Showing posts with label Iraqi civil war. Show all posts

20 June 2014

المسيحيين في الموصل نقول وداعا والمطران نونا: الدفاع عن المسلمين كنيسة من النهب في الموصل و18 12JUN14

لكل الحديث عن "الحرب" على المسيحية في الولايات المتحدة لا أستطيع أن أتخيل كيف سيكون أداؤهما المسيحيين الامريكيين اذا كانوا واجهوا الاضطهاد ومسيحيي العراق تواجهها. من + السياسة الخارجية .....

الموصل المسيحيين نقول وداعا

استيلاء الجهاديين في شمال العراق هو كارثة للعراقيين. ولكن تدمير ثقافة المسيحية القديمة هي كارثة بالنسبة للعالم.

لقد تم قراءة العناوين من شمال العراق خلال الاسبوعين الماضيين مع شعور تكثيف بالرعب. إنه لشعور الكثير جدا مثل واحد لدي كلما قرأت عن اختفاء بعض الغطاء الجليدي في القطب الجنوبي ضخمة أو انقراض الأنواع النادرة بعد آخر من الحيوانات. انها شعور بأن أحد المقومات أكثر قيمة الحياة على الأرض على وشك أن تختفي، في جميع الاحتمالات، إلى الأبد.
و استيلاء الموصل، ثاني أكبر مدينة في العراق، من قبل القوات الجهادية لدولة العراق الإسلامية و آل الشام (ISIS ) هو كارثة لشعب العراق، الذي يواجه الآن احياء حرب طائفية شاملة، وكابوس الاستراتيجية والنفسية بالنسبة للولايات المتحدة، والتي ضحى كميات هائلة من الدم والمال للاطاحة بصدام حسين، وبناء حكومة قابلة للحياة - هذا الأخير، على ما يبدو، من دون جدوى.
ولكن على مدى الأيام القليلة الماضية لقد وجدت نفسي الحداد كارثة أكثر تحديدا: الرحلة وتشتيت آخر بقايا المجتمع العراقي مرة واحدة فخور المسيحيين . إميل شيمون نونا ، رئيس الأساقفة من الكاثوليك الكلدان في الموصل ، فقد قال وكالات الأنباء أن عددا قليلا من المسيحيين المتبقين في المدينة قبل الغزو ISIS قد تخلت عن المدينة.

منذ الأميركيين غزت العراق في عام 2003، وقال انه يقدر، تضاءل عدد المسيحيين في الموصل من 35،000 إلى حوالي 3،000.

منذ الأميركيين غزت العراق في عام 2003، وقال انه يقدر، تضاءل عدد المسيحيين في الموصل من 35،000 إلى حوالي 3،000. "، الآن لا يوجد أحد اليسار"، قال. وقد انضم معظمهم من ما يقدر ب 500،000 لاجئ فروا من التقدم ISIS؛ كثير من المسيحيين، بما في ذلك رئيس الأساقفة، قد اختارت الأمن النسبي في كردستان العراق. (الصورة أعلاه يظهر الفتيات يصلي في كنيسة مريم العذراء في برطلة، وهي بلدة إلى الشرق من الموصل.) وقد أثار نزوح، قبل كل شيء، من خلال سمعة الجهاديين لدماء - سمعة ISIS لديه وعي عززت من خلال الدعاية الخاصة بها. وقبل بضعة أيام، وتستخدم وسائل الاعلام الاجتماعية الجهاديين لتوزيع الصور دعم ادعائهم أنها قتلت 1،700 السجناء الشيعة التي اتخذت خلال هجومها السريع. لا عاجلا دخلت ISIS الموصل من بعض مقاتليهم أضرموا النار في كنيسة الأرمنية. كل هذا يبدو منسجما مع سجل الفريق قاتمة خلال الحرب الأهلية في سوريا، حيث، من بين أمور أخرى، فقد أحيت قيود القرون الوسطى الإسلامية على السكان المسيحيين. (انها خوفهم من المتمردين الاسلاميين التي تميل إلى محاذاة المجتمع المسيحي السوري مع النظام العلماني بشار الأسد.)
في عام 2003، أشارت التقديرات إلى أن نحو 1.5 مليون عراقي كانوا مسيحيين، وحوالي 5 في المئة من السكان. منذ ذلك الحين، وكان رد فعل الأغلبية الساحقة في توسيع الصراع الطائفي وسلسلة من الهجمات الإرهابية من خلال ترك البلاد. (سلفه المطران نونا، و بولص فرج رحو قد اختطف وقتل خارج منزله في الموصل الكنيسة مرة أخرى في عام 2008.) كلها تقريبا من مختلف الطوائف المسيحية العراقية - الكلدانيين (الذين هم جزء من الكنيسة الرومانية الكاثوليكية)، والأرمن، والسريانية الأرثوذكسي، والأرثوذكسية اليونانية - استفادت من كبير الوحدات المهاجرين في جميع أنحاء العالم الذين رحبوا اللاجئين من العراق.
أنا سعيد أن هؤلاء المؤمنين قد أنقذت نفسها وإيمانهم، ولكن يأتي هجرتهم بتكلفة - كما كانوا هم أنفسهم فقط على علم أيضا.

على مدى السنوات الماضية 2000، كان العراق موطنا لثقافة متميزة وحيوية من المسيحية الشرقية . الآن يبدو أن التاريخ الطوابق إلى أن يقترب من نهايته .

