Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs: "The Izzat Douri branch of Ba'ath announced that it is 'more than willing to work with Allawi, because we see him as a nationalist and Iraqi patriot, and not a sectarian figure'. Although its members do not agree with all that he did when serving as prime minister in 2004, 'we have no doubt that he would represent the interests of Iraq, not of Shi'ites, or Sunnis, or any other group', a clear reference to Maliki. More than ever before, Muqtada is proving to be a pragmatic politician who has surpassed all expectations. Who is the mastermind behind his political scheming, however, is unclear, since Muqtada clearly could not formulate strategy and take political initiatives of the sort he is doing without the advice of seasoned statesmen. When he rose to fame in 2004, many speculated that he was a temporary star, a radical cleric wanna-be who would never become a serious player in Iraqi politics. Neither his age (in this 30s) nor his religious credentials, experience or alliances were enough to make him a national leader. "
Video: Israeli soldiers fire tear gas at 6-year-old children on their way to school The new school year started four days ago in the occupied West Bank, and Israeli soldiers have fired tear gas and hurled stun grenades at Palestinian elementary school students on at least two occasions already. In the Nablus -area village of Burin , which is surrounded by illegal Jewish-only Israeli settlements , Israeli forces stormed an elementary school Wednesday, firing tear gas and stun grenades at students after a settler’s vehicle traveling nearby the school was allegedly hit with a rock thrown by a Palestinian youth. Many children were treated at the scene for tear-gas inhalation, reported Ma’an News Agency . One day earlier, Israeli forces in Hebron fired up to 15 tear gas canisters and five stun grenades at small children as they made their way to school Tuesday morning. Video of the attack — recorded and posted to YouTube by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)...
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