Iraq

Khaberni website: Elham Shaheen: Morsi asked to meet me

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Tell me – Egyptian actress Ilham Shaheen revealed that the director of the office of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi threatened her to agree to meet him, but she refused.

Shaheen said during a television interview, that she “decided to confront the battle with the terrorist Brotherhood on behalf of the artists.”

She added: “The Brotherhood fabricated pictures of her and put her face on scandalous photos, and it was later proven that they were rigged.”

She pointed out, “She obtained a historical ruling to close the (Al-Hafiz) channel for a period of 6 months, and a precedent took place for the first time in the history of Egypt, which is the closure of a channel by court ruling, after she filed more than one case on the channel for insulting her on the channel’s screen, pointing out that the broadcaster who had insulted her accompanied A number of veils on the channel’s screen showed her some forged images that were falsely claimed to be a professor at Al-Azhar, but Al-Azhar University sent to the court evidence that he was not a faculty member and was imprisoned during the Morsi era.

She stressed that “Mohamed Morsi tried to attract the artists and act with politeness with them, but it did not succeed, stressing that the director of Morsi’s office tried to contact her a lot to inform her of Morsi’s desire to meet her.”

She explained that the director of Morsi’s office threatened her, saying: “If we want we, we will answer you,” adding that she said to him, “If you talk to me again, he will report about you,” and his response would be, “You are reporting about who, O Madam, we are the state.”

She stated that she had told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi after the success of the June 30 revolution, that “she was about to commit suicide” at the time of Chancellor Adly Mansour taking over the country after the Brotherhood was overthrown, pointing out that the Egyptians dazzled the world on June 30.

Mohamed Morsi had assumed his duties on June 30, 2012, and he was removed from his position on June 30, 2013 after demonstrations invaded the country calling for his departure and imprisonment since the date of his isolation, until his death on June 17, 2019, after several charges were brought against him, including communications with Qatar, Hamas, and disclosure. National Security secrets during his presidency

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Covid-19, Iraq disarmed by the scale of the pandemic

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In Iraq, the curfew continues to extend. Relatively spared at the start of the global Covid-19 epidemic, the country is now multiplying records: 2,500 new infections recorded on Thursday June 25, and above all 107 deaths in a single day (or more than 1,500 in total). These two figures worry in a country whose healthcare system, already on its knees, threatens to collapse completely under the pressure of accumulating cases.

→ READ. Turkey attacks PKK in northern Iraq

Grateful “An unprecedented increase in the number of infections”, the Minister of Health Hassan al-Tamimi announced to see the proof there “That the epidemiological situation is approaching the peak of the pandemic”. When the Prime Minister has just recognized that “The boxes are empty”, he also promised the installation of“Makeshift hospitals” in several Iraqi provinces. Photos of one of them, installed in a huge hall of the Baghdad Fair, circulated: rows of metal beds without respirators or any medical equipment.

The dispute resumes

For Yesar al-Maleki, director of the Iraqi Petroleum Institute, the reasons for “Failure” of Iraq in the fight against Covid-19 are diverse: “A premature victory celebration after a successful curfew in the first weeks; failure to enforce full curfew across the country, particularly during Ramadan and Eid; lack of monitoring of clusters “.

The continued increase in cases has prompted some provinces, such as Basra and Maysan in the south, to reimpose a full curfew. Kurdistan, the first to decide on total containment from mid-March, has also just extended its night curfew for the umpteenth time, much to the dismay of the population.

Despite the calls for caution relayed by the great ayatollah Ali Sistani, social distancing is anything but obvious in a country of 40 million inhabitants ravaged by wars and with failing public services. In several Shiite cities in the south, the popular uprising that began on October 1 resumes these days with even more vigor.

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A security situation under stress

Despite protests from Iraqi authorities, Turkey continues to fight in northern Iraq against the rear bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group it considers to be “Terrorist”. Its air and ground offensive has already caused the deaths of five civilians and several Turkish soldiers or Kurdish fighters. The exact scale of the Turkish operation “Tiger Claws” is not immediately known due to lack of access to the area.

