Finally, SOMEONE Who's NOT Blaming Bush!

Tony Blair 'regrets' Iraq dead in Chilcot grilling

Tony Blair has said he "regrets deeply and profoundly the loss of life" during and after the 2003 Iraq war.

The ex-PM said his refusal to express regret for the decisions that led to war at his first appearance before the committee had been misinterpreted.

But his words were met with cries of "too late" from the public gallery.

Mr Blair also urged the West to stop apologising for its actions and warned of the threat from Iran, during a four-hour grilling by the inquiry.

Asked whether what had happened in Iraq had made the risk from Iran and other countries developing nuclear weapons worse, rather than better, he said: "I don't think so."

"And this is not because we have done something. At some point - and I say this to you with all the passion I possibly can - the West has got to get out of what I think is this wretched policy, or posture, of apology for believing that we are causing what the Iranians are doing, or what these extremists are doing. The fact is we are not.


"The fact is they are doing it because they disagree fundamentally with our way of life and they will carry on doing it unless they are met with the requisite determination and, if necessary, force."

Iraqis Voting AGAIN? I Blame Bush!

Iraqis Brave Bombs and Mortars to Vote in National Election

Polls closed across Iraq on Sunday as the war-weary population awaits results from the national election that will decide the future of the country's still-fragile democracy.

The election tested the mettle of the country's shaky security as insurgents killed 31 people across Iraq, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day.

About 19 million Iraqis were eligible to vote on a government that will oversee the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The election is critical in determining whether Iraq can overcome the jagged sectarian divisions that have defined it since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Once the day's results are calculated, it could be months before Iraq's new parliament chooses a prime minister and forms a government.

I Guess He'll Blame Bush for This, Too??

Iraq's Government Orders Iranian Troops to Withdraw From Iraqi Oilfield

Iraq's government has ordered Iranian troops to withdraw from the oilfield which they have taken control of in southern Iraq, Reuters reported.

"Iraq demands the immediate withdrawal from well No. 4 and the Fakka oilfield, which belongs to Iraq. Iraq is looking for a peaceful and diplomatic settlement to this issue," said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh, according to Reuters.

Iranian troops crossed into Iraqi territory Thursday and seized an oil well that lies in a disputed area along the two countries' southern border, Iraq's deputy foreign minister said Friday.

Iran denied these claims, Reuters reported.

The Iraqi official, Mohammed Haj Mahmoud, said Iranian troops seized oil well No. 4 Thursday night in the al-Fakkah oil field, located about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. The oil field is one of Iraq's largest.

The deputy foreign minister said he did not know whether the Iranians were still in control of the oil well.

In Washington, a U.S. official said that although Iranians had crossed the border before, they had not previously ventured this far.

On the Bush Legacy,...

A retort on liberals who say the Iraq War was pointless:

Sunni political voice gets tuned for elections

Thursday, January 29, 2009
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

An outpouring of such Sunni emotions _ resentment, frustration, desire to step off the political sidelines _ is expected in Saturday's elections for provincial council seats.

Across the Sunni Arab heartland _ a vast wedge of Iraq between the Kurdish north and Shiite south _ the voting offers the region's first real political personality test since the 2003 invasion swept away the Sunni benefactor and guardian, Saddam Hussein.

The contests for local councils are about who will be carrying the strongest Sunni voice in the years ahead as the U.S. military presence shrinks and Iraqi authorities struggle with every conceivable challenge _ from preventing the insurgency from rebuilding to keeping the lights burning.

Sunnis, who widely boycotted the last provincial council elections in 2005, are believed to be falling in two general directions: either toward the Sunni Iraqi Islamic party in the current government or the newly influential Sunni tribes who rose up against al-Qaida in Iraq and other jihadist groups.

And then there's this story:

Iraqi city of Mosul key electoral battlefield

Friday, January 30, 2009
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

MOSUL, Iraq — This weekend's election in Mosul is a showdown for power between Arabs and Kurds, with the outcome likely to influence whether al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgents lose their last major urban foothold in Iraq.

U.S. officials say the insurgency remains a potent force in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, in part because the majority Sunni Arab population believes it is poorly served by a local government dominated by Kurds.

Voters have a chance to change that when they select members of ruling provincial councils here and in most of the country in Saturday's balloting, the first election in three years.

We're Losing in Iraq, Right?

For first time, Christmas official holiday in Iraq
By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer Jim Heintz, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 25, 6:41 am ET

BAGHDAD – Iraq's Christians, a scant minority in this overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time.

But security worries overshadowed the day for many, particularly in the north where thousands of Christians have fled to escape religious attacks.

Overall security in Iraq has improved markedly in the past year, but a fatal car bombing in Baghdad on Christmas morning was a gruesome reminder that serious problems remain.

