IRAQI TROOPS WON'T FIGHT IRAQIS
"... the Iraqi battalion commander said the 145 soldiers represented a fraction of the battalion's usual numbers. He said as many as 500 of his fellow soldiers - most of them Sunni Muslims from Al Jabouri tribe - stayed behind in Mosul rather than fight in Ramadi... He said that many of the Iraqi soldiers who stayed behind feared they would create tribal vendettas if they came to Ramadi and killed other Iraqis. "They said, 'We don't want fight our own people,' " he said.... The problem he mentioned has been a recurring theme in the effort by the American military to hand off responsibility to Iraqi soldiers. The most difficult task has been to ask Iraqis to fight other Iraqis - particularly if they are from the same ethnic or sectarian group..."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/27/africa/web.0627ramadi.php
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
U.S. PROMISES TO REBUILD FALLUJAH BROKEN
June 2005
"Sen. Mitch McConnell's itinerary last week included a day in Iraq... went to Baghdad and Fallujah... Fallujah, which had been a seething center of insurgency, the city "is calm now and getting back to normal, and (the Iraqis are) reconstructing the city," McConnell said..."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/NEWS0104/506050438
June 2006
"One and a half years after the US assault on Fallujah, residents tell of ongoing suffering, lack of jobs, little reconstruction and continuing violence. The US Marines Corps launched Operation Phantom Fury against the city of Fallujah in November 2004, destroying an estimated 70% of the buildings, homes and shops, and killing between 4,000 and 6,000 people...
"Despite Baghdad allocating $100 million for the city's reconstruction and $180 million for housing compensation, very little can be seen visibly on the streets of Fallujah in terms of reconstruction. There are destroyed buildings on almost every street. Local authorities say about 60% of all houses in the city were totally destroyed or seriously damaged and less than 20% of them have been repaired so far ... Power, water treatment and sewage systems are still not functioning properly and many districts of the city are without potable water... security has eaten up as much as 25% of reconstruction funding, but even more has reportedly been siphoned off by corruption and overcharging by contractors.
"The mayor of Fallujah was not available to interview - in his latest appearance on television he announced his resignation. In his statement televised on June 14, he declared firmly, "The Americans did not fulfill their promises to me and so I resign."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HF27Ak03.html
June 2005
"Sen. Mitch McConnell's itinerary last week included a day in Iraq... went to Baghdad and Fallujah... Fallujah, which had been a seething center of insurgency, the city "is calm now and getting back to normal, and (the Iraqis are) reconstructing the city," McConnell said..."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050605/NEWS0104/506050438
June 2006
"One and a half years after the US assault on Fallujah, residents tell of ongoing suffering, lack of jobs, little reconstruction and continuing violence. The US Marines Corps launched Operation Phantom Fury against the city of Fallujah in November 2004, destroying an estimated 70% of the buildings, homes and shops, and killing between 4,000 and 6,000 people...
"Despite Baghdad allocating $100 million for the city's reconstruction and $180 million for housing compensation, very little can be seen visibly on the streets of Fallujah in terms of reconstruction. There are destroyed buildings on almost every street. Local authorities say about 60% of all houses in the city were totally destroyed or seriously damaged and less than 20% of them have been repaired so far ... Power, water treatment and sewage systems are still not functioning properly and many districts of the city are without potable water... security has eaten up as much as 25% of reconstruction funding, but even more has reportedly been siphoned off by corruption and overcharging by contractors.
"The mayor of Fallujah was not available to interview - in his latest appearance on television he announced his resignation. In his statement televised on June 14, he declared firmly, "The Americans did not fulfill their promises to me and so I resign."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HF27Ak03.html
PENTAGON SEEKS TO OMIT GENEVA CONVENTION ON PRISONER TREATMENT
"As new reports detail further abuse by the U.S. military of its prisoners in Iraq... The Pentagon is pushing to omit from new detainee policies a central principle of the Geneva Conventions that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment"... U.S. obligations under the Conventions have been the subject of an intense debate... following reports of detainee abuses at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33778
"As new reports detail further abuse by the U.S. military of its prisoners in Iraq... The Pentagon is pushing to omit from new detainee policies a central principle of the Geneva Conventions that explicitly bans "humiliating and degrading treatment"... U.S. obligations under the Conventions have been the subject of an intense debate... following reports of detainee abuses at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33778
Monday, June 26, 2006
WAR EQUIPMENT COSTS TRIPLE TO $17 BILLION PER YEAR
TOTAL WAR COST TO DATE APPROACHES $500 BILLION
"The annual cost of replacing, repairing and upgrading Army equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to more than triple next year to more than $17 billion... ... with estimates that it will cost between $12 billion and $13 billion a year for equipment repairs, upgrades and replacements from now on...Pentagon officials have estimated that such emergency bills would have to continue two years beyond.. (whenever) the U.S. pulls out of Iraq in order to fully replace, repair and rebuild all of the needed equipment... War-related costs since 2001 are approaching half a trillion dollars."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13563055
TOTAL WAR COST TO DATE APPROACHES $500 BILLION
"The annual cost of replacing, repairing and upgrading Army equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to more than triple next year to more than $17 billion... ... with estimates that it will cost between $12 billion and $13 billion a year for equipment repairs, upgrades and replacements from now on...Pentagon officials have estimated that such emergency bills would have to continue two years beyond.. (whenever) the U.S. pulls out of Iraq in order to fully replace, repair and rebuild all of the needed equipment... War-related costs since 2001 are approaching half a trillion dollars."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13563055
U.S. MADE IRAQIS CHANGE PEACE PLAN
"The Iraqi reconciliation plan unveiled by Prime Minister Al-Maliki... had the potential to mark a turning point the in the war. But thanks to U.S. interference, instead of a road map for peace, the plan that emerged looks more like a bump in Iraq’s torturous path to continued violence and suffering... two of the most critical aspects of the reconciliation plan discussed with the insurgents—the withdrawal of U.S. troops and amnesty for Iraqis who fought soldiers but not Iraqi civilians—were abandoned under intense U.S. pressure. The result is a weak plan that will probably not entice a significant number of fighters to lay down their weapons..."
"Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security advisor, wrote an op-ed the Washington Post saying that Iraqis now see foreign troops as occupiers rather than the liberators, and that their removal would strengthen the fledgling government..."
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/12382
"The Iraqi reconciliation plan unveiled by Prime Minister Al-Maliki... had the potential to mark a turning point the in the war. But thanks to U.S. interference, instead of a road map for peace, the plan that emerged looks more like a bump in Iraq’s torturous path to continued violence and suffering... two of the most critical aspects of the reconciliation plan discussed with the insurgents—the withdrawal of U.S. troops and amnesty for Iraqis who fought soldiers but not Iraqi civilians—were abandoned under intense U.S. pressure. The result is a weak plan that will probably not entice a significant number of fighters to lay down their weapons..."
"Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security advisor, wrote an op-ed the Washington Post saying that Iraqis now see foreign troops as occupiers rather than the liberators, and that their removal would strengthen the fledgling government..."
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/12382
IRAQI DEATH TOLL OVER 50,000
"At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies... Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but not counted because of serious lapses in recording deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide since..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-deathtoll25jun25,1,2628703.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
"At least 50,000 Iraqis have died violently since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to statistics from the Baghdad morgue, the Iraqi Health Ministry and other agencies... Many more Iraqis are believed to have been killed but not counted because of serious lapses in recording deaths in the chaotic first year after the invasion, when there was no functioning Iraqi government, and continued spotty reporting nationwide since..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-deathtoll25jun25,1,2628703.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
Saturday, June 24, 2006
IRAQI TRAINEES KILLING U.S. TROOPS
"... Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey, Sr. and First Lieutenant Andre D. Tyson... were targeted and killed by Iraqi troops they were training.... A month before he died, Patrick told his father that Iraqi forces they were training had attacked his unit. When he filed a complaint with his chain of command, Patrick "was told to keep his mouth shut," his mother said.... "He was killed by the Iraqis that he was training.... People in this country need to know that."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0623-30.htm
"... Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey, Sr. and First Lieutenant Andre D. Tyson... were targeted and killed by Iraqi troops they were training.... A month before he died, Patrick told his father that Iraqi forces they were training had attacked his unit. When he filed a complaint with his chain of command, Patrick "was told to keep his mouth shut," his mother said.... "He was killed by the Iraqis that he was training.... People in this country need to know that."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0623-30.htm
THE FLYPAPER STRATEGY MEANS WAR WITH NO END
"... If Iraq is the neighborhood in which terrorists have chosen to fight America.... Are we now sending sons, daughters, husbands, wives to be the designated terrorist attractions? ... are they I.E.D. fodder?... What if the unacknowledged "mission" is to keep the terrorists over "there"?... There is no dearth of recruits to terrorism. If the Iraqi front line miraculously becomes a demilitarized zone, terrorists may indeed look for a new American target. The alternative to that worry is an Iraq war with no end in sight...."
-- Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe, June 23, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0623-20.htm
"... If Iraq is the neighborhood in which terrorists have chosen to fight America.... Are we now sending sons, daughters, husbands, wives to be the designated terrorist attractions? ... are they I.E.D. fodder?... What if the unacknowledged "mission" is to keep the terrorists over "there"?... There is no dearth of recruits to terrorism. If the Iraqi front line miraculously becomes a demilitarized zone, terrorists may indeed look for a new American target. The alternative to that worry is an Iraq war with no end in sight...."
-- Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe, June 23, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0623-20.htm
A YEAR LATER, INSURGENCY STILL IN "LAST THROES"
"... the same day that the bodies of the two kidnapped soldiers were found, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked at the National Press Club whether he still believed his remarks from a year ago that the Iraq insurgency was in "its last throes."... Mr. Cheney, ignoring the inconvenient facts that 835 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since he made his "last throes" remark; and more than 6,000 others have been wounded; and nearly 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have been killed; and nearly 15,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, answered, "I do."
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/066A7886771A94CB8625719400804B51?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22Scenes%22+AND+%22From%22+AND+%22A%22+AND+%22War%22
"... the same day that the bodies of the two kidnapped soldiers were found, Vice President Dick Cheney was asked at the National Press Club whether he still believed his remarks from a year ago that the Iraq insurgency was in "its last throes."... Mr. Cheney, ignoring the inconvenient facts that 835 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since he made his "last throes" remark; and more than 6,000 others have been wounded; and nearly 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have been killed; and nearly 15,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, answered, "I do."