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The armed forces’ interview method raises ethical questions

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Peace organization PAX regularly interrogates civilians in conflict areas, especially regarding their security. “We then ask, for example, how they view the police,” says program leader Hans Rouw of Pax. It requires caution. The answers are stored digitally without the interviewee’s name, position or even the place of residence. It is no longer possible to trace the source. “Suppose that in a village many people complain about the police and that information leaks out, then the police might get the idea to get a story in that village. That is why we adjust the GPS location in such a way that only the region can be traced. ”

The Dutch armed forces have also been interviewing civilians on missions for years, in order to understand and possibly influence their behavior, wrote NRC this weekend. They do this with the marketing method BDM, with which the military want to operate more effectively, resulting in less violence and civilian casualties. However, defense acknowledges that there are still no strict guidelines and ethical and legal frameworks for the use of the method. Army boss Martin Wijnen said he wanted a political discussion about this. MPs say they ask questions, a few want a debate.

PAX calls it positive that soldiers learn more about local culture and look for nonviolent solutions, but find it necessary to discuss the preconditions. “What does the Ministry of Defense do to ensure that the local population is not harmed by the application of the method?” Says Rouw. “What, for example, are the safeguards against data breaches? In South Sudan, satellite images of burnt-down villages have fallen into the hands of militias, who used these images to burn down the saved villages. ”

Cooperation is risky

Rouw emphasizes that it is risky for civilians to cooperate with foreign military personnel, because their fellow citizens will often see them as collaborators. “We know this, for example, from local interpreters who work for intervention forces and run incredible risks. I know a Kurdish interpreter who cannot return to Mosul, but who cannot apply for asylum in the country for which he worked,” says Vincent Vrijhoef, also program leader at PAX. “The aftercare is not always well organized.”

In the summer of 2017, Dutch soldiers interviewed seventy people in a refugee camp near Mosul, the city that was then still owned by IS. “Refugees are a vulnerable group” who do not easily say no, says Vrijhoef. PAX therefore uses double permission for this type of investigation: before the interview and afterwards, so that people can withdraw their statements when in doubt. The interviews revealed, among other things, that boys aged 18 to 20 were still entering and exiting the areas occupied by IS on a moped and were prepared to provide the coalition troops with information. Vrijhoef: “Those boys have run an incredible amount of risk, perhaps more than the military think.”

The PAX researchers therefore believe that the armed forces should discuss openly more about BDM than now. The method was discussed at a PAX meeting with defense representatives at the end of 2019, Rouw recalls: “When we came to speak about its application in Burkina Faso, we asked questions such as: ‘How does it work? What is the goal?’ Nobody wanted to say anything about that. That is strange, because you always have to weigh a means and a goal against each other. That must be done in public. ”

British ex-soldier Ade Rudd, who taught Dutch military personnel in influencing operations on a number of occasions, was not involved in such debates. “There is no ethical dilemma for me,” says Rudd when asked whether you can always interview people. “People can always refuse to answer your questions, but I have every right to use all the techniques in the world to let you answer that question.” Rudd spent 24 years in the British Army, which has conducted many influencing operations in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan in recent decades. The Dutch military personnel who are familiar with the BDM method and who spoke to NRC do, however, call ethical considerations important.

Throwing rocks

British soldiers in Iraq had a lot of trouble with children who threw stones at the patrols, Rudd says. “Did the kids do that because they hated us? No, we discovered by asking them and their parents: they were just bored ”, says Rudd. “So we went to the villages, with volleyball and soccer in the back. We played with the children for half an hour and afterwards we gave them the ball. They stopped throwing stones. ” More effective and pleasant, Rudd says, than saying to the parents, “Get your kids in order, because otherwise…”

In Canada, military personnel are also trained in the BDM method, and a similar program is also running in Belgium in which military personnel try to see the world more through the eyes of the local population. At a meeting in November 2018 at the 1 Civil and Military Interaction Command in Apeldoorn, Canadians and Belgians came to see how the Netherlands approached this. Despite a shortage of whiteboards and computers with an internet connection, the atmosphere was ‘relaxed’ and participants experienced the meeting as useful, according to an evaluation.

Yet operations like this have raised ethical questions in the past, such as in the US. It was not the soldiers themselves who tried to fathom the population, but the army took cultural anthropologists, including to Afghanistan. That was controversial from the outset. Critics believed that common standards for academics, such as consent from those surveyed, would erode in a war. The anthropologist association president said to the online medium Inside Higher Ed that it was “in no way possible to obtain information under the terms of a full consent that was not enforced”. The program was quietly discontinued in 2014.

