To see more of Amal’s writing, go to her blog: “My Eye on Egypt.”

CAIRO, Egypt — Last night (President Hosni) Mubarak promised that the current parliament would study the two constitutional articles that limit the rights of people to run for elected offices including the presidency for which he promised not to run again.

The military told people to go home.

Today, Mubarak and his regime mobilized a counter-revolution and sent hundreds of ‘pro-Mubarak’ demonstrators (There is clear evidence in the form of ID cards that these are the regime’s police accompanied by armed bands of their notorious thugs) to attack the thousands of anti-Mubarak protestors in Tahrir Square. Having defined the issue as stability (a matter very close to the Egyptian heart) and chaotic violence (of which people are terrified), they proceeded to create the conditions with which they threatened the country.

Anti-government supporters held their ground, calling for army protection.

Two and a half hours of clashes, many injured, but yet the military stood aside. Although it had plenty of tanks and armored vehicles in place, it let hundreds of people mounted on roughly 60 horses and camels which definitely posed a safety risk enter the square. They were accompanied by police officers from state security and “escaped” criminals (reportedly released by the regime) carrying signs “Daddy Mubarak and Mommy Suzanne, we apologize for the past days’ demonstrations.” Pelting them with rocks and cracking heavy whips, the riders rammed the protesters.

There was nothing spontaneous about this attack. Organized groups joined them, a hundred at a time. These people were well coordinated; their signs and placards preprinted. They blocked every entrance to the square so that people could not join the anti-Mubarak demonstrations. No one could leave, so they dug up paving stones.

Fears of a blood-bath to follow, they are praying in the square. If the military is not going to protect the people I hope international pressure will work.

The regime propaganda machine, especially government television, has been in full swing mostly frightening the populace while calling for calm. Meanwhile there’s no attempt to contain the violent confrontations.

Unfortunately, the combination of unprecedented concessions, the campaign of disinformation, and the staged confrontations have had their effect. Those less sophisticated — and this applies to many of the poor and uneducated — are switching from opposition to Mubarak to supporting him, and the stability and personal safety he promised.

P.S. Rumors that Ahmed Ezz, parliamentarian and Gamal Mubarak’s friend, has been prevented from leaving Egypt. Habib Adli, minister of Interior has been held for investigation by the army (which hates him).

Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.

To see more of Amal’s writing, go to her blog: “My Eye on Egypt.”

Cairo, Egypt

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

“I used to call them the spoiled brats of the internet,” one Cairo woman confessed. “Now I kiss their feet,” she said, referring to young men who broke the Egyptians long record of endurance under a dictatorial regime.

Today, the seventh day of the revolt against President Mubarak and for democracy in Egypt, 2 million people are said to be protesting in Cairo. Some have estimated 8 million nationwide; that’s ten percent of the population and that, technically speaking, is a revolution.

 In Alexandria, the people are standing shoulder to shoulder from one end of that long city to the other.

 It’s not the usual protestors; everyone knows them – like the Kifaya party (Enough) and the April 6 movement people.

 No. This is everyone: we see huge clusters of women in their bright colored scarves – like a meadow in spring – and the men don’t even flirt with them because the ethic of protest is respect.

 Crowds open up for people in wheelchairs and assist those walking with canes. 

 The people, once assured that the Army’s interest was in protecting them, fell into easy cooperation. Troops and people parade side by side, Egyptian flags raised. They work together to check people for weapons.

 People who live near Tahrir Square cook for the protestors. In Helwan, south of the city, supplies of cooking gas ran out. Some of the young men in the area located supplies in a neighboring area and delivered them back to Helwan, door-to-door.

 In the upsurge of pride, some protesters have pulled framed photos of Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970, off the walls of their homes and wave them above the heads of crowd – reminding their fellow Egyptians of the last time, during the pan-Arab movement, when they felt such self-respect and promise.

 Everyone uses the same words of protest. Everyone is on message.

 There is no doubt that Mubarak is leaving.

Power of the Army.

It’s true that the army has tremendous economic power in Egypt and that they may be thinking of their own interests as well as those of the people in allying with the protesters. But, in this country, the army is highly respected; it’s considered the institution of last resort and so far, they are deserving of that respect.

