Reposting for Iraq and Gaza coverage:
Iraq and Gaza
THE KHALEEJ TIMES reports, "The Iraqi Meteorological Organisation confirmed on Saturday that the light observed in the skies over Iraq on Friday was the result of a meteor burning up in the atmosphere." Interesting but hardly the most interesting news out of Iraq right now.
Supposedly, US troops will be withdrawing from Iraq. Again! Of course the withdrawal under Barack Obama was not a withdrawal. It was a drawdown as thousands remained in Iraq. In the fall of 2012, Barack began sending more US troops -- special forces. The press ran with "withdrawal" while the US military (rightly) termed it a "drawdown." Yes, there is a difference.
So applause to WION for its use of terms in the video below entitled "Will some US troops remain in Iraq after drawdown?"
Different sources revealed that Baghdad and Washington agreed on a strategy for the departure of coalition forces led by the United States from Iraq.
Reuters mentioned that hundreds of troops are expected to leave Iraq by September 2025 and the remaining forces by the end of 2026, according to the agreement, which still needs confirmation from top authorities in both countries and an announcement date.
Last week, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, confirmed that the remnants of the terrorist group ISIS are no longer a danger to the country.
Will it be a withdrawal? No. No, it will be a drawdown, "Reuters also reported that the two governments aim to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US troops remain in Iraq after the drawdown." NEWSWEEK wrongly sells it as a withdrawal. A withdrawal means all leave (except Marines guarding the US Embassy). A drawdown means a number leave but not all. It's amazing that NEWSWEEK can't get it right even as they quote anonymous US military officials. SHAFAQ NEWS notes, "However, the report highlighted that a US force will remain stationed in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, serving as a key link to US operations in Syria."
For any who have forgotten, US troops invaded Iraq in March of 2003. Barack Obama carried out a drawdown -- but not a withdrawal -- and US troops remain in Iraq. 21 years later and US troops remain in Iraq.
If you're not getting it, Thomas Watkins (THE NATIONAL) explains:
The US is likely to maintain significant military capabilities to fight extremists in Iraq after the anti-ISIS coalition wraps up in the coming years, an American official said on Friday.
Speaking after it was reported that US-led coalition forces would leave Iraq by the end of 2026, the official said their departure “doesn't necessarily change” the military's ability to go after ISIS.
“I would be extremely surprised if they pulled all US presence out,” the official told The National. Baghdad and Washington agreed in late July on a two-year plan to end the coalition's mission in Iraq, which was brought in to fight ISIS a decade ago.
When will Turkey leave Iraq alone? RUDAW reports:
A shepherd was killed in a Turkish bombardment of a village in northeastern Erbil on Tuesday, according to a local health official and a war monitor. The area is known for clashes between the Turkish military and Kurdish fighters.
Badi’ Kamal Mohammed, 29, was seriously injured when Turkish air forces hit the Senin meadow in the Sidakan district of Erbil province, hospital director Karwan Faysal told Rudaw. Faysal added that Mohammed was brought to Sidakan hospital, where the civilian succumbed to his wounds.
In other news, THE NEWS reports on a governmental denial:
A political adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has rejected recent allegations that employees at the premier’s office have been spying on and wire-tapping senior officials and politicians.
Since late August, Iraqi local media outlets and lawmakers have alleged that employees at Sudani’s office had been arrested on charges of spying on senior officials.
“This is an inflated lie,” said Fadi al-Shammari in an interview with an Iraqi broadcaster .
Michael Knights of the right-wing Washington Institute For Near East Policy argues this is Iraq's Watergate. Briefly for Iraqi community members, President Richard Nixon and his administration spied on people illegally and Watergate specifically refers to Nixon's 'plumbers' breaking into the Democratic National Committee's office in the Watergate building in 1972. The scandal would eventually reveal other corruptions and crimes of Tricky Dick's administration forcing him to resign the presidency in disgrace to avoid being impeached.
Moving over to Gaza . . .
From Saturday's WEEKEND EDITION (NPR):
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We have one picture of the war in Gaza. While it's hard for foreign journalists to make it into Gaza, many images have made their way out. We've seen destruction from the air and from the ground. We've seen children in peril, people alive and dead. And now we have the story behind a single image from this week, which some people will find disturbing. This report is just a little over two minutes. NPR's Aya Batrawy has the story of the girl in the pink roller skates.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Tala Abu Ajwa was heading out to play with her brother when a bomb hit their building in Gaza City. Shrapnel went flying through the air, piercing her neck. The 10-year-old died within minutes. The photo of her in her pink roller skates quickly spread online.
HUSSAM ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: I reached Tala's father, Hussam Abu Ajwa, by phone in Gaza City. He says his daughter was bubbly and ambitious.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: He tells me the day before she was killed, she told him, Baba, I want to become a dentist and go back to school. She told her dad she wanted to celebrate her brother's birthday and forget about the war.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: He promised to try. Abu Ajwa, a high school chemistry teacher before the war, sends me photos of how the family once lived. Tala's arms are wrapped around his neck in a pool. In other photos, she's hugging her siblings, dolled up in dresses, headbands, a Daisy Duck sweater. She loved taking selfies. This last photo of her in the morgue, still wearing her skates, has gone viral on social media.
ABU AJWA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: Abu Ajwa says he tried his best to keep the family safe. The Israeli military says it takes precautions to limit civilian deaths in its targeting of Hamas. It did not respond to NPR's request on why this residential building was hit. Tala's father says the booms of Israeli airstrikes would scare her. She'd curl up in his arms.
Meanwhile, REUTERS notes, "Israeli military strikes across the Palestinian Gaza Strip killed at least 61 people in the space of 24 hours, local medics said on Saturday, as Israeli forces battled Hamas-led militants in the territory." Among the targets bombed by the Israeli government? Halima al-Sa’diyya school. They keep bombing schools. ALJAZEERA adds, "Israel has continued attacks in Gaza. At least four people, including the deputy director of Palestinian Civil Defence in the North Gaza governorate, Abu al-Abd Morsi, have been killed in an attack on a house in the Jabalia refugee camp."
And still there is no cease-fire. FRANCE 24 notes, "The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza entered its 12 month Saturday with little sign of respite for the Palestinian territory or hope for Israeli hostages still held captive." There are protests. THE NATIONAL reports:
Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Tel Aviv again on Saturday demanding a deal to free the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Organisers said 400,000 people blocked Derech Menachem Begin, one of the city's main thoroughfares.
Protests were also held in other cities, including Haifa, Jerusalem and Caesarea, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence.
Demonstrators, including the family of the hostages, held banners that read "we are all kidnapped" and "get them out of hell".
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL adds, "Speakers at the Saturday night Tel Aviv rally were to include: Andrey Kozlov, a former hostage rescued from Gaza in an IDF operation; former hostage Danielle Aloni who was released along with her young daughter Emilia during the November ceasefire; Shay Dickmann, cousin of Carmel Gat, whose murder was announced by the IDF earlier this week along with five other hostages; Nissan Calderon, brother of hostage Ofer Calderon; Varda Ben Baruch, the grandmother of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander; and Einav Moses, the daughter-in-law of 80-year-old hostage Gadi Moses." London also witnessed a large protest. THE SOCIALIST WORKER reports:
Anger at the Labour government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide filled the streets of central London on Saturday.
Around 125,000 people joined the 17th national demonstration for Palestine since Israel began its genocide last October.
The immense vitality of the Palestine movement was on show with many first-time marchers. Kamar told Socialist Worker, “This is my first demonstration in London—and it won’t be my last.”
The march was infused with outrage at Labour only suspending 30—out of 350—British arms export licences to Israel last week.
Kamar said Western governments have made some concessions because they “want to be seen to be on the right side of history” while still backing Israel. “The British government has suspended some arms sales to Israel, but it’s very small,” she said.
Imad, a lorry driver from West Bromwich in the Midlands, told Socialist Worker, Labour is failing to do enough. It suspended 30 arms licences—but why not all? It’s just trying to shut people down with gestures to show they are doing something. If it was serious, Labour would have suspended all licences.”
But, Imad added, “Anyone who wants to be in Downing Street has to support Zionism.”
Protestor Ian, who had travelled to London, agreed, 30 out of 350 arms contracts is nothing but lip service.
“Labour is still providing arms for the F35 fighter jets, so there’s no real difference between Labour and the last Tory government.”
In other news, Benedict Garman (BBC NEWS) reports:
Israeli forces have been laying tarmac on a key road in Gaza along its southern border - in what some commentators see as a signal that they're not prepared to fully withdraw from the territory any time soon.
The road has become a major sticking point in the negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal.
BBC Verify has analysed satellite imagery, photos and video that show the surfacing of a road along the narrow but strategically important strip of land running the length of Gaza's border with Egypt, long known by its Israeli military codename: the Philadelphi Corridor.
Between 26 August and 5 September, satellite imagery captured at regular intervals shows fresh paving along a section of road extending 6.4km inland from the coast along the border fence.
Winding down, Susie Beever (THE MIRROR) reports:
An American woman was shot and killed in the West Bank on Friday, doctors have said.
The woman, aged 26, was shot in the head in the northern region of the Palestinian territory and died after being rushed to hospital, medical official Dr Ward Basalat said. Dr. Fouad Naffa, the head of the hospital, also confirmed the death of an American woman, who has not yet been named.
AP notes, "Witnesses, activists and Palestinian media said she was shot by Israeli troops while attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration against settlement expansion in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank, near the town of Beita. Israel's military said it was still looking into the incident, but it confirmed that troops had opened fire in the area."
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