Also listen to the podcast NRC Today:

A version of this article also appeared in NRC Handelsblad on June 29, 2020

A version of this article also appeared in June 29, 2020, in nrc.next

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Defense uses method for influencing behavior in conflict areas NOW

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Defense has purchased a marketing method to influence the behavior of civilians in conflict areas, a Defense spokesperson confirms after reporting NRC. The method was purchased from a controversial British company. According to the newspaper, the Netherlands is at the forefront of this new way of warfare among Western countries.

It is a marketing method of the British SCL Group, the parent company of data firm Cambridge Analytica. Both were discredited in recent years because of questionable political campaigns.

The Netherlands is at the forefront of this method among Western countries, along with the United Kingdom and Canada NRC.

In places like Iraq, the armed forces hope to get a better picture of how the local population works. The method should make missions more effective and reduce the number of civilian casualties. Behavioral research and influencing goes beyond the traditional way of winning hearts and minds, the newspaper writes. It must actively change the attitude of civilians in conflict areas in order to prevent armed conflict.

In recent years, the Dutch armed forces have, according to NRC 139 soldiers trained in behavioral research and influencing behavior according to a method of SCL Group who Behavioural Dynamics Methodology (BDM) hot.

SCL Group is controversial

BDM training courses were purchased from SCL Group, a party that has proved dubious in the past. The firm conducted political campaigns in vulnerable democracies. Among other things, SCL conducted a political political campaign in Trinidad and Tobago, where black citizens were discouraged from voting.

Subsidiary Cambridge Analytica was exposed worldwide when it widely violated the privacy of US citizens for a political campaign during the 2016 elections.

A spokesperson emphasizes to NU.nl that these mistakes by the company were not known to Defense before they were revealed in the media in 2018.

Newspaper interviews with military personnel show that the method is popular for its effectiveness and the ability to gain a more local perspective on operations. But the method is also controversial. No rules have yet been drawn up for this new way of warfare.

Landlord boss Martin Wijnen acknowledges that legal and ethical standards must be set for the method. That is only possible “after a discussion about what we think of it as the Netherlands,” he says.

‘Ethics are in the user’

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal went around the world in 2018, Defense decided that the collaboration with SCL Group should not stop. The conclusion was that the method would be good, but the ethics are in the user, the newspaper writes.

After the bankruptcy of SCL, Defense still worked together with a former Dutch employee of the company. That cooperation has now been stopped, a spokesman for Defense tells NU.nl.

A meeting with defense lawyers about rules on influencing behavior was postponed this spring due to corona, but should take place shortly.

Deployed in Northern Iraq and Curaçao

Defense has used BDM to learn how the people of Curaçao would react in case of a sudden large influx of Venezuelan refugees.

In Northern Iraq in 2015, this method was used to conduct in-depth research into the motives of the local population, in a refugee camp on the outskirts of IS territory. That would have led to more cooperation between them and the armed forces.

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Defense uses method for influencing behavior in conflict areas NOW

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Defense has purchased a marketing method to influence the behavior of civilians in conflict areas, a Defense spokesperson confirms after reporting NRC. The method was purchased from a controversial British company. According to the newspaper, the Netherlands is at the forefront of this new way of warfare among Western countries.

It is a marketing method of the British SCL Group, the parent company of data firm Cambridge Analytica. Both were discredited in recent years because of questionable political campaigns.

The Netherlands is at the forefront of this method among Western countries, along with the United Kingdom and Canada NRC.

In places like Iraq, the armed forces hope to get a better picture of how the local population works. The method should make missions more effective and reduce the number of civilian casualties. Behavioral research and influencing goes beyond the traditional way of winning hearts and minds, the newspaper writes. It must actively change the attitude of civilians in conflict areas in order to prevent armed conflict.

In recent years, the Dutch armed forces have, according to NRC 139 soldiers trained in behavioral research and influencing behavior according to a method of SCL Group who Behavioural Dynamics Methodology (BDM) hot.

SCL Group is controversial

BDM training courses were purchased from SCL Group, a party that has proved dubious in the past. The firm conducted political campaigns in vulnerable democracies. Among other things, SCL conducted a political political campaign in Trinidad and Tobago, where black citizens were discouraged from voting.

