Friday, April 10, 2015

Who'll be sleeping on the rollaway in the Lincoln Bedroom?


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


CRANKY CLINTON WILL SURPRISE MANY ON SUNDAY BY ANNOUNCING THAT INSTEAD OF DECLARING HERSELF QUEEN OF THE WORLD, SHE IS ANNOUNCING HER RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY.


REACHED FOR COMMENT, BILL CLINTON TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "HER POINT HERE, REALLY, IS THAT GOD MIGHT REST ON SUNDAYS BUT HILLARY DOESN'T."

JAMES CARVILLE QUICKLY INTERRUPTED BILL AND INSISTED THAT HILLARY "IS NOT AT ODDS WITH GOD, SHE'D LIKE HIS VOTE, IN FACT, BUT SHE WANTS IT TO BE VERY CLEAR THAT SHE'S WORKING 9 TO 5, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, SHE'S WORKING IF YOU MAKE A 3 A.M. CALL, SHE'S WORKING ON THE WEEKEND -- NOT FOR THE WEEKEND, AND THAT INCLUDES SUNDAYS, IF YOU CALL AT 6:45 TUESDAY MORNING AS SHE'S TAKING HER DAILY CRAP, HILLARY'S GOING TO GRAB THAT PHONE.  SHE'S LIKE A 1 WOMAN CALL CENTER FRONTING FOR A PRIVATE MERCENARY COMPANY DEFENDING A BAD ASS CORPORATION CREATING STAGNANT WAGES.  AM I CLEAR ON HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS WOMAN!"  

BILL CLINTON THEN SIGHED, ROLLED HIS EYES, TURNED TO JAMES AND ASKED, "DUDE, WHERE YOU KEEPING YOUR BLUE DRESS AND WHAT'S ALL OVER THE FRONT OF IT?:"


FROM THE TCI WIRE:




As the announcer used to say at the start of The Lone Ranger, "Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear."


Who knew the White House felt the same?



Audio only?

They promote Vice President Joe Biden's speech on Iraq for days, they call it a major one and yet when it takes place all they offer is an audio stream?


That makes it only much less surprising that the White House still hasn't bothered to post a transcript of the speech.

Biden offered early on, "Next week, Prime Minister Abadi will make his first visit to Washington, D.C. And this provides us with an opportunity to take stock of where things stand right now. And that’s going to be the focus, with your permission, of my remarks today."

(All quotes from prepared remarks that the White House has yet to post, FYI.)


And taking stock would be a good thing.  It might not be a pretty thing, but it would be a good thing.


Any hopes that Joe would speak some truth and offer leadership vanished quickly.


Vice President Joe Biden:  Critics have made a number of claims regarding our policy in Iraq and the state of affairs in Iraq today. They say that Iraq’s fight against ISIL -- under the command of the Iraqi government, backed by America and an international coalition -— has stalled, has been stalemated. We read that ISIL remains in a commanding position inside of Iraq; that Iran and its proxies are leading the fight against ISIL, and that they are dominating Iraq; and that Iraq itself is likely to be a thing of the past, doomed to split apart because of sectarian violence. There’s just one problem with these critiques: The claims do not reflect the circumstances on the ground. The claims do not respect and represent the circumstances on the ground. They don’t reflect Iraq’s progress against ISIL -– incomplete but significant and growing; Iraq’s resilience and unity in confronting the crisis many predicted would split them apart; or Iraq’s resolve to uphold their sovereignty and their independence -– even as they look to their neighbors in all directions for assistance. 


That's just disgusting.  That's Petey Beinart 'thinking.'

You create a straw man to rail against.

Whether or not the 'fight' is bogged down is not the issue.


Joe Biden provided real leadership on LGBT rights as Vice President, he spoke plainly and forced the White House to move before it was actually ready to.

But on Iraq, he offered garbage and lies.


Whether this part of Iraq is occupied by the Islamic State or that part is?  That's not the argument nor is it the terms for success that have been laid down.


