MAGA Mike Waltz stokes international tensions, death toll in Gaza reaches 37,834
Not content to focus on destroying the United States, MAGA Republicans wants to take their crazy international. Case in point, Robert Gates' former butt-boi Mike Waltz. The member of Congress is never shy about sporting his huge incompetence and now he's angering Iraq.
Today, the Iraqi government released its response:
The Foreign Ministry followed the statements and directions of the United States Congressman Mike Waltz, regarding the President of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council judge Faiq Zidan, the Ministry affirms its categorical rejection for these statements that undermine the person of the president of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, judge Faiq Zidan, and the basic rights of the Iraqi state, in which the judiciary represents the primary guarantor of rights and freedoms.
The Ministry considers these statements a blatant interference in Iraqi internal affairs, and affirms that the attempt to influence the Judicial authority is a violation of the most important elements of the state entity, which is responsible for achieving justice, equality and stability in the country.
The Foreign Ministry regrets the attempts to involve Congress in such issues, as it constitute an interference in the sovereignty of states and their judicial systems.
Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Iraq
June 29, 2024
Walz has long made critiques of Zidan over rulings that appeared to benefit Baghdad and shortchange the Kurdistan; however, this move makes it hard for him to be taken seriously on anything. And, for the record, I agree that Zidan favors Baghdad over Erbil and favors Baghdad over the law.
But now you want to fog everything up with this claim of being an agent of Iran? That's ridiculous. A) You have no proof and B) are you ignorant of the very deep ties that Iran ahs with Erbil -- especially with the Talanbani family. For example, Hero Talabani could not have fooled the people of Iraq about her incapacitated husband without the help of the Iranian government which is why she spent more time visiting Iran after her husband's stroke than she spent visiting her husband in his hospital in Germany.
Jalal Talabani was the President of Iraq when he had his stroke and was immediately taken to Germany. He never recovered from the stroke and Hero and the others posed him for photos to try to make it look as though he were mobile. Over a year and half later when he returned to Iraq, they still wouldn't let him be seen in public because he could no longer speak and had not recovered full use of his body. Jalal should have been replaced as President immediately but the Talabani family did not want to give up their hold on power so they deceived the Iraqi people. Hero would not have been able to pull that off had the Iranian government not helped and supported her.
For those late to the party on the Talabani scandal, let's drop back to the October 18, 2021 snapshot:
In 2012, Iraqi
President Jalal
Talabani suffered a stroke. The incident took place late on December
17, 2012 (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital. Thursday, December 20, 2012,
he was moved to Germany. He remained there for a year and a half. He
was incapacitated. But the Talabani family lied to everyone so that, as
the Iraqi Constitution requires, Jalal wouldn't be removed from office.
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
The first time was in May. Jalal was posed for a series of photos that appear to indicate his body was present but that was all.
The second set, months later, also showed Jalal posed with his right side to the camera.
[. . .]
Over 18 months later Jalal would return. They wouldn't be able to use
the return to pump up his party in elections because he couldn't speak.
In other words, the Talabani family lied to the Iraqi people, deceived
them. Iraq had a non-functioning president who should have been removed
from office. But the Talabanis lied to keep Jalal in a post he could
not serve.
[. . .]
They lied to the country. They deceived the Iraqi people. They propped
him up and posed him for pictures -- leading Arabic media to mock it as
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S -- but they couldn't offer video because he
couldn't speak.
He never spoke in public again. Not even when he returned to Iraq 18 months after his stroke.
He was not able to do any duties and he was not able to speak but the Talabani family lied to the press and to the people so that they could hold onto the position and the prestige. They harmed Iraq in the process. Iraq needed a real president. It had none.
The next election showed how much damage the Talabanis had done to the PUK and that's been true ever since. In addition, you've got Jalal's sons showing up to try to tell the Kurds what to do. They love that -- and who wouldn't? One of Jalal's pampered sons who lives in the US and is married to an American woman returning to the Kurdistan to lecture them on how they shouldn't want independence for Kurdistan, lecturing them on how they shouldn't vote for it in a non-binding referendum.