على مدى السنوات الماضية 2000، كان العراق موطنا لثقافة متميزة وحيوية من المسيحية الشرقية . الآن يبدو أن التاريخ الطوابق إلى أن اقتربت من نهايتها . حتى لو هي التي تحرك قوات ISIS في نهاية المطاف إلى الوراء، فإنه من الصعب أن نتصور أن مسيحيي الموصل الذين فروا سوف نرى مستقبلا لأنفسهم في العراق تهيمن عليه دكتاتورية الشيعية الحالية للرئيس الوزراء نوري المالكي، الذي يحظى بدعم قوي من إيران. مضيفا انه يستحق، ربما، أن المسيحيين ليسوا وحدهم في هذا المأزق. العراق هو أيضا موطن لعدد من الأقليات الدينية الأخرى للخطر بسبب الاستقطاب في البلاد إلى معسكرين المتحاربة الإسلام. و اليزيديين اتباع نظام الاعتقاد بأن لديه الكثير من القواسم المشتركة مع الدين الفارسي القديم الزرادشتية؛ حوالي نصف مليون منهم يعيشون في شمال العراق. و المندائيين ، الذين يبلغ عددهم 30،000 فقط أو نحو ذلك، وربما تكون مشاركة أتباع في العالم المتبقية من الغنوصية، واحدة من فروع المسيحية المبكرة. وحسب التقاليد العديد من المندائيين هي الصاغة - التجارة التي جعلت منها هدفا بارزا للاختطاف في الفوضى بعد الغزو للعراق. فقدان هذه الثقافات فريد يجعل من العالم مكانا أكثر فقرا.
وفي خريف عام 2003، عندما كان في مهمة في العراق، وكان لي فرصة للسفر الى الموصل. لقد كانت لحظة مصيرية للاحتلال الذي تقوده الولايات المتحدة، ثم بضعة أشهر فقط من العمر. قابلت الجنرال ديفيد بتريوس، قائد القوات الأمريكية في المدينة والمنطقة المحيطة بها. التمرد الذي اندلع كان بالفعل في الحياة في أجزاء أخرى من البلاد لم يكن سوى مجرد الوصول إلى الموصل؛ بينما كنت هناك، كان العديد من الجنود الأمريكيين لهجوم من قبل حشد غاضب وقتل - بشيرا سنوات طويلة من العنف في المستقبل.
لكنني سرعان ما اكتشفت أنه كان هناك الكثير لالموصل من العناوين. رحب مواطني الموصل التقيت لي مع الضيافة العفوية التي لم أكن قد شهدت حقا في العاصمة العراقية. هذا ربما كان ليفعل شيئا مع حقيقة أن بغداد، في قلب الدولة البعثي الوحشي صدام حسين، احتفظت شعور واضح قليلا من ماضيها التاريخي الغني. وكانت بغداد وsoullessness السوفياتي تقريبا - لن يكون بدا مساحات شاسعة من المساكن الجاهزة القبيح من مكان في وارسو أو بكين. الموصل، على النقيض من ذلك، لا تزال تحتفظ بطابعها كمدينة طريق التجارة العثمانية، ومكان كل من ضيع وحميمة. وكان انعشت من قبل شعور بالفخر من التنوع الخاصة بها: أنت لا تعرف أبدا ما إذا كان الشخص التالي كنت ذاهب للقاء سني أو شيعي، كردي أو مسيحي
والمسيحيين كانت رائعة خاصة - قبل كل شيء، لأنه كان من الصعب للهروب من الشعور بأنك تشهد ممارسة التقاليد كنت لن تجد في أي مكان آخر. بعض المسيحيين في الموصل لرد على روما؛ بعض اتباع البطاركة الأرثوذكس المختلفة؛ وبعضها، مثل أعضاء الكنيسة الشرقية القديمة ، هي بالفضل لأية سلطة ولكن خاصة بهم.

هناك مسيحيين في الموصل وحولها الذين ما زالوا يتحدثون الآرامية، لغة المسيح.

هناك مسيحيين في الموصل وحولها الذين ما زالوا يتحدثون الآرامية، لغة المسيح. وجدت نفسي الإعجاب الداخلية للكنيسة السريانية الأرثوذكسية مار توما (سانت توماس)، مضاءة ببراعة سلاسل طويلة من المصابيح الكهربائية. كانت الرعية فخور خصوصا من عرض كبيرة على الكتاب المقدس باللغة السريانية القديمة التي تزين الأسطح في أجزاء كثيرة من بناء الخط تفصيلا. (الكنيسة هي أيضا موطن لمجموعة من المخطوطات النادرة باللغة السريانية والكرشونية، وهي لهجة من اللغة العربية المستخدمة من قبل المسيحيين في القرون الوسطى.) لا أحد يعرف فعلا كيف القديم هو الكنيسة، لكنه يعود على الأقل إلى القرن 8. أنا أيضا بزيارة إلى كاتدرائية القديس بولس، مقر رئيس أساقفة المسيحيين الكلدان "، وهو بناء حجري متبلد الحس، التي بدت كما لو أنها يمكن أن تصمد أمام أي هجوم. وبعد ذلك بعام تم قصف من قبل المسلحين الجهاديين، وإلحاق أضرار بالغة في البنية.
لما يستحق، لا يبدو تاريخ المدينة الطويل من التعايش السلمي لتكون ماتت تماما. وقد المطران نونا وقال من المسلمين في الموصل التكاتف معا لحراسة الكنائس في المدينة من النهب، وتقارير أخرى من الموصل تشير إلى أن الإسلاميين يحاولون تهدئة مخاوف الأقليات الدينية في المدينة.
لكن المسيحيين في شمال العراق لا يمكن أن تلام لو انهم غير راغبين في البنك على هذه بصيص خافت من الأمل - سجل الجهاديين يتحدث ببلاغة جدا ضدهم. مرة أخرى في عام 2003، كان هناك القليل تعانيه من الكارثة التي كانت على وشك أن يصيب مسيحيي العراق. اليوم، يبدو أن هناك القليل الذي يمكن عمله لعكس ذلك.