Subsidiary Cambridge Analytica was exposed worldwide when it widely violated the privacy of US citizens for a political campaign during the 2016 elections.

A spokesperson emphasizes to NU.nl that these mistakes by the company were not known to Defense before they were revealed in the media in 2018.

Newspaper interviews with military personnel show that the method is popular for its effectiveness and the ability to gain a more local perspective on operations. But the method is also controversial. No rules have yet been drawn up for this new way of warfare.

Landlord boss Martin Wijnen acknowledges that legal and ethical standards must be set for the method. That is only possible “after a discussion about what we think of it as the Netherlands,” he says.

‘Ethics are in the user’

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal went around the world in 2018, Defense decided that the collaboration with SCL Group should not stop. The conclusion was that the method would be good, but the ethics are in the user, the newspaper writes.

After the bankruptcy of SCL, Defense still worked together with a former Dutch employee of the company. That cooperation has now been stopped, a spokesman for Defense tells NU.nl.

A meeting with defense lawyers about rules on influencing behavior was postponed this spring due to corona, but should take place shortly.

Deployed in Northern Iraq and Curaçao

Defense has used BDM to learn how the people of Curaçao would react in case of a sudden large influx of Venezuelan refugees.

In 2015, in Northern Iraq, this method was used to conduct in-depth research into the motives of the local population, in a refugee camp on the outskirts of IS territory. That would have led to more cooperation between them and the armed forces.

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Defense uses method for influencing behavior in conflict areas NOW

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Defense has purchased a marketing method to influence the behavior of civilians in conflict areas, a Defense spokesperson confirms after reporting NRC. The method was purchased from a controversial British company. According to the newspaper, the Netherlands is at the forefront of this new way of warfare among Western countries.

It is a marketing method of the British SCL Group, the parent company of data firm Cambridge Analytica. Both were discredited in recent years because of questionable political campaigns.

The Netherlands is at the forefront of this method among Western countries, along with the United Kingdom and Canada NRC.

In places like Iraq, the armed forces hope to get a better picture of how the local population works. The method should make missions more effective and reduce the number of civilian casualties. Behavioral research and influencing goes beyond the traditional way of winning hearts and minds, the newspaper writes. It must actively change the attitude of civilians in conflict areas in order to prevent armed conflict.

In recent years, the Dutch armed forces have, according to NRC 139 soldiers trained in behavioral research and influencing behavior according to a method of SCL Group who Behavioural Dynamics Methodology (BDM) hot.

SCL Group is controversial

BDM training courses were purchased from SCL Group, a party that has proved dubious in the past. The firm conducted political campaigns in vulnerable democracies. Among other things, SCL conducted a political political campaign in Trinidad and Tobago, where black citizens were discouraged from voting.

Subsidiary Cambridge Analytica was exposed worldwide when it widely violated the privacy of US citizens for a political campaign during the 2016 elections.

A spokesperson emphasizes to NU.nl that these mistakes by the company were not known to Defense before they were revealed in the media in 2018.

Newspaper interviews with military personnel show that the method is popular for its effectiveness and the ability to gain a more local perspective on operations. But the method is also controversial. No rules have yet been drawn up for this new way of warfare.

Landlord boss Martin Wijnen acknowledges that legal and ethical standards must be set for the method. That is only possible “after a discussion about what we think of it as the Netherlands,” he says.

‘Ethics are in the user’

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal went around the world in 2018, Defense decided that the collaboration with SCL Group should not stop. The conclusion was that the method would be good, but the ethics are in the user, the newspaper writes.

After the bankruptcy of SCL, Defense still worked together with a former Dutch employee of the company. That cooperation has now been stopped, a spokesman for Defense tells NU.nl.

A meeting with defense lawyers about rules on influencing behavior was postponed this spring due to corona, but should take place shortly.

Deployed in Northern Iraq and Curaçao

Defense has used BDM to learn how the people of Curaçao would react in case of a sudden large influx of Venezuelan refugees.

In Northern Iraq in 2015, this method was used to conduct in-depth research into the motives of the local population, in a refugee camp on the outskirts of IS territory. That would have led to more cooperation between them and the armed forces.

