Shiite Tribes Gather for War on Fallujah--New World Media Watch

[Gloria]

Full links, excerpts up now at www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com

WORLD MEDIA WATCH FOR JUNE 28, 2004

1//The Independent, UK--$20M ‘HOLE’ IN IRAQI FUNDS HELD BY US-LED AUTHORITY(The US-controlled administration in Baghdad has failed to account for more than £20m of the country's money as it hands over power to an Iraqi government, a report says. The money - oil revenues and international funds frozen during Saddam Hussein's regime - had passed into the coffers of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) before disappearing, according to the report.Although a belated audit is being done, its results, expected to be critical of the CPA, are not due until the middle of July, two weeks after the organisation ceases to exist. The $18.5bn in aid authorised by the US Congress is the subject of no less than four separate audits.)



2//The Jordan Times, Jordan--ZARQAWI – TERROR MASTERMIND OR BOGEYMAN? (After rebel attacks on Baquba last Thursday, Colonel Dana Pittard, the commander of US forces in the northeastern city, told AFP the insurgency in his area was dominated by Iraqis. Outside experts do not discount the possibility Zarqawi is wandering Iraq, but they believe he serves as a convenient bogeyman for a complicated insurgency. "Frankly, the coalition may generally believe he is responsible for these high-profile attacks... Zarqawi is a great way of pointing the finger at a foreign terrorist threat," said International Crisis Group security analyst Robin Bhatty. "Zarqawi is an identifiable target.")



3//The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia--SHIITE TRIBES GATHER FOR WAR ON FALLUJA (Washington threw up its hands and said Iraq's new interim government could fix Falluja. But even before he formally takes control at midnight on Wednesday, the Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, is confronted with another declaration of war on Falluja - this time from the massed Shiite tribes of southern Iraq. At a council of war after Friday prayers at Baghdad's Baratha mosque, the sheiks - or chiefs - of more than 40 of the tribes issued a declaration: they would destroy Falluja, along with neighbouring Ramadi, unless the insurgency leaders they hold responsible for the Shiite deaths are handed over to them - for execution.)



4//Asia Times Online, Hong Kong--TEHRAN’S DEMONS REVISITED (Barely one month after the ruling Iranian conservatives secured the control of the 290 seats in the majlis, or parliament, the result has been political chaos, an increase in crackdowns on the population, mostly youngsters and dissidents, a visible comeback of pressure groups, and a harder line in foreign policy…"However, the more the Iranian authorities increase oppression and crackdowns, the more they antagonize the world outside, the more they get unpopular at home and the more isolated abroad, hastening the countdown to their own demise," Behnoud concluded.)

5//The Windsor Star, Canada--ANGRY VOTERS LACK TRUST IN POLITICIANS (Never mind Paul Martin's mad-as-hell tour, Canadians have had their own mad-as-hell tour. Across the country, disenchanted voters have written sour letters to newspapers, spewed invective at Liberal politicians, placed grouchy phone calls to radio shows and have warily elevated the Conservatives to serious contenders for forming the next government…When Canadians go to the polls Monday, their votes are expected to amount to a referendum on public trust. "It's clear that trust, accountability, and integrity -- these are the issues of the election campaign," says Sudbury voter John Leonard, summing up popular sentiment these days.)

[fizzana]

1. The Sunnis and the Shias are going to be at each other's throats

in a very short time. Then the Kurds are going to want out and there will be a three-way civil war.