صور كريم صاحب / أ ف ب / غيتي

رئيس الأساقفة نونا: الدفاع عن المسلمين كنيسة من النهب في الموصل

الموصل (وكالة فيدس) - "الآن في الموصل المسلحين الجهاديين السيطرة على المدينة والوضع هادئ ولكننا لا نعرف من هم وماذا يريدون القيام به الآن". يصف سعادة أمل شمعون نونا، رئيس اساقفة الكلدان في الموصل، لوكالة فيدس المناخ الذي يسود الآن في ثاني أكبر مدينة في العراق، والذي اعتقل قبل يومين من قبل الثوار لدولة العراق الإسلامية وبلاد الشام (ISIL)، والجهادية حركة نشطة أيضا في الصراع السوري. الكلدانية المطران يؤكد أن الغالبية العظمى من العائلات المسيحية 1،200 غادروا المدينة. هو نفسه وكهنته قد وجدت المأوى في القرى في سهل نينوى مثل Kramles وTilkif، على بعد بضعة عشرات من الكيلومترات من الموصل. في نفس الوقت، وتنفي الشائعات سعادة التاسع من الهجمات على الكنائس التي تديرها رجال ISIL. "لدينا كنيسة مكرسة للروح القدس"، رئيس أساقفة يشير إلى فيدس "، وdepradated من قبل عصابات من اللصوص امس واول من امس، في حين تم القبض على المدينة من قبل ISIL. لكن ودعا الأسر مسلم الذين يعيشون في المنطقة المحيطة بها متشددون اسلاميون، الذين تدخلوا، ووضع حد لعمليات السلب والنهب. العائلات مسلم نفسه اتصل هاتفيا بنا لإعلامنا أنهم هم أنفسهم والسيطرة على الكنيسة، ولن تسمح للبنات آوى في العودة ".
موقع بناء الكنيسة الأرمنية لا تزال تحت وشارك البناء في اشتباكات والتالفة فقط لأنه كان بجوار قاعدة للجيش لهجوم من قبل الجهاديين. بعد دخولهم في المدينة، والميليشيات الاسلامية إظهار نية للحفاظ على النظام العام تحت رقابة صارمة. رئيس الأساقفة نونا لا تؤكد ما تردد عن فرض المزعوم الحجاب الإسلامي على النساء المسيحيات التي أدلى بها الجهاديين ويشير إلى أن المسيحيين في الموصل، يحبس في منازلهم، ومعظمهم من كبار السن غير قادرين على الفرار بسبب سنهم والظروف الصحية . ويشير أيضا إلى أنه من بين مئات الآلاف من السكان الذين فروا من الموصل، فإن الغالبية العظمى من المسلمين.
المونسنيور. شكوك نونا في اعتبار يونة الذي أبداه الجيش العراقي وقوات الشرطة قبل وصول الإسلاميين: وقال "ما يمكنني قوله" المطران "، هو أن ما حدث هو الغموض ومن غير المعروف كيف تمكنت قوات الجيش والشرطة. لمغادرة المدينة في أقل من ساعة، وترك الأسلحة ووسائل النقل. كل هذا يثير العديد من التساؤلات ".
الكنيسة الكلدانية في الموصل مخصص لالروح القدس هو المكان الذي قتل الأب رغيد كني مع ثلاثة شمامسة في 3 يونيو 2007 وأين المطران بولص فرج رحو، اختطف، الذي عثر على 13 مارس 2008 جثة هامدة. (GV) (وكالة فيدس 2014/12/06)

أخبار

Mosul's Christians Say Goodbye & Archbishop Nona: Muslims defend a church from depredations in Mosul 18&12JUN14

FOR all the talk about the "war" on Christianity in the U.S. I can't imagine how American Christians would fare if they faced the persecution Iraq's Christians are facing. From +Foreign Policy .....

Mosul's Christians Say Goodbye

The jihadist takeover of northern Iraq is a disaster for Iraqis. But the destruction of an ancient Christian culture is a disaster for the world.

I've been reading the headlines from northern Iraq over the past two weeks with an intensifying sense of dread. It's a feeling very much like the one I have whenever I read about the disappearance of some huge ice sheet in the Antarctic or the extinction of yet another rare species of animal. It's the feeling that one more valuable ingredient of life on Earth is about to vanish, in all likelihood, forever.
The takeover of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, by the jihadist troops of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is a catastrophe for the people of Iraq, who now face a revival of full-blown sectarian warfare, and a strategic and psychological nightmare for the United States, which sacrificed vast amounts of blood and treasure to topple Saddam Hussein and build a viable government -- the latter, it would seem, in vain.
But over the past few days I've found myself mourning a more specific disaster: the flight and dispersal of the last remnants of Iraq's once-proud community of Christians. Emil Shimoun Nona, the archbishop of the Chaldean Catholics of Mosul, has told news agencies that the few Christians remaining in the city prior to the ISIS invasion have abandoned the city.

Since the Americans invaded Iraq in 2003, he estimates, Mosul's Christian population dwindled from 35,000 to some 3,000.

Since the Americans invaded Iraq in 2003, he estimates, Mosul's Christian population dwindled from 35,000 to some 3,000. "Now there is no one left," he said. Most of them have joined the estimated 500,000 refugees who have fled the ISIS advance; many of the Christians, including the archbishop, have opted for the relative security of Iraqi Kurdistan. (The photo above shows girls praying in the Church of the Virgin Mary in Bartala, a town to the east of Mosul.) The exodus has been triggered, above all, by the jihadists' reputation for bloodlust -- a reputation that ISIS has consciously furthered through its own propaganda. A few days ago, the jihadists used social media to distribute photos supporting their claim that they had killed 1,700 Shiite prisoners taken during their rapid offensive. No sooner had ISIS entered Mosul than some of their fighters set fire to an Armenian church. This all seems consistent with the group's grim record during the civil war in Syria, where, among other things, it has revived medieval Islamic restrictions on Christian populations. (It's their fear of Islamist rebels that has tended to align the Syrian Christian community with the secular regime of Bashar al-Assad.)
In 2003, it was estimated that some 1.5 million Iraqis were Christians, about 5 percent of the population. Since then, the overwhelming majority has reacted to widening sectarian conflict and a series of terrorist attacks by leaving the country. (Archbishop Nona's predecessor, Paulos Faraj Rahho, was kidnapped and killed outside his Mosul church back in 2008.) Almost all of the various Iraqi Christian communities -- the Chaldeans (who are part of the Roman Catholic Church), the Armenians, the Syriac Orthodox, the Greek Orthodox -- have benefited from large émigré contingents around the world who have welcomed refugees from Iraq.
I'm glad that these believers have saved themselves and their faith, but their emigration comes at a cost -- as they themselves are only too aware.

