Scores Wounded in Violence in Tahrir Square -- News from Antiwar.com

Scores Wounded in Violence in Tahrir Square -- News from Antiwar.com

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Seen Scoring Big as Vote Moves into Day 2

by Jason Ditz, November 29, 2011

Violence erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir Square today, with the Health Ministry reporting at least 88 people injured in clashes which reportedly began as disputes among vendors serving the massive crowd of protesters.

According to witnesses, there were arguments among vendors and some protesters, who complained the vendors were giving the protesters a “bad name” because some were selling marijuana.

Protesters have been camped out in the square for over a week now, protesting against the military junta’s refusal to expedite turning the country over to civilian rule, and complaining about junta leadership plans to ensure the constitution enshrines the military with unchecked power even after the handover.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s convoluted “first free elections” moved into Day 2 today, and with a strong turnout and early results expected to begin trickling in, most of the money is on the Muslim Brotherhood, long banned in Egypt, scoring big. The Muslim Brotherhood is considered the best organized of the factions contesting the vote, though a number of liberal factions are expected to give them a close run in the election, which will last months.

Local Officials: NATO Helicopters Killed Three Afghan Women -- News from Antiwar.com

Local Officials: NATO Helicopters Killed Three Afghan Women -- News from Antiwar.com

Attack on Civilian Homes in Kandahar District

by Jason Ditz, November 29, 2011

t least three women were killed today and two men were wounded when NATO helicopters attacked a civilian neighborhood in Kandahar Province’s Zhari District, according to the provincial governor’s office.

NATO has so far declined comment on the attack one way or another to the press, but the governor’s spokesman said they had acknowledged the incident to their office.

The attack is the second major NATO strike on the district in as many weeks, as an attack last week on Zhari killed nine civilians, including six children.

There was no indication of any activity around the area that would be expected to lead to “air support” being called in, and the governor’s office says at least four rockets were fired at the civilian houses.

NATO to Withdraw 40,000 Troops Next Year, But War is Not Over -- News from Antiwar.com

NATO to Withdraw 40,000 Troops Next Year, But War is Not Over -- News from Antiwar.com

The drawdown of troops began late in 2011 and will accelerate in 2012, but officials have confirmed a continuing presence past 2014

by John Glaser, November 29, 2011

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NATO will reduce its troop levels in Afghanistan by 40,000 by the end of 2012, according to the Pentagon, as the overall military presence in the country begins to decrease.

By that date, America’s share of the pullout will include 33,000 soldiers - one-third of 101,000 U.S. troops who were in Afghanistan in June.

The gradual drawdown began late this year. About 14,000 foreign troops will be withdrawn by the end of December: 10,000 of those are American, 2,850 were Canadian, France and Britain will each send about 400 home, etc. The drawdown will get steeper next year.

But observers should not be fooled into believing the Obama administration’s 2014 date of full withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. plan has been to maintain a military presence there for the foreseeable future, with numerous officials recognizing considerable troop levels beyond 2014.

In a recent talk at the Council on Foreign Relations, under secretary of defense for policy at the Department of Defense Michèle Flournoy, explained that “2014 is not a withdrawal date—it’s an inflection point.”

Afghans at that time “are still going to need support from the international community,” she said, and the U.S. has “been negotiating a strategic partnership agreement with the Afghan government that would lay out an enduring strategic partnership far into the future.”

And Afghan President Hamid Karzai has tried hard to lock in that strategic partnership, as his council of tribal elders in mid-November tacitly approved a robust strategic agreement and U.S. military presence through 2024.

Libya Still Holding 7,000 People Without Due Process -- News from Antiwar.com

A U.N. report on Monday detailed lack of due process, torture, and other ill treatment for thousands of mostly black Africans

by John Glaser, November 28, 2011

Former Libyan fighters are still holding about 7,000 people without charge or trial, some of whom have been subjected to torture and ill treatment, according to a U.N. report Monday.

The report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was made public before a Security Council briefing on Libya and says that inmates are not being afforded rights to due process as the country still does not have a functioning judicial system.

A large share of those detained are black African migrants, rounded up in the summer and early fall by Libyan fighters accusing them of being mercenaries for former ruler Muammar Gadhafi. Reports came out at the time of beatings, mass arrests, torture, and massive makeshift jails.

The spokesman for Libya’s new army, Ahmed Bani, responded to the accusations of abuse: ”I am not sure if it happened. Maybe, but if it happened, don’t blame us. We were suffering for 42 years. He was hurting us, he was killing us and he raped our women,” he said.

Libya Still Holding 7,000 People Without Due Process -- News from Antiwar.com

Egyptians Vote in Record Numbers -- News from Antiwar.com

Egyptians Vote in Record Numbers

The Muslim Brotherhood is expected to win major victories in the election, despite dissent from the youth protest movement

by John Glaser, November 28, 2011

Egyptians came out to vote on Monday in record numbers after months of doubts regarding the election and more than 10 preceding days of violence against protesters by security forces.

Egypt’s Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) and the high election commission kept polls open two extra hours and supervised the voting, reporting no major violations or security incidents in the country’s first free and fair election for more than 80 years.

One exception is that a number of candidates up for the vote claimed irregularities took place outside certain booths that may boost votes for the Muslim Brotherhood, the bloc most likely to garner a majority vote.

The Muslim Brotherhood was an illegal political party under Mubarak and had its members harassed, detained, and tortured for years. Now, managing to remain cohesive through the years, they are primed for major political victories to the detriment of those who dislike their Islamist leanings towards Sharia law.

