Feral Jundi

Friday, February 6, 2009

Iraq: Elections Deliver a Victory for US Goals

Filed under: Iraq — Tags: , , — Matt @ 9:50 AM

   Very cool news, and I am impressed by the preliminary results so far. –Matt 

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Iraqi Elections Deliver A Victory for U.S. Goals

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Ernesto Londoño

Washington Post Foreign Service

Thursday, February 5, 2009

BAGHDAD, Feb. 5 — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki posted significant victories in Iraq’s provincial elections, winning Baghdad and eight provinces in Iraq’s Shiite south, according to official preliminary results released Thursday.

In voting for Maliki and his allies, Iraqis appeared to be supporting a strong central government and rewarding the prime minister for sending in government forces to fight Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra and Baghdad’s Sadr City enclave. Maliki’s State of Law coalition won 38 percent of the votes in Baghdad and 37 percent in Basra.

But with the exception of these two provinces, Maliki and his allies won by close margins in the other seven provinces and will need to build coalitions with other parties. At the same time, the slim margins could also allow other parties to come together in opposition to Maliki.

(more…)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Legal News: Pentagon Letter Undercuts DOJ in Blackwater

Filed under: Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 12:47 PM

   Interesting news, and this is a prime example of using a large force to destroy itself.  The more this is panning out, the more you can see that DoJ doesn’t have that great of a case.  From the radio logs, DoS witnesses, and now this Pentagon letter, this will be an interesting legal battle to watch. –Matt

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Pentagon Letter Undercuts DOJ in Blackwater

FEB 3, 2009

By MATT APUZZO – Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon wrote in 2007 that Blackwater Worldwide contractors in Iraq are not subject to U.S. civilian criminal laws. That position undercuts the Justice Department’s effort to prosecute five Blackwater security guards for manslaughter.

The letter highlights the uncertainty prosecutors face in bringing charges against contractors involved in a 2006 shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead in a Baghdad intersection. Iraqis are closely watching how the U.S. responds to the shooting, which inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad.

(more…)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Music: The Band Acrassicauda Moves Its Metal Out of Iraq

Filed under: Iraq,Music,New Jersey — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:04 PM

   Talk about some exposure for a band?  Getting a guitar from James Hetfield of Metallica is quite the thing, and I wish these guys all the best in New Jersey. –Matt

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Acrassicauda 

One Band Moves Its Metal Out of Iraq

By BEN SISARIO

February 3, 2009 

It was a heavy metal miracle.

Acrassicauda had been through hell as a rock band in wartime Baghdad. Its practice space was bombed. Its members were branded Satan worshipers and received death threats for making Western-style music. Then they suffered through two purgatorial years as refugees in Syria and Turkey, killing time and dreaming of rocking out in the land of the free.

And on Sunday night, two days after the last of the band’s four members was resettled in the United States, they enjoyed what any metal fan would have to call heaven: bearhugs and “Wow, dude” heart-to-hearts backstage with Metallica at the Prudential Center in Newark. It probably wasn’t necessary for James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead singer, to surprise them after the show by handing over one of his guitars, a black ESP, and signing it “Welcome to America”; their minds were already blown.

(more…)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Iraq: 51 % Turn Out and 4,000 Women Candidates–Where is the Media?

Filed under: Iraq — Tags: , , — Matt @ 12:08 PM

   A couple of things with this.  First, the reporting on this is painful.  You have those journalists and MSM groups who did not support the war in Iraq, who are already promoting this election as a bust or not significant.  And then you have the other journalists promoting how kick ass this is.  What is the real deal you might say?  I say use common sense on this, and look at the facts.  

    As for my thoughts, I am extremely impressed with this election so far, and the voter turn out of 51% now  compared to the 2% in 2005 and the involvement of over 4,000 women running for office are very significant events in my opinion. That is awesome news, and that tells me that Iraqis are actually getting involved with the development of their country.  Isn’t that what we have been trying to get up and running over there?  Isn’t that how you defeat the enemy, with a state that is able to protect and govern itself, and work towards peace, stability, and eventually prosperity?  This is progress, yet no one cares.  Pffft.   Thanks to Arwa Damon for reporting the real story(although it is CNN-lol) and insh-allah.  –Matt 

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Iraqi Women, CNN

Iraqi women show off their ink-stained fingers after voting Saturday in Baghdad.

Peace, high turnout reported at Iraq polls

02/01/09

    * Story Highlights

    * 51 percent turnout a sharp contrast to 2005 election, when only 2 percent voted

    * Election commission chief: Most important election since Saddam Hussein fell

    * The election was seen as a referendum on the popularity of Iraqi PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Half of Iraq’s registered voters turned out for peaceful provincial elections this weekend, the election commission said Sunday.

The turnout of 7.5 million voters starkly contrasted with elections in 2005, when the violence and intimidation of al Qaeda in Iraq kept voters away from the polls and only 2 percent of eligible voters participated.

Faraj al-Haidari, the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission, called the turnout this year “very high” for provincial elections in any country. Fifty-one percent of the 14.9 million registered voters cast ballots.

(more…)

Friday, January 30, 2009

Iraq: Blackwater Says It Could Leave Iraq with 72 Hours

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 1:45 PM

   And as a follow up to the last story, this sounds more and more like a game of poker.  We will see what DoS does.  –Matt 

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Blackwater says it could leave Iraq with 72 hours

By MIKE BAKER, Associated Press writer Mike Baker, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 29, 4:54 pm ET

MOYOCK, N.C. – Blackwater Worldwide, which guards American diplomats in Iraq, said Thursday it would be prepared to leave that country within 72 hours after Iraqi officials denied the North Carolina-based company an operating license because of a deadly shooting spree in Baghdad.

But Blackwater founder Erik Prince told The Associated Press that while losing the State Department contract would hurt the company, the move would cause more harm to the diplomats it has protected since soon after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

“Our abrupt departure would far more hurt the reconstruction team and the diplomats trying to rebuild the country than it would hurt us as a business,” Prince said Thursday in an exclusive interview with the AP.

Iraqi officials said the lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead led to its decision.

(more…)

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