For the past 2,000 years, Iraq has been home to a distinct and vibrant culture of Eastern Christianity. Now that storied history appears to be coming to an end.

For the past 2,000 years, Iraq has been home to a distinct and vibrant culture of Eastern Christianity. Now that storied history appears to be coming to an end. Even if the ISIS forces are ultimately driven back, it's hard to imagine that the Mosul Christians who have fled will see a future for themselves in an Iraq dominated by the current Shiite dictatorship of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which enjoys strong support from Iran. It's worth adding, perhaps, that Christians aren't the only ones in this predicament. Iraq is also home to a number of other religious minorities endangered by the country's polarization into two warring camps of Islam. The Yazidis follow a belief system that has a lot in common with the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism; about a half a million of them live in northern Iraq. The Mandaeans, numbering only 30,000 or so, are perhaps the world's last remaining adherents of Gnosticism, one of the offshoots of early Christianity. By tradition many Mandaeans are goldsmiths -- a trade that has made them prominent targets for abduction in the post-invasion anarchy of Iraq. Losing these unique cultures makes the world a poorer place.
In the fall of 2003, when I was on assignment in Iraq, I had a chance to travel to Mosul. It was a fateful moment for the U.S.-led occupation, then just a few months old. I interviewed Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of the American forces in the city and its surrounding region. The insurgency that had already flared into life in other parts of the country was only just reaching Mosul; while I was there, several American soldiers were attacked by an angry mob and killed -- a harbinger of long years of violence to come.
But I soon discovered that there was a lot more to Mosul than the headlines. The citizens of Mosul I met welcomed me with a spontaneous hospitality that I hadn't really experienced in the Iraqi capital. This may have had something to do with the fact that Baghdad, the heart of Saddam Hussein's brutal Baathist state, retained little palpable sense of its rich historical past. Baghdad had an almost Soviet soullessness -- the vast tracts of ugly prefab housing wouldn't have looked out of place in Warsaw or Beijing. Mosul, by contrast, still retained its character as an Ottoman trade route city, a place both scruffy and intimate. And it was enlivened by a proud sense of its own diversity: You never knew whether the next person you were going to meet was a Sunni or a Shiite, a Kurd or a Christian.
The Christians were especially fascinating -- above all, because it was hard to escape the sense that you were witnessing the practice of traditions you weren't going to find anywhere else. Some of Mosul's Christians answer to Rome; some follow various Orthodox patriarchs; and some, like the members of the Ancient Church of the East, are beholden to no authority but their own.

There are Christians in and around Mosul who still speak Aramaic, the language of Christ.

There are Christians in and around Mosul who still speak Aramaic, the language of Christ. I found myself admiring the interior of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Mar Toma (St. Thomas), brilliantly lit by long strings of light bulbs. The parishioners were especially proud of their big display Bible in the ancient tongue of Syriac, whose elaborate calligraphy adorned surfaces in many parts of the building. (The church is also home to a set of rare manuscripts in Syriac and Garshuni, a dialect of Arabic used by medieval Christians.) No one actually knows how old the church is, but it dates back at least to the 8th century. I also paid a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral, the seat of the Chaldean Christians' archbishop, a stolid stone building that looked as though it could withstand any attack. A year later it was bombed by jihadi insurgents, badly damaging the structure.
For what it's worth, the city's long history of peaceful coexistence doesn't seem to be completely dead. Archbishop Nona has told of Muslims in Mosul banding together to guard the city's churches from looting, and other reports from Mosul suggest that the Islamists are trying to assuage the fears of religious minorities in the city.
But the Christians of northern Iraq can hardly be blamed if they're unwilling to bank on these faint glimmers of hope -- the jihadists' record speaks too eloquently against them. Back in 2003, there was little inkling of the disaster that was about to befall Iraq's Christians. Today, there seems to be little that can be done to reverse it.

KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

Archbishop Nona: Muslims defend a church from depredations in Mosul

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - "Now in Mosul jihadist militants control the city and the situation is calm. But we do not know who they are and what they want to do now". His Excellency Amel Shamon Nona, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, describes to Fides Agency the climate that now reigns in Iraq’s second largest city, which was captured two days ago by the rebels of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Jihadist faction also active in the Syrian conflict. The Chaldean Archbishop confirms that the vast majority of the 1,200 Christian families have left the city. He himself and his priests have found shelter in villages in the Nineveh Plain such as Kramles and Tilkif, a few tens of kilometers from Mosul. At the same time, His Excellency Ninth denies rumors of attacks on churches operated by men of the ISIL. "Our church dedicated to the Holy Spirit", the Archbishop refers to Fides, "was depradated by gangs of robbers yesterday and the day before yesterday, while the city was captured by the ISIL. But Muslim families living in the surrounding area have called their Islamist militants, who intervened, putting an end to the looting. The same Muslim families phoned us to let us know that they themselves are controlling the church, and will not allow the jackals to return".
The construction site of an Armenian church still under construction was involved in the clashes and damaged just because it was next to an army base attacked by jihadists. After their entry in the city, Islamist militias manifest the intention to maintain public order under strict control. Archbishop Nona does not confirm the rumors about the alleged imposition of the Islamic veil on Christian women made by the jihadists and points out that Christians in Mosul, locked up in their own homes, are mostly elderly unable to escape because of their age and health conditions. He also points out that, among the hundreds of thousands of residents who fled Mosul, the vast majority are Muslims.
Mgr. Nona’s doubts regard the pliancy shown by the Iraqi army and police forces before the arrival of the Islamists: "What I can say", said the Archbishop, "is that what has happened is a mystery. It is not known how soldiers and police managed to leave the city in less than an hour, leaving weapons and means of transport. All this raises many questions".
The Chaldean church in Mosul dedicated to the Holy Spirit is where Father Ragheed Ganni was killed along with three deacons on June 3, 2007 and where Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, was abducted, whose lifeless body was found on March 13, 2008. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 12/06/2014)

