Please come to the University of New Hampshire tonight to see Brian Conley speak about the situation in Iraq, particularly given the recent frightening developments.

Also he will be presenting a short video of interviews with Iraqis who will speak themselves about the situation facing their country.

7:00 PM Durham NH, UNH!

Please contact Brian about setting up an event in your area!

aliveinbaghdad (at) gmail.com

Brian Conley and Isam Rashid

BAGHDAD, Feb 26 (IPS) - The political motivations behind the bombing of the Shia shrine in Samarra have begun to surface through several accounts.

It was said initially that the bombing happened early in the morning Feb. 22, and was sudden and unexpected. It now appears that although the explosions occurred at 6:55 am that morning, preparations began earlier.

“According to initial reports, the bombing was technically well conceived and could only have been carried out by specialists,” construction minister Jassem Mohammad Jaafar said in a statement. He also said it must have taken at least 12 hours to place the charges.

This corroborates other information that suggests that unknown black-clad men dressed in the standard style of Shia police commandoes seized the shrine Tuesday evening and held it until just before the explosion Wednesday morning.

Since the bombing there have been demonstrations all over Iraq, many of which have drawn both Sunnis and Shias. These demonstrations have called for a peaceful response to the bombing. They have also demanded that the government be held responsible for failing to provide adequate security.

In response, defence minister Saadoun Dulaimi called on Iraqis to avoid violence. “If we have to, we are ready to fill the streets with (armoured) vehicles,” he told reporters Saturday. He added, “If there is a civil war in this country, it will never end..”

Major Tim Keefe from the Multi National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) told IPS, “There are no plans to deploy MNF-I troops to the streets. We are prepared to support the Iraqis if requested by the Iraqi government.”

In the immediate aftermath of the Al-Askariya mosque bombing, more than 100 Sunni mosques were attacked, and in the following days several Shia mosques have been attacked in reprisal for the attacks on Sunni mosques.

“On the 22nd of February, 100 Sunni mosques were attacked and some of them were occupied by Shias, and they burned some and attacked the Islamic Party building in Basra,” Tarek Al’Hashimi, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party said in a statement.

Despite these attacks, and suggestions in the mainstream press that Iraq is already caught in civil war, many Shias on the streets are calling for calm and unity.

Haider Hasan, a 37-year-old Shia who works in the oil ministry is among many concerned about the attacks on Sunni mosques.

“I’m against that, I think they were some of the uneducated Shia people and couldn’t control their feelings and they started to attack Sunni mosques,” he told IPS. “I would like to ask them to stop that because we don’t want this problem to get bigger and bigger.”

Most demonstrations have been called as a peaceful response to the attacks, but it has been difficult to keep them under control. Abd Ali who arranged one of the demonstrations said, “I organised this peace demo to send a message saying we have a peaceful way for protesting against this bombing in Samarra. But other Shia people brought their guns, and it is so difficult to control their feelings of anger.”

These feelings have spilled over into repeated acts of violence since the bombing. Political leaders on both sides of Iraq’s Sunni-Shia divide have called for calm. Sunni leader Adnan Dulaimi said Iraqis must not fight each other because “occupation forces want us to fight between each other.”

Many Iraqis say they do not know who actually carried out the bombing, but they blame the occupation..

Some believe it was the work of Ba’athists left over from Saddam’s militia forces. “I think they were from the Ba’ath party because when they lost their control in Iraq they want to destroy it by causing a civil war between Sunni and Shia,” said Haider Hasan.

Omar Hamid, a 30 year-old member of the Iraqi Islamic Party told IPS that it was allies of the occupation forces who attacked the Al-Askariya shrine “because occupation forces want to make the Iraqi people busy with a civil war, and that will make it easier for them to carry out their plans in Iraq. And I’m sure the persons who did this attack in Samarra had permission to move in Samarra because it was curfew in Samarra at that time.”

The attacks on Sunni mosques began within a few hours of the attack on the shrine in Samarra.

“I saw one of the attacks on a Sunni mosque, it happened in front of me at the Al-Quds mosque in the Baladiyat area in eastern Baghdad,” Alaa Ahmed told IPS. “I saw many land cruisers and cars come to Al-Quds mosque and they opened fire on the mosque. As I saw them I became sure they had training before, because they knew what to do very well.”

The Baladiyat area is close to Sadr City in Baghdad, a large Shia slum. In recent weeks many, particularly Palestinians living in the refugee camp there, have complained of attacks by Shia militia groups.

Omar believes some of the attacks were carried out by the Mahdi army of Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Shia militias. “Really I’m sorry to say but, some Shia militias carried out (the attacks), and they don’t know how much they help the occupation forces with their plans to make civil war with these kinds of attacks.”

Omar was not alone in believing that the attacks would help the occupation. Most of the demonstrations were simultaneously protesting the attack in Samarra and the continued occupation. They were asking also for more security.

“We are very angry today because terrorists attacked one of most important holy mosques for us, and in this demonstration we ask the Iraqi government to protect our mosques and imams buried inside the mosques,” Haider Hasan said after one of the demonstrations. “We voted for the Al-Jaafari government in the last election and they should take their responsibilities and at least protect our holy imams’ graves.”

Alaa Ahmed told IPS he still has hope, despite the recent attacks. “I hope Iraq will pass this problem in safety and I hope the occupation will end as quickly as possible. My message to Shias is I hope they will be careful about colluding with the occupation. Remember Sunni and Shia are both Muslims and all these mosques are for Muslims.”

The United States is currently planning a reduction of forces in Iraq, and there has been speculation whether the recent unrest will extend the occupation.

Major Keefe said MNF-I troops were not affected by the recent developments. “This has no effect on the planned drawdown of troops. Iraqi security forces continue growing in their capabilities and battle space will continue being turned over as each situation merits. There is no consideration regarding ‘retaking control’ of any battle space.” (END/2006)

And in an instant, everything in Iraq changes direction again. Saturday representatives of Muqtada Al’Sadr met with Sunni opposition groups. As my readers may remember, I’ve repeatedly alluded to the negotations going on behind the scenes between Muqtada Al Sadr and his followers and the Muslim Scholars Association, Iraqi Accordance Front, and other non-Ba’ath Party aligned Sunnis.

After the meeting the Muslim Scholars Association and Al’Sadr jointly pledged to redouble efforts to secure Iraq and end the increase in sectarian conflict that has been witnessed in the aftermath of last week’s bombing at the Askariya Mosque.

