Sunni legislators returned to Iraq’s parliament Thursday after a five-week boycott, raising hopes the assembly can make progress on power-sharing bill By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
31 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Sunni legislators returned to Iraq’s parliament Thursday after a five-week boycott, raising hopes the assembly can make progress on power-sharing bills demanded by Washington before the lawmakers take a month’s break.
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But the return of the Sunnis and a hard-line Shiite faction loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr could also signal problems for many of the bills, including the oil law, which is a top U.S. priority.
The 44 members of the Iraqi Accordance Front attended Thursday’s parliament session after striking a deal with the Shiites and Kurds to reinstate the Sunni speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who was ousted by the Shiite-dominated assembly last month for erratic behavior.
Under a face-saving formula, al-Mashhadani is expected to resign after presiding over a few sessions. One official said al-Mashhadani was to step down Wednesday or parliament will force him out. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
“We all have to work together to rescue Iraq from the catastrophe which has befallen it,” Sunni leader Adnan al-Dulaimi told parliament. “This is the first step in solving the Iraqi problem and in stopping the bloodshed.”
The Sunnis returned to the 275-member parliament two days after al-Sadr’s 30 lawmakers ended their boycott. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government accepted the Sadrists’ demands for rebuilding a Shiite shrine damaged by bombings.
The two boycotts had paralyzed the legislature, which is under strong criticism from the Americans for failing to approve key legislation and for plans to take a month’s vacation in August at a time when U.S. and Iraqi troops are fighting and dying on the battlefield.
The U.S. command said five more U.S. soldiers were killed — four of them and their Iraqi interpreter in a bombing Wednesday in east Baghdad and another by small arms fire Thursday near the village of Rushdi Mullah, southwest of the capital.
Both the Sunnis and the al-Sadr bloc are still refusing to attend Cabinet meetings. And it is also far from certain whether the return of those two factions means approval of major legislative benchmarks can be assured.
For example, several members of al-Sadr’s bloc have said they intend to oppose the current draft of the oil bill, which would regulate the country’s huge petroleum resources. Companion legislation would distribute oil revenues among all Iraqis, ensuring Sunnis a fair share for their oil-poor regions.
The Kurds also oppose the draft, saying it infringes on their constitutional right to a major role in managing fields and controlling revenues in their northern region. Many Sunnis believe the bill gives too much power to regions.
Al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press the Sunnis had questions about the draft and he did not expect the bill to be debated until September.
That would cast doubt on whether final approval could come before mid-September, when U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and the U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus report to Congress on the state of progress toward national reconciliation.
During testimony Thursday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Crocker warned lawmakers against relying heavily on a list of benchmarks to measure gains made in Iraq.
Speaking from Baghdad via a videolink, Crocker said progress in Iraq “cannot be analyzed solely” in terms of benchmarks because they are not a reliable measure of “Iraqi attitudes toward each other and their willingness to work toward political reconciliation.”
President Bush ordered an additional 28,000 U.S. troops to Iraq this year in a bid to restore security in Baghdad, allowing Iraqi political leaders time to forge power-sharing agreements.
The U.S. has had some success in reducing the bloodshed in Baghdad and elsewhere.
But the No. 2 U.S. commander here, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, told Pentagon reporters Thursday that it will be at least November before he can determine whether those improvements represent long-term trends.
The picture, so far, is mixed.
In Latifiyah, a flashpoint town 20 miles south of Baghdad, police found the body of an Iraqi police lieutenant colonel and seven other policemen two days after they were captured in a clash with insurgents, Capt. Muthanna Khalid of the Babil provincial police said.
In Baqouba, 35 miles north of Baghdad, American and Iraqi forces were continuing operations to clear Sunni extremists from the eastern part of the city, the U.S. said.
U.S. troops regained control of the western half of the city last month and launched operations into the rest of Baqouba on Tuesday.
Since last month, the Americans said they have killed at least 67 al-Qaida operatives in Baqouba, arrested 253, seized 63 weapons caches and have destroyed 151 roadside bombs.
In Baghdad, suspected Shiite militiamen blew up the minaret on a Sunni mosque in the city’s Jihad area, police said. The bodies of two men with bullets in their heads were found dumped near the mosque, police said.
In Mosul, gunmen firing from a speeding car killed a bodyguard of a Sunni lawmaker, police said. Elsewhere in the city, police said a Kurdish political party member was ambushed and killed.
All the police spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military said two soldiers — Sgt. 1st Class Trey A. Corrales of San Antonio and Spc. Christopher P. Shore of Winder, Ga. — had been charged with premeditated murder in the death of an Iraqi last month in Kirkuk.
Their battalion commander — Lt. Col. Michael Browder — was relieved of command but has not been charged.
The charges were announced one day after a U.S. Marine was convicted of kidnapping and conspiracy to murder in the death of an Iraq last year in Hamdania. Cpl. Trent Thomas was acquitted of the most serious charge of premeditated murder during a trial at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of Iraq regime has been
completed.
Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission
in Iraq is complete.
This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces
from Iraq . This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now to begin
the reckoning.
Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which
have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short The
United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Australia, and Poland are some of the
countries listed there.
The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world’s
nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of
both lists later this evening.
Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those
nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during
the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war.
The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world
Hell-holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.
Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France.
In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money
toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home. On that
note, a word to terrorist organizations. ***** with us and we will hunt you
down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.
Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France, or maybe China.
I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France,
Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from
NATO as well. Bon chance, mes amis.