News

WEEKLY NEWS WRAP FROM MOTHER JONES 20JUN14

POLITICAL MOJO FROM DAVID CORN, KEVIN DRUM, AND THE NEWS TEAM

MOTHER JONES

June 20, 2014

TOP STORY

On Iraq, McCain Won't Take McCain's Advice

By David Corn

On Iraq, McCain Won't Take McCain's Advice 19JUN14

sen john mccain r AZ has a feeble brain and a big mouth. Yes, he did serve our country with honor during the Vietnam war, and yes, he suffered for our country as a POW in (then) N Vietnam. That doesn't make him an expert on military and foreign policy. As a politician he has devolved into a mealy mouthed political shrill feigning concern and compassion for our active duty service personnel and our vets while kow-towing to the extreme right wing of his party, supporting policies that enrich the military-industrial complex and the privatization for profit of veterans services cabal. His failed presidential campaign shows the nation is no longer impressed or swayed by his warmongering rhetoric. It is time for sen mccain to get over himself. From +Mother Jones .....

On Iraq, McCain Won't Take McCain's Advice

—By David Corn

| Thu Jun. 19, 2014 1:19 PM EDT

The couple, in happier times Navy Chief Petty Officer Joshua Treadwell/Flickr

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) went ballistic. In response to the intensifying crisis in Iraq, an apoplectic McCain took to the Senate floor and demanded the resignation of President Barack Obama's entire national security team. He huffed that Obama's advisers have "been a total failure." He suggested that Obama was somehow responsible for the present predicament in Iraq. And what was McCain's big idea for addressing the crisis? What steps would he take had he not been prevented from becoming commander in chief by Obama? The senator proposed calling in former General David Petraeus, who led US forces in Iraq during the 2007 surge, and former General James Mattis, who succeeded Petraeus. That was it: Ask Petraeus what to do.
Well, it turns out, McCain wouldn't abide by his own advice. Earlier this week, I contacted Petraeus' office to ask what he thought the president should be doing in Iraq. Not surprisingly, Petraeus did not respond to the invitation (which was probably one of many from reporters). But on Wednesday, Petraeus, speaking at a conference in London, did share his current views. He accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of "undermining" national reconciliation—an obvious point made by most observers. He also declared that Iraq needed a more inclusive government—another obvious point that the president and others have pushed. And Petraeus dismissed the possibility of US airstrikes against the Sunni insurgents that have captured several cities in Iraq:

This cannot be the United States being the air force of Shia militias or a Shia-on-Sunni Arab fight. It has to be a fight of all of Iraq against extremists who do happen to be Sunni Arabs but extremists that are wreaking havoc on a country that really had an enormous opportunity back in 2011, has made progress in certain areas but has certainly not capitalized on that enormous opportunity in the way that we had all hoped.

McCain, apparently, wasn't listening. On Thursday, McCain went full McCain. He called for ousting Maliki. (Obama and his aides are trying to nudge Maliki aside, but it's not a snap-of-the-fingers task to get rid of a Washington-endorsed guy who was elected.) And McCain demanded, yes, airstrikes:

Of course Maliki has to be transitioned out. But the only way that's going to happen is for us to assure Iraqis that we will be there to assist. And let me make it clear: No one that I know wants to send combat troops on the ground, but airstrikes are an important factor, psychologically and many other ways, and that may require some forward air controllers and some special forces.

Several other GOPers joined McCain on the Senate floor to denounce Obama. On the other side of the Capitol, House Speaker John Boehner has been blasting Obama on Iraq, accusing the president of "napping" but not proposing any specific actions. On Wednesday, Boehner refused to comment on whether Obama should order airstrikes. The crisis is confounding Obama's GOP critics. And they're not even listening to Petraeus.

David Corn

Washington Bureau Chief

David Corn is Mother Jones' Washington bureau chief. For more of his stories, click here. He's also on Twitter and Facebook. RSS | Twitter

19 June 2014

Sens. Kaine and McCain debate U.S. exit from Iraq, prerequisites for new military response & ISIL attacks Iraq’s main oil refinery 18JUN14

THE civil war in Iraq continues to spin out of control while the dictatorship of Iraqi PM maliki wages a propaganda campaign promising an inclusive government if the people will rally 'round the flag and the U.S. will supply the military support to save his ass. Too little too late maliki, you are going to have to deal with this situation of your making without us. The American people have wasted enough of American lives and military equipment and taxpayer dollars on you and your failed state. And remember, you told us to get out of Iraq. (From Sen Tim Kaine's comments below "
President Bush signed an agreement with Maliki in 2008 that said the U.S. would be done in 2011. And President Obama was in dialogue with Maliki in 2011 about staying. Foreign Minister Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, I heard him give a public speech in Bahrain in December where he stood up and said, the United States wanted to stay in Iraq and we told them no, and we made a huge mistake when we told them no.
And Zebari even said that he had spoken with Hamid Karzai and said, don’t make the same mistake in Afghanistan."
Here are a few reports on the situation in Iraq and the debate in Congress about what if anything the U.S. should do. I am especially impressed with one of my Senators, Sen Tim Kaine D VA. He was knowledgeable and eloquent in his comments against further American involvement in Iraq. sen john mccain r AZ was typically ignorant, pushing for us to return to Iraq, throwing away American lives and taxpayer dollars, and supporting the best interest of Israel and the Gulf States and the profit margins of the American military-industrial complex. It is a sad commentary on the repiglican / tea-bagger position concerning the U.S. Military and American vets that they can't commit to providing the funding, oversight, programs and facilities to provide for active duty and ex / retired military personnel but place the interest of other nations and the profit margins of the military-industrial complex before those who have served and sacrificed for our nation. sen mccain, why don't you and all the other war pigs set up shop in the US Embassy in Baghdad and support the maliki government from there, and let us know how that goes. And we all need to tell our Senators and Representative and Pres Obama to stay out of this one and to concentrate on caring for our Iraqi and Afghan war vets (and all vets), not increasing the profit margins of the military-industrial complex and saving the corrupt Iraqi government. From +PBS NewsHour .....

