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Monday, 15 March 2021, 10:17 amArticle: Gordon Campbell

Asan exercise in global symbolic politics, it would be hard totop last weeks meeting in Iraq between Pope Francis andthe most respected cleric in Shia Islam, the Grand AyatollahAli al-Sistani. Both men have strong liberal credentials.Francis has led a welcome break from his policies of his twoarch-conservative predecessors. In fact, you would have togo all the way back to the early 1960s, to the widely lovedliberal reformer Papa Roncalli (aka John XXIII) to find aPope who seems more in tune with socially progressiveforces.

The 94 year old al-Sistani is a more complexfigure. His credentials as the most learned religiousauthority in Shia Islam are undisputed. From his humble homein Najaf, Iraq, al-Sistani condemned the disastrous USinvasion of 2003 at the time. In 2014, he famously issued afatwa that called on all able bodied Shiite volunteers tojoin the militias fighting against Islamic State. In theprocess, he urged tolerance towards all religiousminorities, including the Christian and Yazidi populationsthat Islamic State and other Sunni fundamentalists had beentargeting. He also supported the 2009 Green Revolution inIran that eventually failed to expand the role of seculardemocracy in that country. Consistently, al-Sistani hasopposed the involvement in politics by the mullahs in Iran.Correctly, he pointed out that the blurring of the linesbetween religious authority and political power wouldeventually end up discrediting religion in the eyes of thepublic.

Like Pope Francis though, al-Sistani is not afigure without controversy. Last year, the popular Iraniandissident and blogger Ruhollah Zam was lured out of hisrefuge in France on the (bogus) promise of a meeting withal-Sistani. Once in Iraq, Zam was seized by Iranian securityforces, takenback to Iran and executed. While al-Sistani was not anaccomplice in the trap, he has been criticised for notappealing (even only symbolically) to his fellow Shiaayatollahs in Teheran to spare Zams life. Many Iraniansbelieve that the office of al-Sistanis son-in-law JavadShahrestanii (who is al-Sistanis representative in Iran)wasinvolved in the Zam plot

In similar vein,,al-Sistani has never condemned the harsh retribution carriedout against the supporters of the 2009 Green Revolution.Hundreds of young Iranians were executed in the aftermath ofthat social movement. Having supported the attempt atopening Iran up to greater democracy, al-Sistani remainedsilent while those who believed in it were hunted down,tortured and eliminated. Pope Francis has also had hiscritics. Some Catholic conservatives feel he has strayed toofar from the path of orthodoxy, while some liberal criticsfeel that (a) his reforms have not gone far enough, and (b)have not been entrenched in ways that will survive hispapacy. (Francis replied to some of his critics in this memorablestatement in September, 2019.)

All of that aside, what did Francis andal-Sistani talk about in Najaf? Part of their conversationwas private. Their joint public statement made the expectedcalls for tolerance and mutual understanding. Francis was inIraq partly because of the steep decline in IraqsCatholic congregation which had flourished under the secularreign of Saddam Hussein. Since the 2003 invasion, theCatholic congregation has shrunk from 1.5 million to barely250,000 believers today. Sectarian conflict sent manyCatholics fleeing into exile abroad, while many of thosethat remained inside Iraq were systematically persecuted anddriven underground during the hey-day of the IScaliphate.

By meeting with al-Sistani and issuingcalls for mutual tolerance and respect, Francis was hopingto convince Catholics in Iraq that they had not beenabandoned. For al-Sistanis part, there might have beensome hope that Pope Francis might have greater sway with theCatholic president now occupying the White House. Pointedly,the joint communique urged the lifting of economicblockades throughout the region. Exactly one year ago,Iranian clerics haddelivered a letter to Pope Francis asking for his helpin ending the US economic sanctions against Iran that haveinflicted so much harm on ordinary people, especially duringthe Covid pandemic:

On March 22 [2020] an IranianShiite leader, the Ayatollah Seyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad,delivered a letter to Pope Francis imploring hisintervention to end economic sanctions against Iran as itendures one of the worlds worst Covid-19outbreaks.

The Iranian people, he wrote, arestruggling painfully with the loss of loved ones caused veryoften by the serious lack of medical resources due to theconsequences of sanctions imposed by the United States.Suspending the sanctions regime he called a humanitarianaction proper to those who believe in Jesus, who forthe whole world is a universal symbol of peace andlove.

