Coolassprov MC
29-03-07, 06:57
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2136/Iraq_Papers_Thur_What_Happened_in_Tal_Afar
"This story, if correct, merits outrage on several levels. The killings described by Az-Zaman are reminiscent of the “raids” of Saddam’s army against rebellious cities. Ironically, the policemen who undertook the role of the “death squads” seem to be acting as a “militia among others,” as opposed to Saddam’s brutal apparatus of coercion. Tal 'Afar on Wednesday was a display of everything that is wrong with Iraq; and warning signs were ample: the sectarian agitation, the infiltration of security forces by militias, the state institutions that the political parties have parceled out among themselves, not to mention the ferociously sectarian, fanatical and violent political organizations that control political life in today’s Iraq; inside and outside the government."
Iraq Papers Thur: What Happened in Tal 'Afar?
Stories of Police Involvment in Massacre
By AMER MOHSEN Posted 3 hr. 44 min. ago
Az-Zaman“Mass Killings in Tal 'Afar” was Az-Zaman’s headline today. Tal 'Afar is a city in northern Iraq, located 30 miles west of Mosul, not far from the Syrian borders. Originally founded as an outpost for the Ottoman Army, the city was one of the main participants in the 1920 revolt against the British, and is today one of the major bases for the insurgency.
Yesterday, Tal 'Afar fell victim to a series of car bombings, which left at least 48 dead and over 200 wounded. Two hours after the attacks, Az-Zaman said, policemen and Iraqi security personnel rampaged through the city, killing over 60 men.
The victims were all shot in the head, execution style, the newspaper claimed; quoting a doctor in the Tal 'Afar hospital who refused to provide his name, “in fear for his life.” Furthermore, Az-Zaman quoted CNN who spoke to the police chief in Nineveh (the province in which Tal 'Afar is located) and his lieutenant. The officials were quoted as saying: “members of the police force ... were enraged after the bombings ... on Tuesday; they entered some neighborhoods in the city at dawn, shooting at the houses and those residing in them.”
The paper added that the rampaging did not stop until “units from the Iraqi army interfered, imposing a curfew on the city.”
This story, if correct, merits outrage on several levels. The killings described by Az-Zaman are reminiscent of the “raids” of Saddam’s army against rebellious cities. Ironically, the policemen who undertook the role of the “death squads” seem to be acting as a “militia among others,” as opposed to Saddam’s brutal apparatus of coercion.
Tal 'Afar on Wednesday was a display of everything that is wrong with Iraq; and warning signs were ample: the sectarian agitation, the infiltration of security forces by militias, the state institutions that the political parties have parceled out among themselves, not to mention the ferociously sectarian, fanatical and violent political organizations that control political life in today’s Iraq; inside and outside the government.
These political “arrangements” were also designed, defended and theorized for by many politicians, intellectuals and pundits who have cynically exploited the tragedy of Iraq to acquire clout and favor in Washington, Baghdad and elsewhere. The brunt of all these mistakes had to fall on the nameless victims of Tal 'Afar, whose names and faces will probably not be publicized in the Western media, and who, like the thousands who preceded them, will be just another “incident” in a long chain of tragedies that have desensitized many of us to the human suffering that Iraqis routinely endure.
The media coverage of the Tal 'Afar massacre merits close examination. While Az-Zaman (international) devoted its front page to cover the incident and the police involvement; the Iraqi version of the newspaper blamed the massacre on “the militias, supported by police elements.”
Al-Mada, on the other hand, did not so much as mention the accusations against the police and the militias, contenting to cover the car bombs and the curfew, while vaguely alluding to “some acts that disturbed security” that occurred after the Tuesday bombings.
The Arab media is too busy following the Arab League summit in Riyad. Aljazeera.net belatedly reported the events of Tal 'Afar, and blamed “gunmen” for the massacre.
(Notably, the earlier news item on al-Jazeera’s website, which only reported the car bombs on Tuesday, drew comments from several people claiming to be from Tal 'Afar, writing in the comments’ section about the events unfolding in the city.)
Aljazeera.net added, quoting “security sources,” that the attacks occurred against Sunni neighborhoods, “in retaliation” for the car bombs, which were directed against Shi'a areas. The “Islamic State of Iraq” – the local affiliate of al-Qa'ida – claimed responsibility for the bombings.
In the details of the attack, Az-Zaman said that according to eyewitnesses, “armed men descended into the streets, accompanied by policemen in their civilian clothing, and started to execute the killings.” A Turcoman party official from the province said that 18 policemen were arrested for taking part in the massacre. He added that the activity of the Tal 'Afar police has been limited, and that the curfew announced yesterday applies to the police and their vehicles as well.
The newspaper reported that demonstrations have taken place in the streets of the city, with the demonstrators calling for the firing of the governor and the police chief, for being unable to control the security situation and for allowing the two incidents (the bombings and the attacks) to occur.
