Iraq Passes Bill on Baathists (Julie)

On January 12, Iraq’s parliament passed a bill allowing Baathists to return to work and receive their pensions.  Iraqis are hopeful that this will ease tensions between the Sunnis and the Shiites, yet the issue is complex.  Some believe that the prominent Hussein supporters, who are associated with ruthless crime, should not be granted these rights.  Yet, there are Baathists that never committed crimes and have been denied their rights and ability to participate in public life for the past four years.   Yet, as Juan Cole explains, the issue is more complex, still.  Is it really in the interest of helping the Baathists?  In fact, many ex-Baathists spoke out against the bill.  Apparently, the bill would make it easier for Baathists who have committed crimes to be found out and punished.   The bill will now go to the Presidential Council, where it will be either ratified or rejected.  It is uncertain what the final decision will be.  Furthermore, it is uncertain who the bill is really for, and what will come of the Baathists if it is ratified.

Class Summary 11/11 (Jonah)

Hey guys, sorry this is a little late.

Anyway, in Friday’s class, we discussed Rajaa Alsanea’s Girls of Riyadh. We started out with a summary of our general feelings on the novel. Despite the “horrible writing,” most people in the class seemed to enjoy the read (especially Mr. De Silva).

We then discussed two major points. First off, we discussed how technology has become such a major part of Saudi society. In particular, I was struck by how Gamrah received a cell phone as her engagement gift. Yet, it is unclear whether technology has actually helped liberate women in Saudi society. We also discussed the apparent shallowness of the book. Several members of the class were struck by how the girls in the book seemed to think only about boys, and ignored more “important” things like politics. Yet, at the same time, this political apathy seems common to many Saudi men as well, so it would be unfair to portray this as simply a women’s problem. Also, it is unclear how much of this is true apathy, and how much is simply a result of an undemocratic system.

Another thing I was struck by is the distinction between political and societal oppression. As I reading Girls of Riyadh, I was quickly struck by how much of the conservatism in Saudi Arabia is a product of societal traditions, not just laws.

One question that came up as we were reading the book is: Does the book really represent the ordinary Saudi Arabian women? After all, the four women in the book are all in the Saudi Arabian upper-class, and thus it is unclear how much we can truly take from this book.

There’s a first time for everything (Dan)

The LA Times ran an article the other day entitled Bush arrives in Israel to try to boost Mideast peace. The topic should be self-explanatory. This is the President’s first visit to Israel during his term. He’s there to show his support for the peace plans laid down by the Annapolis conference in November. So far there has been little progress. Even in the past few days, Gaza has rained rocket fire over the Israeli border into civilian territory. Bush’s three-day visit doesn’t even include a stop in or near Gaza. I leads one to wonder how devoted Bush could be to peace if he decides not even to visit the most recent location of violence.

More controversy over Bhutto’s death (Jake)

By Jake Hertz

Pakistani President Musharraf has said that he wishes to order and exhumation of Benazir Bhutto’s death.  However, he says he will not go through with it if Bhutto’s family is against the idea.  Bhutto’s family has said that they would prefer a UN investigation as they do not trust the Pakistani government to go through with a fair and objective investigation.  Bhutto’s son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also said that the US’ support for Musharraf’s government and the war on terror have not at all helped the situation.  Musharraf has responded by saying there is no need for a UN investigation because multiple countries are not involved.  At the same time, Musharraf has enlisted the UK to help him track down Bhutto’s killers.  It is an interesting contradiction from a man who is full of them.

Abu Ghraib Commander Let off the Hook (Nathan)

The US army has rejected the court martial of Lieutenant Steven Jordan, the only officer who was court martialled in the Abu Ghraib scandal. 

Many human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have said that the decision sends a “troubling message” and prevents anyone from being held accountable.  However, it was clear that Jordan’s role in the abuses was very limited and therefore Jordan was only given a criminal reprimand.

