Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood

Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives. War
returns to Iraq August 06, 2013

+++SOURCE: Egypt Independent via Egypt Daily News 6 Aug.?13:?Exclusive:
Obama agrees to meeting with Brotherhood, sources say?,Reuters
SUBJECT: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives
U.S. President Barack Obama has agreed to meet with Muslim Brotherhood
representatives at the White House, sources told Egypt Independent.

Obama would reportedly meet with Brotherhood officials to "hear their
opinion" on developments in Egypt, in the presence of Turkish diplomats.

[IMRA: Function of Turkish diplomats; millionaire Malek has strong Turkish
business connections.]

Egypt Independent heard from sources inside the Muslim Brotherhood that
Islamist-linked billionaire Hassen Malek requested a meeting through Obama's
office manager.

The meeting with Turkish officials is expected to take place this month.

Turkish diplomats are expected to push for Mohamed Morsy's reinstatement as
Egyptian president, sources said, if not that the Muslim Brotherhood would
be assured of political survival following a month-long violent stand-off
with the armed forces in the wake of Morsy's overthrow.

Over 300 people have been reported killed since army chief and Defense
Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsy's ouster on 3 July.

The U.S. has repeatedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood's ascendancy in
Egypt, researcher Mohamed Hasanein Heikahl said.

While a number of Brotherhood leaders have publicly criticized the U.S.
stance, accusing the Obama administration of "playing a role in Morsy's
overthrow," they are said to be hoping for a shift as tentative talks
continue with Egypt's interim administration

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 6 Aug.,?13:Cafes shut, sports fields empty as war
returns to Iraq?, Reuters
SUBJECT: ?War returns to Iraq?
QUOTE:?fears of return to full-blown sectarian conflict in a country where
ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have yet to find a
stable way of sharing power?
EXCERPTS:BAGHDAD ?. . . .Iraqis have endured extreme violence for years,
but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has
dramatically increased, reversing a trend that had seen the country grow
more peaceful.

Attacks have spread to some of the few places left for public entertainment,
turning Baghdad into a giant fortified prison of concrete blast walls, where
once again few now dare to socialise in public.

The attacks have raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict
in a country where ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have
yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, the United Nations said last week.

The past four months have all had higher death tolls than any in the five
years before April, leading the interior ministry to declare last week that
Iraq was now once again in ?open war?, 18 months after US troops pulled out.

Most of the violence has been perpetrated by the Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, the
strict Sunni Muslim jihadi group which was defeated by US forces and their
allies in 2006-2007 but has been reborn this year to battle the Shiite-led
government.

. . . Sectarian tensions have also escalated as a result of the civil war
in neighbouring Syria, where Iraq?s Al Qaeda branch has merged with a
powerful Sunni Islamist rebel force fighting to overthrow a leader backed by
Shiite Iran.

?Insurgents now are changing rules of the game,? said Ali Al Bahadli, a
former Iraqi army general and military analyst who works as an adviser to
the ministry of defence.

?With the recent attacks of cafes and football pitches, the message is
directed at civilians is that security forces are unable to protect you.?

Cafes close doors

Security analysts say the Sunni insurgents are targeting cafes and football
pitches as a way to undermine the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister
Nouri Maliki, wrecking its claims to have restored normal life after a
decade of war.

Recent bombings have targeted men playing in local soccer fixtures and
watching matches, after spates of attacks on Sunni and Shiite mosques,
markets and the security forces. According to figures from the interior
ministry, around 37 caf?s across Iraq have been attacked since April.

People have begun to avoid public places like cafes and busy markets,
fearing from bombs and suicide attacks. After an easing of violence in the
past few years led places to reopen, many cafes have now closed again after
losing customers.

. . .

?With more security measures cutting Baghdad into pieces, attacks on cafes,
mosques and sport areas, we feel we?re living deadlocked inside homes,? said
ceramics artist Mahir Samarrai, who used to haunt the cafes in eastern
Baghdad, where men sip strong coffee, puff on water pipes and discuss the
day.

Amateur football players are also targets, with dozens killed in recent
months.

. . ..

The interior ministry has stepped up security near football pitches, cafes
and mosques to try to prevent more attacks.

The cafes are not only targeted by the bombs of the Sunni insurgency, but
are also under pressure from smaller hardline Shiite militias, who try to
close them by force.

The Shiite militias, who warn of practices they see as going against their
strict interpretation of Islam, were also behind a campaign targeting
alcohol sellers in Baghdad which killed 12 people in May.

The militias have been emboldened by the success of Shiite religious parties
which have risen in power since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

?. Prime Minister Maliki . . .?The government will not tolerate militias
and gangs that violate freedom of people in order to impose their corrupted
opinions under various pretexts,? he said on his website.
=========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

View the original article here

Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood

Excerpts: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives. War
returns to Iraq August 06, 2013

+++SOURCE: Egypt Independent via Egypt Daily News 6 Aug.?13:?Exclusive:
Obama agrees to meeting with Brotherhood, sources say?,Reuters
SUBJECT: Obama agrees to meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives
U.S. President Barack Obama has agreed to meet with Muslim Brotherhood
representatives at the White House, sources told Egypt Independent.