 Furthermore, from a realistic standpoint, a revolution without their blessing wouldn’t succeed, if only because they hold that tremendous economic power. 

 Muslim Brotherhood, not. 

 The Brotherhood will not assume leadership. Contrary to what many westerners believe, they don’t have the influence – a fact seriously distorted by President Mubarak, who wanted to keep his U.S. allies nervous.

 Amr Moussa interim leader?

 Amr Moussa, whose term as head of the Arab League ends on Wednesday, could be the best choice for an interim leader. He’s 73, has spoken for the people for decades and has been treated accordingly by the regime.

 The people know him and respect him. During the Africa Cup finals, President Mubarak appeared on the big screen to take credit from the players’ success. The crowds turned their flags down. When Moussa appeared, the flags flipped up.

America not looking good.

 America is not looking good on the streets. If Secretary of State Clinton had spoken one day earlier, it would have been acceptable. Now the U.S. is seen as too little, too late. 

 We hear that the Americans are meeting with Mohamed ElBaradei, a big mistake. Here he’s perceived as being too far removed from the lives of the people, an impression he exaggerated by speaking to the people on television from the lush gardens of his residence.

Endurance of Egyptians

It used to be said that Egyptians can endure anything. If one revolution fails, the joke goes; Egyptians would shrug and say, “There’s always next century.”

 This time is different. They’re using their capacity for endurance for their own benefit. Yes, food has run out in some places but, as with the cooking gas, people from other neighborhoods share.

 Yes the doors of the shops are closed to prevent looting, but if you knock politely and say hello, they’ll let you in to shop.

Each challenge is met with a solution.

 Each political disappointment is greeted with the response. “We’ll just stay longer.”

 The mood is absolutely celebratory. People who have been disgusted by their country are standing up for it. They’ve stopped quarrelling among themselves for the few available spoils. In a class- and gender-segregated society, this is a stunning achievement.

Amal Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.

To see more of Amal’s writing, go to her blog: “My Eye on Egypt.”

January 30, 2011

Cairo, Egypt

Today, the fourth day of what must now be called an Egyptian revolution, 100,000 people showed up in Tahrir Square, the political center of the people’s protest against President Hosni Mubarak and his government and for democracy and government respect of the people.  Not a bare spot was to be found.

 The size of the gathering was unaffected by the government’s shutdown of the internet and cell phone services.  Nor the fact that it shut down Al Jazeera in Arabic, the county’s main source of news.

 That fact is, that in spite of the tremendously rapid growth in internet and cell phone use in Egypt, the major pathways for news are mosques – whose messages sound throughout the city each day and which provide public gathering places for the people, and word of mouth.

 Neighborhoods are extremely tight-knit; people help each other, lending money, bartering for services, adjudicating quarrels, offering aid and spreading news. Since very few move houses, the ties are long, complex and meaningful. Neighborhoods tie the country together. Word travels efficiently.

 Mohamed ElBaradei

At some point, Mohamed ElBaradei, former Nobel Peace Prize winner and spokesman for authentic democracy in Egypt, announced that he would be willing to form an interim unity government.

 The people’s opinion of ElBaradei is mixed.  He’s been out of the country for decades, most recently as head of the IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and many see him as an interloper and there are others with long established reputations for leadership and opposition to the government.

 Still, in my opinion, it’s important now that a titular leader emerge. The people will get tired; they need people to replace those who were in positions of power and who are leaving the country in droves. Among many others, President Mubarak’s son, Gamal, often mentioned as a likely successor to his father, much to the people’s disgust, is said to be in London with his brother and their respective wives.

 Meanwhile, the police have returned to the streets and protesters keep the pressure on one of main sites of oppression, like the Ministry of Interior (known locally as the Ministry of Torture).  Today shots were heard from inside the building and there are rumors that the Minister abandoned the country. 

 F-16s over Cairo

 Early this evening, my apartment rattled violently.  Two F-16 fighter jets coming in low to buzz Tahrir Square. The people shout louder. In a phrase which rhymes in Arabic, they yell, “You fly; we stay!”