So far,the lifting of US sanctions against Iran has proved to bemore difficult than Biden had originally supposed. Bidenclearly wants to lift the sanctions against Iran, if only tore-balance US policy towards Saudi Arabia, and to stop Iranfrom being driven into the arms of China. Yet at the sametime, Biden has felt the need to avoid a domestic backlash fromlooking soft on the mullahs, so. any steps to normaliserelations apparently will have to be done by both sides,simultaneously. Thats not an easy dance to co-ordinate.Also, the mullahs clearly dont want to hand a politicalvictory to the relatively liberal administration of HassanRouhani, only months before the next general elections inIran, due mid year.

So the mullahs have been playing aspoiler role. Thats something they can economicallyafford to do, since they control the smuggling trade thathas flourished under the US sanctions, while ordinaryIranians have suffered. As al-Sistani correctly predicted,the political strategizing by the mullahs has had anextremely corrosive effect on religious authority. Caughtbetween mindless US hostility and the iron rule of themullahs, Iranian society has simplyimploded.

Footnote: Ironically, PopeFrancis response to his critics ( link above) had a fewpointers to offer as to why PM Jacinda Ardern has cancelledher weekly interview with Newstalks Mike Hosking.Francis made a useful distinction between criticism made ingood faith, and criticism made from a fixed position thathas no interest in dialogue :

Criticism is acomponent in construction, and if your criticism is unjust,be prepared to receive a response, and get into dialogue,and arrive to the right conclusion. This is the dynamic oftrue criticism. The [other] kind of] criticism instead..Is like throwing the stone and then hiding your hand. Thisis not beneficial, it is no help. It helps small cliques,who do not want to hear the response to their criticism.Instead, fair criticism. Is open to a response. This isconstructive.[But] to criticize without wanting to hear aresponse and without getting into dialogue is not to havethe [general] good at heart, it is chasing after a fixedidea.

Chasing after fixed ideas. Serving ideasheld by small cliques. Criticising without wanting to hearthe response. Yep, all of that sounds like Mike Hosking. Hisweekly browbeating of Ardern like his previousbootlicking of John Key has had nothing to do withdialogue, or with journalism. Journalism is about talkingtruth to power, not talking nonstop about the power of yourown truths. There was no social benefit in having Hoskinguse his audience with the PM to expound on his ownideological fixations, as if by some god-given right. Weall, Ardern included, have better things to do.

One of the great forces in traditionalPersian music the singer Mohammed Reza Shajarian died in October 2020 at the age of 80. A supporter of the2009 Green Revolution, Shajarian earned the wrath of themullahs for doing so, but was protected to some extent bythe reverence with which he was publicly regarded. HeresShajarian in 2013, recorded during one of those typicallyintimate 15 minute Tiny Desk Concerts for NPR.

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Gordon Campbell On The Pope's Visit To Iraq | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz

Situation Overview

In 2020, the numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to their area of origin (AoO) or being re-displaced for a second time increased, coupled with persisting challenges in relation to lack of services, infrastructure, social cohesion and - in some cases - security in areas of origin. The need to better understand the sustainability of returns, conditions for the (re)integration of IDPs and returnees, and the impact of their presence on access to services and social cohesion has been identified in the context of humanitarian and development planning. Ongoing planning around the closure of IDP camps, often within short time-frames, have also impacted these dynamics.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)s Emergency Displacement Tracking recorded that over 8,100 households returned to non-camp locations across Iraq between 31 October and 31 December 2020, 6% of which were recorded in Kirkuk Governorate. Daquq District witnessed 1% of the returns in the governorate.

Markaz Daquq Sub-district

Markaz Daquq is a sub-district of Daquq District, located in the central area of Kirkuk Governorate. Kirkuk Governorate is one of the disputed territories between the Federal Government of Iraq (GoI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) which might affect the regions reconstruction and the re-establishment of services, as well as the return of essential government workers to the area.

In the summer of 2014, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) undertook military activities in the district of Daquq, resulting in the displacement of over 23,000 individuals as reported by KIs. ISIL was dislodged from Daquq District in 2017 by the Iraqi armed forces and their allies. As of May 2020, ISIL operations were still recorded in Kirkuk Governorate villages, however this trend is decreasing overall. The IOM returns index suggests that populations in Markaz Daquq are still concerned about the re-emergence of ISIL activities. At the time of data collection, an estimated total of 2,748 households originally from Markaz Daquq remain displaced elsewhere as reported by KIs.

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Rapid Assessment on Returns and Durable Solutions, Markaz Daquq Sub-district - Daquq District - Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq, December 2020 - Iraq -...

By Sangar Khaleel and Jane Arraf

ERBIL, Iraq A rocket attack on the airport in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Monday killed a civilian contractor with the American-led military coalition and wounded six others, including a U.S. service member, according to a coalition spokesman.

Several other rockets landed in residential areas of the city, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, including one close to the Chinese Consulate.

