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Today's Topics:
1. Iraq Elections: Farce of the Century (CharlieChimp1@aol.com)
2. [Peace&Justice] Does U.S. Occupation Prevent Iraq Civil War? (IRC Communications)
3. Odd happenings in Fallujah (CharlieChimp1@aol.com)
--__--__--
Message: 1
From: CharlieChimp1@DELETETHISaol.com
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:44:33 EST
Subject: Iraq Elections: Farce of the Century
To: newsclippings@casi.org.uk, Intelligentminds@yahoogroups.com
[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]
In a message dated 19/01/05 16:16:45 GMT Standard Time,
shailmanman@yahoo.com writes:
Registration for expatriate Iraqis to vote in the Iraq elections
began on Monday in fourteen countries - Australia, Britain, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Jordan, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States and
runs until January 23. However, according to a renowned expert on
international law, Sabah Al Mukhtar, the London-based President of
the League of Arab Lawyers, the election is not alone fatally
flawed, it is illegal. "Under the Vienna Convention, an occupying
force has no right to change composition of occupied territories
socially, culturally, educationally or politically. This election
was based on the laws laid down by former 'Viceroy' American Paul
Bremer and is entirely unconstitutional. Bremer personally appointed
the overseers for the election", says Al Mukhtar, thus, far
from 'free and fair' and heralding Iraqi 'democracy' they are
entirely engineered by Bush's man.
Further, says Al Mukhtar the names of those standing for election
are not widely publicized, many names are indeed unknown and little
or no manifestos have been published. However, what is publicized
are the names and addresses of all who register to vote, they are
displayed - in Iraq and all voting centers abroad - at all polling
centers. This is simply and purely 'intimidation' says Al Mukhtar,
it will "encourage some and discourage others - disclosing names and
addresses is highly dangerous, no one will be safe within or without
polling stations, now or later," he contends. Intimidation needs no
encouragement. Nadia Selim, from Notholt, Middlesex recounts in the
Independent how her family in Hay Al Jamia in west Baghdad a mixed
Sunni and Shiite neighborhood were planning to vote in spite of the
dangers - until they were visited by their local shopkeeper. He
requested they hand over their ration books for "safe keeping". The
ration books are the means of identity for voters. Gunmen had
visited him and ordered him to collect all ration books in the
neighborhood. The family refused his request. Later he returned
sobbing and begged them not to condemn his children to death,
reluctantly they gave in. One can only speculate how widely
similarly intimidating actions are being replicated throughout Iraq.
Further says Al Mukhtar no one knows who has drawn up the electoral
lists and on what they are based. "I am an Iraqi and entitled to
vote, but no one has contacted me." As a prominent and
internationally well known Iraqi he can hardly have been overlooked
one wonders how many other Iraqis who are hardly likely to have
voted for puppet "Prime Minister" Allawi and his gang have been
similarly "overlooked." Further, allegation of intimidation of Iraqi
expatriates abroad seems to be borne out by the fact that of an
estimated seventy thousand Iraqis living in the north of England,
just three hundred and fifty have so far registered to vote,
according the the Chair of the Manchester based Iraq Solidarity
Campaign Hussein Al Alak. A strange reluctance in some cities to
hold the elections in public building also appears to have crept in.
Manchester Town Hall declined as a venue on the basis that there
were too many weddings being held there on polling day. When the
wily Al Alak checked, there was, in fact just one booked. 371 Oldham
Road has now been designated in an area entirely dominated by the
BNP. In Glasgow polling is inexplicably listed at two private
houses, 71 Holland Street and 94 Elmbank Street.
Where the external votes will be counted and by whom and under what
independent monitoring body is unannounced and unknown says Al
Mukhtar. Further he adds that legally election must be 'possible,
fair and reasonable' - none of which apply in the chaos of occupied
Iraq where votes are also being bought and even Iyad Allawi - who
recently tried to buy favors from journalists with hundred dollar
bills in brown envelopes - is complaining of being intimidated in
spite of being surrounded by US soldiers and tanks. Oh, and the
only 'independent' monitoring of the elections within Iraq are being
carried out from Jordan - twelve hundred kilometers away. No wonder
Allawi has kept his British passport and his mansion in leafy Surrey
as insurance.