Back to the current issue of Mike Walz's stupidity, XINHUA notes:
The Iraqi parliament's Acting Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi noted that Iraq, as a sovereign country, builds its relations with all countries "upon mutual respect."
Al-Mandalawi said that if the draft law is approved, it will constitute a dangerous turning point that will affect, in one way or another, Iraq-U.S. relations.
Mike Walz, from butt=boi to creator of international incidents. THE IRAQI NEWS AGENCY notes the remarks of al-Mandalawi in a little more detail:
A statement by the media office of the Speaker of Parliament on behalf
of Al-Mandalawi was quoted as saying - received by the Iraqi News Agency
(INA): “What was reported by American media regarding the submission by
Republican Congressman Mike Waltz of a draft law amendment and its
inclusion of a clause affecting the head of the Supreme Judicial
Council, Faiq Zidan, is a dangerous precedent this is added to the
record of the actions of the Biden government, which openly supported
the most horrific mass massacre committed by Zionist gangs against the
people of Gaza, and today it threatens to attack the sovereignty of
states and their symbols without a legal justification that allows it to
do so."
According
to the statement, Al-Mandalawi called on the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs to “move through its diplomatic means and deliver a direct
message of Iraq’s rejection, with all its authorities, of such offensive
interventions, which came from the American Congressman, describing
them as tools of influence for other countries,” stressing that “Iraq is
a country with Sovereignty, and its relations with all countries are
built on the basis of mutual respect."
Al-Mandalawi
stressed, “The draft law to be submitted to Congress by the Republican
representative, and if approved, will constitute a dangerous turning
point that will affect, in one way or another, the nature of bilateral
relations between the two countries.
You'd think Mike Walz could form a circle jerk with the government of Iraq over their mutual love of homophobia. RUDAW notes:
As many in the world celebrate pride month, Iraq’s President Abdul Latif
Rashid ratified controversial amendments to the country’s
anti-prostitution law criminalizing any practice of homosexuality and
transsexuality.
The Iraqi presidency announced that Rashid has approved several bills
which recently passed parliament, including several amendments made to
the country’s anti-prostitution law that criminalize any practice of
homosexuality and sex reassignment surgeries, making them punishable by
up to 15 years in prison.
Maybe Butt-boi Mike is upset because he doesn't think the law goes far enough? RUDAW notes:
Any individual, who undergoes a sex-reassignment surgery, as well as the doctor or surgeon conducting the operation, will face one to three years in jail. The bill excludes cases of medical intervention to "treat birth defects to affirm the sex of the individual," referring to genital surgeries on intersex children, which can inflict permanent harm on the individual and compromise sexual function and sensation."
Intersex recognition is something avoided by the MAGA morons. The law, please note, is not effective in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan.
In other news, ALJAZEERA reports, "Five large bombs were discovered hidden in the walls of the historic al-Nuri Mosque in the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, a remnant of the armed group ISIL’s (ISIS’s) rule over the region. The mosque – famous for its 12th-century leaning minaret – was destroyed by ISIL in 2017 and has been a focal point of the UN cultural agency UNESCO’s restoration efforts since 2020." Per AFP, UNESCO has only been able to remove one of the five bombs because four of the bombs are "connected to each other." AP adds, "Iraqi authorities have requested that UNESCO halt all reconstruction operations at al-Nouri mosque and evacuate the entire complex until the devices are disarmed."
On the political front, ASHARQ AL-AWSAT reports:
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) have ousted Abu Zeinab al-Lami from his role as head of their security unit, a move that highlights his influential standing within the organization.
“The head of the PMF has removed Abu Zeinab al-Lami from his role as head of security and discipline directorate,” sources said Thursday.
“Ali al-Zaidi, deputy director of PMF security, has been appointed temporarily in his place,” they added.
