-
Revolt in ULFA ranks over peace talks
Published: May 9, 2008 at 11:36 AM
NEW DELHI, May 9 (UPI) -- Indian intelligence agencies said a revolt is brewing in the insurgent United Liberation Front of Assam with a faction calling for talks with the government. -
India protests heavy firing from Pakistan
Published: May 9, 2008 at 11:29 AM
NEW DELHI, May 9 (UPI) -- India Friday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan Rangers following heavy firing from across the border that India says was used to send in militants. -
Turkey and Iraq hold bilateral talks
Published: May 9, 2008 at 11:24 AM
BAGHDAD, May 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi President Jalal Talabani welcomed a high-level delegation of Kurdish lawmakers from the Turkish Parliament Thursday in Iraqi Kurdistan.
-
Dogs of War: Inherently governmental?
Published: May 9, 2008 at 12:03 PM
By DAVID ISENBERG
WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- Amid all the polemics over the use of private military and security contractors by the U.S. government there are two words one rarely sees, but they lie at the very heart of the debate: "inherently governmental." -
Iraq Press Roundup
Published: May 9, 2008 at 11:28 AM
By HIBA DAWOOD
UPI Correspondent
The Sunni Al Mashriq newspaper said Thursday in an editorial titled "The killing of 15 women" that the problem any militia in the world faces is that no matter how politically professional, organized and ideologically mature they are, they still might be accepted by one country and rejected by another. -
Analysis: Border force seeks recognition
Published: May 9, 2008 at 11:21 AM
By KUSHAL JEENA
UPI Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 9 (UPI) -- An Indian police force that guards the Indo-Tibetan border wants the federal Interior Ministry to give it the same status as other paramilitary security forces. -
Atlantic Eye: Hardly a done deal
Published: May 8, 2008 at 2:08 PM
By MARC S. ELLENBOGEN
UPI International Columnist
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, May 8 (UPI) -- Most Europeans see the U.S. presidential election as a done deal. They are quite surprised. They were convinced that Sen. Hillary Clinton was the sure thing. Now, and they are confused, they are expecting the inevitable: Sen. John McCain as president. -
Iraq Press Roundup
Published: May 7, 2008 at 3:29 PM
By HIBA DAWOOD
UPI Correspondent
Shebab Al Iraq newspaper Wednesday carried an editorial with the headline "Who is responsible for the atrocities in Sadr City?" -
U.S. looking into Iraq reconstruction contract requiring Iranian parts
Published: May 7, 2008 at 3:23 PM
By BEN LANDO
UPI Editor
WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- U.S. forces are investigating two contracts to build schools in northern Iraq that required bathroom fixtures to be supplied by Iran.
Latest Headlines
- Attention surprises 'Narnia' newcomer
- Canada to probe U.S. warships sunk in 1813
- Lebanese MP asks army to protect Tripoli
- Americans adopt major driving cutbacks
- Neurotechnology launches MegaMatcher
- No jail time for Foxy in BlackBerry case
- British select first FRES vehicle design
- Defense funds awarded for blood research
Most Popular
- Cash concerns cancel Clinton events, ads
- Hezbollah gains control of western Beirut
- NYC ambulance would preserve bodies
- Canadian iceberg activity unusually high
- Big oil starts big public relations push
- 'CSI' star hit with felony drug possession
- 50-year-old plane wreckage to be retrieved
- India protests heavy firing from Pakistan
By HIBA DAWOOD
UPI Correspondent
The independent Kitabat Newspaper said in its editorial Friday that the Sadr movement is playing many roles in the current violence in Basra and other cities.
The editorial, with the headline "Why does the Mahdi Army fight the government forces?" said the Sadr movement follows many contradictory behaviors.
"The Sadr movement is an unstable part of Maliki's government and, similar to many other political blocs in the Iraqi government, lacks a clear definition as its leadership is religious whereas its members in Parliament are political," it said.
It also said the mixture of politics and religion is a schizophrenic obstacle faced by the Iraqi government because it results in political paralysis. It added that though the Sadr movement manages several ministries, it is still affected by long-term oppression of Shiites.
It also said the Sadr movement is neither with nor against the government, which gives it the character of being contradictory because its members are involved in the government while at the same time they fight its forces.
"This contradiction is seen when defining the Sadr movement, a political bloc in the Parliament headed by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, and the Mahdi Army, a militia led by Sadr as well," it said.
The paper said the Mahdi Army is playing with the tactical definition of the term "army." It said the theoretical definition is that the Mahdi Army is an ideological organization, while now amid escalating violence in Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere, it is defined as a professional army with its own intelligence and equipment.
The Sadr movement and its Mahdi Army use twin strategies, and their spokesmen address Sadrists as if addressing all the people of Iraq and vice versa, a policy Saddam Hussein followed when he addressed the Baath Party using the name of the Iraqi people.
The paper gave another example of the Sadr movement's members' duality of policies.
"When they withdraw from the government, they call it 'the government of occupation' and when they re-enrolled in it, they call it 'the government of Iraq,'" it said.
The paper said that one of the mistakes of the Sadr movement is unfixable: It consists of unstable elements of society that rely on tribal principles and lack education but are given weapons to accomplish missions.
"The great fighting in Basra today against the Mahdi Army, which closed entrances and exits on the Iraqi forces, reflects the defect is not in government, including in Saddam Hussein's, but in its people," the paper said.
Kitabat concluded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has to get rid of the religious environment that is capable of inventing such tensions and struggles as the Mahdi Army.
UPI Correspondent
The independent Kitabat Newspaper said in its editorial Friday that the Sadr movement is playing many roles in the current violence in Basra and other cities.
The editorial, with the headline "Why does the Mahdi Army fight the government forces?" said the Sadr movement follows many contradictory behaviors.
"The Sadr movement is an unstable part of Maliki's government and, similar to many other political blocs in the Iraqi government, lacks a clear definition as its leadership is religious whereas its members in Parliament are political," it said.
It also said the mixture of politics and religion is a schizophrenic obstacle faced by the Iraqi government because it results in political paralysis. It added that though the Sadr movement manages several ministries, it is still affected by long-term oppression of Shiites.
It also said the Sadr movement is neither with nor against the government, which gives it the character of being contradictory because its members are involved in the government while at the same time they fight its forces.
"This contradiction is seen when defining the Sadr movement, a political bloc in the Parliament headed by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, and the Mahdi Army, a militia led by Sadr as well," it said.
The paper said the Mahdi Army is playing with the tactical definition of the term "army." It said the theoretical definition is that the Mahdi Army is an ideological organization, while now amid escalating violence in Baghdad, Basra and elsewhere, it is defined as a professional army with its own intelligence and equipment.
The Sadr movement and its Mahdi Army use twin strategies, and their spokesmen address Sadrists as if addressing all the people of Iraq and vice versa, a policy Saddam Hussein followed when he addressed the Baath Party using the name of the Iraqi people.
The paper gave another example of the Sadr movement's members' duality of policies.
"When they withdraw from the government, they call it 'the government of occupation' and when they re-enrolled in it, they call it 'the government of Iraq,'" it said.
The paper said that one of the mistakes of the Sadr movement is unfixable: It consists of unstable elements of society that rely on tribal principles and lack education but are given weapons to accomplish missions.
"The great fighting in Basra today against the Mahdi Army, which closed entrances and exits on the Iraqi forces, reflects the defect is not in government, including in Saddam Hussein's, but in its people," the paper said.
Kitabat concluded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has to get rid of the religious environment that is capable of inventing such tensions and struggles as the Mahdi Army.
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
» Next in Emerging Threats - Analysis:
Commentary: Afghan lament