Further, it is is not, as widely reported, just the Sunnis who have
boycotted the elections. The Iraq National Foundation Conference
comprises of prominent Shiite, Sunni, Pan-Arabists and Marxists.
They have turned their back on the whole process due to the absence
of an international body to oversee the proceedings.
Further trouble in paradise has broken out in the Jordanian capital,
Amman, between the International Organization for Migration - who
control overseas voting on behalf of Out of Country Voters. The IOM
has stated that Israelis of Iraqi origin are eligible to vote. Asma
Khader, Jordan Government spokeswoman and Minister for Culture, says
Israel based Iraqis voting in Jordan is quite simply 'out of the
question.' In Baghdad the Independent Electoral Commission's Farid
Ayar also stated that those with Israeli papers would be barred from
voting. Jordan is the nearest country designated as a voting point,
to Israel. Further, looking at the list of countries where Iraqis
can vote and the vastness of say, America, Canada and the US, many
Iraqis will have to invest in an airline ticket to vote - even those
resident in Ireland will have to travel to the UK.
Intimidation is not alone rife for voters, from Basra, Iraq's
beautiful battered southern city, to Mosul in the north and at
virtually every designated polling station in Iraq, electoral
committees have fled in terror - in Mosul the entire seven hundred
left - polling stations have been bombed, burned and officials
murdered. In Allawi's Alice in Wonderland world, he has, he says,
devised the most stringent security tactics to ensure safety on
polling day. He'd be wise to implement them forthwith - if they
exist.
To add to the joy of Iraqis liberated from electricity, clean water,
largely too scared to venture out, they are also to become a nation
of hostages for three days before and during polling day. Borders
will be closed, phones disconnected, mobiles rendered useless - and
US other forces already murderous and unaccountable will be able to
run riot and spill blood at will with not the slightest chance of
the world knowing in this four day suspension of any semblance
of 'freedom and democracy.' Cars will not be allowed near any
polling stations so even those prepared to risk cueing to be blown
up will certainly not risk walking to do so. 'Possible, fair and
reasonable' the elections are not. A farce of historic proportions
they certainly are.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0118-32.htm
To: anti-allawi-group@yahoogroups.com
User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82
From: "shailmanman" <shailmanman@yahoo.com>
Mailing-List: list anti-allawi-group@yahoogroups.com; contact
anti-allawi-group-owner@yahoogroups.com
Delivered-To: mailing list anti-allawi-group@yahoogroups.com
Precedence: bulk
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 16:12:58 -0000
Subject: [anti-allawi-group] Iraq Elections: Farce of the Century
Reply-To: anti-allawi-group@yahoogroups.com
Registration for expatriate Iraqis to vote in the Iraq elections
began on Monday in fourteen countries - Australia, Britain, Canada,
Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Jordan, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States and
runs until January 23. However, according to a renowned expert on
international law, Sabah Al Mukhtar, the London-based President of
the League of Arab Lawyers, the election is not alone fatally
flawed, it is illegal. "Under the Vienna Convention, an occupying
force has no right to change composition of occupied territories
socially, culturally, educationally or politically. This election
was based on the laws laid down by former 'Viceroy' American Paul
Bremer and is entirely unconstitutional. Bremer personally appointed
the overseers for the election", says Al Mukhtar, thus, far
from 'free and fair' and heralding Iraqi 'democracy' they are
entirely engineered by Bush's man.
Further, says Al Mukhtar the names of those standing for election
are not widely publicized, many names are indeed unknown and little
or no manifestos have been published. However, what is publicized
are the names and addresses of all who register to vote, they are
displayed - in Iraq and all voting centers abroad - at all polling
centers. This is simply and purely 'intimidation' says Al Mukhtar,
it will "encourage some and discourage others - disclosing names and
addresses is highly dangerous, no one will be safe within or without
polling stations, now or later," he contends. Intimidation needs no
encouragement. Nadia Selim, from Notholt, Middlesex recounts in the
Independent how her family in Hay Al Jamia in west Baghdad a mixed
Sunni and Shiite neighborhood were planning to vote in spite of the
dangers - until they were visited by their local shopkeeper. He
requested they hand over their ration books for "safe keeping". The
ration books are the means of identity for voters. Gunmen had
visited him and ordered him to collect all ration books in the
neighborhood. The family refused his request. Later he returned
sobbing and begged them not to condemn his children to death,
reluctantly they gave in. One can only speculate how widely
similarly intimidating actions are being replicated throughout Iraq.