Later Thursday, sources suggested the PMF rescinded al-Lami’s dismissal, which he reportedly contested.
Sources familiar with al-Lami’s role reveal that he made significant decisions without consulting PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh or Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
From that uncertainty of al-Lami's status to the firmer topic of numbers, KURDISTAN 24 reports:
In a troubling development, seven suicides have been reported in Iraq over the past 72 hours, highlighting a growing mental health crisis among the population.
Iraqi security agencies attribute this surge to the overwhelming mental fatigue caused by ongoing social, financial, and political crises.
Experts are urgently calling for the establishment of awareness and counseling centers to address the increasing suicide rates.
Staying on the topic of suicides, rumors abound that a social influencer held in a Baghdad jail has taken her own life.
Ahmed Luaibi, the ministry's spokesman, told the local media, "Social media circulated news about the escape of the person named Hadeel Al-Samarrai, nicknamed Umm Al-Lul, from the prison where she is currently serving her sentence, and a second piece of news that she committed suicide inside the prison." "Umm Al-Lul" is an individual's nickname.
"We deny these circulating reports and confirm that she is in a women's prison and is in good health," Laibi said. "We are not aware of any other information." The released news is biased and lacks nuanced information.
Remember when THE NEW YORK TIMES -- the paper that sold the Iraq War -- pretended to be interested in the Iraqi judicial and prison systems? Remember that? So long ago that the reporter covering it was Michael R. Gordon. Gordon's been with THE WALL STREET JOURNAL for seven years now. It was that long ago -- actually it was before Barack Obama was president that Gordo was covering that topic. At any rate, KURDISTAN 24 reports:
Prisoners and detainees in Iraqi jails are enduring severe hardships, including significant delays and restrictions on visits from their relatives.
In some prisons, it can take up to three months for family members to see their detained loved ones, a situation that has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and activists.
Although there are no precise figures on the number of detainees in Iraq, estimates suggest that there are around 100,000 prisoners housed in facilities managed by the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Defense, as well as those under the control of security agencies, national security, and counter-terrorism units.
Additionally, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) and several secret prisons also hold thousands of prisoners.
[. . .]
The Iraqi Center for Documenting War Crimes recently reported that 50 prisoners have died from torture in Iraqi prisons this year alone.
The prisons just grow more and more corrupt. Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) reports:
Civil war could break out in Iraq unless prison reforms and national unity are enforced, the country's first prime minister since the 2003 invasion, Ayad Allawi, told The National.
Mr Allawi, a secular Shiite Arab and former vice president, warned of the possibility of rising sectarian tensions in the country and said a new wave of extremism was brewing in Iraq's overcrowded jails.
"Prisons are becoming a fertile ground for extremism. Before it was between Sunnis and Shiites, now it's involving tribes, involving regions, involving districts. The problem, if this continues, will be a civil war throughout the country," he told The National from his home in London. It is 20 years since he took office in Baghdad.
Mr Allawi also believes prisons are a "breeding place for ISIS" and the extremist group could be on the rise.
He said one solution would be to "clear prisons" from those who have been "accused of political reasons – there must be a pardon". There must be a push for national unity and reconciliation between Iraq's various ethnic and religious groups that are currently ruling the country, he added.
At THE NATIONAL, Tariq Tahir has a strong article about how the US imposed exiles on Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Lastly, PRESS TV reports:
Yemeni armed forces say they and Iraqi resistance fighters have carried out several military operations against ships linked to the Israeli regime.
A Yemeni statement by the Yemeni forces said the operations on Friday were carried out in support of the oppressed people of Palestine and retaliation to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
“Our Armed Forces carried out several qualitative military operations, including a joint military operation with the Islamic resistance in Iraq targeting the oil tanker ‘Waler’ in the Mediterranean Sea with a number of drones,” said the statement.
Turning to Gaza . . .
Israel has been shelling different parts of Gaza City on Saturday morning following a deadly assault on Shejaiya on Friday.
