Iraq

December 14, 2018 - Nobel Laureate Murad to build Hospital in her hometown in Iraq
Nobel laureate Murad to build hospital in her hometown in Iraq | Reuters

<img src="https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/10/murad-portrait-496x744.jpg" alt="" />
SINJAR, Iraq - Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi woman held as a sex slave by Islamic State militants who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, said on Friday she intended to use the prize money to build a hospital for victims of sexual abuse in her hometown.

The Yazidi survivor was speaking to a crowd of hundreds in Sinjar, her hometown in northern Iraq.

“With the money I got from the Nobel Peace prize, I will build a hospital in Sinjar to treat ill people, mainly widows and women who were exposed to sexual abuses by Islamic State militants,” she told the crowd and gathered journalists.

She thanked the Iraqi and Kurdistan governments for agreeing to her plan and said she would be contacting humanitarian organizations “soon” to start construction.

Murad was awarded the $1 million prize alongside Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

She was one of about 7,000 women and girls captured in northwest Iraq in August 2014 and held by Islamic State in Mosul, where she was tortured and raped.

She escaped after three months and reached Germany, from where she campaigned extensively to appeal for support for the Yazidi community.

The Yazidi area in Sinjar had previously been home to about 400,000 people, mostly Yazidis and Arab Sunnis.

In a matter of days, more than 3,000 Yazidis were killed and about 6,800 kidnapped, either sold into slavery or conscripted to fight for Islamic State as the religious minority came under attack.


Nadia Murad delivered her Nobel Lecture on 10 December 2018 at the Oslo City Hall, Norway.
(English subtitles) Published on Dec 13, 2018 (20:21 min.)

The Nobel Peace Prize 2018 was awarded jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."


Nadia Murad speaking to BBC HARDtalk in 2016
BBC HARDtalk Published on Oct 5, 2018 (24:07 min.)

Sarah Montague speaks to Yazidi activist Nadia Murad about her ordeal under so-called 'Islamic State'. The interview includes accounts of sexual violence that some viewers might find upsetting. It was filmed in 2016.
 
Sarah Montague speaks to Yazidi activist Nadia Murad about her ordeal under so-called 'Islamic State'. The interview includes accounts of sexual violence that some viewers might find upsetting. It was filmed in 2016.

After listening to Nadia Murad testimony and that the Yazidi's are only a small Clan living in both Iraq and Syria, reports like this are devastating to read ...

Sun Dec 16, 2018 - Iraq's Yazidi Women, Children Killed in US Airstrike in Eastern Syria
Farsnews

A number of Iraqi Yazidi women and children were killed in a fresh air raid by the US-led coalition warplanes in Southeastern Deir Ezzur on Sunday.

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The fighter jets pounded the outskirts of the town of al-Souseh in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, killing 10 Yazidi women and children.

The US-led coalition has been bombing civilians buildings and neighborhoods in Deir Ezzur in the last two years.

According to local sources, the US-led coalition fighters also pounded a hospital in a small town in Southeastern Deir Ezzur last week.

They added that a sum of 8 civilians were killed and several more were wounded in the US air raid on residential areas in the province in the last week bombing.

The warplanes fired several missiles on the town of Hajin in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, leveling a medical center to the ground.

In the meantime, 8 members of a family, including 2 children and 3 women, were killed and several more were sounded in another case of airstrike on residential areas in Hajin.
 
After listening to Nadia Murad testimony and that the Yazidi's are only a small Clan living in both Iraq and Syria, reports like this are devastating to read ...

I agree angelburst29. I've been thinking about the 2 videos of Nadia off and on all day. And to think the "US-led coalition" is responsible for more civilian deaths and hearing they are Yazidis, a group already victimized in many areas, makes me sick.

It is not easy trying to pay attention to reality "right and left" when it seems to just keep repeating over and over. You have to wonder if it isn't a "time loop" like the Cs talked about. :-(
 
Syria, Iraq discuss enhancing economic and trade relations

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Baghdad, SANA- Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Hashem al-Ani discussed with Syrian Ambassador in Baghdad Satam Jadaan al-Dandah prospects of developing and enhancing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries in light of the victories achieved by their armies against terrorism.

During the meeting, al-Ani described the relations between the two countries as “historic and rapidly developing, particularly on the social and geographic levels which bind the two brotherly countries.”

He indicated that the trade exchange between Iraq and Syria has reached significant levels as it has been estimated at USD 4 billion over the past years.

The Iraqi minister affirmed that his country exerts relentless efforts to push its relations with Syria forwards and to strengthen trade exchange between the two countries.

He noted that the Iraqi-Syrian Committee for Mutual Cooperation will reactivate its work in light of the agreement of economic cooperation and organizing the trade exchange which was signed between the two countries .

For his part, Ambassador al-Dandah expressed Syria’s desire to bolster trade relations between the two countries through opening the border crossings and increasing the volume of trade exchange, in addition to resolving all the outstanding issues.


Important intelligence sharing meeting held between Iraq, Syria, Russia, Iran in Baghdad

A large intelligence sharing meeting was held in Baghdad between the defense officials from Iraq, Russia, Syria, and Iran on Sunday, Al-Ekhbariya reported.

The meeting was reportedly chaired by Major General Saad Mozher Al-Allaq of the Iraqi Military Intelligence Directorate; it was attended by high ranking officials from all the participating countries.

The Iraqi intel chief presented his country’s achievements, while the partnering nations showcased their own feats in the field of intelligence.

