Багдад пред падом

[Ромејац]

Снимак уласка радикалних исламиста у предграђе Багдада:

 

[Zayron]

Zlatni Sadam. A znate li ko je Sadama najviše branio po svijetu i zauzimao se za njega, da mu se pravi nepravda? Hodao čak i za papom u Riim to objašnjavat, da Sadam štiti hrišćane i bez Sadama će se hrišćani tamo zlo i naopako provest pa ga napale italijanske novine da se zauzima za zločinca. A niko mu ništa nije vjerovao, no zato je svaka Bushova riječ bila sveto slovo. Bagdadski nadbiskup, mislim da je i kardinal, morao bih provjerit! Znači bio je u pravu!

 

[Н И Н Е]

 

Не верујем да ће освојити Багдад. 

[Ромејац]

Russia on Iraq: ‘We told you so’

 

As the situation in Iraq begins to looks more and more like a complete state meltdown, Russia has stepped in with a familiar refrain: "We told you so."

"We are greatly alarmed by what is happening in Iraq. We warned long ago that the affair that the Americans and the Britons stirred up there wouldn't end well," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday,according to Voice of Russia. He also described the Iraq war as a "total failure" and said Russia was sorry that its forecasts had come true.

It's hard to deny that Russia was vocal in saying that the Iraq war was a bad idea. In March 2003, just as the invasion began, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly criticized it. It was the "most serious crisis the world has faced since the Cold War," he told the Duma, adding that the fighting would be "fierce" and "drawn out."

At that point, it was a somewhat surprising move (remember, we were then less than three years into the Putin era, now in its 15th year). These days, we're pretty used to Russian criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, and the finger wagging that comes afterward: Russia loves to remind the United States that it warned against its international follies.

For example, when the U.S. diplomatic mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi was attacked in 2012, claiming the life of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the immediate reaction across Russia was neatly summed up by the New York Times' Ellen Barry as "We told you so." And even after the Boston Marathon was bombed by two Chechens last year, killing three people and injuring dozens, Russia again responded pretty much with "We told you so," the New Republic's Julia Ioffe noted at the time. "Putin has repeatedly said there is no such thing as our terrorists and somebody else’s,” Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “One must not differentiate between them, deal with some and condemn others."

There's an obvious logic here. Russia's repeated use of "We told you so" also allows it to say: "You didn't listen to us then, so you should listen to us now." Putin has brought up his warnings against intervention in Libya and Iraq as a way to defend his positions on Syria.

Even so, it's tempting to look at Russia's positions on various conflicts and wonder whether there was something to it. With the events of the past few days, a lot of people probably feel that Putin may well have been right about Iraq (as John Nagl, an Iraq war veteran writes for The Post today, "This is not the end state my friends fought for and died for"). Meanwhile, the chaotic state of Libya today certainly makes you question the path taken there, and as the Syrian war drags on past its third anniversary with no end in sight, perhaps Russia's calls for more dialogue with Bashar al-Assad weren't so terrible after all.

 

There are clearly some other factors at play, of course. Critics might also point out that in Iraq, Libya and Syria, Putin has been unusually vocal in his support of strongman leaders — like supports like, you could say. And, of course, economic issues and a dislike of American hegemony no doubt play a role in Putin's criticisms. Plus, Russia's more recent actions in Crimea make criticisms of U.S. intervention look hypocritical.

But it's also worth remembering that Russia's tone on U.S. involvement in Afghanistan has been more measured. Putin was an early supporter of George W. Bush's war on terror, though Russia's involvement in the Afghanistan war was limited to help with supplies and Putin did later express some criticism. Despite that, just last year, Putin said he hoped the United States would keep its military bases in the country after 2014. Writing in the Moscow Times, Michael Bohm argued that this rare acceptance of U.S. military reach was a sign that Russia was concerned about the security situation in the country to its south and wants the United States to deal with it.

 

So perhaps Putin's foreign policy is all based on a jaded realism. But sometimes, in hindsight, jaded realism looks better than the alternative.

