jeudi 2 juillet 2009

Juan Cole on Kerkuk's Turkmens and Arabs, Iraqi Oil, KRG, etc.

July 2, 2009 at 8:48 am

The Iraqi civil wars kicked off by the American invasion of 2003 continue. I’m sure a lot of observers think it is all one internal war, but it is not. It is multiple. Nor is the bombing relevant to the American withdrawal from the cities, as some press reports are implying, since there were never very many US troops in Kurdistan or the Iraqi north generally. (Though settling the Arab-Kurdish problem before they leave will be essential to a good exit for Americans).

A bombing like this in Kirkuk means something different than a similar event in Baghdad or in Shiite Nasiriyah in the south. A lot of the violence in the south is among Shiite militias; there are few Sunnis, and their freedom of movement is constrained (a Tikriti “r” is different from the “r” used in the south, and so the religio-ethnic difference can sometimes be heard; plus, Sunnis typically don’t know the details of the lives of the 12 Imams sacred to the Shiites and so can fairly easily be caught out.)

A bombing in Baghdad typically indicates continued conflict between Sunni Arabs and Shiite Arabs, though my best guess is that Sunni Arabs are only 10-15% of Baghdad now, so that the bombings are more helpless raging revenge than effective guerrilla politics.

But in Kirkuk, even if it is the radical vigilantes (”Salafi jihadis” or what the US press calls ‘al-Qaeda in Iraq’) that are behind the bombing, it has a different significance. Kirkuk is the arena for a potentially epochal struggle between the Arabs (both Sunni and Shiite) and the Kurds (mostly Sunni, who do not speak Arabic as their mother tongue).

Tuesday’s blast was the second major such attack in a week and a half, since 70 were killed in Kirkuk in a bombing just 10 days ago.

The Kurdistan Regional Government is a special federal region within Iraq, comprising what used to be 3 provinces that have now been conjoined into one administration. But the KRG is not satisfied with this territory. Its leaders what to annex large swathes of Iraq proper, including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. The Kurds, who were favored by the Neocons and assisted on the ground by powerful American supporters such as Peter Galbraith and Brendan O’Leary, had an article put into the new Iraqi constitution demanding a referendum on the future of Kirkuk, to be conducted in that province, by the end of 2007.

It never happened, because it was a sort of ultimatum, and military historians know that ultimatums usually kick off a war. Since the Kurdish authorities largely control the police and security forces in Kirkuk province (a legacy of the cooperation of the Kurdish Peshmerga paramilitary in helping the US take the city of Kirkuk in the 2003 war), the Kurdistan authorities have been in a good position to flood the province with Kurdish immigrants, some of them returnees who had been ethnically cleansed in the name of Arabization by Saddam Hussein, but some at least of whom are probably new to the province. So the Kurds would probably win a referendum.

But the Arabs and Turkmen, who together form at least a plurality, are die-hard against being dragooned into Kurdistan (remember, the practice in the KRG has been to erase provincial borders and meld the administration into one, which means that Kirkuk Arabs and Turkmen will be a tiny minority in the sea of a unified Kurdistan).

On Monday, 50 Iraqi members of parliament had entered a protest against the draft constitution for Kurdistan, which will be submitted to a referendum in the KRG, since it explicitly claims Kirkuk and parts of Ninevah and Diyala provinces and appears to endorse a Greater Kurdistan that would threaten Turkey, Iran and Syria as well as Arab Iraq. The new constitution is also being criticized by Kurdish secularists for making Islam the state religion and forbidding the civil legislature to pass laws contrary to sharia or Islamic canon law.
Kurdistan leaders are increasingly intolerant of press criticism, having on more than one occasion jailed journalists or confiscated runs of publications.

So the bombing is not just a manifestation of fundamentalist terrorism, though it may be that. It is political, and aims at achieving political aims, in a way that the random and ineffectual bombings in Baghdad no longer can hope to.

I am not sympathetic to movements coming out of 19th century romantic nationalism, which tend to reify ethnicity in an almost racist manner and posit essentialist connections between land and people (especially silly in those parts of the Middle East, such as Iraq, where a third to a half of people were pastoralists wandering around until the twentieth century).