Sens. Kaine and McCain debate U.S. exit from Iraq, prerequisites for new military response

June 18, 2014 at 6:11 PM EDT

Pressure is mounting for the U.S. to come up with a course of action against the uprising of ISIL in Iraq. Judy Woodruff talks to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who says reforms have to happen in Iraq before the U.S. decide what kind of assistance to provide. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says the U.S. should launch airstrikes and put some boots on the ground to oppose the extreme elements in Iraq.

http://youtu.be/8YQwRMEc_7c

TRANSCRIPT

JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. secretary of defense and the nation’s top military leader were pressed today on Capitol Hill about an American course of action in Iraq.GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman: We have a request from the Iraqi government for airpower.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Martin Dempsey, made clear the sense of urgency in the crisis in Iraq today, as he spoke before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill. He was joined by the secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel, who was pressed by Senator Dan Coats of Indiana on the severity of the situation.
SEN. DAN COATS, R, Ind.: We have already lost some territory. They have already gained control of the second largest city in Iraq.
CHUCK HAGEL, Secretary of Defense: No, I — we ought to be clear. It wasn’t the United States that lost anything. We turned a pretty significant situation over, as you noted, for the very reasons you noted, to the Iraqi people when we phased out of our military involvement in Iraq.
And so we have done everything we could to help them. But it’s up to the Iraqis.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But pressure is mounting now for the U.S. to come up with a course of action against ISIL, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
In his final briefing as the White House press secretary, Jay Carney said the option of airstrikes is still on the table.
JAY CARNEY, White House Press Secretary: The only thing the president has ruled out, and I want to be clear here, is sending U.S. troops back into combat in Iraq. But he continues to consider other options. Taking direct military action by the United States will not solve Iraq’s challenges, certainly not alone.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, President Obama met with congressional leaders at the White House today. Earlier, both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner expressed their hesitation over U.S. involvement in the spiraling crisis.
SEN. HARRY REID, Majority Leader: It’s not worth the blood of American soldiers. It’s not worth the monetary cost to the American taxpayer.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And Boehner warned against the U.S. working with Iran to combat Sunni extremists.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, Speaker of the House: I can just imagine what our friends in the region and our allies would be thinking by reaching out to Iran at a time when they continue to pay for terrorism, foster terrorism, not only in Syria and Lebanon, but in Israel as well.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Amid the challenges the U.S. government faces over Iraq, the American people have become wary of how the U.S. will handle it.
According to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the public’s approval rating of President Obama’s handling of foreign policy has dropped to its lowest level. In December 2012, 52 percent of those polled approved of the president’s foreign policy. That number is 37 percent as of this month.
As the U.S. deliberates its course of action, the White House has made clear that Iraq’s Shia-led government must do more to mend sectarian divisions in the country as part of any solution to the crisis.
Now two U.S. senators with different takes about the next steps for the U.S.
Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, is on both the Senate Armed Services and the Foreign Relations Committees. I talked to him just a short time ago.
Senator Kaine, thank you for joining us.
SEN. TIM KAINE, D, Va.: Absolutely, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Should the U.S. be providing military — more military assistance to Iraq right now?
SEN. TIM KAINE: Judy, the question is a little bit premature, because what we really need — and there is a process — the way this is supposed to work is the president will come to us and lay out what he thinks is the preferred option.
And then, after consulting with Congress, we will go forward. I expect that he will do that soon. He’s already been in significant consultation, not only with leadership, but with others like me, but when he does come, there’s going to be some hard questions.
Maliki — we had the opportunity. The U.S. wanted the stay in Iraq and Maliki basically kicked us out. He didn’t want us to stay. Then he ignored all the advice that we and others gave him about how to govern Iraq, to try to do it in a way that brought Kurds and Sunnis and Shias together. Instead, he’s run Iraq for Shias and marginalized, even oppressing Sunni and Kurds.
And so this extremism, the Sunni extremism, has been a predictable consequence of that, in my view. They’re horrible people doing horrible things, but he’s given them an opening by governing in such an autocratic way.
So, if it’s just a matter of, do we come in now to back up Maliki with military force after he kicked us out and after he’s governed the wrong way, that would be foolish. What we should be first talking about is, are there reforms that the Iraqis are willing to make to try to demonstrate to all in the country that they are all going to be treated equally?
Those kind of reforms really are the things that have to happen before we decide what kind of assistance we should provide.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, you have had raised a couple of things. And let me just pick them one by one.
In terms of the reforms, Prime Minister Maliki says he has reached out, for example, to Sunnis. He’s brought them — he’s given them a role in his government. He says, in essence, that it’s just wrong to say that he has not reached out.
SEN. TIM KAINE: Virtually every objective account that we have heard from Iraq experts here, not only folks connected with the administration, State Department, DOD, but NGOs and others, suggest just the contrary, that he has ignored that advice and that he has run this government for Shias with the strong support of the Shia-based government in Iran, and he has done it in a way that has marginalized Sunnis and marginalized Kurds.
And that’s why they’re not coming to his aid right now.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And should U.S. — should any U.S. military or security help be contingent on his reforming or on his leaving government, for that matter, as some people are saying?
SEN. TIM KAINE: The notion of him leaving government, that’s for Iraqis. We shouldn’t be dictating who nations choose as their leaders.
But if their leaders are asking for our help, it’s very fair for us to say, OK, well, you kicked us out, and now you’re running this government in a way that’s creating the conditions of extremism. This isn’t about coming in and bailing you out of your bad decisions.
So, in terms of contingency, I would rather not do contingent things based upon promises that he might make. I would rather see them actually take steps for reform, put in a Sunni as the defense chief, put in a Kurd as the intelligence chief, make the visible, necessary reforms to demonstrate to Iraqis that it’s going to be an open society.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And if he’s not prepared to do that, are you saying the U.S. shouldn’t provide military assistance?
SEN. TIM KAINE: I think it is a very hard case to make.
Aside from humanitarian aid that we ought to be doing in tandem with regional partners, I think it’s a very hard case to make that we should provide the Maliki government with military assistance, if they are not willing to show that they are going to govern in an even-handed way.
What would be the likelihood that it would work, providing assistance to a government that has created these very conditions of instability by rejecting the U.S. wanting to stay and help and then governing the wrong way?
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, on your point, you say he did reject U.S. help. As you know, Senator John McCain and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina both insist that they were talking to the Iraqi government at the time, that Prime Minister Maliki was prepared to accept U.S. troops staying in the country.
We are going to be interviewing Senator McCain after we speak with you, but he insists that it is not the case that Maliki rejected U.S. troops.
SEN. TIM KAINE: Well, Judy, let me tell you why I think it is the case.
President Bush signed an agreement with Maliki in 2008 that said the U.S. would be done in 2011. And President Obama was in dialogue with Maliki in 2011 about staying. Foreign Minister Zebari, the Iraqi foreign minister, I heard him give a public speech in Bahrain in December where he stood up and said, the United States wanted to stay in Iraq and we told them no, and we made a huge mistake when we told them no.
