Just Foreign Policy News
March 7, 2011
Action: Urge President Obama and Members of Congress to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention in Libya
Unilateral U.S. military action without UN Security Council authorization would be a grave violation of the UN Charter. As U.S. military officials have pointed out, the imposition of a "no-fly zone" would not be "bloodless": it would be preceded by extensive bombing of Libya’s anti-aircraft facilities. Such bombing would almost certainly cause civilian casualties. As Defense Secretary Gates has said, the last thing the U.S. needs is a war in another Muslim country. Urge the White House and your representatives to oppose a unilateral U.S. military intervention.
https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/nobombsforlibya
*Action: Lee bill for military withdrawal from Afghanistan
"H.R.780 – To provide that funds for operations of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan shall be obligated and expended only for purposes of providing for the safe and orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan of all members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense contractor personnel who are in Afghanistan."
Check to see if your Rep. has co-sponsored; ask them to co-sponsor if they haven’t. You can reach your Rep. through the Congressional switchboard: 202-225-3121.
You can view the cosponsors here (recent: Velazquez, 3/3/2011; Nadler, 3/3/2011; Hirono, 3/3/2011):
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:HR00780:@@@P
You can ask your Rep. to co-sponsor here:
https://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/hr780
Viral web video mocks Qaddafi demand to "purge Libya inch by inch, home by home, house by house, alley by alley."
This video has 3 million views on youtube. (Click "show more" to see "lyrics.")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBY-0n4esNY
"No dancing girl version" (for "sharing with parents.")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GcUutnU2gk
Backstory:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/world/middleeast/28youtube.html
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Summary:
U.S./Top News
1) Across eastern Libya, rebel fighters and their supporters are detaining, intimidating and frequently beating African immigrants and black Libyans, accusing them of fighting as mercenaries on behalf of Kadafi, the Los Angeles Times reports. In areas under rebel control, several accused mercenaries have been killed recently, said Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch. There have been "widespread and systematic attacks" on Africans and black Libyans by rebels and their supporters as they attempt to root out suspected mercenaries, he said. "Thousands of Africans have come under attack and lost their homes and possessions during the recent fighting," Bouckaert said. "A lot of Africans have been caught up in this mercenary hysteria."
2) NATO’s secretary general said a decision by NATO to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya would require a new UN Security Council resolution, the Wall Street Journal reports. Several NATO governments, including Turkey and Italy, have made clear their view that NATO military action require a U.N. mandate, the Journal says [this requirement isn’t a mere matter of opinion among some countries, but a basic provision of the UN Charter – JFP.]
3) Senator Kerry, Senator McCain, and Senator McConnell called for the US to consider carving out a no-flight zone in Libya, the New York Times reports. But the Obama administration continued to resist such appeals. "Lots of people throw around phrases like no-fly zone – they talk about it as though it’s just a video game," White House chief of staff Bill Daley said. Defense Secretary Gates last week said such a strategy would require "a big operation in a big country" and scoffed at "loose talk about some of these military options." "Let’s just call a spade a spade," Gates said. "A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. That’s the way you do a no-fly zone."
4) The Obama administration is settling on a Middle East strategy, especially in Bahrain, to help keep longtime allies who are willing to reform in power, even if that means the full democratic demands of their newly emboldened citizens might have to wait, the Wall Street Journal reports. The approach has emerged amid furious lobbying of the administration by Arab governments, Israel, and the Pentagon, the Journal says. But administration officials say the White House is not "unconditionally" behind the monarchy in Bahrain, and has made clear that the U.S. expected to see quick progress on reforms and restraint by security forces.
5) Pete Seeger, quoted last week as saying that he supports a boycott of Israel, says his position on Israel is constantly evolving, JTA reports. Seeger said contrary to some reports, he does not regret taking part in last November’s online peace rally "With Earth and Each Other," which was mounted in support of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in southern Israel. "I understand why someone would want to boycott a place financially, but I don’t understand why you would boycott dialogue," Seeger said at the time.
6) An official at Quantico said Friday that Bradley Manning will be stripped of his clothing every night as a "precautionary measure" to prevent him from injuring himself, the New York Times reports. Manning will also be required to stand outside his cell naked during a morning inspection. Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs criticized the measure as an unjustified "humiliation" of his client.
