Bush’s ‘new’ Iraq massacres emos

This video from Britain is called Trading blood for oil – sending our poor to kill the poor of Muslim countries.

On the same day as the umpteenth massacre of civilians in George W. Bush’s (and now, Barack Obama’s) “new” supposedly “liberated” Afghanistan: news on the umpteenth massacre of civilians in George W. Bush’s (and now, Barack Obama’s) “new” supposedly “liberated” Iraq.

Iraq …

The “new” Iraq which arose since the 2003 invasion, based on George W. Bush‘s and Tony Blair‘s lies, is a country where over a million people have been killed. Where four million people have become refugees. Where children die horrible deaths from the effects of “humanitarian” military intervention.

Where there are more prisoners and more torture than under dictator Saddam Hussein.

Where women’s rights are far worse than under Saddam Hussein.

This “new” Iraq has become the world ‘s most corrupt country, along with those two other “beneficiaries” of US “humanitarian intervention”, Afghanistan and Somalia.

There are far more horrible things to say about the Iraq which Bush and Blair made.

For the moment, let us concentrate on one point.

From the Mail on Sunday in England:

Stoned to death for being an emo: NINETY Iraqi students killed for having ‘strange hair and tight clothes’

Number of deaths could be even higher
Cleric calls the stonings ‘an act of terrorism’
Ministry of Interior ‘complicit’ in the killings

By Mail On Sunday Reporter

PUBLISHED: 10:55 GMT, 10 March 2012 | UPDATED: 01:25 GMT, 11 March 2012

Youngsters in Iraq are being stoned to death for having haircuts and wearing clothes that emulate the ‘emo’ style popular among western teenagers.

…

The killings have taken place since Iraq’s interior ministry drew attention to the ‘emo’ subculture last month, labelling it ‘Satanism’ and ordering the community police force to stamp it out.

Fans of the ‘emo’ trend – short for emotional – wear tight jeans and have distinctive long, black or spiky haircuts.

The bodies of at least 14 youths have been taken to three hospitals in eastern Baghdad bearing signs of having been beaten to death with rocks.

After reports of the stonings circulated on Iraqi media, the interior ministry said this week that no murders on its files could be blamed on attacks on ‘emos’.

Iraq’s leading Shia clerics have condemned the stonings.

Iraq’s Moral Police released a statement on the interior ministry’s website condemning the ’emo phenomenon’ among Iraqi youth, declaring its intent to ‘eliminate’ the trend.

The move is part of a wider clampdown on young people taking on what government officials call ‘Western appearances’ in Iraq.

‘The Emo phenomenon or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate (the phenomenon) as soon as possible since it’s detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger,’ the statement read.

‘They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities.’

A group of armed men dressed in civilian clothing led dozens of teenagers to secluded areas a few days ago, stoned them to death, and then disposed their bodies in garbage dumpsters across the capital, according to activists, activists told the Cairo-based al-Akhbar website.

The armed men are said to belong to ‘one of the most extremist religious groups’ in Iraq.

‘First they throw concrete blocks at the boy’s arms, then at his legs, then the final blow is to his head, and if he is not dead then, they start all over again,’ one person who managed to escape told Al-Akhbar.

Iraq’s moral police was granted approval by the Ministry of Education to enter Baghdad schools and pinpoint students with such appearances, according to the interior ministry’s statement.

The exact death toll remains unclear, but Hana al-Bayaty of Brussels Tribunal, an NGO dealing with Iraqi issues, said the current figure ranges ‘between 90 and 100.’

‘What’s most disturbing about this is that they’re so young,’ she said.

Al-Bayaty said the killings appear to have been carried out by extremist Shia militias in mostly poor Shia neighborhoods and said she suspected ‘there’s complicity of the Ministry of Interior in the killings.’

Photos of the victims were released on Facebook, causing panic and fear among Iraqi students.

A young man with long hair was among those fearful at the government-ordained harassment of teenagers with Western appearances.

‘I have long hair but that doesn’t mean I’m an Emo. I’m not less of a man if I have long hair. Let’s not say that if I have long hair, I’m a homosexual, but I have long hair because this is my style, this is me,’ he told Iraq’s Al-Sharqiya television network.

Safiyyah al-Suhail, an MP, said on Thursday that ‘some students have been recently arrested because they were wearing American jeans or had Western haircuts.’

The interior ministry has not disclosed the number of teenage victims, but released a follow-up statement on Thursday warning extremists ‘not to step on public freedom of Iraqis.’

News of the gruesome deaths drew a stern reaction from Iraq’s prominent Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who criticised the stoning of the young men as ‘an act of terrorism.’

He added: ‘The Ministry of Interior took this situation very seriously and received an approval from the Ministry of Education to set a plan under my full supervision and to allow us to enter schools in the capital.’

‘There are some cases of the spread of this phenomenon specifically among schools in Baghdad, but we are facing great difficulty in the lack of women on the force who would allow us to carry the investigation more accurately since the phenomenon is more popular among girls between the ages of 14 and 18.’

WHAT IS EMO?