And Zebari even said that he had spoken with Hamid Karzai and said, don’t make the same mistake in Afghanistan.
So, when the foreign minister of Iraq says, we know you wanted to stay, but we stiff-armed you and told you to get out, I actually think that that’s probably the state of affairs; they didn’t want us.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Let me come back to this question of use of force.
Should any use of force by the U.S. first be approved by the Congress, if that’s what it comes to?
SEN. TIM KAINE: It should definitely be approved by Congress in one of two ways, Judy.
The framers of the Constitution said it’s always Congress that should be making the decision about whether military action should be initiated. But in the event of an emergency, there was an understanding that the president would go to the congressional leadership of both houses in key committees explain plans.
And in the event of emergency, that consultation would be initially sufficient that Congress would have to come back and give their stamp of approval. So, if the president feels like this is so urgent and emergent that all he can really do is inform the leadership and get some consensus buy-in and then go forward, then he can act in the case of an emergency without a vote.
But he would still need to come back to Congress, in my view, and get a vote for the initiation of military hostilities. That’s the way it was intended in the Constitution, for a very important reason. If you don’t get Congress on board, you’re putting American men and women’s lives at risk without doing the necessary work of reaching the political consensus that the framers intended between the legislature and the executive.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Senator Tim Kaine, we thank you very much.
SEN. TIM KAINE: Thank you, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And a leading Republican voice in this debate is Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. He too serves on the Senate Armed Services and the Foreign Relations Committees.
Senator McCain, thank you very much for joining us.
A number of things I want to ask you about, but let me just start with that last question I had for Senator Tim Kaine. And that is this question of whether Congress should give its approval before there is any military — or additional military or security assistance for Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R, Ariz.: No, I think the president could act in certain ways, depending on what the emergencies of the moment are, depending on exactly how he wanted to do it.
I think he should consult with leaders of Congress, particularly the Intelligence Committee members. But I don’t think he has to have a blank check or a — excuse me — I don’t think he has to have their permission.
We woke up one morning some years ago, you might remember, Judy, and found out that Ronald Reagan had decided to invade a small island nation called Grenada.
But, look, I want to get back to what Senator Kaine said. I don’t know what he heard, anybody giving a speech, and I don’t know how many times he’s been to Iraq, if ever. I have been there more times than I can count.
We — Lindsey Graham, in direct, direct conversation with Maliki, after direct conversation with Barzani, after direct conversation with Allawi, they were all ready to deal. And it is a fact — in fact, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff himself said that the number of troops that we were proposing cascaded down to 3,000, when it had been recommended to be 20,000
And by that time, the leader of — especially Maliki, decided that it wasn’t worth the problem. So, what Senator Kaine is saying is just totally false. And it’s — and, in fact, it’s a lie, because Lindsey Graham and I were there. And we know what happened, because we were there face to face.
And the administration would never give a troop strength number. Senator — the chief of staff, General Dempsey, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and said the number cascaded — his words — down to 3,500.
At that point, Maliki and company decided that it wasn’t worth it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, Senator, you — those are very strong words, accusing Senator Kaine of lying.
This is something…
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: No, I’m saying — I’m saying it is a lie to say — to say that we — that the Iraqis rejected. It was — it was President Obama’s commitment to get everybody out of Iraq. That’s the overriding fact here.
JUDY WOODRUFF: This is something you have spoken about — you have been outspoken about in the last few days. You have spoken about it today and previously on the floor of the United States Senate.
Why is it so important, do you think, to continue to make this point to talk about what happened in the past?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Because the — because the opponent — the opponents and those who want to justify this colossal failure that has caused the greatest threat to United States national security since the end of the Cold War, they’re trying to justify it by saying that Maliki didn’t want American troops there.
And that is not true. And the fact is, the other point that Senator Kaine missed here, this isn’t just a Sunni-Shia conflict. This is about the richest, most — largest terrorist organization control that is dedicated to the distinction — destruction of the United States. And that’s the words of the director of national intelligence and the director — secretary of homeland security.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Senator, what do you believe the United States should do now?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: What General — what a number of other military leaders have recommended.
And that is that we go in, we use airpower, we get some boots on the ground, a few that can identify targets. We need to get some planners over there that can help the Iraqis repel the — what is going to be at least some assault on some of the other towns — I don’t think they can take Baghdad — and recognize that this is not a civil war going on.
This is — this is the most extreme element of the extremes of jihadists that want to destroy the United States of America. That’s what this is all about.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Senator, what do you say to those, including those in your own party? Speaker John Boehner has been talking about this. And I know you know a number of others in both parties saying their concern is that the U.S. gets involved without being clear about whose side it’s on, then it risks inflaming the situation.
There is Iran. There are the Saudis. There is what’s going on in Syria.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Sure.
JUDY WOODRUFF: How does the U.S. know whose — who it’s siding — whom it is siding with?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: We have leaders, generals, such as General Keane, General Petraeus, Ryan Crocker, many others, they know the Iraqis. They were with them for years and years. We know who our friends are and who they aren’t.
Maliki is totally an abysmal failure. And he is really the cause of a lot of the success that ISIS involve. But we know who these people are. We served with them side by side for years. We can identify them. But the fact is that Maliki has got to set up a government of reconciliation, and that has to be an inclusive one, and that — we have to work with that group.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And do you believe military action should be contingent on the prime minister taking — making these political reforms?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: No, no, no.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Why not?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: We’re in immediate — because we’re in immediate danger militarily.
They took Mosul. They now have American equipment. They are trying to attack Baghdad. They have taken over — there is now an enclave, a caliphate of Iraqi and Syrian — and you can’t leave Syria out of this — the most hard-core terrorist organization in America who has pledged to attack and do what they can do to destroy America.
That’s — American national security should be our first priority.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Senator, you’re comfortable with the U.S. working with Iran in this? And how long should the U.S. stay?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: The — well, first of all, I do not in any circumstances want to deal with Iran. They were responsible for IEDs that killed Americans.
How long — how long did we stay in South Korea? How long did we stay in Bosnia? How long did we stay in Germany? How long did we stay in Japan?
We have always left behind residual forces. We had this won, Judy. In case you missed it, we had this won, thanks to the surge. Iraq was largely pacified. We weren’t going to take more casualties. And we had it won.
And then the president of the United States wanted us out. And I predicted it. And I predicted what would happen. And I’m sorry that I was right.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Senator John McCain, we hear you loud and clear. Thank you for joining us.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Thank you, Judy.