Afghanistan
7) President Karzai said that the US apology for its killing of nine Afghan children was insufficient, the New York Times reports. "The people of Afghanistan are tired of these incidents and excuses, and condemnations cannot relieve their pain," Karzai said. A couple of the boys who died were the only males in their families and were responsible for the care of their mothers and sisters, the Times notes.
Bahrain
8) The leaders of Bahrain’s opposition movement said Sunday that they would not be mollified by offers of money and jobs, raising the prospect of a protracted standoff, the New York Times reports. Cash does not address the central demands of protesters for democracy, said Abdul Jalil Khalil Ebrahim, a senior member of Wefaq, the largest opposition party in Bahrain. More than 100,000 people – about one in five Bahraini citizens – joined a protest in Manama on Friday where many shouted "Down, Down Hamad!" The king’s family, which is Sunni, has ruled the Shiite-majority country for more than two centuries.
Libya
9) The ferocity of the fighting Sunday indicated that the opposition would not easily push Gaddafi from his mantle, and that Libya was plunging into a potentially protracted and bloody civil war, the Washington Post reports. The opposition centered in Benghazi backed away from earlier calls for international airstrikes to weaken Gaddafi. "The revolutionaries have no need of airstrikes," said Hafida Gogha, spokesman for the Libyan National Council, which is representing rebel-held cities.
Egypt
10) Egypt’s prime minister-designate Essam Sharaf named a caretaker Cabinet on Sunday to help lead the country through reforms and toward free elections, AP reports. The new interior minister said he would reduce the role of the State Security agency, blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak’s opponents. Protest groups have demanded the State Security agency be dismantled.
11) Hundreds of Egyptians raided State Security offices, searching for files to document abuses and for evidence of missing loved ones, McClatchy reports. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights puts the number of political prisoners at around 17,000.
Saudi Arabia
12) Activists said Saudi security forces have detained at least 22 minority Shi’ites who protested last week against discrimination, Reuters reports. The kingdom’s Council of Senior Clerics issued a statement on Sunday backing an interior ministry warning on Saturday that said demonstrations violated Islamic law. Democracy activists say peaceful protests are their right. "These practices conflict with the right of peaceful association that the kingdom committed to … at the U.N. Human Rights Council," activists said. A loose alliance of liberals, moderate Islamists and Shi’ites have petitioned King Abdullah to allow elections.
Contents:
U.S./Top News
1) Libyan Rebels Accused Of Targeting Blacks
Rights groups say African migrant workers and black Libyans face beatings and detention by rebel fighters who suspect them of being mercenaries hired by Moammar Kadafi to put down the rebellion.
David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2011, 5:46 PM PST
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-mercenaries-20110305,0,5517806.story
Benghazi, Libya – About a dozen African men stood lined along a hallway of the courthouse in the eastern city of Benghazi. The men were suspected of being mercenaries fighting on behalf of Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi and had been rousted from their homes in the morning, turned in by residents responding to a rebel campaign urging them to report "suspicious people."
We are construction workers, one of the men said, pleading his innocence to a Times reporter visiting the courthouse, which now serves as the headquarters of the rebel government. But the interview was abruptly ended and the group of Africans were led away to detention by Muhammed Bala, who described himself as a security officer for the rebel government. "We’re out looking for mercenaries every day," Bala said.
Across eastern Libya, rebel fighters and their supporters are detaining, intimidating and frequently beating African immigrants and black Libyans, accusing them of fighting as mercenaries on behalf of Kadafi, witnesses and human rights workers say. In a few instances, rebels have executed suspected mercenaries captured in battle, according to Human Rights Watch and local Libyans.
The rebel-led provisional government in Benghazi denies mistreating suspected mercenaries, though it acknowledges that it is detaining some for questioning. It says it has given human rights representatives access to detainees. But rebel fighters and bands of gunmen who looted government weapons depots are reportedly instigating their own detentions and beatings.
Kadafi has long used mercenaries, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa, to help enforce his rule. As the country has descended into violence in recent weeks, witnesses in the capital,Tripoli, and other cities have reported mercenaries suppressing protests and indiscriminately shooting at civilians.