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/066A7886771A94CB8625719400804B51?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22Scenes%22+AND+%22From%22+AND+%22A%22+AND+%22War%22
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
NEW EMBASSY - BUSH"S BAGHDAD PALACE
"Among the many secrets the American government cannot keep, one of its biggest (104 acres) and most expensive ($592 million) is the American Embassy being built in Baghdad. Surrounded by fifteen-foot-thick walls, almost as large as the Vatican... there will soon be twenty-one buildings, 619 apartments with very fancy digs for the big shots, restaurants, shops, gym facilities, a swimming pool, a food court, a beauty salon, a movie theater... and... a swish club for evening functions...
"(there will be)... 8,000 Americans holed up in a private city, who do not dare to leave their fortified luxury bunker for fear of being killed or kidnapped and tortured if caught outside their fortified walls, and who are trying to run the country by giving orders to the Iraqi government, which is also operating out of the Green Zone, that vast fortified place isolated from the people of the country...
"They intend to cut and run into what amounts to the world's largest bunker, a capacious rat hole where they can wait in safety until all the Iraqis have killed one another or all factions unite, march on this air-conditioned citadel and slit the throats of its irrelevant inhabitants."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060703/howl
"Among the many secrets the American government cannot keep, one of its biggest (104 acres) and most expensive ($592 million) is the American Embassy being built in Baghdad. Surrounded by fifteen-foot-thick walls, almost as large as the Vatican... there will soon be twenty-one buildings, 619 apartments with very fancy digs for the big shots, restaurants, shops, gym facilities, a swimming pool, a food court, a beauty salon, a movie theater... and... a swish club for evening functions...
"(there will be)... 8,000 Americans holed up in a private city, who do not dare to leave their fortified luxury bunker for fear of being killed or kidnapped and tortured if caught outside their fortified walls, and who are trying to run the country by giving orders to the Iraqi government, which is also operating out of the Green Zone, that vast fortified place isolated from the people of the country...
"They intend to cut and run into what amounts to the world's largest bunker, a capacious rat hole where they can wait in safety until all the Iraqis have killed one another or all factions unite, march on this air-conditioned citadel and slit the throats of its irrelevant inhabitants."
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060703/howl
Monday, June 19, 2006
KHALILZAD EMBASSY MEMO PROMPTED BUSH SURPRISE VISIT TO IRAQ?
The message header says “R 121430Z Jun 06”. That means the message was sent with (R)outine priority at 1430 hours (2:30 PM) (Z)ulu time on June 12, 2006. Zulu is the designation for the Greenwich Mean Time zone. Military messages are sent referencing Zulu time rather than the sender's local time. The local time in Baghdad was 11:30 AM.
June 12 - Advisors Meeting at Camp David
"... President Bush today opened a two-day meeting on Iraq with top advisers at the Camp David presidential retreat... Bush spent three and a half hours in a teleconference this morning with top U.S. officials in Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone," notably Gen. Casey, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. John P. Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200271.html
June 12 - The "Embassy Memo"
The embassy memo is evidently Khalilzad's briefing message for the teleconference - his talking points:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/graphics/iraqdocs_061606.pdf
In the message, among other things, Khalilzad says the Iraqi embassy workers fear the US will pull out and abandon them.
The Camp David agenda was to have the advisor meeting on June 12, and then a teleconference with Baghdad on June 13 to discuss results. After hearing from Khalilzad, Bush perhaps decided that the situation was so desperate that a personal visit was needed:
June 13 - Teleconference with Baghdad Changed to Personal Visit
"... President Bush... (said) “we’ll keep our commitment” not to withdraw... During an unannounced visit to Baghdad aimed at buttressing the newly formed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush pledged his support... Maliki, who had arrived expecting a videoconference with Bush speaking from Camp David and learned the president was in Baghdad only minutes before he entered the room."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300432.html
The message header says “R 121430Z Jun 06”. That means the message was sent with (R)outine priority at 1430 hours (2:30 PM) (Z)ulu time on June 12, 2006. Zulu is the designation for the Greenwich Mean Time zone. Military messages are sent referencing Zulu time rather than the sender's local time. The local time in Baghdad was 11:30 AM.
June 12 - Advisors Meeting at Camp David
"... President Bush today opened a two-day meeting on Iraq with top advisers at the Camp David presidential retreat... Bush spent three and a half hours in a teleconference this morning with top U.S. officials in Baghdad's heavily fortified "Green Zone," notably Gen. Casey, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. John P. Abizaid, chief of the U.S. Central Command."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200271.html
June 12 - The "Embassy Memo"
The embassy memo is evidently Khalilzad's briefing message for the teleconference - his talking points:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/graphics/iraqdocs_061606.pdf
In the message, among other things, Khalilzad says the Iraqi embassy workers fear the US will pull out and abandon them.
The Camp David agenda was to have the advisor meeting on June 12, and then a teleconference with Baghdad on June 13 to discuss results. After hearing from Khalilzad, Bush perhaps decided that the situation was so desperate that a personal visit was needed:
June 13 - Teleconference with Baghdad Changed to Personal Visit
"... President Bush... (said) “we’ll keep our commitment” not to withdraw... During an unannounced visit to Baghdad aimed at buttressing the newly formed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush pledged his support... Maliki, who had arrived expecting a videoconference with Bush speaking from Camp David and learned the president was in Baghdad only minutes before he entered the room."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300432.html
HORROR SHOW REVEALS IRAQ'S DESCENT
"... It is here that bodies from the nightly slaughter are dumped each morning. The stench of decaying flesh, mingled with disinfectant, hits you at the checkpoint 100 yards away. Each corpse tells a different story about the terrors of Iraq. Some bodies are pocked with holes inflicted by torturers with power drills... two boys aged about 12 lying in the pile on the ground... (had) round holes that were slightly inflamed in several parts of their body, a sign that they had been tortured with electric drills before being killed. Even their eyes had been drilled and only hollow sockets remained... Some show signs of strangulation; others, with hands tied behind the back, bear bullet wounds. Many are charred and dismembered... So far this year, according to health ministry figures, the mortuary has processed the bodies of about 6,000 people, most of whom died violently..."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2230672,00.html
"... It is here that bodies from the nightly slaughter are dumped each morning. The stench of decaying flesh, mingled with disinfectant, hits you at the checkpoint 100 yards away. Each corpse tells a different story about the terrors of Iraq. Some bodies are pocked with holes inflicted by torturers with power drills... two boys aged about 12 lying in the pile on the ground... (had) round holes that were slightly inflamed in several parts of their body, a sign that they had been tortured with electric drills before being killed. Even their eyes had been drilled and only hollow sockets remained... Some show signs of strangulation; others, with hands tied behind the back, bear bullet wounds. Many are charred and dismembered... So far this year, according to health ministry figures, the mortuary has processed the bodies of about 6,000 people, most of whom died violently..."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2230672,00.html
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
BUSH MEETS IRAQI CABINET
"... Bush said he made the surprise trip to Baghdad to size up al-Maliki and members of his cabinet... Bush listened to individual cabinet members describe the challenges they face. He referred to them by their jobs — "oil guy," "reconciliation person," "defense minister," "the electricity man," a "lady member of the cabinet" who talked about human rights concerns about coalition forces."
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=5298
"... Bush said he made the surprise trip to Baghdad to size up al-Maliki and members of his cabinet... Bush listened to individual cabinet members describe the challenges they face. He referred to them by their jobs — "oil guy," "reconciliation person," "defense minister," "the electricity man," a "lady member of the cabinet" who talked about human rights concerns about coalition forces."
