[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 8/19/10: World News From The Middle East [VIDEO]

Presenter, Male #1
Early this morning, the last American combat battalion left Iraq, reducing the number of US troops remaining over there to 56,000. This drawdown is part of ending the US combat mission at the end of next month.

Presenter, Female #1
An American official said that number will be 50,000 at the end of the month. The mission of the remaining US troops will change from combat to training and support, which falls under a new operation dubbed “The New Dawn”.

Reporter, Male # 2
From Abu Ghraib in western Baghdad, the 4th Stryker Brigade made it way south during the night, heading towards the gate of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. In the coming few days, it will be followed by 6,000 soldiers, in order for the United States to complete the withdrawal of its combat forces from Iraq on September 1st. After that date, 50,000 soldiers will remain. And according to the security agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad, their mission will be limited to training and supporting Iraqi forces, which overtook combat missions on the 8th of this month. These soldiers no longer need ammunition, and now its time to empty the chambers of their weapons seeing as they are outside the land on which 4,419 of their colleagues died. It is now the suitable time to snap some mementos in Kuwait, their first safe stop in their journey home, which will be highlighted as “Obama’s kept promise”. When he took office, he placed a timetable for the withdrawal of his forces from Iraq, and has reassured his commitment to this timetable on every accorded occasion. In the latest such speech, delivered on the 2nd of this month, he once again renewed his commitment to ending the combat operation of his country’s forces in Iraq at the end of the month. So, the democrats will head into the midterm elections in November, and in their possession will be this kept promise, indifferent to what is taking place over there, in the Iraq that was promised democracy and prosperity. The political operation is at an impasse and is being pulled in different directions by those competing for power, which could lead to ominous obstacles.

Guest, Male # 3
The US is only looking out for its own interests. Iraqis didn’t gain much from the US presence, it took out one government and replaced it with a more fragile and incompetent government. We didn’t gain anything from it.

Guest, Male # 4
There’s a crisis in the formation of the government. For us right now, the American withdrawal will create a deficiency in Iraq.

Reporter, Male # 2
As for the security situation, which is worsening in any case, it has witnessed a dangerous deterioration in the last two months. The Iraqi forces, said to be ready to take over security duties, are not prepared for this mission according to the army’s chief of staff, Babakir Zebari. He said that the Iraqi army is unable to guarantee the security of the country before 2020.

Presenter, Female #1
Joining us from Baghdad is Dr. Ibrahim al-Shamary, he is the official spokesperson for the Islamic Army of Iraq.

Presenter, Male #1
Dr. Ibrahim, what will be the role of the resistance after the scheduled American withdrawal from Iraq?

Guest, Male # 5 (Ibrahim al-Shamary, Spokesperson for the Islamic Army of Iraq)
In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. To begin, I salute the heroes of the victorious mujahedeen, the believers of the Quran, in this holy month. This is a great victory. We have no issue with the US giving us this victory on the basis of…

Presenter, Male #1
Do you consider the American withdrawal a victory?

Guest, Male # 5 (Ibrahim al-Shamary, Spokesperson for the Islamic Army of Iraq)
Yes, it is a victory. It’s a victory for the mujahedeen. When one of the two sides of the equation announces its withdrawal and defeat, this means that the opposite side has won. And, we renew this victory every time the US withdraws and schedules additional withdrawals.

Presenter, Female #1
Iraqis have expressed mixed reactions over the withdrawal of the last US combat brigade from their country. While some welcomed the move, others expressed fear due to the absence of security and stability in the country.

Guest, Male #1
Better today than tomorrow. We don’t want them here. Brother, we don’t need them. We are tired of them.Why are they still here? They say it’s not an occupation, so let them leave. Let them go. What else do they want from us?

Guest, Male #2
The status quo, political vacuum, and government formation crisis, all these factors require us to delay the US withdrawal. The withdrawal will lead to chaos in the country.

Guest, Male #3
The timing of the US withdrawal is questionable. The US is only looking out for its own interests. Iraqis didn’t gain much from the US presence. All they did was replace one government with another. A more fragile and incompetent government to say the least. We didn’t gain anything from it.

