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Each year, 06 November marks the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. We report on one of the biggest challenges facing UNEP and its partners the post-war clean-up of Iraq.

Vast jet-black plumes of smoke curling upwards into the sky, blocking out the sun. Crude oil flowing through the streets. These were some of the environmental footprints left by ISIL/Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) in northern and western Iraq.

Oil wells and mineral stockpiles were torched, particularly during the Mosul offensive in the spring of 2016. Water barrages were blown up. So thick were the clouds of smoke that for the inhabitants day became night.

This lasted for weeks. Locals dubbed it the Daesh winter despite the sizzling mid-summer heat. Nowhere was this more visible than in Qayyarah, a town of about 25,000 beside the Tigris River, some 60 kilometres south of Mosul.

Four years later, residents continue to suffer. Slowly, however, life is on the mend again. A clean-up of these oil-polluted areas is under way with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners.

We must not forget that people continue to suffer from this pollution. We must not lose sight of how this fuels uncertainty and anxiety over their health and livelihoods. The environment has long been a silent victim of Iraqs decades of conflict, and it is important that contaminated areas are cleaned up so that people can live in their homes in safety and dignity, said the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq/Resident Coordinator, Ms. Irena Vojkov-Sollorano.

UNEP is collaborating with Iraqs ministries of oil and environment, to trial a number of clean-up techniques on oil-contaminated sites, said Inger Andersen, UNEPs Executive Director. These techniques harness naturally-occurring soil bacteria to decontaminate poisoned land.

Initial feedback from the environment ministry report a 77 per cent success rate using such techniques.

While initially, a substantial part of the oil had solidified, many of these spills became viscous and turned to liquid again under Iraqs soaring summer temperatures which can reach well over 50 degrees Celsius.

Every subsequent year, this re-created large oil pools amid Qayyarahs crowded neighbourhoods. People had no choice but to continue to farm and graze livestock on lands visibly contaminated with oil.

The affordable bio-remediation solutions that we are rolling out in Iraq need to be massively scaled up, so that people living in polluted areas can rebuild and thrive, said Inger Andersen.

Iraqs Environment Ministry is also collaborating with oil companies to clean-up oil-contaminated sites in three locations, including in the major oil producing regions of southern Iraq. It has also issued licenses to private companies to carryout bio-remediation work

More here:
Crude impact: cleaning up the ravages of war in Iraq - Iraq - ReliefWeb

Nonviolent Peaceforce, which is stationed in conflict zones around the world, brought unarmed civilian protection tactics to the Twin Cities during election week.

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), a global nonprofit that typically stations in countries facing violent conflict, trained Twin Cities volunteers to provide unarmed civilian protection against voter intimidation during election week.

NP uses nonviolent means to prevent civilian violence in conflict zones around the world, including in South Sudan and the Philippines. The group used these same unarmed de-escalation strategies in the Twin Cities to guard the polls on Election Day from people who sought to intimidate voters.

On Nov. 3, 250 volunteers donned bright orange vests marked with Democracy Defenders and worked at 30 polls in the Twin Cities area for one of NPs first civilian protection projects in the U.S.

We had to prepare folks for how to de-escalate [voter intimidation], how to position ourselves in a safe way interacting with them by killing them with kindness, said Frank McCrary III, a captain for volunteers at North Minneapolis polling sites and an organizer with Service Employees International Union Local 26 (SEIU), a regional labor union.

NPs work centers around principles of nonviolence and nonpartisanship but the group ensures that locals lead the work. The organization has paid staff in the other global locations who work to ensure safety for elections, funeral parades and trips to escort refugee women when they leave their camps.

Why [NP is] so important is planting the seed, McCrary said. So, lets plant the seeds so this can be germinated and other folks can take this information and train the trainers to get that stuff out there, so this can keep on going.

The group started training U.S. volunteers in June, which it had only done once before a few years ago during the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock reservation.

For Election Day, NP and SEIU Local 26 trained volunteers from local community organizations about situational awareness and de-escalation tactics before they were stationed at polling sites and helped escort a Minneapolis protest a few days later.

Last Saturday, about 20 volunteers suited up to marshall the March to Decide Our Future protest as the group moved down East Lake Street.

We wanted to come to the United States because theres so many indicators of ongoing violence, political polarization, economic difficulties, racial injustice, said Marna Anderson, director of NPs U.S. office.

