Mediaboss Marketing

A ceremony unveiling a monument dedicated to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars was unveiled by the Queen a few days ago. She paid tribute to the military who supposedly helped to bring "peace and stability" to the two war-torn countries. On one side of the memorial, several British soldiers are lined up, their faces determined and brave, while on the other side, we see an etching of generic brown women, children and menan obvious afterthought receiving boxes with the Union Jack from soldiers with joy.

As a woman of Afghan descent born in Britain, I feel little joy about the UKs campaigns in the Middle East, in particular Afghanistan and Isis-occupied Iraq. Afghanistan is the invisible war: a plague that was born out of western-funded mujahedeen fighting against Soviet Russia, smothered with a reluctance to accept any blame. Where exactly is the joy and the liberation in that?

David Cameron appears to mouth sentence including 'manifesto' and 'stupid' at Iraq memorial service

In attendance at the unveiling of the monument were former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron, and, crucially, Tony Blair, whose misguided decisions led to thousands of deaths for rewards yet to manifest. Throughout my life, I have been followed by the idea that my people are terrorists as Islamophobia was unleashed in the West during these wars.

Im truly saddened that as a nation, Afghanistan has seen turmoil at the hands of the West for the last 30 to 40 years. Now this memorial only serves to celebrate the individuals who, to my mind, destroyed a beautiful country with a rich, illustrious history.

What's perhaps the most offensive about these images are that they nakedly represent propaganda. In reality, Afghan and Iraqi people have been the sole perpetrators of keeping up Afghan spirits. It's thanks to Afghan revolutionaries like Roya Mahboob, who founded Digital Citizens Fund, a series of tech colleges for women and girls to help boost entrepreneurship. Or Laila Haidari, whose drug rehabilitation centres, Mother Camp, aim to curb the horrors of opioid addiction.

In Iraq, Women's Defence Units are fighting Isis and Zekra Alwach was voted into office as Baghdads first female mayor. Afghans and Iraqis have no ulterior motive when helping their own, whereas westerners all too often do so for power, wealth, and control over resources.

As a piece of British history, the memorial plays into the idea of white soldiers "saving" Afghan and Iraqi civilians, when all they've done is cause countless casualties and deaths, ruining the respective countries to add to the British governments hefty list of invasions. Where is this "freedom" we and the people of the respective countries were promised? Is it Isis occupying Iraq? The increase of Islamophobic attacks worldwide? Or is it the likelihood that anyone who "looks" Muslim will be heavily searched an airport?

It feels like this memorial serves as a justification for the actions taken by Blair and his peers. War prevails because Britain prevails as a result. It was Thatchers victory in the Falkland Islands that gave her popularity a much needed boost, after all. But unlike the Falklands, these wars have been the longest in British history, which only goes to show that these pursuits have simply been a failure.

Neither Iraq nor Afghanistan has anything to show for it. Weapons of mass destruction turned out to be little more than a myth and Osama bin Laden wasnt even found in Afghanistan. So, what is it we're celebrating with the memorial besides poor judgment from white people and the genocide of brown people? British imperialism and the pursuit of power.

See the original post:
The British Iraq and Afghanistan war memorial celebrates those who destroyed my country - The Independent

Charles Lawson, 27, a Naples High graduate, Iraq War vet and University of Miami graduate, is a franchisee of a new eco-friendly carpet cleaning business called Oxi Fresh in Naples. Lawson pitched his product at the fifth annual event hosted by the Naples Humane Society at Mercato on Sunday, March 26, 2017, in North Naples.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

Charles Lawson has big plans, and they start with cleaning carpets.

Lawson, 27, a Naples High School graduate and an Iraq War veteran, plans to open Southwest Florida's first Oxi Fresh franchise in the coming weeks after months of preparation and even longer discovering his entrepreneurial impulses.

"I've been wanting to start this for a long time now," Lawson said. "I'm getting antsy. I want to start my career, you know."

Lawson acknowledges he wasn't that interested in school back at Naples High.

When he graduated in 2007, he joined the Air Force as a "way out," he said.