It wasn't some straw man who declared:


Finally, the United States will lead a diplomatic effort to work with Iraqi leaders and the countries in the region to support stability in Iraq.  At my direction, Secretary Kerry will depart this weekend for meetings in the Middle East and Europe, where he’ll be able to consult with our allies and partners.  And just as all Iraq’s neighbors must respect Iraq’s territorial integrity, all of Iraq’s neighbors have a vital interest in ensuring that Iraq does not descend into civil war or become a safe haven for terrorists.
Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future.  Shia, Sunni, Kurds -- all Iraqis -- must have confidence that they can advance their interests and aspirations through the political process rather than through violence.  National unity meetings have to go forward to build consensus across Iraq’s different communities.  Now that the results of Iraq’s recent election has been certified, a new parliament should convene as soon as possible.  The formation of a new government will be an opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue and forge a government that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis.
Now, it’s not the place for the United States to choose Iraq’s leaders.  It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis.  Meanwhile, the United States will not pursue military options that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another.  There’s no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States.  But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process, a more capable Iraqi security force, and counterterrorism efforts that deny groups like ISIL a safe haven.
[. . .]
Regardless of what’s happened in the past, right now is a moment where the fate of Iraq hangs in the balance, and the test for all of them is going to be whether they can overcome the mistrust, the deep sectarian divisions, in some cases just political opportunism, and say this is bigger than any one of us and we’ve got to make sure that we do what’s right for the Iraqi people.  And that’s a challenge.
That’s not something that the United States can do for them.  That’s not something, by the way, that the United States Armed Forces can do for them.  We can provide them the space, we can provide them the tools.  But ultimately, they’re going to have to make those decisions.


No, those remarks were made June 19, 2014 by US President Barack Obama.


With Barack having made those remarks, Joe had to struggle to address them.



Vice President Joe Biden:  When Mosul fell, Iraq had just held their national election. Fourteen million -- roughly 14 million Iraqis had shown up at the polls. But now they had to form a government in the middle of this chaos. And having been deeply, deeply involved, as Brian McKeon will tell you because he was with me, trying to help form the first government and being engaged, we knew this could be extremely difficult [sic].
During the term of the last government, distrust had deepened so profoundly between Sunni, Shia, and Kurds -— creating serious obstacles to a unified effort against ISIL and a questioned willingness of whether they were willing to literally stay together.
But the irony -- the irony of all ironies -- is that Iraq was actually -- helped form its government because of ISIL. ISIL the very outfit that intended to tear Iraq apart and establish a caliphate, it actually united Iraqis.
The Sunnis realized they preferred a united, federal Iraq under a new government to being at the mercy of ISIL or dependent upon the other Sunni states. The Kurds realized that withdrawing from Iraq was not a viable option, and they did not want a terrorist state on their doorstep. I don’t know how many conversations I had with President Barzani relating to this. And the Shia, they realized they didn’t want to take on ISIL alone or become a vassal of a neighboring state. Consequently, they each concluded they were better off if they were in this together. And to quote a famous American politician in an early war of ours, we either hang together or hang separately.


Oh, the nonsense never ended.


Vice President Joe Biden: The Iraqis themselves recognized how badly the trust had been broken among them. Nothing less than a comprehensive change could deliver a united Iraqi government that could effectively take on ISIL, and many Iraqi leaders believed that the only way to do this, as I believed, was a wholesale change in leadership; that every interest in Iraq had to find different leaders this time to occupy the seats of power.
I remember speaking to -- with Usama Nujayfi, a proud son of Mosul, who had been the speaker of Iraqi’s parliament, and him deciding that in order to make way for a new wave of leaders, it was very important -- which he thought was important as well -- that he would have to step down as speaker.
And so there was a need, from the speaker to the Prime Minister to the president, to find new leaders. And the result was -- another widely respected Sunni, Salim Jabouri, became the new parliamentary speaker, and Iraq chose Fuad Masum, a well-respected Kurdish senior statesman, to be the new president. And he stuck to his convictions under enormous pressure -- because you know how the process works -- he, the president, is the one that then turns to one of the factions to form a government.


That's a cute, albeit incomplete, rendering of history.


I have no problem with Osama al-Nujaifi.

But he didn't step down as Speaker of Parliament for the good of the country.

He stepped down to become one of Iraq's three vice presidents.

That's actually a higher position than Speaker of Parliament.

It has more powers, much more powers.

Including the power to kill legislation after Parliament's passed it.

It was 2009 when then-Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi demonstrated that power wasn't just in theory but actual by killing a just-passed election law (and pushing the national elections back from 2009 to 2010 in the process) when he felt the election law did not adequately represent Iraqi refugees (which were predominately Sunni).


Joe likes to pretend the government changed but it didn't.

In 2010, the only change was Osama al-Nujaifi.

Everyone else stayed in their same positions.

In 2014?

There was shuffling but that was all.

Yes, Iraq finally got a new president.

But that wasn't due to a vote.

That was due to the idiot Jalal Talabani.

He can't eat right.

He thinks he can visit the US and they can suck out his cholesterol and make him all better and he can then eat mountains of unhealthy food a day.

Didn't work out for him.

Suffered a massive stroke.

Which his family lied about.

Jalal was whisked off to Germany.

They'd sit fat boy up for some photos every now and then -- just like Weekend At Bernie's, as Arabic social media noted in real time.

Iraq had no president.

The Constitution was ignored -- in part because the Talabani family lied repeatedly, insisting Jalal's health wasn't that bad and hwas improving.  He was out of the country for basically a year and a half.  And when he finally returned, he still couldn't assume his duties (or speak in public).


So there was never any doubt that Iraq would have a new president.

Nouri al-Maliki?

The thug who brought Iraq to ruin?

He is no longer prime minister.

Don't throw that confetti just yet.

He is now one of Iraq's three vice presidents.  (And he continues to occupy the home/castle of the prime minister.  Since August, he's refused to move out.)

Osama became another.  Ayad Allawi, another former prime minister of Iraq, is the third.

Where's the change Joe Biden's talking about?





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Thursday, April 09, 2015

Cranky Clinton goes on a charm offensive


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


CRANKY CLINTON HAS WILTED A LEAD YET AGAIN.

QUINNIPAC SAYS OF THEIR LATEST SURVEY, "CLINTON'S LEAD IS WILTING AGAINST LEADING REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES."


ASKED ABOUT LOSING HER FANS, CRANKY SNARLED AND SPAT TO THESE REPORTERS, "AUTOGRAPH FIENDS! THEY'RE NOT PEOPLE.  THOSE ARE LITTLE BEASTS THAT RUN AROUND IN PACKS LIKE COYOTES. THEY'RE NOBODY'S FANS. THEY'RE JUVENILE DELINQUENTS, THEY'RE MENTAL DEFECTIVE AND NOBODY'S AUDIENCE."


AND THAT, BOYS AND GIRLS, IS CRANKY ON A CHARM OFFENSIVE.



FROM THE TCI WIRE:




Starting in Iraq where the action was in Anbar Province.

The State Dept's Brett McGurk Tweeted:




PM Abadi in today to distribute new weapons to tribal fighters in preparation for decisive ops against



PM Abadi in today to distribute new weapons to tribal fighters in preparation for decisive ops against .
36 retweets 28 favorites





This morning, Alsumaria reported that the Iraqi government has launched its assault on Anbar Province. And al-Abadi had left Baghdad to visit Anbar and see how the operation is commencing.
The governor of Anbar Tweeted the following:







I am now in Habbaniyah Airbase overseeing the distribution of arms to the volunteer fighters of
13 retweets 5 favorites



At the Prime Minister's website, there's a photo of Haider holding a rifle -- not since two time Academy Award winnter Shelley Winters attempted to play a Ma Barker in Bloody Mama has someone looked so unconvincing holding a firearm.






The press release with the photo notes that Haider al-Abadi (billed as "Doctor") went to Anbar Province on a visit to prepare for the 'liberation' of all of the province.