Presenter, Female #1
Also in Iraq, after the head of the Iraqiya List, Iyad Allawi, announced that he halted talks with the State of Law coalition, a new prospect for the formation of a new alliance between the Iarqiya list and the Sadrist bloc started to appear on the horizon. After meeting with a Sadrist delegation, Allawi said that they share the same position on the formation of the new government.

Reporter, Male #4
The Iraqiya list, led by Iyad Allawi, and the Sadrist bloc of the National Coalition are seeking rapprochement, after both sides broke off talks with the State of Law coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki. The Iraqiya list and Sadrist bloc, which have opposed the re-election of al-Maliki for the post of prime minister, are seeking to form a new alliance. Will the new alliance be able to end the government formation crisis? If so, who will pay the price?

Guest, Male #5 (Athil Mohammad Salim, Member of the Iraqiya list)
The Sadrist bloc must preserve the right of the Iraqiya list and recognize the election results, which show that our list has won.

Reporter, Male #4
Sources in the National Coalition said that the reason for the new rapprochement between the Sadrist bloc and the Iraiya list stems from the fact that both sides have rejected the US Project presented by US Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, who proposed a solution to the government crisis. Feltman called for nominating al-Maliki to the post of prime minister and nominating Allawi for the presidency of the Coordinating Council of the National Strategic Policy.

Guest, Male #5 (Mohammad al-Daraji, Member of the Sadrist bloc)
Names or titles should not influence our way of running the country. We base our decision on the quality of political programs. Al-Maliki’s political program, over the past 4 years, has proved to be a failure. Therefore, we shouldn’t repeat this failure.

Reporter, Male #4
The differences between Iraqi political rivals remain unchanged. If anything, the differences have escalated to a bitter feud, while each side continues to cling onto its position amidst the absence of political concessions. From Baghdad, Taher Maher, al-Arabiya.

Afghan people protested the US occupation in Nangarhar province. Thousands of protesters in Jalalabad called for an immediate end to the occupation of their country and slammed 9 years of US military presence. The protest comes one day after NATO troops stormed a house in the region, killing a father and a son.

Presenter, Male #1
A study, prepared by the World Food Program and the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, revealed that the Israel army committed serious violations in the Gaza Strip. The study concluded that the army is preventing Palestinians and farmers from reaching vast agricultural regions close to the Strip’s eastern border with Israel. It also indicated that the Strip’s Palestinian fishers have been negatively affected by the Israeli blockade imposed along Gaza’s coast, and have been prevented from fishing in the middle of the sea. We now go to Beit Hanoun, where our BBC correspondent Shuhdee el-Khashef is present. The World Food Program and the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories are holding a press conference over there about this study. Shuhdee, tell us about the press conference regarding this study.

Reporter, Male # 2
The press conference just ended, here, in the town of Beit Hanoun, and specifically near the border area between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The conference was important seeing that this is the first study that mainly determines, and provides, for the very first time, dangerous figures that indicate that more than 17 percent of the Gaza Strip’s regions are now restricted, and Palestinians are forbidden from entering these regions. For the most part, it is agricultural land located near the Strip’s eastern border. The study also confirmed that Palestinian fishers are prevented from accessing more than 85 percent of the Strip’s maritime areas; they are being prevented from making a livelihood from fishing in these areas. These regions are considered security zones, and regions from which the Palestinians were forced to migrate. Talks revolved around the importance of protecting the more than 180,000 Palestinian residents of these areas. In addition to the difficult humanitarian condition caused by cutting off water, services, and education from these regions, and the difficult humanitarian condition that the residents of these regions live under. Of course, the study is very important, especially due to its timing. I should also point out that a large number of humanitarian organizations, affiliated with the United Nations, and other relief organizations, participated in this study. A short while ago, it was announced that this study is just the beginning and is open to sharing its findings with international organizations, which could use its statistics, figures and facts to report on the reality in the Gaza Strip.

Presenter, Male #1
Shuhdee, is there any information as to why this specific location was chosen to hold the press conference? Are there any indications that explain that choice?