The Arab-Kurdish divide in Iraq is extremely unfortunate and economically irrational. If Iraq can ever reestablish security and develop the southern oil fields, which are enormous, Kurds will be drawn down south as workers in large numbers, and get spread around the country. The Kirkuk fields are old, water-logged and on the way to being worked out. Iraq’s future probably lies elsewhere and therefore probably so does the future of Kurdish citizens of Iraq. Kurds would be wiser to forget about trying to control territory in the 19th century way and surrender to the messiness, ethnic mixing and multiple identities, and uprootedness of postmodern life. And nothing better exemplifies such postmodernism than the polyglot hydrocarbon states of the Gulf.

If Kurds aren’t careful they’ll be stuck landlocked, with small resources, and surrounded by powerful local enemies fearful of their separatism, while Nepalis, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans get rich working in the oil economy of the Arab Shiite south of Iraq.

http://www.juancole.com/

lundi 29 juin 2009

Iranophones vs Turcophones

Par Habib Tawa
Publié dans Afrique-Asie (juin 2009)


Le Grand Jeu qui oppose Russes, Chinois et Américains et la résurgence de l’islam centrasiatique pourraient être dépassés demain par des remous de plus grande ampleur affectant le pivot de l’Eurasie.

La force turque y supplantera-t-elle la subtilité iranienne ?

Rivaux au coeur de l’Asie

prière de cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous:
http://www.afrique-asie.fr/images_articles//AA%2043/geopo%2043.pdf

CIA Crucified Captive In Abu Ghraib Prison




By Sherwood Ross

June 28, 2009
The Central Intelligence Agency crucified a prisoner in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, according to a report published in The New Yorker magazine.

"A forensic examiner found that he (the prisoner) had essentially been crucified; he died from asphyxiation after having been hung by his arms, in a hood, and suffering broken ribs," the magazine’s Jane Mayer writes in the magazine’s June 22nd issue. "Military pathologists classified the case a homicide." The date of the murder was not given.

"No criminal charges have ever been brought against any C.I.A. officer involved in the torture program, despite the fact that at least three prisoners interrogated by agency personnel died as a result of mistreatment," Mayer notes.

An earlier report, by John Hendren in The Los Angeles Times, indicated other torture killings. And Human Rights First says nearly 100 detainees have died in U.S. custody in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hendren reported that one Manadel Jamadi died "of blunt-force injuries" complicated by "compromised respiration" at Abu Ghraib prison "while he was with Navy SEALs and other special operations troops." Another victim, Abdul Jaleel, died while gagged and shackled to a cell door with his hands over his head." Yet another prisoner, Maj. Gen. Abid Mowhosh, former commander of Iraq’s air defenses, "died of asphyxiation due to smothering and chest compression" in Qaim, Iraq.

"There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths," says Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "High-ranking officials who knew about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must be held accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture scandal." At least scores of detainees in U.S. custody have died and homicide is suspected. As far back as May, 2004, the Pentagon conceded at least 37 deaths of prisoners in its custody in Iraq and Afghanistan had prompted investigations.

Nathaniel Raymond, of Physicians for Human Rights, told The New Yorker, "We still don’t know how many detainees were in the black sites, or who they were. We don’t fully know the White House’s role, or the C.I.A.’s role. We need a full accounting, especially as it relates to health professionals."

Recently released Justice memos, he noted, contain numerous references to CIA medical personnel participating in coercive interrogation sessions. "They were the designers, the legitimizers, and the implementers," Raymond said. "This is arguably the single greatest medical-ethics scandal in American history. We need answers."

The ACLU obtained its information from the Pentagon through a Freedom of Information suit. Documents received included 44 autopsies and death reports as well as a summary of autopsy reports of people seized in Iraq and Afghanistan. An ACLU statement noted, "This covers just a fraction of the total number of Iraqis and Afghanis who have died while in U.S. custody." (Italics added).

Torture by the CIA has been facilitated by the Agency’s ability to hide prisoners in "black sites" kept secret from the Red Cross, to hold prisoners off the books, and to detain them for years without bringing charges or providing them with lawyers.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, denounced the Obama administration for considering "prevention detention," The New Yorker’s Mayer wrote. Roth said this tactic "mimics the Bush Administration’s abusive approach."
From all indications, CIA Director Panetta has no intention of bringing to justice CIA officials involved in the systematic torture of prisoners. Panetta told Mayer, "I’m going to give people the benefit of the doubt…If they do the job that they’re paid to do, I can’t ask for a hell of a lot more."

Such sentiments differ markedly from those Panetta wrote in an article published last year in the January Washington Monthly: "We either believe in the dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, or we don’t. There is no middle ground."