"This story, if correct, merits outrage on several levels. The killings described by Az-Zaman are reminiscent of the “raids” of Saddam’s army against rebellious cities. Ironically, the policemen who undertook the role of the “death squads” seem to be acting as a “militia among others,” as opposed to Saddam’s brutal apparatus of coercion. Tal 'Afar on Wednesday was a display of everything that is wrong with Iraq; and warning signs were ample: the sectarian agitation, the infiltration of security forces by militias, the state institutions that the political parties have parceled out among themselves, not to mention the ferociously sectarian, fanatical and violent political organizations that control political life in today’s Iraq; inside and outside the government."
Iraq Papers Thur: What Happened in Tal 'Afar?
Stories of Police Involvment in Massacre
By AMER MOHSEN Posted 3 hr. 44 min. ago
Az-Zaman“Mass Killings in Tal 'Afar” was Az-Zaman’s headline today. Tal 'Afar is a city in northern Iraq, located 30 miles west of Mosul, not far from the Syrian borders. Originally founded as an outpost for the Ottoman Army, the city was one of the main participants in the 1920 revolt against the British, and is today one of the major bases for the insurgency.
Yesterday, Tal 'Afar fell victim to a series of car bombings, which left at least 48 dead and over 200 wounded. Two hours after the attacks, Az-Zaman said, policemen and Iraqi security personnel rampaged through the city, killing over 60 men.
The victims were all shot in the head, execution style, the newspaper claimed; quoting a doctor in the Tal 'Afar hospital who refused to provide his name, “in fear for his life.” Furthermore, Az-Zaman quoted CNN who spoke to the police chief in Nineveh (the province in which Tal 'Afar is located) and his lieutenant. The officials were quoted as saying: “members of the police force ... were enraged after the bombings ... on Tuesday; they entered some neighborhoods in the city at dawn, shooting at the houses and those residing in them.”
The paper added that the rampaging did not stop until “units from the Iraqi army interfered, imposing a curfew on the city.”
This story, if correct, merits outrage on several levels. The killings described by Az-Zaman are reminiscent of the “raids” of Saddam’s army against rebellious cities. Ironically, the policemen who undertook the role of the “death squads” seem to be acting as a “militia among others,” as opposed to Saddam’s brutal apparatus of coercion.
Tal 'Afar on Wednesday was a display of everything that is wrong with Iraq; and warning signs were ample: the sectarian agitation, the infiltration of security forces by militias, the state institutions that the political parties have parceled out among themselves, not to mention the ferociously sectarian, fanatical and violent political organizations that control political life in today’s Iraq; inside and outside the government.
These political “arrangements” were also designed, defended and theorized for by many politicians, intellectuals and pundits who have cynically exploited the tragedy of Iraq to acquire clout and favor in Washington, Baghdad and elsewhere. The brunt of all these mistakes had to fall on the nameless victims of Tal 'Afar, whose names and faces will probably not be publicized in the Western media, and who, like the thousands who preceded them, will be just another “incident” in a long chain of tragedies that have desensitized many of us to the human suffering that Iraqis routinely endure.
The media coverage of the Tal 'Afar massacre merits close examination. While Az-Zaman (international) devoted its front page to cover the incident and the police involvement; the Iraqi version of the newspaper blamed the massacre on “the militias, supported by police elements.”
Al-Mada, on the other hand, did not so much as mention the accusations against the police and the militias, contenting to cover the car bombs and the curfew, while vaguely alluding to “some acts that disturbed security” that occurred after the Tuesday bombings.
The Arab media is too busy following the Arab League summit in Riyad. Aljazeera.net belatedly reported the events of Tal 'Afar, and blamed “gunmen” for the massacre.
(Notably, the earlier news item on al-Jazeera’s website, which only reported the car bombs on Tuesday, drew comments from several people claiming to be from Tal 'Afar, writing in the comments’ section about the events unfolding in the city.)
Aljazeera.net added, quoting “security sources,” that the attacks occurred against Sunni neighborhoods, “in retaliation” for the car bombs, which were directed against Shi'a areas. The “Islamic State of Iraq” – the local affiliate of al-Qa'ida – claimed responsibility for the bombings.
In the details of the attack, Az-Zaman said that according to eyewitnesses, “armed men descended into the streets, accompanied by policemen in their civilian clothing, and started to execute the killings.” A Turcoman party official from the province said that 18 policemen were arrested for taking part in the massacre. He added that the activity of the Tal 'Afar police has been limited, and that the curfew announced yesterday applies to the police and their vehicles as well.
The newspaper reported that demonstrations have taken place in the streets of the city, with the demonstrators calling for the firing of the governor and the police chief, for being unable to control the security situation and for allowing the two incidents (the bombings and the attacks) to occur.