In his homily on Thursday, Chaldean Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly praised the establishment of Christmas as an official holiday as a step toward easing tensions.

"I thank the government for giving chances to all to serve each other for the general benefit, and I thank it too for making this day an official holiday where we pray to God to make us trust each other as brothers," he said at the Christmas Mass before several dozen worshippers in the small chapel of a Baghdad monastery.

A senior Shiite cleric, Ammar al-Hakim, attended the Mass flanked by bodyguards in a gesture of cooperation with Christians.

"I thank the visitors here and ask them to share happiness and love with their brothers on Christmas; by this they will build a glorious Iraq," the cardinal said.

"We came here to bring a message of love, respect and gratitude to our Christian brothers and to share happiness with them as we have shared sadness with them during the cruel targeting they came under," al-Hakim said in an interview with al-Furat TV. "We will do our best for equality between people and a good life for all, whatever their religious, sectarian and ethnic background."

He is the son and heir-apparent of Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, Iraq's biggest mainstream Shiite party.

Iraq's Christians, estimated to number only a few hundred thousand of the country's 26 million people, have often been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists in Iraq. Tens of thousands have fled; many of those who stayed were isolated in neighborhoods protected by barricades and checkpoints.

A coordinated bombing campaign in 2004 targeted churches in the Iraqi capital and anti-Christian violence also flared in September 2007 after Pope Benedict XVI made comments perceived to be against Islam.

For Mariam Polis, who fled her home in Mosul a year ago after anti-Christian threats spread and two priests were killed, this Christmas was a day of bitterness.

"There's not enough money, no house, no stability to prepare for Christmas Eve," said the 55-year-old woman who now occupies a one-room clay house in the northern village of Ein Kawa. "It is better for us to die."

But for another woman who fled to Ein Kawa, there was a bit of cheer thanks to money sent from abroad by her brother.

"We got a bright Christmas tree — it is a symbol we love," Raeida Anwar Abid said.

In the city of Sulaimaniyah in Kurdistan, which is comparatively orderly, many Christians spent hours at a Christmas Eve Mass at the Mar Joseph church.

"Iraq is bleeding and we have to heal the wounds with united hands," priest Dinha Toma said the service.

___

Associated Press writers Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah and Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad contributed to this report.

It's Because "Bush Lied," Of Course,....

Jordan's king extends hand in Iraq
He is the first Arab head of state to visit since 2003. He urged his counterparts to do the same.

By Qassim Abdul-Zahra

Associated Press

BAGHDAD - Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks yesterday with Iraq's prime minister after coming to Baghdad on an unannounced visit, the first by an Arab head of state since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Abdullah called on Arab governments to "extend their hand to Iraq" because a strong Iraq "is a source of strength for the Arab nation," according to a statement released by the royal palace in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

An Iraqi government statement said Abdullah had "frank and positive talks" with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on relations between the two countries. Al-Maliki told the king that Iraq wanted to improve ties with all Arab countries, the statement said.

In turn, Abdullah expressed Jordan's support for Iraqi "efforts to impose stability," the statement added.

Ties between the two neighboring countries had been strained since the fall of Saddam because of Jordanian fears that Iraq's Shiite-led government was too friendly with Shiite-dominated Iran.

But U.S. officials had been urging Abdullah to visit Iraq to bolster ties between the two countries as part of Washington's campaign to shore up support for the Iraqi government as a counterweight to Iranian influence.

Al-Maliki visited Jordan in June for the first time in nearly two years, and since then, the two nations appear willing to put their differences behind them. During that visit, al-Maliki agreed to renew oil supplies to Jordan for the next three years at discounted prices.

Jordan agreed to ease restrictions on the entry of Iraqi students and those transiting to a third country. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have sought refuge in Jordan to escape the sectarian violence that swept the country two years ago but has receded.

Jordan has also named an ambassador to Iraq, joining other Arab countries that have agreed to upgrade their relations as the Iraqi government becomes more stable and security has improved - despite sporadic attacks and ongoing military operations.

Iraqi officials have been eager to improve their ties with their Arab neighbors now that the government's confidence has risen with improvements in security.

Yesterday, about 250 Iraqi refugees were flown home from Egypt free of charge aboard the prime minister's personal plane in what Iraqi officials said was an affirmation of improved security.

The TrekMedic muses:

So, a moderate Arab ruler extends the hand of friendship to a stable Iraqi government and...oh, yeah, gets something from them that he needs: cheap oil! Not American oil, but Iraqi oil!! And Iraq is making money off of it's exports again. I believe some people would call that "capitalism." I could be wrong. After all, we all know Bush lied to start this war and make money for his "oil buddies" here in the US, right??