Kurdish Iraq Leader Hints at Secession -- New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Full excerpts, links up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical


Tomorrow at Buzzflash.



WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JUNE 30, 2004

1//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--SOVEREIGNTY: NOW THE GAMES REALLY BEGIN (…In the present phase, the activities of the five actors - the US, Iran, Turkey, Israel and the Iraqi insurgents - will not only play a major role in determining the stability of Iraq, but also in formulating the prospects for the legitimacy of the interim government. At least for now, that government is seen as a puppet and a supplicant of the US, at a time when anti-Americanism is on the rise, not just in Iraq, but also across the Middle East…If the end of occupation on June 28 meant the emergence of a sovereign interim Iraqi government, that reality has not yet materialized, at least not in the eyes of a majority of Iraqis. The most complicating factor for the interim government is not to appear as a pawn in the hands of the Americans, Turks, Iranians, but especially the Israelis. However, with everything else that it must accomplish in the meantime - the most important of which is the ability to reestablish or sustain basic services and oil distribution facilities and reduce the unemployment rate, which is reported to be between 30-60% - the interim government is indeed faced with an awesome, and potentially insurmountable, task.)

2//KurdishMedia, UK--KURDISH IRAQ LEADER HINTS AT SECESSION (-- Kurdish Iraqi leader Massud Barzani warned Tuesday that the Kurds will not honor Iraq’s unity unless a federal and democratic system is installed…He called on Iraq’s new interim government under Iyad Allawi to honor the terms of the State Administration Law, which upholds the Kurds’ right to autonomy in northern Iraq, when drafting the country’s permanent constitution. "Unless these terms are met, we won’t have any commitment toward Iraq’s unity," he said, in a veiled threat to secede from Iraq.)

3//The Daily Times, Pakistan--SHIAS WILL SEEK AUTHORITY FROM IRAQ (The rise of a secular, democratic Iraq could pose a threat to Iran’s Shia clerical establishment, which fears it would serve as a powerful model for moderate Iranians who seek change, clerics said. Many senior clerics are particularly concerned about any shift in the centre of gravity within Shia Islam away from Iran’s holy city of Qom, from where clerics wield immense political authority, towards Najaf in neighbouring Iraq. The emergence of Najaf coincides with the rise to political prominence of Iraqi clerics, such as Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who question the legitimacy of absolute rule by the clergy…. Iran fears Washington may promote its secular ally Iraq as a model for Shias to emulate in pressing for change in the Islamic state, which Washington accuses of harbouring terrorism and pursuing nuclear weapons.)

4//The Scotsman, UK--DIFFERENT ELECTIONS BATTLES COULD SEPARATE UNITED BUSH AND BLAIR (…The Washington administration seems to be admitting a quiet defeat on the "Bush doctrine" - a neoconservative vision of pre-emption that meant that the US would take out a threat while it was emerging. Any pre-emptive attack would have to be based on intelligence - and the furore about the use of intelligence makes it unlikely that any dossier would be trusted in future. For Mr Bush, this is a real loss. Mr Blair, however, has more reason to be downbeat. His case for war with Iraq was always far more narrow than that of the US president - and this predicament can be traced to a fundamental error that he made in 1975. This was the year he joined the Labour Party.)

5//The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippines--TIGHT SECURITY, ROSES FOR MACAPAGAL (Amidst "blanket security" and thousands of orange and crimson roses, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo takes her oath on Wednesday as the country's 14th president…A police officer told the Inquirer there would also be an intelligence agent in every corner of Metro Cebu. Some organizations had also been tapped to help the police in providing intelligence information. Even stray dogs were taken off the streets. City officials found it improper to have the canines around while Macapagal-Arroyo was taking her oath of office.)

[Hokie]

1. Predicition

Iraq will be 3 countries within two years. Write it down.