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Turkey takes the PKK in northern Iraq

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► What is the operation “the tiger Claw” ?

A Turkish military operation in northern Iraq started in the night from Sunday 14 to Monday 15 June by shelling out over a hundred targets around the cities of Kandil, Sinjar and Hakurk. Two days later, the ministry of defence of turkey has announced the deployment on the ground of special forces in what he calls the operation “The tiger claw “.

“Our commandos, who are supported by combat helicopters and drones, have been transported by our air forces “, he said on Wednesday 17 June, claiming that the operation had been launched in “self-defence “because of the “recent upsurge of attacks against our police and our military bases “. The department has disseminated photos showing the minister of defence, Hulusi Akar, directing operations from the headquarters of the forces of the army in Ankara.

Tuesday, June 16, the Turkish ambassador was summoned by the vice-minister of foreign affairs and not the minister himself, the Kurdish Fouad Hussein in protest against these raids. He said that his country would continue its action against the “terrorism “ as long as Baghdad would not have expelled the Kurdistan workers ‘ Party (PKK) in its territory. On Thursday, Turkey has summoned a second time, asking Ankara to withdraw its troops from its territory and to stop its “acts of provocation “.

► What is the PKK in northern Iraq ?

The Kurdistan workers ‘ Party (PKK), which has waged an armed struggle against the Turkish State since 1984, has bases back in the North of iraq, against which the Turkish army regularly conducts raids. Its training camps and caches of weapons are found mainly around the city of Kandil, in the extreme north-eastern Iraq, near the border with Iran and Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to “”take care of” of the PKK in northern Iraq if Baghdad did “not in a position to do so “. “The battle that we fight against terrorism to defend our nation and our borders is the combat the most legitimate of the world “said on Twitter the spokesperson of the presidential party, AK party, Omer Celik.

This occurs also in a period of tensions between the Kurds. If some call these days the solidarity between the different settlement areas the kurds – Rojava in Syria (where an agreement has just been signed between the two rival factions), Bakur in Turkey, Baçur in Iraq and Rojhelat in Iran – these are actually split in the current antagonists.

The dissensions between Turkish Kurds and iraqis are publicly known and have not been worse since the democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) of Massoud Barzani, to be able to Erbil, close to Ankara, for reasons mostly financial. This proximity could explain the silence of authorities in kurdish Iraq since Monday. “It is unimaginable that the Turkish forces are entries without the active cooperation of authorities, the kurds in iraq “says even Adel Bakawan, director of the Centre for the sociology of Iraq, and an associate researcher at the Iremmo.

► What are the reactions ?

The reactions of the most vivid came from the community, yezidi in iraq, the more proven by the violence of Daech since 2014, and of which a small part is returned to the city of Sinjar or in the mountains that surround it. “The mount Sinjar is currently a war zone “is insurgent Nadia Mourad, one of its major spokesmen, of the Nobel peace prize in 2018. “Fighter planes Turkish bombard several places. More than 150 families yézidies came to return home. When is that the iraqi government and the international community to demonstrate courage and political will to solve the problems of security in Sinjar ? “

Vote the kurds are also high for the criticism of the bombing of the refugee camp makhmour districts, opened in the 1990s with the support of UN agencies to house kurdish refugees from Turkey. Some remind us of the decisive commitment of several militias kurds against Daech in Syria, as in Iraq. Under the hashtags #KurdsOppressed, an alert has been launched “Thursday, 18 June at 21 hours “ on the social networks “alert as many people as possible on the situation of the kurdish people “.

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Amédy Coulibaly’s partner targeted by a new counter-terrorism investigation

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New twist in the investigation into the January 2015 attacks. The partner of Amédy Coulibaly, one of the perpetrators of the attacks in France, is the target of a new counter-terrorism investigation, we learned on Thursday, May 14, from a judicial source. , confirming information from France 2, after the testimony in March of a woman returning from the Iraqi-Syrian zone. This investigation was opened in late April to “ criminal terrorist criminal association “

→ READ. Homage to the Hyper Cacher, four years after the hostage-taking

Hayat Boumedienne, already sent back to assize in the investigation into the attacks on Charlie Hebdo, a Montrouge policewoman and the Hyper Cacher, had previously been given for dead by the wife of the French jihadist Jean-Michel Clain in March 2019.

