Once again, the Iraqi websites, reported on everything but the primaries on Tuesday.
The Kurdish website was tied up with the Turkish exploits in Northern Iraq. The other websites were penning down the usual round up of violence, death and the fate of Chemical Ali.
The international news was comprehensive– spanning from the latest violence in Gaza, Iran, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Russia but no primaries.
On March 5, a small blurb on John McCain’s likelihood of presidential nomination and Hillary Clinton’s win in Ohio appeared on the Al Sumaria website. No analysis of the implications on Iraq.
Interestingly, Alsumaria like NY Times now has a video option, in Arabic, for some of its top stories. For instance, there was a comprehensive video report on the Turkish pull out from Northern Iraq. The piece addressed the question whether the Turkish departure is temporary. Another video was an assessment of the visit of President Ahmadinejad to Iraq.
Kurdishmedia.com reported that Turkish troops had used internationally banned weapons and left 3200 landmines, in the shape of toys, before withdrawing from southern Kurdistan. The United States did make it to the news in this part of the world, but only because Kurdish students in the U.S. have been organizing protests against Turkey.
One news item on Azzaman.com underlined the vulnerable position of the Iraqi Christian minority. The article said that a Catholic Bishop was kidnapped by gunmen in Mosul, which has a substantial number of Christians. They have been, for a while, leaving Iraq in droves.
I think it’s fair to say, with Turkey, allegedly leaving landmines in one part of the country, Christians receiving death threats in another and Baghdad hosting the Iranian President, the Iraqi websites have a lot to cover before they get to Texas and Ohio.
