MESOP : MESOPOTAMIA – KURDISTAN DAILY NEWSLETTER
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY – FRANKFURT
THE MOST REQUESTED DAILY & ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE ON KURDISTAN FOR THE HIGHLY INVOLVED PEOPLE – Watch our website : www.mesop.de / mesop@mesop.de
MESOP MUST READ ! PKK IN A TRAP
PKK tuzağa mı düştü? Has the PKK fallen into a trap? http://www.diken.com.tr/pkk-tuzaga-mi-dustu/?fb_action_ids=1015292451814543&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=addtoany …
MESOP : THE ZERO HOUR
Kamal Chomani – @KamalChomani
10 minutes ago, Masoud Barzani’s term expired. He is now president of KDP not Kurdistan Region, just to your info. #TwitterKurds
MESOP TODAYS MOST RELEVANT TWEETS
Excellent work by @JoelWing2, range of interesting opinions on how war against IS is really going, well worth a read: http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.de/2015/08/how-is-war-against-islamic-state-going.html …
MESOP : THE END OF THE AFFAIR
Retired Gen. Ray Odierno takes a job at JP Morgan, @paulmcleary & @davidcfrancis report http://atfp.co/1J7VFir
MESOP : WATCH THE UPDATED LIST
Updated list of areas that have declared autonomy since start of Turkish-Kurdish violence on July 20th: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63712
MESOP NEWS FROM THE OIL FRONT
Iraqi govt says KRG-Baghdad oil deal should be maintained
IraqiEmbassyUSA @IraqiEmbassyUSA – Adherence to Baghdad-Erbil Oil Deal is Essential to National Unity http://bit.ly/1E6UWBd
Watch Graphik pics via http://www.mesop.de/?p=63717
MESOPS SYRIA STATISTICS
The Syrian military is reportedly responsible for three-quarters of the 2015 civilian deaths. http://bit.ly/1UV6N9R
Watch Graphics pics via http://www.mesop.de/?p=63720
MESOP SAMPLER : How Is The War Against The Islamic State Going? 10 Expert Opinions (19 Aug 2015 – Musings on Iraq)
In August 2014 the United States joined the war against the Islamic State (IS). The massacre and enslavement of the Yazidi population in the Sinjar district of Iraq’s Ninewa province prompted Washington to cobble together an international coalition and start air strikes on IS positions in Iraq and Syria. That was one year ago. That has given plenty of time for people to form their opinions on how the war against the militants has progressed. Collected together here are ten experts: Ahmed Ali of the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, J.M. Berger of the Brookings Institution, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Dr. Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Aron Lund of Syria in Crisis, Alex Mello of Horizon Client Access, Douglas Ollivant of the New America Foundation, Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi of the Middle East Forum, Craig Whiteside of the Naval War College, and Aaron Zelin of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy all of which have been astute observers of the Islamic State, Syria and Iraq. Here are their personal opinions on how they believe the war against the Islamic State has gone. http://www.mesop.de/?p=63727
MESOP TODAYS RECOMMENDATION : Dreams from a Deal with Iran
Shai Feldman – Ariel E. Levite – August 20, 2015 – Shai Feldman is the Director of Brandeis University’s Crown Center for Middle East Studies and a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Ariel E. Levite is a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The other night we had a dream. We dreamed that the negotiations with Iran had produced a comprehensive agreement that not only credibly contained the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons forever but also effectively checked its regional ambitions. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu came close to endorsing the agreement, taking credit for having pressed hard for some of the limitations that the agreement enshrines. President Obama received congratulations from almost every corner of the earth and even Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei made a dramatic announcement of support, stressing that the agreement was a turning point in his country’s history. He noted that the deal represents the ultimate failure of those who have sought all along to topple Iran’s regime and that it would in no way diminish Iran’s deeply held suspicions of the “Great Satan”. Khamenei claimed that the agreement signed leaves his country as the acknowledged regional power and critical global power. He announced the appointment of the Head of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Genaral Qassem Suleimani as his personal envoy to promote a peaceful settlement in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, implying that even a long-term armistice with Israel could be part of this initiative, provided the “Zionist entity” would discontinue its “creeping annexation” of the West Bank and its “aggression” against Gaza. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63729
MESOP SPECIAL (I) : THE YOUNG DUTCHMAN (DER SPIEGEL)
Islamic State: The Dutch Teen Who Maps the Jihadists – By Katrin Kuntz in Amsterdam 20 Aug 2015