This turn of events, and the much repeated belief of many Iraqis that Iranian intelligence and members of the Badr militia may be responsible for the bombing, may lead to a consolidation of Iraqi opposition against Iran.

Many of the Iraqi Bloggers linked to at Alive in Baghdad’s Iraqi Blogs section are raising interesting questions about the attack as well as the western media coverage of the aftermath.

Imad Khadduri has an interesting breakdown of Iraqi opinion about the events around the bombing:

“Who bombed the shrines?”
From Imad Khadduri | February 24th, 2006

This is a noteworthy posting from Baghdad Dweller:

Who bombed the shrines?

In the first Comment to the above posting: “By the way today the so called Al-Qaeda in Iraq condemned the bombing, Baath party condemned the bombing and many fractions …

Continue reading >>

And regarding the media, there is an important question raised by “Truth about Iraqis”

Is western media complicit in the murder of Iraqis?
From Truth about Iraqis | February 24th, 2006

The headlines:
Reuters team of Alastair Macdonald and Lutfi Abu Oun - Curfew stalls Iraq bloodshed
Agence France Presse reporting from Washington - Sectarian violence not seen as tipping into civil war: Pentagon
MSNBC: Iraq curfew helps cap most viol…

Continue reading >>

These two blogs should give some interesting perspective on Iraq. I can only reiterate many of the things they say eloquently through the lens of a Western mind.

An important note to remind people however, is that despite the mainstream press’ repeated claims that “both factions of the Shi’a government have alliances with Iran,” there is in fact no evidence of a direct alliance between Al’Sadr and Iran, if anything it is the opposite.

Furthermore, it is just as much of an over-simplification to suggest that there are only two factions of the Shi’a government as it is to imply that there is a monolithic single-mindedness and uniform goal for the disparate groups involved in Iraq’s insurgency and resistance movements.

More about the divisiveness between Sadr and the elements of Iraq’s government who are allied with Iran soon.

Till then, keep an eye on the Iraqi Blogs section, they have some of the best breakdowns of information about the unfolding events of this past week.

I just finished chatting with Omar, my friend and translator who lives in the Mansur area of Baghdad.

I’m worried that, with all the exaggerations about civil war and violence, we are forgetting to remember the on-the-ground reality in Iraq.

Violence happens everyday in Iraq.

People are killed everyday in Iraq.

Just because the mainstream press doesn’t report it until it starts being called a civil war, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Omar tells me he’s glad the gunfire and violence hasn’t been near his area in the Mansur neighborhood lately, but he hears it constantly, and, like all Iraqis, just waits for it to come knocking.

According to the figures at Icasualties.org, this month hasn’t been all that different from previous months.

With two days left in the month of February, the deaths of Iraqi security forces are still lower than last month, and the deaths of civilians are only a few higher. Although the last two months have been distinctly higher than December, civilian deaths have ranged between 400 and 700 on average since May of last year.

Only in August was there a drastic increase in civilian deaths, and the deaths of security forces were all higher than this month during the same period.

Granted, Icasualties’ numbers may not be fully caught up for this month, but when measured as an overall trend, the situation looks a little different than the media’s recent civil war hysterics let on.

Icasualties’ numbers also only tally violent/war-related deaths. There is little accounting of the collateral damage due to the widespread devastation of Iraqs social services and health infrastructure.

Omar only has about 5 hours of electricty per day right now in Baghdad, and as I said previously, there is virtually no access to clean water.

Although these aren’t sexy and gruesome killers, they’re certainly contributing to the ongoing deaths of civilians, and as the summer approaches, and the weather starts heating up in Baghdad, we can only expect these kinds of deaths to continue.

Today it was around 80 degrees in Baghdad, and its still February.

It leads me to wonder whether the western and mainstream press will continue to cover Iraq if the “sectarian” tensions die down, and the largest killers become US airstrikes, heat exhaustion, and dysyntery

Dahr Jamail, another independent reporter who has covered the war in Iraq is doing a great service over at his site, DahrJamailIraq.com. He has hosted all of the videos and photos that have been released in the recent news reports, as well as the video of the British military attacking Iraqi youths in the south of Iraq.

Here is some of his post:

Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches

February 18, 2006
SBS Torture Video, British Abuse Video and Photos of Torture and Abuse of Iraqis

In an effort to keep the videos and footage of abuse and torture of Iraqis by American and British forces in Iraq available despite U.S. government and Pentagon censorship efforts, we have decided to post them all.

Below are brief descriptions of each video and groups of photographs, followed by a link where they may be viewed.

UK News Of the World shows British Troops Beating Iraqi Youth
February 2006

The UK’s News of the World showed a 2 minute video of British Troops dragging a number of Iraqi youth involved in a protest behind a gate and then violently beating them. The News of the World website states that “The News of the World has a long history of supporting British troops - which is why we believe out heroes are shamed by these thugs [the troops doing the beating]”. Obviously “these thugs” not only include the numerous individuals involved with the actual beating, but the tens of troops who walked by the incident unconcerned, and the man with the gun and video camera who was filming while cheering the “thugs” on. The video gives the distinct impression that this type of behavior is widespread amongst the British Troops.

To view this disturbing video, click here

To view his entire piece, please visit his site!

Today at 1 PM I will be speaking at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick Maine. I’ll be discussing the general impressions I gained regarding daily life in Iraq as well as their feelings about the occupation.

I will also try to touch on the recent developments in the politics of the Middle East, particularly the nomination of Ibrahim Al Jaafari as the new prime minister. I’ll also be updating the site soon with more thoughts and insight about developments in Iraq.

Tomorrow I will be speaking at Emerson College in Boston at 6 PM in the Bill Boardy Theatre.

The following week I will be speaking at the Cambridge School of Weston on the 27th, and on February 28th I will be speaking at the University of New Hampshire.

Please consider coming to these events, and if you can’t come to ask questions in person, feel free to post comments on this entry with questions you’d like me to try and help answer about the situation in Iraq.

As always, donations are much appreciated, as I hope to return to Baghdad in April, but must still raise around $4000 to make it!

Please donate here!

Also, if you can’t give money, consider donating old digital cameras or camcorders. I hope that when I return to Iraq I will be able to begin providing media equipment to Iraqis to tell their stories themselves!

Email me at aliveinbaghdad @ gmail.com for specifics on how to do this.

Brian Conley and Isam Rashid

SINIYAH, Feb 9 (IPS) - Twice now, an IPS correspondent has been refused entry to this town that has become a prison for its inhabitants. Contact with residents of the town came only at the checkpoint.

