Protests in Baghdad throw administration’s Iraq plan into doubt

[Peter1469]

Protests in Baghdad throw administration’s Iraq plan into doubt (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/protests-in-baghdad-throw-administrations-iraq-plan-into-doubt/2016/04/30/759fadd4-0f03-11e6-bfa1-4efa856caf2a_story.html)

Neocons (who are basically war criminals) would have US boys in the fight with these people who can't even manage their own affairs..... Wow.


President Obama’s plan for fighting the Islamic State is predicated on having a credible and effective Iraqi ally on the ground in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

And in recent days, the administration had been optimistic, despite the growing political unrest in Baghdad, about that critical partnership.


But that optimism — along with the administration’s strategy for battling the Islamic State in Iraq — was thrown into severe doubt after protesters stormed Iraq’s parliament on Saturday and a state of emergency was declared in Baghdad. The big question for White House officials is what happens if Abadi — a critical linchpin in the fight against the Islamic State — does not survive the turmoil that has swept over the Iraqi capital.


The chaos in the Iraqi capital comes hours after a visit by Vice President Biden that was intended to help calm the political unrest and keep the battle against the Islamic State on track.

[MMC]

Aren't we fighting with the Sunni in Iraq? (not that is any better but still) Al Sadr led this and Abadi isn't going to do a damn thing to him. Despite having looters or those that broke property, and or attacked any government official arrested today.

Abadi is Shia.....so the Sunni don't care for him much anyways.

[Peter1469]

Aren't we fighting with the Sunni in Iraq? (not that is any better but still) Al Sadr led this and Abadi isn't going to do a damn thing to him. Despite having looters or those that broke property, and or attacked any government official arrested today.

Abadi is Shia.....so the Sunni don't care for him much anyways.

US Middle East policy is incoherent. We ally with the Sunnis here, fight them there; ally with Shia here, fight them there.

[MMC]

US Middle East policy is incoherent. We ally with the Sunnis here, fight them there; ally with Shia here, fight them there.

Well its not just the Sunni Arabs. Abadi has held up equipment that was sent for the Kurds.

There is no doubt the ME policy has been a major cluster-fuck. I can see why it came about when the Oil was a top interest. As well as the Arabian Sea, Suez, and Gulf.

We need to align with the Kurds. Get them their sovereignty, take a part of Iraq and Syria some of Turkey to. Then we will have someone covering our backs over there. We can set up shop and the Kurds will surely go for it.

Then the Arabs will know there are the Kurds, and Israel, that wont put up with their BS, and they have the friend they need to back their play.

[Peter1469]

We will have to toss Turkey out of NATO first.


Well its not just the Sunni Arabs. Abadi has held up equipment that was sent for the Kurds.

There is no doubt the ME policy has been a major cluster-fuck. I can see why it came about when the Oil was a top interest. As well as the Arabian Sea, Suez, and Gulf.

We need to align with the Kurds. Get them their sovereignty, take a part of Iraq and Syria some of Turkey to. Then we will have someone covering our backs over there. We can set up shop and the Kurds will surely go for it.

Then the Arabs will know there are the Kurds, and Israel, that wont put up with their BS, and they have the friend they need to back their play.

[MMC]

We will have to toss Turkey out of NATO first.

Or we drop out, and then see who will defend Turkey.

[waltky]

Green Zone protest disbanded...
:huh:
Iraqis announce disbanding of Green Zone protest
May 01, 2016 – The Latest on Iraq's political crisis (all times local):


7:00 p.m.

Anti-government protesters in Iraq have temporarily ended their mass demonstration and are withdrawing from Baghdad's Green Zone. Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tore down walls and poured into the heavily guarded area on Saturday, storming parliament in the culmination of months of sit-ins and demonstrations calling for political reform. But on Sunday loudspeakers manned by al-Sadr's followers announced the disbanding of the protests, and the demonstrators began filing out of the Green Zone in an orderly manner. Al-Sadr's movement has demanded an overhaul of Iraq's political system, which is widely seen as corrupt and ineffectual. The crisis comes as the government is struggling to combat the Islamic State group -- which still controls large areas in the north and west -- and address an economic crisis largely brought on by lower oil prices.

