SOUTHERN IRAQ CONTOLLED BY ISLAMIC HEZBOLLAH MILITIA
"... the Lebanese Shi'ite militia Hezbollah has deeply infiltrated Basra and surrounding areas... virtually runs the province... and is committed to establishing ... rule by the religious clergy according to the Shi'ite faith... Iranian Shi'ites are said to be flooding across the porous border in their thousands, including Iranian revolutionary guards, who have already established pockets, especially in Ammarah and Basra.."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FI01Ak02.html
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
THE SIZE OF THE RESISTANCE
"... U.S. officials... (say) that the number of hard-core insurgents remains between 4,000 and 6,000, a calculation others call low.... Army Col. Dana Pittard in Baqubah, like many field commanders, is openly skeptical of official U.S. estimates of the insurgency's size. He puts the hard-core support at about one half of 1% of the Iraqi population of 24 million — or about 120,000..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-military31aug31,1,3826717.story
"... U.S. officials... (say) that the number of hard-core insurgents remains between 4,000 and 6,000, a calculation others call low.... Army Col. Dana Pittard in Baqubah, like many field commanders, is openly skeptical of official U.S. estimates of the insurgency's size. He puts the hard-core support at about one half of 1% of the Iraqi population of 24 million — or about 120,000..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-military31aug31,1,3826717.story
A BASIS FOR AL-SADR'S POPULARITY
"...al-Sadr... organized elections in many of Iraq's poor Shiite slums... forcing out local governments appointed by the North Carolina contractor, Research Triangle International. While big U.S. firms... have failed to fix Iraq's electricity grid and telephone system, al-Sadr's organization has done its best to build a functioning society... al-Sadr's organization (kept) the peace in primarily poor, Shiite sections of Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. "Within weeks of the regime's collapse... al-Sadr's representatives claimed to have employed 50,000 volunteers in East Baghdad to provide refuse collection, hospital meals and traffic control.... In the absence of a functioning public judicial system... al-Sadr's agent in (the Baghdad neighborhood) al-Sadr city, used his Hikma mosque to establish rudimentary personal status courts. Al-Sadr's... agents distributed vests to traffic wardens emblazoned with the words 'hawza police. "
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0831-01.htm
"...al-Sadr... organized elections in many of Iraq's poor Shiite slums... forcing out local governments appointed by the North Carolina contractor, Research Triangle International. While big U.S. firms... have failed to fix Iraq's electricity grid and telephone system, al-Sadr's organization has done its best to build a functioning society... al-Sadr's organization (kept) the peace in primarily poor, Shiite sections of Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. "Within weeks of the regime's collapse... al-Sadr's representatives claimed to have employed 50,000 volunteers in East Baghdad to provide refuse collection, hospital meals and traffic control.... In the absence of a functioning public judicial system... al-Sadr's agent in (the Baghdad neighborhood) al-Sadr city, used his Hikma mosque to establish rudimentary personal status courts. Al-Sadr's... agents distributed vests to traffic wardens emblazoned with the words 'hawza police. "
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0831-01.htm
DAMAGE TO ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES BY MILITARY
"Coalition forces are doing little to prevent the widespread looting and destruction of Iraq's world-famous historical sites... there is no parallel for the amount of historical destruction that has taken place over the past 15 months in Iraq. The Geneva and Hague conventions make the protection of heritage the responsibility of the foreign powers during occupation. Instead, what we have seen under the occupation is a general policy of neglect and even an active destruction of the historical and archeological record of the land."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1293931,00.html
"Coalition forces are doing little to prevent the widespread looting and destruction of Iraq's world-famous historical sites... there is no parallel for the amount of historical destruction that has taken place over the past 15 months in Iraq. The Geneva and Hague conventions make the protection of heritage the responsibility of the foreign powers during occupation. Instead, what we have seen under the occupation is a general policy of neglect and even an active destruction of the historical and archeological record of the land."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1293931,00.html
Monday, August 30, 2004
OIL EXPORTS HALTED
"Oil exports from southern Iraq have been brought to a complete halt... Oil flows out of the southern pipelines — which account for 90% of Iraq's exports — ceased late Sunday and were not likely to resume for at least a week... A halt in southern oil exports costs Iraq about $60 million a day in lost income... "
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-08-30-oil-exports-halt_x.htm
"Oil exports from southern Iraq have been brought to a complete halt... Oil flows out of the southern pipelines — which account for 90% of Iraq's exports — ceased late Sunday and were not likely to resume for at least a week... A halt in southern oil exports costs Iraq about $60 million a day in lost income... "
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-08-30-oil-exports-halt_x.htm
Saturday, August 28, 2004
WESTERN IRAQ CONTROLLED BY FUNDAMENTAL ISLAMICS, NEW ATTACK ON FALLUJAH WANTED
In Western Iraq, fundamentalists hold the U.S. at bay... Falluja and Ramadi, and much of Anbar Province, are now controlled by fundamentalist militias... American efforts to build a government structure around former officials of Saddam Hussein's army, police force and bureaucracy... have collapsed... Marine officers have said American hopes of creating stability in Iraq will necessitate a new attack on the city, this time one that will not be halted before it can succeed..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/international/middleeast/29province.html?hp
HOMING CHIPS IDENTIFY TARGETS
"... many of the bombing raids have hit militant safe houses, and with pinpoint accuracy... men confess to having planted electronic homing "chips" for the Americans... a rectangular device, colored green and encased in clear plastic, about the size of a matchbox."
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/international/middleeast/29province.html?pagewanted=2&hp
In Western Iraq, fundamentalists hold the U.S. at bay... Falluja and Ramadi, and much of Anbar Province, are now controlled by fundamentalist militias... American efforts to build a government structure around former officials of Saddam Hussein's army, police force and bureaucracy... have collapsed... Marine officers have said American hopes of creating stability in Iraq will necessitate a new attack on the city, this time one that will not be halted before it can succeed..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/international/middleeast/29province.html?hp
HOMING CHIPS IDENTIFY TARGETS
"... many of the bombing raids have hit militant safe houses, and with pinpoint accuracy... men confess to having planted electronic homing "chips" for the Americans... a rectangular device, colored green and encased in clear plastic, about the size of a matchbox."
http://nytimes.com/2004/08/29/international/middleeast/29province.html?pagewanted=2&hp
SCHOOLS IN IRAQ - AUG 2004
"... Eighty percent of about 18,000 school buildings in Iraq need some kind of repair, says Hassanein Mualla, deputy education minister. About 40 percent need "partial" repair and 30 percent "comprehensive" repair. More than 1,000 need to be rebuilt... all work on schools will have to be approved by the government first... in an obvious jab at the U.S. administration... "instead of putting some paint here and changing some windows there, it is better to do the job right..."
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25231
"... Eighty percent of about 18,000 school buildings in Iraq need some kind of repair, says Hassanein Mualla, deputy education minister. About 40 percent need "partial" repair and 30 percent "comprehensive" repair. More than 1,000 need to be rebuilt... all work on schools will have to be approved by the government first... in an obvious jab at the U.S. administration... "instead of putting some paint here and changing some windows there, it is better to do the job right..."
http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=25231
IRAN SAYS NAJAF A SETBACK FOR U.S.
"... Iranian reactions to... Najaf have portrayed the peace deal brokered by Ayatollah Sistani as a major setback for the US... the agreement had frustrated US plans to disable Iraq's Shia as a political force... (and) should alert the West to the power of the Islamic clergy..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3606812.stm
"... Iranian reactions to... Najaf have portrayed the peace deal brokered by Ayatollah Sistani as a major setback for the US... the agreement had frustrated US plans to disable Iraq's Shia as a political force... (and) should alert the West to the power of the Islamic clergy..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3606812.stm
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SHIA CLERIC LEADERS
"The main four Shia leaders in Iraq...
Sadr... anti-U.S. anti-occupation and having real chances of gaining political victories depending on his popularity.
Jafari... pro-U.S. yet anti occupation, taking the position of the vice president and having good popularity.