But Libya also is home to thousands of immigrant laborers as well as black Libyans. In their zeal, human rights officials and witnesses say, rebel fighters in some cases have arbitrarily killed some mercenaries and in others cases failed to distinguish between them and non-combatants.
In the eastern city of Beida and in other areas under rebel control, several accused mercenaries have been killed recently, said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch in Libya. There have been "widespread and systematic attacks" on Africans and black Libyans by rebels and their supporters as they attempt to root out suspected mercenaries, he said. "Thousands of Africans have come under attack and lost their homes and possessions during the recent fighting," Bouckaert said in an interview Friday in Benghazi. "A lot of Africans have been caught up in this mercenary hysteria." He called the rebel fighters and gunmen "ad hoc military and security forces."
[…] As many as eight Libyans who fought with pro-Kadafi forces in a battle for the oil hub of Port Brega were shot or stabbed to death by rebels Wednesday, according to Mustafa Abdulrahim, a rebel who fought there and said he disapproved of executing prisoners.
[…] Bouckaert said Human Rights Watch has not confirmed a single instance a foreign mercenary having been brought in to fight in eastern Libya. He said many black men accused of being mercenaries are actually black Libyans or Africans who have been living in Libya for years.
He said some of the 160 Libyan pro-Kadafi fighters captured in street fighting in Beida last month probably were guilty of killing civilians, he said. They were released under a tribal agreement, he said.
But many innocent Africans and black Libyans have faced detention, beatings or intimidation while being accused of accepting money to fight for Kadafi.
[…]
2) NATO Chief Says A U.N. Resolution Is Needed To Establish No-Fly Zone
Stephen Fidler, Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580004576180400641158810.html
Brussels – A decision by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya would require a new United Nations Security Council resolution, NATO’s civilian head said, adding to skepticism about the likelihood of such a move.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, secretary-general of the 28-nation alliance, said NATO planners were examining "all eventualities" including the imposition of a no-fly zone. But he emphasized that "NATO has no intention to intervene if not requested." The alliance’s defense ministers will discuss Libya at a scheduled meeting next week in Brussels.
Several NATO governments, including Turkey and Italy, have made clear their view that military action by the alliance would require at least a U.N. mandate. Since the alliance operates by consensus, that would appear to rule out intervention by the alliance unless the U.N. Security Council backs it.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that a no-fly zone-which U.S. defense officials say would require a pre-emptive strike on Libyan air defenses-is "one option" under consideration. But U.S. officials have said imposing such a measure would depend on allied support.
NATO allies could act individually, but if they were denied access to NATO facilities, such as air bases in Italy, this would make the task of imposing a no-fly zone much harder, military analysts say.
The NATO chief, a former Danish prime minister, said the Security Council resolution on Libya passed unanimously last weekend raised issues that "require attention," including humanitarian assistance and an arms embargo. Individual allies were already responding to requests for humanitarian assistance, he noted.
But he said: "Let me stress that the U.N. Security Council resolution as it stands does not authorize the use of armed forces…A no-fly zone would definitely require a U.N. Security Council resolution."
[…]
3) U.S. Senators Call for No-Flight Zone Over Libya
Joseph Berger, New York Times, March 6, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/world/middleeast/07nofly.html
Despite skepticism from Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, three influential United States senators from both political parties on Sunday called for the United States to consider carving out a no-flight zone in Libya to prevent Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi from massacring the rebels trying to overthrow him.
But the Obama administration continued to resist such appeals. "Lots of people throw around phrases like no-fly zone – they talk about it as though it’s just a video game," William M. Daley, the new White House chief of staff, said in at appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press" television news program.
Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, challenged Mr. Gates’s admonition that establishing a no-flight zone required the United States to attack Libya’s antiaircraft installations and other air defenses. "Well, that’s actually not the only option for what one could do ," Mr. Kerry said, in what sounded like a rebuke to a cabinet member, on CBS’s "Face the Nation." "One could crater the airports and the runways and leave them incapable of using them for a period of time."
Senator Kerry pointed out that Libya’s air force is small and that the United States would consider trying to ground Libyan planes only if Mr. Qaddafi uses his air force "as a means of massacring large number of civilians." He also said that establishing a no-flight zone would not require a long-term American or Western commitment, as was the case in Iraq and Bosnia.