Escape from Al-Hol camp?

The woman who testified before the French justice system reported that Hayat Boumedienne was alive in October 2019 and that she escaped from the Al-Hol camp (north-eastern Syria), where they were both detained, without being identified, said the public television channel.

→ READ. January 2015 attacks, the investigation is over but gray areas persist

She had joined the Iraqi-Syrian zone a few days before the January 2015 attacks, in the company of the two Belhoucine brothers, whose elder Mohamed is considered to be Amédy Coulibaly’s mentor. All three are also targeted by an arrest warrant for the assize trial to be held in September to try the attacks.

Vehicle scams?

Hayat Boumedienne is said to have participated in vehicle scams in order to finance the projects of his companion, who was married religiously and not civilly. According to corroborating sources, several investigations have recently been opened by the anti-terrorist justice system targeting missing and sometimes presumed dead people in the Iraqi-Syrian zone.

On January 7, 2015, the Chérif brothers and Saïd Kouachi killed 12 people in the attack on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper before fleeing. The next day, Amédy Coulibaly had killed a municipal policewoman in Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine). On January 9, he then killed four men, all Jewish, when hostages were taken from the Hyper Cacher store in eastern Paris.

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Mustafa al-Kazimi, Prime Minister of Iraq in crisis

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After a five-month vacancy in power, Iraq established a government on the night of Wednesday May 6 to Thursday May 7. In front of masked and gloved deputies due to the coronavirus, Moustafa al-Kazimi, 53, a former intelligence chief, was sworn in with fifteen of his ministers.

Parliament has chosen to trust this incomplete cabinet (despite endless negotiations, there is still a shortage of ministers, foreign affairs and oil), while their country is facing one of the most serious crises in its history . The collapse of oil prices, and therefore state revenues, adds to the daily attacks of Daesh, and the confinement only put a cover on a popular uprising started on 1er October and still lively.

The Iraqi political mosaic

Unlike his two unfortunate predecessors, Adnane al-Zorfi and then Mohamed Allawi, the former intelligence chief Moustafa al-Kazimi managed the feat to unite the Iraqi political mosaic on his name. “The complete deadlock in which Iran and the United States, Iraq’s antagonistic partners, have worked in its favor, analyzes Adel Bakawan, director of the Center of sociology of Iraq. None of them has an interest in letting the situation rot and risking an uncontrollable explosion. “

Born in Baghdad and trained in law at the Iraqi university, Moustafa al-Kazimi first campaigned against Saddam Hussein from Europe, where he maintained a solid network. When the former dictator fell in 2003, he returned to his country. Because he worked in the media in Souleymanieh in Kurdistan with Barhem Saleh, the current president, and speaks their language, he is appreciated by the Kurds.

A loved one from the United States

A former collaborator of the Iraqi Memory Foundation, an organization based in London and then in the United States and responsible for documenting the crimes of Saddam Hussein, he is also close to the Americans. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo immediately welcomed the news by extending a waiver allowing Baghdad to import Iranian gas. Finally, on a rare visit to Saudi Arabia, Mustafa al-Kazimi was seen hugging Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, a personal friend, for a long time: a token of confidence in the eyes of the Sunni community.

In Iraq, the international coalition against Daesh reduces its sail

However, he still had the most difficult part: gaining the confidence of Tehran and its allies in Baghdad, who accused him, when he was appointed on April 9, of being “A CIA agent”, and even for being an accomplice in the assassination of Iranian General Ghassem Soleimani by the Americans on January 3, 2020. “Moustafa al-Kazimi is Shiite and this dimension is a resource that can be mobilized to restore a relationship, even if that is not enough. He has probably given guarantees to Iran, which knows that it cannot manage Iraq alone but which refuses to deliver the country to the United States, ” notes Adel Bakawan. The partnership “ Iranian American in the management of Iraqi affairs undoubtedly has a bright future ahead of him…

“Honest and transparent” elections

Feet and fists bound by his alliances inside and out, the new prime minister has none the less a titanic task, like paying 6 million civil servants with a budget cut by two thirds. His cabinet published a six-page document detailing “The government program”, in which the organization of elections “Honest and transparent” tops the list of priorities.