Thomas van Linge is a 19-year-old Dutch cartographer and activist. – One of the foremost cartographers of Islamic state conflict is a 19-year-old from Amsterdam. Now that he’s graduated from high school, he’s preparing to take his activism to the next level.Islamic State fighters have conquered Rahabi in Iraq. They control the Libyan coast near Sirt. In Syria, they just lost Tall Abyad to the Kurds, but are spreading out in the center of Palmyra. Thomas van Linge is keeping an eye on their movements. The 19-year-old wears a hoodie and, although he only just graduated from high school, he already knows better than most people where the Jihadists are heading, which areas they are occupying and where they’ve been beaten back. That’s because van Linge makes some of the world’s best maps of chaotic war zones from the desk of his childhood bedroom in Amsterdam. He has never been to Syria, Iraq or Libya, and he learned Arabic on YouTube. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63694
MESOP SPECIAL (II) : BROOKINGS / CENTCOM CONFERENCE – Report | July 2015 – The Middle East in transition
By: General Lloyd J. Austin, III, Kenneth M. Pollack and Tamara Cofman Wittes
The Middle East in transitionOn July 22 to 23, the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings and the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) jointly convened for two days of discussions that brought together analysts, officers, and policymakers to examine both new and enduring challenges facing the United States in the Middle East. This year’s conference, “The Middle East in Transition,” explored the upheaval in key countries of the region resulting from the Arab uprisings, as well as longstanding conflicts and challenges like terrorism and regional power competition. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63698
SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ)
MESOP : ‘Legal vacuum’ as Iraqi Kurd leader’s term expires
Daily Star Beirut 20 Aug 2015 – • The extended term of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massud Barzani expired today, leaving the region’s executive office disputed.IRBIL: Iraqi Kurdistan president Massud Barzani’s extended term expired Thursday, leaving the autonomous region in a “legal vacuum” that Kurdish political parties are still trying to resolve. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63700
MESOP BACKGROUNDER : The Hero of Baghdad’s Protests: Senior Iraqi Cleric ‘Saves’ The Government – And Iraq From Iran?
By Mustafa Habib , niqash – During last week’s protests, secret plans were made to use demonstrations to topple the government. But a senior Shiite spiritual leader seems to have stepped in at the last minute to save the country from chaos.At the end of July thousands of locals took to the streets of Baghdad to protest against the lack of state services – and especially the breakdown in electricity supply, which was making their lives very difficult in summer temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius. Most of the organisers of these demonstrations were civil society activists and other prominent local personalities and their aims were clearly stated. They wanted the Ministry of Electricity reformed and an end to corruption there. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63715
MESOP REPORT – US: Anti-IS Coalition Provided Kurds With 8 Million Pounds of Weaponry – State Department Gives Update on Security Cooperation With Iraq
Basnews | Luke Coleman – 20.08.2015 – WASHINGTON – The US State Department has released an update on the level of security cooperation with Iraq, revealing that the Baghdad government has bought almost $19 billion worth of military equipment from the US through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program since 2005. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63723
EAST KURDISTAN (IRAN)
ANALYSIS OF NEAR EAST POLICY FROM THE SCHOLARS & ASSOCIATES OF THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE
RETHINKING U.S. STRATEGY FOR INTERCEPTING IRANIAN ARMS TRANFERS
PolicyWatch 2475 – August 20, 2015 – By Nadav Pollak – Existing mechanisms for interdicting Iran’s arms shipments to its proxies have already been proven insufficient, so any concerted effort to push back against the flow of weapons will require additional measures.
U.S. allies in the Middle East are concerned that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will embolden Iran’s aggressive behavior, particularly in terms of funding and arming militias and terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Houthis. In recent weeks, the Obama administration has sought to assure these allies that the United States will push back against this behavior. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63710
NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)
HDP: Turkey-PKK Clashes Leave 200 Dead – Loss of innocent lives inevitable if conflict continues, MP Idris Baluken says
Basnews | Sardar Sattar – 20.08.2015 15:31 – DIYARBAKIR – People’s Democratic Party (HDP) investigations reveal that the recent violent clashes between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish military has so far left 200 people dead and 500 more injured. Read all: http://www.mesop.de/?p=63725
THE GERMAN KURDISH CHAPTER
EGON BAHR : Ein großer Dialektiker der Politik (DIE ZEIT) 20 Auf 2015
….. man sieht den Theo Sommer ewig schreiben, in DER ZEIT, die ein klares Gespür für eine Dialektik hat, die Egon heißt: „Frieden schaffen / Mit Putins Waffen“.