The liberals of Egypt – those who broadly favor markets, democracy and social freedoms – are among those critical of the Muslim Brotherhood. Issandr El Amrani, popular Egyptian blogger who sympathizes with the youth protesters in Tahrir Square, sees them as siding with the SCAF and unfriendly to true reform. “At this point,” he wrote just before the elections, “of the major parties only the Muslim Brothers and al-Wafd are not officially backing the protests as far as I can tell.”

The SCAF have instead demanded the endorsement of new “interim Prime Minister” Kamal el-Ganzouri, while warning the mass of protesters (which he termed “troublemakers”) not to meddle in the elections. Liberal figure Mohamed ElBaradei, on the other hand, is siding with the youth protest movement instead.

The United States has continued its economic and military support for Egypt’s ruling military junta, despite continuing human rights violations and harsh crackdowns on non-violent protesters. A report by Amnesty International released this week warned that SCAF abuses and U.S. support may unfortunately overshadow the elections.

Egyptians Vote in Record Numbers -- News from Antiwar.com

Iraq’s Parliament Bombed; 29 Killed Across Country -- Antiwar.com

Monday: 29 Iraqis Killed, 57 Wounded

by Margaret Griffis, November 28, 2011

Bombers staged several attacks against government and security forces today. Among them was a probable assassination attempt at the parliament building in Baghdad. That one was overshadowed by another at a prison just north of the capital, in which dozens were left dead or wounded. Less successful attacks targeting a Turkmen politician and a Sahwa commander also took place. Overall, at least 29 Iraqis were killed and 57 more were wounded.

At least 19 people were killed and 24 more were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the entrance to the Hout prison in Taji. The attack took place at 8:00 a.m., apparently during a shift change. Although most of the casualties were police officers and prison staff, some visiting family members were among the wounded. Fearing a second bomber, police fired into the air to disperse onlookers.

In Baghdad, a sticky (or suicide) bomb exploded at a back entrance to the parliament building. The blast killed four people and wounded six others, most of them guards. Also wounded was M.P. Moayyed Tayyib, chief spokesperson for the Kurdish Blocs Coalition. He was well enough to return home later in the day. Also in the capital, a blast in Mansour killed two people and wounded four more.

A bombing at the Kirkuk home of Turkmen Provincial Council member Ali Mehdi Sadiq left one dead and 13 wounded.

In Tarmiya, gunmen tossed grenades at the home of a Sahwa commander, wounding seven people. A municipal council member who was one of several guests at the home was wounded along with the commander.

A roadside bomb killed a policeman and wounded another at a checkpoint in Shirqat.

In Tuz Khormato, two people were wounded in a bombing.

An army officer was killed during a blast in Abu Ghraib.

Iraq’s Parliament Bombed; 29 Killed Across Country -- Antiwar.com

As U.S. troops leave Iraq, what is the legacy of eight years of war? | McClatchy

As U.S. troops leave Iraq, what is the legacy of eight years of war? | McClatchy

As U.S. troops leave Iraq, what is the legacy of eight years of war?

Cindi Staats, a 54-year-old disabled former aerospace worker from Walnut, Calif., made it her mission to catalogue the Iraq war's toll. Her website, fallen-coalition-heroes.com, is a roll call of every American fatality and became the source for The New York Times and others. | Jonathan Alcorn / MCT

By David Goldstein | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Think for a moment about the emotional seesaw of someone who has lost a loved one in Iraq and hears that the war is about to end.

At first, there is relief: Americans will finally stop dying in a distant desert. Then an indescribable sadness, because it comes too late.

Ami Neiberger-Miller was on a plane to Colorado filled with soldiers on the day before President Barack Obama's October announcement that all remaining troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/27/131083/as-us-troops-leave-iraq-what-is.html#ixzz1f0Xtrt47

Anger Grows in Pakistan Over US Attack on Soldiers -- News from Antiwar.com

Anger Grows in Pakistan Over US Attack on Soldiers -- News from Antiwar.com

Major Anti-US Protests, TV Broadcasts of Funerals. Is This a Game-Changer?

by Jason Ditz, November 27, 2011

Already accused of being in league with the US government and facing a major investigation over a “coup memo” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari must’ve been asking what else could go wrong. Then US warplanes attacked Pakistani military posts in the Mohmand Agency, killing 24.

And with NATO officials trying to balance precariously on the fence between “self-defense” and “oops,” major anti-US rallies are being held nationwide with growing calls for the government to cut off all ties with the Obama Administration.

For Zardari its a bad choice and comes at the worst possible time, leaving his already shaky regime with the choice of cutting ties with the international backers that have mostly kept them in power, or once again giving fuel to the opposition to demand early elections that would almost certainly force him out of office.

In the meantime, broadcasts of the funerals of the 24 slain soldiers are filling TV screens across Pakistan, ensuring that the public does not quickly forget about the attack.

Resentment against the US was already high, between the Raymond Davis murders earlier this year and the unilateral attack that killed Osama bin Laden. For many in Pakistan, the Mohmand strikes are just the latest in a pattern of behavior by US forces, one which has brought the nations once again to the verge of open hostilities.

And while the Zardari government will probably try as hard as they can to not make any major moves, the killings may well leave Pakistan’s political landscape permanently changed, and must inevitably make pro-US positions more unpopular than they already are.