BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE
CRANKY CLINTON STEPPED IN IT AGAIN!
THE STATE DEPT.'S INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT FINDS THAT SHE BROKE THE RULES WITH HER PRIVATE E-MAIL SERVER AND FAILED TO PRESERVE E-MAILS IN KEEPING WITH THE FEDERAL RECORDS ACT.
REACHED FOR COMMENT, CRANKY GROWLED AT THESE REPORTERS, "RULES AREN'T MADE FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME! RULES DON'T APPLY! NOW MOVE ALONG, BOYS, OR ME AND SIDNEY BLUMENTHAL WILL THINK UP LIES TO SPREAD THROUGH THE PRESS ABOUT YOU!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Falluja is not empty space. It is a big city in Iraq.
Over 300,000 people lived there and news outlets estimate that 100,000
civilians remain in the city today as Iraqi forces head towards the
city.
As the assault on Falluja continues,
Nancy A. Youssef (DAILY BEAST) explains:
According
to U.S. estimates there are as many Iraqi Security Forces as Shiite
militia forces around Fallujah or 20,000 in all. In Garma and elsewhere
on the periphery of Fallujah, evidence has emerged showing Iranian
Revolutionary Guards Corps-backed Shia militia groups participating in
the advance against ISIS. These militias include groups previously
responsible for killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq—such as the League of the
Righteous—and those expressly blacklisted by Washington as foreign
terrorist entities, such as the Hezbollah Brigades. Another group
spotted in battle is Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, whose secretary
general Akram Ka’abi also sanctioned by the US Treasury Department as a
terrorist. The Facebook page for that organization recently posted a
photograph purporting to show Qassem Soleimani,
the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, in the “Fallujah operations
rooms” along with Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, the leader of the Hezbollah
Brigades (and another US-designated terrorist) and Hadi al-Amiri, the
head of the Badr Organization, which is another Iranian-backed militia,
which yesterday announced its first casualty in the battle.
Phillip
Smyth, a specialist on Shia militias at the University of Maryland,
told The Daily Beast that these groups have “been using a lot of
indirect artillery and rocket fire” against ISIS positions. “You have a
new propaganda image from all of circulating on social media every day.”
Moreover, the militias have been advancing on Fallujah, Smyth says,
since since the summer of 2015. “We’re saying it’s an [Iraqi Security
Force] operation when the main forces on the ground for months are the
Iranian-backed fighters.”
Barack Obama, US President, loves to lie that he doesn't negotiate with
terrorists (he does -- which is why The League of Righteous leaders were
let out of US custody in 2009). Not only does Barack negotiate with
terrorists, he provides US air support for them.
Terrorists? The US government can always cozy up to them.
Civilians in need?
They're never so lucky.
In all the reports filed on Falluja, civilians are either invisible or a footnote. One exception is a
report by Al Jazeera which puts the focus on the civilians:
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Baghdad, the Norwegian Refugee Council's
Becky Bakr Abdulla recalled stories told to her by families who managed
to escape Fallujah, where the Iraqi army has shelled areas controlled by
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) group since
Monday.
"People basically are surviving on dried dates and water from the
river," Abdulla said. "The only things these families managed to take
with them were the clothes they're wearing and their IDs."
Abdulla explained that the few families who did escape the town in
Anbar province had to traverse around 30km by foot and pass numerous
checkpoints in order to reach safety.
Although the offensive was launched on Monday, Iraqi government
forces have besieged the city and its suburbs for several months now,
resulting in shortages of food and medicines.
At least 15 civilians have been killed so far during the offensive, sources told Al Jazeera.
When the bulk of the other 'reports' on Falluja today briefly note
civilians, it's usually to note that the United Nations and/or the
International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for civilians lives
to be protected.
That's generally a single sentence in those 'reports.'
There's no effort to quote from either call.
Here's the ICRC's call:
All sides must do their utmost to protect and spare the civilians of Fallujah.
Baghdad (ICRC) - Fierce fighting is underway around the Iraqi city of
Fallujah, raising serious concerns about the well-being and safety of
civilians still trapped in and around the city. The situation is
particularly worrisome for the tens of thousands of men, women, children
and elderly who remain stuck inside the town – the largest in Anbar
province – who have already had very limited access to food, water and
basic healthcare for the past two years.
"Fallujah must not be allowed to become another Ramadi," said the
ICRC's head of delegation in Iraq Katharina Ritz, referring to a nearby
town that was severely damaged and left scattered with explosive
remnants of war after intensive fighting there earlier this year.
Clearing Ramadi of explosive weapons and rebuilding its homes and
disrupted water and electric systems could take months, if not years to
complete.
"Civilians must be spared and allowed to leave Fallujah safely, while
houses and other civilian infrastructure must not be targeted", Ritz
continued. "People of Fallujah have already suffered enormously as a
result of relentless fighting in the area. Humanitarian agencies must be
given access to reach them and provide relief."
The ICRC has been seeking access to Fallujah for months, but has so
far not been able to get the safety guarantees and commitment it needs
by all parties. It stands ready to provide humanitarian assistance to
communities affected by the violence.
For more information, please contact:
Ralph El Hage, ICRC Baghdad +964 7901 916 927
Krista Armstrong, ICRC Geneva +41 79 447 37 26
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