I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN
diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking
tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed.
I don’t care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of
thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your
precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop
shops in the world. I love New York.
A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2 Since we are likely to
be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing
us off for a change.
Mexico is also on List 2. President Fox and his entire corrupt government
need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra tank and infantry
divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put ‘em? Yep, border
security. So start doing something with your oil.
Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting
now. We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for
oil in Alaska - which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decades
to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List
2 above: pick a country and move there. They care.
It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some
will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, “darn tootin.”
Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world
has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet.
It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to eliminate
homelessness in America. It is time to eliminate World Cup Soccer from
America. To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thanks guys. We owe you
and we won’t forget.
To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak
Arabic. God bless America. Thank you and good night.
Did Obama really think a video tape could change the US relations with the major sponser of Islamofacist (Persian) terrorism, Iran? Is he really that naive when it comes to International terrorism sponsors and their stated goals of eliminating Western culture and thought?
Does he know what he is talking about? Can Obama be trusted to defend the US Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic? Does he really have our best interests at heart?
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Tehran does not see any change in U.S. policy.
Saturday March 21, 2009
Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed overtures from President Barak Obama on Saturday, saying Tehran does not see any change in U.S. policy under its new administration.
Khamenei was responding to a video message Obama released Friday in which he reached out to Iran on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian new year, and expressed hopes for an improvement in nearly 30 years of strained relations.
Khamenei holds the last word on major policy decisions, and how Iran ultimately responds to any concrete U.S. effort to engage the country will depend largely on his say.
In his most direct assessment of Obama and prospects for better ties, Khamenei said there will be no change between the two countries unless the American president puts an end to U.S. hostility toward Iran and brings “real changes” in foreign policy.
“They chant the slogan of change but no change is seen in practice. We haven’t seen any change,” Khamenei said in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.
In his video message, Obama said the United States wants to engage Iran, but he also warned that a right place for Iran in the international community “cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization.”
Khamenei asked how Obama could congratulate Iranians on the new year and accuse the country of supporting terrorism and seeking nuclear weapons in the same message.
Khamenei said there has been no change even in Obama’s language compared to that of his predecessor.
“He (Obama) insulted the Islamic Republic of Iran from the first day. If you are right that change has come, where is that change? What is the sign of that change? Make it clear for us what has changed.”
Diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Iran were cut after the U.S. Embassy hostage-taking after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the pro-U.S. shah and brought to power a government of Islamic clerics.
Obama gave Iran a video tape.
Iranians are not Arabs…they are Persians!
Iran IS the Persian Terrorist state and sponsor of Persian Terrorism. Again Iranians are Persians NOT Arabs.
“How come that insulting the prophet of Muslims worldwide is justified within the framework of press freedom, but investigating about the fairy tale Holocaust is not?”
“Death to Denmark!”
“If you want to have good relations with the Iranian people in the future, you should acknowledge the right and the might of the Iranian people, and you should bow and surrender to the might of the Iranian people. If you do not accept this, the Iranian people will force you to bow and surrender.”
“Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.”
“Those who insulted the prophet should know that you cannot obscure the sun with a handful of dust. The dust will just get back and blind your own eyes.”
“Do you think you are dealing with a 4-year-old child to whom you can give some walnuts and chocolates and get gold from him?”
UK Trade mark http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-number?detailsrequested=Ctrademark=2456061
this in addition to the statement below made by someone on a petition site, along with Kate saying we are not focusing on Madeleine and Gerry saying Long Term sets alarm bells ringing.
Judging from how quickly a limited company,internet site a carefully co-ordinated PR marketing strategy was formulated by Team McCann,it seems fairly obvious that no one in their camp expected her to reappear in the short term.Poor little Madeleine has in the hands of her parents now become little more than a corporate brand name.
What can we all do to stop this?
oh nearly forgot - This picture sure looks like they are missing thier daughter - NOT
http://www.exposay.com/kate-mccann-missing-british-3-year-old-girl-madeleine-mccann-in-portugal/p/10561/105/
Maddy, I too saw Dolly K’s question - if it was about how we are all doing what the Mccanns want - Divide and Conquer.
I kind of agree but feel loathed to just sit back and do nothing, I feel my hands are tied and this case has taken such a huge part of my life. It is not just because of a missing child but far more. The implications on our society are huge - with class distinctions high, a possible hoax of the century or cover up. Greed, neglect, abuse all rubbed in our faces by the daily blog and media headlines, and we are all supposed to sit and say oh well, what lovely parents I will cry the day that a lawyer uses this as a defense in a child abuse case - please note the mccanns etc etc, one rule for one I am saddened that this world is so harsh and that people are so nasty. I have been called evil, sick and much worse for voicing my views and yet I have raised 2 wonderful children and never once left them alone and I was a single parent. I want justice.
There’s been other strategies: vote in the opposition, Congress halting war spending, peace marches, etc.
I was thinking more along the lines of the 80s/90s student movements that boycotted companies investing in apartheid-era South Africa. Eventually, even state governments even joined the boycott, which meant large-scale assets were diverted from S.A. And the PR was disasterous for embedded companies.
Does anyone have ideas on how to stop the war or what to possibly boycott? It’s not like Haliburton has publicly sold products that we could boycott or something. (Besides, their revenue stream comes from government, not from the general public.)
What about Coke and/or Pepsi — and all of their products (Taco Bell, etc, etc)? I can’t think of a direct link, but they might at least lobby politicians if they start losing money …