The government is also committed to “Strengthen the authority of the state” limiting the possession of weapons “To government and military institutions” : an allusion to the powerful militias which escape its control. He promises to hire “A frank and responsible national dialogue with all components of society to respond to the demands of the peaceful protest movement”, which the austerity measures are likely to restart.

The new prime minister, however, is cautious about US forces in Iraq, whose future is expected to be decided in June. “The government is committed to protecting the sovereignty and security of Iraq”, he specifies, including in his remarks all “Foreign forces in Iraq” and also emphasizing the need to “Continue the fight against terrorism”.

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Travel advice for the United States

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Entry and residence formalities

Since January 27, 2017, a presidential decree on the “protection of the nation against the entry of foreign terrorists into the United States”, which aims to restrict the conditions of entry into the United States, is applied.

It is strongly recommended that you regularly check the website of the U.S. Embassy and contact the airline to verify the measures it is taking at its level.

• Reminder of the provisions of the decree of January 27, 2017

Nationals of seven countries (Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iraq) are prohibited from entering the United States, except under specific conditions.

Holders of French passports who are also nationals of one of the seven countries concerned are exempt from restrictive measures if they are in possession of a valid visa on their French passport.

Residents of the United States with a green card who are nationals of one of these seven countries are also affected by the new provisions. They are nevertheless still allowed to enter the United States but are subject, upon arrival, to an examination of their situation.

If in doubt about your situation, it is strongly advised to contact the American consular authorities in France before your departure.

Visa-free stay

Visa Waiver Program: Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

Since April 1, 2016, only people with an electronic or biometric passport can benefit from the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) which allows French nationals to access American territory without a visa, but with an electronic travel authorization (ESTA), either in transit, or for a tourist or business stay of 90 days maximum (meaning the possibility of signing contracts, placing orders, participating in seminars or meeting customers).

Persons holding other passports must request a visa from the competent American diplomatic and consular authorities (see explanatory table on the site https://fr.usembassy.gov/fr/visas-fr/ – information on visas (site in English).

NB : The emergency passport does not allow entry to the United States without a visa.

For more information on the types of passport, it is recommended to consult the following link: https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F11603.

1. Electronic travel authorization: ESTA

The French national who travels to the United States by air or sea and who benefits from the VWP must obligatorily request, via the Internet, an electronic travel authorization before departure (Electronic System for Travel Authorization – ESTA).

The ESTA can be obtained by answering the questions asked on the website https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ (multilingual), the only site authorized by the American authorities and allowing online payment by credit card.

The form must be completed in English, but the instructions are available in French.

The authorization request can be made at any time before the trip. However, the United States Department of Homeland Security recommends that you complete this formality at least 72 hours before departure.

ESTA allows travel under the VWP but does not constitute a right of entry into the United States, which remains granted or refused on arrival by the immigration officer.

The authorization is valid for 2 years from the date of issue, but must be renewed in the event of a change in situation (name, first name, sex, nationality, passport, different answers to questions asked, etc.), or if the date the validity of the passport is less than this period of 2 years. For any new trip during the period of validity of the authorization, it will be necessary to update via the Internet certain information (flight number and destination address) in your ESTA file and of course to travel with the passport declared on the ESTA form. .

2. Exclusion of VWP from certain categories of travelers

Travelers who have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen or Sudan since March 1, 2011 and people with Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian nationality cannot benefit from the visa waiver regime .

These people must apply for a valid B1 / B2 visa, as the case may be, for several years from the US diplomatic and consular authorities.

Given the delivery times, it is recommended to anticipate these steps which can take several weeks.

According to the United States administration, people who need an emergency visa for business travel or medical or humanitarian reasons will be able to benefit from an accelerated processing of their visa application.

A permanent exception for full-time agents of civil or military state administrations on official missions is implemented. These agents continue to benefit from the visa waiver for travel to the United States. The administration has also defined five other situations in which travelers to the four target countries may eventually continue to benefit from the visa waiver.

These situations concern travel:

• on official mission on behalf of an international, regional or subnational organization;

• on official mission on behalf of a humanitarian organization;

• as a journalist;

• for Iran, for legitimate business reasons, if the displacement took place after July 14, 2015;

• for Iraq, for legitimate business reasons.