Sistani... pro-U.S. yet not categorizing himself as a politician.
Hakim... no influence after the death of his brother."
- by Raed Jarrar, the Baghdad Blogger, Thursday 26 August
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
SHIA SENIOR LEADERS QUARTET CALLED MARJAIYA
"The four senior Shia Muslim clerics in Iraq... (a) group known as the Marjaiya... have said that armed resistance is not the way to protest against the continued presence of US-led forces... (but) one of them, Sheikh Ali Najafi, said that if foreign troops stayed too long, then the time for peaceful solutions would be over.... Grand Ayatollahs Mohammed Saad Hakim and Ishaq Fayad met Ayatollah Sistani... Sheikh Najafi, the fourth cleric in the Marjaiya quartet, arrived later..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3608398.stm
"The main four Shia leaders in Iraq...
Sadr... anti-U.S. anti-occupation and having real chances of gaining political victories depending on his popularity.
Jafari... pro-U.S. yet anti occupation, taking the position of the vice president and having good popularity.
Sistani... pro-U.S. yet not categorizing himself as a politician.
Hakim... no influence after the death of his brother."
- by Raed Jarrar, the Baghdad Blogger, Thursday 26 August
http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/
SHIA SENIOR LEADERS QUARTET CALLED MARJAIYA
"The four senior Shia Muslim clerics in Iraq... (a) group known as the Marjaiya... have said that armed resistance is not the way to protest against the continued presence of US-led forces... (but) one of them, Sheikh Ali Najafi, said that if foreign troops stayed too long, then the time for peaceful solutions would be over.... Grand Ayatollahs Mohammed Saad Hakim and Ishaq Fayad met Ayatollah Sistani... Sheikh Najafi, the fourth cleric in the Marjaiya quartet, arrived later..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3608398.stm
Thursday, August 26, 2004
SISTANI SHIITES BREAK SEIGE OF NAJAF, MANY KILLED BY NATIONAL GUARD
"... Sistani arrived in Najaf on Thursday as a huge crowd of people forced their way into the city's holy shrine calling for peace in the city.... Sistani's arrival was marked by a deadly day in Najaf's twin city of Kufa, where 74 people were killed and 376 wounded in a mortar attack on the main mosque... "We answered the call of Sistani who ordered us to follow to Najaf to break the siege. Police sort of tried to arrest us, but there was nothing they could do. It's the end of the siege," said one demonstrator..."
hhttp://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11085ere
"... Dozens of people were killed and wounded when Iraqi national guardsmen opened fire on a demonstration in support of Sadr in Kufa not long after the mortar attack.."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11074
"... Sistani arrived in Najaf on Thursday as a huge crowd of people forced their way into the city's holy shrine calling for peace in the city.... Sistani's arrival was marked by a deadly day in Najaf's twin city of Kufa, where 74 people were killed and 376 wounded in a mortar attack on the main mosque... "We answered the call of Sistani who ordered us to follow to Najaf to break the siege. Police sort of tried to arrest us, but there was nothing they could do. It's the end of the siege," said one demonstrator..."
hhttp://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11085ere
"... Dozens of people were killed and wounded when Iraqi national guardsmen opened fire on a demonstration in support of Sadr in Kufa not long after the mortar attack.."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11074
SUNNIS CLOSE RANKS WITH SHIITES IN NAJAF
"... Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis closed ranks. Among the 10,000 people who came to Najaf bearing food and medicine or offering to join the battle, were Sunnis from Fallujah — themselves survivors of an ill-advised U.S. onslaught in spring..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1093471810782
"... Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis closed ranks. Among the 10,000 people who came to Najaf bearing food and medicine or offering to join the battle, were Sunnis from Fallujah — themselves survivors of an ill-advised U.S. onslaught in spring..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1093471810782
CPA ADVISOR SAYS IRAQ MORE DANGEROUS TO U.S. NOW THAN BEFORE WAR
"There was no "imminent threat" to the United States from Iraq. Then there was no strategy for building a new Iraq. Now, "Iraq is more dangerous to the US potentially than it was at the moment we went to war". These are the reluctant judgments of one of the key US officials who participated in the highest levels of decision-making of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1290870,00.html
"There was no "imminent threat" to the United States from Iraq. Then there was no strategy for building a new Iraq. Now, "Iraq is more dangerous to the US potentially than it was at the moment we went to war". These are the reluctant judgments of one of the key US officials who participated in the highest levels of decision-making of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1290870,00.html
SISTANI AGAINST THE OCCUPIERS
"... Sistani has called on the Shia to march to Najaf, ordered the occupiers to leave the city, appealed to Muslims to break their silence, organized massive and popular demonstrations in Najaf, and promised to walk at the front of the protest shows that the religious leader has called upon the nation to form a front against the occupiers..."
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/26/2004&Cat=2&Num=011
"... Sistani has called on the Shia to march to Najaf, ordered the occupiers to leave the city, appealed to Muslims to break their silence, organized massive and popular demonstrations in Najaf, and promised to walk at the front of the protest shows that the religious leader has called upon the nation to form a front against the occupiers..."
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/26/2004&Cat=2&Num=011
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
AID WORKERS COMPROMISED BY MILITARY
"... One reason why most humanitarian organisations pulled out of Iraq was the feeling that we had become identified with an operation that many believe violated international law, so our presence compromised our neutrality..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1290019,00.html
"... (There is) deliberate targeting of aid workers... in Iraq, and in Afghanistan... (because there is a) blurring of the lines between independent humanitarian work and military objectives... Colin Powell once referred to aid workers as "part of our combat team"... (and) coalition forces distributed a leaflet telling the population they had to provide information about the Taleban and al-Qaeda if they wanted aid deliveries to continue... Aid agencies, despite their best efforts to stay neutral, have been compromised... in countries where the US presence is resented by large sections of the population. What seem to be emerging are no-go areas for humanitarian work..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3582750.stm
"... One reason why most humanitarian organisations pulled out of Iraq was the feeling that we had become identified with an operation that many believe violated international law, so our presence compromised our neutrality..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1290019,00.html
"... (There is) deliberate targeting of aid workers... in Iraq, and in Afghanistan... (because there is a) blurring of the lines between independent humanitarian work and military objectives... Colin Powell once referred to aid workers as "part of our combat team"... (and) coalition forces distributed a leaflet telling the population they had to provide information about the Taleban and al-Qaeda if they wanted aid deliveries to continue... Aid agencies, despite their best efforts to stay neutral, have been compromised... in countries where the US presence is resented by large sections of the population. What seem to be emerging are no-go areas for humanitarian work..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3582750.stm
THE NEED TO AUDIT WAR CONTRACTS
"... Thirty-eight years ago this very month, a young congressman told his colleagues that something was seriously amiss about huge wartime contracts awarded to a company with a big friend in a high place. "The potential for waste and profiteering under such a contract is substantial," he warned. It is "beyond me," he went on, why the contract "has not been and is not now being adequately audited." The war was Vietnam. The company was Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton that is now known as KBR. The big friend in a high place was Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. And the impassioned young congressman was Donald Rumsfeld."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-oe-morrison25aug25,1,6781370.column?coll=la-home-utilities
"... Thirty-eight years ago this very month, a young congressman told his colleagues that something was seriously amiss about huge wartime contracts awarded to a company with a big friend in a high place. "The potential for waste and profiteering under such a contract is substantial," he warned. It is "beyond me," he went on, why the contract "has not been and is not now being adequately audited." The war was Vietnam. The company was Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton that is now known as KBR. The big friend in a high place was Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson. And the impassioned young congressman was Donald Rumsfeld."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-oe-morrison25aug25,1,6781370.column?coll=la-home-utilities
Monday, August 23, 2004
LILY PADS TO PROTECT OIL
August 23
"... the U.S. will open new bases in Bulgaria and Romania as part of America's new "imperial lifeline." They will be linked to new U.S. bases being built across Central Asia, Pakistan, Iraq and the Gulf, designed to cement Washington's hold on the Muslim world and its natural resources.... the entire armed forces are being restructured for "expeditionary warfare," (the British used to call it "the imperial mission")... A "lilypad" concept of austere, rapidly created mini-bases will allow U.S. forces to leapfrog around the globe."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0823-05.htm
June 16
"... the Pentagon has confirmed plans to... redeploy (forces) to smaller, more widely dispersed facilities -- sometimes called ''lily pads'' -- (a) look at where Washington is most interested in acquiring access to military facilities suggests the determining factor may be proximity to oil and gas-producing areas, pipelines and shipping routes through which vital energy supplies pass... most of the same people -- including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of Defense for policy -- who led the drive to war in Iraq remain in charge of implementing the new global strategy..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0616-02.htm
August 23
"... the U.S. will open new bases in Bulgaria and Romania as part of America's new "imperial lifeline." They will be linked to new U.S. bases being built across Central Asia, Pakistan, Iraq and the Gulf, designed to cement Washington's hold on the Muslim world and its natural resources.... the entire armed forces are being restructured for "expeditionary warfare," (the British used to call it "the imperial mission")... A "lilypad" concept of austere, rapidly created mini-bases will allow U.S. forces to leapfrog around the globe."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0823-05.htm
June 16
"... the Pentagon has confirmed plans to... redeploy (forces) to smaller, more widely dispersed facilities -- sometimes called ''lily pads'' -- (a) look at where Washington is most interested in acquiring access to military facilities suggests the determining factor may be proximity to oil and gas-producing areas, pipelines and shipping routes through which vital energy supplies pass... most of the same people -- including Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of Defense for policy -- who led the drive to war in Iraq remain in charge of implementing the new global strategy..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0616-02.htm
Sunday, August 22, 2004
POLAND PULLED OUT OF PROVINCES, NOW PULLING OUT OF IRAQ
Aug 22
"... Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski arrived at a Polish military base in southern Iraq, he said that Poland wants to leave Iraq as soon as possible..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=3172
Aug 10
"... The US is set to assume military authority over Najaf and Qadisiya provinces after a Polish-led multinational force announced it was leaving the provinces."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3550668.stm
"...Polish troops in Iraq have handed over military authority in two provinces to US marines because of worsening security in the holy city of Najaf..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3549842.stm
Aug 22
"... Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski arrived at a Polish military base in southern Iraq, he said that Poland wants to leave Iraq as soon as possible..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=3172
Aug 10
"... The US is set to assume military authority over Najaf and Qadisiya provinces after a Polish-led multinational force announced it was leaving the provinces."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3550668.stm
"...Polish troops in Iraq have handed over military authority in two provinces to US marines because of worsening security in the holy city of Najaf..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3549842.stm
Saturday, August 21, 2004
$8.8 BILLION IN CASH UNACCOUNTED FOR IN IRAQ
"Three U.S. senators have called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to account for 8.8 billion dollars entrusted to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq earlier this year but now gone missing.... The loss was uncovered in an audit by the CPA's inspector general. It has not yet been released publicly... A Pentagon spokeswoman told IPS that the CPA administered the money transparently and that Iraqi ministries used the eight billion dollars in ways that directly "benefited the people of Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0821-01.htm
IRAQ FUNDS ARE FOCUS OF 27 CRIMINAL INQUIRIES
"... the U.S.-led (Coalition Provisional Authority) agency that oversaw the rebuilding of Iraq has triggered at least 27 criminal investigations and produced evidence of millions of dollars' worth of fraud, waste and abuse... U.S. officials and private contractors repeatedly violated the law in the free-wheeling atmosphere that pervaded the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild the war-torn country... Besides the more than two dozen criminal cases under investigation by the inspector general, about 35 other matters have been referred to other U.S. agencies for further investigation..."
http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-probes30jul30,1,6584291.story
"Three U.S. senators have called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to account for 8.8 billion dollars entrusted to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq earlier this year but now gone missing.... The loss was uncovered in an audit by the CPA's inspector general. It has not yet been released publicly... A Pentagon spokeswoman told IPS that the CPA administered the money transparently and that Iraqi ministries used the eight billion dollars in ways that directly "benefited the people of Iraq..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0821-01.htm
IRAQ FUNDS ARE FOCUS OF 27 CRIMINAL INQUIRIES
"... the U.S.-led (Coalition Provisional Authority) agency that oversaw the rebuilding of Iraq has triggered at least 27 criminal investigations and produced evidence of millions of dollars' worth of fraud, waste and abuse... U.S. officials and private contractors repeatedly violated the law in the free-wheeling atmosphere that pervaded the multibillion-dollar effort to rebuild the war-torn country... Besides the more than two dozen criminal cases under investigation by the inspector general, about 35 other matters have been referred to other U.S. agencies for further investigation..."
http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-probes30jul30,1,6584291.story
NATIONAL CONFERENCE SELECTS COUNCIL MEMBERS
"Iraq's National Conference... chose 81 people... to oversee the interim government pending elections next year. But the council members were selected, not elected... (Some) decided to withdraw from the [National] Conference because the parties in power dominated the proceedings... (saying) it was illegitimate, and it does not represent the composition of Iraqi society..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH21Ak03.html
"Iraq's National Conference... chose 81 people... to oversee the interim government pending elections next year. But the council members were selected, not elected... (Some) decided to withdraw from the [National] Conference because the parties in power dominated the proceedings... (saying) it was illegitimate, and it does not represent the composition of Iraqi society..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH21Ak03.html
IRAQ OLYMPIC TEAM ATTACKS BUSH
"Iraq's successful Olympic football team has launched an outspoken attack on... Bush... angry it had been used in Mr Bush's re-election campaign ads... One accused the US leader of committing "many crimes", and another said he would be fighting US troops if not for Athens... He called for US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. "We don't wish for the presence of the Americans in our country. We want them to go away..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3584242.stm
"Iraq's successful Olympic football team has launched an outspoken attack on... Bush... angry it had been used in Mr Bush's re-election campaign ads... One accused the US leader of committing "many crimes", and another said he would be fighting US troops if not for Athens... He called for US troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. "We don't wish for the presence of the Americans in our country. We want them to go away..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3584242.stm
Friday, August 20, 2004
FINAL REPORT ON WMD FROM CIA IRAQ SURVEY GROUP
"Having failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, the CIA is preparing a final report... that will speculate on what the deposed regime's capabilities might have looked like years from now if left unchecked... an attempt to obscure the fact that no banned weapons — or even evidence of active programs — have been found, and instead to emphasize theories... "
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-na-wmd20aug20,1,1216317.story
"Having failed to find banned weapons in Iraq, the CIA is preparing a final report... that will speculate on what the deposed regime's capabilities might have looked like years from now if left unchecked... an attempt to obscure the fact that no banned weapons — or even evidence of active programs — have been found, and instead to emphasize theories... "
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-na-wmd20aug20,1,1216317.story
DOCTORS AND TORTURE
August
Sidney Morning Herald
"... One high profile case involved an unnamed surgeon. Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush, an Iraqi air defence commander, was a "high-priority target" but turned himself in for questioning in November last year. Two weeks later, US soldiers slid a sleeping bag over his body except for his feet. An interrogator sat on his chest and placed his hands over the general's mouth. He died of "asphyxia due to smothering and chest compressions". But a Pentagon press release at the time stated that "according to the onsite surgeon, it appeared Mowhoush died of natural causes".
http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/22/1093113050892.html?oneclick=true
August
The Lancet
"... army medics have been accused of being complicit in the abuse of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison... the US military medical system failed to protect detainees' human rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3579792.stm
July
New England Journal of Medicine
"There is increasing evidence that U.S. doctors, nurses, and medics have been complicit in torture and other illegal procedures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Such medical complicity suggests still another disturbing dimension of this broadening scandal... medical personnel have failed to report to higher authorities wounds that were clearly caused by torture and that they have neglected to take steps to interrupt this torture. In addition, they have turned over prisoners' medical records to interrogators who could use them to exploit the prisoners' weaknesses or vulnerabilities..."
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/5/415
August
Sidney Morning Herald
"... One high profile case involved an unnamed surgeon. Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush, an Iraqi air defence commander, was a "high-priority target" but turned himself in for questioning in November last year. Two weeks later, US soldiers slid a sleeping bag over his body except for his feet. An interrogator sat on his chest and placed his hands over the general's mouth. He died of "asphyxia due to smothering and chest compressions". But a Pentagon press release at the time stated that "according to the onsite surgeon, it appeared Mowhoush died of natural causes".
http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/22/1093113050892.html?oneclick=true
August
The Lancet
"... army medics have been accused of being complicit in the abuse of Iraqi inmates at Abu Ghraib prison... the US military medical system failed to protect detainees' human rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3579792.stm
July
New England Journal of Medicine
"There is increasing evidence that U.S. doctors, nurses, and medics have been complicit in torture and other illegal procedures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Such medical complicity suggests still another disturbing dimension of this broadening scandal... medical personnel have failed to report to higher authorities wounds that were clearly caused by torture and that they have neglected to take steps to interrupt this torture. In addition, they have turned over prisoners' medical records to interrogators who could use them to exploit the prisoners' weaknesses or vulnerabilities..."
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/5/415
Thursday, August 19, 2004
IRAQI TROOPS DESERT
"... A measure of the effect of the various fatwas issued by the ayatollahs is that by last Saturday, no fewer than 4,000 Iraqi security forces in Najaf were reported to have defected to Muqtada's Mehdi Army. Officials at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense admitted, for example, that "more than 100 Iraqi national guardsmen and a battalion of Iraqi soldiers chose to quit rather than attack fellow Iraqis".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH18Ak04.html
"U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a renewed assault ... in the southern holy city of Najaf in a risky campaign that was marred from the onset by an outcry from Iraqi politicians and the desertion of dozens of Iraqi troops who refused to fight their countrymen... more than 100 Iraqi national guardsmen and a battalion of Iraqi soldiers chose to quit rather than attack fellow Iraqis... one high-ranking defense ministry official (said) "We expected this, and we expect it again and again."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9409919.htm
"... A measure of the effect of the various fatwas issued by the ayatollahs is that by last Saturday, no fewer than 4,000 Iraqi security forces in Najaf were reported to have defected to Muqtada's Mehdi Army. Officials at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense admitted, for example, that "more than 100 Iraqi national guardsmen and a battalion of Iraqi soldiers chose to quit rather than attack fellow Iraqis".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH18Ak04.html
"U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a renewed assault ... in the southern holy city of Najaf in a risky campaign that was marred from the onset by an outcry from Iraqi politicians and the desertion of dozens of Iraqi troops who refused to fight their countrymen... more than 100 Iraqi national guardsmen and a battalion of Iraqi soldiers chose to quit rather than attack fellow Iraqis... one high-ranking defense ministry official (said) "We expected this, and we expect it again and again."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9409919.htm
IRAQI OFFICERS BALK
"Sober-faced Iraqi colonels gathered inside the defense ministry command center, their cell phones ringing with continuous updates from the battlefield. American military advisers wandered in and out of the room... The officers, most of them decorated veterans from the former regime, shook their heads at the thought of Iraqis battling Iraqis on sacred soil. Several said they would resign immediately if senior officers ordered them to serve in Najaf... "I'm ready to fight for my country's independence and for my country's stability," one lieutenant colonel said. "But I won't fight my own people." "No way," added another officer, who said his brother - a colonel - quit the same day he received orders to serve in the field. "These are my people. Why should I fight someone just because he has a difference in opinion about the future of the country?"
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/hannah_allam/9409919.htm
"Sober-faced Iraqi colonels gathered inside the defense ministry command center, their cell phones ringing with continuous updates from the battlefield. American military advisers wandered in and out of the room... The officers, most of them decorated veterans from the former regime, shook their heads at the thought of Iraqis battling Iraqis on sacred soil. Several said they would resign immediately if senior officers ordered them to serve in Najaf... "I'm ready to fight for my country's independence and for my country's stability," one lieutenant colonel said. "But I won't fight my own people." "No way," added another officer, who said his brother - a colonel - quit the same day he received orders to serve in the field. "These are my people. Why should I fight someone just because he has a difference in opinion about the future of the country?"
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/columnists/hannah_allam/9409919.htm
NAJAF SHOWS LIMITS OF U.S. POWER
"... Najaf... proved to be a glaring example of the limits of American military might in post-sovereignty Iraq... al-Sadr was able to bring in thousands of supporters, primarily from the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, who vowed to be human shields. With 3 million people in Sadr City, if only 5 percent of the population were to support him, he'd have 150,000 people behind him, more than the number of U.S. troops in Iraq... Despite the overwhelming U.S. firepower on the ground in Najaf, he looks to have gained ground..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/9434826.htm
"... Najaf... proved to be a glaring example of the limits of American military might in post-sovereignty Iraq... al-Sadr was able to bring in thousands of supporters, primarily from the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, who vowed to be human shields. With 3 million people in Sadr City, if only 5 percent of the population were to support him, he'd have 150,000 people behind him, more than the number of U.S. troops in Iraq... Despite the overwhelming U.S. firepower on the ground in Najaf, he looks to have gained ground..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/9434826.htm
LIKE BOMBING THE VATICAN
"Imagine a Muslim army about to bomb the Vatican with the help of a few Christian mercenaries while the Pope is away, recovering from an angioplasty in London and silent about the whole drama. This is roughly what is happening in Najaf... pending a "final showdown".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH18Ak04.html
"... the decisive tactical battle has not taken place. And... this battle can never take place if Washington and the rest of the West have any pretensions of long-term peaceful relations with Baghdad and the Islamic world.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH20Ak01.html
"Imagine a Muslim army about to bomb the Vatican with the help of a few Christian mercenaries while the Pope is away, recovering from an angioplasty in London and silent about the whole drama. This is roughly what is happening in Najaf... pending a "final showdown".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH18Ak04.html
"... the decisive tactical battle has not taken place. And... this battle can never take place if Washington and the rest of the West have any pretensions of long-term peaceful relations with Baghdad and the Islamic world.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH20Ak01.html
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
CASUALTY RATIOS
"... In 1966 in Vietnam, we killed... at a 14:1 clip."
"...In 1968... General Westmoreland said: "The enemy can be attrited, the price is being raised to the point that it could be intolerable to the enemy."
"... In 1967, 1968, and 1969... the kill ratio remained (14:1)..."
"... In the invasion itself... US and British forces killed Iraqis at a rate of 60:1... "
"... In the (April 2004 Fallujah) insurgency, we have killed at least 1,000 Iraqis... at a 10:1 ratio."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/04/21/rumsfelds_fungible_facts/
"... American firepower, equipment and training mean that a hundred young Shia men die in the fighting for every American who is killed (in the August 2004 Najaf insurgency)..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1092652210525
"... In 1966 in Vietnam, we killed... at a 14:1 clip."
"...In 1968... General Westmoreland said: "The enemy can be attrited, the price is being raised to the point that it could be intolerable to the enemy."
"... In 1967, 1968, and 1969... the kill ratio remained (14:1)..."
"... In the invasion itself... US and British forces killed Iraqis at a rate of 60:1... "
"... In the (April 2004 Fallujah) insurgency, we have killed at least 1,000 Iraqis... at a 10:1 ratio."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/04/21/rumsfelds_fungible_facts/
"... American firepower, equipment and training mean that a hundred young Shia men die in the fighting for every American who is killed (in the August 2004 Najaf insurgency)..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1092652210525
NAJAF MASSACRE RATIO WILL BE 100:1
"... American firepower, equipment and training mean that a hundred young Shia men die in the fighting for every American who is killed... if (Najaf) ends in a last stand and a massacre of the al-Mahdi militia in the most sacred site in the Shia world, possibly doing serious damage to the Imam Ali mosque itself, the long-term cost to the United States will far outweigh any possible gains.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1092652210525
"... American firepower, equipment and training mean that a hundred young Shia men die in the fighting for every American who is killed... if (Najaf) ends in a last stand and a massacre of the al-Mahdi militia in the most sacred site in the Shia world, possibly doing serious damage to the Imam Ali mosque itself, the long-term cost to the United States will far outweigh any possible gains.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1092652210525
U.S. MARINES PREVENTED IN MEXICO
"... Juan Lopez Rangel was the 36th and most recent U.S. soldier of Mexican descent to die in Iraq... his grieving parents, who now live in a small Georgia town, were determined to bury the proud marine in his hometown of San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, Mexico... (but)... the marines were... surrounded by the Mexican troops... the Mexican army would not tolerate armed foreign troops on Mexican soil, particularly those of a nation that has repeatedly invaded Mexico..."
CounterPunch, August 17, 2004
http://www.counterpunch.org/
"... Juan Lopez Rangel was the 36th and most recent U.S. soldier of Mexican descent to die in Iraq... his grieving parents, who now live in a small Georgia town, were determined to bury the proud marine in his hometown of San Luis de la Paz, Guanajuato, Mexico... (but)... the marines were... surrounded by the Mexican troops... the Mexican army would not tolerate armed foreign troops on Mexican soil, particularly those of a nation that has repeatedly invaded Mexico..."
CounterPunch, August 17, 2004
http://www.counterpunch.org/
ABU GHRAIB WHISTLEBLOWER IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY
"...the U.S. soldier who sounded the alarm about abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said on Monday the family was living in protective custody because of death threats against them... "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4731-2004Aug16.html
"...the U.S. soldier who sounded the alarm about abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said on Monday the family was living in protective custody because of death threats against them... "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4731-2004Aug16.html
Monday, August 16, 2004
MASSACRE IMPENDING IN NAJAF
"... the fragile ceasefire in Najaf abruptly ended amid fears of an impending “massacre”... Allawi... ordered an end to negotiation and told his officials to return to Baghdad... Thousands were reported to be flocking to Najaf to support al-Sadr, who now expects Iraq’s interim prime minister Ayad Allawi to order an attack... Those around al-Sadr... predicted Najaf could now become the site of “a massacre..."
http://www.sundayherald.com/44094
"... the fragile ceasefire in Najaf abruptly ended amid fears of an impending “massacre”... Allawi... ordered an end to negotiation and told his officials to return to Baghdad... Thousands were reported to be flocking to Najaf to support al-Sadr, who now expects Iraq’s interim prime minister Ayad Allawi to order an attack... Those around al-Sadr... predicted Najaf could now become the site of “a massacre..."
http://www.sundayherald.com/44094
WHAT ARE WE DOING IN NAJAF?
"... what are we Americans doing in Najaf? Is killing the followers of a nasty Shiite preacher... vital to the national interests of the United States? And why is it that we are killing Shiites... in the secular Sunni Muslim country of Saddam Hussein? ... the same Saddam who murdered the father of the preacher five years ago. Was that our clear intent and realistic objective in invading Iraq? Would the American people and Congress - and our allies - have supported a $200 billion war to get a preacher, Moktada al-Sadr?..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/534028.html
"... what are we Americans doing in Najaf? Is killing the followers of a nasty Shiite preacher... vital to the national interests of the United States? And why is it that we are killing Shiites... in the secular Sunni Muslim country of Saddam Hussein? ... the same Saddam who murdered the father of the preacher five years ago. Was that our clear intent and realistic objective in invading Iraq? Would the American people and Congress - and our allies - have supported a $200 billion war to get a preacher, Moktada al-Sadr?..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/534028.html
Sunday, August 15, 2004
IRAQ STRUGGLE IN EARLY STAGES
"... The struggle for Iraq is in its early stages. The Shia and Sunni Arabs and the Kurds, the three great communities of Iraq, have not achieved their goals. The United States would still like to be the predominant power in Iraq even if it has to exercise control through Iraqi frontmen. Syria and Iran fear the U.S. will use Baghdad as a launching pad to destabilise their governments..."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/185654_cockburn11.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=1
"... The struggle for Iraq is in its early stages. The Shia and Sunni Arabs and the Kurds, the three great communities of Iraq, have not achieved their goals. The United States would still like to be the predominant power in Iraq even if it has to exercise control through Iraqi frontmen. Syria and Iran fear the U.S. will use Baghdad as a launching pad to destabilise their governments..."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/185654_cockburn11.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=1
Friday, August 13, 2004
MARINES PLAYING ROLE OF REPUBLICAN GUARD
"... Shiites worldwide are shocked and outraged over what is going on in Najaf... any attack on that city will destroy America's future in Iraq completely... What's going on right now (in Najaf) looks a lot like April 1991, when it was Saddam who was crushing a Shiite uprising. But now it's the Marines who are playing the role of the Republican Guard...''
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0813-01.htm
"... Shiites worldwide are shocked and outraged over what is going on in Najaf... any attack on that city will destroy America's future in Iraq completely... What's going on right now (in Najaf) looks a lot like April 1991, when it was Saddam who was crushing a Shiite uprising. But now it's the Marines who are playing the role of the Republican Guard...''
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0813-01.htm
Thursday, August 12, 2004
ARMY HIRES FIRMS TO GUARD BASES
"Stretched thin by troop deployments in Iraq... the Army has resorted to hiring private security guards to help protect dozens of American military bases... The work was awarded to four firms — two of which got the contracts without having to bid competitively. The contracts are worth as much as $1.24 billion..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-na-guards12aug12,1,5839617.story
"Stretched thin by troop deployments in Iraq... the Army has resorted to hiring private security guards to help protect dozens of American military bases... The work was awarded to four firms — two of which got the contracts without having to bid competitively. The contracts are worth as much as $1.24 billion..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-na-guards12aug12,1,5839617.story
MARINE MEAL TIME IN BAGHDAD
"... Marines... live on small bases in refitted warehouses. Sandbags encircle the portable toilet... Leaving the base is dangerous... Hot food arrives twice a day from division headquarters across the river, towed by an armored Humvee code-named Boxcar. Inside the vehicle, sweat pours down the Marines' faces and collects behind their goggles. The air conditioning produces more noise than relief, but it would not be wise to open the thick protective windows. The last man in the battalion to die was hit by a piece of shrapnel that flew through the small space above the door of his Humvee..."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/12/young_marines_frustrated_by_lack_of_progress/
"... Marines... live on small bases in refitted warehouses. Sandbags encircle the portable toilet... Leaving the base is dangerous... Hot food arrives twice a day from division headquarters across the river, towed by an armored Humvee code-named Boxcar. Inside the vehicle, sweat pours down the Marines' faces and collects behind their goggles. The air conditioning produces more noise than relief, but it would not be wise to open the thick protective windows. The last man in the battalion to die was hit by a piece of shrapnel that flew through the small space above the door of his Humvee..."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/12/young_marines_frustrated_by_lack_of_progress/
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
DRAFT COMING IN 2005
"Regardless of the outcome of next November’s presidential election, the federal government will initiate a military draft in 2005, unless there is a dramatic slackening of the need for U.S. troops for the ongoing war in Iraq... several military experts have told American Free Press, voluntary enlistments will not even dent the number of troops America will need for its global over-commitments... Last June, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to increase the size of the Army by 20,000 persons, and a month earlier the House voted to add 30,000 soldiers and 9,000 Marines by 2007..."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/forum/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=gnn&Number=321782&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&part=
"Regardless of the outcome of next November’s presidential election, the federal government will initiate a military draft in 2005, unless there is a dramatic slackening of the need for U.S. troops for the ongoing war in Iraq... several military experts have told American Free Press, voluntary enlistments will not even dent the number of troops America will need for its global over-commitments... Last June, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to increase the size of the Army by 20,000 persons, and a month earlier the House voted to add 30,000 soldiers and 9,000 Marines by 2007..."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/forum/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=gnn&Number=321782&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&part=
MUCH OF IRAQ OUTSIDE THE CONTROL OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
"... The present situation in Iraq is deceptive. It looks as if Allawi and his government are gaining in support. But Iraq is increasingly fragmented and is more like Afghanistan by the day. Allawi may talk tough, but he is reliant on 138,000 US troops. Much of Iraq is outside the control of the central government. Cities around Baghdad like Fallujah and Samarra are under the control of Islamic militants. In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, local police patrol this city of 400,000 people between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. At all other times Ramadi is run by the insurgents...."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/185654_cockburn11.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=1
"... The present situation in Iraq is deceptive. It looks as if Allawi and his government are gaining in support. But Iraq is increasingly fragmented and is more like Afghanistan by the day. Allawi may talk tough, but he is reliant on 138,000 US troops. Much of Iraq is outside the control of the central government. Cities around Baghdad like Fallujah and Samarra are under the control of Islamic militants. In Ramadi, west of Baghdad, local police patrol this city of 400,000 people between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. At all other times Ramadi is run by the insurgents...."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/185654_cockburn11.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=1
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
IRAN TO BE NEXT?
"The US charge sheet against Iran is lengthening almost by the day, presaging destabilising confrontations this autumn and maybe a pre-election October surprise... the hawkish US under-secretary of state for arms control... has hinted at using military force should the UN fail to act... Such a move would be a high-risk gamble for George Bush.. Iran has vowed to retaliate..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1279747,00.html
"The US charge sheet against Iran is lengthening almost by the day, presaging destabilising confrontations this autumn and maybe a pre-election October surprise... the hawkish US under-secretary of state for arms control... has hinted at using military force should the UN fail to act... Such a move would be a high-risk gamble for George Bush.. Iran has vowed to retaliate..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1279747,00.html
ALLAWI LIKE SADDAM
"... the U.S.-backed Iraqi government seems to be ruling more like Saddam everyday... Allawi has recently ordered the arrest of political opponents, closed a prominent media outlet reporting stories that were embarrassing to the Iraqi government, and... reinstat(ed) the death penalty against the opposition guerrillas... Iraqis can get away with much harsher policies toward other Iraqis than could a foreign occupier... "
"... the use of autocratic tactics by U.S.-installed puppet governments that lacks popular legitimacy... failed in Vietnam and it is likely to fail in Iraq. The only way out for the United States is to allow Iraqis to have genuine self-determination soon."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0810-03.htm
"... the U.S.-backed Iraqi government seems to be ruling more like Saddam everyday... Allawi has recently ordered the arrest of political opponents, closed a prominent media outlet reporting stories that were embarrassing to the Iraqi government, and... reinstat(ed) the death penalty against the opposition guerrillas... Iraqis can get away with much harsher policies toward other Iraqis than could a foreign occupier... "
"... the use of autocratic tactics by U.S.-installed puppet governments that lacks popular legitimacy... failed in Vietnam and it is likely to fail in Iraq. The only way out for the United States is to allow Iraqis to have genuine self-determination soon."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0810-03.htm
KILLING TERRORISTS WILL NOT END TERRORISM
"... treating merely the symptoms of terrorism is quixotic - the soil and roots of terrorism must be dug and uncovered... the 9/11 report acknowledges... that it is Washington's strong and uncritical bias toward Israel and its invasion of Iraq that have fueled al-Qaida; that our current approach to defeating terrorism by trying to kill all the terrorists is akin to trying to eradicate malaria by shooting as many mosquitoes as possible..."
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/edits/seang.htm
"... treating merely the symptoms of terrorism is quixotic - the soil and roots of terrorism must be dug and uncovered... the 9/11 report acknowledges... that it is Washington's strong and uncritical bias toward Israel and its invasion of Iraq that have fueled al-Qaida; that our current approach to defeating terrorism by trying to kill all the terrorists is akin to trying to eradicate malaria by shooting as many mosquitoes as possible..."
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/edits/seang.htm
Sunday, August 08, 2004
SADR HAS AN IRAQI ARMY AND ALLAWI HAS THE US ARMY
"... the difference between firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi couldn't be any more clear: Al Sadr has an army, and Allawi does not.... (In the Najaf) Iraq's Achilles' heel (has been) revealed: To defend their country, Allawi and the interim government must go to the American military, an institution that's widely reviled by many Iraqis as an occupational force run amok."
"The Iraqis are frustrated by the heat, the lack of water and the lack of electricity," said Sadoun al Dulame, the head of an independent research center in Baghdad. "All that we have gotten is talk and promises, but nothing has actually been done."
In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, there are long gas lines, a near-epidemic of typhoid and hepatitis due to poor-quality water, and an electrical grid that provides only six hours of power daily for many residents. Adel Hamid, a vegetable merchant in Sadr City, which was named for al Sadr's late father, said that over the course of about 15 months of suffering through a lack of basic services, he'd come to see the Americans as the enemy."The fight will continue and (Allah willing) we will be victorious," Hamid said. "I will sacrifice my three boys for the Sadr movement; they are in the Mahdi Army now to protect the city."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9339602.htm
"... the difference between firebrand cleric Muqtada al Sadr and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi couldn't be any more clear: Al Sadr has an army, and Allawi does not.... (In the Najaf) Iraq's Achilles' heel (has been) revealed: To defend their country, Allawi and the interim government must go to the American military, an institution that's widely reviled by many Iraqis as an occupational force run amok."
"The Iraqis are frustrated by the heat, the lack of water and the lack of electricity," said Sadoun al Dulame, the head of an independent research center in Baghdad. "All that we have gotten is talk and promises, but nothing has actually been done."
In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, there are long gas lines, a near-epidemic of typhoid and hepatitis due to poor-quality water, and an electrical grid that provides only six hours of power daily for many residents. Adel Hamid, a vegetable merchant in Sadr City, which was named for al Sadr's late father, said that over the course of about 15 months of suffering through a lack of basic services, he'd come to see the Americans as the enemy."The fight will continue and (Allah willing) we will be victorious," Hamid said. "I will sacrifice my three boys for the Sadr movement; they are in the Mahdi Army now to protect the city."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9339602.htm
IRAQ CANNOT PAY UN
"Iraq's US-installed interim government, which is planning to spend about US$2 billion on its military this year, has declared it is too poor to pay the $14.6 million it owes the United Nations... A UN official (said) "The [US-run] former Coalition Provisional Authority, which is now being accused of misspending hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraq's oil revenues, did not think it fit to pay the country's UN dues, even while it was pleading for UN assistance to help the reconstruction of Iraq".... The non-payment of UN dues puts Iraq, with the world's second largest oil reserves - amounting to over 112 billion barrels - in league with some of the world's poorest nations, including Benin, Chad, Somalia, Liberia, Niger and Tajikistan, who are also deemed deadbeats..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH07Ak02.html
"Iraq's US-installed interim government, which is planning to spend about US$2 billion on its military this year, has declared it is too poor to pay the $14.6 million it owes the United Nations... A UN official (said) "The [US-run] former Coalition Provisional Authority, which is now being accused of misspending hundreds of millions of dollars in Iraq's oil revenues, did not think it fit to pay the country's UN dues, even while it was pleading for UN assistance to help the reconstruction of Iraq".... The non-payment of UN dues puts Iraq, with the world's second largest oil reserves - amounting to over 112 billion barrels - in league with some of the world's poorest nations, including Benin, Chad, Somalia, Liberia, Niger and Tajikistan, who are also deemed deadbeats..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH07Ak02.html
TRUCE PROPOSAL
"... (A) president Kerry (should) call a truce so that the United States, the European Union, and more broadly the "West" can have the time collectively and publicly to explore the root causes of the violence against them that emanates from the Muslim world - something the 9-11 Commission should have, but did not, do. At least there's a chance Kerry might listen, especially if the war in Iraq continues to spiral out of America's control... a different kind of truce is needed; one that signals the first step in a genuine reappraisal of US... core positions and interests as well as those of Muslims, so that genuine peace and reconciliation become conceivable. There is some historical precedent for this kind of truce in Islam. The Prophet Mohammed agreed to the first Muslim truce in 628..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH06Ak02.html
"... (A) president Kerry (should) call a truce so that the United States, the European Union, and more broadly the "West" can have the time collectively and publicly to explore the root causes of the violence against them that emanates from the Muslim world - something the 9-11 Commission should have, but did not, do. At least there's a chance Kerry might listen, especially if the war in Iraq continues to spiral out of America's control... a different kind of truce is needed; one that signals the first step in a genuine reappraisal of US... core positions and interests as well as those of Muslims, so that genuine peace and reconciliation become conceivable. There is some historical precedent for this kind of truce in Islam. The Prophet Mohammed agreed to the first Muslim truce in 628..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FH06Ak02.html
Friday, August 06, 2004
MARTIAL LAW FOR IRAQ
"The interim Iraqi government last night looked increasingly prepared to impose martial law on sections of the country as coalition and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles with armed insurgents... Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar, the interim President, that "it is the time to use the new national safety law" to protect the country against insurgents..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=548354
"The interim Iraqi government last night looked increasingly prepared to impose martial law on sections of the country as coalition and Iraqi forces fought fierce battles with armed insurgents... Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar, the interim President, that "it is the time to use the new national safety law" to protect the country against insurgents..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=548354
BREMER ORDERS CONTROLLING IRAQ - LEGAL?
"... the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy. These little noticed orders... lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people. The Bremer orders control every aspect of Iraqi life... many thought that the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, (but) on his last day in Iraq Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi — a 30-year exile with close ties to the CIA and British intelligence... The interim constitution of Iraq, written by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, solidifies the orders by making them virtually impossible to overturn."
"Order No. 39 allows for: (1) privatization of Iraq's 200 state-owned enterprises; (2) 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses; (3) "national treatment" — which means no preferences for local over foreign businesses; (4) unrestricted, tax-free remittance of all profits and other funds; and (5) 40-year ownership licenses. Thus, it forbids Iraqis from receiving preference in the reconstruction while allowing foreign corporations — Halliburton and Bechtel, for example — to buy up Iraqi businesses, do all of the work and send all of their money home.
"Orders No. 57 and No. 77 ensure the implementation of the orders by placing U.S.-appointed auditors and inspector generals in every government ministry, with five-year terms and with sweeping authority over contracts, programs, employees and regulations...
"Order No. 17 grants foreign contractors, including private security firms, full immunity from Iraq's laws...
"Order No. 40 allows foreign banks to purchase up to 50% of Iraqi banks...
"Order No. 49 drops the tax rate on corporations from a high of 40% to a flat 15%. The income tax rate is also capped at 15%.
"Order No. 12 (renewed on Feb. 24) suspends "all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, licensing fees and similar surcharges for goods entering or leaving Iraq." This led to an immediate and dramatic inflow of cheap foreign consumer products — devastating local producers and sellers...
"... Transformation of an occupied country's laws violates the Hague regulations of 1907 (ratified by the United States) and the U.S. Army's Law of Land Warfare... in a leaked memo, the British attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that "major structural economic reforms would not be authorized by international law..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-juhasz5aug05,1,3665796.story
"... the "100 Orders" of L. Paul Bremer III remain to control the economy. These little noticed orders... lock in sweeping advantages to American firms, ensuring long-term U.S. economic advantage while guaranteeing few, if any, benefits to the Iraqi people. The Bremer orders control every aspect of Iraqi life... many thought that the "end" of the occupation would also mean the end of the orders, (but) on his last day in Iraq Bremer simply transferred authority for the orders to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi — a 30-year exile with close ties to the CIA and British intelligence... The interim constitution of Iraq, written by the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, solidifies the orders by making them virtually impossible to overturn."
"Order No. 39 allows for: (1) privatization of Iraq's 200 state-owned enterprises; (2) 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi businesses; (3) "national treatment" — which means no preferences for local over foreign businesses; (4) unrestricted, tax-free remittance of all profits and other funds; and (5) 40-year ownership licenses. Thus, it forbids Iraqis from receiving preference in the reconstruction while allowing foreign corporations — Halliburton and Bechtel, for example — to buy up Iraqi businesses, do all of the work and send all of their money home.
"Orders No. 57 and No. 77 ensure the implementation of the orders by placing U.S.-appointed auditors and inspector generals in every government ministry, with five-year terms and with sweeping authority over contracts, programs, employees and regulations...
"Order No. 17 grants foreign contractors, including private security firms, full immunity from Iraq's laws...
"Order No. 40 allows foreign banks to purchase up to 50% of Iraqi banks...
"Order No. 49 drops the tax rate on corporations from a high of 40% to a flat 15%. The income tax rate is also capped at 15%.
"Order No. 12 (renewed on Feb. 24) suspends "all tariffs, customs duties, import taxes, licensing fees and similar surcharges for goods entering or leaving Iraq." This led to an immediate and dramatic inflow of cheap foreign consumer products — devastating local producers and sellers...
"... Transformation of an occupied country's laws violates the Hague regulations of 1907 (ratified by the United States) and the U.S. Army's Law of Land Warfare... in a leaked memo, the British attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned Prime Minister Tony Blair that "major structural economic reforms would not be authorized by international law..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-juhasz5aug05,1,3665796.story
Thursday, August 05, 2004
5,000 TROOPS NEEDED TO PROTECT UN IN IRAQ
"... A small UN team due to return to Iraq later this month... will have to rely on the US-led multinational force for protection... the UN had not received any firm offers from countries for the separate dedicated protection force it had hoped to have in place in Iraq... (and) Mr Annan told UN Security Council ambassadors on Wednesday that at least 5,000 troops would be needed to protect the much larger UN contingent needed to assist with elections and reconstruction projects..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3537726.stm
"... A small UN team due to return to Iraq later this month... will have to rely on the US-led multinational force for protection... the UN had not received any firm offers from countries for the separate dedicated protection force it had hoped to have in place in Iraq... (and) Mr Annan told UN Security Council ambassadors on Wednesday that at least 5,000 troops would be needed to protect the much larger UN contingent needed to assist with elections and reconstruction projects..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3537726.stm
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
LIST OF THE COALITION IN IRAQ
Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lativa, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Tonga, Ukraine, UK, US. (Romania and Netherlands are withdrawing in March 2005.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3536968.stm
Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Lativa, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Thailand, Tonga, Ukraine, UK, US. (Romania and Netherlands are withdrawing in March 2005.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3536968.stm
BIN LADEN'S DISAPPEARANCE
"Despite the US's huge intelligence-gathering network and diplomatic clout - and even a $25m reward on his head - there's not been a single sighting of Osama bin Laden since... since he fled the US bombing of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in late 2001... Nor, according to Pakistani sources, has there been any intercepts of satellite phones call by him, or any e-mails. Drones fly constantly over the Afghan-Pakistan border monitoring all movements. They have failed to detect detected anything. He has disappeared from the US's electronic surveillance network.."
"Bin Laden, it appears, has pulled off one of the most remarkable disappearing acts in history. Or has he? Rumours abound that he has already been captured by the US, or maybe Pakistan, and that his captors are waiting for the perfect moment to announce his capture: just in time for President Bush's re-election bid, for example, or in order for Pakistan's President Musharraf to wring the most glittering rewards from the US..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=547641
"... We're at a stage where, if, after Pearl Harbor and Hitler's declaration of war on America, we had left Hitler up in the mountains in Bavaria untouched while the bulk of our armed forces were down in Argentina, kicking butt on Peron because the president didn't like him. That's where we are. Where is bin Laden? Why is Afghanistan unraveling? That's where the 'war on terror' was. That's the guy that caused 9-11. Why do we have 150,000 American men and women risking their lives in Iraq where they're clearly not totally welcome, when it has nothing to do with the war on terror?"
