ILLEGAL CLUSTER BOMBS
"Jesus del Solar died Mar. 27, 2003, after stepping on an unexploded U.S. cluster bomb... "Jesus was walking like this," says his father, imitating a crouching walk, "when he stepped on a cluster bomb." But Suarez found out this part of the story only much later. At first, he and his family were told Jesus had been shot in the head. It took two weeks for the military to return his son's body for burial, and they refused to let the father see it until the remains were at the mortuary. The day of the funeral, Suarez asked to spend time alone with his son. Armed with university training in forensic medicine, he examined the corpse and found that, indeed, something had ripped through the right side, removing pieces of hand, foot, upper thigh and groin."At that point," says Suarez, I knew."
"Last year, as part of his voyage to see where his son died, Suarez del Solar visited ordinary Iraqis and children's hospitals. At the hospitals he saw youngsters dying from the lack of medicine and learned that a number of others had been killed picking up unexploded cluster bombs or when trying to hand them in to U.S. soldiers. The bombs look like tennis balls or beer cans, Suarez explains. And when the children try to give them to U.S. soldiers, they are shot on the spot -- military orders."
"I asked a colonel why they couldn't clean up the cluster bombs, and I was told, confidentially, that they couldn't, there were too many." And then Suarez's voice gets hard. "They say Saddam had illegal weapons. Jesus died because of an illegal weapon. Cluster bombs are illegal under the Geneva Conventions."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1230-01.htm
US using cluster bombs in Fallujah
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1082948692632
US Drops More Cluster Bombs On Fallujah
http://www.jihadunspun.net/intheatre_internal.php?article=101050&list=/home.php&
Iraqi Delegation Says US Used Cluster Bombs In Fallujah
http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2004042612400002&Take=1
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
IRAQ LIKE VIETNAM IN 1966 BUT CASUALTIES WORSE
"... After factoring in medical, doctrinal, and technological improvements, infantry duty in Iraq circa 2004 comes out just as intense as infantry duty in Vietnam circa 1966—and in some cases more lethal... Today's fighting in Iraq, by these calculations, may actually be more lethal than the street fighting in Vietnam... The casualty statistics make clear that our nation is involved in a war whose intensity on the ground matches that of previous American wars. Indeed, the proportional burden on the infantryman is at its highest level since World War I..."
http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2111432&
"... After factoring in medical, doctrinal, and technological improvements, infantry duty in Iraq circa 2004 comes out just as intense as infantry duty in Vietnam circa 1966—and in some cases more lethal... Today's fighting in Iraq, by these calculations, may actually be more lethal than the street fighting in Vietnam... The casualty statistics make clear that our nation is involved in a war whose intensity on the ground matches that of previous American wars. Indeed, the proportional burden on the infantryman is at its highest level since World War I..."
http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2111432&
SATELLITE PHOTO OF FALLUJAH - 14 NOV 2004
This is an IKONOS photo of the whole city. It is a very large image that requires a minute or two to load with a broadband connection, and it requires many scrolls in each direction to see it all.
http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/fallujah_111404_full.html
This is an IKONOS photo of the whole city. It is a very large image that requires a minute or two to load with a broadband connection, and it requires many scrolls in each direction to see it all.
http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/fallujah_111404_full.html
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
IRAQ DESTROYING U.S. ARMY?
"... Vietnam destroyed the American citizen army: product of a 200-year tradition that rejected standing armies and held temporary and egalitarian military service to be a duty and experience of citizenship. In Vietnam, the conscript army eventually staged a mute mutiny against the folly of its government..."
"... Iraq is now destroying the professional army the United States recruited to take the place of its citizen army. The new army was intended to serve as the unquestioning instrument of the policies of the elected administration. This administration's refusal to supply the manpower and means necessary for its vast military and political ambitions is now having its effect on that army. Its politically inspired fear of conscription, the merciless combat rotation policy and systematic use of involuntary extensions of duty its policies impose, are devastating to troops."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/12/28/news/edpfaff.html
"Poll shows troops in support of war...”
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story=/usatoday/20041227/ts_usatoday/pollshowstroopsinsupportofwar
"... Vietnam destroyed the American citizen army: product of a 200-year tradition that rejected standing armies and held temporary and egalitarian military service to be a duty and experience of citizenship. In Vietnam, the conscript army eventually staged a mute mutiny against the folly of its government..."
"... Iraq is now destroying the professional army the United States recruited to take the place of its citizen army. The new army was intended to serve as the unquestioning instrument of the policies of the elected administration. This administration's refusal to supply the manpower and means necessary for its vast military and political ambitions is now having its effect on that army. Its politically inspired fear of conscription, the merciless combat rotation policy and systematic use of involuntary extensions of duty its policies impose, are devastating to troops."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/12/28/news/edpfaff.html
"Poll shows troops in support of war...”
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story=/usatoday/20041227/ts_usatoday/pollshowstroopsinsupportofwar
IMF AND WTO ECONOMIC REFORMS
"... (the IMF calls for) restructuring of state-owned enterprises" (read: privatisation), a plan that Iraq's ministry of industry predicts will require laying off an additional 145,000 workers... (And) in the name of "free-market reforms", the IMF also wants to eliminate the programme that provides each Iraqi family with a basket of food - the only barrier to starvation for millions of citizens. There is additional pressure to eliminate the food rations coming from the World Trade Organisation, which, at Washington's urging, is considering accepting Iraq as a member - provided it adopts certain "reforms".
"... (So) the US, having broken Iraq, is not in the process of fixing it. It is merely continuing to break the country and its people by other means, using not only F-16s and Bradleys, but now the less flashy weaponry of WTO and IMF conditions, followed by elections designed to transfer as little power to Iraqis as possible."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1379892,00.html
"... (the IMF calls for) restructuring of state-owned enterprises" (read: privatisation), a plan that Iraq's ministry of industry predicts will require laying off an additional 145,000 workers... (And) in the name of "free-market reforms", the IMF also wants to eliminate the programme that provides each Iraqi family with a basket of food - the only barrier to starvation for millions of citizens. There is additional pressure to eliminate the food rations coming from the World Trade Organisation, which, at Washington's urging, is considering accepting Iraq as a member - provided it adopts certain "reforms".
"... (So) the US, having broken Iraq, is not in the process of fixing it. It is merely continuing to break the country and its people by other means, using not only F-16s and Bradleys, but now the less flashy weaponry of WTO and IMF conditions, followed by elections designed to transfer as little power to Iraqis as possible."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1379892,00.html
CREATING THE NEED TO STAY - TO FIGHT THE RESISTANCE AND THEN THE CIVIL WAR
"... as long as the troops remain... occupation forces as well as Iraqi soldiers and police will be exclusively dedicated to fending off resistance attacks... (while) the US plan to bring elections to Iraq seems designed to spark... the civil war needed to justify an ongoing presence for US troops no matter who wins the elections..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1379892,00.html
"... as long as the troops remain... occupation forces as well as Iraqi soldiers and police will be exclusively dedicated to fending off resistance attacks... (while) the US plan to bring elections to Iraq seems designed to spark... the civil war needed to justify an ongoing presence for US troops no matter who wins the elections..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1379892,00.html
Monday, December 27, 2004
OCCUPATIONS OF PALESTINE AND IRAQ
“... Jesus was... a political criminal -- crucifixion was the way such rebels were executed... A story of Jesus born into a land oppressed by a hated military occupation might prompt an examination of the American occupation of Iraq... .”
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/21/the_politics_of_the_christmas_story/
The burdens of being responsible for the new world order. The U.S. is Rome, the imperial power. Bush is Caesar Augustus, who called himself divine. Negroponte is Pontius Pilate, the appointed procurator. Allawi is Herod, the puppet king. Instead of male children under 2 being killed, males between 15 and 50 were forced to remain in Fallujah. And of the husbandless women in the wintery camps outside the remains of that city, maybe a lot of future rebels have been born. Perhaps our good intentions in Iraq will be misunderstood by history.
“... Jesus was... a political criminal -- crucifixion was the way such rebels were executed... A story of Jesus born into a land oppressed by a hated military occupation might prompt an examination of the American occupation of Iraq... .”