Mr. Kerry’s support for a no-flight zone was echoed by two Republicans who spoke on the Sunday television news shows – Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate minority leader, and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008.
Mr. Gates, the Obama administration’s most prominent Republican, testified Wednesday about the risks of a no-flight zone before the House Appropriations Committee just as Libyan forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi were bombing insurgents outside Tripoli. He said such a strategy would require "a big operation in a big country" and scoffed at "loose talk about some of these military options."
"Let’s just call a spade a spade," Mr. Gates said last week. "A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. That’s the way you do a no-fly zone. And then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down. But that’s the way it starts."
Mr. Daley took pains Sunday to support Mr. Gates, saying Mr. Gates "knows the difficulty of war and the challenges." And while President Obama said last week that Colonel Qaddafi had to go, Mr. Daley, when pressed, would not say that removing the Libyan strongman was vital to the interests of the United States – a threshold that the Obama administration would presumably want to meet if it ordered military intervention. "It’s in our interest as human beings," Mr. Daley said.
Mr. Kerry urged Western powers not only to provide humanitarian aid but to turn over $30 billion in frozen Libyan assets to the insurgents. He also said he assumes that weapons supplied by the West "are going to find their way over there in the course of the next weeks."
Senator McConnell said a no-flight zone was "worth considering," and he urged the administration to explore other options like "aiding and arming the insurgents." But he cautioned that the United States was "not sure who the insurgents are," so it "ought to make sure who we’re dealing with here."
[…]
4) U.S. Wavers on ‘Regime Change’
Adam Entous and Julian E. Barnes, Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580004576180522653787198.html
Washington – After weeks of internal debate on how to respond to uprisings in the Arab world, the Obama administration is settling on a Middle East strategy: help keep longtime allies who are willing to reform in power, even if that means the full democratic demands of their newly emboldened citizens might have to wait.
Instead of pushing for immediate regime change-as it did to varying degrees in Egypt and now Libya-the U.S. is urging protesters from Bahrain to Morocco to work with existing rulers toward what some officials and diplomats are now calling "regime alteration."
The approach has emerged amid furious lobbying of the administration by Arab governments, who were alarmed that President Barack Obama had abandoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and worried that, if the U.S. did the same to the beleaguered king of Bahrain, a chain of revolts could sweep them from power, too, and further upend the region’s stability.
The strategy also comes in the face of domestic U.S. criticism that the administration sent mixed messages at first in Egypt, tentatively backing Mr. Mubarak before deciding to throw its full support behind the protesters demanding his ouster. Likewise in Bahrain, the U.S. decision to throw a lifeline to the ruling family came after sharp criticism of its handling of protests there. On Friday, the kingdom’s opposition mounted one of its largest rallies, underlining the challenge the administration faces selling a strategy of more gradual change to the population.
Administration officials say they have been consistent throughout, urging rulers to avoid violence and make democratic reforms that address the demands of their populations. Still, a senior administration official acknowledged the past month has been a learning process for policy makers. "What we have said throughout this is that there is a need for political, economic and social reform, but the particular approach will be country by country," the official said.
A pivotal moment came in late February, in the tense hours after Mr. Obama publicly berated King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa for cracking down violently on antigovernment demonstrators in Bahrain’s capital. Envoys for the king and his Arab allies shuttled from the Pentagon to the State Department and the White House with a carefully coordinated message.
If the Obama administration did not reverse course and stand squarely behind the monarchy, they warned, Bahrain’s government could fall, costing America a critical ally and potentially moving the country toward Iran’s orbit. Adding to the sense of urgency was a scenario being watched by U.S. intelligence agencies: the possibility that Saudi Arabia might invade its tiny neighbor to silence the Shiite-led protesters, threatening decades-old partnerships and creating vast political and economic upheaval.
"We need the full support of the United States," a top Bahraini diplomat beseeched the Americans, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffery Feltman, Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, and other top policy makers.
Arab diplomats believe the push worked. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emerged as leading voices inside the administration urging greater U.S. support for the Bahraini king coupled with a reform agenda that Washington insisted would be have to be credible to street protesters. Instead of backing cries for the king’s removal, Mr. Obama asked protesters to negotiate with the ruling family, which is promising major changes.