…….. und schon gehts los ! (MESOP)
Thüringen Krawalle in Flüchtlingsheim in Suhl
15 Personen sind bei Auseinandersetzungen in einem Flüchtlingsheim in Thüringen verletzt worden. Zunächst ging es offenbar um eine aus einem Koran herausgerissene Seite. Dann richtete sich die Gewalt gegen die Polizei. Mehr 265 FAZ 20 Aug 2015
IRAN – IAEA lässt Atomanlage Parchin von Iranern prüfen (DIE ZEIT) 20 Aug 2015
Die Internationale Atomenergiebehörde will laut eines Dokuments eine iranische Anlage von einheimischen Experten prüfen lassen. US-Republikaner sind empört. (…)Das von der AP eingesehene Dokument ist mit “Separate Vereinbarung II” überschrieben, was nahelegt, dass es eine weitere geben könnte. In dem Schreiben wird festgelegt, dass UN-Inspektoren nicht selbst zum Beispiel Proben nehmen, sondern dies iranischen Experten überlassen. Die UN-Inspektoren würden demnach nur als Beobachter teilnehmen – normalerweise übernehmen sie solche Überprüfungen selbst. Der Iran soll demnach den UN-Inspektoren Fotos und Videos der Anlagen liefern, darin sollen aber “militärische Erwägungen in Betracht gezogen werden”, heißt es. Volltext : http://www.mesop.de/?p=63708
MESOP : NICHT FLUCHT & MIGRATION SONDERN VÖLKERWANDERUNG UND POPULATIONSAUSTAUSCH – UND SELEKTION
Asylbewerber in Großbritannien – Das Kompetenzproblem
Großbritannien sperrt sich gegen die Aufnahme von Flüchtlingen und die EU ist sich uneinig wie selten zuvor. Dabei ist Zuwanderung wegen der sinkenden Bevölkerungszahlen im globalen Westen oft sogar notwendig. – 20.08.2015, von Gunnar Heinsohn
Volltext : http://www.mesop.de/?p=63696
Sahra Wagenknecht stellt den Euro infrage
“Der Euro funktioniert nicht”, sagt Linke-Politikerin Sahra Wagenknecht. In der europäischen Linken bricht eine Debatte los über die Währung als “Projekt der herrschenden und besitzenden Klassen”. mehr… DIE WELT 21 Aug 2015
…. Erkenntnisfortschritt ! – Die mit dem abrahamitischen Vornamen benennt die wahre Genesis: Geld/Währung waren immer schon in den Händen der Reichen. Was nun wird sie beschliessen? Expropriation der Expropriateure? Never! Sondern: Abschaffung des Geldes zu Gunsten von Bezugsscheinen und Berechtigungs-Apps. Dieser fatale Kommunismus korrespondiert ganz auf der Höhe der Zeit mit pay-pal und ebay.
MESOP ERINNERUNG : IM JAHR EINS NACH GHOUTA
Syrien, Irak und die Folgen der westlichen Nichtinterventionspolitik.
VON BÜNDNIS SYRIAN FREEDOM 21 Aug 2015 – Vielleicht hatte der eine oder die andere ein Déjà-vu-Erlebnis: Tausende von Kurden, die vor ihren Feinden in die Berge fliehen mussten und denen dort, abgeschnitten von Trinkwasser und Nahrung, ein qualvoller Tod droht – diesmal nicht durch die Truppen Saddam Husseins wie im Jahre 1991, sondern durch Einheiten des jihadistischen »Islamischen Staates« (IS). Diese eroberten Anfang August Sinjar, ein Gebiet nördlich der irakischen Stadt Mossul, das hauptsächlich von Yesiden besiedelt wird – Kurden, die einer zoroastrischen Glaubensrichtung anhängen und deshalb unter Islamisten als Ungläubige gelten, die zur Konversion zum Islam gezwungen oder hingerichtet werden müssen. Während sich auf dem Sinjar-Höhenzug die Flüchtlinge drängten, patrouillierten an seinem Fuße die Jihadisten, die damit drohten, jeden Yesiden, der ihnen in die Hände fällt, umgehend umzubringen. Im Sommer unterschreiten die Temperaturen in dieser Region tagsüber selten 40 Grad. Volltext : 4 http://www.mesop.de/?p=63736