Described as both a cult and sect, it’s name derives from the word ‘emotional’

Its teen followers dress in black, favouring tight jeans, T-shirts, studded belts and sneakers or skater shoes.

Hair is often dyed black and straightened, and worn in a long fringe brushed to one side of the face.

Music also plays a critical role, Emos like guitar-based rock with emotional lyrics – bands such as My Chemical Romance, Jimmy Eat World, and Dashboard Confessional are particular favourites.

They regard themselves as a cool, young sub-set of the Goths.

With the trend comes accusations of self-harming and suicide – something its followers strongly deny.

Some of the reactions to this article on the Mail on Sunday site:

Never mind the barbaric behaviour in Iraq and Afghanistan. By invading these countries we only achieved oil and poppies, leaving behind chaos.

– Steven, Surrey, 11/3/2012 09:03

Liberated !!!!!! What a waste of time, money and lives.

– Tuckster, Lincs, 11/3/2012 08:58

What has Bush and Blair`s war done other than open a Pandora`s Box full of barbaric, medieval practices. Mission failed. – Escapee, Sainoi, 11/3/2012 08:35

From Al Arabiya:

Top Iraqi official traveling to U.S. to receive award, deliver lecture denied entry

Sunday, 11 March 2012

By Dina al-Shibeeb
Al Arabiya

The detention of an Iraqi statesman at a U.S. airport last month might not have created a strong reaction among Iraqi political circles, but some analysts believe it could serve as an omen to relations between the two countries.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday that a high-ranking Iraqi official who pulled the lever in the execution of former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, was stranded and detained for 15 hours in Boston’s Logan International Airport alongside his adult son on February 20.

Mowaffak Rubaie, former national security advisor, who was heading to the U.S. to receive the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award from Tufts University and to lecture at the school on the future of U.S.-Iraqi relations, told the newspaper that he felt “degraded” at his detention during which he was not even allowed a bathroom visit or use a telephone.

Rubaie who was subjected to three pat-down searches, traveled to the U.S. on his British passport under the name Mo Baker which he has used many times to enter the country, but was denied entry after issues were raised by U.S. customs. He told the paper that showing his Iraq diplomatic passport which carries his real name also raised concerns.

While retired U.S. diplomat Daniel Serwar told the paper that U.S. rules make it exceedingly difficult even for people who are close friends to the country to enter, the Jordan-based Iraqi political analyst and commentator Ahmed al-Abyadh said that the scenario was meant to give a message to the Iraqi government that the United States has some doubts over its politics and its alliance with Iran.

“It is clear that the U.S. government does not feel comfortable with Iraq’s Shiite leaders,” Abyadh said, expecting that this “discomfort” to be on the increase.

Despite some confusion on whether Rubaie’s detention was due to security or political reasons, Abyadh said that “it could also be an attempt by the U.S. to clear old records with Iraq.”

Asked why Iraq and the United States did not emerge as close allies after more than a decade-long relationship that started with the toppling of Hussein’s regime, Abyadh said while both countries signed the Strategic Framework Agreement in 2008 in an attempt to further formulate and clarify the next phase for the two countries’ relations, the United States is still seeking an Iraqi “strongman” to activate and catapult the agreement.

Late last year, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said that his government was committed to renewing the signed agreement, dubbed as the second historical phase of relations between Iraq and United States. The agreement will be the basis of U.S.-Iraq relationship framework on which the U.S. will lend support to Iraqi ministries and agencies by boosting economic, diplomatic, and cultural and security plans to the country.

“Unfortunately America thinks Iraq needs a strongman to be in charge of Iraq … and this way of thinking should be gone,” he said, adding “Iraq needs a ‘smartman’.”

USA: What’s Behind the Crackdown on Subcultures? Here.

Nine years ago this week, on March 20, 2003, the US and its allies, including Britain and Australia, launched the illegal invasion of Iraq. All of the pretexts used to justify the war were lies. There were no weapons of mass destruction and no links between Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. The protracted American-led occupation resulted in an autocratic, pro-US regime, the deaths of a million Iraqis, and an enormous social and economic regression: here.

Britain: Armed Forces Minister Nick Harvey confirmed on Monday that the Royal Military Police would not be probing allegations of torture and ill treatment by more than 100 Iraqis: here.

Unspoken Crimes Against Humanity Committed Against the People of Iraq: here.

Broken Promises: America’s Forgotten Iraqi Allies Face Death and a Long Road Home. Mike Ludwig, Truthout: “Hope for US-affiliated Iraqis like Ali came in 2008, when a bipartisan effort in Congress created a special visa program to allow interpreters and other professionals who are in danger because they worked for the US, especially those under threat of assassination, to immigrate to America. But last year, the Obama administration added new layers of security clearance to the program, exacerbating a growing backlog of applications and leaving former employees like Ali waiting in refugee limbo”: here.

The body of an Iraqi refugee who was found brutally beaten next to a note saying “Go back to your country, you terrorist” will be flown back to Iraq for her funeral, a US Muslim community leader announced on Monday: here.

Jordan: One Year On, Tensions Building Up: here.