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I remember the white car.

Last week, a U.S. appeals court threw out the murder conviction of a former Blackwater Worldwide security guard for his role in the deaths of 14 unarmed Iraqis in a Baghdad traffic circle nearly 10 years ago.

I was reporting in Baghdad that day Sept.16, 2007 when the contractors opened fire. Most of the victims were in their vehicles at Nisoor Square, a busy, heavily guarded roundabout at the time.

Inside a white car was Mehasin Muhsin Kadhum, a 46-year-old doctor, and her 20-year-old son, Ahmed, who was driving. They were wrapping up errands that included picking up college applications for Kadhums daughter.

By then the Blackwater convoy had entered the circle, and Iraqi officers were trying to stop vehicles as Ahmed approached. A Blackwater guard fired, killing Ahmed. One traffic officer, Sarhan Thiab, told me:

The bullet went through the windshield and split his head open. His mother was holding him, screaming for help.

Within seconds, the guards intensified their assault using machine guns and grenades, killing Kadhum as well. When the shooting ended, 17 Iraqis lay injured in addition to the 14 killed. The victims included children, college students and professionals.

The killings triggered outrage and calls for accountability and justice. It was one of the darkest moments of the Iraq War, damaging the United States reputation and its relationship with the Iraqi government.

When Washington refused to allow the contractors to be tried in Iraq, the incident became a symbol of unaccountable American power and forced a reassessment of the reliance on private security contractors in war zones.

Initially, the guards gave sworn statements to State Department investigators that they had fired on the white car because it was coming at them at high speed and did not stop. But many witnesses told me the car was moving slowly, in a nonthreatening manner.

Subsequently, U.S. military investigators would conclude that the Blackwater guards opened fire without provocation and used excessive force. In 2014, a federal jury found four guards guilty of killing the unarmed civilians.

But last weeks reversal of the first-degree murder conviction of Nicholas Slatten, the former guard, is a major setback for the victims and families. He had been sentenced to life in prison.

The appeals courts also ordered resentencings for the three other former guards convicted of voluntary manslaughter and use of a machine gun in a violent crime. They received 30-year prison sentences.

An official at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington told my colleague Spencer Hsu that the killings are still raw after all these years and were an egregious atrocity that these people committed.

Ironically, it was a discrepancy over who fired the first shots at the white car that led to the throwing out of the murder conviction. Prosecutors argued that Slatten had fired the first shots, but another defendant said that he had fired first.

The white car, I remember, sat at a bus stop on the edge of Nisoor Square for weeks after the killings. It was charred and shattered by the firepower.

Haitham Ahmed, who lost his wife and eldest son, wanted the car to remain visible as a reminder of the carnage. He told me that he wanted it left there until justice was served.

He, too, was a doctor. The family had had many opportunities to leave the country, but he said that he and his wife believed in the promise of a new Iraq. He felt pain, he said, when he saw doctors fleeing Iraq. His son, who was in the third year of medical school, was planning to become a surgeon like his parents.

What I want is the law to prevail, Haitham Ahmed said in 2007. I hope that this act will not go without punishment.

Tracing the paths of 5 who died in a storm of gunfire

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Overturned Blackwater conviction evokes darkest days of Iraq War ... - Washington Post

I first passed through Mosul in October 2008 in a mounted combat patrol as the leader of a U.S. military training team, my third of four combat deployments. I just returned from my third trip as a reporter to the Mosul environs to witness the carnage and human suffering left behind by the Islamic State. If theres one thing my combat experience and journalistic investigations in the region have confirmed, its that a continued reliance on the military instrument to solve Iraqs substantial political problems will almost certainly see the conflict continue.

During this visit, I was able to interview many in relief camps filled with Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Christians and other religious and ethnic people who had been driven from Mosul by the Islamic State. I also traveled to Bashiqa, just outside of Mosul, to see the results of the initial battles to retake the city that began last fall. The unmistakable conclusion of all sourcesunified in their outlook, regardless of religious or ethnic backgroundis that it is a virtual certainty the fighting will continue.

Senior U.S. officials have admitted as much, as Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, sought to dampen expectations Americans may have about the defeat of the Islamic State in Mosul. Make no mistake, he cautioned, this victory alone does not eliminate ISIS and there is still a tough fight ahead.