Anbar is now the follow-up to Tikrit's 'liberation.'  WG Dunlop and Karim Abou Merhi (AFP) remind, "It also took a month for Iraqi forces to retake Tikrit – a relatively small city that ISIS seeded with bombs and defended with snipers and suicide bombers.  Recapturing the vastly larger area of Anbar, where militants have had even longer to prepare their defenses, will be a major challenge." Rod Nordland (New York Times) points out that 'post-liberation' still finds battles in Tikrit.
 KUNA notes the liberation operation began today while Nordland notes the disagreements on whether such a liberation effort began today or not and that there are disagreements about the scope of what took place today.


Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) notes 184 violent deaths across Iraq today.



The right wing Ace of Spades HQ offered this Tweet today:





  • Barack's bombings have not been authorized by Congress.  At one point he wanted an AUMF but, as with the economy, his interests drifted elsewhere.

    On the bombings I keep coming back to what a member of Congress said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing last month.



    US House Rep Lois Frankel:  I have a couple of questions.  First relates to underlying conditions that led to the rise of ISIL.  Would you -- would you agree that ISIL is not the cause of the turmoil in the region but a symptom of a deeper problems?  And I'd like to get your opinion is it unstable governments, poverty, desperation, radical religion, what?  I'd like to get your take on that.  And secondly, I think the American public somehow thinks that you can simply get rid of ISIL by bombs or dropping -- or drones.  Could you just explain the difficulty of -- of their assimilation into the population, and so forth, the terrain.

    Envoy John Allen: One of the, I think, real benefits of the counter-ISIL coalition which numbers at 62 entities right now -- countries and entities -- is the recognition that Da'ash is in fact not the disease, it's a symptom of something bigger.  And that broad recognition includes the base societal factors that have given rise to, uh, the attractiveness of an organization like this.  And it's -- there are societal issues, there are political issues, inclusiveness, participation -- uh, social issues associated with economic opportunity, the ability ultimately to have the opportunity to put food on the table for families. And often the result of the absence of all of those or some of those in these countries and among these populations have created the conditions of despair and desperation which has made those populations susceptible to radicalization and then recruitment.

    Why is Frankel insulting the American people?

    They're not the ones ordering the bombing of Iraq.

    Nor have they insisted that bombing is the answer.

    That's the White House.

    Lois Frankel is happy to basically call the American people stupid but she can't call out the White House?

    Nearly a year ago (in June), Barack insisted the only answer for Iraq was a political solution.

    So where's the work on that?

    No where.

    And Barack's not directing the State Dept to work on the issue.

    What are they working on?

    The State Dept issued the following today:




    Office of the Spokesperson
    Washington, DC
    April 8, 2015

    On April 8 Special Presidential Envoy General John Allen and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk participated in a meeting of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL in Jordan. The Small Group met at the Political Director level to review Coalition operations and progress along the various lines of effort to degrade and defeat ISIL.  The leadership of the Coalition Working Groups gave briefings on their respective activities to date and discussed priorities for their efforts in the coming months. This meeting of the Coalition Small Group marked the first Coalition meeting since Working Groups were established in February 2015.
    Working Group co-leads represented at the meeting were:
    Military Efforts: Iraq and the United States
    Stopping the Flow of Foreign Terrorist Fighters: Turkey and the Netherlands
    Counter-Finance: Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the United States
    Stabilization Support: Germany and the United Arab Emirates
    Counter-Messaging: United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States
    The Small Group also discussed Coalition understandings of potential ISIL affiliates and expansions outside of Iraq and Syria, noting the importance of distinguishing between ISIL command and control and local or isolated terrorist groups seeking to affiliate themselves with ISIL branding.
    The Small Group affirmed support for a Coalition meeting at the Ministerial level later this spring.



    So the Special Envoy and Brett with his ever changing titles are doing what?

    Oh, military strategy.

    Who does the US have tasked to work on the political solution?

    Anybody?

