Anti-government protests rock Iraq as security forces open fire on crowds in Baghdad

[Boats]

Anti-government protests rock Iraq as security forces open fire on crowds in Baghdad
By: James Mcintyre - Washington Examiner - 10-3-19
RE: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/p...kes-and-gators

CRISIS IN IRAQ: Protests that apparently began with Iraqis on social media complaining about unemployment, corruption, and lack of basic services have spread across the country and turned violent.

Iraqi security forces fired live bullets and used tear gas against a few hundred protesters gathered in central Baghdad today, according to The Associated Press, hours after explosions were heard inside the Iraqi capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone, home to government offices and foreign embassies.

The Iraqi government has imposed a curfew to try to bring the protests under control, and Baghdad streets were largely deserted today, except for hundreds of young protesters who gathered in central Tahrir Square.

“A major crisis is unfolding in Iraq,” said a statement issued by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. “Mass protests against the Iraqi government have spread to 11 predominantly Shi'a provinces and become violent.”

The protests began Tuesday and quickly spread. The AP reports at least nine people have been killed and hundreds of others wounded.

US URGES CALM: “We call on all sides to reduce tensions and reject violence,” said Col. Myles Caggins, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq. “The loss of life and injuries — among civilians and Iraqi Security Forces — is deeply concerning. We believe that peaceful, public rallies are a fundamental element of all democracies; there is no place for violence in those demonstrations.”

Caggins says that no U.S. or coalition troops were hit when what appeared to be two rockets landed before dawn inside the Green Zone, where U.S. forces are headquartered at the invitation of the Iraqi government.

“This morning’s explosions in the International Zone are under investigation by Iraqi Security Forces,” said Caggins in a statement. “No Coalition facility was struck. Coalition troops always reserve the right to defend ourselves, attacks on our personnel will not be tolerated.”

ECHOS OF ARAB SPRING: Many of the protesters have been chanting “The people want the fall of the regime” — a slogan first popularized during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings — and aimed at Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi's year-old government.

The chant could be heard Wednesday as protesters set government and political party buildings ablaze in two other southern provinces, according to Reuters, which notes, “Domestic instability coupled with regional tensions could prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Abdul Mahdi's fragile coalition government, sworn in last year as a compromise between rival factions after an inconclusive election.”

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HAPPENING TODAY: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger discusses his vision for future war. He’ll speak with The Heritage Foundation’s Dakota Wood. The discussion will be live-streamed at 9 a.m. here.

Berger, who took over leading the Marine Corps in July, has issued new Commandant’s Planning Guidance that charts a bold new vision for the Corps, according to retired Lt. Gen. David Barno and Nora Bensahel, visiting professors at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They say Berger has produced “a remarkably clear, far-sighted, and potentially highly disruptive set of guidance that his fellow service chiefs would do well to emulate.”

“Berger clearly states what will not change: It will remain the nation’s elite force-in-readiness. Yet he is remarkably candid about the aspects of his service that must change, be newly developed, or be thrown overboard,” Barno and Benashel write in a column posted this week in War on the Rocks.

What will change? Under Berger’s plan the Marines will…

focus on naval operations once againfocus primarily on the pacificfight differentlyneed fewer amphibs, more unmanned systems, and possibly fewer MarinesALSO TODAY: Supreme NATO and U.S. European Commander Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, will brief reporters on-the-record, but off-camera, in the Pentagon Briefing Room at 10:30 a.m.

ABOUT THAT MISSILE TEST: North Korea has confirmed it tested what it called a “new type of SLBM” (Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile), but without saying if it was actually fired from a submarine.

The missile was identified as a Pukkuksong 3, and the Wednesday test was reported to have been successful, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

“The test fire, which fully confirmed the key tactical and technical indexes of the newly-designed ballistic missile, had no negative impact on the security of neighbouring countries,” said a statement on KCNA. “Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, on behalf of the WPK Central Committee, sent warm congratulations to the defence scientific research units that took part in the launch.”

The test comes just days before the U.S. and North Korea are to resume working-level talks on denuclearization, which have been stalled since February.

ANOTHER MISSILE TEST: The U.S. conducted a missile test of its own yesterday, firing off one of its Cold War-era Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles to ensure that America’s nuclear deterrent force is still ready if needed.

“These test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent,” said a statement from the Air Force Global Strike Command. “Test launches are not a response or reaction to world events or regional tensions.”

The unarmed ICBM, equipped with a test reentry vehicle, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California yesterday morning and traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

“The test demonstrates that the United States’ nuclear deterrent is robust, flexible, ready and appropriately tailored to deter twenty-first century threats and reassure our allies,” the statement said.

You can see a video of the launch here.

‘NEVER SAID IT’: President Trump denied a report in the The New York Times that he once proposed a border moat, stocked with alligators and snakes to deter immigrants from trying to enter the United States illegally.

“So these two reporters wrote this book. And they said I want a moat with alligators, snakes, electrified fences, so people get electrocuted if they so much as touch the fence, and spikes on top,” Trump said during his news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinis yesterday. “Never said it. Never thought of it. And I actually put out something on social media today. I said, "I'm tough on the border, but I'm not that tough."

Trump said his “comms people” told him the report about the moat was in the Washington Post, (it was in the Times), which set a Trump off on a rant against Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who owns the Post.

“A moat, a moat, whatever that is. Not a word I use,” he said. “Obviously, it's fake because almost everything the Washington Post does is fake. It's a fake newspaper. It's owned by a rich guy for the purposes of giving him power in Washington.”