The reality of Iraq starts to dawn on Bush

When President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain talked about progress in Iraq at a joint news conference last week, one thing was evident. The two world leaders who plotted the original invasion have, at least, come a long way in realizing how many things have gone wrong. Bush and Blair, who have always been the cheerleaders for the Iraq initiative, seemed downbeat, even as they insisted that democratization would make everything right in the end.
 
Iraq now does have a constitutional government, elected by the Iraqis themselves. But that will make no difference at all unless that government can provide all its citizens with basic order and security.
 
Right now armed gangs of thugs, many of them wearing government uniforms, are spreading terror throughout Iraq. Some were trained by U.S. forces to work for the Interior Ministry, but actually do the bidding of Shiite political and religious leaders. They harass, kidnap and murder people who follow different religious practices or support competing politicians, often with the help of weapons and equipment provided by a U.S. government that had very different objectives in mind.

The New York Times reported last week that Sunni forces working for the Ministry of Defense who were supposed to be guarding Iraq's oil pipeline were instead freelancing as death squads, assassinating people who cooperated with the same government that paid the gunmen's salaries.
 
Of all of Bush's many arguments for the invasion, the only one that has survived exposure to reality is that Iraqis deserve something better than a brutal dictatorship. But right now Iraq appears on the way to a civil war among the armed groups competing to impose order on their own terms.

To avoid repeating a very bad history, Iraq's security forces must be brought under control by people who have both the will and the capacity to truly unite the nation.
 
The fact that the current government avoided naming any officials to the posts that control the military and internal security forces when it announced its first cabinet was a clear sign of how difficult that task would be.

And coming up with acceptable nominees is just the first and easiest step. The current military and civilian police forces must be purged of their brutal and lawless elements, and the numerous private militias must be made to stand down and disarm.
 
U.S. forces can never be a substitute for Iraqi soldiers and police officers who take seriously their duty to protect all the people, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Bush's premise that U.S. troops should simply stay on the ground until Iraq gets things right and defeats all insurgent forces and terrorist groups, however long it takes, is flat wrong. The U.S. presence is dangerous - to the soldiers themselves, to American standing in the world, and most tellingly to large numbers of innocent Iraqis.
 
The emerging story about what happened in November in Haditha, where at least two dozen Iraqi men, women and children were apparently shot by a small group of U.S. marines, is only the latest indication of what terrible things can happen when soldiers are required to occupy hostile civilian territory in the midst of an armed insurrection and looming civil war.

A military investigation is deciding whether any of the marines should be charged with murder, and whether a cover-up took place. All these questions have awful resonance for those who remember Vietnam, and what that prolonged and ultimately pointless war did to both the Vietnamese and the American social fabric.
 
It was somewhat reassuring that Bush and Blair have stopped trying to pretend that everything has gone just fine in Iraq, since most of the rest of the world already knows otherwise. But it was very disturbing to hear them follow their expressions of regret with the same old "stay the course" fantasy. It's time for Bush either to chart a course that can actually be followed, or admit that there is none.

The Brotherhood believes its slogan is in line with the constitution
With only one week to go before Egyptians begin electing a new parliament a row has broken out about mixing politics and religion.

At issue is a slogan used by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which says "Islam is the solution" (al-Islam Houwa al-Hall).

The ruling National Democratic Party, as well as secularist politicians, want to ban the use of the slogan, but the powerful group is adamant it will not give up its identity to please its opponents.

The Muslim Brotherhood says its programme is in line with the Egyptian constitution, which recognises Islam as the state religion and Islamic Sharia law as one of the main sources for legislation.

The group has for decades campaigned using this slogan.


But their opponents say it is a sensationalist phrase which can foment sectarian strife
in a country with a sizeable Christian minority.

Separating religion from politics will require a lot more than banning the Muslim Brothers from using their slogan

Only last month, the port city of Alexandria saw some of the worst sectarian disturbances the country has ever seen.

The problem of mixing politics and religion goes far beyond the concerns of this parliamentary election.

It strikes at the heart of the polarisation that Egypt has seen over the past few decades, with the rise of militant Islam and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood emerging as the most powerful opposition group in the country.

Some even talk of the re-Islamisation of Egypt, where Islamic faith is increasingly invoked as the exclusive norm for social as well as political and cultural behaviour.

Religious messages

Yet, the Muslim Brotherhood is not the only group "guilty" of mixing politics and religion.


Islamists have participated in Egyptian politics for decades

Despite presenting itself as a secular party, the National Democratic Party itself has often been accused of pandering to religious sentiments to consolidate its hold on power.

State broadcasters, which are controlled by the NDP, have over the years devoted an increasing number of hours to religious programming. These programmes may ostensibly be aimed at counterbalancing the more radical message of the Islamists, but in effect they serve to entrench the dominant religious frame of mind in Egypt,.

Clearly, separating religion from politics will require a lot more than banning the Muslim Brothers from using their slogan.

Despite being outlawed, the Muslim Brotherhood remains the largest opposition block in the current parliament.

