For this we fought a war?

A guest post by JS

An Iraqi lawmaker, Mithal al-Alusi, faces prosecution at home by his fellow lawmakers and possibly the death penalty for visiting Israel. Typical sentiment: "'Al-Alusi has insulted the hundreds of Iraqi martyrs who fell while fighting the Israelis,' said Osama al-Nujeifi, a Sunni lawmaker. 'It was a provocative visit to a historical enemy.'"

What was so provocative about al-Alusi's visit to Israel? Why, his visit to Israel, of course - aren't you paying attention? More specifically, Al-Alusi "visit[ed] Israel and advocat[ed] peace with the Jewish state - something Iraq's leaders refuse to consider."

Even more irony? Al-Alusi was in Israel to attend a counterterrorism conference "and conversed with a lecturer on a panel about insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel...[and]...to seek international support for Iraq as it struggles against terrorism." So the guy goes to Israel to seek out the world's experts on dealing with terrorism to help his country and is slapped with criminal charges that could lead to the death penalty.

al-Alusi was the target of a 2005 attack that left his two sons dead. His other crimes? He is the leader of the Iraqi Nation Party, a "liberal, secular and democratic party."

But wasn't our takeover of Iraq supposed to herald the beginning of a new Middle East? One made up of Arab democracies living in peace with their fellow Jewish democracy? Surely the US is going to intervene and set things right....right? "The U.S. Embassy declined comment. 'It is an issue for the Iraqi parliament, not the U.S. Mission to Iraq,' said spokesman Armand Cucciniello."

Good job, guys. Keep moving that target until it's so low we can legitimately declare victory.

See the full article here.
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