Further says Al Mukhtar no one knows who has drawn up the electoral
lists and on what they are based. "I am an Iraqi and entitled to
vote, but no one has contacted me." As a prominent and
internationally well known Iraqi he can hardly have been overlooked
one wonders how many other Iraqis who are hardly likely to have
voted for puppet "Prime Minister" Allawi and his gang have been
similarly "overlooked." Further, allegation of intimidation of Iraqi
expatriates abroad seems to be borne out by the fact that of an
estimated seventy thousand Iraqis living in the north of England,
just three hundred and fifty have so far registered to vote,
according the the Chair of the Manchester based Iraq Solidarity
Campaign Hussein Al Alak. A strange reluctance in some cities to
hold the elections in public building also appears to have crept in.
Manchester Town Hall declined as a venue on the basis that there
were too many weddings being held there on polling day. When the
wily Al Alak checked, there was, in fact just one booked. 371 Oldham
Road has now been designated in an area entirely dominated by the
BNP. In Glasgow polling is inexplicably listed at two private
houses, 71 Holland Street and 94 Elmbank Street.
Where the external votes will be counted and by whom and under what
independent monitoring body is unannounced and unknown says Al
Mukhtar. Further he adds that legally election must be 'possible,
fair and reasonable' - none of which apply in the chaos of occupied
Iraq where votes are also being bought and even Iyad Allawi - who
recently tried to buy favors from journalists with hundred dollar
bills in brown envelopes - is complaining of being intimidated in
spite of being surrounded by US soldiers and tanks. Oh, and the
only 'independent' monitoring of the elections within Iraq are being
carried out from Jordan - twelve hundred kilometers away. No wonder
Allawi has kept his British passport and his mansion in leafy Surrey
as insurance.
Further, it is is not, as widely reported, just the Sunnis who have
boycotted the elections. The Iraq National Foundation Conference
comprises of prominent Shiite, Sunni, Pan-Arabists and Marxists.
They have turned their back on the whole process due to the absence
of an international body to oversee the proceedings.
Further trouble in paradise has broken out in the Jordanian capital,
Amman, between the International Organization for Migration - who
control overseas voting on behalf of Out of Country Voters. The IOM
has stated that Israelis of Iraqi origin are eligible to vote. Asma
Khader, Jordan Government spokeswoman and Minister for Culture, says
Israel based Iraqis voting in Jordan is quite simply 'out of the
question.' In Baghdad the Independent Electoral Commission's Farid
Ayar also stated that those with Israeli papers would be barred from
voting. Jordan is the nearest country designated as a voting point,
to Israel. Further, looking at the list of countries where Iraqis
can vote and the vastness of say, America, Canada and the US, many
Iraqis will have to invest in an airline ticket to vote - even those
resident in Ireland will have to travel to the UK.
Intimidation is not alone rife for voters, from Basra, Iraq's
beautiful battered southern city, to Mosul in the north and at
virtually every designated polling station in Iraq, electoral
committees have fled in terror - in Mosul the entire seven hundred
left - polling stations have been bombed, burned and officials
murdered. In Allawi's Alice in Wonderland world, he has, he says,
devised the most stringent security tactics to ensure safety on
polling day. He'd be wise to implement them forthwith - if they
exist.
To add to the joy of Iraqis liberated from electricity, clean water,
largely too scared to venture out, they are also to become a nation
of hostages for three days before and during polling day. Borders
will be closed, phones disconnected, mobiles rendered useless - and
US other forces already murderous and unaccountable will be able to
run riot and spill blood at will with not the slightest chance of
the world knowing in this four day suspension of any semblance
of 'freedom and democracy.' Cars will not be allowed near any
polling stations so even those prepared to risk cueing to be blown
up will certainly not risk walking to do so. 'Possible, fair and
reasonable' the elections are not. A farce of historic proportions
they certainly are.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0118-32.htm
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Message: 2
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 13:29:15 -0700
To: peaceandjustice@lists.riseup.net
From: IRC Communications <communications@DELETETHISirc-online.org>
Subject: [Peace&Justice] Does U.S. Occupation Prevent Iraq Civil War?