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=5298
U.S. PRESENCE IN IRAQ THE BIGGEST THREAT TO MID EAST STABILITY
"... a Pew Research Center poll of 17,000 people in 15 countries... (showed that) people worldwide think the U.S. presence in Iraq is an even bigger threat (than Iran)... to Middle East stability..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300939.html
"... a Pew Research Center poll of 17,000 people in 15 countries... (showed that) people worldwide think the U.S. presence in Iraq is an even bigger threat (than Iran)... to Middle East stability..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061300939.html
MARINE SONG
"The US marines have launched a probe into a video posted on the internet that apparently shows a serving marine singing about killing Iraqi civilians... Posted on the YouTube website, the video shows a man in uniform strumming a guitar while singing about killing Iraqis, as others laugh and cheer....The four-minute song refers to Iraqis as "hajis" (and) includes graphic descriptions of killings, real or imagined. Dressed in a green T-shirt and military style trousers and boots, a man sings: "I grabbed her little sister and put her in front of me."As the bullets began to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes, and then I laughed maniacally."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5077858.stm
"... the four-minute video posted anonymously in March on a Web site, www.youtube.com, but recently removed... On the video, titled "hadji girl," a man dressed in an olive-colored T-shirt and long pants sings into a microphone in what seems to be a large room with numerous unseen spectators, with the obscenity-laced lyrics describing encountering an Iraqi woman and her family. At one point, the man sings, "I grabbed her little sister and put her in front of me. As the bullets began to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes, and then I laughed maniacally." In the background, laughing, clapping and cheers can be heard."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-13T202534Z_01_N13423235_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-VIDEO.xml
"The US marines have launched a probe into a video posted on the internet that apparently shows a serving marine singing about killing Iraqi civilians... Posted on the YouTube website, the video shows a man in uniform strumming a guitar while singing about killing Iraqis, as others laugh and cheer....The four-minute song refers to Iraqis as "hajis" (and) includes graphic descriptions of killings, real or imagined. Dressed in a green T-shirt and military style trousers and boots, a man sings: "I grabbed her little sister and put her in front of me."As the bullets began to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes, and then I laughed maniacally."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5077858.stm
"... the four-minute video posted anonymously in March on a Web site, www.youtube.com, but recently removed... On the video, titled "hadji girl," a man dressed in an olive-colored T-shirt and long pants sings into a microphone in what seems to be a large room with numerous unseen spectators, with the obscenity-laced lyrics describing encountering an Iraqi woman and her family. At one point, the man sings, "I grabbed her little sister and put her in front of me. As the bullets began to fly, the blood sprayed from between her eyes, and then I laughed maniacally." In the background, laughing, clapping and cheers can be heard."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-13T202534Z_01_N13423235_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-VIDEO.xml
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
COVER UP: PREGNANT WOMAN AND COUSIN KILLED BY SNIPER
"U.S. troops killed two women in Samarra, and then attempted to hide evidence of their responsibility... According to an earlier account, Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, a 35-year-old mother of two, was killed in firing along with her 57-year-old cousin Saliha Mohammed Hassan on May 30 when they were being transported to Samarra General Hospital for Nabiha to give birth. What was not reported, according to an Iraqi human rights investigator who spoke with IPS on condition of anonymity, was that both women were shot in the back of the head by U.S. snipers. "I investigated this incident myself, and both of these women were shot from behind," said the investigator. "Nabiha's brains were splattered on her brother who was driving the car, since she was in the back seat."... The U.S. military said in a statement that "shots were fired to disable the vehicle." ... The U.S. military claims the incident is being investigated."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33581
"U.S. troops killed two women in Samarra, and then attempted to hide evidence of their responsibility... According to an earlier account, Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, a 35-year-old mother of two, was killed in firing along with her 57-year-old cousin Saliha Mohammed Hassan on May 30 when they were being transported to Samarra General Hospital for Nabiha to give birth. What was not reported, according to an Iraqi human rights investigator who spoke with IPS on condition of anonymity, was that both women were shot in the back of the head by U.S. snipers. "I investigated this incident myself, and both of these women were shot from behind," said the investigator. "Nabiha's brains were splattered on her brother who was driving the car, since she was in the back seat."... The U.S. military said in a statement that "shots were fired to disable the vehicle." ... The U.S. military claims the incident is being investigated."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33581
A DUNKIRK IN THE DESERT
"... Is the badly outnumbered American expeditionary force in Iraq in trouble? Is it in danger of being trapped? With all our firepower... We could be moving toward an American Dunkirk... The Defense Department is not telling what it knows but no wartime government ever, ever tells the truth... In the south of Iraq, in the Basra region, the British who occupy that sector have all but given up aggressive patrol. They are holed up in their encampments on the defensive... The situation for American troops may be even more precarious. While our forces are still able to carry out aggressive patrolling, it nets little except to increase popular hostility... (making) it yet easier for the various insurgents and guerrilla groups to operate against us. It appears that in many places our people may have simply hunkered down to stay out of trouble. The vast construction projects of a few years ago are all but closed down, too, as the American forces appear to be doing less and less of anything but holding on and holding out... Air evacuation would mean abandoning billions of dollars of equipment. There is no seaport troops could get to, so the only way out of Iraq would be that same desert highway to Kuwait where fifteen years ago the American Air Force destroyed Saddam Hussein's army. Dunkirk in the desert."
--from the Guardian, England
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0613-24.htm
"... Is the badly outnumbered American expeditionary force in Iraq in trouble? Is it in danger of being trapped? With all our firepower... We could be moving toward an American Dunkirk... The Defense Department is not telling what it knows but no wartime government ever, ever tells the truth... In the south of Iraq, in the Basra region, the British who occupy that sector have all but given up aggressive patrol. They are holed up in their encampments on the defensive... The situation for American troops may be even more precarious. While our forces are still able to carry out aggressive patrolling, it nets little except to increase popular hostility... (making) it yet easier for the various insurgents and guerrilla groups to operate against us. It appears that in many places our people may have simply hunkered down to stay out of trouble. The vast construction projects of a few years ago are all but closed down, too, as the American forces appear to be doing less and less of anything but holding on and holding out... Air evacuation would mean abandoning billions of dollars of equipment. There is no seaport troops could get to, so the only way out of Iraq would be that same desert highway to Kuwait where fifteen years ago the American Air Force destroyed Saddam Hussein's army. Dunkirk in the desert."
--from the Guardian, England
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0613-24.htm
Sunday, June 11, 2006
U.S. DENIES ABUSE OF ZARQAWI
"The two 230-kilogram bombs that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pulverized the brick house where he spent his final minutes, vaporizing walls and the foundation, hurling concrete blocks 90 metres into the weeds and blasting a crater 12 metres wide and deep... given the extraordinary destruction evident at the house, a number of questions lingered, including how anyone could have survived such an attack... rumours circulating in the Iraqi media (said) that al-Zarqawi had begun to run from the house as the first bomb struck... One Iraqi witness has come forward and told reporters a man resembling al-Zarqawi was pulled from an ambulance by U.S. troops and beaten before he died."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1149976210315
“... We found the body of a big man, middle-aged. There was life in him still.... an ambulance and Iraqi forces turned up, taking the total number of people at the scene to about 14. The men had barely finished placing him in the ambulance when seven US helicopters landed by the house and four Humvees rumbled through the dust... The soldiers then took the wounded man from the back of the ambulance, placing his stretcher on the ground... they started to kick him in the chest, said Abbas and an Iraqi policeman also there. “They kept kicking him, shouting, ‘What’s your name?’, but the man only moaned and said nothing,” said Abbas. As the small crowd of Iraqis looked on, the wounded man grew paler and blood oozed from his mouth and nose. It took about a quarter of an hour for him to die.."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2220222,00.html
"... U.S. officials denied several news reports that Zarqawi was abused by U.S. troops before he died. An Iraqi police lieutenant who said he was among the first people at the scene told The Times on Saturday that after Iraqi police had carried Zarqawi to the ambulance on the stretcher, U.S. troops took him off the stretcher and placed him on the ground. One of the Americans tried to question Zarqawi and repeatedly stepped on his chest, causing blood to flow from his mouth and nose, said the lieutenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A man identified only as Mohammed, who said he lived near the Zarqawi hide-out, told Associated Press Television News that he had witnessed Americans beating Zarqawi. "They stomped on his stomach and his chest until he died and blood came out of his nose," he said..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zarqawi11jun11,0,4847758.story?coll=la-home-headlines
"The two 230-kilogram bombs that killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pulverized the brick house where he spent his final minutes, vaporizing walls and the foundation, hurling concrete blocks 90 metres into the weeds and blasting a crater 12 metres wide and deep... given the extraordinary destruction evident at the house, a number of questions lingered, including how anyone could have survived such an attack... rumours circulating in the Iraqi media (said) that al-Zarqawi had begun to run from the house as the first bomb struck... One Iraqi witness has come forward and told reporters a man resembling al-Zarqawi was pulled from an ambulance by U.S. troops and beaten before he died."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1149976210315
“... We found the body of a big man, middle-aged. There was life in him still.... an ambulance and Iraqi forces turned up, taking the total number of people at the scene to about 14. The men had barely finished placing him in the ambulance when seven US helicopters landed by the house and four Humvees rumbled through the dust... The soldiers then took the wounded man from the back of the ambulance, placing his stretcher on the ground... they started to kick him in the chest, said Abbas and an Iraqi policeman also there. “They kept kicking him, shouting, ‘What’s your name?’, but the man only moaned and said nothing,” said Abbas. As the small crowd of Iraqis looked on, the wounded man grew paler and blood oozed from his mouth and nose. It took about a quarter of an hour for him to die.."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2220222,00.html
"... U.S. officials denied several news reports that Zarqawi was abused by U.S. troops before he died. An Iraqi police lieutenant who said he was among the first people at the scene told The Times on Saturday that after Iraqi police had carried Zarqawi to the ambulance on the stretcher, U.S. troops took him off the stretcher and placed him on the ground. One of the Americans tried to question Zarqawi and repeatedly stepped on his chest, causing blood to flow from his mouth and nose, said the lieutenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A man identified only as Mohammed, who said he lived near the Zarqawi hide-out, told Associated Press Television News that he had witnessed Americans beating Zarqawi. "They stomped on his stomach and his chest until he died and blood came out of his nose," he said..."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-zarqawi11jun11,0,4847758.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Friday, June 09, 2006
FATHER OF BEHEADED MAN BLAMES BUSH NOT ZARQAWI
"Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death. Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-08T122308Z_01_N08295664_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ZARQAWI-BERG.xml
"Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death. Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-08T122308Z_01_N08295664_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-ZARQAWI-BERG.xml
IRAQI WOMEN OPPRESSED AND MURDERED
"The women of Basra have disappeared. Three years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, women's secular freedoms - once the envy of women across the Middle East - have been snatched away because militant Islam is rising across the country.... Across Iraq, a bloody and relentless oppression of women has taken hold... women insist the situation (in Basra) is at its worst. Here they are forced to live behind closed doors only to emerge, concealed behind scarves, hidden behind husbands and fathers. Even wearing a pair of trousers is considered an act of defiance, punishable by death.... Under Saddam... businesswomen and academics travelled the country unchallenged while their daughters mixed freely with male students at university."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0608-02.htm
"The women of Basra have disappeared. Three years after the US-led invasion of Iraq, women's secular freedoms - once the envy of women across the Middle East - have been snatched away because militant Islam is rising across the country.... Across Iraq, a bloody and relentless oppression of women has taken hold... women insist the situation (in Basra) is at its worst. Here they are forced to live behind closed doors only to emerge, concealed behind scarves, hidden behind husbands and fathers. Even wearing a pair of trousers is considered an act of defiance, punishable by death.... Under Saddam... businesswomen and academics travelled the country unchallenged while their daughters mixed freely with male students at university."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0608-02.htm
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
U.S. SNIPERS MAKE RAMADI ANOTHER FALLUJAH
"... stories describe death happening any moment, without signals or warning... (U.S.) snipers will kill anyone who moves... "The American snipers don't make any distinction between civilians or fighters, anything that moves, he shoots immediately. This is a very dirty thing, they are killing lots of civilians who are not fighters... Anyone who goes ahead in the street will be killed. There's no sign that it's not allowed... Many people came to visit us from Baghdad. They didn't know this and they went ahead a few metres and were killed."
"... The Iraqi friend witnessed the killing of a young boy. "He was going to his school at about eight in the morning, carrying his books and crossing the street. Suddenly he fell down. I thought he just had a problem in his leg and fell, but he stayed for a long time like this. ... one of the brothers of this kid, tried to find a way and took two steps to take the boy away. Snipers shot and missed him. So he didn't try again. The boy remained there four hours, bleeding. He had been shot in the head."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33489
"... stories describe death happening any moment, without signals or warning... (U.S.) snipers will kill anyone who moves... "The American snipers don't make any distinction between civilians or fighters, anything that moves, he shoots immediately. This is a very dirty thing, they are killing lots of civilians who are not fighters... Anyone who goes ahead in the street will be killed. There's no sign that it's not allowed... Many people came to visit us from Baghdad. They didn't know this and they went ahead a few metres and were killed."