Israel was also making its voice heard. As Mr. Mubarak’s grip on power slipped away in Egypt, Israeli officials lobbied Washington to move cautiously and reassure Mideast allies that they were not being abandoned. Israeli leaders have made clear that they fear extremist forces could try to exploit new-found freedoms and undercut Israel’s security, diplomats said. "Starting with Bahrain, the administration has moved a few notches toward emphasizing stability over majority rule," said a U.S. official. "Everybody realized that Bahrain was just too important to fail."
[…] The emerging approach could help slow the pace of upheaval to avoid further violence, the administration’s top priority, and help preserve important strategic alliances. At the same time, the approach carries risk. Autocratic governments might not deliver on their reform promises, making Washington look like it was doing their bidding at the public’s expense. Officials said the administration’s response in Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere could change if people take to the streets en masse, rejecting offers made at the negotiating table, or if the U.S.-backed governments crack down violently. Indeed, administration officials say the White House is not "unconditionally" behind the monarchy in Bahrain, and has made clear that the U.S. expected to see quick progress on reforms and restraint by security forces.
[…] The Arab diplomats found a particularly receptive ear in the Pentagon. As Egypt began to sway, some U.S. military officers had doubts about the administration’s approach. The U.S. military has strong ties with the country. Some worried that the U.S. was moving too quickly to push aside a steadfast ally and that radical change in Cairo could destabilize the region.
Those concerns were shared by Israel and several key Arab allies, who were "furious" at the Obama administration for ignoring their appeals to allow Mr. Mubarak a graceful exit, a senior European military official said. But administration officials argued that with hundreds of thousands of protesters on the streets, they had little choice but to turn on Mr. Mubarak sooner rather than later. Indeed, the administration has been criticized by human-rights groups for not standing more squarely with democracy advocates from the start.
Though initially skeptical, the Pentagon came around to the White House’s view that if Mr. Mubarak clung to power, there would be little chance for real reform. But the Pentagon’s perspective was far different when trouble began in Bahrain.
The protest movement in Bahrain began gathering in intensity on Feb. 14, after police killed a protester and injured 25 more. Over the following days, six more demonstrators were killed and more than 200 injured, as reports circulated that the Bahraini government was moving in military equipment to disperse the protestors.
At an emergency meeting in Manama, the capital city, on Feb. 17, leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council backed Bahrain’s response to the protests and the Bahraini foreign minister warned that the kingdom was at the "brink of sectarian abyss."
The White House watched the developments with alarm, especially reports that Bahraini forces had fired on the crowd from helicopters. A State Department official phoned a top Bahraini diplomat and demanded an accounting of the events, a person familiar with the exchange said. Bahraini officials told their American counterparts that witnesses mistook a long telephoto lens for a rifle and that the helicopters never opened fire.
The next day, however, the Bahraini army fired on protesters again. In a call to the king, Mr. Obama condemned the violence used against "peaceful protesters," and urged the king to direct his security forces to punish those responsible for the bloodshed, according to the White House.
Arab diplomats reacted with alarm to the U.S. condemnation. They believed the administration might be returning to the Egyptian playbook, according to officials and diplomats.
[…] As he has at some other critical national security debates within the administration, Mr. Gates found his most important ally in Mrs. Clinton.
Still, while Bahrain’s government believed the Pentagon’s support for a national dialogue on reforms was clear, the country’s diplomats worried the White House was not on board.
On Thursday, Feb. 24, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon spoke with the crown prince and, according to a White House statement, voiced "strong support" for efforts to "initiate an open dialogue on political reform with the full spectrum of Bahraini society."
But Bahrain and its allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council wanted the administration to give the initiative higher-level endorsement. Without overt U.S. support from Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton, the Arab envoys argued, Bahraini protesters were liable to up their demands.
The "Bahrain model," they said, offered the administration an alternative to their Egypt approach and could be a solution not only to the crisis in Manama, but also a template for dealing with Morocco or even, potentially, Yemen.
On Sunday, Feb. 27, the White House threw its support behind King Khalifa. The same day, William Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, delivered a similar message to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, another key Arab ally facing unrest, calling the North African country "a model of economic, social, and political reform."
5) Pete Seeger clarifies position on boycotting Israel
JTA, March 3, 2011
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/03/02/2743164/pete-seeger-clarifies-bds-position
San Francisco – Folk music icon Pete Seeger, quoted earlier this week as saying that he supports a boycott of Israel, told JTA that his position on Israel is constantly evolving.