[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Justice News from FPIF
http://www.fpif.org/
January 19, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing a new commentary from Foreign Policy In Focus
Does U.S. Occupation Prevent Civil War in Iraq? Think Again.
By Gareth Porter
As the U.S. occupation of Iraq heads toward its third year, there is a
remarkable absence of debate over withdrawal, despite the evidence that a
clear majority of the American people want out. Many conservatives are
uneasy about the occupation but they are unwilling to challenge the
administration publicly. Most liberals in politics and the media appear to
believe that invading Iraq was a major blunder, but that withdrawal anytime
in the foreseeable future would lead to civil war and chaos.
The premise of this fear is that the Shiite majority and the Sunni minority
in Iraq have the same tendencies toward violence that have led to bloody
ethnic and religious wars in Lebanon, Kosovo, and elsewhere, and that only
the U.S. occupation restrains such violence. But U.S. forces are not, in
fact, helping Sunnis and Shiites reach a new accommodation, and Iraq need
not plunge into sectarian violence after a U.S. withdrawal.
The United States is not playing the role of disinterested trustee in Iraq,
allowing Sunnis and Shiites or Arabs and Kurds to work out their
differences. Instead, the counterinsurgency war prevents the Sunnis and
Shiites from negotiating a new arrangement for power sharing. Such
negotiations will only happen if and when it is clear to Iraqis that the
United States is on its way out. Americans who are worried that an early
withdrawal would be irresponsible should reexamine the question of which
course is most likely to contribute to violence, and which one has the best
chance of minimizing it.
Gareth Porter is a historian and an analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus
(online at http://www.fpif.org). His latest book, Perils of Dominance:
Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, will be published by
University of California Press in May.
See new FPIF commentary online at:
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2005/0501civil.html
With printer-friendly pdf version at:
http://www.fpif.org/pdf/gac/0501civil.pdf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Interhemispheric Resource Center is proud to announce that, in conjunction
with our 25th anniversary, we have changed our name to International
Relations Center. Please visit our website at www.irc-online.org to see our
new logo and check back in the coming months as we begin the integration
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Email: communications@irc-online.org
--__--__--
Message: 3
From: CharlieChimp1@DELETETHISaol.com
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 17:14:04 EST
Subject: Odd happenings in Fallujah
To: newsclippings@casi.org.uk, Intelligentminds@yahoogroups.com,
efreepalestine@yahoogroups.com, al-awda-universalist@umich.edu,
AlAwda@yahoogroups.com
[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ]
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 21:21:04 +0300
From: iraq_dispatches@dahrjamailiraq.com
Subject: Iraq Dispatches: Odd Happenings in Fallujah
To: iraq_dispatches@dahrjamailiraq.com
Message-ID: <41ED5390.9070102@dahrjamailiraq.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=3Dwindows-1252; format=3Dflowed
January 18, 2005
Odd Happenings in Fallujah
=E2=80=9CThe soldiers are doing strange things in Fallujah,=E2=80=9D said =
one of my
contacts in Fallujah who just returned. He was in his city checking on
his home and just returned to Baghdad this evening.
Speaking on condition of anonymity he continued, =E2=80=9CIn the center of=
the
Julan Quarter they are removing entire homes which have been bombed,
meanwhile most of the homes that were bombed are left as they were. Why
are they doing this?=E2=80=9D
According to him, this was also done in the Nazal, Mualmeen, Jubail and
Shuhada=E2=80=99a districts, and the military began to do this after Eid, =
which
was after November 20th.
He told me he has watched the military use bulldozers to push the soil
into piles and load it onto trucks to carry away. This was done in the
Julan and Jimouriya quarters of the city, which is of course where the
heaviest fighting occurred during the siege, as this was where
resistance was the fiercest.