Obama would reportedly meet with Brotherhood officials to "hear their
opinion" on developments in Egypt, in the presence of Turkish diplomats.

[IMRA: Function of Turkish diplomats; millionaire Malek has strong Turkish
business connections.]

Egypt Independent heard from sources inside the Muslim Brotherhood that
Islamist-linked billionaire Hassen Malek requested a meeting through Obama's
office manager.

The meeting with Turkish officials is expected to take place this month.

Turkish diplomats are expected to push for Mohamed Morsy's reinstatement as
Egyptian president, sources said, if not that the Muslim Brotherhood would
be assured of political survival following a month-long violent stand-off
with the armed forces in the wake of Morsy's overthrow.

Over 300 people have been reported killed since army chief and Defense
Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsy's ouster on 3 July.

The U.S. has repeatedly supported the Muslim Brotherhood's ascendancy in
Egypt, researcher Mohamed Hasanein Heikahl said.

While a number of Brotherhood leaders have publicly criticized the U.S.
stance, accusing the Obama administration of "playing a role in Morsy's
overthrow," they are said to be hoping for a shift as tentative talks
continue with Egypt's interim administration

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 6 Aug.,?13:Cafes shut, sports fields empty as war
returns to Iraq?, Reuters
SUBJECT: ?War returns to Iraq?
QUOTE:?fears of return to full-blown sectarian conflict in a country where
ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have yet to find a
stable way of sharing power?
EXCERPTS:BAGHDAD ?. . . .Iraqis have endured extreme violence for years,
but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has
dramatically increased, reversing a trend that had seen the country grow
more peaceful.

Attacks have spread to some of the few places left for public entertainment,
turning Baghdad into a giant fortified prison of concrete blast walls, where
once again few now dare to socialise in public.

The attacks have raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict
in a country where ruling Shiites and minority Sunni Muslims and Kurds have
yet to find a stable way of sharing power.

More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll
since 2008, the United Nations said last week.

The past four months have all had higher death tolls than any in the five
years before April, leading the interior ministry to declare last week that
Iraq was now once again in ?open war?, 18 months after US troops pulled out.

Most of the violence has been perpetrated by the Iraqi wing of Al Qaeda, the
strict Sunni Muslim jihadi group which was defeated by US forces and their
allies in 2006-2007 but has been reborn this year to battle the Shiite-led
government.

. . . Sectarian tensions have also escalated as a result of the civil war
in neighbouring Syria, where Iraq?s Al Qaeda branch has merged with a
powerful Sunni Islamist rebel force fighting to overthrow a leader backed by
Shiite Iran.

?Insurgents now are changing rules of the game,? said Ali Al Bahadli, a
former Iraqi army general and military analyst who works as an adviser to
the ministry of defence.

?With the recent attacks of cafes and football pitches, the message is
directed at civilians is that security forces are unable to protect you.?

Cafes close doors

Security analysts say the Sunni insurgents are targeting cafes and football
pitches as a way to undermine the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister
Nouri Maliki, wrecking its claims to have restored normal life after a
decade of war.

Recent bombings have targeted men playing in local soccer fixtures and
watching matches, after spates of attacks on Sunni and Shiite mosques,
markets and the security forces. According to figures from the interior
ministry, around 37 caf?s across Iraq have been attacked since April.

People have begun to avoid public places like cafes and busy markets,
fearing from bombs and suicide attacks. After an easing of violence in the
past few years led places to reopen, many cafes have now closed again after
losing customers.

. . .

?With more security measures cutting Baghdad into pieces, attacks on cafes,
mosques and sport areas, we feel we?re living deadlocked inside homes,? said
ceramics artist Mahir Samarrai, who used to haunt the cafes in eastern
Baghdad, where men sip strong coffee, puff on water pipes and discuss the
day.

Amateur football players are also targets, with dozens killed in recent
months.

. . ..

The interior ministry has stepped up security near football pitches, cafes
and mosques to try to prevent more attacks.

The cafes are not only targeted by the bombs of the Sunni insurgency, but
are also under pressure from smaller hardline Shiite militias, who try to
close them by force.

The Shiite militias, who warn of practices they see as going against their
strict interpretation of Islam, were also behind a campaign targeting
alcohol sellers in Baghdad which killed 12 people in May.

The militias have been emboldened by the success of Shiite religious parties
which have risen in power since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

?. Prime Minister Maliki . . .?The government will not tolerate militias
and gangs that violate freedom of people in order to impose their corrupted
opinions under various pretexts,? he said on his website.
=========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

View the original article here

Excerpts: Iraq: July, 1,000 killed 2 August 2013

Excerpts: Iraq: July, 1,000 killed 2 August 2013

+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 2 Aug.?131:??July deadliest month for Iraq in five
years?, Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Iraq: July, 1,000 killed

QUOTES:?the security situation in Iraq is worsening?;?Violence in Iraq . . .
killed about 1,000 people in July, more than any month since 2008?