The group is clearly determined to increase its share of parliamentary seats in what will probably turn out to be the most hotly contested election in the history of Egypt.

A new constitutional amendment means that only parties that control 10% of the lower and upper houses of parliament can field candidates in future presidential elections.

No opposition party yet meets that requirement.

Egyptian authorities dealt two painful blows to the opposition casting doubt about President Hosni Mubarak`s intentions to introduce long-delayed political reforms.

An Egyptian appeal court Thursday endorsed a ruling passed last December sentencing opposition leader and head of al-Ghad Party, Ayman Nour, to five years in prison on conviction of falsifying the documents needed for licensing his party by the Committee of Party Affairs.

Nour, who contested Egypt`s first multi-candidate presidential elections won by Mubarak last November, has repeatedly denied the charge filed against him.

Also Thursday, a disciplinary court apprehended reformist judge Hisham Bastawisi on the charge of defaming the judiciary by alleging fraud in last year`s general elections, while it acquitted his colleague Mahmoud Makki of the same charge.

The ruling against Bastawisi, who is deputy president of the court of appeal, implied that he will never be promoted to court president, the highest judicial position in Egypt.

In the meantime, Egyptian police ruthlessly crushed demonstrations in support of the two judges organized by the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood Organization and the Egyptian Movement for Change, Kifaya, which calls for ending Mubarak`s rule.

Hundreds of protesters were arrested, including Brotherhood official Issam Aryan.

Security sources said as many as 250 demonstrators were rounded up, while opposition reports put the number at 400.

Witnesses said plainclothes policemen beat up the protesters and chased them in side streets arresting dozens. Others were brutally prevented from reaching the court building where Bastawisi and Makki stood trial.

The developments raised big question marks about President Mubarak`s intentions to introduce political reforms as he promised at the start of his fifth term in office last November.

They also placed at stake the future of Egypt`s relations with the United States and European Union which denounced what they called the repression of Egyptian opposition.

Kifaya`s Coordinator General Georges Issaac slammed the government`s behavior as 'unlimited repression and a knock out to reforms.'

Issaac vowed that Kifaya, which means enough, will keep up its struggle for freedoms and step up protests despite the arrest campaigns that targeted its activists.

Muslim Brotherhood official Abdel Monem Abu Fatah blasted the government`s crack down on the opposition as 'an attempt by the regime to return the issue of political reforms back to square one.'

Abu Fatah warned in comments made to United Press International that striking at the Muslim Brotherhood Organization 'will draw in violent movements, terrorism and injustice.'

'When you induce the terrorists and the bloody by giving them a strong message that you will not allow peaceful political activity, they will only resort to force, arms and blood to force the change,' Abu Fatah said.

Political analyst Sherif Younes warned the Egyptian government against indulging in repressing the opposition under the pretext of recovering the prestige of the regime following the latest protest movements.

'We wonder is this is political stupidity or a government plan,' he said, referring to the arrest and beating of hundreds of protesters in Cairo`s streets for expressing support for the reformist judges.

Cairo-based Western diplomats underscored the harms that the Egyptian government`s dealing with the opposition will have on relations with the U.S. and European Union.

'It is definite that such acts embarrass Western governments vis-a-vis their parliaments and public opinion,' one diplomat told UPI on condition not to be named.

The U.S. administration strongly criticized Egypt last week for crushing demonstrations and asked it to implement promises of political reforms. However, Washington asked the Congress on Wednesday not to suspend the U.S. annual assistance of $2 billion to Egypt

The European Union also expressed deep concern on Tuesday over the arrest of a large number of demonstrators.

The Egyptian foreign ministry retorted by denouncing Europe`s interference and official newspapers accused the U.S. of meddling in Egypt`s internal affairs and in the mean time there is a Fight looms in Congress over aid to Egypt at the present time ???

Whoes Money in the bag any how ,Tensions rise after Hamas aide caught with cash
Rival Palestinian forces faced off at Gaza's border crossing with Egypt on Friday after a Hamas official was caught with 639,000 euros ($804,000) hidden in his clothing, authorities said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh vowed during Friday prayers not to disband a new Hamas-led security force and said he was prepared to increase its size in defiance of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Bush administration.

About 100 Hamas gunmen raced to the Rafah crossing where Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was caught with the money. Rafah is guarded by Abbas's presidential guard, raising fears of fresh Palestinian infighting after overnight clashes.

Abbas's elite guard also called in reinforcements.

Hamas said Abu Zuhri was carrying Arab donations for the new government, which is desperately short of funds, and for Palestinians in Israeli jails.

"Is it a crime to bring in money?" Haniyeh said, defending his spokesman.
"Are the Palestinian people being forced to starve?"

Abu Zuhri told Reuters: "If bringing support for my people is a crime then I am very proud of this crime."

Abu Zuhri initially refused to leave the border terminal without the money, which was confiscated by Palestinian customs agents. He later left and the gunmen withdrew. The militant group said it expected the money to be quickly returned.  

But senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the president had ordered an investigation by the Palestinian attorney general.

The Palestinian Authority is facing a financial crisis after international donors suspended aid because of the Hamas-led government's refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel since coming to power in March.