Sunday’s quadripartite meeting was held one-year after a similar conference was held in the Iraqi capital city between the same nations.


Iraqi forces nab 2 Daesh fighters in Mosul after infiltration from Syria

Two Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists were captured by the Iraqi Armed Forces in the historical city of Mosul after they had infiltrated from neighboring Syria recently.

“The forces of the Military Intelligence Directorate arrested two terrorists during a security operation in the city of Badush, west of Mosul,” Al-Ma’aloumah News said on Sunday.

According to Al-Ma’aloumah, the two terrorists “infiltrated from Syria and hid among the displaced people coming from the Al-Hawl Refugee Camp in Syria.”

The two Daesh terrorists have since been transferred to the local authorities for further questioning.
 
Sarah Montague speaks to Yazidi activist Nadia Murad about her ordeal under so-called 'Islamic State'. The interview includes accounts of sexual violence that some viewers might find upsetting. It was filmed in 2016.

After listening to Nadia Murad testimony and that the Yazidi's are only a small Clan living in both Iraq and Syria, reports like this are devastating to read ...

Sun Dec 16, 2018 - Iraq's Yazidi Women, Children Killed in US Airstrike in Eastern Syria
Farsnews

A number of Iraqi Yazidi women and children were killed in a fresh air raid by the US-led coalition warplanes in Southeastern Deir Ezzur on Sunday.

The fighter jets pounded the outskirts of the town of al-Souseh in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, killing 10 Yazidi women and children.

I agree angelburst29. I've been thinking about the 2 videos of Nadia off and on all day. And to think the "US-led coalition" is responsible for more civilian deaths and hearing they are Yazidis, a group already victimized in many areas, makes me sick.

It is not easy trying to pay attention to reality "right and left" when it seems to just keep repeating over and over. You have to wonder if it isn't a "time loop" like the Cs talked about. :-(

On average, I don't hold a high opinion of the BBC but in this interview, conducted by Sarah Montague, it was handled in a reasonable and decent manner.

As for Nadia Murad, I can only envision her as "a walking Saint". To display "composure" while trying to convey what she experienced is mind numbing. During the interview, you can notice traces of Nadia "reliving the event in her mind" while trying to form words to express the event. Put yourself in her place - she's trying to describe the horror of witnessing (through a window) when the men were forced outside, to a designated spot and indiscriminately shot at - point blank! Six of her Brother's and other Family members were in that group. Then the younger girls were divided from the older females and she witnessed her Mother being escorted away, never to be seen again. From there she goes on to describe some of her experiences.

At one point, towards the end of the interview, Nadia relates an incident - where the terrorist put honey "on his toe" and commanded her "to suck on it" - she gave a brief pause, while staring into the interviewer's eyes. It's what Nadia was trying to convey, not the words, that hold significance here. You have to use your intellect ... to realize ... that this isn't the "body part" she was referring to?

Nadia's testimony isn't "the exception" but unfortunately, is common place in the war zones. We just don't get exposed to it because some of the first casualties of war - were the elimination of the journalist. And it's not just an isolated event or incident happening only in Syria but in any hot-spot where war has broken out (past and present).

It's not hard to understand some of the horrors she had to endure when you figure in, a large percentage of these "hardened terrorist" are on potent opioids like Captagon/Fentanyl and Ecstasy!

The most horrific part of all this senseless indiscriminate slaughter and untold misery - is that the United States represents a large segment of this wanton destruction, if not - the primary "instigator"!!! We - as American citizen's - by proxy - have been hoodwinked and dragged into this because we ignorantly have failed "to pay attention to reality "right and left" when it seems to just keep repeating over and over." Again and again!

At home, we complain about high taxes and dwindling social and economic services. Our Countries are being stripped of their vital resources. Protesting in the streets is becoming common place - around the World! Few - stop to think - that we are being stripped of bare essentials needed to survive - just to feed "the ego's and greed of the Global Elites and their power hungry war games"!

In my estimation, we are protesting in the least effective manner? Protesting in the streets has little, to no real effect. The innocent are the one's paying the price. Some demands might be meet but they are only minor compared to the over-all demand for change. And if you really stop to think of the "real situation" - protesting in the streets - aimed at a governing body or officials, is just figuratively - knocking on the front door of a bureaucracy (elected officials) who are also controlled by the same Elites, that are manipulating the citizen's? Our "elected officials" are the middlemen - between the citizen's "they represent" and the Elite. Protester's are targeting the wrong locations and focusing on the wrong "bureaucracy"? The middlemen are just that - a go between - who only "hold title" - they don't hold the real power or authority.

How many times have we heard the phase, "what the Elite's really fear - are the people!"
 
2018-12-18 - Iraqi President to visit Syria for first time during war
https://www.almasdarnews.com/articl...ent-to-visit-syria-for-first-time-during-war/

Iraqi President Barham Salih will pay an official visit to the Syrian capital in the next few days for the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war back in 2011, an Iraqi diplomatic source told Sputnik on Tuesday.

“The president of Iraq will pay an official visit to Damascus in the coming days,” the source said.

Barhim Salih, who served as prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan in 2009-2012, was elected president by the country’s parliament earlier in October.

Salih’s visit to Damascus comes just days after Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir became the first Arab leader to travel to Syria since the start of the war.
 