For these situations, the maintenance of the visa waiver will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Given the delays in obtaining this exemption, it is recommended that steps be taken to obtain the necessary guarantees from the US consular services at least two months in advance.

According to the American authorities, travelers who have declared the nationality of one of these seven countries and already benefiting from an ESTA will be informed by email of its revocation, and invited to apply for a visa.

Other people affected by the reform who are considering short-term travel to the United States are strongly recommended to apply for a visa as soon as possible. For people currently benefiting from an ESTA, it is possible to check its status at this address: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/ (multilingual).

Travelers affected by these restrictions, who plan to travel to the United States for a longer term, are invited to consult the website of the United States Embassy before booking their flight ticket (https: // fr. usembassy.gov/fr/visas-fr/visas-de-sejour-temporaire/programme-dexemption-d Maintenance/ to stay informed of changes in progress.

3. VWP restrictions

The slightest overshooting of the time limit under the VWP during a previous trip to the United States results in immediate expulsion of the territory and, in general, the ban on re-entering American soil for a period which may be several years.

It does not allow the exercise of a professional activity (paid or not). Indeed, all French people wishing to work must have a visa from France authorizing them to hold a defined job.

The American immigration services are very vigilant with regard to the application of regulations which prohibit the exercise of a professional activity, whether gainful or not. It is therefore strongly recommended that French nationals entering the United States for tourist or linguistic purposes avoid to bring or carry anything that could create a misunderstanding or a suspicion on the reasons for their stay, and which could suggest that they come for another purpose than that stated.

The VWP does not in any case allow you to register as a student, under penalty of administrative retention before the visa expires. The questionnaires to be completed before entering the United States must be completed with precision.

Any violation of the legislation in force exposes the perpetrator to expulsion and a ban on access to American territory for several years.

It does not allow a change of status on the spot (example: obtaining a visa to pursue studies or exercise a professional activity).

Stay with visa

A traveler who is not strictly within the framework of the VWP or who has not been able to obtain the ESTA must apply for a visa.

In the United States, the family that can accompany a visa holder is understood only as the married spouse and the unmarried children. De facto spouses, including civil partnerships, are not recognized by the American immigration services and must either travel within the framework of the VWP under the conditions mentioned above, or apply for a visa which will be dealt with individually. An exception exists only for same-sex partners of holders of A or G visas.

The French must therefore obtain a visa from the American consular authorities to go to the United States:

• for a transit or a stay of less than 90 days if you do not have the type of passport required under the VWP;

• for a stay longer than 90 days;

• for stays the object of which is neither tourism nor business, but corresponds to the exercise of a professional activity, an internship or studies.

NB : a medical examination is compulsory for foreigners applying for a long-stay visa in the United States. Anyone with a contagious disease that poses a threat to public health can be refused a visa.

Recommendations

According to US law, the validity of a foreign national’s passport must cover a period of six months beyond the date scheduled for departure from the United States.

Pursuant to this law, the United States has signed agreements with countries, including France, under which their nationals are exempt from the 6-month obligation and must only present a valid passport covering the duration of their stay in the United States. United States. (https://fr.usembassy.gov/fr/visas-fr/validite-des-passeports/).

However, to avoid any complications, it is advisable, as a precaution, to have a passport with a validity of at least 6 months on the date scheduled for his departure from the United States, even for holders of long-term visas valid duration: large fines have already been noted (over 500 USD).

Do not joke with officers from CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or the police. Words, attitudes or jokes that may seem innocuous in some countries can lead to immediate arrest and legal action in the United States.

Refusal of admission or visa

In case of refusal of admission or visa, the Department of Homeland Security invites travelers who feel that they have been treated unfairly to lodge a complaint online on the DHS website (TRIP procedure: Travelers Redress Inquiry Program, in English).

Customs regulations

Amounts over USD 10,000 must be declared to customs.

American customs are very vigilant on food products: entry with non-sterilized products (such as cheese or cold meats) or green plants is strictly prohibited.

(https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/3619/kw/bringing%20food%20to%20us / in English).

As the constraints linked to the possession of a pet are rigorous, it is preferable to consult the Embassy of the United States of America before any plan to travel or stay accompanied by a pet.

(https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/3631/kw/Traveling%20with%20pets).

For more information: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/know-before-you-go (in English)

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