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/21/the_politics_of_the_christmas_story/
The burdens of being responsible for the new world order. The U.S. is Rome, the imperial power. Bush is Caesar Augustus, who called himself divine. Negroponte is Pontius Pilate, the appointed procurator. Allawi is Herod, the puppet king. Instead of male children under 2 being killed, males between 15 and 50 were forced to remain in Fallujah. And of the husbandless women in the wintery camps outside the remains of that city, maybe a lot of future rebels have been born. Perhaps our good intentions in Iraq will be misunderstood by history.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
REBELS WANTED BUSH
"French journalists held hostage for four months in Iraq said their militant captors told them they wanted President Bush to win re-election... One of the captors from the group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq said Bush's re-election would boost their cause, Malbrunot wrote in Friday's edition of Le Figaro, the French daily he works for. "We want Bush because with him the American troops will stay in Iraq and that way we will be able to develop," Malbrunot cited the captor as saying..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1224-01.htm
"French journalists held hostage for four months in Iraq said their militant captors told them they wanted President Bush to win re-election... One of the captors from the group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq said Bush's re-election would boost their cause, Malbrunot wrote in Friday's edition of Le Figaro, the French daily he works for. "We want Bush because with him the American troops will stay in Iraq and that way we will be able to develop," Malbrunot cited the captor as saying..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1224-01.htm
FAMILIES OF U.S. DEAD TAKING $600,000 TO JORDAN FOR FALLUJAH
"Families of US troops killed in the offensive on the Iraqi city of Fallujah are to travel to Jordan next week with $600,000 worth of humanitarian aid for refugees of the attack.... the families said with peace groups, physicians' organisations and relatives of the September 11, 2001 attacks victims, they raised $100,000 in an internet appeal. Humanitarian groups such as Middle East Children's Alliance and Operation USA contributed $500,000 worth of medical supplies. The families are to fly to Amman on December 26 and hand over the supplies to humanitarian and medical workers there."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1506&e=10&u=/afp/20041223/ts_alt_afp/usiraqrefugees.041223173737
"Families of US troops killed in the offensive on the Iraqi city of Fallujah are to travel to Jordan next week with $600,000 worth of humanitarian aid for refugees of the attack.... the families said with peace groups, physicians' organisations and relatives of the September 11, 2001 attacks victims, they raised $100,000 in an internet appeal. Humanitarian groups such as Middle East Children's Alliance and Operation USA contributed $500,000 worth of medical supplies. The families are to fly to Amman on December 26 and hand over the supplies to humanitarian and medical workers there."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1506&e=10&u=/afp/20041223/ts_alt_afp/usiraqrefugees.041223173737
Saturday, December 25, 2004
U.S. LOST DOMINANCE IN SUMMER 2003
"... the U.S. military lost the dominant position in Iraq in the summer of 2003 and has been scrambling to recover ever since... U.S. forces slowly lost the momentum and the initiative . . . gained over an off-balanced enemy..."
--Maj. Isaiah Wilson III, official historian of the campaign, researcher for the Army's Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group, chief war planner for the 101st Airborne Division in northern Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24891-2004Dec24.html
"... the U.S. military lost the dominant position in Iraq in the summer of 2003 and has been scrambling to recover ever since... U.S. forces slowly lost the momentum and the initiative . . . gained over an off-balanced enemy..."
--Maj. Isaiah Wilson III, official historian of the campaign, researcher for the Army's Operation Iraqi Freedom Study Group, chief war planner for the 101st Airborne Division in northern Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24891-2004Dec24.html
Friday, December 24, 2004
U.S. TO GAIN MORE ECONOMIC CONTROL
"The United States is helping the interim Iraqi government continue to make major economic changes, including cuts to social subsidies, (and) full access for U.S. companies to the nation's oil reserves... officials of the U.S.-backed administration detailed some of the economic moves planned for Iraq, many of them appearing to give U.S. corporations greater reach into the occupied nation's economy."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1224-05.htm
"The United States is helping the interim Iraqi government continue to make major economic changes, including cuts to social subsidies, (and) full access for U.S. companies to the nation's oil reserves... officials of the U.S.-backed administration detailed some of the economic moves planned for Iraq, many of them appearing to give U.S. corporations greater reach into the occupied nation's economy."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1224-05.htm
ALLOW IRAQ TO GO ITS OWN WAY
"... history shows that most insurgencies, whether the Vietnamese against the French and later the US, or the Afghans against the Soviets, last from 10 to 30 years... no reason why Iraq is any different, but ... the American public was ill-prepared for this by the rosy Administration pronouncements for most of the war... The original notion that Iraq was going to be a model for the region, of open government, of a liberal, free-market economy, isn't an achievable goal anymore... the US should make every effort to withdraw troops to bases and get away from heavy-handed counterinsurgency because it appears to be counterproductive. Instead, Iraqi anger at the US has grown so high that the best thing America could do for the government that comes in after the January elections is to allow it to go its own way..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/1224/p01s03-woiq.html
"... history shows that most insurgencies, whether the Vietnamese against the French and later the US, or the Afghans against the Soviets, last from 10 to 30 years... no reason why Iraq is any different, but ... the American public was ill-prepared for this by the rosy Administration pronouncements for most of the war... The original notion that Iraq was going to be a model for the region, of open government, of a liberal, free-market economy, isn't an achievable goal anymore... the US should make every effort to withdraw troops to bases and get away from heavy-handed counterinsurgency because it appears to be counterproductive. Instead, Iraqi anger at the US has grown so high that the best thing America could do for the government that comes in after the January elections is to allow it to go its own way..."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/1224/p01s03-woiq.html
AGENDA OF RESISTANCE
"... While various analysts ponder the insurgents' strategy in the lead up to next month's elections, and opine that their primary goal is to disrupt those elections, the resistance says it has a different agenda:
"Everything in the resistance movement is clear. There is agreement on one issue; that is, getting freedom from foreign occupying forces and their handymen. It is agreed that only Iraqi people would decide the course of government in the post-liberation era."
--Nada al-Rubaiee, member of the central committee of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL25Ak01.html
"... While various analysts ponder the insurgents' strategy in the lead up to next month's elections, and opine that their primary goal is to disrupt those elections, the resistance says it has a different agenda:
"Everything in the resistance movement is clear. There is agreement on one issue; that is, getting freedom from foreign occupying forces and their handymen. It is agreed that only Iraqi people would decide the course of government in the post-liberation era."
--Nada al-Rubaiee, member of the central committee of the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL25Ak01.html
Thursday, December 23, 2004
CONDITION OF FALLUJAH
"... Fighting continues every night in the city... There continue to be occasional air strikes... There is no water or electricity supply in most of the city... 70% of it is destroyed and beyond repair..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4120975.stm
"... Fighting continues every night in the city... There continue to be occasional air strikes... There is no water or electricity supply in most of the city... 70% of it is destroyed and beyond repair..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4120975.stm
IRAQI TROOPS POTENTIAL INSURGENT AGENTS
"... American troops hassle their Iraqi counterparts at checkpoints and make it clear they're not trusted... That behavior, combined with the U.S.-led offensives in Fallujah and other cities, turns Iraqi soldiers into potential agents for the insurgency. Even at checkpoints, I've seen them swearing at the Americans. They're treated so badly that, after a while, they just do their own thing" ..."
--Sabah Kadhim, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10486937.htm
"... American troops hassle their Iraqi counterparts at checkpoints and make it clear they're not trusted... That behavior, combined with the U.S.-led offensives in Fallujah and other cities, turns Iraqi soldiers into potential agents for the insurgency. Even at checkpoints, I've seen them swearing at the Americans. They're treated so badly that, after a while, they just do their own thing" ..."
--Sabah Kadhim, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10486937.htm
ELECTION TO BE OBSERVED FROM JORDAN
"... International election observers say it's too dangerous to actually come in and monitor the vote in person; they're going to "assess" the vote from the safety of Amman, Jordan..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/opinion/23dowd.html
"... International election observers say it's too dangerous to actually come in and monitor the vote in person; they're going to "assess" the vote from the safety of Amman, Jordan..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/opinion/23dowd.html
RECONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR PULLS OUT
"... a major U.S. contractor pulled out of the country saying it was too dangerous to stay there, walking away from a $325 million contract to work on Iraq's damaged transportation system."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=6403
"... Contrack International, which heads a partnership that won a $325 million contract, one of 12 major reconstruction contracts awarded this year, has stopped work on the project because of "prohibitive" security costs. The deal is the largest so far in Iraq to fall victim to the insurgency. The fear is that other companies may follow Contrack's example, or decline to tender for work, further imperilling the prospects for reconstruction..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=595626
"... Contrack's partnership was supposed to construct new roads, bridges and transportation terminals in Iraq. It wound up only refurbishing a handful of train depots, company officials said. Nonetheless, the firm was paid about $30 million during the eight months it was under contract, mostly for site assessments and design work, company and U.S. officials said..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-pullout22dec22,1,2035372.story
"... a major U.S. contractor pulled out of the country saying it was too dangerous to stay there, walking away from a $325 million contract to work on Iraq's damaged transportation system."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=6403
"... Contrack International, which heads a partnership that won a $325 million contract, one of 12 major reconstruction contracts awarded this year, has stopped work on the project because of "prohibitive" security costs. The deal is the largest so far in Iraq to fall victim to the insurgency. The fear is that other companies may follow Contrack's example, or decline to tender for work, further imperilling the prospects for reconstruction..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=595626
"... Contrack's partnership was supposed to construct new roads, bridges and transportation terminals in Iraq. It wound up only refurbishing a handful of train depots, company officials said. Nonetheless, the firm was paid about $30 million during the eight months it was under contract, mostly for site assessments and design work, company and U.S. officials said..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fg-pullout22dec22,1,2035372.story
ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTS OF IRAQ A FANTASYLAND
"The United States is facing increasingly deadly attacks in Iraq because... it failed to honestly assess facts on the ground... administration spokesmen had appeared to live "in a fantasyland" when giving accounts of events in Iraq... "(the U.S.) did not see the threat level that would emerge if it did not provide jobs or pensions for Iraqi career officers or co-opt them into the nation-building effort. ... It acted as if it had years to rebuild Iraq using its own plans, rather than months to shape the climate in which Iraqis could do it"... Under the heading "Denial as a method of counter-insurgency warfare," the report accused the United States of minimizing the insurgent and criminal threat in Iraq and of exaggerating popular support for U.S. and coalition efforts... as late as July 2004, administration spokesmen still lived "in a fantasyland in terms of their public announcements..."
--Report prepared by Anthony Cordesman, senior fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7165023
"The United States is facing increasingly deadly attacks in Iraq because... it failed to honestly assess facts on the ground... administration spokesmen had appeared to live "in a fantasyland" when giving accounts of events in Iraq... "(the U.S.) did not see the threat level that would emerge if it did not provide jobs or pensions for Iraqi career officers or co-opt them into the nation-building effort. ... It acted as if it had years to rebuild Iraq using its own plans, rather than months to shape the climate in which Iraqis could do it"... Under the heading "Denial as a method of counter-insurgency warfare," the report accused the United States of minimizing the insurgent and criminal threat in Iraq and of exaggerating popular support for U.S. and coalition efforts... as late as July 2004, administration spokesmen still lived "in a fantasyland in terms of their public announcements..."
--Report prepared by Anthony Cordesman, senior fellow of the Center for Strategic and International Studies
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7165023
CIVIL WAR UNLESS U.S. EXITS AFTER ELECTIONS?
" The absolute majority of Iraqis want the Americans out of their country as soon as possible... The United Iraqi Alliance - the Shi'ite, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani-supervised electoral list (228 candidates) - has a detailed, 23-point platform... (which) insists on the "sovereignty, unity and Islamic identity" of Iraq, and most crucially includes a plan with a precise date for the end of the military occupation..."
"... Iraqi elections... could (either) be... the start of the Iraqi Civil War. Or... it could lead to an elected Shi'ite-dominated government - but Iraqi nationalist nevertheless - convincing moderate Sunnis that their political commitment to the end of the occupation is more effective than a guerrilla strategy..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL24Ak03.html
" The absolute majority of Iraqis want the Americans out of their country as soon as possible... The United Iraqi Alliance - the Shi'ite, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani-supervised electoral list (228 candidates) - has a detailed, 23-point platform... (which) insists on the "sovereignty, unity and Islamic identity" of Iraq, and most crucially includes a plan with a precise date for the end of the military occupation..."
"... Iraqi elections... could (either) be... the start of the Iraqi Civil War. Or... it could lead to an elected Shi'ite-dominated government - but Iraqi nationalist nevertheless - convincing moderate Sunnis that their political commitment to the end of the occupation is more effective than a guerrilla strategy..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL24Ak03.html
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
PENTAGON REPORT AGREES WITH BIN LADEN ON FREEDOM
"The war's effect on friends and enemies was studied by the Defense Science Board on Strategic Communications, a 40-member task force made up of diplomatic, military, academic and business experts, which advises the Pentagon on policy matters related to defense... the 102-page report was not made public in the presidential campaign but instead was "silently slipped onto a Pentagon Web site on Thanksgiving eve... for internal consumption only. A Pentagon spokesman said the White House was aware of the report. "Muslims do not hate our freedoms, but rather they hate our policies," the report said."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/204702_thomas22.html
"... We fought you because we are free and because we want freedom for our nation..."
--Osama Bin Laden, 29 Oct 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3966817.stm
"The war's effect on friends and enemies was studied by the Defense Science Board on Strategic Communications, a 40-member task force made up of diplomatic, military, academic and business experts, which advises the Pentagon on policy matters related to defense... the 102-page report was not made public in the presidential campaign but instead was "silently slipped onto a Pentagon Web site on Thanksgiving eve... for internal consumption only. A Pentagon spokesman said the White House was aware of the report. "Muslims do not hate our freedoms, but rather they hate our policies," the report said."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/204702_thomas22.html
"... We fought you because we are free and because we want freedom for our nation..."
--Osama Bin Laden, 29 Oct 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3966817.stm
10 TO 15 YEARS BEFORE WITHDRAWAL
"Senior MPs warn British troops will be in Iraq for a decade, as Blair in Baghdad proclaims: 'We are not a nation of quitters"... Unlike the Prime Minister, the Commons Defence Select Committee was unable to visit Baghdad because the security situation was too dangerous. One senior member of the committee said: "It will take 10 to 15 years at least [before troops can be fully withdrawn]. It is another Cyprus. The Iraqis just cannot cope with the security situation and won't be able to for years..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=595356
"Senior MPs warn British troops will be in Iraq for a decade, as Blair in Baghdad proclaims: 'We are not a nation of quitters"... Unlike the Prime Minister, the Commons Defence Select Committee was unable to visit Baghdad because the security situation was too dangerous. One senior member of the committee said: "It will take 10 to 15 years at least [before troops can be fully withdrawn]. It is another Cyprus. The Iraqis just cannot cope with the security situation and won't be able to for years..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=595356
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
CHEMICAL ALI'S AND SADDAM'S DEFENSE
"Who was the first... to authorize use of mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq?... Winston Churchill. As colonial secretary and secretary for war and air, he authorized the RAF in the 1920s to routinely use mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq..."
" (Now) Al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") will stand trial next week... accused of ordering the 1988 gassing of Kurds at Halabja... The CIA's former Iraq desk chief claims Kurds who died at Halabja were killed by cyanide gas, not nerve gas... At the time, Iraq and Iran were locked in... their eight-year war. Halabja was caught between the two armies that were exchanging salvos of regular and chemical munitions. Only Iran had cyanide gas. If the CIA official is correct, the Kurds were accidentally killed by Iran, not Iraq..."
"... Who supplied "Chemical Ali" with his mustard and nerve gas? ..Four British technicians in Baghdad who(were) "seconded" to Iraq by Britain's ministry of defence and MI6 intelligence to make chemical and biological weapons, including anthrax, Q-fever and plague, at a secret laboratory at Salman Pak."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Eric_Margolis/2004/12/19/790077.html
"... Iraq used chemical weapons to try to kill Iranians who had seized the town, which is in northern Iraq not far from the Iranian border. The Kurdish civilians who died had the misfortune to be caught up in that exchange. But they were not Iraq's main target..."
--Stephen C. Pelletiere, "A War Crime or an Act of War?" New York Times, 31 January 2003
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/gas.htm
"... American legal authority in Iraq... have dropped the charges of Halabja and genocide in the south against Saddam due to insufficient evidence. This clearly indicates that the information the legal team had about the responsibility of what happened in Halabja lies on Iran and not Iraq and made the American authority drop this charge..."
--On the Margin newsletter, 21 Dec 2004
http://www.wanniski.com/
"Who was the first... to authorize use of mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq?... Winston Churchill. As colonial secretary and secretary for war and air, he authorized the RAF in the 1920s to routinely use mustard gas against rebellious Kurdish tribesmen in Iraq..."
" (Now) Al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") will stand trial next week... accused of ordering the 1988 gassing of Kurds at Halabja... The CIA's former Iraq desk chief claims Kurds who died at Halabja were killed by cyanide gas, not nerve gas... At the time, Iraq and Iran were locked in... their eight-year war. Halabja was caught between the two armies that were exchanging salvos of regular and chemical munitions. Only Iran had cyanide gas. If the CIA official is correct, the Kurds were accidentally killed by Iran, not Iraq..."
"... Who supplied "Chemical Ali" with his mustard and nerve gas? ..Four British technicians in Baghdad who(were) "seconded" to Iraq by Britain's ministry of defence and MI6 intelligence to make chemical and biological weapons, including anthrax, Q-fever and plague, at a secret laboratory at Salman Pak."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Eric_Margolis/2004/12/19/790077.html
"... Iraq used chemical weapons to try to kill Iranians who had seized the town, which is in northern Iraq not far from the Iranian border. The Kurdish civilians who died had the misfortune to be caught up in that exchange. But they were not Iraq's main target..."
--Stephen C. Pelletiere, "A War Crime or an Act of War?" New York Times, 31 January 2003
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/bush/gas.htm
"... American legal authority in Iraq... have dropped the charges of Halabja and genocide in the south against Saddam due to insufficient evidence. This clearly indicates that the information the legal team had about the responsibility of what happened in Halabja lies on Iran and not Iraq and made the American authority drop this charge..."
--On the Margin newsletter, 21 Dec 2004
http://www.wanniski.com/
Monday, December 20, 2004
INSURGENTS TO RE-INFILTRATE FALLUJAH
"... the military has intercepted communications among insurgents indicating that they hope to re-infiltrate the city along with returning refugees. And Marine combat officers say the task of clearing remaining resistance will be enormously complicated by the need to pick rebels from among the population."
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-563815.php
"... the military has intercepted communications among insurgents indicating that they hope to re-infiltrate the city along with returning refugees. And Marine combat officers say the task of clearing remaining resistance will be enormously complicated by the need to pick rebels from among the population."
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-563815.php
INSURGENTS HAVE GOOD INTELLIGENCE IN MOSUL
"... insurgent networks have such good intelligence... They have exact information. They have people in every office, every department - police, Iraqi National Guard, Health Ministry, education, electricity, and municipality. And the people cooperate with them - sometimes willingly, sometimes not."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/1221/p01s03-woiq.html
"... insurgent networks have such good intelligence... They have exact information. They have people in every office, every department - police, Iraqi National Guard, Health Ministry, education, electricity, and municipality. And the people cooperate with them - sometimes willingly, sometimes not."
http://search.csmonitor.com/2004/1221/p01s03-woiq.html
$20 BILLION WORTH OF IRAQI OIL MISSING UNDER U.S. CONTROL
"US failed to control Iraq oil... the US-led occupation authority failed to exercise proper controls over Iraq's oil industry and could not say how much oil had gone missing... there were "important weaknesses" in the management by occupation officials of up to $20bn in Iraqi funds, mostly from oil sales..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4098729.stm
"... Last year... Paul Bremer, said that he would hire a certified public accounting company to ensure proper controls. But the United States didn’t give the contract to an accounting firm but to a tiny consulting company, Northstar, which turned out to be headquartered at a private home near San Diego.... Northstar’s president said that the Pentagon knew that Northstar was not a certified public accounting firm and that four experienced employees went to Iraq and did a good job. However, one audit notes that a single Northstar employee maintained spreadsheets tracking billions of dollars..."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6621523/
"US failed to control Iraq oil... the US-led occupation authority failed to exercise proper controls over Iraq's oil industry and could not say how much oil had gone missing... there were "important weaknesses" in the management by occupation officials of up to $20bn in Iraqi funds, mostly from oil sales..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4098729.stm
"... Last year... Paul Bremer, said that he would hire a certified public accounting company to ensure proper controls. But the United States didn’t give the contract to an accounting firm but to a tiny consulting company, Northstar, which turned out to be headquartered at a private home near San Diego.... Northstar’s president said that the Pentagon knew that Northstar was not a certified public accounting firm and that four experienced employees went to Iraq and did a good job. However, one audit notes that a single Northstar employee maintained spreadsheets tracking billions of dollars..."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6621523/
INTELLIGENCE REFORM
"The Pentagon is drawing up a plan that would give the military a more prominent role in intelligence-collection operations that have traditionally been the province of the CIA... a current intelligence official who works outside the Pentagon described the relationship between the Pentagon and the C.I.A. as "closer than ever - cooperation is strongest in the places where it counts most, like Iraq and Afghanistan"... The details of the plan remain secret and are evolving, but indications of its scope and significance have begun to emerge in recent weeks. One part of the overall proposal is being drafted by a team led by Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, a deputy under secretary of defense..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/politics/19military.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
"The Pentagon is drawing up a plan that would give the military a more prominent role in intelligence-collection operations that have traditionally been the province of the CIA... a current intelligence official who works outside the Pentagon described the relationship between the Pentagon and the C.I.A. as "closer than ever - cooperation is strongest in the places where it counts most, like Iraq and Afghanistan"... The details of the plan remain secret and are evolving, but indications of its scope and significance have begun to emerge in recent weeks. One part of the overall proposal is being drafted by a team led by Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, a deputy under secretary of defense..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/politics/19military.html?oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
ELECTION FIELD NARROWS
"... Iraq is being treated as a single electoral district. Registered voters will choose either an individual, party or coalition list of candidates, and the 275 seats in the National Assembly will be distributed by proportional representation... Some 256 parties, blocs and individuals have signed up to contest the poll -- around 7,700 candidates in all... (but) thanks to electoral pacts and a failure of small parties to field actual candidates, the ballot paper itself should present voters with a choice of closer to 100 names...
"... Since the electorate, expected to be 10-14 million strong, is inexperienced with democratic polls, the order in which names appear on the ballot may influence voting patterns... (so) the order they appear on the ballot sheet, which could be many pages thick, is determined by chance... spinning a clear plastic drum filled with numbered balls..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HC2CIKRRBZEC0CRBAEOCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=7140875
"... Iraq is being treated as a single electoral district. Registered voters will choose either an individual, party or coalition list of candidates, and the 275 seats in the National Assembly will be distributed by proportional representation... Some 256 parties, blocs and individuals have signed up to contest the poll -- around 7,700 candidates in all... (but) thanks to electoral pacts and a failure of small parties to field actual candidates, the ballot paper itself should present voters with a choice of closer to 100 names...
"... Since the electorate, expected to be 10-14 million strong, is inexperienced with democratic polls, the order in which names appear on the ballot may influence voting patterns... (so) the order they appear on the ballot sheet, which could be many pages thick, is determined by chance... spinning a clear plastic drum filled with numbered balls..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HC2CIKRRBZEC0CRBAEOCFEY?type=worldNews&storyID=7140875
SADDAM'S ADVICE
Saddam calls on Iraqis to be united... Jailed Iraqi leader urges his people to be wary of elections, bases his call for unity on Koranic verses... made these "recommendations" during his first meeting with one of his Iraqi lawyers..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12190
Saddam calls on Iraqis to be united... Jailed Iraqi leader urges his people to be wary of elections, bases his call for unity on Koranic verses... made these "recommendations" during his first meeting with one of his Iraqi lawyers..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=12190
Sunday, December 19, 2004
USE OF BLOGS FOR PROPAGANDA
"... two of three brothers who write IraqTheModel from Baghdad are on their "Spirit of America" tour in the U.S., garnering an audience with the President, Wolfowitz, New York, the Wall Street Journal, and today with emphatic war supporter Roger L. Simon...
"Though the brothers have already met many rightwing luminaries, their arrival in the land of the free and the home of the brave will not expose them to many questions from objective, disinterested mainstream media.
"There are certainly a few questions worth asking them.
"It would be worthwhile to hear from the brothers, for instance, the story on how they decided to alight on a company near Abilene, Texas as their Internet Service Provider when they commenced their blog, six months after the initial "fall" of Baghdad.
"Mainstream media might also be able to confirm if the blog was facilitated in any way by the 490th Army Civil Reserve Unit, also based in Abilene,TX, which serviced Baghdad in 2003 at the same time the brothers started the blog.
"... Does the Government, or people closely connected to Pentagon strategists, have a shadow role in promoting this particular “Spirit of America” tour? Why is the Wall Street Journal so interested in these particular Iraqi bloggers, and not, say, Riverbend?
"Other questions are not likely to be addressed by the blogging bros this weekend:
--Were these bloggers prompted by invasion forces to start their blog?
--Who was their contact for their unlikely Abiline, Texas domain host?
--Are the brothers now or have they ever been in any kind of American pay (beyond the largesse of their rightwing PayPal contributors)?
--And most importantly: why are We, the People of the United States, being invited (by our President, no less!) to care so much about what these particular brothers think, when polls out of Iraq indicate that their blog has historically run far, far outside of Iraqi mainstream thinking?
"The brothers are always stating how much they owe to America; we hope they enjoy their visit. While they are here, it would also be graceful of them to consider answering a couple of questions that aren’t posed to them by a fawning, facile audience--an audience which actually diminishes the brothers achievements by insulating them from normal scrutiny and media vetting..."
hhttp://martinirepublic.com/item/979ere
"... two of three brothers who write IraqTheModel from Baghdad are on their "Spirit of America" tour in the U.S., garnering an audience with the President, Wolfowitz, New York, the Wall Street Journal, and today with emphatic war supporter Roger L. Simon...
"Though the brothers have already met many rightwing luminaries, their arrival in the land of the free and the home of the brave will not expose them to many questions from objective, disinterested mainstream media.
"There are certainly a few questions worth asking them.
"It would be worthwhile to hear from the brothers, for instance, the story on how they decided to alight on a company near Abilene, Texas as their Internet Service Provider when they commenced their blog, six months after the initial "fall" of Baghdad.
"Mainstream media might also be able to confirm if the blog was facilitated in any way by the 490th Army Civil Reserve Unit, also based in Abilene,TX, which serviced Baghdad in 2003 at the same time the brothers started the blog.
"... Does the Government, or people closely connected to Pentagon strategists, have a shadow role in promoting this particular “Spirit of America” tour? Why is the Wall Street Journal so interested in these particular Iraqi bloggers, and not, say, Riverbend?
"Other questions are not likely to be addressed by the blogging bros this weekend:
--Were these bloggers prompted by invasion forces to start their blog?
--Who was their contact for their unlikely Abiline, Texas domain host?
--Are the brothers now or have they ever been in any kind of American pay (beyond the largesse of their rightwing PayPal contributors)?
--And most importantly: why are We, the People of the United States, being invited (by our President, no less!) to care so much about what these particular brothers think, when polls out of Iraq indicate that their blog has historically run far, far outside of Iraqi mainstream thinking?
"The brothers are always stating how much they owe to America; we hope they enjoy their visit. While they are here, it would also be graceful of them to consider answering a couple of questions that aren’t posed to them by a fawning, facile audience--an audience which actually diminishes the brothers achievements by insulating them from normal scrutiny and media vetting..."
hhttp://martinirepublic.com/item/979ere
Saturday, December 18, 2004
U.S. IS NOT WINNING
"The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department have warned President Bush that the United States and its Iraqi allies aren't winning the battle against Iraqi insurgents... the warnings -including one delivered this week to Bush by CIA Director Porter Goss - indicated that U.S. forces hadn't been able to stop the insurgents' intimidation of Iraqi voters, candidates and others who want to participate in the elections..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10443261.htm
"The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department have warned President Bush that the United States and its Iraqi allies aren't winning the battle against Iraqi insurgents... the warnings -including one delivered this week to Bush by CIA Director Porter Goss - indicated that U.S. forces hadn't been able to stop the insurgents' intimidation of Iraqi voters, candidates and others who want to participate in the elections..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10443261.htm
Friday, December 17, 2004
DISCONNECT
"... By anyone's standards, terrible things are happening in Iraq, and no amount of self-congratulation in Washington can take the edge off the horror being endured by American troops or the unrelenting agony of the Iraqi people.... The disconnect between the White House's fantasyland and the world of war in Iraq could hardly have been illustrated more starkly than by a pair of front-page articles in The New York Times on Dec. 10. The story at the top of the page carried the headline: "It's Inauguration Time Again, and Access Still Has Its Price - $250,000 Buys Lunch With President and More." The headline on the story beneath it said: "Armor Scarce for Heavy Trucks Transporting U.S. Cargo in Iraq."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/opinion/17herbert.html?oref=login&hp
"... By anyone's standards, terrible things are happening in Iraq, and no amount of self-congratulation in Washington can take the edge off the horror being endured by American troops or the unrelenting agony of the Iraqi people.... The disconnect between the White House's fantasyland and the world of war in Iraq could hardly have been illustrated more starkly than by a pair of front-page articles in The New York Times on Dec. 10. The story at the top of the page carried the headline: "It's Inauguration Time Again, and Access Still Has Its Price - $250,000 Buys Lunch With President and More." The headline on the story beneath it said: "Armor Scarce for Heavy Trucks Transporting U.S. Cargo in Iraq."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/opinion/17herbert.html?oref=login&hp
Thursday, December 16, 2004
U.S. STATEMENTS ON FALLUJAH
"... Around 30 Iraqi fighters and 11 U.S. soldiers were killed during clashes last Saturday, according to the U.S. army..."
"... Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ballard, commander of the Civilian Military Operations Center... estimated that at least 10,000 residents remained in the city during the offensive. Initially, the return of residents was scheduled for December 15, “but now there is no established date..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Defrancisco, a Marine reserve engineer, also said that returning to “where we were before the war will take years. Being in a position to start again some activity in the city will take months..."
"Lieutenant Lyle Gilbert with the First Marine Expeditionary Force also said it is impossible to predict when resident will be able to return to the city, or whether they can participate in the elections..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=6176
"... Around 30 Iraqi fighters and 11 U.S. soldiers were killed during clashes last Saturday, according to the U.S. army..."
"... Lieutenant Colonel Scott Ballard, commander of the Civilian Military Operations Center... estimated that at least 10,000 residents remained in the city during the offensive. Initially, the return of residents was scheduled for December 15, “but now there is no established date..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Defrancisco, a Marine reserve engineer, also said that returning to “where we were before the war will take years. Being in a position to start again some activity in the city will take months..."
"Lieutenant Lyle Gilbert with the First Marine Expeditionary Force also said it is impossible to predict when resident will be able to return to the city, or whether they can participate in the elections..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=6176
MESSAGE FROM BIN LADEN
"...Saddam is a thief and a renegade, yet the solution can never be taking Iraq from the hands of the local thief to hand it over to the international thief.... Targeting America in Iraq in terms of economy and losses in life is a golden and unique opportunity. Do not waste it only to regret it later. One of the most important reasons that led our enemies to control our land is the theft of our oil. Do everything you can to stop the biggest plundering operation in history..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4103137.stm
"...Saddam is a thief and a renegade, yet the solution can never be taking Iraq from the hands of the local thief to hand it over to the international thief.... Targeting America in Iraq in terms of economy and losses in life is a golden and unique opportunity. Do not waste it only to regret it later. One of the most important reasons that led our enemies to control our land is the theft of our oil. Do everything you can to stop the biggest plundering operation in history..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4103137.stm
INTERVIEW WITH TWO INSURGENTS
"... Theirs is a story rarely told, a brief insight into the lives of thousands of Iraqi men who have spent the past 18 months fighting a costly guerrilla war against the most powerful army in the world..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1374581,00.html
"... Theirs is a story rarely told, a brief insight into the lives of thousands of Iraqi men who have spent the past 18 months fighting a costly guerrilla war against the most powerful army in the world..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1374581,00.html
WAR TOLL
"... Through July (2004), nearly 31,000 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom had applied for disability benefits for injuries or psychological ailments, according to the Department Veterans Affairs..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/16/national/16stress.html?hp&ex=1103259600&en=76ccd089725f8a3c&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"... Through July (2004), nearly 31,000 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom had applied for disability benefits for injuries or psychological ailments, according to the Department Veterans Affairs..."
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/16/national/16stress.html?hp&ex=1103259600&en=76ccd089725f8a3c&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
RESISTANCE TO CONTINUE UNTIL U.S. LEAVES
"... There is no government that can emerge from the current process that will be viewed as legitimate in their eyes. The resistance will continue until American influence has disappeared from Iraq's political system... The political dead end described above is the fate the resistance has chosen. They view themselves, and are viewed by others, as Iraqis and Muslims, declaring their fight to be for their homes, their nation, their honor, and their faith against the imposition of a political structure by a foreign nation. Their struggle against us is not much more complicated than that, and it seems to me that the violence will remain until we are gone."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/15/why_elections_wont_quell_iraq_resistance?mode=PF
"... There is no government that can emerge from the current process that will be viewed as legitimate in their eyes. The resistance will continue until American influence has disappeared from Iraq's political system... The political dead end described above is the fate the resistance has chosen. They view themselves, and are viewed by others, as Iraqis and Muslims, declaring their fight to be for their homes, their nation, their honor, and their faith against the imposition of a political structure by a foreign nation. Their struggle against us is not much more complicated than that, and it seems to me that the violence will remain until we are gone."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/15/why_elections_wont_quell_iraq_resistance?mode=PF
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
BASES BEING SUPPLIED BY AIRLIFTS
"The Air Force is sharply expanding its airlifts of equipment and supplies to bases inside Iraq to reduce the amount of military cargo normally hauled in ground convoys vulnerable to roadside bombings... increased air operations have kept more than 400 trucks and about 1,050 drivers with military escorts off the most dangerous roads in Iraq, Air Force officials said. American military convoys have been suffering about 100 deaths and injuries a month...."
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/14/international/middleeast/14cnd-mili.html?hp&ex=1103086800&en=dc49b85a53baa98f&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"The Air Force is sharply expanding its airlifts of equipment and supplies to bases inside Iraq to reduce the amount of military cargo normally hauled in ground convoys vulnerable to roadside bombings... increased air operations have kept more than 400 trucks and about 1,050 drivers with military escorts off the most dangerous roads in Iraq, Air Force officials said. American military convoys have been suffering about 100 deaths and injuries a month...."
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/14/international/middleeast/14cnd-mili.html?hp&ex=1103086800&en=dc49b85a53baa98f&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Monday, December 13, 2004
IRAQI PRESIDENT WARNS OF IRAQI HITLER
"... President Yawar, a Sunni tribal leader occupying a largely figurehead post... Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper he warned that continued mayhem and foreign occupation could see Iraqis yearning for a strong hand. "This could in the long term create an environment in which an Iraqi Hitler could emerge like the one created by the defeat of Germany and the humiliation of Germans in World War One."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7077804&pageNumber=2
"... President Yawar, a Sunni tribal leader occupying a largely figurehead post... Speaking to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper he warned that continued mayhem and foreign occupation could see Iraqis yearning for a strong hand. "This could in the long term create an environment in which an Iraqi Hitler could emerge like the one created by the defeat of Germany and the humiliation of Germans in World War One."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7077804&pageNumber=2
FIGURES ON IRAQI NATIONAL GUARD AND POLICE
"... the Pentagon has stopped issuing data about equipment shortages and deliveries. The last set of such figures - in September - showed, for example, that the National Guard was short of almost half its required weapons and about two thirds of its vehicles and body armour. However, the latest figures, for November, still show what the problem is. The numbers are well short of eventual establishments. Police strength is put at 87,133, but only 47,342 are said to be "on duty, trained and equipped." There is no explanation of the discrepancy. Presumably some are still being trained. But the figures also say nothing about how many have deserted, let alone how many are not that useful. The National Guard is doing better with 41,409 on duty out of a current strength of 43,318..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4075359.stm
"... the Pentagon has stopped issuing data about equipment shortages and deliveries. The last set of such figures - in September - showed, for example, that the National Guard was short of almost half its required weapons and about two thirds of its vehicles and body armour. However, the latest figures, for November, still show what the problem is. The numbers are well short of eventual establishments. Police strength is put at 87,133, but only 47,342 are said to be "on duty, trained and equipped." There is no explanation of the discrepancy. Presumably some are still being trained. But the figures also say nothing about how many have deserted, let alone how many are not that useful. The National Guard is doing better with 41,409 on duty out of a current strength of 43,318..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4075359.stm
Saturday, December 11, 2004
FUEL AND ELECTRIC SHORTAGES
"... a fuel crisis, which has left Iraqi homes cold and dark and drivers waiting days for petrol, may inflame unrest before next month's election... Lines several km (miles) long snake from the city's petrol stations... Anger has boiled over, fights and shooting have broken out. The cost of paraffin for heating has risen fivefold in the capital and bottled cooking gas tenfold, causing serious hardship for the many Iraqis without jobs or regular income.... With temperatures dropping close to freezing, electricity seems in shorter supply even than a few months ago... Typically many households have two hours of power before a four-hour blackout..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7057137&pageNumber=1
"... a fuel crisis, which has left Iraqi homes cold and dark and drivers waiting days for petrol, may inflame unrest before next month's election... Lines several km (miles) long snake from the city's petrol stations... Anger has boiled over, fights and shooting have broken out. The cost of paraffin for heating has risen fivefold in the capital and bottled cooking gas tenfold, causing serious hardship for the many Iraqis without jobs or regular income.... With temperatures dropping close to freezing, electricity seems in shorter supply even than a few months ago... Typically many households have two hours of power before a four-hour blackout..."
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7057137&pageNumber=1
FALLUJAH AN AMERICAN GULAG
"... According to the International Organization on Migration, at least 210,600 Fallujans - more than 35,000 families - have been turned into refugees. Now the doomed city - reduced to a pile of rubble, but still closed by the Americans, with the resistance controlling at least 60% of it - is about to be turned into a concentration camp.
"This Pentagon-sponsored initiative will see Fallujans herded to "citizen processing centers", subjected to DNA testing and retina scans, and forced to wear badges with their home addresses at all times. Cars will be banned from the city: after all, they are the suicide bombers' weapon of choice. Male Fallujah civilians will be regimented in "military-style battalions" and, depending "on their skills" will "be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks or rubble-clearing platoons" - in other words, chain gangs. Moderate Sunni Arabs in Baghdad are enraged beyond belief: they correctly identify this US-enforced gulag as the "model city" in an ideal neo-conservative Middle East."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL10Ak02.html
"... According to the International Organization on Migration, at least 210,600 Fallujans - more than 35,000 families - have been turned into refugees. Now the doomed city - reduced to a pile of rubble, but still closed by the Americans, with the resistance controlling at least 60% of it - is about to be turned into a concentration camp.
"This Pentagon-sponsored initiative will see Fallujans herded to "citizen processing centers", subjected to DNA testing and retina scans, and forced to wear badges with their home addresses at all times. Cars will be banned from the city: after all, they are the suicide bombers' weapon of choice. Male Fallujah civilians will be regimented in "military-style battalions" and, depending "on their skills" will "be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks or rubble-clearing platoons" - in other words, chain gangs. Moderate Sunni Arabs in Baghdad are enraged beyond belief: they correctly identify this US-enforced gulag as the "model city" in an ideal neo-conservative Middle East."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL10Ak02.html
ELECTION AND CIVIL WAR
"The Iraqi elections won't happen on January 30 because the Bush administration wants them: they will happen because Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wants them. The Shi'ite leader knows it's now or never for the Shi'ite majority in the country to take power. The majority of Sunnis - because of the Fallujah offensive - won't vote:...
"Whatever happens, disaster looms. The Sunni Iraqi resistance's ultimate political aim is to cut off the majority of Sunnis from the US-imposed political calendar. They are succeeding because Sunnis have realized the elections will take place - whatever their complaints about their legitimacy. Iraq cannot possibly have a meaningful permanent constitution without Sunni input... The consequences of the majority of Sunnis boycotting the election and thus being under-represented in parliament spells only one thing: civil war..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL10Ak02.html
"The Iraqi elections won't happen on January 30 because the Bush administration wants them: they will happen because Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wants them. The Shi'ite leader knows it's now or never for the Shi'ite majority in the country to take power. The majority of Sunnis - because of the Fallujah offensive - won't vote:...
"Whatever happens, disaster looms. The Sunni Iraqi resistance's ultimate political aim is to cut off the majority of Sunnis from the US-imposed political calendar. They are succeeding because Sunnis have realized the elections will take place - whatever their complaints about their legitimacy. Iraq cannot possibly have a meaningful permanent constitution without Sunni input... The consequences of the majority of Sunnis boycotting the election and thus being under-represented in parliament spells only one thing: civil war..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL10Ak02.html
Friday, December 10, 2004
FALLUJAH PHOTOS
"... Another priority for the (Red Cross) is the identification of "hundreds of bodies" collected and stored by US-led forces in a former potato warehouse. Photographs of the corpses have to be taken and circulated among refugees from the city so that they could be identified and buried as soon as possible..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4085109.stm
From Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches, Images From The War in Iraq, at
hehttp://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/re
"Two weeks ago someone was allowed into Fallujah by the military to help bury bodies. They were allowed to take photographs of 75 bodies, in order to show pictures to relatives so that they might be identified before they were buried. These pictures are from a book of these photos. They are being circulated publicly around small villages near Fallujah where many refugees are staying."
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28
"... Another priority for the (Red Cross) is the identification of "hundreds of bodies" collected and stored by US-led forces in a former potato warehouse. Photographs of the corpses have to be taken and circulated among refugees from the city so that they could be identified and buried as soon as possible..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4085109.stm
From Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches, Images From The War in Iraq, at
hehttp://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/re
"Two weeks ago someone was allowed into Fallujah by the military to help bury bodies. They were allowed to take photographs of 75 bodies, in order to show pictures to relatives so that they might be identified before they were buried. These pictures are from a book of these photos. They are being circulated publicly around small villages near Fallujah where many refugees are staying."
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album28
Thursday, December 09, 2004
INJURIES
"US troops injured in Iraq have required limb amputations at twice the rate of past wars, and as many as 20 percent have suffered head and neck injuries that may require a lifetime of care... snipers and makeshift bombs tear off arms and legs and rip into faces and necks... 6 percent of those wounded in Iraq have required amputations, compared with a rate of 3 percent for past wars... the current VA medical system "literally cannot handle the load" of amputees... The angle of the force of these IEDs is right for the neck and face... These injuries, surgeons said, have long-term implications, with many involving irreversible brain damage, breathing and eating impairments, blindness, or severe disfiguration..."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/12/09/amputation_rate_for_us_troops_twice_that_of_past_wars?mode=PF
"US troops injured in Iraq have required limb amputations at twice the rate of past wars, and as many as 20 percent have suffered head and neck injuries that may require a lifetime of care... snipers and makeshift bombs tear off arms and legs and rip into faces and necks... 6 percent of those wounded in Iraq have required amputations, compared with a rate of 3 percent for past wars... the current VA medical system "literally cannot handle the load" of amputees... The angle of the force of these IEDs is right for the neck and face... These injuries, surgeons said, have long-term implications, with many involving irreversible brain damage, breathing and eating impairments, blindness, or severe disfiguration..."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2004/12/09/amputation_rate_for_us_troops_twice_that_of_past_wars?mode=PF
GAS SHORTAGE
"A monthlong gasoline crisis... has paralyzed the Iraqi capital... Lines at Baghdad gas stations stretch for miles... an off-duty police officer killed a gas station security guard who refused to let the officer exceed his legal fuel allotment... Motorists are queued up around Baghdad gas stations in lines as long as 2 1/2 miles, blocking intersections, looping through city squares and in some cases spanning the length of Tigris River bridges. Government employees skip work to spend the day in line, bringing blankets and thermoses of tea to ward off the winter cold..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-gas9dec09,0,7121802.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"A monthlong gasoline crisis... has paralyzed the Iraqi capital... Lines at Baghdad gas stations stretch for miles... an off-duty police officer killed a gas station security guard who refused to let the officer exceed his legal fuel allotment... Motorists are queued up around Baghdad gas stations in lines as long as 2 1/2 miles, blocking intersections, looping through city squares and in some cases spanning the length of Tigris River bridges. Government employees skip work to spend the day in line, bringing blankets and thermoses of tea to ward off the winter cold..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-gas9dec09,0,7121802.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
DOCTOR SHORTAGE
"A severe shortage of surgeons in Iraq has left U.S. Army medical teams in the country scrambling to handle the largest number of casualties since the Vietnam War... overwhelmed by the scope and severity of injuries among troops in Iraq... With just 120 general surgeons on active duty, the Army has been forced to use urologists, plastic surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons to conduct general surgery on soldiers in Iraq. Many surgeons have been deployed for more than two years in Iraq..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-120804casualties_lat,0,4349856.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"A severe shortage of surgeons in Iraq has left U.S. Army medical teams in the country scrambling to handle the largest number of casualties since the Vietnam War... overwhelmed by the scope and severity of injuries among troops in Iraq... With just 120 general surgeons on active duty, the Army has been forced to use urologists, plastic surgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons to conduct general surgery on soldiers in Iraq. Many surgeons have been deployed for more than two years in Iraq..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-120804casualties_lat,0,4349856.story?coll=la-home-headlines
CHECKPOINTS
"A former U.S. marine testified yesterday that... he pumped 500 rounds of bullets into vehicles that failed to stop at military checkpoints... he and his fellow marines shot and killed more than 30 unarmed men, women and children and even shot a young Iraqi who got out of his car with his arms in the air... none of the Iraqis they shot had suicide bombing materials in their vehicles... they didn't understand the hand signals and signage indicating they should stop..."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041208/REFUGEE08/TPInternational/Americas
"A former U.S. marine testified yesterday that... he pumped 500 rounds of bullets into vehicles that failed to stop at military checkpoints... he and his fellow marines shot and killed more than 30 unarmed men, women and children and even shot a young Iraqi who got out of his car with his arms in the air... none of the Iraqis they shot had suicide bombing materials in their vehicles... they didn't understand the hand signals and signage indicating they should stop..."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041208/REFUGEE08/TPInternational/Americas
VERGE OF CIVIL WAR
"... Iraq is on the verge of a civil war if not already started at least from the Sunni side. If it is broken it will not exclude any one including the US forces. It is definitely the last nail in the failure of the US in Iraq. The only solution is to deal with it by the Iraqi way... Let it be a WW4..."
Hammorabi, Sunday, December 05, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
"... Iraq is on the verge of a civil war if not already started at least from the Sunni side. If it is broken it will not exclude any one including the US forces. It is definitely the last nail in the failure of the US in Iraq. The only solution is to deal with it by the Iraqi way... Let it be a WW4..."
Hammorabi, Sunday, December 05, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
SITUATION GROWS MORE DESPERATE
"... the situation in Iraq grows more desperate by the day. Vaunted "coalition" efforts to "break the back" of the "insurgency" have only strengthened it. The violence among Iraqis would surely qualify as civil war -- except that only one side is fighting. The structures of relief and repair are gone. Whole cities are destroyed, populations displaced. The hope of Iraqi elections is mortally compromised. "Coalition" members are dropping out. The mission of American force is to secure the country, but it can't secure itself. The performance of US intelligence has been consistent: Its strategic failures caused the war, and its tactical ignorance of the enemy is losing the war..."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/07/afraid_to_look_in_the_moral_abyss/
"... the situation in Iraq grows more desperate by the day. Vaunted "coalition" efforts to "break the back" of the "insurgency" have only strengthened it. The violence among Iraqis would surely qualify as civil war -- except that only one side is fighting. The structures of relief and repair are gone. Whole cities are destroyed, populations displaced. The hope of Iraqi elections is mortally compromised. "Coalition" members are dropping out. The mission of American force is to secure the country, but it can't secure itself. The performance of US intelligence has been consistent: Its strategic failures caused the war, and its tactical ignorance of the enemy is losing the war..."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2004/12/07/afraid_to_look_in_the_moral_abyss/
CIA BAGHDAD CHIEF SAYS IRAQ SITUATION DETERIORATING
"A classified cable sent by the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Baghdad has warned that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating... the appraisals, which follow several other such warnings from officials in Washington and in the field, were much more pessimistic than the public picture being offered by the Bush administration... "
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/07/international/middleeast/07intell.html?hp&ex=1102482000&en=78f41ffc3ad43b8a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"A classified cable sent by the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Baghdad has warned that the situation in Iraq is deteriorating... the appraisals, which follow several other such warnings from officials in Washington and in the field, were much more pessimistic than the public picture being offered by the Bush administration... "
http://nytimes.com/2004/12/07/international/middleeast/07intell.html?hp&ex=1102482000&en=78f41ffc3ad43b8a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Sunday, December 05, 2004
ELECTION AGENDA AND NOMINEES
"The election which is supposed to be in less than 60 days is meaningless if the parties are not announcing their agenda and their nominees. The nominees have not done enough or none at all to visit cities and state their agenda for the country!"
Hammorabi Blog, Saturday, December 04, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
"The election which is supposed to be in less than 60 days is meaningless if the parties are not announcing their agenda and their nominees. The nominees have not done enough or none at all to visit cities and state their agenda for the country!"
Hammorabi Blog, Saturday, December 04, 2004
http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/
Saturday, December 04, 2004
WITNESSES WHO COUNT THE DEAD
"In Iraq... what happens to the people who insist on counting the bodies - the doctors who must pronounce their patients dead, the journalists who document these losses, the clerics who denounce them? In Iraq, evidence is mounting that these voices are being systematically silenced through a variety of means, from mass arrests, to raids on hospitals, media bans, and overt and unexplained physical attacks... One war is against the Iraqi people, and it has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. The other is a war on witnesses. "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1366348,00.html
"In Iraq... what happens to the people who insist on counting the bodies - the doctors who must pronounce their patients dead, the journalists who document these losses, the clerics who denounce them? In Iraq, evidence is mounting that these voices are being systematically silenced through a variety of means, from mass arrests, to raids on hospitals, media bans, and overt and unexplained physical attacks... One war is against the Iraqi people, and it has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. The other is a war on witnesses. "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1366348,00.html
WHY BOYCOTT ELECTION
"Forty seven Iraqi political parties met on 17 November and made the decision to boycott the coming Iraq election. The People's Struggle Movement (al-Kifah al-Shabi), which I represent, was one of those groups... we felt there were enough reasons for any patriotic Iraqi to boycott the proposed January election...
"The planned election will change the political composition of Iraq to suit the interests of the occupation authorities... The coming election will give power to every politician who has assisted the invaders and collaborated with them to consolidate the occupation.... After the election... the elected government will be no more than a vehicle to carry out Washington’s decisions... We strongly believe that the main purpose of the election process is to secure a government that will facilitate long-lasting agreements with the US to keep its forces on Iraqi soil and transform the country into an American colony..."
From "Why Iraqis should boycott the election"
by Mohammed al-Obaidi
Friday 03 December 2004
http://www.wanniski.com/
"Forty seven Iraqi political parties met on 17 November and made the decision to boycott the coming Iraq election. The People's Struggle Movement (al-Kifah al-Shabi), which I represent, was one of those groups... we felt there were enough reasons for any patriotic Iraqi to boycott the proposed January election...
"The planned election will change the political composition of Iraq to suit the interests of the occupation authorities... The coming election will give power to every politician who has assisted the invaders and collaborated with them to consolidate the occupation.... After the election... the elected government will be no more than a vehicle to carry out Washington’s decisions... We strongly believe that the main purpose of the election process is to secure a government that will facilitate long-lasting agreements with the US to keep its forces on Iraqi soil and transform the country into an American colony..."
From "Why Iraqis should boycott the election"
by Mohammed al-Obaidi
Friday 03 December 2004
http://www.wanniski.com/
Thursday, December 02, 2004
AIRPORT ROAD TOO DANGEROUS FOR GREEN ZONE CIVILIANS
"... the U.S. Embassy barred civilian personnel from using the main road to the airport... It's the scene of near-daily explosions, sniper attacks and suicide car bombs... American civilians working in the zone now must use helicopters, rather than armored cars, to get to the international airport..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10323632.htm
"... the U.S. Embassy barred civilian personnel from using the main road to the airport... It's the scene of near-daily explosions, sniper attacks and suicide car bombs... American civilians working in the zone now must use helicopters, rather than armored cars, to get to the international airport..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10323632.htm
NEW VIOLENCE EXPECTED IN FALLUJAH
"U.S. Marines still in Fallujah said that they expect a new wave of violence... (from) fighters hiding among returning refugees... also said that they expect that fighters will find increasing support from Fallujah residents who returned to find their homes and businesses demolished... The Marines are daily blasting homes with gunfire before storming them as they search for weapons and rebels. The damage caused by the latest offensive and continuing security operations in the city, is likely to turn most of the city residents against U.S. and Iraqi forces..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=5916
"U.S. Marines still in Fallujah said that they expect a new wave of violence... (from) fighters hiding among returning refugees... also said that they expect that fighters will find increasing support from Fallujah residents who returned to find their homes and businesses demolished... The Marines are daily blasting homes with gunfire before storming them as they search for weapons and rebels. The damage caused by the latest offensive and continuing security operations in the city, is likely to turn most of the city residents against U.S. and Iraqi forces..."
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=5916
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
FALLUJAH THE NEW GUERNICA
"... Fallujah is the new Guernica. The residents of the Basque capital in 1937 were resisting the Spanish Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, like Fallujah in 2004 was resisting the US-installed dictator Iyad Allawi. Franco asked Nazi Germany to bomb Guernica, just as Allawi asked the US to bomb Fallujah. In Guernica as in Fallujah there was no distinction between civilians and guerrillas. Franco denied the Guernica massacre and blamed the local population, just as Allawi and the US deny any civilian deaths..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL02Ak02.html
"... Fallujah is the new Guernica. The residents of the Basque capital in 1937 were resisting the Spanish Fascist dictator Francisco Franco, like Fallujah in 2004 was resisting the US-installed dictator Iyad Allawi. Franco asked Nazi Germany to bomb Guernica, just as Allawi asked the US to bomb Fallujah. In Guernica as in Fallujah there was no distinction between civilians and guerrillas. Franco denied the Guernica massacre and blamed the local population, just as Allawi and the US deny any civilian deaths..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL02Ak02.html
OCCUPATION RECORD
* Dead Iraqi civilians are estimated to be anything from 15,000 to 100,000 (the British Lancet report). Johns Hopkins University is 90% certain there are more than 40,000 dead civilians.
* The resistance was around 5,000 strong in late 2003. Now it is at least 20,000 strong. Some British generals put them at 50,000 strong - and counting.
* Of the $18.4 billion in Iraqi reconstruction funds, Washington/Baghdad has spent only $1.7 billion. Baghdad has degenerated into a giant, hyper-violent slum, getting worse by the day. There's 25% less electricity now compared with Saddam times in early 2003 - 66% less in Baghdad.
* At least 400,000 Iraqi children suffer from chronic diarrhea and have almost no protein, according to a UN development report. Sixty percent of rural Iraqis and 20% of urban Iraqis are forced to drink contaminated water.
* According to a Gallup poll - taken before the Fallujah massacre - only 33% of respondents thought their lives were better than before the war. Ninety-four percent said Baghdad was more dangerous. Sixty-six percent believed the occupation could degenerate into a civil war. And 80% wanted the occupation over right after the January 30 elections.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL02Ak02.html
* Dead Iraqi civilians are estimated to be anything from 15,000 to 100,000 (the British Lancet report). Johns Hopkins University is 90% certain there are more than 40,000 dead civilians.
* The resistance was around 5,000 strong in late 2003. Now it is at least 20,000 strong. Some British generals put them at 50,000 strong - and counting.
* Of the $18.4 billion in Iraqi reconstruction funds, Washington/Baghdad has spent only $1.7 billion. Baghdad has degenerated into a giant, hyper-violent slum, getting worse by the day. There's 25% less electricity now compared with Saddam times in early 2003 - 66% less in Baghdad.
* At least 400,000 Iraqi children suffer from chronic diarrhea and have almost no protein, according to a UN development report. Sixty percent of rural Iraqis and 20% of urban Iraqis are forced to drink contaminated water.
* According to a Gallup poll - taken before the Fallujah massacre - only 33% of respondents thought their lives were better than before the war. Ninety-four percent said Baghdad was more dangerous. Sixty-six percent believed the occupation could degenerate into a civil war. And 80% wanted the occupation over right after the January 30 elections.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/FL02Ak02.html