The attack, rare in the normally peaceful Kurdish city, raised tensions already heightened by threats of Iran-backed militias on American targets in Iraq. It was not clear who carried it out, but previous attacks have been attributed to militias funded and directed by Iran.

Iran has made clear that it intends to retaliate further for the American drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020 that killed a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani, and a senior Iraqi security official. Days after that strike, the Iranian government launched missile attacks against U.S. forces at the Ain al Assad air base in Iraqs Anbar Province, wounding more than 100 troops.

On Monday, minutes after the rocket attack on Erbil, the Kurdish regional government called on residents to stay indoors and the international airport canceled departing and arriving flights.

The United States military has drawn down the number of its troops in Iraq to under 2,500 and has pulled out of several bases there over the past two years. It says Iraq no longer needs the help it did in the past to fight the Islamic State, though American officials have acknowledged that militia attacks also factored into the decision to move troops to bases more easily defended.

The military side of Erbils airport is one of three remaining bases with a significant number of U.S. troops. It was not clear whether anti-rocket defense systems installed at the base were activated by Mondays attack.

The coalition did not reveal the nationality of the civilian contractor who was killed. The Kurdish ministry of health said three civilians were wounded in Mondays attack.

Kurdish counterterrorism forces said they had found the vehicle the rockets were launched from but did not say where it was discovered.

A little-known group known as Awliya al Dam (Guardian of the Blood) brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched the rockets in revenge for the deaths of the martyred leaders. The group claimed responsibility last August for two bombings targeting U.S. contractor convoys carrying military equipment.

In Washington, a White House spokesman said President Biden had been briefed on the attack in Erbil, but offered no other comment or details.

Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdish Region of Iraq, said he had spoken with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken about cooperating to find those responsible for the attack. Mr. Blinken later condemned the attack.

We are outraged by todays rocket attack in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, he said in a statement Monday evening, adding that in speaking with the Kurdish prime minister, he had pledged U.S. support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible.

Michael Knights, an analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the size and scope of the rocket attack on Erbil was unusually large, and that it had most likely been intended to maim or kill American contractors or service members, or their Kurdish allies.

This is a test of the new Biden administration to see what they can get away with, Mr. Knights said in a telephone interview.

Iraqi leaders have traveled to Tehran to try to persuade Iran to call off attacks, saying conflict between Washington and Tehran left Iraq dangerously in the middle. The embassy in Baghdad continues to operate with the ambassador and a small number of key staff.

Sangar Khaleel reported from Erbil, Iraq, and Jane Arraf from Amman, Jordan. Eric Schmitt contributed reporting from Washington.

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Rocket Attack in Iraq Kills a U.S. Military Contractor ...

A little-known Shiite militia group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 16, 2021, 1:42 PM

6 min read

LONDON -- A rocket attack targeting the American-led military coalition in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil killed a civilian contractor and wounded nine others on Monday night, according to a coalition spokesman.

More than a dozen rockets were fired toward the Erbil International Airport in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, with three directly hitting a military base housing foreign troops at the airport. The civilian contractor who was killed was not American, while eight other civilian contractors and one American service member were injured, according to U.S. Army Col. Wayne Marotto, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the American-led international military intervention against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that one U.S. service member as well as "several American contractors" were among the wounded, citing "initial reports." He said he has contacted the prime minister of the Kurdistan regional government "to discuss the incident and to pledge our support for all efforts to investigate and hold accountable those responsible."

"We are outraged by todays rocket attack in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region," Blinken said in a statement Monday night. "We express our condolences to the loved ones of the civilian contractor killed in this attack, and to the innocent Iraqi people and their families who are suffering these ruthless acts of violence."

Smoke rises from the northern Iraqi city of Erbil following a rocket attack on Feb. 15, 2021.

The Kurdistan region's prime minister, Masrour Barzani, said via Twitter that he spoke with Blinken about the "cowardly attack" and that they "agreed to coordinate closely in the investigation to identify the outlaws behind it."

A source at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior confirmed to ABC News that three missiles fell near Erbil International Airport.

Several rockets landed in other areas of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region. Another source told ABC News that missiles struck the affluent Waziran neighborhood, where some foreign consulates are located.

A roof is seen damaged in the city of Erbil after a barrage of rockets hit areas in and around Erbil International Airport in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region on Feb. 16, 2021.

The Iraqi Ministry of Interior released a statement early Tuesday, saying authorities -- in coordination with coalition forces -- had located the vehicle from which the barrage of rockets were fired on a street between Erbil and the town of Gwer. The attack killed one person and injured five others at Erbil's airport while wounding three people elsewhere in the city, in addition to damaging several homes and businesses, according to the ministry.