Army tanks rolls toward square while rumors spread that they had been ordered to use live ammunition and that they had refused. 

 I suspect that’s true. In Egypt, the army is thought of being on the side of the people.  It would simply be “unEgyptian” of them to shoot.

 Egyptians’ distaste for violence

  People here are terribly upset by the violence. They genuinely hate to see people being hurt.  They avoid confrontation. In fact, a major turning point in the revolt was provoked by government violence.  In the beginning, the protest was mostly young middle-class men; but when the police started bruising, bloodying and in some cases killing, the lower classes joined up en masse.

 And now, as this very dignified rebellion progresses, people are proud. For the first time in my life, I see real pride in their faces.  They are proud of the consistency and restraint in the protest, proud of protecting their own neighborhoods.

 I believe we’ll see a lasting change in the Egyptian psyche.

 As an Egyptian-American myself, I am proud; I get shivers thinking about the folks out there.

Dr. Winter is an Egyptian-American psychologist in Seattle who currently lives in Cairo, Egypt during the academic year where she is Visiting Professor of Practice at the American University in Cairo’s Graduate School of Education. She is a member of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, the Arab American Community Coalition in Seattle, and the Arab American Institute’s Pacific Northwest representative. Her numerous consulting positions include the U.S. Department of State where she trains women in the Middle East to run for public office and the creation of training programs for panels of mediation specialists in over 450 Egyptian family courts.

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Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has appointed the country’s head of intelligence to the post of vice-president, in a move said to be a reaction to days of anti-government protests in cities across the country.

Omar Soliman was sworn in on Saturday, the first time Mubarak appointed a vice-president during his 30-year rule. Ahmad Shafiq, a former chief of air staff, was also appointed prime minister.

But Al Jazeera’s correspondents in Egypt have said that many of those on taking to the streets have demanded a total change of guard, as opposed to a reshuffling of figures in the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

Tens of thousands of people in the capital Cairo gathered on Saturday, demanding an end to Hosni Mubarak’s  presidency.

The demonstrations continued in defiance of an extended curfew, where state television reported will be in place from 4pm to 8am local time.

A military presence also remains, and the army warned the crowds in Tahrir Square that if they defy the curfew, they would be in danger.

Al Jazeera’s Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Cairo, said that soldiers deployed to central Cairo are not intervening in the protests.

Read the full report here.

Also, according to Al Jazeera, there are reports that the Egyptian President’s wife Suzanne Mubarak has left for London. Al Jazeera reported earlier that Mubarak’s two sons, Gamal and Ala, have fled to London with their families.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported Saturday that Egyptian security officials say at least 62 people have been killed nationwide over the last two days of mass anti-government protests.

The officials say an additional 2,000 people have been injured in the demonstrations, that have included violent clashes between police and protesters. They said Saturday the figures include injuries and deaths of both protesters and security forces.

The Associated Press is also reporting that relations between the army and the protesters are good right now. The 500,000-man military, which has given Egypt all of its four presidents since the monarchy was toppled in 1952 has enjoyed the respect of citizens who perceive it as the country’s least corrupt and most efficient public institution, particularly compared to a police force notorious for heavy handedness and corruption. It is touted as having defeated Israel in the 1973 Mideast War, and revered for that role.

The military, for its part, sees itself as the guarantor of national stability and above the political fray, loyal to both the government and what it sees as the interests of the general population.

But it remains to be seen what will happen if the troops are ordered to clear the streets.

 Video of the street demos created by Tamer Shaaban, from You Tube:

“We will not be silenced, whether you’re a Christian, whether you’re a Muslim, whether you’re an Atheist, you will demand your goddamn rights, and we will have our rights, one way or the other! We will never be silenced!” – Protester in video

 “Last night the Egyptian Dictatorship killed at least 53 protesters with Weapons given to them by America. That kind of “stability” is not worth protecting. Obama and Hillary are hypocrites. They’ve supported this murder for years and will support Mubarak until the day he is forced from power. As an American I am ashamed of my government. Long live the struggle of the Egyptian people!” – Comment on video’s YouTube page

From Russia Today online via You Tube:

Also today, Amnesty International sent out the following:

Thirty years of repression is spilling out onto the streets of Egypt in the forms of tear-gas, blood and bitter demonstrations. For four days, Egyptian protestors have suffered at the hands of President Mubarak’s security forces.