December 19, 2018 - Former Blackwater Guard convicted of murder in Iraq shooting spree
Former Blackwater guard convicted of murder in Iraq shooting spree | Reuters

A 35-year-old former Blackwater security guard was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday for shooting a civilian at a crowded traffic circle in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in 2007, an incident that drew worldwide condemnation.

Nicholas Slatten was convicted of killing Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia’y, one of 14 civilians slain when Blackwater guards opened fire in Nisur Square on Sept. 16, 2007, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement.

Slatten is being held pending sentencing and faces a mandatory life prison term, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

His murder conviction came a year after a federal appeals court vacated his initial 2014 conviction, saying he should have been tried separately from three other Blackwater guards involved in the incident.

Prosecutors allege that Slatten, of Sparta, Tennessee, fired the first shots and intentionally set off a shooting rampage that killed or wounded 31 civilians, beginning with the death of the driver of a white Kia, Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia’y, 19. The dead included 10 men, two women and two boys, ages 9 and 11.

The shooting stood out for its brutality even in a city in the grips of a bitter sectarian war, and sparked debate over the role of private security contractors such as Blackwater working for the U.S. government in war zones.

Slatten and his fellow guards were traveling in a heavily armed, four-truck Blackwater Worldwide convoy and had been trying to clear a path for U.S. diplomats after a nearby car bomb.

At Nisur Square, they opened fire on Iraqis, including women and children, with machine guns and grenade launchers.

The U.S. Justice Department has long pursued accountability for the Nisur Square shooting.

The Justice Department’s case against Slatten hinged on him having fired the first shots because of a general animosity toward Iraqis. But some evidence suggested an unnamed co-defendant might have fired the initial shots.

The appeals court also ordered the three other Blackwater guards to be resentenced, saying their 30-year terms were too long. That resentencing is pending, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Slatten had received life in prison in the initial conviction.

Blackwater, which was founded by former Navy SEAL Erik Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, was later sold and now operates as Virginia-based Academi.
 
Dozens of civilian bodies found in mass grave in Iraq’s Kirkuk Province (video)

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In this file photo , members of the Izadi minority members search for clues that might lead them to missing relatives in the remains of people killed by Daesh terrorist group in the northwestern Sinjar area (Photo by AFP)

Iraqi authorities have uncovered a mass grave in the country’s northern province of Kirkuk that contains the remains of dozens of civilians believed to have been executed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists when they were in control of the area.

Adel Ismail, a lieutenant-colonel in the Iraqi federal police force, told media outlets on Friday that the latest macabre discovery was made on Thursday in the Hawija district of Kirkuk province.

The official noted the grave contained the remains of "innocent Iraqi civilians" who "were abducted and then killed" by Takfiri terrorists.

Wani Firas, a resident of the area, said it was found in what appears to be a deep well in the Al-Abbassi area of Hawija.

"This is a mass grave used by Daesh." Firas said, adding, "They used to come here, execute and throw (the victims) inside, and we used to watch and observe from nearby."​

This comes as security forces have discovered dozens of mass graves since they drove out Daesh terrorists in 2017 after three years of occupation of swathes of northern and western Iraq.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) says more than 200 mass graves, containing the remains of thousands of people, have been discovered in territories previously controlled by Daesh Takfiris in Iraq.

“The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office have documented the existence of 202 mass grave sites in the provinces of Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Anbar in the northern and western parts of the country,” the OHCHR said in a report published last month.

The UN body further noted that there are maybe more mass graves, and it is difficult to determine the total number of people in the mass graves.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the Arab country on December 9, 2017.

On July 10 that year, he formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which served as the terrorists’ main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country.

In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd al-Sha’abi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh.

Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year.

Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks.

The terrorists have been held responsible for multiple atrocities during their reign of terror, including mass executions and decapitations.

 
Blast in Iraqi Tal Afar Leaves 3 People Killed, 12 Others Injured - Reports

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© REUTERS / Thaier Al-Sudani

As many as three people died and at least 12 others were wounded in an explosion that hit the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, media reported on Tuesday.

The Rudaw broadcaster reported, citing local security forces, that it was a car bomb.


The security forces reported about two people killed and 11 others injured in the blast.

In August 2017, Iraqi city of Tal Afar has been fully liberated from militants of Daesh* terrorist group.

Tal Afar was seized by terrorists in 2014. Before the seizure, it was home to 750,000 people.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia


Daesh Militants Kidnap Around 20 People Near Iraq's Kirkuk - Reports

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© AP Photo / Hadi Mizban

Around 20 people living south of the Iraqi city of Kirkuk were kidnapped by militants of the Daesh* terrorist organisation, NRT broadcaster reported on Tuesday.

Militants attacked a village in the Rashad district, located south-west of Kirkuk, taking 14 locals hostage, Kurdish TV channel NRT reported, adding that the fate of the captives remained unknown.

According to the outlet, militants captured six more people in other villages south of Kirkuk, however one person managed to escape. Residents of several nearby villages reportedly decided to evacuate.

This comes after declaration by the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi in December 2017 of the end of the country's fight against the Daesh after the Iraqi troops re-established complete control over its border with Syria. After that, the Kirkuk province governor told Sputnik in February about so-called Daesh "sleeper cells" in the area.