[GeniusAtWork]

Napravili su gluposti u Iraku i Libiji. Uklanjanjem diktatora (koji definitivno jesu bili ludaci posebne sorte i odgovorni za mnoga zlodela) oslobodili su put još gorim ludacima, fanaticima i raznim Al Kaidama i njihovim satelitima da slobodno divljaju i destabilizuju države i čitave regione.

 

Isto bi se desilo i kada bi Asad pao, verovatno...

[Ромејац]

Insurgents enter military base northeast of Baghdad: officials

 

Sunni insurgents battling forces loyal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki broke into a military base in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, a security source and a local official said.

They said militants fought their way into the base on the edge of Muqdadiya town, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital. The northern side of the town was already under their control before Thursday's clashes.

The area around Muqdadiya has seen sustained fighting in recent weeks since fighters led by the hardline Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, seized the northern city of Mosul and swept south towards Baghdad.

The security source said the insurgents on Thursday included hundreds of non-Iraqi Arab fighters, heavily armed and some riding in tanks. Negotiations were underway involving local tribal sheikhs for a truce, the source said.

A local official confirmed the militants had breached the site, although he said they would be repulsed. "They were able to control part of the base but we will retake it from them," he said, requesting that he not be identified.

A military spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

Thousands of volunteers have signed up to join militia forces fighting alongside the army and security forces, many of whom retreated or threw off their uniforms in the face of the initial militant offensive.

Maliki has vowed to rout the insurgents.

[Н И Н Е]

Има ли шанси да Иран улети и преузме контролу? Мислим да би локални шиити то поздравили.

[Crveni Baron]

Napravili su gluposti u Iraku i Libiji. Uklanjanjem diktatora (koji definitivno jesu bili ludaci posebne sorte i odgovorni za mnoga zlodela) 

 

A mislis da demokratski izabrani predsednici SAD nisu ludaci i odgovorni za mnogobrojna zlodela i milione nevinih zrtava?

[Crveni Baron]

Слава Америчкој демократији и миру који су посејали. Слава им и на уништавању "терориста" које су сами створили.

Слава им за све.

 

Oni su svoj cilj ispunili. Destabilizovali zemlje i rezime koji su ugrozavali njihove interese. Danas nema nikoga ko moze u tim zemljama da odredjuje koliko i kome ce prodavati nafte. A to je SAD i bio cilj a ne "demokratija" i slicne budalastine. Kao sa Srbima. Izdelili nas po nekoliko drzava, podrzali sve srpske neprijatelje i danas imas slabu Srbiju sto njima i treba. A rat, zrtve , sta to njih se tice. Sto vise mrtvih za njih je bolje, imaju vecu kontrolu.

 

Tako da ovaj tvoj sarkazam nema osnove. Amerika bi mogla da ti odgovori sasvim ozbiljno, bez sarkazma, "Molim i drugi put ..."

[GeniusAtWork]

Има ли шанси да Иран улети и преузме контролу? Мислим да би локални шиити то поздравили.

 

To bi bilo vrlo glupo, jer bi samo poslužilo kao izgovor Amerikancima da napadnu Iran, ionako ih već duže vremena merkaju za rokanje. Plus bi SAD imale podršku S. Arabije (jer je Iran šiitska zemlja) i verovatno Izraela, i Iran bi prošao vrlo, vrlo gadno...

[cloudking]

A mislis da demokratski izabrani predsednici SAD nisu ludaci i odgovorni za mnogobrojna zlodela i milione nevinih zrtava?

 

Jesu.

 

Konkretno za Irak USA ima njavecu odgovornost za trenutno stanje.

[Ромејац]

Сукоби око власти у Багдаду...

Новоизабрани председник (изабран на инсистирање САД-а), одбио је да да мандат досадашњем председнику владе Маликију... 

 

Special forces loyal to Maliki deployed in key Baghdad areas: police

 

Special forces loyal to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki were deployed on Sunday night in strategic areas of Baghdad, police said, after he gave a tough speech on television indicating he would not cave in to pressure to drop his bid for a third term.

 

Several police sources also said the forces had taken up positions at key entrances to the sprawling capital.