At least 14 protestors have been killed and scores more have been injured. The crackdown on freedoms is intensifying as authorities have cut all Internet and phone communications.

There’s no telling how long the violence will continue or how many people will suffer in the end.

The number one request we’re hearing from our fellow Egyptian activists is to have their voices heard at various Egyptian embassies and consulates.

We intend to do all we can to make that happen, but Egyptian authorities are making it very difficult. Our emails are not getting through and it will take far too long for our letters to reach anyone who can make a difference.

That is why we’re asking you to place an urgent call to the Egyptian embassy (202) 895-5400 and dial “1″ to speak to a real person about the State of Emergency in Egypt.

Ask the person who answers the call to pass on this important message – and don’t take “no” for an answer: “Please urge the Egyptian government to respect human rights, rein in the security forces, and restore access to all communications in Egypt.”

Help us make the Egyptian embassy’s phone ring off the hook! Then tell us how your call went.

Three decades of living under the harsh and oppressive State of Emergency is unacceptable.

The people of Egypt deserve to have their voices heard and to organize peacefully. They deserve human rights.

On Dec. 27, the second anniversary of Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza, Seattle-area activists are launching a Metro bus ad campaign to expose the use of U.S. taxpayer money to support Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people.

Inspired by similar public advertising campaigns in Chicago, San Francisco, Albuquerque and other cities, the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign is launching the advertising campaign aimed at securing equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis, as well as an end to United States military aid to Israel, which continues at a time of economic crisis and severe budget cuts that have resulted in massive unemployment. A companion website at www.stop30billion-Seattle.org suggests ways that people can get involved locally.

The initial campaign begins on 12 Metro bus routes in the city of Seattle, with the slogan “ISRAELI WAR CRIMES: Your Tax Dollars At Work”. The ads will run 4 weeks.

Seattle activists will also hold a vigil and protest in downtown Seattle on Monday, December 27, starting at 5:00 pm at 4th & Pine St. The walking vigil will be in memory of those killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza and in protest of Israel’s ongoing crimes against human rights.

December 27, 2008 was the first day of Israel’s three-week military offensive against the captive population of Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Palestinians, most of them non-combatants, more than 300 of them children.

A formal inquiry by the United Nations found grounds for a criminal investigation i nto war crimes by Israel. The UN report concluded that Israel’s assault was not in self-defense, but was “a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population”. Amnesty International found evidence that Israeli soldiers used Palestinian civilians as human shields, and Israeli soldiers have testified publicly to other human rights violations. Yet the U.S. government has pledged $30 billion in military aid to Israel over the next 10 years, even though the U.S. Arms Export Control Act prohibits the use of U.S. weapons against civilians.

An increasing number of US citizens are becoming aware of this issue. “I had never heard the whole story of the Israeli occupation. I never anticipated US complicity in Israel’s crimes. I had no idea,” says one volunteer with the Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign. “When I began to learn the truth, it was like an avalanche. I became angry. Why all the lies? Why the blackout of information? Why the silence from our government?”

Another volunteer was in the West Bank during Israel’s assault on Gaza. “I was in Ramallah during the entire Operation Cast Lead – watching TV with people from Gaza in the evening in the hotel reception area, talking with our staff in Gaza each morning to see if they had survived the night of bombings.”

The Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign is incorporated in Washington State.

For more information: www.stop30billion-Seattle.org.

Iraq has between 25 and 50 percent unemployment, a dysfunctional parliament, rampant disease, an epidemic of mental illness, and sprawling slums. The killing of innocent people has become part of daily life. What a havoc the United States has wreaked in Iraq.

UN-HABITAT, an agency of the United Nations, recently published a 218-page report entitled State of the World’s Cities, 2010-2011. The report is full of statistics on the status of cities around the world and their demographics. It defines slum dwellers as those living in urban centers without one of the following: durable structures to protect them from climate, sufficient living area, sufficient access to water, access to sanitation facilities, and freedom from eviction.