A month back, the United States military built a 10km wall of sand around the town of Siniyah, 220km north of Baghdad. The town is close to Saddam Hussein’s hometown Tikrit and the oil refining centre at Beiji.

Construction of a sand wall around the town began Jan. 7 in response to repeated attacks against the 101st Airborne U.S. forces stationed in the area. A night curfew has been imposed in the area.

An IPS correspondent could not visit the town to look at the situation within, despite official claims.

“Journalists have not been limited or prevented from travelling in and around Siniyah,” U.S. military spokesman Major Tim Keefe told IPS. “Coalition and Iraqi Forces go to great lengths to make sure journalists are able to do their job in a safe environment.”

That was after soldiers stopped the IPS correspondent entering the town on two occasions. But in the queue to the main checkpoint many people were more than willing to speak to IPS about the situation within.

“On the 7th of January, the U.S. troops started building this wall around Siniyah,” said Muhammed, a 34 year-old engineer from Siniyah. “They are trying to isolate Iraqi fighters who are attacking them every day. The troops have been exposed to attacks near Siniyah by roadside bombs and by different weapons.. Also, the resistance blows up the petrol pipelines leading to Turkey.”

The issue of the pipeline is a salient one for residents of Siniyah. The town has been sealed off not because of attacks within the town, but due to the belief it is being used as a staging ground for attacks outside.. The coalition forces are attempting to halt attacks directed mainly at the Beiji refinery and at convoys serving the coalition.

The chosen targets have brought general support for Iraqi resistance within Siniyah. Muhammed says the attacks are taking place because “this petrol will go to Turkey and is stolen by occupation forces, or when Turkey buys this petrol the money is taken by the occupation forces.”

Residents of Siniyah speak also of injustices by the occupation troops. The wall of sand is now dividing residents from the Iraqi government, they say.

“Siniyah has become a real battlefield now, and the occupation forces have destroyed many of our homes,” said Sumiya, a 33-year-old housewife. “There is no security inside Siniyah and it is worse than any place in Iraq now. The occupation forces and Iraqi National Guard are raiding Siniyah houses everyday and arresting many people. There is a curfew from 5 pm. to 5 am; in Baghdad it is only midnight to 5am.”

Sumiya said her children have stopped going to school. Everyone in the town is affected. “My problem is that my college is outside Siniyah, and it is very difficult for me to go back and forth everyday with these checkpoints,” said a 20-year-old student who gave his name as Ammar.

“I left my job because it was outside Siniyah, it is impossible to go and come back every day because of this earth wall and these checkpoints on the way,” said 45-year-old Abdullah Jabar.

The U.S. forces say the wall was built with local approval. “Local police, city council members, sheikhs and religious leaders met with leaders from the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, to discuss the operation,” Major Keefe said. He declined to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.

As the isolation of Siniyah continues, its 3,000 residents appear to be unifying behind the opposition. “I don’t think that the occupation force will stop resistance by these steps, because violence causes violence,” Ammar said. “It is normal throughout history there is resistance in any occupied country. But there is no occupation that used this kind of violence.”

“We are in very bad situation and we live in very big jail for three thousand, one called Siniyah,” said Jabar, echoing sentiments of residents interviewed by IPS last month.

The Multi National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) have used such tactics before. Walls and checkpoints were used to isolate residents of Samarra and Fallujah before the eventual devastation of the towns. (END/2006)

Don’t forget! I’ll be in Rutland Vermont tonight! At 6:30 pm I’ll be speaking about Iraq in the Fox room of the Ruland Free Library on Court st. I’m sure I’ll talk a little about the misdirection of President Bush during his address last night, as well as trying to adequately address the current reality for people living in Iraq. If you’re within driving distance of Rutland you should come down!

If not, consider checking out other upcoming events!

If you wish to receive email updates and reminders about the Alive in Baghdad project, my articles, notifications when new videos are uploaded, and other news please let meknow!

You can receive email updates by emailing aib.mailinglist@gmail.comwith the subject line, “to subscribe.”
Or click here to subscribe.
You may also post a comment to this entry.

Also please consider donating to the project, so that I can return to Iraq very soon.

[Editor’s note: I’m going to diverge slightly from my usual style of posting for this entry. I am writing this piece in response to the call from Radio Open Source for “Blogging the Union” or “BOTU”]

Tonight, as we look toward the future, and wonder what fortunes 2006 will bring, it’s a good time to look back at the past year, 2005.

In 2005 the occupation expanded.

In 2005 two illegal elections, organized under an occupying force, were imposed. In direct violation of the Geneva and Hague 4 conventions, a constution was imposed, created by elites and expatriates, with the interest of the elites put ahead of the people. Despite the large secular and diverse intermarriage of much of the nation’s populace, these concerns were ignored, generally in favor of divisiveness and sectarianism.

In 2005, there is no longer a nation. The government is in shambles and all appearances of forward momentum reflect individual gains by individual parties. Each party considers the interests of its members or its tribe first, and the interests of a unified nation second.

In 2005, cities all over the western part of the nation were devastated by American airpower and explosive destruction. Rather than breaking the back of the insurgency, or the resistance, it has seen a renewed strength, perhaps even a resurgence. Today, the minimal gains of the December elections lie in shambles. The political process, once an opportunity for reunifying diverse struggles, looks only like a sham, utilized for further sectarianism.

In 2005, divisiveness between those who have always lived in the nation, before Saddam’s fall, has prevented a unified national response to the occupation and its proxies. The Uncle Tom’s of Baghdad are running the show, the roosters are in control of the henhouse.

No matter what the President of the United States may try to say this evening, remember these things. The nation is in disarray, and should not even be considered, at this time, as a nation. But with a unified response, and a direct call for an end to sectarianism and the occupation, the nation may yet repair itself from these difficulties and be resurrected from this disasterous state.

Here’s an update in the ongoing “In Their Own Words” Alive in Baghdad tour.

Tonight I’ll be speaking in Dover New Hampshire at the Dover Friends Meeting House. The event begins at 6:30 PM. I suspect given the timing of this event, I’ll be attempting to foreshadow what President Bush will speak about at his State of the Union address tomorrow. We can expect he’ll detail how the administration has met each deadline in the “march toward democracy.”

Unfortunately, if he does make these remarks, we need to remember how innaccurate they are. The attempts of the US and an elite minority of Iraq expatriates to impose a consitution rife with problems didn’t meet their arbitrary deadline, in fact the deadline was extended multiple times and despite the legal requirement for the government to dissolve after failing to meet the constitution deadline, this requirement was ignored so that an elite minority could impose drastic changes on Iraqi life through a constitution that was approved after only a minority of Iraqis were capable of viewing the document!