[Ромејац]

Troops surround Baghdad “Green Zone” as outgoing Prime Minister Maliki appears to cling to power

 

UNCONFIRMED reports suggest troops and tanks have sealed off Baghdad’s “Green Zone” in an apparent coup.

“There is a huge security presence, police and army, especially around the Green Zone,” the highly-protected district that houses Iraq’s key institutions, a high-ranking police officer has confirmed to AFP.

He said the deployment started at around 10:30 pm Iraq time, just 90 minutes before Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced on state television he would file a complaint against the president for violating the constitution.

“There is security everywhere in Baghdad, these are very unusual measures that look like those we impose for a state of emergency,” the police official said.

“Several streets have been closed... as well as some key bridges,” said an official at the interior ministry. “It’s all linked to the political situation.”

Al-Maliki made a suprise declaration early this morning on state television, accusing ethnic Kurdish President Fuad Masum of violating the constitution.

“Today I will file a formal complaint to the federal court against President Masum,” he said, in the midnight address.

Al-Maliki’s statement has plunged the government into a political crisis at a time it is battling advances by Islamic State militants.

Al-Maliki, whose coalition won the most seats in April elections, is accusing the new president Fouad Massoum of neglecting to name a prime minister from the country’s largest parliamentary bloc by Sunday’s deadline. He says the president has violated the constitution “for the sake of political goals.”

Al-Maliki, speaking for the first time since American forces launched airstrikes and humanitarian airdrops in Iraq last week, says the security situation will only worsen, and “bad consequences” will result from Massoum’s actions.

 

TROOPS SURROUND PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

Troops have since been reported encircling the Presidential palace, though some Kurdish political sources state they have since spoken with the president and he told them there were no troops in his vicinity.

Baghdad police have also told media that special forces troops loyal to al-Malaki have been deployed to strategic areas around the city.

Unconfirmed reports suggest all major bridges and the international airport have been closed.

The Controversial prime minister won a fresh round of elections in April, but does not hold a clear majority in parliament.

He technically remains prime minister until parliament sits and votes on a new nomination.

Parliament has not nominated Maliki to continue as prime minister for a third term.

Al-Maliki has this morning lashed out against his opponents, calling them “ministers for ISIS”.

Baghdad was unusually quiet at the weekend — with little sense of urgency emanating from parliament as MPs who have to agree on a nomination for prime minister discussed other issues.

Maliki, commander in chief of the armed forces, also unusually has not spoken publicly about the US intervention, and the American air strikes are barely reported on Iraqi state television.

Al-Maliki is accused of being much of the cause of Iraq’s current political and military turmoil after pursuing policies and appointments that clearly support his own Islamic Shiite faction over and above Sunnis, Kurds and other minority groups.

The crisis came to a head when he sacked

 

POLITICAL TURMOIL

Iraq’s parliament yesterday adjourned until August 19 with lawmakers unable to agree on a nominee for the post of prime minister despite ever-growing international pressure, several MPs said.

“There can be no explanation for this delay,” said Ammar Toma, a Shiite MP from the Fadhilah party. “There are important matters on the table: the fate of the displaced, the security situation.” US President Barack Obama, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and visiting French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius have, over the past two days alone, stressed that Iraq needed a new and united government to lead the fight against jihadists who control large parts of the country.

Many blame the crisis on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose policies critics say marginalised Sunni Arabs, pushing them into the arms of jihadists.

Despite winning April polls comfortably, the deadly two-month-old conflict has made his position untenable.

Maliki has lost the support of many former allies, including Washington, Tehran, Iraq’s influential Shiite religious leadership and a significant part of his own Dawa party.

But the 64-year-old has dug his heels in and Iraq’s fractious parliament has so far been unable to agree on an alternative.

At pains to assure war-weary Americans he was not being dragged into a new Iraqi quagmire, President Obama last week put the onus on Iraqi politicians to form an inclusive government and turn the tide on jihadist expansion.

His comments were another nudge for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to step aside and allow for a consensus government. President Obama did not give a timetable for the US military intervention but said Saturday that Iraq’s problems would not be solved in weeks. “This is going to be a long-term project,” he said.