http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/04/un-threatens-sanctions-against-critics-of-new-yemeni-govt/
The resolution makes several references to “terrorist attacks” in the country and concerns about al-Qaeda’s influence, but makes it clear that the sanctions are not strictly targeted at terrorists but rather anyone caught “undermining” the regime.
The resolution makes several references to “terrorist attacks” in the country and concerns about al-Qaeda’s influence, but makes it clear that the sanctions are not strictly targeted at terrorists but rather anyone caught “undermining” the regime.
The deal will be particularly important for the European member nations looking to withdraw from Afghanistan in the next few years, as it will allow them to use an overland route, through Russia, to return their weaponry to their countries of origin.
The US consul general insists that the employees, who were quickly released after the US warned them against detentions, were returning from an “education event for underprivileged children.” They made no attempt to explain the weapons.
UN Threatens Sanctions Against Critics of New Yemeni Govt
Security Council Endorses Resolution Mirroring US Version
by Jason Ditz, June 04, 2012
Following up on last week’s comments by Ban Ki-moon endorsing Yemen’s single-candidate “democracy” as a model for the entire Middle East to imitate, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution threatening “non-military sanctions” on anyone found insufficiently supportive of the new regime.
The resolution makes several references to “terrorist attacks” in the country and concerns about al-Qaeda’s influence, but makes it clear that the sanctions are not strictly targeted at terrorists but rather anyone caught “undermining” the regime.
The language largely mimics the Executive Order imposed by President Obama last month in the US, threatening official American economic sanctions against any individuals he believes are “obstructing” the new government.
UN Threatens Sanctions Against Critics of New Yemeni Govt
Security Council Endorses Resolution Mirroring US Version
by Jason Ditz, June 04, 2012
Following up on last week’s comments by Ban Ki-moon endorsing Yemen’s single-candidate “democracy” as a model for the entire Middle East to imitate, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution threatening “non-military sanctions” on anyone found insufficiently supportive of the new regime.
The resolution makes several references to “terrorist attacks” in the country and concerns about al-Qaeda’s influence, but makes it clear that the sanctions are not strictly targeted at terrorists but rather anyone caught “undermining” the regime.
The language largely mimics the Executive Order imposed by President Obama last month in the US, threatening official American economic sanctions against any individuals he believes are “obstructing” the new government.
and.....
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/04/nato-signs-supply-deal-for-afghanistan-through-central-asia/
NATO Signs Supply Deal for Afghanistan Through Central Asia
Deal Will Allow NATO to Bypass Pakistan on Equipment Transfers
by Jason Ditz, June 04, 2012
Giving them another way to avoid the closed Pakistani border, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen today announced a deal with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to open a new supply route through Central Asia.
The deal will be particularly important for the European member nations looking to withdraw from Afghanistan in the next few years, as it will allow them to use an overland route, through Russia, to return their weaponry to their countries of origin.
The value of the route for those continuing with the occupation, like the United States which plans to remain through 2024, is questionable, since the overland route is dramatically more expensive than the sea route into Pakistan.
Pakistan closed its border to NATO in November in response to a US attack on their military bases. Negotiations on reopening the border have fallen through with the US refusing to apologize for the attack and ruling out ending the ongoing drone strikes against Pakistani territory.
http://news.antiwar.com/2012/06/04/pakistan-catches-us-diplomats-with-illegal-arms/
Pakistan Catches US Diplomats With Illegal Arms
US Warns Pakistan Against Detaining Consular Employees
by Jason Ditz, June 04, 2012
A number of US consular employees were detained today in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar, after they refused to allow police to search their vehicle at a checkpoint, and the police, who searched the car anyhow, found a collection of illegal arms inside.
The US consul general insists that the employees, who were quickly released after the US warned them against detentions, were returning from an “education event for underprivileged children.” They made no attempt to explain the weapons.
The incident brings back memories of last year’s Raymond Davis incident, in which the man officially licensed as a “consular employee” killed twoPakistanis in Lahore. Davis was eventually revealed to be a top CIA official operating secretly under the guise of a diplomat, though US officials still demanded he be released under his diplomatic immunity as a consular employee.
