Recently, I came across some interesting stuff on the major news outlets I check every day, and thought of sharing them with the readers of this blog. Of course, most of these things are about Iraq, yet some are related to the Middle East and the Arab world in general and are connected to Iraq indirectly. So bear with me!
*I would like to start off with something very interesting in my own point of view, that is the launching of the BBC Arabic TV network. This new network follows the same moderate line its radio counterpart follows. The BBC has proved to be a very moderate and real world news service, unlike the American ABC News in which Charles Gibson calls it “World News” while the only non-American news mentioned there are those about Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan- all have to do with American interests, of course.
Since it was launched a few days ago, the BBC Arabic started broadcasting on TV, Internet, and even cell phones. Before I go to work every morning and while I get my morning coffee, I listen to their news update. Their coverage of their news are that similar of the English version with neutral opinions and documentaries. This step, I hope, will have a big impact on the Arab population that already have a massive respect to the BBC radio. However, I think the network will face an incredible amount of competition as there are many powerful news networks like Aljazeera and Al-Arabiya.
*The other thing that also attracted my attention recently is the new New York Times Blog, “Baghdad Bureau.” The blog posts are written by the Times’ Iraqi and American staff of the Baghdad Bureau. Their posts reflect what many newspapers, including the NY Times previously, failed to report: Iraq from the Inside.
*A very interesting Op-Ed piece in the New York Times published on Tuesday analyzes why after five years from the invasion, Iraqis have not yet enjoyed the simplest service that could ever be provided to a human being, that is electricity. In his “Keeping Iraq in the Dark” piece, Glenn Zorpette points out the reason why Iraq is still in living in the dark. He indirectly blames the Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani who is well connected politically to the ruling parties. He also blames it on the bureaucracy that is eating out Iraq's infrastructure. He writes, “Yet several studies have concluded that if the gas from the southern oil fields alone were used to generate electricity, it could provide 4,100 megawatts, nearly doubling Iraq’s total capacity. Nevertheless, the Oil Ministry has pushed back on every Electricity Ministry proposal over the past five years aimed at capturing and delivering the gas to generating plants.”
*In an interview with the Washington Post, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq said that “Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences.” The Washington Post reporter wrote that “Petraeus conceded that some elements of both the Awakening movement and the Mahdi Army may be standing down in order to prepare for the day when the U.S. presence is diminished.”
It’s very obvious to note Petraeus’ frustration, which is good. But, where has he been all these years we’ve been talking about how these politicians do not care about Iraq as whole more than they care about their own religious and personal interests. Well, there you go! That's when you don't listen.
*The day before yesterday, I watched the live coverage of an event that I took as a positive sign for the future of the unity of Iraq. For the first time in Erbil city, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq embraced the 13th Arab Intro-Parliamentary Union Conference (AIPU) with participation of 19 Arab countries. Throughout the coverage of the conference, the unity of Iraq was stressed as a fact and that Iraqi Kurdistan is inseparable part of Iraq. In my opinion, it was a good chance to open a new relation between the Iraqi Kurds and the Arabs.
*A few days ago, Jordanian authorities released Jordanian Sheik Abu Mohammad al-Maqdisi, a leading al-Qaida mentor, after several years imprisonment without trial, security sources said. It seems the American friends are unable to believe their former terrorist Zarqawi is dead. They decided to release his mentor so that the world becomes much safer than it was. Good job, Jordan. Day by day, you prove your support to peace.
*Finally, I would like to finish off with a new decision made by the British Authorities. A leaked Home Office correspondence seen by the Guardian revealed that “More than 1,400 rejected Iraqi asylum seekers are to be told they must go home or face destitution in Britain as the government considers Iraq safe enough to return them.” Hmm! Safe? Haven’t there been dual car bombs in the busiest markets recently? What about the insurgents and militias who might harass the returnees? Won’t they consider them “traitors” who preferred to live in the “blasphemous” Britain than in the “Pure Muslim” lands? Yeah, thanks to Britain! Very obvious the amount of the international support being provided to Iraqis!
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