One way to discern who really runs a country is to look to see which individuals, if any, are above the law. In the Obama administration, like its predecessors, they include the employees of the CIA. Crucifixions they execute in the Middle East differ from those reported in the New Testament in at least one important respect: Jesus Christ had a trial.

28 June 2009
(Sherwood Ross formerly reported for major dailies and wire services. To contact him or contribute to his Anti-War News Service: sherwoodr1@yahoo.com)
*****
:: Article nr. 55547 sent on 29-jun-2009 14:42 ECT
http://www.uruknet.info/?p=55547

dimanche 28 juin 2009

TAZEHURMATU KATLİAMI VE PKK’LI SALİH’İN TÜRKMENLERE ZULMÜ

Ali Kerküklü


Ali Kerküklü İstihbarat Oyunları Petrol Ve Kerkük’ün YazarıTürkmen Kasabası Tazehurmatu Haritadan Silinmek İstendi Kerkük'ün 20 km. güneyindeki Türkmen kasabası Tazehurmatu’da 20 Haziran 2009 Cumartesi günü öğle saatlerinde meydana gelen patlamada en az 83 kişi hayatını kaybetti ve 200’ün üstünde Türkmen yaralandı.

Tazehurmatu’nun merkezindeki cami yakınında Pazar yerinde bomba yüklü kamyon patladı.Bu toplu katliamı yapanlar kana susamış,canavar ve hasta ruhlu insanlar olmalıdır.Bir anlamda bu patlamadaki hedef ve amaç Türkmen kasabası Tazehurmatuyu haritadan silmekti.Bu eli kanlılar Irak Türklerini asla yok edemeyeceklerdir,güçleri de buna yetmeyecektir.

Diktatör Saddam Hüseyin de Irak Türklerini yok etmeye yemin etmişti,yok edebildi mi?
Saddam’ın sonunu herkes gördü.

İnanın Türkmenlere bunları yapanların sonu da Saddam’kinden daha beter olacaktır. Tazehurmatu’ya koşan yüzlerce Türkmen’in yardımı ile ölenlerin cesetleri toplanırken, yaralılar da Hastanelere ulaştırıldı. Ölen ve yaralıların çoğunu, kadın,yaşlı ve çocuklar oluşturuyordu.

Patlama sonucu savaş alanına dönen Tazehurmatu’da 150’ın üzerinde evin de yıkıldığını yetkililer tarafından bildirildi. Bütün Türkmenleri yasa boğan bu faciadan dolayı Türkmen bölgelerinde 3 günlük yas ilan edildi. Yürekleri burkan ve vahşetten öte bir insanlık faciasına dönüşen bu hain ve korkak saldırı, Irak Türklerini haklı davalarından asla yıldıramayacaktır.
Tam tersine Irak Türkleri haklı davalarına sımsıkı sarılacaklardır.

Bir yiğit şehit olur,bin yiğit doğar.Türkmen anaları daha ne yiğitler doğuracaktır.
Türkmen toplumu ve özellikle Tazehurmatudaki insanlarımıza başsağlığı, şehit düşen masum Türkmenlere Allah’tan rahmet,mekanları cennet ve yaralarımıza da acil şifalar diliyoruz.Hepimiz Tazehurmtuluyuz.

PKK’LI SALİH

Yıllardır Kürtler, Irak’ın Kuzeyine ve o bölgeden Türkiye ve yurtdışına seyahat eden her Türkmeni sorgulama ve soruşturmaya tabi tutmuşlardır. Bu Türkmen Irak vatandaşı da olsa, yabancı ülkenin pasaportuna sahip de olsa, yine sorgulanmaktadır.

Yıllardan beri Kürtlerin yönetiminde olan Türkmen şehri Erbil, Süleymaniye ve Dohuk şehirlerine giriş ve kontrol noktaları, Türkmenler için işkence barınağı olmuştur. Bu kontrol noktalarında sorgulamalar başlar ve şansın iyi giderse, orada tanıdığın varsa (Kefil) ve Kürtçe de biliyorsan o zaman bu şehirlere giriş yapabilirsin.

Şayet yolculuk Dohuk, Zaho ve Türkiye ise en az 20–30 kontrol noktasından geçmelisin (Hani Irak’ın Kuzeyi Güvenliydi). Aluka Kontrol noktasında (Aluka, Dohuk’a 15–20 dakikalık ve Türkiye sınır kapısına 1 saatlik mesafededir) Türkmenler için özel bir sorgulama ve soruşturma odası vardır.