Reporter, Male # 2
First off, the site is the town of Beit Hanoun, a border town located on the eastern edge of the Strip. And is the town that was mainly damaged: agriculturally, on the humanitarian level and the amount of destruction…if we take a look at the scene, we will see many destroyed buildings in this town, due to Israeli bombings and the latest invasion. The timing also coincides with World Humanitarian Day, meant to commemorate a large number of employees of international humanitarian and relief organizations who lost their lives during the latest operations.However, there is no doubt that the timing comes at an important phase. Everyone is talking about Israel’s easing of crossing points and goods, and the humanitarian condition in the Gaza Strip had seemed rosy lately. Today, this study indicates that the crisis is present and the conditions on the ground are not, as is being announced, limited to some restrictions. And that many crises still exist in the Gaza Strip.

Presenter, Male #1
Thank you Shuhdee el-Khashef, our BBC correspondent.

Israel's academic community has expressed outraged at a letter by the Im Tirtuz Zionist movement, which criticized Ben-Gurion University for the alleged far-left political stance of the majority of professors in the political science department.

Presenter, Female #1
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Pakistan amidst the difficult and slow delivery of aid to the flood-devastated regions. The UN said today that the number of people displaced by the flooding has increased to 4 million, mostly from the Sind and Punjab regions. In response to pleas issued by the UN to collect $460 million in flood aid, the Pakistani government has only received half of it. The EU said that it will increase its pledge to nearly 70 million Euros. In addition, the World Bank has pledged $900 million dollars in flood aid to Pakistan. The UAE has not only pledged money to Pakistan but also deployed relief operations. The UAE is operating an air bridge in the Punjab region to ease the delivery of aid to the devastated areas and help evacuate stranded flood victims. Our Dubai News Center camera accompanied the air fleet of the UAE Armed Forces on one of its daily flights from the city of Multan and captured footage depicting part of Pakistan’s tragedy. Abed al-Latif al-Omar reports.

Reporter, Male #1
From the window of the plane, you can see some of the destruction and wreckage left behind by the floods that swept through Pakistan. During the trip, we came across territories that were submerged in flood waters. And for a brief moment, we thought there was no dry area for the plane to land on. The city of Multan has become a key command center for the launch of relief operations in the Punjab region. The UAE military relief team took part in the relief efforts.

Guest, Male #3 (Kanal Zahed, the head of the relief mission in the city of Multan)
“We are really grateful to come along”. We are indebted to the government of the UAE. The UAE has provided us with aid and the necessary equipment. The UAE also deployed Chinook helicopters to deliver aid to the devastated areas and evacuate the victims who are stranded by the flood water.

Reporter, Male #1
On board of 3 Chinook aircrafts, the 35-member- UAE relief team is providing support operations for the Pakistani army. This is part of the aid fleet sent by the UAE to the flood-stricken victims in Pakistan. It’s on its way to the devastated areas to help evacuate the victims who are stranded by flood waters. The flight on board the UAE Chinook helicopter lasted an hour, flying over a territory that has been completely submerged in flood waters, except for a few meters of dry land, where flood victims sought refuge. After dropping off aid to the victims, we resumed the flight to one of the villages to deliver more aid.

Guest, Male #4
I had a farm land, which I have planted for years. We get rain every year but this year we had too much of it. The rain ruined our farm lands and crops.The government didn’t help us. We don’t have water or food. We can’t afford to rent a home.

Guest, Male #5
This time, our losses were substantial. We left everything behind. We are homeless, and our children are dying of hunger.

Reporter, Male #1
Everything being said about hunger, disease, and misery is true. What is also true is the difficulty of reaching the stranded victims due to poor local capabilities and the slow international response. What happened in Pakistan will be documented by history, with all of its pain and misery as well as its noble humanitarian gestures, most notably in the region of Punjab, where the UAE extended its hand to those who need it most. From the Punjab Region in Pakistan, Abed al-Latif al-Omar, Dubai TV.