The province of Kirkuk was under full control of Syrian Kurds, but after the Kurds held an independence referendum in September 2017, the Iraqi government launched an offensive and soon regained control over the region.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist group banned in Russia
 
December 25, 2018 - Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas one year after Daesh defeat
Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas one year after Daesh defeat

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A man dressed in a Santa Claus outfit touring a popular neighborhood on the outskirts of the Iraqi central city of Najaf, takes children on a ride in a tuktuk on December 25, 2018. (AFP)

Iraqis attend Christmas Mass in Mar Youssif Chaldean Church, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. (AP)
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Security forces stand guard before Christmas Mass outside Mar Youssif Chaldean Church in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018. (AP)

Iraqi Christians quietly celebrated Christmas on Tuesday amid improved security, more than a year after the country declared victory over Daesh militants who threatened to end their 2,000-year history in Iraq.

Christianity in Iraq dates back to the first century of the Christian era, when the apostles Thomas and Thaddeus are believed to have preached the Gospel on the fertile flood plains of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.

Iraq is home to many different eastern rite churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, traditionally a sign of the country’s ethnic and religious diversity.

But war and sectarian conflict shrank Iraq’s Christian population from 1.5 million to about 400,000 after the US-led invasion in 2003. Following the onslaught of Daesh in 2014 and the brutal three-year war that followed their numbers have fallen further, though it is not known exactly by how much.

In Baghdad, Christians celebrated mass on Tuesday morning — declared a national holiday by government — in churches decorated for Christmas. Once fearful, they said they were now hopeful, since conditions had improved.

“Of course we can say the security situation is better than in previous years,” said Father Basilius, leader of the St. George Chaldean Church in Baghdad where more than a hundred congregants attended Christmas mass.

“We enjoy security and stability mainly in Baghdad. In addition, Daesh was beaten.”

Iraq declared victory over the militants more than a year ago, but the damage done to Christian enclaves on the Nineveh Plains has been extensive.

In Qaraqosh, a town also known as Hamdaniya which lies 15 km (10 miles) west of Mosul, the damage is still visible.

At the city’s Immaculate Church, which belongs to the Syrian Catholic denomination and has not yet been rebuilt since the militants set it on fire in 2014, Christians gathered for midnight mass on Monday, surrounded by blackened walls still tagged with Daesh graffiti.

Dozens of worshippers prayed and received communion, and then gathered around the traditional bonfire in the church’s courtyard.
Before the militant onslaught, Qaraqosh was the largest Christian settlement in Iraq, with a population of more than 50,000. But today only a few hundred families have returned.

Faced with a choice to convert, pay a tax or die, many Christians in the Nineveh Plains fled to nearby towns and cities and some eventually moved abroad.

Some have since returned, Father Butros said, adding: “We hope that all displaced families will return.”
 
Despite celebrating Caesarmas, I cannot help feel a great sadness that so many have suffered for their faith in monotheism whatever faith that may be.

Dozens of worshippers prayed and received communion, and then gathered around the traditional bonfire in the church’s courtyard.
Before the militant onslaught, Qaraqosh was the largest Christian settlement in Iraq, with a population of more than 50,000. But today only a few hundred families have returned.

Faced with a choice to convert, pay a tax or die, many Christians in the Nineveh Plains fled to nearby towns and cities and some eventually moved abroad.

Some have since returned, Father Butros said, adding: “We hope that all displaced families will return.”
 
December 26, 2018 - In a first, Trump makes surprise visit to US Troops in Iraq
In a first, Trump makes surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq | Reuters

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Donald Trump made a surprise Christmas visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday, his first trip to a conflict zone nearly two years into his presidency and days after announcing a pullout of American troops from neighboring Syria.

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U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet military personnel at the dining facility during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Trump was looking for some positive headlines after several days of turmoil over his decisions to withdraw the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, pull out half of the 14,000-strong contingent in Afghanistan, and push out Defense Secretary James Mattis two months earlier than planned for criticizing his policies.

Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump and speaking at the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad, Trump defended the withdrawal from Syria and said it was made possible by the defeat of Islamic State militants.

“Our presence in Syria was not open ended and it was never intended to be permanent,” he told troops wearing camouflage fatigues in a hangar at the base. He said some troops “can now return home to their families.”

Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers have heaped scorn on Trump over his Syria policy, saying the fight against Islamic State is far from over and the withdrawal leaves allies in the lurch.

One of those critics was Mattis, who said in a candid resignation letter last week that his views did not align with Trump’s, particularly on the treatment of U.S. allies.

Mattis had planned to leave at the end of February, but Trump forced him to go on Jan. 1 after his resignation letter was made public.

Trump has also drawn fire from some in the U.S. military for not having visited U.S. troops in conflict zones since taking office in January 2017, particularly after he canceled a trip to a World War One cemetery in France last month due to rain.

While there has been no full-scale violence in Iraq since Islamic State suffered a series of defeats last year, some 5,200 U.S. troops train and advise Iraqi forces still waging a campaign against the militant group.

Trump spent a little more than three hours in Iraq. On his way home, he stopped for about an hour and a half at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he shook hands and posed for pictures with some of the hundreds of troops lined up inside a hangar. After Ramstein, Trump headed back to Washington.

Trump was supposed to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi but in the end they only spoke by telephone.

Abdul Mahdi’s office said there was “a disagreement over how to conduct the meeting.” Iraqi lawmakers said the prime minister declined Trump’s request to meet him at the military base.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the meeting could not be arranged due to security concerns and the short notice of the trip, but she said they had a “great call” and that Abdul Mahdi accepted Trump’s invitation to the White House in the New Year.