This is just one of the disasters that has occurred while the Bush Adminstration has been meddling in Iraq’s affairs and creating systemic social chaos.

On Wednesday, the 1st of February, I’ll be speaking in Rutland Vermont. The event will begin at 6:30 in the Rutland Free Library’s Fox Room. I’m hoping to be able to organize several other events in the future in Vermont, however at this point, there is nothing in the works. If you’re reading this and you’re in Vermont or have contacts in Vermont, please send them my way: aliveinbaghdad (at) gmail.com. I’ll probably direct much of this event around presenting the Iraqi situation, and responding to whatever deception and misdirection President Bush attempts to provide during his State of the Union address.

Then this weekend, I’ll be heading to NCOR, the National Conference on Organized Resistance While there I’ll present a workshop and discussion of the situation in Iraq. I’ll also have a table where I’ll be showing video clips from Iraq and be available for longer discussion and questions about the situation in Iraq. Because of the nature of NCOR, I’ll most likely focus a little more on the radical side of Iraqi politics and how we can stand in solidarity with the people of Iraq. I also hope we can have a lively discussion about the role of resistance to the war and occupation in Iraq.

I hope many of my readers will be able to come to the events this week! Please also contact me if you live in an area of the country where you haven’t yet heard I’ll be coming. I’ll be back in Massachusetts and Maine the week after NCOR. Currently I am working on scheduling more events in upstate New York as well as Michigan and on the West Coast.

If you wish to receive email updates and reminders about the Alive in Baghdad project, my articles, notifications when new videos are uploaded, and other news please let meknow!

You can receive email updates by emailing aib.mailinglist@gmail.comwith the subject line, “to subscribe.”
Or click here to subscribe.
You may also post a comment to this entry.

[Editor’s note: Before the attacks come in, let me make something clear, this is the version of the article that “went to the presses” as it were, although the proverbial presses wre mostly ephemeral, because IPS is a web-based news outlet. It involves a few changes made by my editor, I did not intend to suggest that the United States is intentionally attacking journalists, so much as their lack of clarity about the situation in Iraq is endangering specifically Iraqi journalists by default. Further more, the wide net being cast in many operations has repeatedly detained many Iraqi and Arab media workers.]

Brian Conley and Isam Rashid

BAGHDAD, Jan 26 (IPS) - Journalists covering Iraq have run into some sort of balance of troubles.

During the days leading up to the war in Iraq in the spring of 2003, many foreign correspondents travelled to Baghdad. Journalists knew war was imminent, and news bureaus scrambled to position their reporters to cover the story.

As the war unfolded, journalists from all over the world were thrown together. Those from the western and non-Arab press became increasingly reliant on Arab-speaking Iraqis, who better understood the situation and were better positioned to move around in relative safety.

In the first stage of the war, the conditions appeared to be equally dangerous for every journalist. Then, the U.S. forces began to target journalists.

The U.S. troops were aware that many journalists and other civilians were residing in the Palestine Hotel when a tank fired on the hotel April 8, 2003, killing two journalists and wounding three others.

The United States initially claimed gunfire came from the hotel lobby, but later retracted this statement. Around the same time Al Jazeera headquarters nearby were bombed, killing one person there, Tarek Ayoub. These incidents perhaps highlighted what was to come.

As the war has progressed, Iraqi journalists increasingly appear to be targeted by the United States and other Coalition forces.

Two Reuters journalists from Ramadi, Ali al-Mashhadani and Majed Hameed were detained, and finally released Jan. 15. “The United States forces arrested me for nothing, they had no proof against me,” Hameed said after his release. “They knew I was innocent, and now I will continue my work as a journalist.”

Last week the U.S. authorities released Samer Mohammed Noor, who had been held for eight months without charge. “We are relieved at the release of Samer Mohammed Noor but we do not understand the reasons for keeping him in detention for more than eight months, particularly since there was no concrete evidence against him,” the group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.

Yunis Khuthair, 38 year-old editor of Al Tahaddi newspaper was arrested by U.S. troops Sep. 23, 2003. At least he was charged. “They gave me many funny charges, like I tried to assassinate Tony Blair, I hid Saddam in my house, I cooperate with the terrorists,” Khuthair told IPS. “But these were all fake.”

At least one Iraqi journalist, Abdel Amir Younes Hussein, is still in detention.. Reporters Without Borders (RSF, Reporters Sans Frontieres in French) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have both made repeated appeals for Hussein to be released. He has been in detention more than ten months.

Suhaib Al Baz, a 26-year-old Iraqi journalist who works for Al Jazeera told IPS, “I have been arrested many times by the U.S. forces, the last time in 2004 when I was held for 76 days at Abu Ghraib. I was tortured many times, I don’t know why because I never received charges.”

He was told he would be sent to Guantanamo because he worked for Al Jazeera, he said. “I was placed in a special jail for dangerous prisoners with Saleh Hassan, they used dogs on us, they dropped cold water on me in winter, and even with all this bad treatment, I had no charges.”

Al Jazeera continues to be targeted. Many of its correspondents have been repeatedly detained or imprisoned. Former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi shut down its offices.

The Pentagon and its spokespersons in Iraq have remained silent over detainees.

“We do not discuss the cases of individual detainees,” U.S. military spokesman Lt-Col Barry Johnson said in a statement. “All detainees are held by the authority of UNSCR (United Nations Security Council resolution) 1546 and 1637, which allows the multi-national force to detain individuals who are considered imperative threats to the security of Iraq.”

Johnson added: “Their internment is held in full accordance with the Geneva Conventions, and the reviews of their cases are conducted by a board that is made up primarily of Iraqi officials, along with Coalition officials.”

Reuters, Reporters Without Borders, and other groups have repeatedly called for investigations into the deaths and detention of Iraqi journalists. But the U.S. military has defended its actions.

“A soldier being fired upon, who sees a person on the streets pointing an object at him, can’t always be expected to fully comprehend what’s a camera versus a weapon,” Lt-Col. Johnson told IPS. “He is always going to defend himself against a perceived threat.”

In September last year, a Congressional panel was convened to investigate the deaths of journalists in Iraq. Gen. George Casey, U.S. commander in Iraq, promised to examine the issue himself. “It’s an issue that we take very seriously. And what I will do when I get back to Baghdad is I’ll get a few of the local journalists together and work through some of their concerns with them.”

Since September at least seven journalists have been killed in Iraq. Some of them died under mysterious circumstances, a number of which involved men in Iraqi police uniforms. The United States continues to say that it acts within the ‘rules of engagement’, and denies claims of abuse by journalists who have been detained.

The press freedom index released by Reporters Without Borders last year rates Iraq at position 157 out of 167. “The situation in Iraq deteriorated further during the year as the safety of journalists became more precarious,” it said.

Khuthair, who was also detained at Abu Ghraib, says the United States deliberately targets journalists. “They gave me very bad treatment because I am a journalist,” he said. “One day a United States guard in Abu Ghraib said to me, ‘The media hate us more than the resistance!’ I asked him if there were other journalists in Abu Ghraib, and he said there were 17 others there at the same time.”

It is difficult to determine accurate numbers for Iraqi journalists and media workers who have been detained by the United States forces. Many Iraqis work as freelancers, and without the acknowledgement of major media outlet employers, their detentions may go unnoticed. Journalists can often be detained two or three times and still receive no charges.

“Those of us who work with foreign papers feel isolated, because we cannot tell people we are journalists,” said an Iraqi journalist who writes the blog ‘24 Steps to Liberty’. “Because of this, the Iraqi government doesn’t consider us either Iraqi journalists or foreign journalists, which can make it very hard for us to get information.”

Lt-Col. Barry Johnson says he is seeing changes in the Iraqi media. “The media here have evolved from being formal mouthpieces of a dictatorial government to a key element of a budding democracy. Those who have worked closely with the media have seen this progression and see it as a sign that democracy is truly taking hold in this country.”

Many journalists do not see it that way. Before the war, there was strict monitoring of journalists by Saddam’s government, but none of the kind of troubles encountered now, Khuthair said. “Now it is very dangerous because after U.S. troops arrested and killed many people without reason it made Iraqis hate any American, and the Iraqis think all foreigners work with the U.S. troops.”

But it is not only the U.S. soldiers who create difficulties for Iraqi journalists. They fear the Iraqi government, kidnappers and criminals, and also attacks by terrorists and insurgents. “Nowadays, it is very hard to convince people to talk to you,” the blogger from ‘24 Steps to Liberty’ told IPS.

“After they realised all we could do is expose their miseries, they stopped telling their stories,” the blogger said. “It is a dangerous job because the Iraqi government is after you if you write against it, the multinational forces will kill you if you interview the insurgents, and the insurgents want to kill you if you write nicely about the government.”

Despite all the difficulties Iraqi journalists face, the resolve of many is unbending.

“I will continue reporting the truth, and this will lessen the Iraqi suffering,” said Suhaib. Khuthair said, “If some Iraqis want reprisals by kidnapping foreign journalists, this isn’t good, but how can we control it? I think when the United States stops arresting and killing people, everything will be okay.” (END/2006)

On Monday a top official of Hamas, Saeed Syam, called for the release of American journalist, Jill Carroll. “Hamas joins those who ask to release American citizen Jill Carroll. Hamas is against the kidnapping of innocent people, of foreigners who are guests in the Arab countries, and those who introduce humanitarians services and help for the Arab people - and for any people in general - especially when they are not interfering in internal Arab affairs. We have declared many times we are totally against kidnapping civilians.”

Mr. Syam is the latest in a lengthening line of militant and anti-occupation leaders to oppose the kidnapping of Jill Carroll. Many of these groups have also condemned the kidnapping of Christian Peacemaker Team members in November of last year.

Despite the recurring and increasing calls by Sunni clerics and others, the mainstream press still has not bothered to question whether we can be certain that Sunni resistance groups are responsible for these kidnappings. Kidnappings have been a constant threat in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq, and they seem to be directed mainly by criminal elements, not resistance or insurgent forces.

Over the last three years we have repeatedly seen instances where those in leadership roles in Iraq have abused their power. It appears to be a running theme across Iraq’s entire history. Recently however, corruption in Iraq’s governing agencies has been exceptionally bad.

In November it was finally released in the international press that agents of Iraq’s Interior Ministry were engaging in torture of mainly Sunni Iraqis.

In October it was revealed that Rory Carrol, a correspondent for the Guardian, was abducted by Shiite militia forces in Sadr city.It is unfortunate that both Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have failed to make clear the role of Iraqi Police or men posing as Iraqi Police, in the kidnapping of Mr. Carroll, who is not related to the Christian Science Monitor’s reporter, Jill Carroll.

In September, it was revealed that one billion dollars appears to be have gone missing from the budget of Iraq’s Ministry of Defense. The Indepedent reported Ali Allawi, Iraq’s Finance Minister suggesting “It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history.”

The continuing failure of the mainstream press to properly grasp the risks for journalists in Iraq contributes to their risk. Furthermore, the failure of the mainstream press to treat the kidnapping, killing, and detention of Iraqi journalists with the same outrage as that reserved for Westerners such as Jill Carroll increases the division between Westerners and Iraqis and serves to inflame the anger and frustration of Iraqis with not only the direct representatives of the occupation, but all foreigners working in their country.

The release this month of three detained Iraqi journalists by the United States military cannot make major news, because the mainstream press would first have to explain how Coalition forces have repeatedly detained Iraqi journalists and media workers without charge. However, the continued treatment of Iraqi journalists as second class citizens, both by the United States military-many of whom seem to treat all Iraqis with a guilty until proven innocent mentality-and the mainstream press, continues to be one of the major difficulties in “winning hearts and minds.”

As detailed above, there have been many actions on the part of various Iraqis that do not appear to help “Iraqis stand up” or push forward Iraq’s reconstruction. Iraqis from across the spectrum, whether Arab or Kurd, Sunni or Shiite, have been involved in corruption, theft, kidnapping, and resisting the occupation.

Reading the mainstream press, it is almost impossible to get this impression on a daily basis. The mainstream press examines the situation in Iraq from the time-honored position of a clash of civilizations, where the West is pitted against Islam. In this analysis, transgression by Kurdish, Shiite, and secular Arab leaders in Iraq are seen as abberations from the norm of loyal thankful Iraqis happy to have been liberated. Transgressions by Sunnis are the norm, and the result of an embittered minority, angry at losing its power.

This viewpoint makes it easy to assume that inexplicable events are the results of Sunni anger and sectarianism. It is unfortunate how much damage is being done by ignorance on the part of the mainstream press. What is fortunate is that this particular issue has a concrete solution. By educating ourselves better about the experiences of Iraqis, whether Arab, or Kurd, Shiite Sunni, or Secular, we can make tangible steps toward understanding the situation. By understanding the situation in Iraq, we may finally hope to build a movement toward reconciliation and ending the occupation.

Brian Conley and Isam Rashid

BAGHDAD, Jan 23 (IPS) - While politicians deliberate over Iraq’s future, Iraqis are dealing with the reality of the present. They are looking at the debris of a country where reconstruction has come to a standstill.

They are also looking at a situation in which the capital of the oil-rich country has been stricken recently by a dire shortage of gas and kerosene.

Iraqis in Baghdad had been receiving 12 to 13 hours of electricity a day on average over recent months. Over the past few weeks they say supply has fallen to just a few hours a day.

“We have no services at all,” Usama Asa’ad, a 31 year-old mechanic told IPS. “Our electricity is on only one or two hours a day.”

Many Iraqis thought the United States would improve their situation when the occupation began in April 2003, but those expectations are long over. Iraqis complain that the situation in Baghdad now is worse than it ever was under Saddam.

Electricity supply is inconsistent, and sometimes there is no water for a week or more at a time. After the recent increase in petroleum prices mandated by the International Monetary Fund, the situation has become far more difficult for Iraqis.

“The petrol price became three times more than before, and this makes everything in the market more expensive,” said Abdul Sattar, waiting in a queue at one of the petrol stations in Baghdad. “I’ve been waiting for six hours in this queue and I’m not even sure whether I will get petrol. Yesterday I waited for seven hours but I didn’t get anything. The petrol station isn’t open at night because there is no security.”

Iraqis continue to blame the United States and the occupation for the petrol shortages and the lack of security. President George W. Bush has declared that he would seek no more money for Iraq’s reconstruction, further angering Iraqis.

“The water is not clean enough, there is no petrol for our cars, and the occupation forces intend this,” said Usama Asa’ad. “They want to make all of Iraq’s services for private companies, so that United States companies will take as much money from Iraq as they can.”

Zubair, a 33 year-old engineer at the Beiji refinery says production at the refinery is steady. “The refinery is working now the same as before the war. We don’t know about it (the petroleum problem), sometimes we hear that terrorists bomb the convoys, and sometimes we hear the petrol is taken by the United States army for their vehicles.. We don’t know what is the truth.”

Iraqi resentment of the coalition forces is caused by more than the long petrol queues. The failure of the occupation to rebuild Iraq’s security and services, combined with recurring night-time raids have left Iraqis angry and cynical.

“Security is the most important thing we need now,” Nora, a 25 year-old housewife told IPS. “We need to sleep at night with no one raiding our house. Would you believe, we wear all our clothes at night? You can imagine what it is like for them to bomb the gate of your house, and how you will feel when you have children like me.”

Iraq’s new government will be formed within the next few months. Most parties appear to be pushing for a government of “national unity.”

Iraqis are expecting to see the new government make unequivocal changes over the consequences of the occupation. Usama Asa’ad says they also expect to see the government reconstruct Iraq, since the United States is ending its own aid.

“The United States troops occupied Iraq in twenty days because they wanted to do that, but they didn’t rebuild Iraq ever since they came almost three years ago, because they did not care to do that.”(END/2006)

I’ll write a full post about all of this tomorrow, but I wanted to throw up a quick note to tide readers over.

I will be presenting in Manchester New Hampshire tomorrow, so I may not get to writing again until Tuesday. I was in Rochester New York at the end of last week, which prevented my writing until now.

The “In Their Own Words” tour is continuing and we are in the process of arranging events in Michigan, North Carolina, and south Florida. If you are interested in having an event in your area, please send us an email, and if you are interested to receive updates in your email, you can click here: Or click here to subscribe.
You may also post a comment to this entry.

As for the matter at hand, Reidar Visser has some very interesting commentary and a detailed analysis regarding the UIA’s results in the december election. Reidar’s analysis of the political situation in Iraq can be followed regularly at his website: http://historiae.org/index.asp

Regarding Jill Carroll, and the Christian Peacemaker Teams, I have already discussed some of the interesting details here. It is interesting that both kidnappings were by an unknown group with a similar name; “Swords of Righteousness Brigade” and “Brigade of Vengeance.” Both groups also demanded the release of Iraqi prisoners in exchange for the release of hostages. These groups have not been heard of previously and are still unknown as major players in Iraq.

One thing which has not been considered is the possibility that Shiites are involved in the kidnapping. Despite the fact that Rory Carroll has reported he was abducted by Iraqi Police officers in late October, this event has received very little play in the media or consideration when constructing a more nuanced impression of the situation in Iraq.

I am not intending to suggest that the interim government or Shiites are responsible for the kidnappings of Christian Peacemaker Teams members or Christian Science Monitor journalist Jill Carroll. However, I do believe it is worth at least considering. It is also worth being clear that there is little evidence of specifically Sunni involvement in the kidnappings.

Sunni organizations who have been connected to resistance groups in the past, such as the Association of Muslim Scholars, have unanimously condemned the kidnapping, and since Al Qaeda has not claimed responsibility, it is hard to believe it is a major Sunni resistance group that is involved. Furthermore, with the revelation of secret prisons being run by the interim government, the world could no longer ignore the brutal nature of Iraq’s new leaders.

Another question that is also worth asking is why the media is so quick to condemn the kidnapping of Jill Carroll, yet ignores the repeated killing, harassment, and detention of Iraqi journalists by the United States military.

This is not to suggest that one act is better or worse than the other. However, if we are trying to determine a third way in Iraq, beyond US occupation and Shiite/Iranian dominance. But in order to see Iraq achieve stability, security, and something resembling a “government of national unity,” the mainstream press must do a far better job of providing a nuanced understanding in Iraq, and providing equal defense and support to Iraqis as they provide to foreigners, specifically non-Arabs.

The dangers of kidnapping are far greater for Iraqis than foreigners. OF the five confirmed deaths of kidnap victims, four of them were Iraqi. 70% of the journalists killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003 have been Iraqis.

More soon about the situation in Iraq and the prospects facing Iraq in light of the election results.

Occupation Denies Validity of Election
Brian Conley and Isam Rashid
Inter Press Service

BAGHDAD, Dec 31 (IPS) - The Dec. 15 election may have marked a turning point for the involvement of Sunnis in the new political process. But while many Sunnis turned out to vote, resistance groups have said they will continue fighting as long as the United States maintains a presence in Iraq.

Despite these comments by the mainly Sunni resistance, this election showed a very different response by Iraqi Sunnis than was exhibited in the previous January election. The Dec. 15 election was the most well attended of the three elections that have been held since the fall of Saddam’s regime.

In all 10.8 million people are said to have voted. Sunni participation followed a desire to participate in the political process in the new Iraq. Since January Sunnis have repeatedly complained of being denied a place in deciding the direction of Iraq’s affairs of state.

Previously the Sunnis boycotted the election, hoping that this would help invalidate it. The refusal of anti-occupation Shias to follow suit detracted from the impact of the Sunni boycott.

“I did not go to the last election on 30 January, because the United States troops were bombing Fallujah,” 36 year-old civil engineer Ahmed Ali told IPS. “We hoped the Shias would do the same to send a message to the U.S. army and show them how we have strong solidarity, but they didn’t.”

This led many Sunnis to become disenchanted with refusal as a strategic response to what they see as the illegitimacy of a government established and protected by the United States.

Ahmed and other Sunnis went to the polls in force. “Suddenly we found the Sunnis pushed out of the Iraqi government,” Ahmed said. “Because all of that, we decided to go to the new election, we voted for the Sunni list.”

The Sunni parties worked hard to bring their constituents to the polls, hoping that there would not be a repeat of the January election where many Sunnis were kept out of the political process. The elections have been marred by hundreds of allegations of fraud, and currently the Electoral Commission overseeing the elections is investigating these claims.

Dr. Huda al’Nuaymi, a representative of the Sunni-dominated Iraqi National Dialogue party, told IPS that “we asked all Iraqi people to come and vote in this election. After the election happened we discovered there was a lot of fraud.”

In the face of the fraud, many of the smaller opposition parties have joined together to oppose the results. “Because of the fraud, the Iraqi National Dialogue party joined with 35 other political blocs and issued a statement asking the Iraqi government to cancel the election and to have a new vote,” Nuaymi said.

United Nations officials have said they think the election has been fair, but an international mission will travel to Iraq in order to verify the results.

The revelations of fraud and inconsistency have confirmed many Sunni Iraqis’ support for armed resistance. They say armed resistance is the only way to end the occupation.

“I did not believe the election would make the situation in Iraq better, because we are under occupation,” said Alaa Adel, a 32-year-old guard at a Sunni mosque in Baghdad. “I’m sure only real resistance will force the occupation forces to end their occupation.”

The coalition forces failed in Iraq because “there is no security, no petrol, no electricity, no water, no nothing,” a resident said, asking not to be named. “Now they want to make a fake government to serve them and a fake democracy and run away as quickly as possible.”

The resident said he did not vote. “After all that how can I go to this election. Of course I didn’t go, because if I went I would serve the occupation forces.”

Alaa Adel said that only after the occupation has ended will Iraq have a fair election. “There is no democracy in Iraq under occupation. After that, we can make real election between real Iraqi people.” (END/2005)

This past Wednesday, December 28th, Evan Greer of Riot Folk organized a benefit show for Alive in Baghdad.

The benefit was attended by over one hundred individuals and raised eight hundred dollars for the Alive in Baghdad project!

The Alive in Baghdad Project would like to use this space to thank Riot Folk, Evan Greer, and all the performers at the benefit show. Furthermore, if you are interested in helping set up a similar benefit show or screening of video from Iraq, or speaking event, please write the project at aliveinbaghdad@gmail.com .

We would also like to use this place to remind readers of the site and viewers of our video clips and photos that this is only a small portion of the necessary budget to continue this project. If you value the straightforward content and analysis available here, you should donate to keep this project alive.

If you believe in enabling the public to view the images of Iraq and Iraqis telling it like it is, through their own voices, you should donate to keep this project alive.

If you believe in having a place to look for a one-stop clearinghouse of Iraqi opinion, via their collected blogs, you should donate to keep this project alive.

Keep in mind that this is second to last day of 2005, and that donations to the project are tax-deductible.

As 2006 begins, the prospects for an end to the occupation and war in Iraq seem slim. I am hoping to go back to Baghdad and continue producing content that reveals a more accurate picture of the situation in Iraq.

This can’t be done without your help. Keep in mind that nearly 50,000 people have viewed this site. If each of them gave even $1, we would be able to continue working from Iraq for the entirety of 2006. Please consider giving 5, 10 or $25, more if you can! We need to raise $6000 just to pay off debts and return to Iraq for one month, approximately $3000/month is needed to work in the country for each subsequent month.

Please Donate Now!

It has been just over two months since Iraqis approved a new consitution. This constitution outlaws torture and the detention of Iraqis by foreign occupation forces.

Despite these articles in the consitution, torture continues in Iraq. It also continues after an election with 69% turnout, which many Iraqis believed would cause these kinds of actions to end, and the Bush administration has predicted will help complete Iraq’s transition to democracy.

Just 4 days before Iraq’s historic election and the next step in its transition to democracy, four more Sunnis were abducted by Iraqi police from the Abu Dasher district in Baghdad.

According to a source close to the situation, these men were found dead one day later in the condition seen here in photos from the source.

[Editor’s note: Most of these photos are gruesome and quite disturbing, if you choose to view them, please consider yourself forewarned.]

Photos of Victims

Photos of previous victims:
Set 1
Set 2

Due to the ongoing problems of torture in Iraq, the United States, despite its expressed desire to establish a democracy in Iraq, is currently in violation of Iraq’s new consitution.

According to the New York Times, the United States, “will not pass on facilities or detainees until they meet the standards we define and that we are using today.”

Amnesty International’s Jumana Musa has also indicated that prisoners should not be turned over to Iraqi authorities, again, in defiance of Iraq’s new constitution.

His words can be seen in this article from Reuters, discussing the problems facing the United States due to its ballooning prisoner population in Iraq.

These statements, as I’ve said, appear to be in violation of Iraq’s new constitution, as per articles

21, section 1: First: No Iraqi shall be surrendered to foreign entities and authorities;

and 35, part B: B. No person may be kept in custody or interrogated except in the context of a judicial decision.

However, Iraq’s government itself is also in violation of its own constitution according to the same article

35, part C: C. All forms of psychological and physical torture and inhumane treatment shall be prohibited. Any confession coerced by force, threat, or torture shall not be relied on. The victim shall have the right to compensation in accordance with the law for material and moral damages incurred.

and also 19, section 12: Twelfth:
A. [Unlawful] detention is prohibited.
B. Detention or arrest is prohibited in places not designed for it, pursuant to prison regulations covered by health and social care and subject to the scrutiny of the law.

More about the Iraqi Constitution, and links to various versions here on Wikipedia.