Earlier this week, the pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement group Adalah-NY reported that Seeger met recently with representatives from the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and told them that he "supports" the anti-Israel BDS movement.
Seeger told JTA by phone Wednesday that he "probably said" that, but added that he is still learning a lot about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his "opinions waver with each piece of information" he receives.
The 92-year-old musician also said that contrary to the Adalah-NY report, he does not regret taking part in last November’s online peace rally "With Earth and Each Other," which was mounted in support of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in southern Israel.
The Arava Institute, which brings together an international student body to explore solutions to cross-border ecological problems, particularly those affecting Israel and her Arab neighbors, is "very important," Seeger said. He added that similar initiatives aimed at reducing tensions between neighbors "should exist all over the world."
One month before the online event, Seeger told JTA that he was resisting calls from the BDS movement to call off his participation. He cited the need for dialogue to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"I understand why someone would want to boycott a place financially, but I don’t understand why you would boycott dialogue," Seeger said at the time. "The world will not be here in 50 years unless we learn how to communicate with each other nonviolently."
6) Soldier In Leaks Case Will Be Made To Sleep Naked Nightly
Charlie Savage, New York Times, March 4, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/world/05manning.html
Washington – Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking government files to WikiLeaks, will be stripped of his clothing every night as a "precautionary measure" to prevent him from injuring himself, an official at the Marine brig at Quantico, Va., said on Friday.
Private Manning will also be required to stand outside his cell naked during a morning inspection, after which his clothing will be returned to him, said a Marine spokesman, First Lt. Brian Villiard.
[…] Private Manning’s lawyer, David E. Coombs, first complained in a blog posting on Thursday that his client had been stripped the previous night, and wrote on Friday that it had happened again. He criticized the measure as an unjustified "humiliation" of his client.
"There can be no conceivable justification for requiring a soldier to surrender all his clothing, remain naked in his cell for seven hours, and then stand at attention the subsequent morning," he wrote. "This treatment is even more degrading considering that Pfc. Manning is being monitored – both by direct observation and by video – at all times."
[…]
Afghanistan
7) Afghan Leader Calls Apology in Boys’ Deaths Insufficient
Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, March 6, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/world/asia/07afghanistan.html
Kabul, Afghanistan – The American commander in Afghanistan apologized in person to the leadership of the Afghan government on Sunday for the mistaken killing of nine Afghan children in Kunar Province on Tuesday, but the Afghan president rejected the apology, according to a statement from the president’s spokesman.
[…] In response, President Hamid Karzai said that the apology was insufficient. Civilian casualties worsen the relationship between Afghanistan and the United States, he said, according to the statement.
"The people of Afghanistan are tired of these incidents and excuses, and condemnations cannot relieve their pain," Mr. Karzai said. "I am asking you on behalf of the people of Afghanistan that there be no repetition of this incident."
[…] Civilian casualties caused by NATO troops are corrosive to the relationship between the West and the Afghans, and reinforce the Taliban’s propaganda that NATO troops do not care about the Afghan people. In fact, far more civilians are killed by the insurgents than by NATO, according to the most recent United Nations report, which said that more than three-quarters of civilian casualties are now caused by the insurgents. However, those that are caused by NATO troops appear to reverberate more deeply because of underlying animosity about foreigners in the country.
In Kabul on Sunday, a protest took place over the death of the nine boys. A larger protest was held last week in Nanglam, the capital of the district where the killing took place.
The shootings occurred in a poor, mountainous area. A couple of the boys who died were the only males in their families and were responsible for the care of their mothers and sisters. The loss of the only male means that the women will have to rely on relatives, who usually are already overburdened with their own families.
[…]
Bahrain
8) Bahrain’s Promised Spending Fails to Quell Dissent
Thomas Fuller, New York Times, March 6, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/world/middleeast/07bahrain.html
Manama, Bahrain – The leaders of Bahrain’s opposition movement said Sunday that they would not be mollified by offers of money and jobs, raising the prospect of a protracted standoff between protesters and the embattled government of this strategically important Persian Gulf island nation. "This is about dignity and freedom – it’s not about filling our stomachs," said Ebrahim Sharif, a former banker who helped lead a protest on Sunday at the gates of a government building.
