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First, threat inflation. In the Foreword to the dodgy dossier of September 2002, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote: Saddam Husseins military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them. This turned out to be fake news but vital to rally the party, parliament and the nation behind the decision to go to war. In time the Imperial College London model of March 16, widely discredited already, may come to acquire a notoriety equivalent to Iraqs dodgy dossier. Similarly, Neil Fergusons claim of 5,10,000 deaths in the UK and 2.2 million in the US will be judged the equivalent of Blairs 45 minutes to Saddams WMD. As of yesterday, the global death toll from Covid-19 was 3,88,416. Scaled up to todays population, the 1957/ 1968 Asian/ Hong Kong flu killed 3.0/ 2.2 million people.

Similarly, to gain public backing for the degree of state intrusion into peoples private lives and control over nations economic activities the immediacy, gravity and magnitude of the coronavirus threat had to be made apocalyptic. As Walter Scheidel reminds us, SARS-CoV-2 is not remotely as lethal as the Spanish Flu of 1918-19 that killed the fit and young as virulently as the elderly and infirm. It infected 500 million people and killed 50 million, equivalent to 220-250 million dead today. Yet authorities did not close down whole societies and economies in 1918. In other deadly pandemic episodes also we suffered but endured. To overcome these hesitations of history and experience, the threat from SARS-CoV-2 had to be inflated to beyond all previous calamities in order to panic countries into drastic action.

Second, very thin evidence. The infamous Downing Street Memo of July 23, 2002, noted that President George W Bush was determined to go to war and military action was seen as inevitable. But British officials did not believe it was legally justified, so the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. Similarly, instead of evidence-based policy, many governments have resorted to policy-based evidence to justify the lockdown. Third, the denigration of critics querying the evidence. Those who questioned the lack of evidence to invade Iraq were demonised as apologists for the Butcher of Baghdad. Those who ask for evidence to justify the biggest expansion of state power in Western political history are shamed as wanting to kill grandparents.

The fourth parallel is in the dismissal of collateral harm, as described last month, as exaggerated, speculative, without evidence, motivated etc. Yet evidence continues to mount that Yamraj has six different non-corona alleyways through which to claim his growing mass of victims during the lockdowns.

The fifth echo is theres no clear exit strategy. Instead of a quick victory in Iraq followed by consolidated democratic regimes in a stable region and an orderly withdrawal, the US found itself in a quagmire and eventually went back home an exhausted and vanquished conqueror. Almost all lockdown governments are now struggling with public justifications to declare victory and lift the lockdown. Modellers still want none of it and the apocalyptic warnings are back, despite mounting evidence of no spike in cases and deaths in countries and US states that have ended lockdowns.

Another resemblance is mission creep. One big reason for the self-created exit trap is that the original mission of flattening the curve so the health system could cope with a slowed spread of the virus, has morphed into the more ambitious but impossible mission of eliminating the virus. Good luck with that. Finally, like the US media in 2003, many mainstream media commentators today have abandoned critical inquisitiveness to become cheerleaders for the war on corona.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Corona and the Iraq War: The response to the coronavirus crisis has seven disturbing echoes of the 2003 Iraq W - Economic Times

Jun 5, 2020

Facebook closed several accounts and pages linked to Kurdish intelligence in Iraq last month. The pageswereused by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in its political rivalry with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), according to findings from a report released by Facebook today.

In May, Facebook closed 324 pages, 71 accounts, five groups and 31 Instagram accounts that it linked to the Zanyari agency, according to a Facebook statement. The intelligence agency is controlled by the PUK, which is the second largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and dominatesSulaimaniyah province. The strongholds of the largest party, the KDP, are in Erbil and Dahuk provinces. The PUK is historically close to Iran, while the KDP has an economic relationship with Turkey.

The users engaged in what Facebook describes as coordinated inauthentic behavior. This is defined as coordinated efforts to manipulate public debate for a strategic goal where fake accounts are central to the operation, the Facebook statement read.

The accounts and pages in question impersonated local politicians and posed as news agencies. Around $270,000 was spent on advertisements promoting the content and more than 4 million people followed at least one of the pages, according to Facebooks May report for coordinated inauthentic behavior released today.

They content they pushed advanced anti-KDP narratives involving the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).Some of the posts were about alleged ties between some Kurdish politicians and Turkey, according to the report. The KDP is often criticized for its economic relationship with Turkey due to Turkeys military conflict with Kurdish groups in Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

The Facebook report also included a post showing the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis picture next to the KDPs logo. The Kurdish-language caption claimed his wife was in the KDP stronghold ofErbil, readingConfirmed by evidence: Abu Bakr El-Baghdadi's wife is in Erbil. If false, Let Erbil airport deny it.

The social network research firm Graphika likewise found that the posts targeted the KDP. A report Graphikareleased today on Facebooks findings showed that the accounts criticized KRG Prime Minister and senior KDP figure Masrour Barzani for his speech on the KRGs financial crisis last month, for example. The posts alleged that Masrour sought to blame the regions economic situation on his cousin, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, according to Graphika.

The Zanyari intelligence agency could not be reached for comment. One KRG official said that the scenario laid out by Graphika is very accurate and that the PUK sought to criticize MasrourBarzani in particular.

A certain group within PUK has made a significant investment in cyberspace to target the KRG for one specific reason, namely the head of government, the prime minister, the official, who declined to give his name because of the potential political fallout, told Al-Monitor.

The findings also received significant attention on Kurdish social media. Some PUK-affiliated politicians frequently criticize the KRG on Twitter and other platforms.

This is not the first time Facebook has sought to limit information tied to Middle Eastern governments. In April, Facebook closed hundreds of pages and accounts after concluding they were linked to the Iranian government and were engagedin coordinated inauthentic behavior.

Facebook also began applying state-controlled labels to media outlets in Iran, Algeria, Russia and other countries yesterday. The companys head of cybersecurity policy said the labels will help inform users of the news they are consuming.

They combine the influence of a media organization with the strategic backing of a state, Facebook cybersecurity chief Nathaniel Gleicher said in a press release. People should know if the news they read is coming from a publication that may be under the influence of a government.

The list of news sites that now have the label includes Press TV and the Tasnim News Agency from Iran. In Algeria, Algerie Presse Service carries the designation, as does Agence Tunis Afrique Presse in Tunisia. In the Russian media, RT Arabic is also now designated as state-controlled. There are other outlets with the label as well, including Chinese and North Korean ones, a Facebook representativetold Al-Monitor.

The aforementioned outlets all had the state-controlled media label as today. Clicking on the label opens up a window that says the outlet is is partially or wholly under the editorial control of a state.

Facebook did not label some other state media outlets in the region as such, including TRT World in Turkey and SANA in Syria.

Read more:
Facebook closes accounts linked to Kurdish intelligence in Iraq - Al-Monitor

The location and condition of over 350 Jewish heritage sites in Iraq and Syria have been identified by a major new research project. But most of them are said to be ruined or nearly so, often because of neglect or redevelopment work.

The 18-month study conducted by the Jewish Cultural Heritage Initiative (JCHI) catalogues and assesses sites from antiquity to the present day in once-vibrant centers of Jewish life in the Middle East.

But an accompanying report published this month warns that nearly 90 percent of the sites in Iraq and more than half of those in Syria are beyond repair or in a very bad condition.

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It also identifies four Iraqi sites where it believes emergency relief could be critical to preserving them. They include the last functioning synagogue in the country and a Baghdad cemetery where the remains of Jews who were publicly hanged in the 1960s on charges of spying for Israel are buried.

The JCHI is a collaboration between the London-based Foundation for Jewish Heritage and the American Schools of Oriental Research. The study was led by Dr. Darren Ashby and Dr. Susan Penacho of the US institutions Cultural Heritage Initiatives. The research teamused desk-based, satellite and on-the-ground assessments.

Jewish community life in Iraq and Syria which stretched back 2,600 years to the time of Babylon was decimated by harsh repression and emigration in the second half of the 20th century, following the establishment of the State of Israel.

However, the JCHI study argues that a significant physical heritage remains.

Mosul, Iraq, synagogue as seen in a France 24 report from April 2019. (Youtube still)

The condition of the sites varies sharply between Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, researchers gave 89% of sites its lowest preservation rating of no return or determined that nothing definite could be found on its present state. The researchers believe the overwhelming majority of heritage sites classified as no information are likely to be in a very bad condition or beyond repair.

In Syria, 53% of sites are tagged as no return or no information.

Of the 11% confirmed as still standing in Iraq, nine sites are categorized as poor and 12% as very bad, the researchers say. Ten sites are listed as in a fair or good condition.

In Syria, 27 sites are tagged as being in a fair of good condition, while six are categorized as poor or very bad.

In all, 68 Iraqi sites are deemed as no return and no information was available for 198 sites. In Syria, the respective figures were 32 sites and six sites.

An undated image of Al-Bandara Synagogue or Central Synagogue of Aleppo, Syria. (public domain via Wikipedia)

A distinct difference in preservation exists between Iraq and Syria, argues the report. It notes that the 10 Iraq sites rated as good or fair represent roughly a third the number of Syrian sites, despite the overall size of the Iraqi corpus being over three times the size of the Syrian one.

But, across both countries, says the report, most of the heritage from the 19th and 20th centuries is in very bad condition or beyond repair, primarily due to neglect and urban redevelopment.

Researchers say that the project was undertaken in a challenging environment and admit that it does not represent a fully comprehensive picture. However, the 368 sites in the JCHI database, suggests the report, represent a cross-section of Jewish built heritage in Iraq and Syria from the diaspora until the present day.

The database includes the major buildings and settlements in both countries alongside a number of additional sites of regional and local significance, it says.

At a time when there is so much attention on saving heritage in danger across the Middle East, this unique research has shone a light on a forgotten aspect the remarkable ancient Jewish heritage of the region, Michael Mail, chief executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage, suggested in a press statement.

The Jewish community made a profound contribution and we need to ensure its heritage, and this story, is not erased

The Jewish community made a profound contribution and we need to ensure its heritage, and this story, is not erased, Mail added.

The research lists 27 sites in both Iraq and Syria which are endangered because they are in a poor or very bad condition.

Among the sites are two in Syria the Bandara Synagogue in Aleppo and the Synagogue of the Prophet Elijah in Damascus and one in Iraq The Shrine of the Prophet Ezekiel in Al-Kifl which researchers assess to be internationally significant. A further seven are listed as nationally significant and four regionally significant.

The project identifies four sites as priority candidates for emergency relief. All are in Iraq due to the continuing Syrian civil war. In the case of each, the JCHI says, urgent intervention could substantially improve their condition.

In this 1998 file photo, Tawfiq Safeer prepares for prayer in the synagogue of Baghdad, Saturday, March 21, 1998. (AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed)

The four sites are led by the last surviving functioning synagogue in Iraq, the Meir Tweig Synagogue in Baghdad. The synagogue, says the report, is also home to material from other synagogues and communal buildings that are now closed.

The Jewish community in Iraq is now believed to number as few as 10, mostly elderly, people. Through intermediaries in Iraq, the JCHI was able to make contact with members of the Jewish community in Baghdad.

The Meir Tweig Synagogue in Baghdad, seen behind a wall in Baghdad, Iraq on August 7, 2007. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Work on the synagogue, which is deemed to be in a fair condition, is highly viable, researchers believe.

The site is under the control of the Jewish community, which already has a list of preferred contractors that it has worked with on other projects, the report says. But, it adds, the main concern for the Jewish community is visibility. They do not want to draw attention to the synagogues location.

In this 1969 file photo: Sabah Haim and David Hazaquiel, both Jewish businessmen, after they had been hanged in Baghad, Iraq, on January 27, 1969, for being Israeli spies. (AP)

The three other priority sites selected by the JCHI include the Al-Habibiyah Jewish Cemetery in Baghdad. Established during the early 20th century, it has been the main location for Jewish burial in the city. Many local Jewish notables are interred there, including Jews who were publicly hanged in Baghdad in January 1969 for allegedly spying for Israel.

The report says the cemetery is in a worse condition than the Meir Tweig synagogue. The interior of the walled property is overgrown with vegetation in multiple places and the space is used as a dumping ground for trash by people on the adjacent properties. Many of the graves are in poor condition, it notes.

In northern Iraq, the research highlights two candidates for urgent work in an area of the country where significant post-conflict reconstruction work is underway.

Mosul, Iraq, synagogue as seen in a France 24 report from April 2019. (Youtube still)

Built in 1902, the Sasson Synagogue in Mosul was the main synagogue in the city during the 20th century thanks to its central location in the Jewish Quarter. Researchers believe that, though it is in a very bad condition, it is nonetheless the best-preserved Jewish heritage in Mosul.

The roof of the synagogue has collapsed in multiple places, exposing the interior decoration, including wall paintings, to weathering and increasing the risk that the rest of the standing architecture will fall, write the researchers. The property has also filled with trash and debris deposited in the building over the past decades. Further, looters have targeted the site, removing some Jewish cultural property.

.. Sassoon Synagogue in Mosul

( ) 186/2 , , (1.5) (21.2) (0.50) . () .Sasson Synagogue(The last synagogue in Mosul out of 5 existed until the mid-seventies)Plot No. 186/2 Jewish neighbourhood.The outer entrance is located at the corner of the south-eastern building and the entrance is reduced by 1.5 m from the straightness of the alley. (2 1.2 m), which is also reduced by 0.50 m from the wall of the exterior facade and has an iron door with two modern-made signs.In the middle of the 1970s, after the last Jews of Mosul left, it has occupied by a neighbor, in the mid-1980s and with a decision by the Revolutionary Command Council to liquidate the property of Iraq's absentee Jews, the school and the synagogue were sold to the family it occupies and it's a private propety now.

Gilgamesh Center for Antiquities and Heritage Protection - , 12 2018

Forty-five kilometers (28 miles) north of Mosul lies the Shrine of the Prophet Nahum in the town of in al-Qosh in Iraq. It dates back to at least the 12th century CE and was an important pilgrimage site for the Jewish community of both Mosul and the surrounding region, especially during Shavuot.

The site consists of a central synagogue with the prophets tomb and a series of subsidiary buildings arranged around a courtyard.

Tomb of the Jewish Prophet Nahum in Al-qosh, Iraq. (Chaldean, CC-BY-SA, via wikipedia)

Local Christians attempted to maintain the shrine after the departure of the Jewish community and it has also been the focus of international preservation efforts over the past decade. It is now deemed to be in a poor condition. However, after stabilization work was conducted in late 2017, a restoration project led by the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage is commencing. It is supported financially by the US government, the Kurdish regional government and private donors.

The researchers believe that, while many factors account for the higher levels of preservation in Syria than Iraq, two interconnected factors stand out: government policy towards the Jewish population and the timing of Jewish emigration from the two countries.

In both Syria and Iraq, anti-Semitic violence and state repression provoked large-scale Jewish emigration following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

FILE This Sunday, April 20, 2008, file photo, Syrian Jews celebrate Passover at the al-Firenj Synagogue in downtown Damascus, Syria. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi, File).

For those Jews who remained in Syria the level of repression fluctuated over time and, by the mid-1970s, they were largely left to manage their own religious, social and economic affairs. However, tight restrictions on Jewish emigration were in place until the early 1990s.

In Iraq, emigration was similarly restricted and banned altogether in 1952. But further emigration was allowed some 20 years earlier than in Syria, with much of the remaining Jewish community leaving the country in the early 1970s.

The different levels of repression and timelines of community departure impacted the preservation of Jewish built heritage, says the report. In Syria, a portion of the community was forcibly kept in the country but maintained a degree of control over communal property, particularly synagogues.

FILE This Friday, January 21, 2000, file photo, Youssef Jajati, a Jewish community leader in Syria, points out the Torah holy book preserved in a silver container in Joubars Synagogue which dates back to 718 BCE. (AP Photo/ Bassem Tellawi, File)

Even with the departure of much of the remaining Jewish community after 1992, however, the Syrian government continued to preserve sites for its own political purposes. This, the report argues, led to the protection of Jewish heritage in the major cities of Damascus and Aleppo despite the absence of a Jewish community dedicated to their preservation.

The picture in Iraq, the researchers continue, was somewhat different. Nearly all Iraqi Jews left Iraq by the mid-1970s and most communal Iraqi Jewish built heritage passed into the control of the Iraqi state, which neglected it, repurposed it, or passed it on to private individuals for their own use or redevelopment.

As a result, most Iraqi heritage has deteriorated significantly, been substantially modified, or been torn down completely, state the authors.

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Iraq's Jewish sites almost all ruined beyond repair, new heritage report finds - The Times of Israel

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

In Iraq's fields of black gold, thousands lose livelihoods

Mohammed Haider, a security worker in Iraq's southern oilfields, thought he was safe after signing a new one-year contract to guard oil facilities. Three days later, he was out of a job. "I got laid off. They threw us out on the pavement," the 38-year-old said, speaking as he protested outside the Basra Oil Company headquarters, the national partner for foreign companies.

Hong Kong's free media fears being silenced by China's national security law

When a team of producers at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) heard on May 19 that the publicly funded broadcaster planned to axe one of its most popular weekly shows, they rushed to the building next door to confront the station's head. A group of about 20 producers and other employees from RTHK's TV and radio operations barged into a conference room where Leung Ka-wing, director of broadcasting, was meeting with top executives.