Israeli shelling on the Al-Daraj and Al-Sabra neighbourhoods killed eight people, including women and children, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The shelling comes as reports emerge on US efforts to propose new language for a ceasefire deal in Gaza and to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas.
On the elusive cease-fire or 'cease-fire,' ALJAZEERA notes:
Hamas says there’s been no progress in ceasefire talks with Israel over the war on Gaza as tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv demanding the government save the captives and get a deal done.
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon, said on Saturday the Palestinian group is still ready to discuss any truce proposal that ends the nearly nine-month conflict.
“Once again, Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a serious swap deal,” Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut.
Ikram Kouachi (ANADULA AGENCY) adds, "Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas." The slaughter continues. ALJAZEERA notes, "The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor accused Israeli forces of 'widespread massacres' in Gaza City, saying it has received reports from its field teams of soldiers executing 'dozens, possibly hundreds, of victims'." Frances Madeson (TRUTHOUT) reports:
On June 1, approximately 50 medical students from Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, and others interested in the topic gathered at a public library in St. Louis’s Central West End near both campuses to hear neonatal specialist Yassar Arain describe the medical apartheid he experienced while volunteering in a neonatal intensive care unit in Gaza this spring. Some openly wept as he recounted tragedies he’d witnessed but was powerless to avert.
Arain is a Californian of Pakistani descent now practicing medicine in Fort Worth, Texas. He’s also a father of young children. In mid-April, he joined in a two-week medical mission under the aegis of the Palestinian American Bridge, a group of doctors that hosts foreign specialists to help provide care in Gaza in the face of their own drastically reduced numbers. Per the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest monthly tally, since October 7, 2023, Israel has attacked 464 health care facilities, killed 727 health care workers, injured another 933, and damaged or destroyed 113 ambulances. Among the doctors, 55 specialists were killed, according to a Reuters report. Hundreds of bodies have been found in multiple mass graves at three hospitals. At the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Gaza, Arain was the sole neonatologist.
One of Arain’s patients was an infant who’d been shot in the head during a surprise Israeli attack, while breastfeeding in his mother’s arms. The bullet entered and exited his skull, making two wounds that baby Mustafa somehow survived, but with an unknown developmental fate. He’s since had seizures and needs long-term medical care — and, Arain said, justice. “One of the hardest things that happens for me internally, in my own mind,” Arain told the gathering, “is how we reconcile this with what we promote here in America with newborn mothers, which is skin-to-skin ‘kangaroo’ care. It helps the baby’s temperature stay normal, develops bonding, delivers healthy bacteria to the gut — all these nurturing things. But [think about what] we’re putting Palestinian mothers and infants through.”
Babies in Gaza are dying needlessly due to supply shortages, babies that would not have died if hospitals had even 50 percent of the resources they had prior to October, Arain told the stricken audience. They’ve run out of surefire medications like surfactant to help prematurely born babies through respiratory ailments, and don’t have access to certain technologies like a cooling room needed to cool down babies’ brains when they experience oxygen deprivation. Israel has destroyed them all. One newborn in need of cooling was delivered at 24 weeks [(typical gestation is 36) after her mother’s house was bombed, killing her mother’s family in the blast and sending her into preterm labor as a result of the shock. But with no place to send babies in need of brain cooling, they are condemned to a life of neurological impairment. Arain called it “a crime against humanity.”
,
Gaza remains under assault. Day 266 of the assault in the wave that began in October. Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion. The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction. But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets: How to justify it? Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence." CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund." ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them." NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza." The slaughter continues. It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service. Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide." The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher. United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse." THE NATIONAL notes, "The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday that at least 37,834 Palestinians have been killed and 86,858 injured in Israel's war on Gaza since October 7. In the 24 hours to noon on Saturday, 40 people were killed and 224 injured, the ministry added." Months ago, AP noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing." February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home." February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:
The following sites updated:
