HOW U.S. COVERS TRAILS OF DEAD IRAQI CIVILIANS
"How the Pentagon has used "tactical perception management" to obscure the killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces."
U.S. Account
"A suspected insurgent and improvised explosive device cell member was identified among the killed in an engagement between Coalition Forces and suspected IED emplacers just north of Samarra ... During the engagement, insurgents used a nearby house as a safe haven to re-engage coalition aircraft. A known member of an IED cell was among the 11 killed during the multiple engagements. We send condolences to the families of those victims and we regret any loss of life."
--U.S. military spokeswoman in northern Iraq, Maj. Peggy Kageleiry
Iraqi Account
"... the "group of men" attacked were actually three farmers who had left their homes at 4:30 a.m. to irrigate their fields. Two were killed in the initial helicopter attack and the survivor ran back to his home where other residents gathered. The second airstrike, he claimed, destroyed the house killing 14 people. Another witness told reporters that four separate houses were hit by the helicopter. A local Iraqi policeman, Capt. Abdullah al-Isawi, put the death toll at 16 -- seven men, six women and three children, with another 14 wounded."
--Abdul al-Rahman Iyadeh, a relative of some of the victims
http://sacdcweb06.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/11/28/iraq_civilian_deaths/
Thursday, November 22, 2007
60% FOREIGN TERRORISTS FROM U.S. ALLIES
"Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the (more than 700) foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide bombers or to facilitate other attacks, according to senior American military officials...."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/world/middleeast/22fighters.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
"Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the (more than 700) foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide bombers or to facilitate other attacks, according to senior American military officials...."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/world/middleeast/22fighters.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
POOR OVERSIGHT OF $25 BILLION IN CONTRACTS
"US contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan more than doubled from 2004 to 2006 to over 25 billion dollars but government oversight of the firms involved has slackened... marred by issues such as a lack of competitive bidding, missing contracts and unidentified companies..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071120/pl_afp/usiraqafghanistanmilitarycompany_071120002626
"US contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan more than doubled from 2004 to 2006 to over 25 billion dollars but government oversight of the firms involved has slackened... marred by issues such as a lack of competitive bidding, missing contracts and unidentified companies..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071120/pl_afp/usiraqafghanistanmilitarycompany_071120002626
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
IRAQI PARLIAMENT WANTS TO END U.N. MANDATE ALLOWING OCCUPATION
"The United Nations Security Council has been warned by Iraqi parliamentarians of a potentially "serious" constitutional and political crisis if it decides to renew the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force (MNF) beyond December 2007, without approval from lawmakers... (but) Washington -- apparently unconcerned about democracy in Iraq -- is determined to keep troops there, run the show, and to press forward with another U.N. mandate, irrespective of the parliament's wishes..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40038
"The United Nations Security Council has been warned by Iraqi parliamentarians of a potentially "serious" constitutional and political crisis if it decides to renew the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational force (MNF) beyond December 2007, without approval from lawmakers... (but) Washington -- apparently unconcerned about democracy in Iraq -- is determined to keep troops there, run the show, and to press forward with another U.N. mandate, irrespective of the parliament's wishes..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40038
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
HIDDEN COSTS DOUBLE PRICE OF WAR
"The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought... the wars have cost $1.5 trillion - almost twice the requested $804 billion - because of "hidden costs"... (that) included the costs of treating wounded veterans and mounting interest payments on money borrowed to finance the wars... That figure would amount to $20,000 for a regular US family of four... (and) could rise to $46,300 over the next decade..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7092053.stm
"The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought... the wars have cost $1.5 trillion - almost twice the requested $804 billion - because of "hidden costs"... (that) included the costs of treating wounded veterans and mounting interest payments on money borrowed to finance the wars... That figure would amount to $20,000 for a regular US family of four... (and) could rise to $46,300 over the next decade..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7092053.stm
Sunday, November 11, 2007
IRAQ PRISON PROGRESS
"... The Iraqi inmate population at American prisons has been rising... and construction crews have been hustling to catch up. Camp Cropper, inside the mega-base Camp Victory at the edge of Baghdad, has, for instance, undergone constant upgrades. It started out as a bunch of tents, but, by 2006, was a $60 million state-of-the-art prison - and it's been expanding ever since. In April 2007, for example, the military was soliciting bids for "construction projects" at the camp valued at up to $5 million...."
"(At) Dusty Camp Bucca, in the south of Iraq... about $110 million is about to be poured into expanding its overcrowded quarters for a detainee population that should soon leap from 20,000 to 30,000. The work will include "retrofitting 13 existing compounds to add concrete pads to prevent tunneling, better segregation areas and better shower and latrine facilities," as well as "15 new guard towers, three medical units and work on two 'supermax' compounds with the highest levels of security".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak03.html
"... The Iraqi inmate population at American prisons has been rising... and construction crews have been hustling to catch up. Camp Cropper, inside the mega-base Camp Victory at the edge of Baghdad, has, for instance, undergone constant upgrades. It started out as a bunch of tents, but, by 2006, was a $60 million state-of-the-art prison - and it's been expanding ever since. In April 2007, for example, the military was soliciting bids for "construction projects" at the camp valued at up to $5 million...."
"(At) Dusty Camp Bucca, in the south of Iraq... about $110 million is about to be poured into expanding its overcrowded quarters for a detainee population that should soon leap from 20,000 to 30,000. The work will include "retrofitting 13 existing compounds to add concrete pads to prevent tunneling, better segregation areas and better shower and latrine facilities," as well as "15 new guard towers, three medical units and work on two 'supermax' compounds with the highest levels of security".
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak03.html
AL-ASAD AIR BASE (1 OF 5)
"al-Asad Air Base, another of the US's billion-dollar mega-bases... (is) in Iraq's western desert... (has) a 32 kilometer perimeter... Asad is known among Americans as "Camp Cupcake" ("a military base where you can have all the ice cream you want, swim in an air-conditioned indoor pool, drink cafe lattes at 3am and even take yoga courses in the gym"). At present... it holds 17,000 people ("most of whom don't even work for the military") and evidently has its own Starbucks. With sidewalks, clean paved roads and working street lamps... (it is like) a small city in Arizona instead of the Sunni Triangle.... drivers get speeding tickets and vehicles are towed for bad parking.... Someone built all this and the building hasn't stopped yet..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak02.html
"al-Asad Air Base, another of the US's billion-dollar mega-bases... (is) in Iraq's western desert... (has) a 32 kilometer perimeter... Asad is known among Americans as "Camp Cupcake" ("a military base where you can have all the ice cream you want, swim in an air-conditioned indoor pool, drink cafe lattes at 3am and even take yoga courses in the gym"). At present... it holds 17,000 people ("most of whom don't even work for the military") and evidently has its own Starbucks. With sidewalks, clean paved roads and working street lamps... (it is like) a small city in Arizona instead of the Sunni Triangle.... drivers get speeding tickets and vehicles are towed for bad parking.... Someone built all this and the building hasn't stopped yet..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak02.html
BALAD AIR BASE (1 OF 5)
"Balad Air Base about 70 kilometers north of Baghdad... is essentially an "American small town", so big that it has neighborhoods and bus routes - and its air traffic rivals Chicago's O'Hare International Airport... the base now houses 30,000 American troops as well as perhaps another 10,000 private contractors. It has well-fortified Pizza Hut, Burger King and Subway fast-food outlets, two PXs that are as big as K-Marts, and actual sidewalks... . Billions of dollars have reportedly gone into Balad, one of at least five "mega-bases" the Bush administration has built in that country (not counting the embassy, which is functionally another base) - and... billions of dollars are being spent on upgrades..."
"The base is one giant construction project, with new roads, sidewalks and structures going up across this 16-square-mile fortress in the center of Iraq, all with an eye toward the next few decades ... At the base, the sounds of construction and the hum of generators seem to follow visitors everywhere. Seen from the sky at night, the base resembles Las Vegas: While the surrounding Iraqi villages get about 10 hours of electricity a day, the lights never go out at Balad Air Base."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak02.html
"Balad Air Base about 70 kilometers north of Baghdad... is essentially an "American small town", so big that it has neighborhoods and bus routes - and its air traffic rivals Chicago's O'Hare International Airport... the base now houses 30,000 American troops as well as perhaps another 10,000 private contractors. It has well-fortified Pizza Hut, Burger King and Subway fast-food outlets, two PXs that are as big as K-Marts, and actual sidewalks... . Billions of dollars have reportedly gone into Balad, one of at least five "mega-bases" the Bush administration has built in that country (not counting the embassy, which is functionally another base) - and... billions of dollars are being spent on upgrades..."
"The base is one giant construction project, with new roads, sidewalks and structures going up across this 16-square-mile fortress in the center of Iraq, all with an eye toward the next few decades ... At the base, the sounds of construction and the hum of generators seem to follow visitors everywhere. Seen from the sky at night, the base resembles Las Vegas: While the surrounding Iraqi villages get about 10 hours of electricity a day, the lights never go out at Balad Air Base."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK06Ak02.html
Sunday, November 04, 2007
BUT FOR BUSH AND IRAQ, AL QAEDA WOULD BE DEAD
"... Al Qaeda has at most a few thousand members. It holds no territory and its constituent organizations have been roundly defeated in Egypt, Algeria and other Muslim nations. Its command and control networks have been effectively disrupted. Most threats now come from amateur copycats. Al Qaeda has no prospect whatsoever of taking over any state in the Muslim world. It probably would be dead altogether if Bush had not poured gasoline on the flames with his large-scale invasions and occupations..."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/cole
"... Al Qaeda has at most a few thousand members. It holds no territory and its constituent organizations have been roundly defeated in Egypt, Algeria and other Muslim nations. Its command and control networks have been effectively disrupted. Most threats now come from amateur copycats. Al Qaeda has no prospect whatsoever of taking over any state in the Muslim world. It probably would be dead altogether if Bush had not poured gasoline on the flames with his large-scale invasions and occupations..."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071119/cole