    Maybe Barack can appoint a person to work on that?  Maybe that will work out as well as his appointing someone over the Ashraf issue?




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    "THIS JUST IN! ALL ABOUT CRANKY!"





  • "You just can't go around BOMBING countries that upset you!" -- President "Bomber" Barack O-bomba, currently bombing Iraq w/o authorization
  • Wednesday, April 08, 2015

    All About Cranky starring the legendary Cranky Clinton


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



    EVEN THOUGH UNDECLARED SO FAR, MARTIN O'MALLY IS MAKING A SERIOUS RUN FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION.

    AND CRANKY CLINTON IS NOT PLEASED AS HER PERSONAL MAFIA HAS CONVEYED.


    REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, CRANKY CLINTON WAS FUMING.  IN THE HOPE THAT A DRAG MIGHT SETTLE HER SPIRITS, CRANKY RIPPED THE TAIL PIPE OFF A BUICK AND TOOK A LONG DRAG OF EXHAUST BEFORE DECLARING OF HER RIVAL:

    MARTIN'S 52.  HE LOOKS FIFTY-TWO.  HE LOOKED IT FIVE YEARS AGO, HE'LL LOOK IT TWENTY YEARS FROM NOW.  I HATE MEN.




    ALL ABOUT CRANKY..



    FROM THE TCI WIRE:



    Josh Richman (Daily Democrat) notes US Vice President Joe Biden's planned trip to the Bay Area later this week and, "The vice president earlier Thursday will give a major speech at the National Defense University in Washington about progress made in strengthening Iraq's government and military to defeat the self-proclaimed Islamic State, The Associated Press reported. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama next week in Washington."  Fred Lucas (Blaze) points out that "the White House is offering little information on why it's Biden, and not Obama, who will be talking about issues of such gravity in close proximity to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s visit."

    There are actually a number of reasons Barack might want to take a pass on Iraq.  But while it's interesting that Joe's been tasked with the important speech, it's also interesting who's rushing forward to hijack Iraq.

    Take the always laughable Steve Benen who wants to prove something but only succeeds in proving stupidity.  Benen's a producer with the faltering MSNBC talk show hosted by Rachel Maddow.  He wants you to know that people who are "wrong" about the Iranian 'deal' were wrong about Iraq.

    I'm confused.

    Who was wrong about Iraq?

    When I say someone was wrong about Iraq, I'm speaking as someone who opposed the illegal war and spoke out against it.

    Benen's boss is Rachel Maddow who supported the war before it started, supported in 2004 as an Air America Radio host, repeatedly whored out the lie that "we" (the US) "broke it" (Iraq) so "we" had to pay for it and insisted that was The Pottery Barn Rule.  There was no such rule.  And  this was revealed by  Al Franken, whose Air America Radio show aired directly after Unfiltered (hosted by Lizz Winstead, Chuck D and Rachel Maddow) but apparently Rachel never caught those broadcasts.

    She did manage to support the Iraq War.

    She did refuse to present an anti-Iraq War view on Unfiltered.  She did refuse to bring on veterans who were opposed to the war (Janeane Garofalo's The Majority Report had no problem bringing those veterans on)  Rachel Maddow, throughout the life of Unfiltered, insisted that the US military could not leave Iraq.

    So it's really funny that Steven Benen wants to blog about who was wrong on Iraq and to do so at Rachel's website.  Good lackey that he is, he knows to avoid mentioning his boss.

    Leaving aside the hypocrisy, let's deal with the larger issue, there is no deal with Iran.  There's framework for a deal that might be reached at the end of June -- might not be as well.  The whores -- that includes Steve -- rushing forward to defend a 'deal' that isn't one is much more embarrassing than anyone objecting to it.

    But you could be wrong on Iraq (I wasn't) and be right to oppose the Iranian 'deal.'

    I hope Benen realizes he's doing more harm to his own political party than anything else.

    Americans know little about the 'deal' because there's little to now.