"... The Iraqi friend witnessed the killing of a young boy. "He was going to his school at about eight in the morning, carrying his books and crossing the street. Suddenly he fell down. I thought he just had a problem in his leg and fell, but he stayed for a long time like this. ... one of the brothers of this kid, tried to find a way and took two steps to take the boy away. Snipers shot and missed him. So he didn't try again. The boy remained there four hours, bleeding. He had been shot in the head."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33489
ETHICS TRAINING FOR TROOPS
"... Specialist Jody Casey, a scout sniper in Baquba who witnessed civilians being killed by soldiers, said recently bombs "go off and you just zap any farmer that is close to you". Soldiers were told to carry shovels in vehicles so they could plant them on civilian victims, he said, to make it look like they were digging to set up roadside bombs. Specialist Michael Blake, who served in Balad, said it was common practice to "shoot up the landscape or anything that moved" after an explosion.
"... The reality is that the occupation is detested by most Iraqis. US-led forces are surrounded by popular hostility, and are operating completely outside Iraqi "sovereign" jurisdiction. No Pentagon courses in the ethics of how and how not to kill Iraqis will change this."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1791752,00.html
"... Specialist Jody Casey, a scout sniper in Baquba who witnessed civilians being killed by soldiers, said recently bombs "go off and you just zap any farmer that is close to you". Soldiers were told to carry shovels in vehicles so they could plant them on civilian victims, he said, to make it look like they were digging to set up roadside bombs. Specialist Michael Blake, who served in Balad, said it was common practice to "shoot up the landscape or anything that moved" after an explosion.
"... The reality is that the occupation is detested by most Iraqis. US-led forces are surrounded by popular hostility, and are operating completely outside Iraqi "sovereign" jurisdiction. No Pentagon courses in the ethics of how and how not to kill Iraqis will change this."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1791752,00.html
U.S. TROOPS ACCUSED OF NEW MURDERS IN IRAQ
"US troops faced fresh accusations of unlawful killings of civilians in Iraq as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the release of 2,500 detainees in a gesture to promote national reconciliation... the main Sunni Arab political party, accused American forces of murdering more than two dozen Iraqis in a series of incidents across the country in May."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060606/1/41c7l.html
"US troops faced fresh accusations of unlawful killings of civilians in Iraq as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the release of 2,500 detainees in a gesture to promote national reconciliation... the main Sunni Arab political party, accused American forces of murdering more than two dozen Iraqis in a series of incidents across the country in May."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060606/1/41c7l.html
OTHER HADITHA STORIES YET UNTOLD
"An Iraqi doctor who was in Haditha during a deadly U.S. raid last year says there are many more stories like that in Haditha that are yet untold.... in Haditha itself, he said, the U.S. military cut electricity and water to the entire city, attacked the hospital and burned the pharmacy. "The hospital has been attacked three times. In November 2005 the hospital was occupied by the American and Iraqi Army for seven days, which is a severe breach of the Geneva Conventions," he said. "In one of these attacks, the U.S. soldiers used live ammunition inside the hospital. They handcuffed all the doctors and destroyed the entire contents of the medical storage. It ended with the killing of one of the patients in his bed."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0607-02.htm
"An Iraqi doctor who was in Haditha during a deadly U.S. raid last year says there are many more stories like that in Haditha that are yet untold.... in Haditha itself, he said, the U.S. military cut electricity and water to the entire city, attacked the hospital and burned the pharmacy. "The hospital has been attacked three times. In November 2005 the hospital was occupied by the American and Iraqi Army for seven days, which is a severe breach of the Geneva Conventions," he said. "In one of these attacks, the U.S. soldiers used live ammunition inside the hospital. They handcuffed all the doctors and destroyed the entire contents of the medical storage. It ended with the killing of one of the patients in his bed."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0607-02.htm
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
VIOLENT BAGHDAD DEATHS IN 2006 TOP 6,000 BY JUNE
"The bodies of 6,000 people, most of whom died violently, have been received by Baghdad's main mortuary so far this year... The number has risen every month, to 1,400 in May. The majority are believed to be victims of sectarian killing... observers say the real death toll could be much higher... as many bodies are not taken to the morgue, or are never found."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5053134.stm
"The bodies of 6,000 people, most of whom died violently, have been received by Baghdad's main mortuary so far this year... The number has risen every month, to 1,400 in May. The majority are believed to be victims of sectarian killing... observers say the real death toll could be much higher... as many bodies are not taken to the morgue, or are never found."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5053134.stm
Sunday, June 04, 2006
AMERICANS WEARY OF IRAQ NEWS
"... audiences and producers in America (have) grown weary of much of the coverage from Iraq.... the public feels like it knows what is going on here, and doesn't want to hear anymore about it."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraqtv3jun03,1,2620683.story?coll=la-news-a_section
"... audiences and producers in America (have) grown weary of much of the coverage from Iraq.... the public feels like it knows what is going on here, and doesn't want to hear anymore about it."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-iraqtv3jun03,1,2620683.story?coll=la-news-a_section
Friday, June 02, 2006
ISHAQI MASSACRE OF IRAQI CIVILIANS - IRAQ REJECTS U.S. PROBE CLEARING MILITARY
"The U.S. military said last night it would investigate allegations of a second massacre of Iraqi civilians by American troops after being presented with a video of what appeared to be the bodies of 11 people killed by gunfire in (Ishaqi) north of Baghdad..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149198613018&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724
"... a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building. The video tape obtained by the BBC shows a number of dead adults and children at the site (inside a standing house) with what our world affairs editor John Simpson says were clearly gunshot wounds..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5042036.stm
"... Local Iraqis said there were 11 total dead, and contended that they were killed by U.S. troops before the house was leveled... A military investigation... concluded that the U.S. troops followed normal procedures,,, (and) cleared the troops of misconduct..."
hhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198029,00.htmlere
"... Iraq vowed... to press on with its own probe into the deaths of civilians in a U.S. raid on the town of Ishaqi, rejecting the U.S. military's exoneration of its forces... Police in Ishaqi say five children, four women and two men were shot in the head, and that the bodies, with hands bound, were dumped in one room before the house was blown up."
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L03694020
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5044244.stm
"The U.S. military said last night it would investigate allegations of a second massacre of Iraqi civilians by American troops after being presented with a video of what appeared to be the bodies of 11 people killed by gunfire in (Ishaqi) north of Baghdad..."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1149198613018&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724
"... a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building. The video tape obtained by the BBC shows a number of dead adults and children at the site (inside a standing house) with what our world affairs editor John Simpson says were clearly gunshot wounds..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5042036.stm
"... Local Iraqis said there were 11 total dead, and contended that they were killed by U.S. troops before the house was leveled... A military investigation... concluded that the U.S. troops followed normal procedures,,, (and) cleared the troops of misconduct..."
hhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198029,00.htmlere
"... Iraq vowed... to press on with its own probe into the deaths of civilians in a U.S. raid on the town of Ishaqi, rejecting the U.S. military's exoneration of its forces... Police in Ishaqi say five children, four women and two men were shot in the head, and that the bodies, with hands bound, were dumped in one room before the house was blown up."
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=L03694020
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5044244.stm
BUSH ADMINISTRATION SILENT ON IRAQI ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
"... Iraq's elected representatives have adopted a constitution that, for all practical purposes, has turned the country into an Islamic republic. An article in the constitution states that Sharia is the fundamental source of Iraqi legislation. Another article says that no Iraqi law shall violate the undisputed principles of Islam. Both Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his predecessor, Ibrahim Jaafari, are leaders of the Islamic Daawa Party, committed to establishing an Islamic regime in Iraq. These salient facts go unmentioned by officials of the Bush administration..."
http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20060601democracy_1.cfm
"... Iraq's elected representatives have adopted a constitution that, for all practical purposes, has turned the country into an Islamic republic. An article in the constitution states that Sharia is the fundamental source of Iraqi legislation. Another article says that no Iraqi law shall violate the undisputed principles of Islam. Both Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his predecessor, Ibrahim Jaafari, are leaders of the Islamic Daawa Party, committed to establishing an Islamic regime in Iraq. These salient facts go unmentioned by officials of the Bush administration..."
http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20060601democracy_1.cfm
U.S. HABITUAL ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS
"Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has criticised the US military for what he described as habitual attacks against civilians... as his government launched an investigation into an alleged massacre by US marines of up to 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.... Meanwhile the BBC has broadcast footage appearing to challenge US accounts of a second incident, in the town of Ishaqi... a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5040258.stm
"Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki has criticised the US military for what he described as habitual attacks against civilians... as his government launched an investigation into an alleged massacre by US marines of up to 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha.... Meanwhile the BBC has broadcast footage appearing to challenge US accounts of a second incident, in the town of Ishaqi... a report filed by Iraqi police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the building."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5040258.stm
Thursday, June 01, 2006
BASRA DETERIORATION
"... There was a genuine sense of optimism when British tanks rolled into Iraq's second largest city more than three years ago... (but now) The people live in fear of the local militia, divided between Sadr's people and the Badr Brigade, as well as the British trained police force... a largely moderate population is now afraid to speak out. Women in particular have seen their rights disappear since the invasion.To go out without a scarf, a regular sight three years ago, is tantamount to suicide... As Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency in the British-controlled area yesterday, anyone with any money or hope of escape is trying to emigrate."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0601-04.htm
"... There was a genuine sense of optimism when British tanks rolled into Iraq's second largest city more than three years ago... (but now) The people live in fear of the local militia, divided between Sadr's people and the Badr Brigade, as well as the British trained police force... a largely moderate population is now afraid to speak out. Women in particular have seen their rights disappear since the invasion.To go out without a scarf, a regular sight three years ago, is tantamount to suicide... As Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency in the British-controlled area yesterday, anyone with any money or hope of escape is trying to emigrate."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0601-04.htm
Monday, May 29, 2006
FOR IRAQIS, GUNS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FOOD
"Guns have come to be seen in Iraq as a need second only to food... "... it is important for every Iraqi to have a weapon to protect himself and his family," Abu Hasan, a weapons merchant in Baghdad told IPS. "There is no security at all in Iraq now and we have no real government to protect us. The occupation forces protect themselves only." "In this situation every Iraqi must buy a gun. Even if he doesn't have enough money, he must borrow money and buy one to protect his family. To protect your family is more important than to be able to eat."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0529-02.htm
"Guns have come to be seen in Iraq as a need second only to food... "... it is important for every Iraqi to have a weapon to protect himself and his family," Abu Hasan, a weapons merchant in Baghdad told IPS. "There is no security at all in Iraq now and we have no real government to protect us. The occupation forces protect themselves only." "In this situation every Iraqi must buy a gun. Even if he doesn't have enough money, he must borrow money and buy one to protect his family. To protect your family is more important than to be able to eat."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0529-02.htm
1,000 BRITISH - DESERTERS OR AWOL?