He went to basic training in San Antonioand then on to logistics and transportation training in Biloxi, Mississippi, and then back to San Antonio before landing at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico.

He served seven months in 2010 and 2011 in Dohar, Qatar, during the Iraq War.

His unit's job was to ship everything from aircraft parts to bombs even a few military casualties to wherever they needed to go, a job he said was stressful.

"A lot of people were counting on us," Lawson said.

By 2014, Lawson had cut ties to the Air Forceafter a few years in the Air Force Reserve. He would travel one weekend a month to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa from Miami, where he was going to school. This time school was different, though.

Lawson loved college and the freedom, friendships and mental challenges that came with it, he said. He transferred from Miami-Dade Community College, where he got all As and one B,to the University of Miami with a 3.95 GPA.

After college, he went to work as a financial analyst fora telecommunications company in Boca Raton. It lasted 10 months. He said he didn't like the office grind.

"I couldn't see myself working in financial institutions," Lawson said. "It's not what I wanted in life."

That's when he started looking for businesses to buy. Oxi Fresh caught his eye, he said.

Charles Lawson, 27, a Naples High graduate, Iraq War vet and University of Miami graduate, is a franchisee of a new eco-friendly carpet cleaning business called Oxi Fresh in Naples. Lawson had a booth at the fifth annual Woofstock event hosted by the Naples Humane Society at Mercato on Sunday, March 26, 2017, in North Naples.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)

The company markets itself as an eco-friendly alternative to most carpet cleaning companies becauseits machinesuse less water and more naturalcleaners. He figured it could be a way to stand out from the rest of the carpet-cleaning crowd.

Lawson went to Denver for a weeklong training and came away impressed with the franchise support system behind Oxi Fresh, from tracking customer satisfaction to marketing options.

Oxi Fresh franchise developer Matt Kline, who has been working with Lawson to set up his business, said Lawson struck him as a go-getter and an easy choice to be awarded a franchise, in part because of his military service.

"As long as you put a path in front of military veterans, you don't have to worry about getting the effort out of them," Kline said.

Lawson has been no exception, despite challenges in getting a loan to startthe franchise because of his lack of credit history and business experience,Kline said.

Lawson is in the final stages of getting a Small Business Administration loan, a grueling process.

"I think most people in his position would have given up a long time ago," Kline said.

Instead, Lawson has soldiered on. He hascompany T-shirts on order. He hasbusiness cards and coupons printed. He hasa Nissanvan picked out, and he's been talking with a company to get it wrapped with the Oxi Freshlogo.

The plan is to do all the jobs himself for the first six monthsand then start hiring help so he can focus on growing his business. He wants to take over the Fort Myers-Cape Coral franchise area in a few years.

He plans to target pet owners at the Humane Society. He plans on knocking on doors of property managers and apartments to drum up business, emphasizing the quick-dry nature of the Oxi Fresh system.

By the time he's 35, Lawson said, he wants to branch out into other franchises, maybe opening a Chick-fil-A or a Jimmy Johns. He can rattle off the buy-in fees they charge and the percentage they take.

Somedayhe'd like to go back to school and get a master's in business administration, but he says he can always fall back on his finance degree if his franchise plan fails.

"I don't think it will, though," Lawson said.

Charles Lawson, 27, center, greets Dominique Colas and his Chihuahua Zora as well as other passers-by while representing his Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning franchise during the fifth annual Woofstock event hosted by the Naples Humane Society at Mercato on Sunday, March 26, 2017, in North Naples. The Naples High graduate and Iraq War veteran is a new franchise owner of the eco-friendly carpet cleaning business in Naples.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)

Read or Share this story: http://nplsne.ws/2ndFoIK

Visit link:
Naples High grad, Iraq War vet ready to clean up - Naples Daily News

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2017 Indigenous Iraqi and Syrian forces have made tremendous progress taking the fight to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and Americans should be very proud of the role played in the effort by a small number of U.S. troops, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said during an interview.

When Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford took over as chairman in October 2015, ISIS had taken vast portions of Iraq and Syria and sought to establish a caliphate. The counter-ISIS strategy he inherited sought to train local forces to combat the terror organization.