Protesters in Bahrain have held daily demonstrations for the past three weeks, undeterred by a government crackdown that killed seven people. The protests continued on Sunday, with thousands of people gathering in Manama’s Pearl Square, the epicenter of the movement.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry announced over the weekend that it was seeking to hire 20,000 people, a measure it said was designed to benefit job seekers and improve security in the country, which is home to a United States naval base.
[…] But in Bahrain and Oman, monetary concessions have yet to assuage protesters.
More than 100,000 people – about one in five Bahraini citizens – joined a protest in Manama on Friday where many shouted "Down, Down Hamad!" The king’s family, which is Sunni, has ruled the Shiite-majority country for more than two centuries.
Smaller protests have also continued in Sohar, a northern industrial city in Oman, which is ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said. "Poor people took the money, but are still insisting on getting political reform," said Abdul Jalil Khalil Ebrahim, a senior member of Wefaq, the largest opposition party in Bahrain.
Mr. Ebrahim says future payments in Bahrain by regional governments will be diminished by corruption and may not reach the people who need them. In addition, the cash does not address the central demands of protesters – for democracy.
[…]
Libya
9) Violence in Libya sows fears of long civil war; gunfire erupts in Tripoli
Steve Hendrix , Anthony Faiola and Samuel Sockol, Washington Post, March 6, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/05/AR2011030504106.html
Ras Lanuf, Libya – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi escalated a lethal counterattack on Sunday, heightening assaults on rebels in two key western cities near his stronghold of Tripoli while launching airstrikes and engaging opposition bands marching from the east toward his hometown of Sirte in heavy ground clashes along the Mediterranean coast.
Libyan revolutionary forces advancing on Sirte ran into an ambush of government loyalists Sunday, leading to significant casualties and interrupting a string of recent rebel victories in their westward push toward Tripoli, according to retreating fighters.
Rebels claimed to have shot down two loyalist aircraft attacking positions near Ras Lanuf, a strategic oil refinery town 410 miles east of Tripoli that fell into rebel hands late Friday night. Mysterious volleys of gunfire and heavy artillery, meanwhile, awoke residents in Tripoli, with government officials claiming the ensuing hours of arms fire were celebrations of Gaddafi loyalist victories.
The events suggested the Gaddafi’s forces were regrouping into an orchestrated counterassault against the opposition that has claimed most of the eastern half of Libya since a Feb. 17 uprising against his 41-year rule. The ferocity of the fighting indicated that the opposition would not easily push Gaddafi from his mantle, and that Libya was plunging into a potentially protracted and bloody civil war.
[…] Yet the opposition centered in Libya’s second-largest city, Benghazi, backed away from earlier calls for international airstrikes to weaken Gaddafi. "The revolutionaries have no need of airstrikes," said Hafida Gogha, spokesman for the Libyan National Council, which is representing rebel-held cities.
[…]
Egypt
10) New Egypt PM names most of new Cabinet
Sarah el Deeb, Associated Press, Sunday, March 6, 2011; 6:59 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/06/AR2011030601995.html
Cairo – Egypt’s prime minister-designate named a caretaker Cabinet on Sunday to help lead the country through reforms and toward free elections after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
The changes include new faces in the key foreign, interior and justice ministries – a decision expected to be met with the approval of the pro-reform groups that led an 18-day uprising that forced Mubarak to step down on Feb. 11.
[…] The State Security agency, which employs about 100,000 of Egypt’s 500,000-strong security forces, is blamed for the worst human rights abuses against Mubarak’s opponents. Dismantling the agency has been a key demand of the protest groups that led the uprising.
In a move clearly designed to respond to such demands, Prime Minister-designate Essam Sharaf has named a new interior minister. Maj. Gen. Mansour el-Essawy, a former Cairo security chief, was expected to replace Mahmoud Wagdi, who has held the post for less than a month. The Interior Ministry is in charge of the security forces. El-Essawy, according to a report by the state news agency, pledged after meeting Sharaf that he would work to restore security and reduce the role of the State Security agency.
Sharaf met with 22 other ministerial nominees, including Nabil Elaraby, expected to be Egypt’s foreign minister. Elaraby will replace Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, who has held the job since 2004 but has been maligned by the protesters because of his criticism of the uprising in its early days.