The standoff followed gunbattles overnight in Gaza City between police and a new security force set up by the Hamas-led government in defiance of Abbas. Four people were hurt in the first fighting since the force deployed on Wednesday.

The clashes sent terrified residents fleeing from the streets, where tension has soared amid fears of civil war. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the emergence of rival security forces a "dangerous situation".

"We do not intend to make one step backward. The force will stay," Haniyeh said during Friday prayers in Gaza City. "Their task is to protect internal security and if there will be a need to increase its number, we will do it."

Israeli officials on Friday confirmed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's top two deputies will hold talks with Abbas next week in the highest-level contact since Hamas swept to power.

But Haniyeh said Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, would not soften its stance as demanded by Israel and Western powers. "We will not take any step in the direction of recognizing the legitimacy of the occupation on the Palestinian land," he said.




MONEY IN BAG

Samir Abu Nahla, the Palestinian director of the Rafah crossing, said Abu Zuhri "was wrapping the money around his belly and that was an illegal act".
He said the agents took the money and seized Abu Zuhri's passport.  

In the overnight clashes, members of the Hamas force, m
ostly bearded young militants who fought Israel in an uprising for years, surrounded the main police station in Gaza City and traded fire with security men taking cover inside.

"There is no reason for the two forces to fight. There is no dispute of authority," said Khaled Abu Hilal, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Police accused Hamas of starting the clashes by opening fire on the police station.

The 3,000-strong Hamas-backed force, formed under the authority of Interior Minister Saeed Seyam, was deployed in a challenge to the authority of Abbas, whose Fatah movement was defeated by Hamas in the January elections.

In response, Abbas ordered the deployment of a Fatah-loyal police unit. The decision marked the latest step in a deepening power struggle between Abbas and Haniyeh.

That feeling of insecurity is especially high in the wake of the anti-Christian violence that rocked Alexandria in October after Muslims attacked churches for allegedly distributing a DVD that they deemed offensive to Islam.

The Sectarian Violence Rocks Egyptian City , An Egyptian Coptic protester, center, is beaten by plain-clothed policemen outside the St. Maximus Church in Alexandria.

A second person has died in the Egyptian city of Alexandria after clashes between Muslims and Christians. The violence erupted when a man with a knife attacked worshipers at several churches Friday, killing one man and wounding up to 16 people. Fighting between the two religious groups continued for a third day on Sunday, and a man died of injuries he received in fighting on Saturday.

Police in Alexandria fired tear gas into crowds of rioting Muslims and Christians as a third day of sectarian violence rocked the ancient Mediterranean city.

Friday's knife attacks in several Coptic Christian churches set off a cascade of violence on Saturday, after the funeral of an elderly man who was stabbed to death in church. The clashes continued on Sunday, when Orthodox Copts were marking the Palm Sunday holy day.

Police have arrested a man they say carried out all of Friday's knife attacks by himself, moving from church to church. They describe him as mentally ill.

Reporter Vivian Salama of the Daily Star Egypt newspaper is in Alexandria. She says there are many questions about what exactly happened on Friday, and the doubts are fueling Coptic anger.

Coptic protesters carrying sticks run past a line of riot policemen outside the St. Maximus Church in Alexandria, Egypt Sunday, April 16, 2006
Parishioners who witnessed the attack at one church say the description of the man the police have in custody does not match the man they saw with the knife. And, they told Salama, the two churches are on opposite sides of town, 45-minutes to an hour away from each other. "So they were saying that it was absolutely impossible that he could have run [between them] in such a short time. They believe, several of them actually said to me that they believe this is a cover-up, a conspiracy by the government so that they don't instigate further tensions, [and] by saying that he's someone who is insane, someone who is mentally ill as well," .

Salama says despite the violence, residents of Alexandria are not looking at this as a sign of larger problems between Muslims and Christians. "Generally speaking the Copts seem to think, as they were coming out of Palm Sunday mass, that really this is not even a sectarian issue, they feel like there is a serious issue with security here in Alexandria… They seem to think that their security is not a priority for the police and for the Egyptian government," .

That feeling of insecurity is especially high in the wake of the anti-Christian violence that rocked Alexandria in October after Muslims attacked churches for allegedly distributing a DVD that they deemed offensive to Islam.

Salama says most of the Alexandria Muslims she has spoken to about the latest attacks are just as shocked and appalled as their Christian neighbors. "They all feel they have actually been sort of victimized by this entire thing," she said. "They all insist that, one man told me, quote, these are outside forces coming to ruin relations within Egypt and to destroy the peace that we have had."

Despite the renewed clashes on Sunday, a leading Coptic columnist for the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, Milad Hanna, believes things will settle down soon. "The Christians are not [an] aggressive group. They are, on the contrary, they are over-patient, more than what they should have done. And the Muslims, in the last analysis, they like the Copts, and the back history of the relations between the two main religions, Islam and Christianity, is healthy and good. Therefore I think things will cool off," he said.

Coptic Christians are about nine percent of Egypt's population of 78-million.
They are the largest Christian population in the Middle East.