At least 1,000 troops have deserted Britain's armed forces since the US-led war was launched in Iraq three years ago, the BBC reported Sunday... a defence ministry spokeswoman said: "It's not true. "I think they are talking about the number in the army who remain absent without leave (AWOL)... (but evidently not because) The ministry recorded... 2,825 (AWOL cases) in 2003, 3,050 in 2004, 2,725 in 2005, and 426 through April of 2006..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16583
At least 1,000 troops have deserted Britain's armed forces since the US-led war was launched in Iraq three years ago, the BBC reported Sunday... a defence ministry spokeswoman said: "It's not true. "I think they are talking about the number in the army who remain absent without leave (AWOL)... (but evidently not because) The ministry recorded... 2,825 (AWOL cases) in 2003, 3,050 in 2004, 2,725 in 2005, and 426 through April of 2006..."
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16583
Saturday, May 27, 2006
IRAN MILITIAS IN CONTROL OF SOUTHERN IRAQ
"Iranian-backed militia groups take control of much of southern Iraq... (which) is now dominated by Shiite Muslim warlords and militiamen who are laying the groundwork for an Islamic fundamentalist government."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14677922.htm
"Iranian-backed militia groups take control of much of southern Iraq... (which) is now dominated by Shiite Muslim warlords and militiamen who are laying the groundwork for an Islamic fundamentalist government."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14677922.htm
BASRA FALLING APART
"Basra in the south of Iraq is beginning to splinter under increasing violence and sectarian divisions... More than 100 civilians have been killed in Basra so far this month... Residents are pointing the finger at the governor and the British military, which occupies the city. ... "The sewage system is destroyed. The water system is not adequate. Even clean water is not there. Electricity is not up to expectations. ... you're getting 30 minutes or one hour a day"... the prime minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, paid a visit to Basra this week. Denmark has 535 troops stationed in Basra. As part of his visit, the Danish leader announced he will be bringing some of his troops home later this summer. "
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33383
"Basra in the south of Iraq is beginning to splinter under increasing violence and sectarian divisions... More than 100 civilians have been killed in Basra so far this month... Residents are pointing the finger at the governor and the British military, which occupies the city. ... "The sewage system is destroyed. The water system is not adequate. Even clean water is not there. Electricity is not up to expectations. ... you're getting 30 minutes or one hour a day"... the prime minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, paid a visit to Basra this week. Denmark has 535 troops stationed in Basra. As part of his visit, the Danish leader announced he will be bringing some of his troops home later this summer. "
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33383
HADITHA RETALIATORY MASSACRE
May 26
"... the U.S. military, after lying about the massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year, then lying about the number of Iraqis killed, then covering up the massacre until a Time magazine article made it impossible to keep lying, attempted... (a) line of defense: As Time reported in March, “Lieut. Colonel Michelle Martin-Hing, spokeswoman for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, told Time the involvement of [military investigators] does not mean that a crime occurred. And she says the fault for the civilian deaths lies squarely with the insurgents, who ‘placed noncombatants in the line of fire as the Marines responded to defend themselves.’” All lies, of course. There were no insurgents hiding among civilians. There was no crossfire. The Marines weren’t defending themselves. They were out on a rampage, murdering at point-blank leisure, lodging bullets in the heads of women and children, My Lai-style."
--Pierre Tristam, Candide's Notebooks, May 26, 2006
hehttp://www.pierretristam.com/re
"... a Marine unit killed as many as 24 unarmed Iraqis, some of them "execution-style," in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha after a roadside bomb killed an American in November... One government official said the pictures showed that infantry Marines from Camp Pendleton "suffered a total breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-marines27may27,1,5270805.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
April 21
"... the Los Angeles Times reported... (that) after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq... ... video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes... "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood"... this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=76825
"... 23 people were killed. Eight were from Younes' family. The only survivor, Younes' 13-year-old daughter, said her family wasn't shooting at Marines or harboring extremists that morning. They were sleeping when the bomb exploded. And when the Marines entered their house, she said, they shot at everyone inside.... the Marines relieved of duty three leaders of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment... They are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and two of his company commanders, Capt. James S. Kimber and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell. McConnell was commanding Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, the unit that struck the roadside bomb..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14298263.htm
May 26
"... the U.S. military, after lying about the massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha last year, then lying about the number of Iraqis killed, then covering up the massacre until a Time magazine article made it impossible to keep lying, attempted... (a) line of defense: As Time reported in March, “Lieut. Colonel Michelle Martin-Hing, spokeswoman for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, told Time the involvement of [military investigators] does not mean that a crime occurred. And she says the fault for the civilian deaths lies squarely with the insurgents, who ‘placed noncombatants in the line of fire as the Marines responded to defend themselves.’” All lies, of course. There were no insurgents hiding among civilians. There was no crossfire. The Marines weren’t defending themselves. They were out on a rampage, murdering at point-blank leisure, lodging bullets in the heads of women and children, My Lai-style."
--Pierre Tristam, Candide's Notebooks, May 26, 2006
hehttp://www.pierretristam.com/re
"... a Marine unit killed as many as 24 unarmed Iraqis, some of them "execution-style," in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha after a roadside bomb killed an American in November... One government official said the pictures showed that infantry Marines from Camp Pendleton "suffered a total breakdown in morality and leadership, with tragic results."
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-marines27may27,1,5270805.story?coll=la-headlines-frontpage
April 21
"... the Los Angeles Times reported... (that) after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq... ... video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes... "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood"... this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=76825
"... 23 people were killed. Eight were from Younes' family. The only survivor, Younes' 13-year-old daughter, said her family wasn't shooting at Marines or harboring extremists that morning. They were sleeping when the bomb exploded. And when the Marines entered their house, she said, they shot at everyone inside.... the Marines relieved of duty three leaders of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment... They are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and two of his company commanders, Capt. James S. Kimber and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell. McConnell was commanding Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, the unit that struck the roadside bomb..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14298263.htm
Saturday, May 20, 2006
IRAQI POLICE DYSFUNCTIONAL
"... the police are a battered and dysfunctional force that has helped bring Iraq to the brink of civil war. Police units stand accused of operating death squads for powerful political groups or simple profit... the ability of America to withdraw its troops — rests in large measure on whether the police can be reformed and rogue groups reined in."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/world/middleeast/21security.html?hp&ex=1148184000&en=84f4002b27e45d00&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"... the police are a battered and dysfunctional force that has helped bring Iraq to the brink of civil war. Police units stand accused of operating death squads for powerful political groups or simple profit... the ability of America to withdraw its troops — rests in large measure on whether the police can be reformed and rogue groups reined in."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/world/middleeast/21security.html?hp&ex=1148184000&en=84f4002b27e45d00&ei=5094&partner=homepage
IRAQ DISINTEGRATING UNDER ETHNIC CLEANSING
"... Iraq is disintegrating as ethnic cleansing takes hold on a massive scale... Across central Iraq, there is an exodus of people fleeing for their lives as sectarian assassins and death squads hunt them down..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article548945.ece
"... Iraq is disintegrating as ethnic cleansing takes hold on a massive scale... Across central Iraq, there is an exodus of people fleeing for their lives as sectarian assassins and death squads hunt them down..."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article548945.ece
Friday, May 19, 2006
U.S. DECONSTRUCTION OF IRAQ
"... The image of the Bush administration in Iraq as a bumbling giant, overwhelmed by the destructive forces within Iraqi society, is a pernicious misrepresentation. A close look at the facts on the ground demonstrates that the American occupation itself has been the primary destructive force in Iraq as well as the direct or ultimate source of the bulk of the violence; that the American military, in its zealous pursuit of the resistance, still generates much destruction; and that American reconstruction efforts have -- through greed, corruption, and incompetence -- only deepened the infrastructural crisis. The American presence in Iraq continues to be a force for deconstruction."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0518-26.htm
From:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=84463
"... The image of the Bush administration in Iraq as a bumbling giant, overwhelmed by the destructive forces within Iraqi society, is a pernicious misrepresentation. A close look at the facts on the ground demonstrates that the American occupation itself has been the primary destructive force in Iraq as well as the direct or ultimate source of the bulk of the violence; that the American military, in its zealous pursuit of the resistance, still generates much destruction; and that American reconstruction efforts have -- through greed, corruption, and incompetence -- only deepened the infrastructural crisis. The American presence in Iraq continues to be a force for deconstruction."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0518-26.htm
From:
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=84463
Thursday, May 18, 2006
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER CALLS IRAQ OCCUPATION A GRAVE ERROR
"... Italy's new prime minister, Romano Prodi, called the U.S.-led invasion and occupation a "grave error" and said he would propose a withdrawal of Italian troops. "We consider the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country a grave error," Prodi told the upper house of parliament, wire services reported. "It has not resolved, but complicated the situation of security."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800451.html
"... Italy's new prime minister, Romano Prodi, called the U.S.-led invasion and occupation a "grave error" and said he would propose a withdrawal of Italian troops. "We consider the war in Iraq and the occupation of the country a grave error," Prodi told the upper house of parliament, wire services reported. "It has not resolved, but complicated the situation of security."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800451.html
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
IRAQ ALREADY LOST TO U.S.