North Korea expresses support for China's measures in Hong Kong

North Korea's foreign minister met with the Chinese ambassador to express support for China's measures in Hong Kong, North Korea's KCNA state news agency said on Friday. Foreign minister Ri Son Gwon said that the issue of Hong Kong was an internal affair for China and that foreign interference in it violated the sovereignty of China and international law.

Laid off Hungarians turn to truck driving, carrot picking

Zoltan Wetter worked in restaurants for over two decades before the coronavirus pandemic cost him his job. With no savings, the 38-year-old chef from the town of Erd in Hungary took the first opportunity he could find: behind the wheel of a garbage truck. Wetter is among tens of thousands of Hungarians who lost their livelihoods almost overnight after the new coronavirus struck in early March and Hungary went into lockdown.

Libyan government says it has entered Haftar stronghold Tarhouna

Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government said on Friday they had entered Tarhouna, the last major stronghold of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar near Tripoli, capping the sudden collapse of his 14-month offensive. There was no immediate comment from Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) on whether its forces remained in the town, a day after they were pushed from their last positions in the capital.

Undiagnosed COVID-19 could mean English toll is higher than thought: ONS

An increase in the number of deaths in England and Wales in recent months that have not been linked to COVID-19 could indicate that undiagnosed cases are killing more people than previously thought, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday. The United Kingdom has the second highest COVID-19 death toll in the world after the United States, with over 50,000 people dying from confirmed or suspected cases of the disease, according to a Reuters tally of official data sources.

U.S. military commander says China pushing territorial claims under cover of coronavirus

China is using the coronavirus as a cover to push territorial claims in the South China Sea through a surge in naval activity meant to intimidate other countries that claim the waters, the commander of U.S. Forces in Japan said on Friday. There has been a surge of activity by China in the South China Sea with navy ships, coast guard vessels and a naval militia of fishing boats in harassing vessels in waters claimed by Beijing, said Lieutenant General Kevin Schneider.

COVID-19 crisis shakes Brazil, but Bolsonaro keeps impeachment at bay

One of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks, a paralyzed economy sending investors fleeing for the exit, and accusations that he has undermined Brazil's young democracy have not loosened President Jair Bolsonaro's grip on power. As of Thursday, Brazil had nearly 615,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, second only to the United States. With 34,021 COVID-19 fatalities, its death toll overtook Italy's.

Shaman critical of Putin loses bid to end enforced psychiatric treatment

A Russian court on Friday rejected a challenge by a Siberian shaman critical of President Vladimir Putin who says he has been illegally incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital, his lawyer said. Alexander Gabyshev drew media attention when he set off last year on an 8,000-km (5,000-mile) walk to Moscow, a journey he said would culminate with him banishing the Russian leader, whom he described as a demon.

Central African Republic court rejects bid to extend president's mandate

Central African Republic's constitutional court on Friday rejected changes to the constitution that would have allowed President Faustin-Archange Touadera to stay in power if an election in December is delayed due to the new coronavirus. The government had argued the changes, which would have authorised Touadera and national lawmakers to remain in office for an amount of time to be determined by the constitutional court, were need to ensure continuity of government.

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World News Roundup: In Iraq's fields of black gold, thousands lose livelihoods; Laid off Hungarians turn to truck driving, carrot picking and more -...

BAGHDADThe Islamic State is stepping up its attacks in Iraq, fulfilling the expectations of many analysts that the extremist group would mount a comeback after the Iraqi government declared victory over it in 2017. While the Islamic State has yet to show the same capabilities it had at its peak in 2013 and 2014, when it gained control of several provinces and population centersincluding Mosul, one of Iraqs largest citiesthe tempo of attacks has been increasing for over six months. This coincides with a period of domestic unrest due to widespread anti-government protests. The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State has also reduced its aerial activities due to heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following the U.S. assassination of Irans top military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in January.

The Islamic State has been ramping up a campaign of violence in rural parts of Iraq since the second half of 2019, focusing on Diyala, Kirkuk and Salahaldin provinces, to the east and north of Baghdad. Both the frequency and character of the attacks have been steadily increasing, and there is data that suggests the Islamic State is moving skilled fighters to the area from Syria to stoke a new insurgency. If true, this would be reminiscent of the groups buildup in 2012 and 2013. In April, the Islamic State staged 108 attacks in Iraq, including against an intelligence building in Kirkuk. A large assault targeted the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces on May 1 near the city of Samarra, showing that the Islamic State is willing to move beyond guerilla tactics and engage in coordinated and sustained fighting. ...

Link:
With ISIS Resurgent, Can Iraqs New Government Avoid a Repeat of the Past? - World Politics Review