces?  And on the same day the Ministry of the Interior was attempting to spin cooperation.   Today Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told Al-Shorfa that Iraq's tips line was a huge success.  He insisted that there "terrorism-related notifications has increased by 40% in comparison to the figure from August."  Wow.  Nearly double.  Can al-Assadi do math?  Some people -- and at one point a talking Barbie doll -- found math to be hard.  I certainly don't consider myself to be a math expert.  But if I'm reading an article about how helpful these phone call-ins are and how their number has basically doubled and then you tell me that these tips have helped you "arrest 28 suspects," even I can see something wrong with that picture.  And that's before you factor in that 28 suspects arrested is not even a large daily number -- mass arrests account for twice that on a slow day in Iraq of late.  And let's not forget that Nouri used yesterday's weekly address to sell the Iraqi equivalent of NYC's "If you see something, say something."   If you've had a 40% increase, you use your weekly address to thank people for that, not to beg them to call your hotline.

"We are new to democracy, as a country, we are new to that."  That was Iraq's Ambassador to the US Lukman Faily speaking at the Brookings Institution yesterday.  He was actually replying to a question from Brooking's Kenneth Pollack and speaking of the fact that Iraqi prisons contain people falsely arrested.  That's a large number of the Iraqi prison population, though Faily tried to play down the number and also tried to excuse false arrest and imprisonment with "new to democracy."  Is Iraq also supposed to be new to literacy?  One of the world's all time classic books is Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo whose main character Edmond Dantes sets off on a course of revenge after he's falsely arrested and imprisoned.  The novel was the inspiration for ABC's Revenge, as Stan noted last night.  Revenge returns with new episodes Sunday, September 29th and, as she's done with the first two seasons, Rebecca will be blogging about each new episode at her site.  In the TV show, as in the book, false imprisonment destroy lives and makes a person (the falsely imprisoned in the book, the adult-daughter of the falsely imprisoned in the TV series) lash out against those responsible.

And in that classic story, you find what continues to fuel the violence in Iraq.  Nouri's answer has repeatedly been mass arrests which have imprisoned many innocents.  This only further destabilizes the country.  And, as this takes place, the idiot Nouri doesn't even have, all these years later, ministers to head the security ministries.


Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count puts the number of violent deaths in the country so far this month at 651.  And UNAMI issued the following yesterday:


Baghdad, 18 September 2013 - The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Iraq, Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, expressed extreme concern about sectarian based displacement after recent worrying reports about forcible expulsion of Al Saadoun tribal communities from Dhi-Qar and Shabak communities from Ninewa, along with killings of members of Sunni community in Basra. كوردی
"The use of violence and intimidation against communities by illegal armed groups forcing them to flee their homes is unacceptable and a clear violation of basic human rights," DSRSG Busztin said, stressing that this worrying trend may pose grave risks for Iraq's social cohesion and may be disruptive to the ongoing efforts for national reconciliation.

The UN Envoy called on the Iraqi authorities to protect communities from attack, ensuring their safety, security, and right to a peaceful life free of intimidation.

The Kurdish Globe reminds the UN's death toll for last month was 800 Iraqis killed and that 5,000 have been killed so far this year.  And yet what  Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reported back in July 2012 is still true today, "Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a lasting power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet positions, including the ministers of defense, interior and national security, while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support." 


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Barry O delays bombing self, cites public opinion

BULLY BOY PRESS &  CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


DESPITE ANNOUNCING YESTERDAY THAT HE WOULD BOMB THE WHITE HOUSE (SEE
"Barack tentatively agrees to bomb White House" AND "THIS JUST IN! BARACK AGREES TO BOMB SELF!"), THE DAHLIBAMA OF WAR HAS FAILED TO TAKE ACTION.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, BARRY O EXPLAINED HE WAS PARTLY PARALYZED DUE TO PUBLIC OPINION. 

"SIX IN TEN AMERICANS DON'T WANT ME TO BOMB THE WHITE HOUSE," HE STATED.

CONSIDERING THE WAY HE WAS TANKING IN RECENT POLLS, THAT WAS SURPRISING.

BUT BARRY O EXPLAINED, "OH, NO, IT'S NOT ME THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT, IT'S THE WHITE HOUSE.  NOT SINCE THE WAR OF 1812 HAS IT BEEN DEMOLISHED. JAY CARNEY TAUGHT ME THAT.  SO I'M LOOKING FOR AN ARBY'S OR CHIC-FIL-A TO MAKE THE SECOND WHITE HOUSE. I'LL MOVE IN THERE AND BOMB IT.  PROBABLY."