Almost intentionally hidden in these statistics is one shocking fact about urban Iraqi populations. For the past few decades, prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, the percentage of the urban population living in slums in Iraq hovered just below 20 percent. Today, that percentage has risen to 53 percent: 11 million of the 19 million total urban dwellers. In the past decade, most countries have made progress toward reducing slum dwellers. But Iraq has gone rapidly and dangerously in the opposite direction.

According to the U.S. Census of 2000, 80 percent of the 285 million people living in the United States are urban dwellers. Those living in slums are well below 5 percent. If we translate the Iraqi statistic into the U.S. context, 121 million people in the United States would be living in slums.

If the United States had an unemployment rate of 25-50 percent and 121 million people living in slums, riots would ensue, the military would take over, and democracy would evaporate. So why are people in the United States not concerned and saddened by the conditions in Iraq? Because most people in the United States do not know what happened in Iraq and what is happening there now. Our government, including the current administration, looks the other way and perpetuates the myth that life has improved in post-invasion Iraq. Our major news media reinforces this message.

I had high hopes that the new administration would tell the truth to its citizens about why we invaded Iraq and what we are doing currently in the country. President Obama promised to move forward and not look to the past. However problematic this refusal to examine on the past — particularly for historians — the president should at least inform the U.S. public of the current conditions in Iraq. How else can we expect our government to formulate appropriate policy?

More extensive congressional hearings on Iraq might have allowed us to learn about the myths propagated about Iraq prior to the invasion and the extent of the damage and destruction our invasion brought on Iraq. We would have learned about the tremendous increase in urban poverty and the expansion of city slums. Such facts about the current conditions of Iraq would help U.S. citizens to better understand the impact of the quick U.S. withdraw and what are our moral responsibilities in Iraq should be.

Adil E. Shamoo is a senior analyst at Foreign Policy In Focus, and a professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He writes on ethics and public policy. He can be reached at: ashamoo@umaryland.edu

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that Gen. David Petraeus almost simultaneously began giving interviews to The New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC, Meet the Press and others voicing his opinion that a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan would be unwise.

Cover of the August 9 edition of 'Time' magazine.

Solomon, author of “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” and president of the Institute for Public Accuracy http://www.accuracy.org/, visited Kabul last year.

Lucinda Marshall said Monday, “On Meet the Press on Sunday, Petraeus cited the recent Time cover story featuring a young Afghan woman with her nose cut off. Said Petraeus: “If you lose, it has, I think, some significant repercussions, not just for this country, although they would be enormous, and start with the cover of Time magazine for starters.”

Marshall is director of the Feminist Peace Network, which just posted the article “Time’s Story About Afghan Women – Questions Raised About Author’s Vested Interests And Accuracy Of The Story.”

See also: “Time Magazine Once Again Trots Out the Tired and Inexcusable ‘We’re in Afghanistan (and Have to Stay) to Protect Women’ Mantra”

But you don’t have to be an American to see the dangers of the military setting a nation’s agenda.

This is from an article by Tony Iltis in Green Left, an Australian-based alternative weekly that describes itself as “a proudly independent voice committed to human and civil rights, global peace and environmental sustainability, democracy and equality.” Tony’s article was headlined, accurately, I believe, “‘Time’ exploits victim to promote war.”

“…what happened to Aisha took place in Afghanistan under Western occupation.

“Once again, it is molding the oppression of women into a propaganda tool to gain support and staining their hands with ever-deepening treason against Afghan women.”

Malalai Joya, who also is a politician the BBC called “the bravest woman in Afghanistan” for denouncing the warlords in the parliament, toured the United States earlier this year in an effort to get support for pulling out U.S. troops from her country.

This was her message to Americans:

“Democracy will never come to Afghanistan through the barrel of a gun, or from the cluster bombs dropped by foreign forces. The struggle will be long and difficult, but the values of real democracy, human rights and women’s rights will only be won by the Afghan people themselves.

“So do not be fooled by this façade of democracy. The British and other Western governments that claim to be bringing democracy to Afghanistan ignore public opinion in their own countries, where growing numbers are against the war.