Aluka Kontrol noktasındaki Peşmergeler önce milliyetini (Arap, Türk, Kürt) sorar, Kimlik, pasaport ve Ehliyete bakarak Türkmenleri hemen sorgulama odasına gönderirler. Kadın, erkek, yaşlı, genç ve çocuk demeden her Türkmen sorgu ve soruşturmaya tabi tutulur. Bu sorgu ve soruşturmayı yürüten kişi ise PKK’lı Salih kod adını kullanan Türkiye Kürtlerinden olan bir Türk vatandaşıdır. Kod Adlı PKK’lı Salih bu göreve KDP yetkilileri tarafından (KDP, Mesut BARZANİ’nin Partisi) atanmış, maaşını da onlardan alır.Anlayacağnız dünün PKK’lısı bugün Kürt istihbaratı (PARASTİN) için çalışmaktadır.

Şimdi soracaksınız ki, Türkiye Kürdü olduğunu nereden biliyorsunuz? Bu kişi, sorgulama yazılarını Türkiye Türkçesiyle yazmaktadır. Arapça bilmez, Türkçeyi Güneydoğu şivesiyle konuşur. Kürtçe şivesi ise Türkiye Kürtlerinin şivesidir. Tipik bir Kürt yapısı vardır: orta boylu, siyah saçlı ve siyah bıyıklı, esmer ve az tıknaz yapıdadır. Onu hemen hemen bütün Türkmenler tanır, hatta Irak Türkleri onun için hoyrat bile düzenlemişlerdir.

Bağla Başını Türkmanı
Tanısın PKK’lı Salih Seni

Bu insan düşmanı kişinin, MOSSAD (İsrail İstihbarat Örgütü) tarafından eğitildiği bilinmektedir.

PKK’lı Salih’in tek görevi vardır: Irak Türklerini yıldırmak, sindirmek ve psikolojik baskı altında tutmaktır. Türkmenlere eziyet etmek için PKK’li Salih’e sınırsız yetki verilmiştir. Dohuk, Zaho ve Türkiye’ye giden bütün araba ve otobüs şoförlerini korkutup tehdit etmektedir. Bu şoförlerin bazıları Türkmenler hakkında PKK’lı Salih’e bilgi aktarmaktadırlar; Aluka kontrol noktasından geçmeyen şoförlerin ise ehliyetlerine el koyup trafiğe çıkmalarını engellemektedir. Türkmenler, şoförlere başka bir yoldan geçmelerini istediklerinde şoförler, PKK’lı Salih’e uğramaları gerektiğini söylemektedirler, yani, anlayacağınız, PKK’lı Salih’in gazabından korkmaktadırlar.

PKK’lı Salih’in sorgu odasının kapısı önünde yüzlerce Türkmen beklemektedir. Kadın, erkek, yaşlı, genç, çocuk, soğukta, sıcakta, yağmurda ve karda- hiç fark etmez. Türkmenler, açık alanda, sorgu odasının kapısı önünde sorgulanma sırasını beklerler; sıranın gelmesi saatler sürmektedir. Sorgulanmaya alınanlara üst aramasını PKK’lı Salih kendi yapmaktadır. Kimlik, pasaport fotokopisini ister, yoksa, fotokopiyi kendi çeker. Adres ve telefon numaralarını, cep telefonundaki numaralar ve hafıza kartını tek tek inceler, kim bunlar, diye sorar? Bu kişiler hakkında bilgi ister, niçin ve nereye gidildiğini, gidilen yerin adresi ve telefon numarasını da alır.
CD veya CD’ler varsa bu CD’ler tek tek incelenir. Öğrenci ise hangi üniversite ve bölümde okuduğu sorulur, öğrencinin notları ve adresi istenir, çantası didik didik aranır. Nasıl geçindiği, burs alıp almadığını bilmek ister. Hele Türkiye’de öğrenciyse Allah o öğrencinin yardımcısı olsun; çünkü bütün suçlamalar,iftiralar ve tehditler kendisine yöneltilir. Bulduğu en ufak şeyden sorgulamayı genişletir, örneğin, küçük bir kağıt, not, yazı, gazete kupürü, kitap, dergi ve fotoğraf bulduğunda Peşmergeleri çağırarak o kişiyi tutuklattırır. Tutuklanan kişi günlerce işkence ve psikolojik baskıdan geçirilir. Bazen de Türkmenleri kontrolden geçirmeyip geri göndererek, geçişlerine izin verdirmez. Geri gönderilenler diğer kontrol noktasında Peşmergeler tarafından tutuklanıp hapse atılır. Sizce İsrail’e girmek bundan daha kolay değil midir? İnsanın aklına şu soru gelir: neden sadece Türkmenler bu insanlık dışı yöntemle sorgulanmaktadır? Bir suç mu işlediler? Başkaları gibi devlete silah mı çektiler? Devleti yağmalayıp talan mı ettiler? Ülkeleri Irak’a ihanet edip de ülkelerini mi sattılar? Hayır. Türkmenlere bu kin, nefret, eziyet, işkence ve haksızlık nedendir? Diktatör ve totaliter ülkelerde bunlar yapılır, ama hani Irak’a demokrasi ve özgürlük gelmişti!. Irak’lı Kürtlerin yorumuna göre demokrasi ve özgürlük sözcüklerinin anlamı baskı, zulüm, işkence ve diğerlerine yaşama hakkı tanımamaktır.