“TOTAL VICTORY”
The unannounced visit in Iraq followed in the footsteps of two of Trump’s predecessors, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Barack Obama, who both made surprise trips to see troops.

For security reasons, the visits are usually kept secret until after the president arrives. A small group of aides and Secret Service agents, and a pool of reporters, were with Trump and the first lady on the overnight flight from Washington.

Trump said his main security concern was for the first lady.

While in Iraq, Trump also spoke to military commanders and the U.S. ambassador. Sanders said they “came up with a powerful plan that will allow us to continue our path to total victory” over Islamic State.

Unlike Syria, Trump said he had no plans to withdraw from Iraq.

Trump has had an uneven relationship with America’s military. He did not have to serve during the Vietnam War after being diagnosed with bone spurs in his heels.

As president-elect, Trump was drawn to the brawn of the armed forces and stacked his first Cabinet with generals, many of whom have since left his administration.

Trump has also wanted to end protracted U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts, and to force allies to pay more of the costs that he says fall disproportionately on American taxpayers, a point he made again on Wednesday.

Trump spoke to troops gathered in a dining hall festooned with holiday decorations and teased soldiers about their favorite football teams.

To reporters, he lamented the wear and tear of overseas conflicts.

“It’s time to get our young people out,” Trump said. “And I’ve been signing plenty of letters and I don’t like sending those letters home to parents saying that your young man or your young woman has been killed.

“I don’t like doing it. We’ve been doing it long enough.”

Slideshow (14 Images)
In a first, Trump makes surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq | Reuters


December 26, 2018 - Trump defends Syria pullout during surprise visit to Iraq
Trump defends Syria pullout during surprise visit to Iraq | Reuters

Al ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria during an unannounced visit to Iraq, saying that many people will start seeing things on Syria the same way he does.

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U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to U.S. troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Trump made the decision on Syria abruptly last week, against the advice of top aides and commanders, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who resigned the next day.

Trump said he had told his advisers, “let’s get out of Syria,” but was persuaded to stay, before deciding last week to bring the 2,000 troops home.

“I think a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. It’s time for us to start using our head,” the president told reporters at the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad where he and first lady Melania Trump spent a little more than three hours on the ground with U.S. troops.

The base, in Anbar province, became one of the most important bases for U.S. Marines after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Since U.S. forces returned to Iraq in 2014, the base has played an important role in the fight against Islamic State because of its location.

Trump said the United States would remain in Iraq, adding, “In fact, we could use this as the base if we wanted to do something in Syria.”

Reuters reported last week that the Pentagon was considering using special operations teams to target Islamic State militants in Syria, based out of Iraq.

At the time, officials said a final decision had not been made and the option was being considered.

While in Iraq, Trump indicated he would not rush to nominate a new secretary to replace Mattis, the first defense chief in decades to resign over policy differences with the president.

Trump said Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, whom he named on Sunday to replace Mattis in an acting capacity starting on Jan. 1, “could be there for a long time.”

Trump has come under withering criticism from fellow Republicans, Democrats and international allies over his decision to pull out of Syria because he believed Islamic State militants have been defeated.

Critics argue that the decision could undercut U.S. leverage in the region and undermine diplomatic efforts to the end the Syrian civil war, now in its eighth year.

Ankara is threatening a new offensive in Syria. To date, U.S. forces in Syria have been seen as a stabilizing factor and have somewhat restrained Turkey’s actions against Syrian Kurdish forces.

On Sunday, Trump said in a tweet that he had spoken with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan about a “slow and highly coordinated” withdrawal of the U.S. troops, suggesting that he might slow down the process after the barrage of criticism.

A complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria would leave a sizeable U.S. military presence in the region, including about 5,200 troops across the border in Iraq. Much of the U.S. campaign in Syria has been waged by warplanes flying out of Qatar and other locations in the Middle East.


December 26, 2018 - Iraqi Lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty
Iraqi lawmakers criticize Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty | Reuters

Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.

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U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet military personnel at the dining facility during an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq December 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament “to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The U.S. occupation of Iraq is over.”

The Bina bloc, Islah’s rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump’s trip to Iraq.

“Trump’s visit is a flagrant and clear violation of diplomatic norms and shows his disdain and hostility in his dealings with the Iraqi government,” said a statement from Bina.

Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement that U.S. authorities had informed Iraq’s leadership of the president’s visit ahead of time. The statement said the Iraqi prime minister and U.S. president talked by telephone due to a “disagreement over how to conduct the meeting.”

Iraqi lawmakers told Reuters that the pair had disagreed over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer which Abdul Mahdi declined.

Trump’s visit comes amid a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, as Washington seeks to counter Iran’s sway in the Middle East. The formation of Iraq’s government has stalled as well amid intensifying discord between the Islah and Bina blocs.

Falih Khazali, a former militia leader turned politician allied with Bina, accused the United States of wanting to increase its presence in Iraq. “The American leadership was defeated in Iraq and wants to return again under any pretext, and this is what we will never allow,” he said.

Bina said Trump’s visit “places many question marks on the nature of the U.S. military presence and its real objectives, and what these objectives could pose to the security of Iraq.”

While there has been no full-scale violence in Iraq since Islamic State suffered a series of defeats last year, some 5,200 U.S. troops train and advise Iraqi forces still waging a campaign against the militant group.