"... Iraq is already all but lost to us. The United States is not going to be able to control the course of events in Iraq. Whether there will be accommodation or civil war is no longer up to us... The power vacuum is already in place. We cannot fill it, and Iraq is pounding down the road toward a failed state -- a state in which jihadis now train for service in Afghanistan, and Americans, more and more, stay in their fortified and isolated bases."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/16/iraq_may_already_be_lost_to_us/
"... Iraq is already all but lost to us. The United States is not going to be able to control the course of events in Iraq. Whether there will be accommodation or civil war is no longer up to us... The power vacuum is already in place. We cannot fill it, and Iraq is pounding down the road toward a failed state -- a state in which jihadis now train for service in Afghanistan, and Americans, more and more, stay in their fortified and isolated bases."
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/16/iraq_may_already_be_lost_to_us/
Monday, May 15, 2006
JIHADIS ARE PRISONERS FREED BY ARAB COUNTRIES
"... the current situation in Iraq is an almost ideal opportunity for Arab regimes to export their Islamic firebrands to kill members of the US-led coalitions and be killed in turn is augmented - if not validated - by the large numbers of Islamic militants who have been released by Arab governments since the invasion of Iraq.
November 2003: The government of Yemen freed more than 1,500 inmates - including 92 suspected al-Qaeda members...
January 2005: The Algerian government pardoned 5,065 prisoners...
November 2005: Morocco released 164 Islamist prisoners...
November 2005: Morocco released 5,000 prisoners...
November-December 2005: Saudi Arabia released 400 reformed Islamist prisoners...
February 2006: Algeria pardoned or reduced sentences for "3,000 convicted or suspected terrorists"...
February 2006: Tunisia released 1,600 prisoners, including Islamist radicals..
March 2006: Algeria released 2,000 additional prisoners...
March 2006: Yemen released more than 600 Islamist fighters..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HE16Ak02.html
"... the current situation in Iraq is an almost ideal opportunity for Arab regimes to export their Islamic firebrands to kill members of the US-led coalitions and be killed in turn is augmented - if not validated - by the large numbers of Islamic militants who have been released by Arab governments since the invasion of Iraq.
November 2003: The government of Yemen freed more than 1,500 inmates - including 92 suspected al-Qaeda members...
January 2005: The Algerian government pardoned 5,065 prisoners...
November 2005: Morocco released 164 Islamist prisoners...
November 2005: Morocco released 5,000 prisoners...
November-December 2005: Saudi Arabia released 400 reformed Islamist prisoners...
February 2006: Algeria pardoned or reduced sentences for "3,000 convicted or suspected terrorists"...
February 2006: Tunisia released 1,600 prisoners, including Islamist radicals..
March 2006: Algeria released 2,000 additional prisoners...
March 2006: Yemen released more than 600 Islamist fighters..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HE16Ak02.html
SUNNIS ACCUSE U.S. OF ATROCITY IN RAID
"... U.S. military earlier on Monday said its forces had killed more than 41 insurgents in and around the villages of Latifiya and Yusifiya... (but) Iraq's main Sunni religious grouping accused U.S. forces... of killing 25 civilians... rejecting the U.S. account.. The Sunni association accused U.S. forces of attacking civilian houses and killing people as they tried to flee..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15767399.htm
"... U.S. military earlier on Monday said its forces had killed more than 41 insurgents in and around the villages of Latifiya and Yusifiya... (but) Iraq's main Sunni religious grouping accused U.S. forces... of killing 25 civilians... rejecting the U.S. account.. The Sunni association accused U.S. forces of attacking civilian houses and killing people as they tried to flee..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15767399.htm
Saturday, May 13, 2006
IRAQI ARMY UNITS CLASH
"... The U.S. military said fighting broke out between two Iraqi army units... "The confrontation between the two Iraqi units resulted in the death of one soldier," the U.S. statement said..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DAH320807.htm
"... Police said the fighting between the army units broke out as one patrol tried to remove its wounded soldiers from the hospital, and a second unit tried to stop them."
(One unit was Kurdish, was in a firefight with insurgents, took wounded to a hospital which turned out to be Shiite, tried to remove wounded to a different hospital, was prevented by a Shiite unit, which led to clash between the two units.)
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/05/762ec0b7-f260-423c-8ccf-b559af7e96c2.html
"... The U.S. military said fighting broke out between two Iraqi army units... "The confrontation between the two Iraqi units resulted in the death of one soldier," the U.S. statement said..."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DAH320807.htm
"... Police said the fighting between the army units broke out as one patrol tried to remove its wounded soldiers from the hospital, and a second unit tried to stop them."
(One unit was Kurdish, was in a firefight with insurgents, took wounded to a hospital which turned out to be Shiite, tried to remove wounded to a different hospital, was prevented by a Shiite unit, which led to clash between the two units.)
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/05/762ec0b7-f260-423c-8ccf-b559af7e96c2.html
Saturday, May 06, 2006
U.S. HAS FAILED IN 200 ATTEMPTS TO IMPOSE DEMOCRACY
"... one country trying to impose its system of government or its economic institutions on another. Such an enterprise amounts to a dictionary definition of imperialism. When what's at issue is "democracy", you have the fallacy of using the end to justify the means... The Federation of American Scientists has compiled a list of more than 201 overseas military operations from the end of World War II until September 11, 2001, in which we were involved and normally struck the first blow. ... The current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not included. In no instance did democratic governments come about as a direct result of any of these military activities... All the United States has achieved (in Iraq) is to guarantee that Iraqis will hate it for years to come."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HE04Aa01.html
"... one country trying to impose its system of government or its economic institutions on another. Such an enterprise amounts to a dictionary definition of imperialism. When what's at issue is "democracy", you have the fallacy of using the end to justify the means... The Federation of American Scientists has compiled a list of more than 201 overseas military operations from the end of World War II until September 11, 2001, in which we were involved and normally struck the first blow. ... The current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not included. In no instance did democratic governments come about as a direct result of any of these military activities... All the United States has achieved (in Iraq) is to guarantee that Iraqis will hate it for years to come."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HE04Aa01.html
BRITISH HELICOPTER DOWNED BY ROCKET
"A British military helicopter... was apparently shot down... in Basra... Iraqis hurled stones at British troops and set fire to three armored vehicles that rushed to the scene. Clashes broke out between British troops and Shiite militias.. .
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq.html?hp&ex=1146974400&en=40b25e42f4ab40d7&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"... Police in Basra told reporters the aircraft crashed into a city centre house after being hit by a rocket... hundreds of Iraqis gathered, many waving their arms and throwing stones... British soldiers in the area were facing an increasing threat. Ex-Commander of UK forces in Bosnia, Colonel Bob Stewart, said there was an "escalating situation" in Basra..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4979950.stm
"A British military helicopter... was apparently shot down... in Basra... Iraqis hurled stones at British troops and set fire to three armored vehicles that rushed to the scene. Clashes broke out between British troops and Shiite militias.. .
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Iraq.html?hp&ex=1146974400&en=40b25e42f4ab40d7&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"... Police in Basra told reporters the aircraft crashed into a city centre house after being hit by a rocket... hundreds of Iraqis gathered, many waving their arms and throwing stones... British soldiers in the area were facing an increasing threat. Ex-Commander of UK forces in Bosnia, Colonel Bob Stewart, said there was an "escalating situation" in Basra..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4979950.stm
Friday, May 05, 2006
RUMSFELD HAS DENIED PERMANENT IRAQ BASES
"... the notion of a permanent presence is regularly rebuffed by the US government. In February (2006), Mr Rumsfeld insisted it was "certainly not true".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4834032.stm
"... On February 17, 2005, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, testifying before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, said, ”We have no intention, at the present time, of putting permanent bases in Iraq.”
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2323/
"... At an April 2003 press conference, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said any suggestion that the US is planning a permanent military presence in Iraq is "inaccurate and unfortunate."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0930/p17s02-cogn.html
"... On the 21st of April (2003) Rumsfeld said in a press briefing “I have never, that I can recall, heard the subject of a permanent base in Iraq discussed in any meeting … we don't plan to function as an occupier, we don't plan to prescribe to any new government how we ought to be arranged in their country… We have no desire to be there for long periods, we simply don't. And that's just a cold, hard fact."
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MEY20060411&articleId=2257
"... the notion of a permanent presence is regularly rebuffed by the US government. In February (2006), Mr Rumsfeld insisted it was "certainly not true".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4834032.stm
"... On February 17, 2005, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, testifying before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, said, ”We have no intention, at the present time, of putting permanent bases in Iraq.”
http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2323/
"... At an April 2003 press conference, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said any suggestion that the US is planning a permanent military presence in Iraq is "inaccurate and unfortunate."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0930/p17s02-cogn.html
"... On the 21st of April (2003) Rumsfeld said in a press briefing “I have never, that I can recall, heard the subject of a permanent base in Iraq discussed in any meeting … we don't plan to function as an occupier, we don't plan to prescribe to any new government how we ought to be arranged in their country… We have no desire to be there for long periods, we simply don't. And that's just a cold, hard fact."
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=MEY20060411&articleId=2257
Thursday, May 04, 2006
IRAQ ELECTRICAL POWER PROBLEMS
"... In March 2004, one year into the occupation, residents of Baghdad could expect around 16 hours of electricity a day. Two years later, however, this dropped to a mere six hours daily... For three consecutive days (this month), residents of the capital, Baghdad, have received less than one hour of electricity per day... Local engineers say at least two years and massive expenditures will be required to achieve the minimum power levels necessary to support Iraq's 26-million strong population. "Billions of dollars will be required to supply sufficient power. As for the current shortage, this was the result of bad management – not solely the result of insurgency attacks."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/c138a6ab7e745aa6c2571d3d07fe06c7.htm
"... In March 2004, one year into the occupation, residents of Baghdad could expect around 16 hours of electricity a day. Two years later, however, this dropped to a mere six hours daily... For three consecutive days (this month), residents of the capital, Baghdad, have received less than one hour of electricity per day... Local engineers say at least two years and massive expenditures will be required to achieve the minimum power levels necessary to support Iraq's 26-million strong population. "Billions of dollars will be required to supply sufficient power. As for the current shortage, this was the result of bad management – not solely the result of insurgency attacks."