Both of these ironies, are typical of the nature of the situation in Iraq currently, and the daily contradictions occurring on the ground. Irony one is the refusal of the United States to cooperate fully with what the Bush administration considers Iraq’s democratically elected government and irony two is the failure of the Iraqi government to comply with what it considers its new constitution, legitimately accepted during the October 15th referendum.

The failure of the media to put a spotlight on the contradictions inherent in Iraq’s existence continues to impact the nature of the conflict. Furthermore, manye of these contradictions help to shed light on the nature of complaints the Iraqi resistance has toward the interim government and the occupation authority.

Until the United States properly accomodates international law and deals directly with the resistance in order to develop a proper truce or armistice, it is likely these contradictions will continue. Nearly all Iraqi parties involved in the conflict are opposed to the presence of Al Qaeda and foreign fighters, however the continuing presence of the United States in conflict with the resistance prevents an adequate and unifed response being directed against Al Qaeda and these foreign parties generating problems for Iraq’s unification and reconstruction.

The Asia Times unveiled last week a document they obtained from someone close to the Iraqi resistance.

You can read more about the document in the article: ASIA TIMES ARTICLE

In this document which you can see here: DOCUMENT

This document appears to verify the claims many Arab Sunnis and Turkmen have been making for months. Some have made these claims for longer. The mainstream media have been touting claims of a coming civil war in Iraq for months now.

It now appears that the United State’s failure to acknowledge the presence of Shiite death squads could be one of the main instigators of a civil war in Iraq. The prevalence of hit lists and targeted assassinations have been discussed for months.

ARTICLE ABOUT HIT-LISTS

As you can see in this article from Al Jazeera, the fear of targetted killings is just as strong today as it was in Saddam’s time. Many Iraqis told me they were more worried about being killed or kidnapped by government agents or criminal gangs today than they ever were during Saddam’s time.

Most told me that before the fall of Saddam’s regime, as long as you kept your mouth shut and did not complain about the situation in Iraq too much you would be fine. Saddam’s agents kept the security in Iraq and made the streets safe.

Today in Iraq everyone is afraid of being kidnapped or killed at any moment. During the three weeks I was in Iraq, my fixer Omar had one friend shot to death by two unidentified men in Black and another friend’s father was shot by criminals who came looking for him at his store.

We also interviewed a woman named Balkees who told us about how her husband was killed by men believed to be fundamentalist Islamists. She and her Husband are Sabeans a little known religious sect in the Middle East. Sabeans are followers of John the Baptist. You can read more about her account of the attack in the English transcript here:

ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT OF BALKEES

Furthermore, the raids of Iraqi Police and National Guards, netting innocent victims who are later tortured have been an ongoing problem as well. A man named Omar was taken from his home by Iraqi Police in September and was identified at the morgue by his family 3 days later, where he was found with many markings indicating he had been tortured before his death.

PICTURES OF OMAR AND OTHER TORTURE IMAGES

Al Jazeera also posted a partial list in September of Iraqis who have been assassinated since the invasion in March 2003. This list seems to demonstrate the degree to which assassinations have been a grave influence on the brain-drain of Iraq. The majority of the individuals cited in this list are Professors or Professionals, members of Iraq’s dwindling intellectual class.

AL’JAZEERA LIST OF ASSASSINATED IRAQIS

These are all examples of the ongoing process of destabilizing Iraq. This process is longterm and could be reversed with a strong influence by the international community. It would mean the United States looking at stabilizing Iraq as at least equally important and interesting as “fighting terrorists” or “creating a 21st century military.” These two things very much appear to be the most important items on Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s agendas, respectively.

Iraq is not a place where civil war is a given. But neither is it a given that the recent elections will bring about a “western style democracy,” or even a recognizable democracy of any kind. As the debate over the proper handling of the elections draws to a close within the next week, it will be important to ask the world’s leaders, particuarly those in Iraq and the United States, whether a swift solution is more important than a secure solution.

Iraqis have repeatedly told me that they need security more than democracy. Which is not to say that they don’t want to have a free and open society. It is to say that the United States, as the occupying force, should pay more attention to its responsibilities to everyone in Iraq.

Certainly it is not too much to ask us to pay at least as much attention to protecting Iraqis from street criminals and their own government as we do searching for the elusive Zarqawi.

This past Tuesday I was interviewed by Tom Jackson of Joe Public Media.

Tom Jackson has been involved with Voices in the Wilderness in the past and is now working as a media activist in New Hampshire. He has asked me to speak in Portsmouth New Hampshire on the 23rd of January.

You can listen to the interview here.

We spoke a great deal about the situation facing Iraqis on the ground and I tried to keep the perspective on the important and absent element of the Iraq war. The Iraqi people themselves.

I am in the process of setting up speaking events around the country, and currently have several scheduled for the Northeast. If you are in the area, and would like to hear more about the situation in Iraq, see more videos, etc. Please contact me about attending one of these events. The current schedule looks like this:

December 28th, Benefit show and small screening at 45 Mt. Auburn St. Cambridge MA

January 19th, Speaking event in Rochester NY, sponsored by Rochester Against the War

January 23rd, Speaking event in Portsmouth NH, sponsored by Joe Public Media and Seacoast Peace Response

January 24th, Speaking event in Manchester NH

In February

Speaking event in Great Barrington MA, sponsored by the local Unitarian Church

Speaking event in Marblehead MA, sponsored by the local Unitarian Church

Please consider attending one of these events if they are in your area, or sponsoring an event where you’re located! Keep in mind that, in order to return to Baghdad and continue this work, the project must raise several thousand dollars. The only way we are raising this money right now is from these speaking events and from donations by people like you! Please consider donating even five or ten dollars.

DONATE NOW!

Toward Freedom
Amman’s Optimism Demonstrates Potential of a New Iraq
By Brian Conley and Shadi Al’Kasim
Thursday, 22 December 2005

In Amman, Jordan the Iraqi election went off with little noticeable trouble. Currently there are approximately one million Iraqis seeking refuge in Jordan from the turmoil in Iraq. These same Iraqis went to the polls all over Amman in order to help peace return to their home country.

Ten schools in Amman were closed to facilitate the election process. Unlike the constitution referendum, Iraqis outside Iraq were permitted to participate in the process, just as they did in the January elections. 320,000 Iraqis participated in the election abroad in the recent election.

Jordan’s share of ballots from abroad was 31,000, the largest share of the vote. They were enthusiastic about their chance to elect Iraq’s first long-term governing body since the collapse of Saddam’s regime in 2003. Many said they voted to elect Iyad Allawi’s list. Others said they hoped the election would benefit their ethnic group.

For the rest of the article, please visit Toward Freedom’s site.