Islah is headed by populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr has long opposed the U.S. presence in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He led two uprisings against U.S. forces in Iraq and is one of the few Shi’ite leaders to also distance himself from Iran.

Iraq’s Shi’ite militias also known as the PMF, many of which are supported by Iran, oppose the presence of U.S. troops in the region. The PMF was made formally part of the security forces this year after helping the military defeat Islamic State in Iraq in 2017.
Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the powerful Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on Twitter, “Iraqis will respond with a parliamentary decision to oust your (U.S.) military forces. And if they do not leave, we have the experience and the ability to remove them by other means that your forces are familiar with.”

Some Iraqis, however, were less concerned with the U.S. president’s visit.

“We won’t get anything from America,” said Baghdad resident Mohammad Abdullah. “They’ve been in Iraq 16 years, and they haven’t given anything to the country except destruction and devastation.”


2018-12-26 - Iraq Weapons Inspector’s Strange and Mysterious Death to be Explored in New Film
Iraq Weapons Inspector's Strange and Mysterious Death to be Explored in New Film - Eurasia Future

Dr. David Kelly was an unassuming man in an age of political grandstanding – a soft spoken weapons expert in an age of weaponized rhetoric. Having worked for both the United Nations and the British government as a high level weapons inspector, he briefly became a household name when after a 2003 visit to Iraq, Dr. Kelly concluded that the government in Baghdad was telling the truth regarding its inability to produce weapons of mass destruction and the non-existence of WMD stockpiles.

In an article published by the Guardian newspaper in 2003, the following was written about what turned out to be Kelley’s final weapons inspecting mission to Iraq:

An official British investigation into two trailers found in northern Iraq has concluded they are not mobile germ warfare labs, as was claimed by Tony Blair and President George Bush, but were for the production of hydrogen to fill artillery balloons, as the Iraqis have continued to insist.

The conclusion by biological weapons experts working for the British Government is an embarrassment for the Prime Minister, who has claimed that the discovery of the labs proved that Iraq retained weapons of mass destruction and justified the case for going to war against Saddam Hussein.

Instead, a British scientist and biological weapons expert, who has examined the trailers in Iraq, told The Observer last week: ‘They are not mobile germ warfare laboratories. You could not use them for making biological weapons. They do not even look like them. They are exactly what the Iraqis said they were – facilities for the production of hydrogen gas to fill balloons”.

The man quoted in the article was then revealed to be Dr. David Kelly who also stated that Tony Blair’s infamous Iraq dossier was “sexed up” by the UK government in order to inflate the always hyperbolic accusations against Iraq which were used to justify the illegal invasion and occupation of the oil rich Arab republic. Of course, all of Kelly’s assertions turned up to be true while all of Tony Blair’s turned out to be false.

Shortly after the publication of the Guardian piece, Kelly was found dead in the woods after he allegedly slit his wrists. It was later revealed that Kelly was so physically weak that he had difficulty cutting steak with a knife. Yet somehow he was able to successfully sever his wrists and take his life for reasons that remain as unknown as suspicious.

In the years since Kelly’s death, the phenomenon of whistle-blowers exposing devious and criminal behaviour by western governments has become increasingly common. In 2010, Chelsea Manning famously leaked classified information regarding US war criminality in Iraq to Julian Assange’s online publication Wikileaks. The startling revelations led to a public outcry over the ongoing war on Iraq while Manning was imprisoned and threatened with execution over her leaking of the documents to Assange. Manning’s publisher Julian Assange is currently a de-facto prisoner in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London while it has recently been revealed that the US is looking to formally press charges against Assange with the death penalty being a possible consequence of a would-be successful prosecution.

In 2013, former US National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden blew the whistle on illegal domestic and international spying programmes controlled by US intelligence agencies. He fled the country shortly thereafter and today remains in Russia where he was granted asylum.

But while the stories of Manning, Assange and Snowden are well known, there has been a concerted attempt to silence discussions about the dead whistle-blower Dr. David Kelly. How did he actual die? Was it really a suicide? Was it a murder and if so who was behind it?

These are the important questions that former British Member of Parliament George Galloway will address in a new incisive film to be called Killing Kelly. Galloway funded his film through the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter just as he did in respect of his most recent film The Killing$ of Tony Blair.

Dr Kelly's Last Interview:
Published on Aug 8, 2012 (47:47 min.)
Interview with and overview of his work as AEA inspector in Iraq and Russia prior to his death/assassination.
 
Trump Accidentally Reveals Secret SEAL Unit During Visit to Iraq

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq to meet US servicemen stationed at the Ayn al-Asad Air Base. During the visit, Trump told reporters that he has no plans to withdraw US troops from Iraq, which he said could be used to attack the Daesh* terrorist group.

President Donald Trump has accidentally revealed typically secret details of a covert special operations unit after he posted a video on Twitter showing him talking and taking selfies with what appeared to be members of a US Navy SEALs team during his unannounced trip to Baghdad, Newsweek reports.

In the video, the special warfare forces are seen dressed in full battle gear and wearing night vision goggles.


Malcolm Nance, a former US Navy intelligence specialist with experience in Iraq told Newsweek that "the real names, faces and identities of personnel involved in special operations or activities are usually a closely held secret in a combat zone."

"Revealing them casually, through an unusual media exposure even if it's the commander-in-chief, would prove a propaganda boom if any of this personnel are detained by a hostile government or captured by a terrorist group. There would be no denying who you are and what you do," Nance stressed.