Presenter, Female #1
In Sudan, the secretary general of the People's Movement, Pagan Amum, accused the referendum delegation of being paralyzed and unable to settle all unresolved issues. He warned that this could lead to lead to the termination of the referendum, which is scheduled for the beginning of next year.

Reporter, Male # 1
The date of the referendum, which will determine the fate of Southern Sudan, is getting closer as the obstacles and problems it faces increase. Constraints that could be explained by public opinion on the approaching creation of a new state in the African continent. In turn, the two sides, the northern and southern, are eager to secure the largest gains before the divorce. The two most essential issues are wealth and power. The residents of Southern Sudan will participate in the referendum on January 9th, 2011, to determine their fate. However, before that happens, many issues that threaten their peaceful coexistence, which is based on the comprehensive peace accords of 2005, still need to be resolved. The most important point of disaccord between the North and the South is the border demarcation. The ruling National Congress Party, NCP, says there can be no referendum without first demarcating the border, along which most of the country’s oil wealth lies; it is estimated at 6 billion barrels. The NCP accuses the People’s Liberation Movement, its partner in the administration and secession, of obstructing the border demarcation process. According to the NCP, the referendum is not dependent on the Party. The second problem is the difficulty in explaining the articles of the law that grants the right to vote. In other words, it is difficult to determine who is a resident of the North and who is a resident of the South, due to the referendum’s ethnic nature and due to the historic integration and mixing of the two sides. The third important point of disaccord is represented by the inability of the two partners in the Sudan government to agree on a referendum committee for Abyei, an important oil region where a referendum will also be held at the same time as that of the North, in order to decide if it will join the North or the South. Especially since the ruling of the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration was interrupted by threats made by northern Missiriya tribes. The South is accusing the North of supporting these tribes, and of attempting to settle them in the regin. Sudan’s North and South are getting ready to separate. A separation that is surrounded by misconceptions and doubt, unless a decision to divide power and wealth is finally made in Sudan before it becomes two separate states. Mohammad el-Taher, Russia Today.

Presenter, Male #1
The Egyptian government has approved a plan to unify azhan, or Islamic call to prayer, in the capital Cairo. The Islamic Waqf, or Trust, said that the measure would go into effect on the first day of Ramadan. It’s an old plan that has been delayed more than once in recent years after stirring strong debates among the Egyptian public. Overlapping Calls to Prayer

Reporter, Female #1
Cairo, the city of minarets, is home to more than 4,500 mosques where azhan is simultaneously sounded five times a day, sometimes successively, as each mosque sets its own time for azhan. Amidst years of controversy, the Egyptian government has finally decided to unify the call to prayer in all Cairo mosques. One muezzin, or caller, will sound a call to prayer that will be transmitted by radio frequencies to thousands of mosques across the city. The government will choose the muezzin based on the quality of his voice. The reason being the need to avoid a discrepancy in different prayer times between mosques and to stop the overlapping of prayer calls from nearby mosques. It’s a way to protect the people from multiple and extended prayer calls, especially at Fajr or Dawn prayer, as confirmed by Egyptian authorities. However, the decision to unify azhan is still stirring strong debates among the Egyptian public. While some favor the measure, others prefer the old azhan tradition, which has been practiced in Cairo for hundreds of years.

Presenter, Male #1
Tunisian lawyers have pleaded to the country’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Uthman Batikh, to intervene and force some local channels to stop airing Iranian-produced religious series, representing the prophet, which is considered blasphemous. The news comes after Nisma and Hanabal television channels aired Yusuf al-Siddiq and “The Christ" and “Virgin Mary” TV series at the beginning of Ramadan. The Saudi Monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, has issued a royal decree, saying that only approved senior members of the Council of Religious Scholars can issue fatwas or religious edicts. According to the ruling, no one is permitted to issue religious fatwas except for members of the Islamic scholar council. The decision comes amidst a wave of strong debates caused by random fatwas and opinions issued by some religious clerics. Some found these fatwas to be in violation of Islamic teachings, Sharia laws and the principles of Sunni jurisprudence practiced in the country.


** Mosaic News is produced by Jamal Dajani. Contact: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org