This is certain to add to the already tense US-Pakistan relationship, and will probably keep Pakistanis regarding US diplomats with suspicion. Pakistani law makes it clear that diplomats are not allowed to carry weapons.
and....
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-282522-turkey-welcomes-efforts-to-unseat-maliki-amid-political-crisis-in-iraq.html
Turkey welcomes efforts to unseat Maliki amid political crisis in Iraq
4 June 2012 / GÖZDE NUR DONAT, ANKARA
Turkey has welcomed efforts by Iraqi politicians to unseat Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki amid an unprecedented political crisis in the country fueled by the prime minister's deliberate purging of Sunni opponents.
Politicians in the Iraqi Parliament have collected enough signatures to hold a non-confidence vote that could lead to the ousting of Maliki. Some 172 votes have already been collected and were presented to Iraqi Parliamentary Speaker Usama Abdul Aziz al-Nujayfi by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Monday, Turkey's Anatolia news agency reported.
Turkey welcomes the development, Turkish diplomatic sources told Today's Zaman. The officials added that the source of the political crisis in Iraq is Maliki and that there is no conflict between Turkey and Iraq, but rather a crisis within the war-torn country. The sources also said Sunnis and a Shiite group led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr consider Maliki responsible for the current crisis.
According to Ankara, Sadr's “principled stance” was decisive in making the process potentially success. Stressing that even Shiite groups are not supportive of Maliki, the officials said an inclusive government that is capable of building dialogue with all segments of Iraq would be the most beneficial outcome.
Expectations are that Maliki will do everything to hold on to power and will pledge to address the demands of Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and other groups. But officials say those who are racing against Maliki seem very decisive this time.
Political analysts argue that Turkey should pay close attention to developments in Iraq for future relations with the country.
Turkey welcomes the development, Turkish diplomatic sources told Today's Zaman. The officials added that the source of the political crisis in Iraq is Maliki and that there is no conflict between Turkey and Iraq, but rather a crisis within the war-torn country. The sources also said Sunnis and a Shiite group led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr consider Maliki responsible for the current crisis.
According to Ankara, Sadr's “principled stance” was decisive in making the process potentially success. Stressing that even Shiite groups are not supportive of Maliki, the officials said an inclusive government that is capable of building dialogue with all segments of Iraq would be the most beneficial outcome.
Expectations are that Maliki will do everything to hold on to power and will pledge to address the demands of Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani and other groups. But officials say those who are racing against Maliki seem very decisive this time.
Political analysts argue that Turkey should pay close attention to developments in Iraq for future relations with the country.
Meanwhile, the debates have been recently sparked on forming sovereign regions in southern Iraq, directly after discussions on Maliki's unseat has come onto the agenda. Al Bazzunu, the head of Iraqi provincial council announced that in case Maliki loses the confidence of the Iraqi parliament an independent Basra administration would be constituted in the south. Muqteda al-Sadr, one of the prominent Shiite clerics in Iraq that allied himself with Maliki's opponents in order to oust him, strongly criticized such a scenario which would harm territorial integrity of Iraq. Al-Sadr has aligned himself with the opponents of al-Maliki, who is facing mounting allegations from members of his broad unity government of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds that he is monopolizing power.
Atillla Sandıklı, the head of İstanbul-based think tank Bilgesam claims that Maliki is now suffering because of his efforts to create a Shiite-based monopoly of power, by taking strength from an alliance with Iran, marring the clear principles of a power balance between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish groups found in the Iraqi constitution.
So far, Turkey has helped solve political rifts in Iraq while warning Maliki that his actions could deepen such rifts. Maliki has made a mistake by leaning on an alliance with Iran,” Sandıklı asserted.
The trouble in Iraq began on the last days of 2011, when the secular Sunni-backed Al-Iraqiyya bloc began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet over what it said was Maliki's centralization of power. Maliki sought to depose Sunni deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak, an Al-Iraqiyya member over his claims that the prime minister tried to constitute a Saddam-like administration in the country.