Newsweek also cited a Pentagon official as saying, on condition of anonymity, that it was unusual to post a video revealing special ops troops' faces without blurring or censoring them.

"Even during special operation demonstrations for congressional delegations or for the president or vice president, personnel either have their faces covered or their face is digitally blurred prior to a release to the general public," the official noted.

He admitted that he does not recall "another time where special operation forces had to pose with their faces visible while serving in a war zone."

His comments came after aviation enthusiasts managed to track Air Force One on its secret flight to Iraq, posting pictures of the distinctive blue and white Boeing jet flying over England on their Twitter accounts.



WikiLeaks, in turn, posted a map of the route the jet was taking, tweeting, in particular, that the plane's transponders were either changed or disabled near Romania.


Earlier, NBC News quoted Trump as saying that when he was en route to Baghdad, he had concerns for "the institution of the presidency" and the first lady.

"But if you would have seen what we had to go through, with the darkened plane with all windows closed, with no lights on whatsoever, anywhere, pitch black, I’ve never seen that, been on many airplanes, all types and shapes and sizes, I’ve never seen anything like it," Trump noted.

On December 26, he and First Lady Melania Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq to meet US servicemen stationed at the Ayn al-Asad Air Base, where he told reporters that he has "no plans at all" to withdraw US troops from Iraq. The visit marked the first time Trump visited a war zone since becoming president.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia and a number of other countries.


Explosions Heard Near US Embassy in Iraq After Trump's Visit - Reports

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CC BY 2.0 / United States Department of State

Following US President Donald Trump's visit to Baghdad, a series of blasts were heard in the heavily guarded Green Zone, close to the US Embassy in Iraq, Russian media reported Thursday, citing Shafaaq news.

Several mortar rounds landed and exploded in the vicinity of the US embassy in the Iraqi capital, according to Shafaaq news.

Embassy guards swiftly fired a series of warning shots in response to the attack, media reported, citing an official as saying.

Earlier, several Arab broadcasters reported a powerful blast rocked parts of Baghdad, close to where the US embassy is located.

The incident occurred after US President Donald Trump visited Iraq, where he met with American military servicemen. During the visit, Trump told reporters that he is not considering withdrawing American troops from Iraq, following Washington's announced pull-out from Syria.
 
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US Army Deploys 5,000 Troops in Ein Al-Assad Base in Western Iraq

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The US Army has deployed a sum of 5,000 soldiers in Ein al-Assad base in Anbar province, an Iraqi news website reported on Sunday

The Arabic-language al-Ma'aloumah quoted Mahmoud Marzi, the commander of the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi in Anbar, as saying that the total number of the US forces in Ein al-Assad base in the town of al-Baghdadi in Anbar province stands at almost 5,000.

He further told al-Ma'aloumah that the US forces in Ein al-Assad base are equipped with advanced military equipment, including armored vehicles and cannons, underlining that the US soldiers in Ein al-Assad are combat forces not military advisors.

It went on to say that the American troops that have withdrawn from Syria have been deployed in US-run bases in Erbil province in Northern Iraq, adding that other US bases in Anbar, Salahuddin, Nineveh and Erbil provinces are also military troopers and not advisors.

Meantime, a security source in Anbar province reported that a sum of 40 truckloads of garbage are unloaded from Ein al-Assad base each day, "proving that Ein al-Assad is home to a large number of US forces".

A member of Anbar’s provisional council said on Wednesday that the US Army established two new military facilities in uninhabited parts of Anbar province, Farhan al-Duleimi.

The first base was established in the Northern Rumana sub-district of al-Qaim district, in the vicinity of the Syrian border, some 360 kilometers West of the provincial capital Ramadi.

The second base was set up East of the city of al-Rutbah, about 310 kilometers West of Ramadi and less than 100 kilometers from the Syrian border, al-Duleimi told Anadolu.

“Scores of US soldiers are currently stationed at the two bases, along with drones and other equipment,” added al-Duleimi, yet without providing any additional evidence.

Both the central government in Baghdad and Washington have yet to comment on al-Duleimi’s statement. If confirmed, that would bring the total number of bases in Anbar province to four.


Special flight with 30 children takes off from Baghdad for Moscow - Chechen leader

A special flight with children from Chechnya, Moscow, Penza and Dagestan, who were kept at Iraqi prisons, has taken off from Baghdad for Moscow, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov reported via his Telegram channel on Sunday.

Addressing his traditional end-of-the-year news conference earlier in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged that efforts would be continues to return children of Russian citizens back to Russia from Syria. He also recalled that Kadyrov was in charge of such efforts.

"Several minutes ago, a special flight took off from Baghdad’s international airport and now is heading for Moscow. It is carrying 30 children who were kept at prisons in Iraq until today. Twenty-four of them are from Dagestan, three are from Chechnya and the rest are from Moscow and Penza. Efforts to return Russian children to their homeland are being taken at the instruction from Russian President Vladimir Putin and have never been stopped for a minute," Kadyrov wrote.

Earlier, the Chechen authorities helped evacuate more than 100 women and children from Russia and citizens of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Currently, more than 2,000 women and children from Russia are to be evacuated from Syria and Iraq where they were taken by their husbands and fathers who had sided with terrorist organizations.