The groups U.S. branch, headquartered in St. Paul, has mainly done advocacy and fundraising to support other branches in South Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq and the Philippines. Leadership decided to start offering unarmed civilian protection in the U.S. after the George Floyd protests.

Christopher Grathwol, a University of Minnesota student completing a masters degree in human rights, had just started researching nonviolence organizations, including NP, on behalf of the Universitys Human Rights Lab.

It was interesting in that aspect as well, to kind of take what I have learned about South Sudan and the Philippines and Colombia and have it be applied to my own neighborhood here in the United States, said Grathwol, who acted as a poll watcher with NP.

Mel Duncan, NP co-founder and director of advocacy and outreach, said the group only offers its services when local community organizers request help and collaboration.

They know their communities, Duncan said. Anything thats sustainable will have to depend upon those communities taking responsibility and doing the work. Well only be there for a limited period of time.

McCrary said he plans to continue working with NP for local initiatives, like training people in Twin Cities neighborhoods about de-escalation, so they could have resources to make the police the last resort instead of the first one.

NPs other work in Minneapolis has included de-escalation training for resource officers in Minneapolis high schools in June after the district severed ties with the Minneapolis Police Department.

But Duncan said that unfortunately, the group is prepared to attend more events and train more volunteers in the U.S. in the coming months.

Scabs have been ripped off of old wounds, 400-year-old wounds, and if they arent addressed properly there will be continued mass protests, Duncan said. And thats important, and there will be then the opportunity for provocateurs to try to derail that and bring violence.

He added that the group will be ready to respond to potential trigger points that may prompt protests, such as the president refusing to leave the White House or an unacceptable verdict in the trial of the murder of George Floyd.

And so there will be a need to help to make sure that people can express themselves and get their message out and it doesnt turn into a message about destruction and violence, Duncan said.

Read more here:
From Iraq to Minneapolis, nonviolence group worked to prevent voter intimidation during election - Minnesota Daily

Lin Williams, Guest columnist Published 6:00 a.m. ET Nov. 11, 2020

Lin Williams(Photo: COURTESY PHOTO)

When I read of the troubles our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are having, it breaks my heart. I offer this open letter to those veterans from a family who knows war and has returned home.

My family has a simple tradition. If there is war, the men join. So I've known veterans, all family members, from six wars.I knew them well because each summer we would gather at my grandparents'ranch in Idaho to harvest the hay and brand the calves.

We heard of my granddad who, beside his two brothers, fought in the trenches of World War I;of my three uncles in World War II, and of my dad and uncle who served during Korea. Soon, each of my cousins went to Vietnam. I was the youngest to go. That made nine of us for that war.

So I offer this from the perspective of men who know war. Our judgment is that you, the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, were dealt a pretty rough hand.

A lot of you were in a war zone too long. Most Americans were in the trenches of WWI less than a year. WWII, because of the scale of the war,involved months of preparation before days and weeks of intense battle. Korean and Vietnam veterans typically served one year in country.

Because of IED's, suicide vests, and random rocket attacks, you were in a combat zone every day. And you were probably sent back, or volunteered, for your second, third, sometimes fifth, tour.

You served with dangerous rules of engagement, while required to be culturally sensitive. I don't know how you fight a war without beer. Or how you came in from the field and video-chatted with your loved ones in a reassuring way.

Coming home was rough.

When my granddad came home, he was able to homestead land and begin a respected life. The WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans came home to a more functional veteran's program. You're getting an underfunded program and a "Thank you for your service." You were rode hard and put away wet not because of you, but because of our culture.

After you serve, it's normal to be jacked up on adrenaline for two years. It feels like the world is moving in slow motion and every conversation is trivial. Thetreatment of choice usually involves fast cars and rough bars; don't mix the two. My cousin, who served with the Long Range Recon Patrol on the Cambodian border, made that mistake. He took two innocent people with him and he was a good man.

You will not be the most patient person in any room for at least 10 years. Say "I'm sorry" when you should. It will make you and them feel better.

You can't look for validation from an ambivalent public.Think as a father might who, after working adouble shift, looks in on his children all snuggly and asleep.Feel that pride, knowing you carried the water for your family, your country, though they live lives unaware of your sacrifice. Hold that pride in yourheart forever.You earned it.

Spendtimewith people like you. In college, there was one table where veterans drank coffee between classes. We never talked about the war. We were just together and it made us feel less alone.