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/c138a6ab7e745aa6c2571d3d07fe06c7.htm
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
INDEX CLASSIFIES IRAQ AS A FAILED STATE
"Despite receiving some eight billion dollars a month in economic aid and military support over the past year, Iraq ... Iraq ranks number four... among the world's 10 weakest states... The index defined a "failed state" as one in "which the government does not have effective control of its territory, is not perceived as legitimate by a significant portion of its population, does not provide domestic security or basic public services to its citizens, and lacks a monopoly on the use of force".
--"Failed States Index" for 2006, by the Washington-based Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33087
"Despite receiving some eight billion dollars a month in economic aid and military support over the past year, Iraq ... Iraq ranks number four... among the world's 10 weakest states... The index defined a "failed state" as one in "which the government does not have effective control of its territory, is not perceived as legitimate by a significant portion of its population, does not provide domestic security or basic public services to its citizens, and lacks a monopoly on the use of force".
--"Failed States Index" for 2006, by the Washington-based Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33087
ONE PROJECT ON TARGET - U.S. EMBASSY
"... how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build themselves the biggest embassy on Earth?... the diplomatic outpost will be visible from space and cover an area that is larger than the Vatican city and big enough to accommodate four Millennium Domes... There will be impressive residences for the Ambassador and his deputy, six apartments for senior officials, and two huge office blocks for 8,000 staff to work in. There will be what is rumoured to be the biggest swimming pool in Iraq, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, a cinema, restaurants offering delicacies from favourite US food chains, tennis courts and a swish American Club for evening functions... the embassy’s size “is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2162249.html
"... how is it that the Americans cannot keep the electricity running in Baghdad for more than a couple of hours a day, yet still manage to build themselves the biggest embassy on Earth?... the diplomatic outpost will be visible from space and cover an area that is larger than the Vatican city and big enough to accommodate four Millennium Domes... There will be impressive residences for the Ambassador and his deputy, six apartments for senior officials, and two huge office blocks for 8,000 staff to work in. There will be what is rumoured to be the biggest swimming pool in Iraq, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, a cinema, restaurants offering delicacies from favourite US food chains, tennis courts and a swish American Club for evening functions... the embassy’s size “is seen by Iraqis as an indication of who actually exercises power in their country”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2162249.html
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
AUTONOMOUS REGIONS (BALKANIZATION) PROPOSED FOR IRAQ
"... America must get beyond the present false choice between "staying the course" and "bringing the troops home now" and choose a third way... maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group — Kurd, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab — room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests..."
--Joseph R. Biden Jr., (D) Delaware, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Leslie H. Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/opinion/01biden.html?ex=1146628800&en=d3af987c03612b8c&ei=5087%0A
"Partitioning Iraq (is) not a viable option... its cities and 18 governorates all have significant minorities, and any effort to divide the country would require massive relocations... (and)... may lead to so much instability and conflict that Iraqi oil cannot be effectively exploited for years or decades to come... White House... Spokesman Scott McClellan... (said) "a partitioned government with regional security forces and a weak central government is something that no Iraqi leader has proposed, and that the Iraqi people have not supported... The United States remains firmly committed to... (UN) Security Council resolution 1546, which called for a federal, democratic, pluralist and unified Iraq..."
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060501-030743-2938r
"... America must get beyond the present false choice between "staying the course" and "bringing the troops home now" and choose a third way... maintain a united Iraq by decentralizing it, giving each ethno-religious group — Kurd, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab — room to run its own affairs, while leaving the central government in charge of common interests..."
--Joseph R. Biden Jr., (D) Delaware, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Leslie H. Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/opinion/01biden.html?ex=1146628800&en=d3af987c03612b8c&ei=5087%0A
"Partitioning Iraq (is) not a viable option... its cities and 18 governorates all have significant minorities, and any effort to divide the country would require massive relocations... (and)... may lead to so much instability and conflict that Iraqi oil cannot be effectively exploited for years or decades to come... White House... Spokesman Scott McClellan... (said) "a partitioned government with regional security forces and a weak central government is something that no Iraqi leader has proposed, and that the Iraqi people have not supported... The United States remains firmly committed to... (UN) Security Council resolution 1546, which called for a federal, democratic, pluralist and unified Iraq..."
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20060501-030743-2938r
Monday, May 01, 2006
130 HEALTH CLINICS UNFINISHED, $190 MILLION CONTRACT USED UP AND TERMINATED
"... The inspector general's report also disclosed serious problems in building a network of primary health care centers.... Parsons Global... (was to) build 150 clinics for $190 million. But today, only six are complete, with 121 partially done. The United States has terminated the contract with Parsons... these facilities were far from complete, and the completed portions were poorly constructed... (with) inadequate quality control by the contractor... State Department and Pentagon officials... consolidated the near-term goal to 20 completed clinics."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060501-121452-2291r.htm
"... the congressional team has been carrying out investigations... highlights the case of a US company which was given a contract to build 150 health centres in Iraq. Only six have been built, all in Baghdad, in spite of 75% of its allocated $186m having been spent. The report says the contractor will only complete a further 14."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0501-04.htm
"... The inspector general's report also disclosed serious problems in building a network of primary health care centers.... Parsons Global... (was to) build 150 clinics for $190 million. But today, only six are complete, with 121 partially done. The United States has terminated the contract with Parsons... these facilities were far from complete, and the completed portions were poorly constructed... (with) inadequate quality control by the contractor... State Department and Pentagon officials... consolidated the near-term goal to 20 completed clinics."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060501-121452-2291r.htm
"... the congressional team has been carrying out investigations... highlights the case of a US company which was given a contract to build 150 health centres in Iraq. Only six have been built, all in Baghdad, in spite of 75% of its allocated $186m having been spent. The report says the contractor will only complete a further 14."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0501-04.htm
U.S. PROGRAM TO PROTECT OIL & ELECTRIC LINES A FAILURE
"The troop training program that the United States began in 2003 to protect Iraq's oil and electrical lines is a failure... the Bush administration and Iraq government poured $147 million into trying to create an Iraqi Oil Protection Force of 14,400 and an Iraqi Electric Power Security Service of 6,000 guards. But today, the electric security service no longer exists, and the oil force has shown only sporadic success.."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060501-121452-2291r.htm
"The troop training program that the United States began in 2003 to protect Iraq's oil and electrical lines is a failure... the Bush administration and Iraq government poured $147 million into trying to create an Iraqi Oil Protection Force of 14,400 and an Iraqi Electric Power Security Service of 6,000 guards. But today, the electric security service no longer exists, and the oil force has shown only sporadic success.."
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060501-121452-2291r.htm
WAR LIKELY TO BE COSTLIEST IN U.S. HISTORY
"... The cost of the war in Iraq is skyrocketing, largely because tanks, trucks, helicopters and other military gear are wearing out in Iraq's harsh climate and have to be replaced faster than ever before... The Army is requesting $13.5 billion this year to repair, replace or upgrade equipment lost or damaged in the war. And officials estimate that the Army will need $12 billion to $13 billion a year for these purposes until at least two years after most troops have left Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of replacing equipment is one of the factors likely to make Iraq one of the costliest military engagements in U.S. history... the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total war spending could top $811 billion by 2016.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14455575.htm
"... The cost of the war in Iraq is skyrocketing, largely because tanks, trucks, helicopters and other military gear are wearing out in Iraq's harsh climate and have to be replaced faster than ever before... The Army is requesting $13.5 billion this year to repair, replace or upgrade equipment lost or damaged in the war. And officials estimate that the Army will need $12 billion to $13 billion a year for these purposes until at least two years after most troops have left Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of replacing equipment is one of the factors likely to make Iraq one of the costliest military engagements in U.S. history... the Congressional Budget Office estimates that total war spending could top $811 billion by 2016.
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14455575.htm
Saturday, April 29, 2006
U.S. TROOPS AND IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
"... There is constant pressure to kill Iraqi civilians. At traffic stops we kill innocent people all the time. If you are fired on from the street, you are supposed to fire on everybody that is there. If I am in a market, I shoot people who are buying groceries... My buddies came back and said, ‘We killed a lot of people.’ About a hundred civilians. They were just people downtown. Killing downtown civilians is a typical incident."
--Darrell Anderson, a 22-year-old GI from Lexington, Kentucky, who won a purple heart after he was wounded.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0429-30.htm
"... There is constant pressure to kill Iraqi civilians. At traffic stops we kill innocent people all the time. If you are fired on from the street, you are supposed to fire on everybody that is there. If I am in a market, I shoot people who are buying groceries... My buddies came back and said, ‘We killed a lot of people.’ About a hundred civilians. They were just people downtown. Killing downtown civilians is a typical incident."
--Darrell Anderson, a 22-year-old GI from Lexington, Kentucky, who won a purple heart after he was wounded.
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0429-30.htm
Thursday, April 27, 2006
ORIGIN OF SUNNIS AND SHIITES
"...the dispute that split Islam into Shiite and Sunni branches (occurred) 1,400 years ago. During that time, there was fierce debate over who was the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
One side, eventually known as Sunnis, believed that Muhammad's successor should be Abu Bakr, Muhammad's dearest friend. Abu Bakr was followed by Omar, Othman and then Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali.
The other side, which eventually came to be known as Shiites, believed that the successor should be related to Muhammad and that Ali was the legitimate imam after Muhammad's death, followed by Ali's descendants..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14435662.htm
"...the dispute that split Islam into Shiite and Sunni branches (occurred) 1,400 years ago. During that time, there was fierce debate over who was the legitimate successor to the Prophet Muhammad.
One side, eventually known as Sunnis, believed that Muhammad's successor should be Abu Bakr, Muhammad's dearest friend. Abu Bakr was followed by Omar, Othman and then Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali.
The other side, which eventually came to be known as Shiites, believed that the successor should be related to Muhammad and that Ali was the legitimate imam after Muhammad's death, followed by Ali's descendants..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14435662.htm
IRAQ OIL, WATER, ELECTRICITY LESS THAN BEFORE OCCUPATION
"In each of three key sectors -- oil, water and electricity - Iraqis have less capability and service than they did prior to the invasion...
Pre-war production capacity of crude oil was 2.6 million barrels per day. Production as of March 2006 was 2 million barrels per day...
Generation capacity prior to the war was 4300 megawatts. As of March, electrical generation was 4,092 megawatts...