Elaraby was Egypt’s U.N. representative in the 1990s and served as a judge in the International Court of Justice between 2001 and 2006. He was critical of the government’s crackdown against the uprising and was a member of a committee to advise protest leaders on their reform demands.
[…]
11) New day in Egypt: Protesters sack State Security offices
New day in Egypt: Protesters sack State Security offices
Hannah Allam, McClatchy Newspapers, March 06, 2011
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/03/05/109887/egyptian-protesters-storm-state.html
Cairo, Egypt – Trudging through dungeon-like cells and mounds of shredded documents, hundreds of Egyptians on Saturday surged into the Cairo headquarters of the dreaded State Security apparatus for an unprecedented look inside buildings where political prisoners endured horrific torture. Some former prisoners sobbed as they saw their old cells, recalling electric shocks and severe beatings. Families held passport photos of missing relatives and were desperate to explore the dank chambers for clues to their fates.
Dismantling State Security, the shadowy and all-powerful intelligence force, was a key demand of protesters who forced the resignation last month of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. When the military-led interim authority failed to dissolve the agency immediately, protesters in Cairo and the port city of Alexandria descended on State Security offices this weekend to seize files they hoped would cement Mubarak’s legacy of prisoner abuse and disappearances.
"I thought my brother would be found there," said Leila Mahmoud, 47, who was distraught when she learned the buildings had been evacuated. "He was taken on April 2, 2005, and we’ve been looking for him since then. We haven’t heard a word from him since. Not a word."
Some activists also were looking for evidence related to Egypt’s role in the U.S. government’s longtime practice of extraordinary rendition, the transfer of American-held detainees to foreign soil where harsher interrogation techniques could be used. Protesters carted off armloads of files and turned them over to a prosecutor who arrived on the scene.
The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, an independent nonprofit, puts the number of political prisoners at around 17,000. Official government figures are much lower, an estimated 500.
[…]
Saudi Arabia
12) Saudi Arabia detains Shi’ites as clerics ban protests
Andrew Hammond, Reuters, Sun Mar 6, 4:26 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110306/wl_nm/us_saudi_protests
Dubai – Saudi security forces have detained at least 22 minority Shi’ites who protested last week against discrimination, activists said on Sunday, as the kingdom tried to keep the wave of Arab unrest outside its borders.
Saudi Shi’ites have staged small demonstrations in the Eastern Province, which holds much of the oil wealth of the world’s top crude exporter. The province is near Bahrain, the scene of protests in recent weeks by majority Shi’ites against their Sunni rulers.
"Twenty-two were arrested on Thursday plus four on Friday … This was all in Qatif," said rights activist Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, who heads the independent Saudi-based Human Rights First Society. He later said one had been freed. Mugaiteeb said the interior ministry had released Shi’ite cleric Tawfiq al-Amer, arrested last week.
[…] Saudi Shi’ites complain they struggle to get government jobs and benefits given to other citizens. The government of Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy without an elected parliament that usually does not tolerate public dissent, denies the charges.
The kingdom’s Council of Senior Clerics issued a statement on Sunday backing an interior ministry warning on Saturday that said demonstrations violated Islamic law. They also said signing reform petitions "violates what God ordered." The authorities are used to Shi’ites taking to the streets in their communities but fear protests catching on in major cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah.
[…] Democracy activists say peaceful protests are their right. "We are really worried by the detentions and harassment that people who take part in protests are facing," a statement by 15 rights activists said on Sunday. "These practices conflict with the right of peaceful association that the kingdom committed to … at the U.N. Human Rights Council."
The activists said wives and other relatives of men detained since a 1996 attack on U.S. military in Khobar were ejected from the office of the local governor, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd, on Saturday when they tried to petition for their release.
"They met first on Wednesday with an official and he promised they would have a meeting with the governor. But when they went, he declined to meet and security guards intervened," the Shi’ite activist said. The Shi’ite website Rasid said they were verbally abused, as an official told them they were lucky the detainees had not been executed. The women started chanting "freedom, freedom."
[…] A loose alliance of liberals, moderate Islamists and Shi’ites have petitioned King Abdullah to allow elections in the kingdom.
[…]
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