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POPSIraqi FM Zebari warns of US security deal rejection Zebari clarified that US Forces cannot remain in Iraq without a legal basis after the end of the mandate saying it’s time to take daring political decisions criticizing Iraqi parties’ political rows regardless of the nation’s interest. Iraqi Foreign Minister ruled out the possibility of US further compromises regarding US Forces immunity. Asked on the readiness of Iraqi Forces, Zebari pointed out to the build up of Iraqi Forces capacities on the level of internal security but affirmed that Iraqi Forces are still not ready to face an external threat, which has been confirmed as well by Interior and Defense Ministers.
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POPSAbu Nidal notorious Palestinian terrorist mastermind was US spy
At least Saddam was lead to believe. The documents state that Egyptian and Kuwaiti intelligence officers had asked Abu Nidal, whose real name was Khalil al-Banna, to spy for them "with the knowledge of their American counterparts". Five days after his death, Iraq's head of intelligence, Taher Jalil Habbush, told a press conference in Baghdad that Abu Nidal had committed suicide after Iraqi agents arrived at the apartment where he was hiding in the city, but the secret reports make it clear that the notorious Palestinian had undergone a long series of interrogations prior to his violent demise. The records of these sessions were never intended to be made public and were written by Iraqi "Special Intelligence Unit M4" for Saddam. While Abu Nidal may have lied to his interrogators – torture is not mentioned in the reports – the documents appear to be a frank internal account of what the Iraqis believed his mission in Iraq to be. The papers name a Kuwaiti major, a member of the ruling K
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POPSIraq disintegrating from ethnic cleansing The flight of the middle class started about six months after the invasion in 2003 as it became clear Iraq was becoming more, not less, violent. They moved to Jordan, Syria and Egypt. The suicide bombing campaign was largely directed against Shias who only began to retaliate after they had taken over the government in May last year. Interior Ministry forces arrested, tortured and killed Sunnis. But a decisive step towards sectarian civil war took place when the Shia Al-Askari shrine in Samarra was blown up on 22 February this year. Some 1,300 Sunni were killed in retaliation. Kadm Darwish Ali, a policeman from Baquba and now also a refugee, said: "Everything got worse after Samarra. I had been threatened with death before but now I felt every time I appeared in the street I was likely to die."
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POPSChristians flee Mosul after violence Since the US-led invasion of 2003 more than 200 Christians have been killed across Iraq and a string of churches attacked, with the violence intensifying in recent weeks, particularly in the north. Hundreds of thousands of Sunnis and Shiites have also died in sectarian violence since Saddam Hussein's ouster. Around 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq at the time of the US-led invasion, but the number has since shrunk by around a third as the faithful have fled the country.
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POPS"Democratic Iraq" promoting Islamic deathsquads against gays Reporter Peter Tatchell- Saddam Hussein was a bloody tyrant. I campaigned against his blood-stained misrule for nearly 30 years. But while Saddam was president, there was certainly no danger of gay people being assassinated in their homes and in the street by religious fanatics. Since his overthrow, the violent persecution of lesbians and gays is much worse. Even children suspected of being gay are abducted and later found shot in the head.
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POPSYemen a refuge for Al-Qaeda? Hmmmm. How can we invade Yemen plus have enough forces left to fight our Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as invade Iran? And what about all those other countries that harbor terrorists? (I'm just talking of course of the terrorists we currently disapprove of and are not supporting of course.) I guess the problem we have in this country is we don't spend enough on our military to be able to be attacking all these places at once. Ooops, I forgot, we are many trillions in debt. But no big deal, Congress are experts at spending money they don't have. They even spend money our grand kids of the future don't have!
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POPSIraqi PM Maliki questions US troop deal "Iraqis have shown flexibility and we hope that the American side shows more flexibility," he said. "If they implement our demand quickly, the deal will be signed soon, but if they refuse our demands, it will face obstacles and could lead to new negotiations." The US said last week that negotiations on the deal were ongoing.
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POPSGeorge Medal winner killed in Afghanistan Normally the bomb disposal soldiers use a remote- controlled razor blade to cut the wires, while they take cover in case the device is booby trapped with a secondary circuit. But WO2 O'Donnell was trapped with his fingers inside the trigger, and he couldn't get away without detonating the explosives. To make matters worse, he wasn't wearing a protective bomb suit, like soldiers in Britain often use to give them extra protection from a blast. The massive, unwieldy suits weigh 45kg and they make it difficult for the soldiers to defend themselves if they get attacked en route to a bomb site. In a single day, WO2 O'Donnell had to defuse eight Taliban bombs on a hill overlooking Helmand's deadly green zone, near Gereshk. The insurgents have started targeting high ground with record numbers of massive improvised explosive devices, because they know it is where the tanks and armoured cars go to provide back-up for soldiers in the valley below.
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POPSJapan seeks to withdraw military from Iraq Japan's foreign minister, Masahiko Komura, said even if the airlift mission left Iraq, Japan would continue to support Iraq in nonmilitary ways. However, he was not specific. "Even if we withdraw the Air Self-Defense personnel, our resolve to support Iraq will not change," he said.
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POPSResurgent Taliban in Afghanistan Another result of "successful" troop surge in Iraq? As forces that could be used in Afghanistan continue to be diverted to Iraq the failure of the US/NATO Afghan war becomes even clearer.
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