=E2=80=9CAt least two kilometers of soil were removed,=E2=80=9D he explain=
ed, =E2=80=9CExactly
as they did at Baghdad Airport after the heavy battles there during the
invasion and the Americans used their special weapons.=E2=80=9D
He explained that in certain areas where the military used =E2=80=9Cspecia=
l
munitions=E2=80=9D 200 square meters of soil was being removed from each b=
last site.
In addition, many of his friends have told him that the military brought
in water tanker trucks to power blast the streets, although he hadn=E2=80=
=99t
seen this himself.
=E2=80=9CThey went around to every house and have shot the water tanks,=E2=
=80=9D he
continued, =E2=80=9CAs if they are trying to hide the evidence of chemical
weapons in the water, but they only did this in some areas, such as
Julan and in the souk (market) there as well.=E2=80=9D
He first saw this having been done after December 20th.
Again, this is reflective of stories I=E2=80=99ve been told by several ref=
ugees
from Fallujah.
Just last December, a 35 year-old merchant from Fallujah, Abu Hammad,
told me what he=E2=80=99d experienced when he was still in the city during =
the
siege.
=E2=80=9CThe American warplanes came continuously through the night and bo=
mbed
everywhere in Fallujah! It did not stop even for a moment! If the
American forces did not find a target to bomb, they used sound bombs
just to terrorize the people and children. The city stayed in fear; I
cannot give a picture of how panicked everyone was.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CIn the mornings I found Fallujah empty, as if nobody lives in it,=
=E2=80=9D he=E2=80=99d
said, =E2=80=9CEven poisonous gases have been used in Fallujah-they used
everything-tanks, artillery, infantry, poison gas. Fallujah has been
bombed to the ground. Nothing is left.=E2=80=9D
In Amiriyat al-Fallujah, a small city just outside Fallujah where many
doctors from Fallujah have been practicing since they were unable to do
so at Fallujah General Hospital, similar stories are being told.
Last month one refugee who had just arrived at the hospital in the small
city explained that he=E2=80=99d watched the military bring in water tanker
trucks to power blast some of the streets in Fallujah.
=E2=80=9CWhy are they doing this,=E2=80=9D explained Ahmed (name changed f=
or his
protection), =E2=80=9CTo beautify Fallujah? No! They are covering their tr=
acks
from the horrible weapons they used in my city.=E2=80=9D
Also last November, another Fallujah refugee from the Julan area, Abu
Sabah told me, =E2=80=9CThey (US military) used these weird bombs that put=
up
smoke like a mushroom cloud. Then small pieces feel from the air with
long tails of smoke behind them.=E2=80=9D
He explained that pieces of these bombs exploded into large fires that
burnt peoples skin even when water was dumped on their bodies, which is
the effect of phosphorous weapons, as well as napalm. =E2=80=9CPeople suff=
ered
so much from these, both civilians and fighters alike,=E2=80=9D he said.
My friend Suthir (name changed to protect identity) was a member of one
of the Iraqi Red Crescent relief convoys that was allowed into Fallujah
at the end of November.
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m sure the Americans committed bad things there, but wh=
o can discover
and say this,=E2=80=9D she said when speaking of what she saw of the devas=
tated
city, =E2=80=9CThey didn=E2=80=99t allow us to go to the Julan area or any=
of the others
where there was heavy fighting, and I=E2=80=99m sure that is where the hor=
rible
things took place.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CThe Americans didn=E2=80=99t let us in the places where everyone s=
aid there was
napalm used,=E2=80=9D she added, =E2=80=9CJulan and those places where the =
heaviest
fighting was, nobody is allowed to go there.=E2=80=9D
On 30 November the US military prevented an aid convoy from reaching
Fallujah. This aid convoy was sent by the Iraqi Ministry of Health, but
was told by soldiers at a checkpoint to return in =E2=80=9C8 or 9 days,=E2=
=80=9D
reported AP.
Dr. Ibrahim al-Kubaisi who was with the relief team told reporters at
that time, =E2=80=9CThere is a terrible crime going in Fallujah and they d=
o not
want anybody to know.=E2=80=9D
With the military maintaining strict control over who enters Fallujah,
the truth of what weapons were used remains difficult to find.
Meanwhile, people who lived in different districts of Fallujah continue
to tell the same stories.
End of casi-news Digest
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