Irak Türkleri tüm dünyaya sesleniyor: O masum gördüğünüz Irak’lı Kürtler, biz Türkmenlere kendi yurdumuzda yaşama hakkı tanımıyor!Dün merhamet dilenenler,bugün barbar olmuşlar.Yani Saddam’a rahmet okutuyorlar.

Irak Türklerine yapılan bu baskı,zulüm,işkence ve haksızlıkları uluslararası platform ve insan hakları kuruluşlarına taşımalıyız.Parti ve sivil kuruluşlarımız bu olaylara sessiz kalmamalıdır.

Tabi ki birlikte bu olayların üzerine gitmeliyiz. Irak kurulduğundan beri Irak Türklerinin yüzü gülmemiştir. 35 senelik Saddam baskısından kurtuldular, derken, aynı baskıya Kürtler tarafından maruz kalmaktalar!Aluka kontrol noktası, Simel (Simele, Sumayyil) kasabasına çok yakındır. Simel Donuk’a bağlıdır, şehrin batısında ve şehir merkezine 16 km uzaklıktadır. Aynı zaman da Simel Zaho’ya götüren uluslar arası yol üzerindedir. Simel, Asurilerin yoğun yaşadığı bir kasabadır. Ağustos 1933’te Simel’de, Asurilere Kürtler tarafından büyük bir katliam yapıldı, yüzlerce Asuri hunharca öldürüldü ve tarihe de “SİMEL KATLİAMI” olarak geçti. Bu katliamı Kürt General Bekir SITKI ve taraftarı yapmıştı.


The Lethbridge Herald,August 18, 1933

Alberta/Kanada18 Ağustos 1933

Tarihli Kanada’da Yayınlanan Lethbridge Herald Gazetesinin Kürtler tarafından Asurilere Yapılan Katliamı Kaleme Aldığı Yazısı


Temmuz 1959’da Irak Türklerine de Kürtler tarafından bu katliamın aynısı yapılmıştı. 3 gün 3 gece Türkmenler vahşice öldürüldü ve bu olay, tarihe “KERKÜK KATLİAMI” adıyla geçti. Kadere bakın: Katliamın yapıldığı yolun kenarında (Simel) Irak Türkleri baskı, zulüm, işkence ve tutuklamalara maruz kalmakta ve bu durum karşısında, ne yazık ki, kimsenin kılı bile kıpırdamamaktadır. Galiba Irak Türkleri insan sayılmamaktadır.

http://bizturkmeniz.com/tr/index.htm

samedi 27 juin 2009

Video: Depleted Uranium Children Iraq

Conflicting Truth
Posted on Uruknet:
www.uruknet.info?p=55510

June 26, 2009
There is widespread contamination with cancer-causing depleted uranium munitions in Afghanistan and Iraq causing dramatically rising birth deformities. This video was censored on you tube...Lets see how long it will stay up this time...

vendredi 26 juin 2009

This week in the European Union

ELITSA VUCHEVA
Today @ 17:25 CET
EUOBSERVER / WEEKLY AGENDA (29 June - 6 July) - This week, Sweden takes over the rotating EU presidency from the Czech Republic for six months. Meanwhile, the German Constitutional Court is to announce its verdict on whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with German law.
The Swedish EU presidency will start on Wednesday (1 July) and last until 31 December. The full European Commission is to travel to Stockholm to meet with the Swedish government for the occasion.