    But if you want to promote that being wrong on Iraq means you're incapable of rational thought, lots of luck turning out voters if Hillary Wrong On Iraq Clinton gets the Democratic Party's presidential nomination (as many believe she will).

    The Democratic Party doesn't know what to do.  It was running on fumes some time ago.

    Now it doesn't even have fumes.

    So they're going to try to make 2016 about the Iraq War.

    It's pretty much agreed by party leaders that the 2016 Dem candidate can't run on Barack's coat tails.  The promised change never came and too many Americans are still without jobs.

    ObamaCare remains deeply unpopular and deeply divisive.

    So the party's trying to build a strategy around Iraq.

    They're going to be running a lot of Iraq War veterans for that reason.

    In 2006, the Iraq War let the Democrats win control of both houses of Congress.  In 2008, the Iraq War let the Democrats win the White House.

    Having nothing to show for the trust the American people placed in the party, Democratic leadership hopes to use the ghost memories of Iraq to scare up voters in 2016.  That's what all the idiotic Tweets of late have been about.  (The one that outraged Dem honchos today was a 'friendly' who elected to Tweet that Bully Boy Bush was responsible for the 9-11 attacks. Leadership continues that "crazy" and "harmful.")

    There are two basic problems with resurrecting Iraq -- largely forgotten by the American public as a result of the only real withdrawal that took place: the US press withdrawl.

    Again, Hillary is seen as the likely nominee.

    She's hostile and defensive when talking about her own vote for the Iraq War.

    Or was, in 2007 and 2008, hostile and defensive.

    As she demonstrated in her January 2013 public rage during Congressional testimony, she hasn't honed her social skills since her last run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

    Reviving Iraq and using it as a club to beat political opponents with risks reminding the American public of how wrong Hillary was on Iraq.

    The other problem for the Democratic Party is that Barack owns Iraq.

    Didn't have to be that way.

    He could have ordered US forces out of Iraq upon being sworn in.

    Instead, he wanted to put his imprint on Iraq.  And he did.

    And it's why Iraq is in crises today.

    CNN's Arwa Damon Tweets today:








  • Damon's referring to Emma Sky's "How Obama Abandoned Democracy in Iraq: Bush's mistake was invading the country. His successor's was leaving it to a strongman" which POLITICO published today and which offers more clarity than most articles on Iraq have in the last four years.





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    "THIS JUST IN! BAD TIMES FOR BARRY O!"
    "Oh, Barry O!"



  • Inside look at why Obama administration mistakes as devastating as Bush. "How Obama Abandoned Democracy in "
  • Tuesday, April 07, 2015

    Oh, Barry O!


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



    FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS CLINGING TO HIS NON-DEAL IRAN 'DEAL' BECAUSE, HONESTLY, WHAT ELSE DOES HE HAVE?

    DRUNK OR SOBER, HE TRIPPED OVER A LITTLE GIRL RECENTLY.

    AND PRACTICAL JOKER OR JUST CHILD HATER, HE UNLEASHED A SWARM OF BEES ON A GROUP OF CHILDREN AT EASTER.

    REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON JOSH EARNEST STATED, "I CONSIDER IT A PERSONAL VICTORY THAT -- SO FAR -- HE HAS MANAGED TO KEEP HIS PANTS ON IN PUBLIC."


    SO FAR.


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:







    Today, Iraq's Prime Minister visited the Kurdistan Regional Government.  The KRG is in northern Iraq and semi-autonomous.  This was Haider al-Abadi's first visit to the region since becoming prime minister last August.


    Alsumaria reports that KRG President Massoud Barzani greeted Haider at the Erbil airport as the prime minister disembarked from his plane.  Al Mada notes that the visit also resulted in the two leaders holding their first joint-press conference.  At the press conference, the Daily Star notes, Haider spoke of 'liberated' Tikrit:


    Iraq’s prime minister said Monday that “only” 152 homes and shops were burned in Tikrit, where pro-government forces have been accused of carrying out abuses after retaking the city last week.