The implication of this and the statements of other officials is that the American military must remain in the region to continue the fight. If the administrations objective is the security of U.S. vital national interests, then the United States must resist the temptation to believe that the application of yet more American military power will resolve an Iraqi political situation that is not, at its core, an American security interest. As should be painfully clear by now, Iraq will not fit Americas priority criteria.

The schism between Sunnis and Shias that has been at the heart of Iraqi violence since 2003 has not been diminished by the defeat of the Islamic State. It was temporarily suppressed while dealing with the common threat that the Islamic State represented to all Iraqi citizens, but now the terrorist group has been driven from Mosul, that friction will likely resurface. Sunni angst was on display in the Baharka relief camp I visited on July 18.

Nabil Ghazi, an eighteen-year-old Sunni Muslim who looked closer to thirty, gave vent to his frustration at the government. On July 9, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had publicly declared Mosul liberated and held a military parade in Baghdad one week later to celebrate. Ghazi, however, was not in a celebratory mood and had questions for the Prime Minister.

Why doesnt he come here and see us? Who are we, are we too poor? Is that why he doesnt come here? In response to Abadis call for displaced residents to return home, Ghazi angrily asked, How can I go back when I have no clothes but the shirt on my back, no money, and my home is completely destroyed? Where should we go? Let him come here and bring us a solution!

Another Sunni Muslim, Hend Jasim, a local journalist from Mosul up to the time that the Islamic State came to power, said with animation that without major changes in how postISIS Mosul is governed, there is little hope for stability. We have to eliminate any religious political parties from participating in the government, she explained. Gen. Bahram Arif Yassin, commanding the Peshmerga forces that cleared many of the towns on the western approaches to Mosul, said he agreed with Jasim, but offered a pessimistic outlook for that probability.

Certainly thats a good idea, he said from his headquarters in Bashiqa, but where will these parties come from? There is no talent pool from which to draw. Almost all the political parties are religious-based. The Trump administration must resist the temptation to believe that now, after the Islamic State has been driven from Mosul, U.S. combat power can bring about an enduring stability.

In 2004, owing to anger at how the newly installed Shia government was running affairs in Mosul, Sunni rebels rose up and attacked parts of the city, but instead of confronting the fighters, there were reports of policemen changing into civilian clothes and joining the insurgents. In 2008, the Washington Post reported that A year after its police force melted away and the streets descended into anarchy . . . (Mosul), a key battleground in the Iraq war, still teeters on the edge of chaos.

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America's Military Power Can't Save Iraq - The National Interest Online

Basketball

By Paul Lintag on Aug 11, 2017 07:25 AM

Fresh from a major statement win over defending champion China ,Gilas Pilipinas will look to make it two in a row in Group B action as the 2017 FIBA-Asia Cup in Lebanon continues Friday.

The Philippines will next take on Iraq, a team they faced back in the Jones Cup.

However, unlike the Jones Cup squad, this Iraq team will feature a different naturalized player in Kevin Galloway instead of DeMario Mayfield.

With Terrence Romeo leading a brave fourth-quarter stand, Gilas Pilipinas avenged its 2015 Finals loss to China to open group play last Wednesday.

And while shooting 58 percent from the field may not be sustainable in the long run, the Philippines will hope to carry the momentum against a very dangerous Iraq squad that actually won its first game in Lebanon, beating Qatar to shaare early Group B lead with Gilas.

Gilas Pilipinas will take on Iraq live from Lebanon at 9:00 p.m. Friday.

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Follow this writer on Twitter, @paullintag8

Continued here:
Gilas Pilipinas takes on Iraq for Group B lead - ABS-CBN News

(Reuters) Iraqs World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates next month has been moved to the Jordanian capital Amman from Tehran, an Iraq Football Association (IFA) spokesman told Reuters on Thursday. Iraq have played the majority of their home matches in the final phase of Asias qualifying tournament for next years World Cup in Russia in Iran due to security concerns over hosting games on home soil. The UAEs football association, however, requested that the Asian Football Confederation switch the Sept. 5 encounter from the PAS Stadium in the Iranian capital. The IFA spokesman said no reason was given for the switch away from Tehran. Iraq have played three of their home matches against Japan, Australia and Thailand in Iran while their meeting with Saudi Arabia last year was held in Malaysia. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are close allies and both have strained relations with Iran. Global governing body FIFA recently allowed Iraq to play friendly matches in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, but that approval does not extend to competitive fixtures. With two rounds of World Cup qualifiers to be played, Iraq have no chance of reaching the tournament finals. The UAE need to beat Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Aug. 29 to maintain any hope of securing their first World Cup appearance since 1990.