Sweden will take over the EU presidency from the Czech Republic on 1 July (Photo: Swedish government website)
Stockholm has already indicated it expects a "difficult" six-month term, notably due to institutional uncertainties in the EU.
The newly elected European Parliament is still taking shape, while it is not yet clear whether it will vote later in July to support Jose Manuel Barroso as European Commission president for a second time.
Sweden would prefer to see Mr Barroso re-appointed so that it has a clear and strong working partner in the commission from mid-July, rather than having to wait until some time in the autumn.
But disagreements among political parties in the parliament make it unclear whether the issue will be put to vote in mid-July. Talks with the Swedish presidency on this are to continue on 6 July.
Adding to the institutional imbroglio is the question mark still hanging over the EU's Lisbon Treaty with four member states not having completed ratification of the document yet. Ireland is to vote for a second time, probably on 2 October.
Meanwhile, the German Constitutional Court is to rule on Tuesday (30 June) on whether the treaty is in line with German law.
Besides Ireland and Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic are the two other member states where ratification of the document has yet to be finalised.

Turkey to open taxation chapter
On the last day of the Czech EU presidency, 30 June, the EU will hold an accession conference with EU candidate Turkey where a new chapter, on taxation, of Ankara's accession negotiations is expected to be opened.
Turkey has been an official EU candidate since 1999 and began accession negotiations with the bloc in October 2005. If opened, the taxation chapter will be the 11th of Turkey's 35-chapter accession package to be opened so far, with just one successfully closed.
http://euobserver.com/9/28379?print=1

Painting about the loss of Kerkuk Kalaa, by Iraqi Turkmen artist Lahib Jaddo

Click on picture to enlarge


"Two Ghosts"


Painting by Iraqi Turkmen artist LAHIB JADDO



about the loss of Kerkuk Kalaa and the loss of her mother Nejiba Sabir (a daughter of Kerkuk)


for more on Lahib Jaddo and her work please see:

jeudi 25 juin 2009

Remembering Layla Al-Attar



A FORGOTTEN "DAY OF INFAMY"
Malcom Lagauche


June 24, 2009Many countries have one or two days a year that indicate a national tragedy. In the U.S., December 7, 1941, the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, is labeled a "day of infamy." Almost 60 years later, September 11, 2001 surpassed December 7 as a rallying cry for U.S. solidarity.


Iraq, a country much smaller than the U.S., and never as large a player on the international scene, can claim several days of infamy: January 17, 1991 (the beginning of Desert Storm); February 14, 1991 (the destruction of the Amiryah Bomb Shelter); March 20, 2003 (the start of the U.S. illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq); and April 9, 2003, (U.S. forces enter Baghdad) among others. But, one date that gains little international attention is imbedded in the hearts and minds of most Iraqis: June 26, 1993.


On that date, the U.S. military, under the command of Bill Clinton, ordered 23 Tomahawk guided missiles to demolish the headquarters of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence services, in central Baghdad. Twenty of the missiles hit the agency complex, while "only" three missed their targets.


A jubilant Clinton took to the airwaves and proclaimed victory. He was happy that only three missed their mark. One could think he was addressing the public about the score of a sporting event.


Of the three that missed, one destroyed the home of Layla al-Attar, killing her and her husband, and blinding her daughter.


Layla al-Attar was the director of the Iraqi National Art Museum and a leading Arab artist who was revered in Iraq much the same as Norman Rockwell was in the U.S. In addition, she was a spokesperson for international peace, for the inner peace of women, and for resistance against U.S. hegemony. Layla al-Attar symbolized Iraq.


When news of al-Attar’s death broke, Iraq mourned. A special person who transcended political ideology and represented all of humankind had been assassinated.


During the Gulf War, her home was almost totally destroyed by U.S. missiles. Two years later, shortly after the completion of the house’s reconstruction, an "errant" missile finished the job that its cousin had only partially performed in earlier years.


Although never proven, it is quite easy to give credence to the theory that Layla al-Attar was the target of a missile, not merely a casualty of "collateral damage" from a misguided projectile. Every Iraqi believes she was marked, but shortly after her execution, the rest of the world forgot.


Outside the Arab world, Layla al-Attar was on the verge of becoming a top international artist. European art galleries were beginning to highlight her work. In the U.S., however, she was little known. Little international outrage was heard when she was killed.


To read the article in full please click on:
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m55455&hd=&size=1&l=e