FULL TEXT:BAGHDAD ? Violence in Iraq, from bombings against caf?s to
assaults on prisons, killed about 1,000 people in July, more than any month
since 2008, when the country was emerging from a bloody sectarian conflict.

?We haven?t seen such numbers in more than five years, when the blind rage
of sectarian strife that inflicted such deep wounds upon this country was
finally abating,? UN envoy Gyorgy Busztin said in a statement.

Iraq was racked by a bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that peaked in
2006-2007, when thousands of people were killed because of their religious
affiliation or forced to abandon their homes under threat of death.

?I reiterate my urgent call on Iraq?s political leaders to take immediate
and decisive action to stop the senseless bloodshed, and to prevent these
dark days from returning,? Busztin said.

According to Iraqi government figures, 989 people were killed in July,
making it the deadliest month since April 2008.

The vast majority of the dead were civilians, though Iraqi security forces
were also targeted in attacks.

The United Nations put the toll for July at 1,057 people killed, while AFP
counted 875 deaths.

Tolls vary depending on sources and methodology, and officials in Iraq often
give differing numbers in the chaotic aftermath of attacks.

But all show that the security situation in Iraq is worsening.

Illustrating the severity of the violence, UN figures show more than twice
as many civilians were killed in Iraq during the first six months of 2013
than over the same period in Afghanistan.

In one of the month?s deadliest attacks, a suicide bomber detonated
explosives in a caf? in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing 41 people.

Militants regularly targeted caf?s, where Iraqis often meet after breaking
their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan, and also attacked
mosques, where extended evening prayers are held during the month.

Al Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed
attacks on Abu Ghraib and Taji prisons in July that killed over 50 people
and saw more than 500 inmates, including senior Al Qaeda leaders, escape.

?The prison attacks demonstrate that the security forces are poorly
resourced and unable to protect what should have been well-defended
facilities,? said John Drake, an Iraq specialist with risk management firm
AKE Group.

And in an incident reminiscent of the worst years of sectarian conflict in
Iraq, militants set up a checkpoint on a highway north of Baghdad, examined
the ID cards of truck drivers and then executed 14 who were Shiite Muslims.

?We don?t go out of the house anymore. You go to the caf?, you get killed,
you go to your car, you get killed, you go to the supermarket, you get
killed,? 47-year-old Imad said in the Iraqi capital.

Officials should ?fix politics so security gets better, but [a] political
solution in this country needs a miracle?, he said.

Widespread discontent among members of Iraq?s Sunni Arab minority is a major
factor behind the heightened violence this year, experts say.

?There is widespread frustration with the predominantly Shiite government
and security forces amongst the Sunni community, because they feel
marginalised and persecuted,? said Drake.

?The terrorists, most of whom are radicalised Sunnis, are conducting attacks
against the government and security forces to try and capitalise on this
frustration,? he said.

?Animosity towards the government is also likely to persist as long as the
security forces use excessive force to arrest suspects and deal with
protests in predominantly Sunni parts of the country,? Drake said.

Protests broke out in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq at the end of 2012, and
are still ongoing.

International Crisis Group Iraq analyst Maria Fantappie said an April 23
security forces operation at a protest camp near the town of Hawijah, which
sparked clashes that killed dozens, was a key factor in the unrest.

?I think that it?s very important to see Hawijah as the turning point for
the violence,? Fantappie said.

The incident triggered the reactivation of some insurgent groups in the
north and also corresponded to increasing Al Qaeda activity and sectarian
attacks ? three main factors driving the heightened violence, she said.

It is ultimately up to the government to act to curb the violence, she said,
with negotiating local ceasefires with Sunni officials being one option.

The government ?was part of the problem, and it is part of the solution?,
Fantappie said. ?It?s the only actor that can bring things [back] on track.?

=========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

View the original article here

Excerpts: Erdogan: democracy in Egypt important 3 August 2013

Excerpts: Erdogan: democracy in Egypt important 3 August 2013
+++SOURCE: Egypt Daily News 3 Aug.?13:?Erdogan calls German and French PMs
to take action in Egypt?
SUBJECT: Turkey?s Erdogan ,France, Germany:democracy in Egypt important

QUOTE:?more detail during the G-20 Summit in St.Petersburg in September?

FULL TEXT:ANKARA:Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed
Egypt's recent political situation with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the phone.

According to Prime Ministry sources, Erdogan exchanged ideas about the
regional developments, Egypt being in the first place with his French and
German counterparts.

The leaders came to terms that going back to democracy in Egypt had great
importance.

Erdogan and Merkel also agreed to take up the issues in more detail during
the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg in September.

=========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA

View the original article here