Public-private partnership (Eve)

The Jordanian government has decided to remove taxes on thirteen basic commodities with the hope that this will led to relief for its citizens.  However, food importers and merchants are likely to try to benefit for the lack of taxes by keeping their prices the same, and getting 4% more for each item themselves, but the government claims that they were intervene with those who try to use the lack of taxes for their own benefit. According to the author of the blog What’s up in Jordan, people are being charged between 22 and 31 piasters extra on a kilo rice then they should be according to the exchange rate with the US and lack of taxes, even if people were keeping their prices the same after taxes were removed, they should only be 2 piasters more then they would cost once shipped from the United States.  The government has the legal abilities to stop this price gouging, but it is doubtful that they will actually stop it, especially considering that a record number of food importers ran for parliament, though only one of them actually won a seat.

Protesters killed at Yemen rally (Eve)

At least fifteen were injured and two killed at a protest in the southern port city, Aden, in Yemen.  The protesters were rallying for a reconciliation between the north and south of Yeman, where tensions since the merging of the two sections under the northern government in 1990 have yet to be dealt with.  Even the demonstrators were not united under the issue, as some were calling for the country to split and return to its pre-1990 form.  Thousands of southern soldiers fled the country in 1994 after their defeat in the civil war, but many have returned and are now complaining that the government has not fulfilled the promise of allowing them to join the army, which is dominated by inhabitants of the north.  The protests are led by these former army members, who are demanding political reforms in their country, which is one of the poorest in the world.

What Happened To Condy? (Noah)

The Jerusalem Post ran an article today entitled Major Settlement Building Won’t Stop. The article is about the Israeli government’s refusal to halt settlement building in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Although there has been much outcry from around the world about Israel’s continual development in the occupied territories, the Israeli government believes it is crucial to continue building where there are already large Israeli populations.  Not only have the Palestinians demanded that no such settlements be built, but Condeleezza Rice has spoke out, in rare fashion,  against further development.  The US Secretary of State told the JPost that “the US opposes any new construction in the southeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa, and does not distinguish between Israeli building in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Perhaps Bush will not be greeted the open arms he expected when he arrives in Israel next week. 

Class Summery, Jan 9, 2008 (Eve)

Yesterday in class we discussed several articles about modern Turkey, and we all seemed to agree that getting to read several articles about the topic gave us a better understanding of the situation than we would have gotten if we only read an article from one source.  From the articles, we discussed the different groups views of the situation, and what the Justice and Development part (AKP), which is the Islamist party, has been doing.  It could be said that they are doing a good job because Turkey’s economy has gone up significantly since they came into power, but the divide between the rich and poor is even bigger.

The Good, The Bad, and The President of Nigeria

    Corruption has cost Nigeria nearly 400 billion. ” That is the equivalent of about two thirds of all the aid given to the whole of Africa since the 1960’s.” This week the Economist set out to discuss how one of the most oil rich nations in the world has people still living in such poverty. Yet a slow and sometime ineffective campaign to curb corruption has gone underway.

And if one man has become the symbol of that campaign it is the crusading young head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu. Since 2003, Mr Ribadu has attained almost mythic status among his countrymen by charging and prosecuting the politicians, and particularly the state governors, who are responsible for most of the fraud and looting of public funds. For the first time, he gave Nigerians hope that their country could actually be different.

This movement towards a more honest and responsiable government was very popular among the people of Nigeria, hence why it was a big shock that on December 27th Mr Ribadu was forced to resign on a technicality. In reality what happened was that he got to close for comfort to the President of Nigeria. His investigations were leading him towards the president which was something the president wanted to avoid at all costs. The move that scared the President the most was the,

prosecution of Mr Ibori, the former governor of the oil-rich Delta State who received a salary of less than $25,000 a year. Last August a court in London ordered a freeze on $35m of his worldwide assets. Despite this, he was thought to be untouchable in Nigeria because of his political connections. He is a prominent leader of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and was a major funder of Mr Yar’Adua’s election campaign. So when Mr Ibori was arrested on December 12th many Nigerians gasped—and then cheered. Among other charges against him was an attempted $15m bribe of the EFCC to drop the case against him. “He didn’t realise that it was being recorded,” said a commission official.

This move in the end was Ribadu’s downfall. However what is so shocking about this article is that so few people took notice of these events. It makes me concerned about where the aid that we do send to Africa is going. Is the money we send ending up in the hands of corrupt dictators. I think so. This is why I think that there needs to be more comprehensive monitoring of the money that makes it way into Africa is ued for good.  There needs to be some kind of UN monitoring to curb corruption, and more of an incentive for leaders to be responsible.