"Ongoing investigations will definitively confirm who are the culprits behind the attack, and we assure the people of Erbil and the Kurdistan Region that all those involved will be held accountable and brought to justice," the ministry said in the statement.

According to SITE Intelligence Group, a company that tracks extremist groups, a little-known Shiite militia group that calls itself the Guardians of Blood Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday night, saying in a statement: "We renew the pledge to our patient people that we will please your eyes with avenging the blood of the martyred leaders, and the American occupation will not be safe from our strikes in any inch of the homeland, even in Kurdistan, where we promise we will carry out other qualitative operations."

ABC News' Conor Finnegan, Bader Katy, Cindy Smith and Sohel Uddin contributed to this report.

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Rocket attack on coalition base in Iraq kills contractor ...

A volley of rockets targeting an US airbase in Iraqs Kurdistan region killed a foreign civilian contractor and wounded nine others including Americans in the worst attack in a year on the US-led military coalition.

The rockets were launched late on Monday from an area south of the main city Erbil near the border with Kirkuk province and also fell on some residential areas close to the airport, officials said on condition of anonymity.

The barrage was the first time in nearly two months that Western military or diplomatic installations were targeted in Iraq after a string of similar incidents last year.

The rare attack on Erbil was claimed by a little known Shia group calling itself Awliyaa al-Dam, or Guardians of Blood.

About a dozen such groups have cropped up in the past year claiming rocket attacks, but US and Iraqi security officials say they are front groups for prominent pro-Iran factions including Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

The American occupation will not be safe from our strikes in any inch of the homeland, even in Kurdistan, where we promise we will carry out other qualitative operations, the Awliyaa al-Dam said, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an NGO that tracks online activity of armed organisations.

The United States reacted angrily to the base assault outside the international airport in Erbil, capital of Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

We are outraged by last nights rocket attack in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

As always, the President of the United States and the administration reserves the right to respond and the time in the manner of our choosing. But well wait for the attribution to be concluded, Psaki added.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi about the attack on Tuesday.

Blinken conveyed his outrage and sent his condolences to the victims, spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

Blinken and al-Kadhimi also discussed efforts underway to identify and hold accountable the groups responsible for yesterdays attacks, Price said, as well as the Iraqi governments responsibility and commitment to protect U.S. and Coalition personnel in Iraq at the governments invitation to fight ISIS.

Late on Monday, Iraqi President Barham Saleh tweeted the attack marked a dangerous escalation and a criminal terrorist act.

Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the autonomous Kurdish region, condemned the assault in the strongest terms.

Coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said 14 107mm rockets were launched near Erbil Airport in northern Iraq and three directly hit the base. He said the contractor who was killed was not Iraqi, but could not give immediate details on the victims nationality.

The airport is where foreign troops are based as part of an international alliance fighting the armed group ISIL (ISIS). It was reportedly shut down and flights were halted for safety issues.

Since Iraq declared victory against ISIL in late 2017, the coalition has been reduced to less than 3,500 troops in total, 2,500 of them Americans. Most are concentrated at the military complex at the Erbil airport.

Iran said on Tuesday it opposed any acts that harmed Iraqs security and denied suggestions by some Iraqi officials that it had any link to the little-known group that claimed responsibility.

Iran considers Iraqs stability and security as a key issue for the region and rejects any action that disturbs the peace and order in that country, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told state media. He condemned suspicious attempts to attribute [the attack] to Iran.

In December 2019, a US contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a base in Kirkuk province, prompting the US to respond with air strikes against Kataib Hezbollah. In March 2020, another rocket attack killed two Americans a soldier and a contractor and a British soldier.

Delovan Jalal, the head of the local health directorate, said at least five civilians were wounded and one was in critical condition, AFP news agency reported.

Barzani said he had spoken to Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on ways to cooperate and identify the outlaws behind this terror attack.

I condemn in the strongest terms tonights rocket attacks on Erbil. I urge all Kurdistanis to remain calm, he tweeted.

Western military and diplomatic sites have been targeted by dozens of rockets and roadside bomb attacks since 2019, but most of the violence has taken place in Iraqs capital, Baghdad.

Iran-backed militia groups have been blamed for orchestrating the attacks, including the Kataib Hezbollah group.

In October, these groups agreed to an indefinite truce, but there have been several apparent violations since then, the most recent of which prior to Monday night was a volley of rockets targeting the US embassy on December 20.

The US under the previous Trump administration blamed Iran-backed groups for carrying out the attacks. Tensions soared after a Washington-directed drone strike that killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and powerful Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis last year.

Trump had said the death of a US contractor would be a red line and provoke US escalation in Iraq.

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Iraqi armed group vows more attacks on American ...