“In my tours to countries that have troops in Afghanistan, I’ve met many bereaved parents who have lost their loved ones in the war in my home. I am very sorry to see governments putting the lives of their soldiers in danger in Afghanistan in the name of bringing democracy. In fact the soldiers are serving the strategic and regional interests of the White House and the consequences of their occupation so far have been devastating for my people.

“The worst casualty of this war is truth. Those who stand up and raise their voice against injustice, insecurity and occupation have their lives threatened and are forced to leave Afghanistan, or simply get killed.

“We are sandwiched between three powerful enemies: the occupation forces of the U.S. and NATO, the Taliban and the corrupt government of Hamid Karzai.

“My people are fed up. That is why we want an immediate end to the U.S. occupation.”

But, of course, the current media blitz by Gen. Petraeus and his willing media accomplices isn’t aimed at the people of Afghanistan. It’s aimed at us.

Where do you stand? What will you do?

Reprieve
April 6, 2010

Reprieve launches emergency legal action for Guantánamo prisoner Ahmed Belbacha as US government makes worrying deal with Algeria

Lawyers for former British resident Ahmed Belbacha yesterday submitted an emergency plea to the US courts seeking to prevent his forced return to persecution and torture in Algeria.

Ahmed’s legal team is deeply concerned by the Obama Administration’s Easter weekend announcement of a deal with the Algerian government.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will travel to Algiers tomorrow (Wed., April 7) “to discuss cooperation on combating terrorism and enhancing law enforcement coordination” and to sign a “mutual legal assistance treaty” with the Algerian Minister of Justice.

Ahmed, a 39 year-old accountant, was visibly terrified during his attorney visit last week and remains a tragic figure in Guantánamo. Cleared of all charges by the Bush Administration, he has consistently chosen to stay imprisoned rather than face his fate in Algeria, a country he originally fled after threats on his life by the terrorist group Group Islamique Armé (GIA).

Ahmed’s plight, together with his gentle nature, has attracted private offers of help from both sides of the Atlantic, but no government has come to his rescue. Reprieve is appealing worldwide – to the governments of Britain, Ireland and Luxembourg – for help.

Ahmed’s attorney, Reprieve’s Tara Murray said:

“As Attorney General Holder travels to Algeria, all signs now point towards Ahmed’s imminent forced transfer to torture and persecution. We implore the European nations of Ireland, Luxembourg and the UK to stand up and put an end to Ahmed’s agony.”

BACKGROUND:

Ahmed Belbacha lived for years in the seaside town of Bournemouth, UK, where he studied English and worked; during a Labour conference he was responsible for cleaning the hotel room of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, from whom he received a healthy tip and note of appreciation. He is now in his eighth year of imprisonment without charge in Guantánamo Bay.

Ahmed’s fears about Algeria were confirmed by an alarming “conviction” delivered in absentia by an Algerian court last November. In a disgraceful show trial, where no lawyer was appointed to defend Ahmed, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for belonging to an “overseas terrorist group.” Despite repeated requests and extensive investigation, Reprieve’s lawyers have been unable to discover what exactly Ahmed is supposed to have done. No evidence has been produced to support his “conviction,” which appears to be retaliation against Ahmed for speaking out about the inhumane treatment he would be subjected to if sent to Algeria.

Ahmed had been protected by an injunction barring the U.S. government from repatriating him against his will, but a U.S. judge dissolved the injunction in February. Reprieve immediately requested the decision be reversed, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s ongoing consideration of a related case, Kiyemba v Obama (Kiyemba II), in which it was decided that U.S. courts could not prevent the Obama Administration from forcibly repatriating prisoners to countries where they face persecution. Worryingly, on Monday, 22nd March, the Supreme Court decided not to review Kiyemba II; Reprieve then submitted another plea to D.C.’s federal district court on 24th March, followed by an emergency motion over the Easter weekend following Holder’s announcement.

Ahmed has been given a room in a flat by a Bournemouth resident, and the Massachusetts town of Amherst has offered him refuge in defiance of Congress. So far, however, no government has come forward to help.