This meant small numbers of American and coalition troops would work with Iraqi and vetted Syrian forces. Coalition air assets, special operators and artillery units would support the campaign.

The Iraqis have to be very proud of their forces, Dunford said. But I think we have to be very proud of the coalition, and what U.S. forces have accomplished.

Iraqi forces pushed back ISIS in Ramadi and Beiji and are now pushing into western Mosul -- the largest city taken by ISIS. The strategy is working, the chairman said, and its because young American service members are doing the hard work every day to make it happen.

If you think of the relatively small number of Americans that had deployed to Iraq over the past 18 to 24 months, he said, if you think about how hard they had to work in conjunction with Iraqi security forces to make sure we learned the lessons from Ramadi and Anbar province and applied those lessons with the right capabilities in Mosul; Ill just tell you I am proud of the force that has done that.

The Task Ahead

There still remains much to do in Iraq, the general said, and he is taking nothing for granted.

In Syria, indigenous forces are isolating Raqqa and pushing back well dug-in ISIS forces on all fronts. There, the progress has been dependent on an even smaller number of Americans who worked to recruit, train and strengthen counter-ISIS forces.

We sent those guys into an incredibly complex environment, Dunford said. We told them to go in collect intelligence, develop relationships, vet people and identify people willing to take the fight to the enemy, train those people, equip those people, support those people, and win.

And those special operations forces and U.S. Air Force personnel did it -- day after day, little by little, and under extreme circumstances, the chairman said.

The fact that we are now talking about divergent political challenges, the fact that we are now addressing questions of what happens after Mosul or Raqqa, we shouldnt lose sight of the fact that it is a reflection of the members of the joint force that have actually enabled the indigenous force to take the fight to the enemy, Dunford said. Now we have the political opportunities that we didnt have two years ago to establish the framework for long-term peace and stability, and we owe it to them.

(Follow Jim Garamone on Twitter: @GaramoneDoDNews)

See more here:
Dunford: Americans Should Be Proud of Role US Troops Play in Iraq, Syria - Department of Defense

Iraq - In the midst of ongoing operations in Mosul, the Government of Japan is providing USD 6.7 million to IOM to support its humanitarian response to displacement in Iraq.

Over a one-year period, this contribution will support IOM to assist internally displaced Iraqis, as well as returnees and host community members.

The project will fund two components of the emergency response efforts: shelter support to maintain and upgrade emergency shelter sites and critical arrangements (unfinished schools and religious buildings, among others) to safely house new internally displaced persons (IDPs); and provision of emergency seasonal non-food items (NFI) to meet the immediate needs of families fleeing from conflict.

In areas retaken by the Iraqi government, the project will contribute to promoting community stabilization through several initiatives, including:

Providing 100 low-cost houses with infrastructure.

Implementing six community infrastructure rehabilitation projects (also called Quick Impact Projects), including the rehabilitation of schools and health centres, in response to the communities expressed needs.

Providing training to community members and law enforcement officials on community policing principles.

Carrying out a detailed assessment, through IOM Iraqs Displacement Tracking Matrix, on return movements to retaken areas to inform programmatic decision-making and benefit the wider humanitarian community.

IOM has identified the need for comprehensive community recovery packages targeting areas of return, and is committed to respond to the urgent needs of returnees. IOMs community stabilization initiatives respond to infrastructure damage in retaken areas with urgently needed rehabilitation projects. In addition, the project will continue supporting its successful eye care health activities for vulnerable communities.

In the previous round of the IOM Iraqs Japan-funded programme from May 2016 to February 2017, more than 5,500 displaced children received vision screenings, and more than 1,000 received full eye examinations and prescription glasses.

The contribution of the Government of Japan has enabled IOM to support thousands of displaced Iraqis with emergency assistance and livelihoods, said IOM Iraq Chief of Mission Thomas Lothar Weiss. We are pleased to continue this important partnership, in coordination with the Government of Iraq and humanitarian partners, to improve conditions for those who are still living in displacement as well as for those facing the challenge of returning home in retaken areas, he added.