    Haider al-Abadi did not specify who burned the structures or when the fires took place, but pro-government militiamen have admitted to torching houses in other recaptured areas and allegedly did so in Tikrit.


    Of those "152 homes and shops," Al Mada breaks it down to Abadi stating 67 homes and 85 shops.
    AP adds, "Speaking in Irbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Haider al-Abadi pledged that the 'properties and rights' of local residents would be respected once Islamic State militants were driven out."

    But of course the 'properties and rights' were not respected.  We'll get to it.

    For now, focus on the "only" figure of house and shops damaged.  152 is no small number.  However, others are noting much larger numbers than Haider provided.  Wael Grace (Al Mada) notes local officials in Tikrit are saying the damage is much more than al-Abadi is letting on with half the infrastructure and buildings left damaged from the Islamic State occupation and the 'liberation.'

    So did the focus go to how to mend fences, how to bring the Sunnis in?

    No.


    All Iraq News reports that Massoud Barzani "announced the formation of a joint committee for joint operations."  Alsumaria notes  his office issued a statement saying that now was the time for Iraqi to work together against the threat of the Islamic State.

    Sputnik notes:

    Iraqi Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani said Monday he and Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi have agreed to act jointly to counter Islamic State (ISIL) militants.

    "We have agreed on joint actions to save Iraq from terrorism," Barzani said at a press conference in the city of Erbil.
    The Iraqi leader said the parties had agreed on joint efforts to free the northern Nineveh Governorate and the city of Mosul.


    Military.  And, for a splash of color, All Iraq News notes that part of the visit included Haider and Barzani visiting a refugee camp in Erbil.





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  •  
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  • Sunday, April 05, 2015

    Cranky Clinton goes for a giggle

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

    THE QUESTION THESE DAYS IS HOW WILL CRANKY CLINTON ANNOUNCE HER RUN FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY'S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION AND ULTIMATE DEFEAT IN THE GENERAL ELECTION AS HER SCANDALS SINK HER RUN?

    IN A MAJOR EXCLUSIVE -- MUST CREDIT  BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX  -- CRANKY CLINTON SPOKE TO THESE REPORTERS ABOUT JUST THAT.

    "ON THE TOILET," SHE DECLARED GRINNING.

    "I'M GOING TO ANNOUNCE MY RUN ON THE TOILET.  SEE, PEOPLE SAY I DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR AND THOUGH I'D LIKE TO SLAP THEM IN THE FACE FOR SAYING THAT, THE TRUTH IS I CAN'T SLAP THAT MANY PEOPLE, I JUST DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME.  SO INSTEAD, I THOUGHT I'D HOP ON THE TOILET AND ANNOUNCE MY RUN THAT WAY.  PEOPLE LOVE BATHROOM HUMOR.  YOU KNOW THE ONLY BOOK BARBARA BUSH EVER OWNED WAS 'JOKES FOR THE JOHN'?  SO I FIGURE THAT'LL BE GOOD FOR S**TS AND GIGGLES."

    BUT THOSE EXPECTING HILLARY TO HAVE ENTERED INTO SOME SORT OF BRIDESMAIDS WORLD SHOULD REST ASSURED THAT IT'S NOT ALL JOKES.

    "AFTER THE LAUGHTER DIES DOWN," CRANKY EXPLAINED, "I INTEND TO FLUSH AND WAIT A MOMENT, A PAUSE, AND THEN SAY, 'BUT AMERICA IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME IS NO LAUGHING MATTER.  IF I'M ELECTED PRESIDENT, I WILL EXPAND OBAMACARE TO ALSO COVER TOILET PAPER.  IF YOU CAN'T WIPE, YOU'RE NOT REALLY HEALTHY.'  SEE THE CAMPAIGN'S NOT ALL ABOUT ME, I'M RUNNING ON ACTUAL ISSUES."


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:


    And Iraq repeats.


    Tuesday, Iraq's Prime Minister offered a Tweet.




    PM Al-Abadi announces the liberation of Tikrit and congratulates Iraqi security forces and popular volunteers on the historic milestone
    207 retweets145 favorites







    Of course, Tikrit wasn't liberated.