For more information please contact Katherine O’Shea at Reprieve’s Press Office: katherine.oshea@reprieve.org.uk 020 7427 1099/ 07931592674 or go to http://www.reprieve.org.uk/ahmedbelbacha.

(Reprieve, a legal action charity, uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay. Reprieve investigates, litigates and educates, working on the frontline, to provide legal support to prisoners unable to pay for it themselves. Reprieve promotes the rule of law around the world, securing each person’s right to a fair trial and saving lives. Clive Stafford Smith is the founder of Reprieve and has spent 25 years working on behalf of people facing the death penalty in the USA. Reprieve’s current casework involves representing 33 prisoners in the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay, working on behalf of prisoners facing the death penalty, and conducting ongoing investigations into the rendition and the secret detention of “ghost prisoners” in the so-called “war on terror.”)

On Tuesday, a string of bombings killed nine people in two of Iraq’s largest cities, Baghdad and Mosul.

Examiner.com posted a slide show from these attacks here.

Last week, suicide bombings in Baghdad killed 127 people and wounded more than 500. Bombings in August and October, also in Baghdad, killed another 250 people.

According to The Associated Press, in Baghdad on Tuesday, “Three parked cars packed with mines and other bombs exploded within minutes of each other around 7:30 a.m. just outside different entrances to the Green Zone, just as Iraqis were coming to the area for work.”

The blasts killed five people and wounded at least 16.

The AP report said, “Four hours later and 225 miles away, in the northwestern Iraqi city of Mosul, two more car bombs and a roadside mine killed four people. The attacks appeared to target a busy neighborhood and a church, wounding up to 40 people.”

Of course, U.S. officials are quick to point out that violence, nationwide, is at its lowest level since 2003, a statistic that Iraqis may not find very comforting. It’s probably hard for many everyday Iraqis to see how the surge has changed their lives, with at least 386 people killed in bombings since August, let alone, the countless people killed in day-to-day violence.

The good news, for the United States, I suppose, is that Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, doesn’t see the bombings and other daily violence preventing the exit of U.S. troops, who are scheduled to leave by the end of 2011. Of course, that’s good news, too, for most Iraqis.

In the email, McDermott said, “Last week the President outlined the administration’s policy about the war in Afghanistan.

“I appreciate the time he took to carefully study all of our country’s options and inform our citizens of his plan.

“But at the end of the day, he simply did not convince me that escalating our country’s involvement in the War in Afghanistan is in our national interest…

“There is support in Congress to press for a vote on funding for new troops prior to sending them.

Congressman Jim McDermott

McDermott said he couldn’t support Obama’s troop surge because our country faces no immediate threat from Afghanistan and committing more troops to combat is not in our national interest.

He said: “We should be withdrawing troops from combat, not sending more of them into a conflict that the military cannot solve. At the end of the day, we will wind up with more people, both civilian and military, killed.”

On Dec. 2, right after Obama announced his Afghan surge, McDermott issued the following statement:

“The President’s speech tonight did not convince me that his policy is worth supporting. Last week, I attended a memorial service for seven servicemen from the same striker brigade from Fort Lewis who were killed on the same day in Afghanistan. I will not vote to send another troop to Afghanistan until I’m convinced that this strategy will succeed.

“No matter how many troops we commit, the United States cannot bring about the change necessary to stabilize Afghanistan. This responsibility ultimately falls on the Afghani government and its people, and no outsider can force this change to occur.

“Not only is this war costly in human terms, but it is bleeding our ability to provide for our own people and construct economic recovery and security at home.

“The Bush administration made a fatal mistake when it led us into Iraq and away from finishing the task in Afghanistan, and we have been paying the price ever since. I fear that we are asking our troops to fix a problem of our own making that the military cannot solve alone.”

In the fundraising email today, McDermott said, “Our country’s foreign policy toward the war in Afghanistan is another in a long list of difficult issues that Republicans will use in next year’s mid-term elections. They will also use our support of Health Care Reform and the much-needed jobs and stimulus programs in a desperate attempt to take over the Congress.

“Those of us who are outspoken advocates of progressive issues will be among their prime targets. But we cannot back down on our issues. Instead, all of us need to be ready to fight them next year.”