"... Will there be a new October surprise, the reverse of the kind that released the American hostages in Iran on the day of Ronald Reagan's reelection? Will bin Laden suddenly be captured, days before November 2? Will millions of tele-screens suddenly remind millions of voters about the guy with the beard and the turban who has effectively been a non-person for 18 months?"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FH05Aa02.html
"Despite the US's huge intelligence-gathering network and diplomatic clout - and even a $25m reward on his head - there's not been a single sighting of Osama bin Laden since... since he fled the US bombing of Tora Bora in Afghanistan in late 2001... Nor, according to Pakistani sources, has there been any intercepts of satellite phones call by him, or any e-mails. Drones fly constantly over the Afghan-Pakistan border monitoring all movements. They have failed to detect detected anything. He has disappeared from the US's electronic surveillance network.."
"Bin Laden, it appears, has pulled off one of the most remarkable disappearing acts in history. Or has he? Rumours abound that he has already been captured by the US, or maybe Pakistan, and that his captors are waiting for the perfect moment to announce his capture: just in time for President Bush's re-election bid, for example, or in order for Pakistan's President Musharraf to wring the most glittering rewards from the US..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=547641
"... We're at a stage where, if, after Pearl Harbor and Hitler's declaration of war on America, we had left Hitler up in the mountains in Bavaria untouched while the bulk of our armed forces were down in Argentina, kicking butt on Peron because the president didn't like him. That's where we are. Where is bin Laden? Why is Afghanistan unraveling? That's where the 'war on terror' was. That's the guy that caused 9-11. Why do we have 150,000 American men and women risking their lives in Iraq where they're clearly not totally welcome, when it has nothing to do with the war on terror?"
"... Will there be a new October surprise, the reverse of the kind that released the American hostages in Iran on the day of Ronald Reagan's reelection? Will bin Laden suddenly be captured, days before November 2? Will millions of tele-screens suddenly remind millions of voters about the guy with the beard and the turban who has effectively been a non-person for 18 months?"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FH05Aa02.html
KERRY SAYS HE CAN REDUCE TROOPS IN IRAQ
"John Kerry says he can "put a deal together" as president to drastically reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq, a pledge reminiscent of Richard Nixon's secret plan to end the Vietnam War and Dwight D. Eisenhower's promise to stop fighting in Korea... when asked for hard evidence that his victory would produce a troops-reducing deal for America, neither Kerry nor his fellow senators cite anything other than their vague perceptions and utmost hopes...."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4957.shtml
"John Kerry says he can "put a deal together" as president to drastically reduce U.S. troop strength in Iraq, a pledge reminiscent of Richard Nixon's secret plan to end the Vietnam War and Dwight D. Eisenhower's promise to stop fighting in Korea... when asked for hard evidence that his victory would produce a troops-reducing deal for America, neither Kerry nor his fellow senators cite anything other than their vague perceptions and utmost hopes...."
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_4957.shtml
BAGHDAD SLUM'S WATER SUPPLY CONTAMINATED
"Water offers deadly relief in a blistering Iraqi slum... Typhoid and hepatitis E run rampant because sewage has tainted nearly the entire supply... "We turn on the tap and the water has a foul smell and we see threads of [human waste] in it."... U.S. Army commanders in the area acknowledge that almost no serious reconstruction has been accomplished..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-disease4aug04,1,326895.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"Water offers deadly relief in a blistering Iraqi slum... Typhoid and hepatitis E run rampant because sewage has tainted nearly the entire supply... "We turn on the tap and the water has a foul smell and we see threads of [human waste] in it."... U.S. Army commanders in the area acknowledge that almost no serious reconstruction has been accomplished..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-disease4aug04,1,326895.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
COMMENTS ON NEW NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR
"... Bush chose yesterday to go with the political flow and endorse the (9/11) commission’s recommendation for a National Intelligence Director—but without the teeth of budgetary authority over the intelligence community. This won’t get anywhere..."
"Admiral Turner’s article on Sunday reiterated (that) the last thing we need is a new layer of bureaucracy. This truism... was spoken first by one who ought to know, Tom Ridge, head of the recently created Department of Homeland Security... “I don’t think you need a czar,” Ridge said on Fox News Channel. “We already have one level of bureaucracy that we don’t need,” said the czar of Homeland Security, who reportedly has decided to quit at the end of the year..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0803-15.htm
"... Bush chose yesterday to go with the political flow and endorse the (9/11) commission’s recommendation for a National Intelligence Director—but without the teeth of budgetary authority over the intelligence community. This won’t get anywhere..."
"Admiral Turner’s article on Sunday reiterated (that) the last thing we need is a new layer of bureaucracy. This truism... was spoken first by one who ought to know, Tom Ridge, head of the recently created Department of Homeland Security... “I don’t think you need a czar,” Ridge said on Fox News Channel. “We already have one level of bureaucracy that we don’t need,” said the czar of Homeland Security, who reportedly has decided to quit at the end of the year..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0803-15.htm
Monday, August 02, 2004
IRAQ DETERIORATING BY THE DAY
"... just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America’s puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told... The American-appointed “government” controls only parts of Baghdad — and even there its ministers and civil servants are car-bombed and assassinated. Baquba, Samara, Kut, Mahmoudiya, Hilla, Fallujah, Ramadi, all are outside government authority. Iyad Allawi, the “prime minister”, is little more than mayor of Baghdad.... I find that not a single Iraqi, not a single American soldier I have spoken to, not a single mercenary — be he American, British or South African — believes that there will be elections in January. All said that Iraq is deteriorating by the day..."
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=49292&d=2&m=8&y=2004
"... just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America’s puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told... The American-appointed “government” controls only parts of Baghdad — and even there its ministers and civil servants are car-bombed and assassinated. Baquba, Samara, Kut, Mahmoudiya, Hilla, Fallujah, Ramadi, all are outside government authority. Iyad Allawi, the “prime minister”, is little more than mayor of Baghdad.... I find that not a single Iraqi, not a single American soldier I have spoken to, not a single mercenary — be he American, British or South African — believes that there will be elections in January. All said that Iraq is deteriorating by the day..."
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=49292&d=2&m=8&y=2004
Sunday, August 01, 2004
PHILLIPINES TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ
"... Monday's televised statement by the deputy foreign minister (said) that Manila would withdraw troops "as soon as possible"... the US is struggling to persuade Manila to stand firm and not withdraw its troops early... which sends a signal to militants that hostage-taking works..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3895215.stm
"... Monday's televised statement by the deputy foreign minister (said) that Manila would withdraw troops "as soon as possible"... the US is struggling to persuade Manila to stand firm and not withdraw its troops early... which sends a signal to militants that hostage-taking works..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3895215.stm
AL QAEDA GIVES ITALY 15 DAYS TO WITHDRAW
"An unknown group claiming links to al Qaeda gives Italy a 15-day deadline to pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=3000
"An unknown group claiming links to al Qaeda gives Italy a 15-day deadline to pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=3000
MUSLIM SECURITY FORCE MAY WIDEN TERROR ATTACKS
"Saudi Arabia's proposal to send an all-Muslim security force to Iraq is fraught with danger for any country that participates... The Saudi proposal... envisages troop contributions from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen and Bahrain, as well as former Soviet Union states. Iraqi officials have said they do not want nations that border Iraq to contribute, ruling out Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan... a statement posted on an Islamic Internet site... warned of attacks against any Islamic or Arab nation that contributed troops to the Saudi-proposed Muslim force..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG31Df04.html
"Saudi Arabia's proposal to send an all-Muslim security force to Iraq is fraught with danger for any country that participates... The Saudi proposal... envisages troop contributions from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen and Bahrain, as well as former Soviet Union states. Iraqi officials have said they do not want nations that border Iraq to contribute, ruling out Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan... a statement posted on an Islamic Internet site... warned of attacks against any Islamic or Arab nation that contributed troops to the Saudi-proposed Muslim force..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG31Df04.html