    So Wednesday, the Iraqi government again announced that Tikrit had been liberated:




    "Here we come to you, Anbar! Here we come to you, Nineveh, and we say it with full resolution, confidence, and persistence."
    That's Iraq's Minister of Defense Khalid al-Obeidi as quoted by the AP.
    And yes, he does sound a bit like Howard Dean.
    AP notes he dubbed today in Tikrit a "magnificent victory."
    They're far too kind to note that yesterday was also dubbed a victory.
    BBC News does note that, claims aside, "Troops are still fighting to clear the last remaining IS holdout in the city, but Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was filmed raising an Iraqi flag there."






    And from Thursday's snapshot:


    AFP reports what took place yesterday in Tikrit:

    Pro-government militiamen were seen looting shops in the centre of the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Wednesday after its recapture from the Islamic State jihadist group in a month-long battle.

    The militiamen took items including clothing, shampoo and shaving cream from two shops in central Tikrit before driving away.


    Iraqi Spring MC Tweeted about the militia looting and offered a photo:









    : تكرار حالات السلب والنهب التي تنتهجها القوات الحكومية والميليشيات التابعة لها عند دخولها مناطق النزاع.
    47 retweets18 favorites





    Friday, AP reported that Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Friday morning that the government "will begin arresting and prosecuting anyone who loots abandoned properties in the newly-recaptured city of Tikrit."  We noted it was a pass, that the law -- the existing law -- apparently does not take effect until 48 hours after liberation.

    Today, Lydia Willgress (Daily Mail) notes, "Shia paramilitary fighters looting and setting fire to buildings in Tikrit are 'out of control', an official said.  Ahmed al-Karim, head of the Salahuddin provincial council, said the fighters had burnt 'hundreds of houses' in the last two days."  And Middle East Monitor reports:




    Earlier, the Iraqi governor of Saladin left his own province in disgust over the looting spree being carried out allegedly by the Shia militia.
    Ahmed Abdel-Jabbar al-Karim, chief of Saladin's provincial council, told the Anadolu Agency late Friday that he along with Governor Raed al-Jabouri left the province in protest against al-Hashid al-Shaabi's alleged looting and burning spree in Tikrit.
    Al-Karim had also blamed the central Iraqi government of not doing enough to stop the militia's illegal actions. "Governor Raed al-Jabouri told Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi about the violations and left the province when no stopped the militia from robbing and burning shops in Tikrit," he said.

    According to al-Karim, the Shia militia also clashed with him and al-Jabouri when they tried to stop their rampage in central Tikrit. The militia men allegedly used abusive words, laced with sectarian references, with the senior Iraqi officials, which then quickly turned into a physical clash that left several body guards injured.


    Hopefully, for the militia thugs, those clashes took place in the 48 hours when Haider al-Abadi was suspending the rule of law.

    Let's be really clear that saying 'Starting now the law applies' is embarrassing.

    Everyone who took part should be punished.

    Deutshce Welle quotes Ahmed al-Kraim ("head of Tirkit's governing council") stating, "Houses and shops were burnt after they stole everything. Our city was burnt in front of our eyes."  Ned Parker, Michael Williams and Reuters correspondents in Tikrit report more specifically:

    Near the charred, bullet-scarred government headquarters, two federal policemen flanked a suspected Islamic State fighter. Urged on by a furious mob, the two officers took out knives and repeatedly stabbed the man in the neck and slit his throat. The killing was witnessed by two Reuters correspondents. 
    The incident is now under investigation, interior ministry spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan told Reuters.

    Since its recapture two days ago, the Sunni city of Tikrit has been the scene of violence and looting. In addition to the killing of the extremist combatant, Reuters correspondents also saw a convoy of Shi'ite paramilitary fighters – the government's partners in liberating the city – drag a corpse through the streets behind their car.


    No doubt Barack's special envoy John Allen will term the above "excesses."

    As he did to Congress last week.




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