FROM THE TCI WIRE:



Lukman Faily is the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States.  Today he used Twitter to take questions and provide answers.  Some were fairly basic questions about Faily himself, having to do with his experiences and his plans.  Sara Miller asked one of those.

1. 
   
2. Sara Miller ‏@sarainthecity 11h

   @failylukman How many countries have you lived in? Do you have a favorite? #AskIraq

   Retweeted by Lukman Faily

   Expand

1. 
   
2. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 8h

   .@sarainthecity I've lived in 5 countries. Iraq is home; Japan is close to my heart and I hope US is closer #AskIraq

   View conversation

Cecily Hilleary wondered if he might take part in competitions while in the United States, specifically in marathons.

1. 
   
2. Cecily Hilleary ‏@VOAHilleary 8h

   @FailyLukman A light question: Will you be running in any US marathons while you're here? Registration for 2014 Boston is open! #AskIraq

   Retweeted by Lukman Faily

   Expand

1. 
   
2. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 8h

   .@VOAHilleary yes, certainly will join. I was told the Boston will open in October. I'm staying away from MarineCorp marathon! #AskIraq

   View conversation

Other questions were more to do with the relationship of the US and Iraq such as the following two exchanges.

bamboozler ‏@emilyannnelson 9h

Why is Iraq still requesting help and aid of the US? @failylukman #AskIraq

Retweeted by Lukman Faily

Expand

1. 
   
2. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 8h

   .@emilyannnelson Iraq is not asking for foreign aid but for political, security cooperation as a strategic partner to the US #AskIraq

   View conversation

1. 
   
2. A W ‏@HateExtremists 16 Sep

   @FailyLukman Mr Lukman, any news about future weapon deals with the US, including possibly Apaches or UAVs etc?

   Retweeted by Lukman Faily

   View conversation

1. 
   
2. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 9h

   .@HateExtremists we're in process of purchasing $10b in US military equip. We're natural allies; military cooperation part of that #AskIraq

   View conversation

It's a shame Faily wasn't asked to define exactly what sort of security cooperation in Iraq that Nouri's government is seeking from the US government.  In the weapons exchange, one of the first signs that the Twitter hang was not all lollypops took place as Shirin Nariman Tweeted a question.

1. 
   
2. Shirin Nariman ‏@ShirinNariman 9h

   @FailyLukman @HannahAllam @HateExtremists is this purchases aims to be used to supress more #Iraqis and also killing Iranian dissidents

   Details

She received no answer to her question.  This would become a pattern throughout the Twitter exchange especially with regards to the topic of Camp Ashraf.

However, claims that the ambassador "ducked" questions about Camp Ashraf are untrue.  He responded to two questions on the Ashraf community.

2. James Lee ‏@GlobeHop 9h

   #AskIraq What is the current state of the investigation into the #CampAshraf massacre @FailyLukman?

   Retweeted by Lukman Faily

   from Santa Monica, CA

Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 8h

.@GlobeHop we await Prime Minister's special committee results to be released once full investigation completed #AskIraq

View conversation

1.  
2. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 9h

   .@klamustin we are awaiting the PM's special investigative committee on the event #AskIraq

   View conversation

   • Reply
   • Retweet
   • Favorite
   • 
     
3. Lukman Faily ‏@FailyLukman 9h

   .@klamustin we condemn murder of Ashraf residents. In constant negotiation w/special envoy @UNiraq for resettlement outside of Iraq #AskIraq

   View conversation

Let's define the Camp Ashraf community for those who may not be familiar with it.  As of this month, Camp Ashraf is empty.  All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty).  Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were  welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks.  The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one.  As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out."  Those weren't the last attacks.  They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept.  (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.)   In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."  So the US has an obligation to protect the residents.  3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf.  They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part.  A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday.   That was the second attack this year alone.   February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah.  Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured.  Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release."  They were attacked again September 1st.   Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents.

The idea that Nouri can investigate the attack is ludicrous.  Not only have we mocked the idea, the United Nations has insisted that an independent investigation is needed.

Ambassador Faily Lukman did briefly address the Ashraf community.  If you've read the entire Twitter conversation, you know he spent more time on that issue than any other.

But he also ignored questions on Camp Ashraf (as he did when the woman asked about whether US-acquired weapons would be used to suppress the Iraqi people -- a serious question which should have been answered).  We've used Lukman Fairly's Twitter feed for the above exchanges and not the Twitter feed for the conversation itself.  You have to page down and page down and page down repeatedly through one message after another about the Ashraf community.




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