Don't fall into a gumption trap. Go to college, start an apprenticeship, find a job you don't hate, and apply the discipline and energy you have in you. You will be successful and then you take the next step. Most of us never had a master plan.

The night before we buried my granddad, all the men in the family gathered in my grandma's kitchen. Every branch of service was represented. Men from three wars were there. My brother and a cousin were destined for your wars. We were burying a man from a sixth. We played poker for nickels, drank whiskey, and smoked until dawn. We told stories of harvests and hunts, liberties in foreign ports, and granddad.

You would have been welcome in my grandma's kitchen that night. Uncle Johnie would have slapped you on the back, poured you a whiskey, and asked if you brought any nickels. We would have found another milk can for you to sit on and dealt you in. You would've felt like one of us, because you are one of us.

The next morning, you would have been invited to the funeral. You would have smiled to see us, all in dress uniform, focus hard to walk granddad in a straight line from the hearse to his grave. When they played "Taps," you would have fought back tears of pride, because we are the people who make it possible for our country to sleep all snuggly and warm each night, oblivious to the realities that we know.

Lin Williams, who served two tours off the coast of Vietnam as an aviation ordnanceman, lives in Venice.

Read or Share this story: https://www.floridatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/11/11/veterans-day-tribute-those-who-serve-iraq-and-afghanistan/6234058002/

Read more from the original source:
All war veterans deserve thanks, but Iraq and Afghanistan vets stand out | Opinion - Florida Today

Chevron, Occidental, and oil trading giant Trafigura have agreed to explore the idea to price the light U.S. crude they export to Asia off the upcoming ICE Murban Futures contract for light sweet crude, the operator Intercontinental Exchange ICE said in a statement.

The Murban futures contract will be an alternative pricing benchmark to the benchmark Oman/Dubai average, which is currently the most used benchmark in the Middle East and off which the oil exporters from the Middle East price their oil going to Asia.

The Murban futures contract for light crude could spare Asian buyers the use of Brent Crude futures for hedging, according to Reuters.

Trafigura and U.S. oil majors Chevron and Occidental are the largest exporters of U.S. crude oil, and using the new futures contract to be launched in March next year to price their oil to Asia shows the growing importance of U.S. crude oil exports on the international oil markets.

As one of the largest exporters of US crude to Asia, we are pleased to explore opportunities to utilize the new price benchmark for light sweet crude oil that Murban Futures will provide, Fred Forthuber, President, Oxy Energy Services, said in ICEs statement. Murban moving to forward looking pricing, as a futures contract, is another great step in the evolution of the oil market, Forthuber added.

The Murban Futures Contract is a positive development in enhancing transparency for oil markets and very relevant to us as an active participant in crude oil trading in the Arabian Gulf and as the largest exporter of US crude. We look forward to playing an active part in the new benchmark, Daniel Yuen, Head of Crude Asia for Trafigura, said.

Earlier this week, ICE said it plans to launch ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) and the worlds first futures contracts based on Murban crude oil on March 29, 2021, subject to the completion of regulatory approvals.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and nine of the worlds biggest energy tradersincluding BP, Shell, Total, and Vitolpartnered in November last year to launch the crude oil futures exchange in Abu Dhabi and the Murban crude oil futures contract.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

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Saudi Arabia And Iraq Agree To Intensify OPEC Cooperation - OilPrice.com

Meanwhile, Joshua Preston had just pulled a 12-hour night shift. He was pretty tired and thought he might be seeing things when he spotted someone on the other side of the street who liked like his father.

I yelled out Daddy, and others turned around, it was pretty funny, Joshua Preston said. I was so surprised that it was actually him, because I didnt even know that he was in Iraq, too.

The two sat down at a bus stop to catch up. They ate a few meals together, the son gave a quick tour of his duty station, and the father was able to witness his sons reenlistment ceremony.

It was pretty amazing that I could be there for that, the father said, to which his son added: It made one day during this time a little bit more normal for me, he said.

They werent the only ones who enjoyed the unscheduled reunion. Back home in Spotsylvania County, Sally PrestonTonys wife and Joshuas motherwas thrilled to hear about their brief time together.

It was very difficult to have a husband there, but even more difficult to have your first baby there as well, she said in an email.

Three of her four childrenJoshua, Elijah and Ethanjoined the armed forces, and Joshua and Elijah also married service members.

The rest is here:
Fatherson veterans from Spotsylvania recall improbable reunion in Iraq - Fredericksburg.com