RELATED LINKS

ISIL attacks Iraq’s main oil refinery

June 18, 2014 at 6:08 PM EDT

Sunni militants forced their way into Iraq’s biggest oil refinery as they continued their push south toward Baghdad. But the Iraqi army says it has driven off the Islamist-led insurgents attacking the Baiji complex, and that 40 attackers have been killed — a claim that couldn’t be verified independently. Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News reports from northern Iraq.

http://youtu.be/pODi9Gitp2k

TRANSCRIPT

JUDY WOODRUFF: The crisis in Iraq continued to escalate today, as Sunni militants pushed on towards Baghdad and battled with government forces at the country’s main oil refinery.
We have an on-the-ground report from Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News.

JONATHAN RUGMAN, ITN: To some, it was occupation, no doubt, but, to others, liberation, Islamic extremists cheered by local Sunnis and parading American supply vehicles through Baiji, after seizing Iraq’s biggest oil refinery nearbyThe men of ISIS were in the hundreds and mobbed by well-wishers. “May God support you and bring you victory,” this crowd shouted. One jihadist filmed what he claimed was smoke from a downed government helicopter nearby.
“The refinery in the control of revolutionaries,” he declared. But in Baghdad, the army denied it.
GEN. QASSEM ATTA, Army Spokesman, Iraq (through interpreter): Today, we repelled an attempt by ISIS to attack the Baiji refinery, thanks to God. We foiled the attack, killed 40 terrorists, destroying vehicles full of personnel, weapons, equipment, and ammunition.
JONATHAN RUGMAN: Baiji accounts for quarter of Iraq’s domestic refining output. If it can hold onto it, ISIS could provoke an energy crisis, or, by trading fuel, add to the millions it already makes from the oil fields of eastern Syria.
Eyewitnesses said the soldiers defending it suffered heavy losses before surrendering. In Baghdad, though, Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Shia prime minister, tried to sound upbeat about the setbacks of this last extraordinary week, even if he didn’t look it.
NOURI AL-MALIKI, Prime Minister, Iraq (through translator): We have absorbed momentum of the setback and we have now started our counteroffensive, regaining the initiative and striking back. We will continue dealing heavy blows to militants.
JONATHAN RUGMAN: The prime minister’s fellow Shia are certainly rallying to his call, signing up as volunteers, though the training is lightning quick.
But will this rusty-looking home guard defend Sunni Iraq or just the Shia bit of it? Amid jingoistic scenes like this, Iraq’s army is becoming an ever more sectarian force.
Iraq’s Kurds, too, are fighting for the Kurds, battling to keep ISIS out along the 600-mile border now, not defending Iraq so much as holding on to what they claim is theirs, in a country which still appears to be unraveling, even if its leader won’t admit it.

NORTON META TAG

20 June 2014

استيلاء الجهاديين في شمال العراق هو كارثة للعراقيين. ولكن تدمير ثقافة المسيحية القديمة هي كارثة بالنسبة للعالم.

أخبار

The jihadist takeover of northern Iraq is a disaster for Iraqis. But the destruction of an ancient Christian culture is a disaster for the world.

News

David Corn

If You Liked This, You Might Also Like...

19 June 2014

TRANSCRIPT

TRANSCRIPT