Mr. Fumio Iwai, Ambassador of Japan to Iraq said, This shows Japans strong and faithful commitment, to addressing the IDP crisis in Iraq, as part of a new package of humanitarian, counter-terrorism and community stabilization in support of Iraq amounting to around 100m USD. He added Japan is determined to serve displaced Iraqi families and host communities respecting human dignity.

Tiba, a 7-year-old displaced girl from Mosul, who now lives in Erbil, said: I am very comfortable with the glasses. I wanted the frame to be pink. I am happy now that I can read, write and watch TV with them. I thank Japan for the eyeglasses. My family is displaced now, but I hope we can return to Mosul one day.

Over three million Iraqis continue to be displaced across Iraq since January 2014. Due to Mosul military operations, which began in mid-October 2016, an additional 283,000 Iraqis have been displaced (cumulative); more than 215,000 are currently displaced; and more than 68,000 have returned home. More than 57,000 have been displaced from West Mosul in the past two weeks.

The latest DTM Emergency Tracking figures on displacement from Mosul operations are available at: http://iraqdtm.iom.int/EmergencyTracking.aspx

Please click to download the latest:

IOM Iraq DTM Mosul Operations - Factsheet (March 9):

http://iraqdtm.iom.int/Downloads/DTM%20Emergency%20Tracking/Mosul%20Cris...

IOM Iraq DTM Mosul Operations Data Snapshot (March 9): http://iomiraq.net/article/0/9-march-2017-mosul-displacement-snapshot

For further information please contact Hala Jaber at IOM Iraq, Tel. +964 751 740 1654, Email: hjaberbent@iom.int

Link:
Japan Donates USD 6.7 Million to Aid Displaced Iraqis: IOM - ReliefWeb

This photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows bloodied streets and damaged buses after a bombing in Damascus on Saturday. SANA via AP hide caption

This photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows bloodied streets and damaged buses after a bombing in Damascus on Saturday.

Two explosions killed more than 40 people in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Saturday in an attack that seemed to target Shiites visiting holy sites from Iraq.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but there are a number of militant groups in Syria who target Shiites, including the Islamic State and the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaida.

Syrian State TV showed footage of blood-soaked streets after the bombing, according to The Associated Press, as well as damaged buses in a parking lot near Bab al-Saghir cemetery. The cemetery is near one of the seven gates of the old city of Damascus, and many prominent religious figures are buried there, including family members of the Prophet Muhammad.

"The normally secure area is home to a number of Shiite shrines, which continue to draw religious pilgrims," reports NPR's Alison Meuse. "Sunni extremists like Islamic State consider Shiites heretics and blame Shiite militias for propping up Bashar al-Assad's government."

It was unclear whether both explosions were the result of suicide attacks, or if a bomb was placed in the cemetery itself. Iraq's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that at least 40 of those killed were Iraqi, as well as 120 more wounded. Shiites from across the middle east and Asia often visit shrines in Syria, according to the AP.

The number killed is expected to rise, as many people were transported from the scene in critical condition.

The second blast went off 10 minutes after the first, causing harm also to people tending to the wounded, a Damascus correspondent told a TV station, according to Reuters.

Attacks are not uncommon elsewhere in Syria, but they've become rare in the Syrian capital where President Bashar al-Assad has mostly solidified control.

Assad told a Hong-Kong-based TV station on Saturday that his military priority now, as the war in Syria is in its seventh year, is reaching the Islamic State's de-facto capital of Raqqa, according to the AP:

Assad said that "in theory" he shares the same priority with U.S. President Donald Trump of fighting terrorism but that they have had no formal contact yet. He said Russia, a major ally, hopes it can urge the U.S. and Turkey to cooperate with Moscow and Damascus in the fight against terrorism in Syria. Assad's government views all armed opposition as terrorist groups.

As NPR's Merrit Kennedy reported earlier this week, the United States announced a decision to send about 400 more Marines to Syria to help wrest control of Raqqa from ISIS as well. That brings the number of Americans on the ground in that country to about 900.

Originally posted here:
Explosions in Damascus Target Shiites From Iraq, Kill At Least 40 - NPR