___

10:45 a.m.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered authorities to arrest and bring to justice protesters who attacked security forces, lawmakers and damaged properties of state institutions after breaking into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone to protest delays in reform plans. Al-Abadi's Sunday statement came a day after hundreds of angry anti-government followers of influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr tore down blast walls and poured into the parliament building, exacerbating a long-simmering political crisis. Late Saturday, al-Abadi toured inside the parliament building, walking past damaged furniture. Videos on social media showed a group of young men slapping two Iraqi lawmakers as they attempted to flee the crowd, while other protesters mobbed lawmakers' motorcades. The protesters eventually left the parliament Saturday night and rallied at a nearby square.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/05/01/latest-iraqis-announce-disbanding-green-zone-protest.html

See also:

Protesters quit Baghdad's Green Zone
Sun, 01 May 2016 - Shia Muslim activists who occupied Iraq's parliament on Saturday begin to leave Baghdad's government district after a call by their leaders.


Organisers used loudspeakers to call an end to the sit-in in the Green Zone. Earlier, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the arrest of those who had stormed parliament. The demonstrators, mostly supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, were angered by delays in approving a new cabinet. The protesters accuse the government of neglecting much-needed reforms, as it struggles with its campaign against the so-called Islamic State group and declining oil revenues. IS, a Sunni Muslim group that controls parts of western and northern Iraq, claimed a twin suicide bombing on Sunday that killed at least 33 people and wounded more than 50 in the southern town of Samawa.

Fears of a Shia rift: Analysis by Ahmed Maher, BBC News, Baghdad

Many Iraqis believe the crisis has unveiled deep divisions between the Shia political parties that could lead to armed confrontation between some of the Shia brigades which were formed after the collapse of large units of the Iraqi army in the summer of 2014. Leaders of these powerful Shia brigades have ordered reinforcements to Baghdad to help secure the capital, along with the Iraqi army and security forces. In parliament, some leading Shia parties have locked horns over their share in the new cabinet line-up.

Many prominent Shia politicians, like former Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, are highly critical of Shia cleric-turned-politician Moqtada Sadr. Mr Maliki said change could not be achieved through "intimidation or the occupation of the Green Zone". Many Shia Iraqis see Mr Sadr as a leader for their uprising. The fear of a rift between Shia factions will stoke instability in Iraq, which is already at war with IS. And the crisis will alarm key allies like the US, which count on a stable, strong government to defeat the militant group. Supporters of Mr Sadr want MPs to push through plans to replace ministers with political affiliations with non-partisan unelected officials. Powerful parties in parliament have refused to approve the change for several weeks.

'We need new faces'

A statement by the protest organisers, quoted by AFP news agency on Sunday evening, cited respect for a Shia pilgrimage as the reason for withdrawing. Saturday's occupation of parliament came after MPs again failed to reach a quorum to vote on the cabinet changes. After the protest, demonstrators set up camp outside the parliament, and many were still there on Sunday. "We need new faces not the old ones," female protester Shatha Jumaa, a 58-year-old surgeon who described herself as a secularist, told the Associated Press news agency.

She said she wanted the current government dissolved and replaced by a small interim administration whose job would be to amend the constitution and to prepare for an early national election. Mr Abadi issued his arrest order after touring the Green Zone on Saturday, but there are no indications that any arrests have taken place. The zone, a highly fortified area 10 sq km (3.9 sq miles) in size, is home to key government buildings and foreign embassies. It is ringed by blast walls, some of which were toppled by the protesters as they breached the zone for the first time in weeks of civil unrest.

Corruption burden (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36181310)

[donttread]

Protests in Baghdad throw administration’s Iraq plan into doubt (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/protests-in-baghdad-throw-administrations-iraq-plan-into-doubt/2016/04/30/759fadd4-0f03-11e6-bfa1-4efa856caf2a_story.html)

Neocons (who are basically war criminals) would have US boys in the fight with these people who can't even manage their own affairs..... Wow.

After everything we've seen and learned in the past 13 years we are basing our foreign policy reaction upon being supported by Iraqi troops? And people get upset when I call the government completely incompetent.
It's kinda like ... well it's really unlike anything because it's just that stupid

[Peter1469]

After everything we've seen and learned in the past 13 years we are basing our foreign policy reaction upon being supported by Iraqi troops? And people get upset when I call the government completely incompetent.
It's kinda like ... well it's really unlike anything because it's just that stupid

I don't advocate babying anyone. If they are not men enough to maintain order, they can all die for all that I care.

[donttread]

I don't advocate babying anyone. If they are not men enough to maintain order, they can all die for all that I care.


Yes, but they don't need our help to do that. It reminds me of an old baseball story for some reason.
The team's best player asked the manager for a large raise. The manager looked the player dead in the eye and said "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you"