Russia knows about 700 children taken by their parents to hostility areas in Middle East

Russia has information about some 700 Russian children who were brought to the Middle East countries by their parents, the website of Russian children’s rights ombudsperson Anna Kuznetsova reported on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Kuznetsova arrived in Baghdad to accompany, along with medics and psychologists, a group of 30 children on their way back to Russia from Iraq. A Russian emergencies plane with these children is expected to land at the Ramenskoye airfield outside Moscow later on Sunday.

According to the website, Russia’s foreign, emergencies, health and education ministries set up a commission and a working group in September 2017 to help evacuate children from areas of hostilities.

"Over this period, a data base has been compiled which had information about 699 under-age children of Russian nationals who were brought to the Middle East by their parents," according to the website.

Since August 2018, children’s rights ombudspersons in Russian regions jointly with the Russian foreign ministry have been preparing documents needed to evacuate Russian children whose mothers are kept at a Baghdad prison. "According to the Russian foreign ministry’s data, there are 115 such children aged under ten and eight children aged from 11 to 17. Relatives of these children live in 16 Russian regions," the ombudsperson’s website says.

Earlier on Sunday, head of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, wrote on his Telegram account that a special flight with 30 children had taken off from Baghdad for Moscow.
 
US Army Forwards Large Military Convoy from Kuwait to Base in Western Iraq

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The US Army has dispatched tens of military vehicles from Kuwait to Ein al-Assad base in Anbar province, a news website reported on Monday

The Arabic-language al-Ma'aloumah quoted a security sources within the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi as reporting that a long convoy of the US army, including a sum of 50 vehicles carrying military hardware, crossed Kuwait's border and entered a region West of the town of al-Ramadi.

It further said that each US army truck was carrying 2 Hummer and Personnel-carrier vehicles, adding that the convoy had headed towards Ein al-Assad base Northwest of al-Ramadi.

The website went on to say that the US convoy was backed up by warplanes, adding more US military convoys are expected to arrive at the base in the coming hours.

A commander of the Iraqi popular forces of Hashd al-Shaabi disclosed earlier today that a long convoy of the US Army vehicles has left Syria for Ein al-Assad base in Anbar province.

Al-Ma'aloumeh quoted the commander as saying that a long convoy of US troops has left Syria and arrived in Western Anbar.

It further said that the US troops that were equipped with different weapons deployed in Ein al-Assad base in Anbar province under the US aerial backup.

The news website went on to say that security measures along roads from Syria's border to Ein al-Assad base made it difficult to count the total number of the US forces in the convoy.


Iraqi MP Accuses US Army of Camping ISIL Terrorists at Bases in Iraq

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A senior Iraqi legislator leveled strong accusations against the US army on Monday, saying hundreds of ISIL terrorists have deployed at the US bases in the country

Kazzem al-Sayyadi, an independent lawmaker of the Iraqi parliament, told the Arabic-language al-Ma'aloumeh news website that over 1,000 ISIL militants are present at the US bases.

"The US forces entered Iraq's territories on a decision of their own and their number now amounts to 30,000. They supported the ISIL logistically during this period and now, over 1,000 ISIL members are present at the US military bases," al-Sayyadi claimed.

There have been frequent reports accusing the US army of cooperation with ISIL in Southeast Syria and Western Iraq, but the accusation leveled against the US military by the Iraqi lawmaker is the first formal statement made ever in this regard.

The Iraqi forces have in the past few years found a huge volume of advanced US-made missiles and weapons in the ISIL hideouts in the country.

Also, Spokesman of Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah (Hezbollah Battalions) popular forces Jafar al-Hosseini disclosed that captured ISIL leaders had acknowledged receiving logistical backup and intelligence support from the US.

"As the ISIL commanders captured in Iraqi popular forces' recent military operations have confessed, the US supports for the terrorist groups are not limited to the dispatch of logistical support," Al-Hosseini told FNA in 2015.

He reiterated that the US had provided the ISIL with intelligence about the Iraqi forces' positions and targets.

"ISIL commanders trusted the US officials who had assured them that the Iraqi forces would not attack Fallujah because the US had urged the Iraqi government to prevent the popular forces from entering Fallujah and raid Beiji instead; hence the terrorists left Fallujah for Beiji to stay on the alert in there," Al-Hosseini added.


Mass Grave Discovered in Iraq's Northern Kirkuk Province

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Authorities in Northern Iraq have announced the discovery of a mass grave containing the bodies of civilians believed to have been killed by the ISIL

Police said on Sunday residents found the bodies in a sparsely populated region near the town of Huweija in Kirkuk province after heavy rain in the area exposed the corpses, al Jazeera reported.

"As you can see, the location allowed them to hide and kill innocent civilians from the district and outside the district," said Security Chief Dawoud Salman al-Shameri.

It was not immediately clear how many bodies laid further underground.

People living in the area said they had witnessed ISIL, an armed group that held large swaths of territory across Northern Iraq and Syria from mid-2014 until late 2017, execute victims in broad daylight.

"On our way, we saw they were killing them. The victims were dressed in red suits. We could see them it was clear," said Adday Hamid Abd, who lives in the nearby village of Al Daghila.

Last month, a report by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq documented the existence of 202 such mass grave sites in the Iraqi provinces of Nineveh, Salahuddin and Anbar.

A year earlier, in November 2017, graves containing the remains of some 400 bodies were found at an airbase on the outskirts of Kirkuk.

Police on Sunday cordoned off the area as they waited for a team to arrive from Baghdad to exhume the bodies, a procedure that could enable authorities to convict those responsible for war crimes and possibly genocide.
 
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