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UAE granted request to move Iraq qualifier to Amman - Iraq FA - euronews

A Libyan coast guardsman during the rescue of 147 illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe in June. Photograph: Taha Jawashi/AFP/Getty Images

The Italian government has hailed a fall of more than 50% in the number of migrants from Libya reaching its coastline in July as a potential turning point made possible by tougher actions against smugglers operating in the Mediterranean.

The number of migrants reaching Italy fell to 11,459 in July from 23,524 in June and 23,522 in July last year. Over the past few years the summer months have been the peak period for traffickers in the Mediterranean.

The fall in numbers making the crossing is likely to be the result of a more aggressive turnaround policy by the Libyan navy and coastguard, backed by improved boats and equipment funded by the European Union and Italian-led training. In the past few days, the Libyan coastguard has fired warning shots at one NGO ship seeking to rescue migrants. At a press conference on Thursday the Libyan navy underlined the message by telling foreign ships to stay outside Libyas search and rescue zone.

Italy, including its coalition government, is deeply divided over its response to the migrant crisis, but ministers are desperate for any sign that it is is managing to bring numbers under control as it faces attack from populist and centrist parties.

Matteo Renzi, who is likely to be the Democratic party leader in elections expected next year, welcomed the July and early August fall as significant.

However, even if the July fall is maintained through August, about 140,000 migrants are projected to reach Italy this year.

The Italian governments efforts to drive the figures down are under political attack both domestically and in Libya.

At home, the Italian government is pressing NGOs that are operating rescue ships to sign up to a 13-point code of conduct or else finds their ships barred from landing in Italian ports. So far four NGOs have agreed, with four refusing on the grounds it requires them to allow the Italian military to accompany their rescue missions, something they say is in breach of humanitarian principles.

A vociferous political campaign has claimed the NGOs are not humanitarians, but working in tandem with the smugglers to act as a taxi service for African economic migrants that want to start a more prosperous life in Europe. The allegations have not been proven, and each of the NGOs has rescued tens of thousands of migrants from drowning.

The Italian transport minister, Graziano Delrio, who is responsible for the coastguard, has privately sided with some of the NGOs, saying that while he is not opposed to the code, if there is an NGO vessel close to people who need to be rescued, I cant exclude it. He argues that even if an NGO has not signed the code, the coastguard had to cooperate if human lives were at stake, pointing out this is anyway a requirement of international humanitarian law. So far four NGOs have signed code - the Spanish NGO ProActiva, Save the Children, Moas and Sea-Eye. NGOs that have not signed include Sea-Watch, and Medicines Sans Frontiers.

But Loris De Filippi, the president of Mdecins Sans Frontires Italy which has not signed the code, claimed the Italian government was seeking to criminalise the NGOs. He said the vast majority of its rescues took place 30 miles or so off the Libyan coast and follow requests from the Italian coastguard.

In Libya, the UN-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj is under attack for agreeing to allow Italian military ships help the Libyan coastguard combat smugglers inside Libyan coastal waters. The rival Libyan administration based in Tobruk claims the agreement violates Libyas sovereignty and the Italian flag has been burned in Benghazi in protest. The scale of the protests has forced Rome to reduce the number of ships it sends. As the former colonial power, any perceived Italian interference in Libya is highly sensitive.

The commander of the eastern forces in Libya, Khalifa Haftar, has ordered his air force and naval force troops to bomb any foreign vessels in the Libyan waters but the Libyan navy seems prepared to defy the threats and cooperate with the Italian navy.

Italys defence ministry said the plan has UN backing and its ships are merely providing logistical, technical and operational support for Libyan naval vessels, helping them and supporting them in shared and coordinated actions.

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Number of migrants arriving in Italy from Libya falls by half in July - The Guardian