That month, an arrest warrant was issued for Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, also of Al-Iraqiyya, for allegedly running a death squad. Also, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) relations with the Shiite-led government, which already has long-running disputes with Kurds over territory and oil, were strained further when al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's leading Sunni politicians, fled Baghdad for the Kurdish north in December to avoid prosecution. While touching on the possibility of increased political instability and a conflict situation in the country as Maliki stays in power, Sandıklı also warned that Turkey should pay attention to a possible vacuum of authority having implications on Iraq's territorial integrity after Maliki's withdrawal.
Atillla Sandıklı, the head of İstanbul-based think tank Bilgesam claims that Maliki is now suffering because of his efforts to create a Shiite-based monopoly of power, by taking strength from an alliance with Iran, marring the clear principles of a power balance between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish groups found in the Iraqi constitution.
So far, Turkey has helped solve political rifts in Iraq while warning Maliki that his actions could deepen such rifts. Maliki has made a mistake by leaning on an alliance with Iran,” Sandıklı asserted.
The trouble in Iraq began on the last days of 2011, when the secular Sunni-backed Al-Iraqiyya bloc began a boycott of parliament and the cabinet over what it said was Maliki's centralization of power. Maliki sought to depose Sunni deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak, an Al-Iraqiyya member over his claims that the prime minister tried to constitute a Saddam-like administration in the country.
That month, an arrest warrant was issued for Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, also of Al-Iraqiyya, for allegedly running a death squad. Also, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) relations with the Shiite-led government, which already has long-running disputes with Kurds over territory and oil, were strained further when al-Hashemi, one of Iraq's leading Sunni politicians, fled Baghdad for the Kurdish north in December to avoid prosecution. While touching on the possibility of increased political instability and a conflict situation in the country as Maliki stays in power, Sandıklı also warned that Turkey should pay attention to a possible vacuum of authority having implications on Iraq's territorial integrity after Maliki's withdrawal.
A Turkish diplomat, who spoke under conditions of anonymity, also commented that Turkey desires that solutions to the Iraqi political crisis should be found within the framework of the Iraqi constitution.
The situation does not clearly suggest that Maliki's ousting is possible. After collecting of the quorum to unseat the prime minister, a newly established commission has started an inquiry on whether the votes are fraudulent or not. Bilgay Duman, an expert on Iraq from the Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Research (ORSAM), based on this information, did not deem Maliki's going very likely. “Maliki has constituted a strong monopoly of power during his stay and he will probably be able manage the process with political bargaining. Also, there are rifts within the opposition groups which would prevent them from constituting a strong bloc in front of Maliki,” Duman explained, giving a low contingency to an easy and quick removal of Maliki. Relations with Turkey will follow a negative course in the future, he said.
Turkey's strained relations with Maliki have crystallized after Turkey supported Iyad Allawi, the Sunni leader of the Iraqi election-winning Al-Iraqiyya bloc, in the 2010 Iraqi elections. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki have traded tit-for-tat criticisms and accusations several times this year. Erdoğan last month accused Maliki of fanning tensions between Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims and Kurds in Iraq through “self-centered” behavior. Maliki quickly responded that Turkey was becoming a “hostile state” with a sectarian agenda, saying it was meddling in Iraqi affairs and trying to establish regional “hegemony.”
The situation does not clearly suggest that Maliki's ousting is possible. After collecting of the quorum to unseat the prime minister, a newly established commission has started an inquiry on whether the votes are fraudulent or not. Bilgay Duman, an expert on Iraq from the Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Research (ORSAM), based on this information, did not deem Maliki's going very likely. “Maliki has constituted a strong monopoly of power during his stay and he will probably be able manage the process with political bargaining. Also, there are rifts within the opposition groups which would prevent them from constituting a strong bloc in front of Maliki,” Duman explained, giving a low contingency to an easy and quick removal of Maliki. Relations with Turkey will follow a negative course in the future, he said.
Turkey's strained relations with Maliki have crystallized after Turkey supported Iyad Allawi, the Sunni leader of the Iraqi election-winning Al-Iraqiyya bloc, in the 2010 Iraqi elections. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki have traded tit-for-tat criticisms and accusations several times this year. Erdoğan last month accused Maliki of fanning tensions between Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims and Kurds in Iraq through “self-centered” behavior. Maliki quickly responded that Turkey was becoming a “hostile state” with a sectarian agenda, saying it was meddling in Iraqi affairs and trying to establish regional “hegemony.”
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