National average of electricity per day was 12.3 hours in the last week of February 2006, and 11.7 hours per day in the last week of March. In Baghdad, the average was 8.1 and 5.7 hours, respectively. Those hours are not necessarily contiguous...
Potable water... 50 percent had it, and it has dropped now to 32 percent... 60 percent of the fresh water is lost due to leakage, contamination and illegal connections..."
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12118
"In each of three key sectors -- oil, water and electricity - Iraqis have less capability and service than they did prior to the invasion...
Pre-war production capacity of crude oil was 2.6 million barrels per day. Production as of March 2006 was 2 million barrels per day...
Generation capacity prior to the war was 4300 megawatts. As of March, electrical generation was 4,092 megawatts...
National average of electricity per day was 12.3 hours in the last week of February 2006, and 11.7 hours per day in the last week of March. In Baghdad, the average was 8.1 and 5.7 hours, respectively. Those hours are not necessarily contiguous...
Potable water... 50 percent had it, and it has dropped now to 32 percent... 60 percent of the fresh water is lost due to leakage, contamination and illegal connections..."
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12118
IRAQ PROVINCES: 3 STABLE AND 8 UNSTABLE
"A Government Accountability Office report, based on recent State Department and U.S. military assessments in Iraq, suggests the country is on a downward slope... Eight of Iraq's 18 provinces are dangerously unstable and violent, not just the four usually cited.... According to the U.S. Embassy/Multinational Force Iraq National Coordination Team's Provincial Stability Assessment generated in March, just three of Iraq's provinces are stable, and all of them are in so-called Kurdistan in northern Iraq..."
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12118
"A Government Accountability Office report, based on recent State Department and U.S. military assessments in Iraq, suggests the country is on a downward slope... Eight of Iraq's 18 provinces are dangerously unstable and violent, not just the four usually cited.... According to the U.S. Embassy/Multinational Force Iraq National Coordination Team's Provincial Stability Assessment generated in March, just three of Iraq's provinces are stable, and all of them are in so-called Kurdistan in northern Iraq..."
http://www.kurdmedia.com/news.asp?id=12118
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
U.S. JUNIOR OFFICERS DEBATE IRAQ WAR
"... The New York Times described an "extraordinary debate" now going on among younger American officers "in military academies, in the armed services staff colleges, and even in command posts and mess halls in Iraq." This debate is about the war in Iraq, about the tactics and prospects of the American forces there, and, most particularly, about Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1145875389128
"... Junior and midlevel officers are discussing whether the war plans for Iraq reflected unvarnished military advice, whether the retired generals should have spoken out, whether active-duty generals will feel free to state their views in private sessions with the civilian leaders and, most divisive of all, whether Mr. Rumsfeld should resign..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/washington/23military.html?ex=1161489600&en=b98655acc38693cb&ei=5087&nl=ep&emc=ep
"... The New York Times described an "extraordinary debate" now going on among younger American officers "in military academies, in the armed services staff colleges, and even in command posts and mess halls in Iraq." This debate is about the war in Iraq, about the tactics and prospects of the American forces there, and, most particularly, about Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1145875389128
"... Junior and midlevel officers are discussing whether the war plans for Iraq reflected unvarnished military advice, whether the retired generals should have spoken out, whether active-duty generals will feel free to state their views in private sessions with the civilian leaders and, most divisive of all, whether Mr. Rumsfeld should resign..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/washington/23military.html?ex=1161489600&en=b98655acc38693cb&ei=5087&nl=ep&emc=ep
IRAQI OPPOSITION TO OCCUPATION AT BREAKING POINT
"... the opposition to the US occupation among Iraqis is rising past the breaking point. This is the indisputable “secret” that the American media rarely reveals. The recently-leaked “Provisional Stability Assessment” reports “serious” or “critical” security situations in six of Iraq’s 18 provinces, including Baghdad and Basra. [NYT, April 8, 06], which means the invasion and occupation have failed to suppress the resistance in most of the country. More stunning, the percentage of all Iraqis favoring a timeline for US withdrawal has risen from thirty percent in February 2004 to 76 percent in February 2005 to 87 percent in February of this year. [NYT report of data collected by Brookings Institution, Mar. 19, 2006]..."
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060425_tom_hayden_iraq_storm/
"... the opposition to the US occupation among Iraqis is rising past the breaking point. This is the indisputable “secret” that the American media rarely reveals. The recently-leaked “Provisional Stability Assessment” reports “serious” or “critical” security situations in six of Iraq’s 18 provinces, including Baghdad and Basra. [NYT, April 8, 06], which means the invasion and occupation have failed to suppress the resistance in most of the country. More stunning, the percentage of all Iraqis favoring a timeline for US withdrawal has risen from thirty percent in February 2004 to 76 percent in February 2005 to 87 percent in February of this year. [NYT report of data collected by Brookings Institution, Mar. 19, 2006]..."
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20060425_tom_hayden_iraq_storm/
Monday, April 24, 2006
COURTS MARTIAL FOR SEDITIOUS U.S. GENERALS
"... the (April 18) pro-Bush Washington Times raised the prospect of sedition charges against active-duty military officers who – in collusion with the retired generals – might be considering resignations in protest of Bush’s war policies. “Can a series of lawful resignations turn into a mutiny? And if they are agreed upon in advance, have the agreeing generals formed a felonious conspiracy to make a mutiny?”... this possible “revolt” by the generals “comes dangerously close to violating three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” including “mutiny and sedition” ... thus (is) raised the specter of courts martial against officers who resign rather than carry out orders from Bush..."
http://consortiumnews.com/2006/042306.html
"... the (April 18) pro-Bush Washington Times raised the prospect of sedition charges against active-duty military officers who – in collusion with the retired generals – might be considering resignations in protest of Bush’s war policies. “Can a series of lawful resignations turn into a mutiny? And if they are agreed upon in advance, have the agreeing generals formed a felonious conspiracy to make a mutiny?”... this possible “revolt” by the generals “comes dangerously close to violating three articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” including “mutiny and sedition” ... thus (is) raised the specter of courts martial against officers who resign rather than carry out orders from Bush..."
http://consortiumnews.com/2006/042306.html
U.S. CHANGES THE ELECTED IRAQI PRIME MINISTER
"... Jawad al-Maliki... is prime minister only because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Iraq at the beginning of April and, in public, for all Iraqis to see, demanded that Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari step down.The U.S. pushed for elections... and then publicly challenged the chosen prime minister. The chaos now engulfing Iraq is a direct result of the Bush administration's policy of pushing democracy on the cheap and by the barrel of a gun..."
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/24/a_paper_lid_on_iraqs_volcano.php
"... Jawad al-Maliki... is prime minister only because Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Iraq at the beginning of April and, in public, for all Iraqis to see, demanded that Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari step down.The U.S. pushed for elections... and then publicly challenged the chosen prime minister. The chaos now engulfing Iraq is a direct result of the Bush administration's policy of pushing democracy on the cheap and by the barrel of a gun..."
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/04/24/a_paper_lid_on_iraqs_volcano.php
SHOT BY AMERICANS - SORRY
"... Uncle S was dad's only uncle from his mother's side. A man in his late seventies, peaceful and young in the heart... Yesterday, he was shot by Americans on his way back home, and he died. Like many others, he died, left us clueless about the reason, and saddened with this sudden loss. He was shot many times, only three reached him: One in his arm, one in his neck and one in his chest. But they said they're sorry.. They always are."
-- Blog of Iraqi schoolgirl, A Star from Mosul, Thursday, March 09, 2006
http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com/
"... Uncle S was dad's only uncle from his mother's side. A man in his late seventies, peaceful and young in the heart... Yesterday, he was shot by Americans on his way back home, and he died. Like many others, he died, left us clueless about the reason, and saddened with this sudden loss. He was shot many times, only three reached him: One in his arm, one in his neck and one in his chest. But they said they're sorry.. They always are."
-- Blog of Iraqi schoolgirl, A Star from Mosul, Thursday, March 09, 2006
http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com/
THREE YEARS LATER
"... the country's deepening ethnic conflict is spreading tension across Iraq's borders, fueling terrorism and nurturing gloom about the future... Militancy is on the rise. Terrorists are using Iraq as a training base and potential launch pad for attacks elsewhere... Democratic reform remains largely stymied... The U.S. Army and Marine Corps... are feeling the strain of repeated deployments. Public support for the war is declining in America and almost nonexistent elsewhere. The war has cost more than 2,300 American lives, and the... cost may exceed $500 billion..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/third_anniversary/14115859.htm
"... the country's deepening ethnic conflict is spreading tension across Iraq's borders, fueling terrorism and nurturing gloom about the future... Militancy is on the rise. Terrorists are using Iraq as a training base and potential launch pad for attacks elsewhere... Democratic reform remains largely stymied... The U.S. Army and Marine Corps... are feeling the strain of repeated deployments. Public support for the war is declining in America and almost nonexistent elsewhere. The war has cost more than 2,300 American lives, and the... cost may exceed $500 billion..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/third_anniversary/14115859.htm
BUSH ON SADDAM LINK TO AL-QAEDA
"First, just if I might correct a misperception, I don't think we ever said -- at least I know I didn't say that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein."
--President George W. Bush, Cleveland address, March 20, 2006
See video links to this part of his address at:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/03/20.html#a7595
"(The President) stands by saying that Saddam Hussein's regime had ties to... al Qaeda..."
--Scott McClellan, press briefing, June 17, 2004
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040617-5.html
"The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
--President George W. Bush, Letter to Congress, March 21, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030321-5.html
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda."
--President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
"First, just if I might correct a misperception, I don't think we ever said -- at least I know I didn't say that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein."
--President George W. Bush, Cleveland address, March 20, 2006
See video links to this part of his address at:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/03/20.html#a7595
"(The President) stands by saying that Saddam Hussein's regime had ties to... al Qaeda..."
--Scott McClellan, press briefing, June 17, 2004
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040617-5.html
"The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
--President George W. Bush, Letter to Congress, March 21, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030321-5.html
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda."
--President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
Sunday, April 23, 2006
BIN LADEN TAPE
"... The war is still raging, and people are renewing their allegiance to their rulers and politicians, sending their sons to join armies to fight us... it is a Crusader-Zionist war against Muslims... "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4936490.stm
"... The war is still raging, and people are renewing their allegiance to their rulers and politicians, sending their sons to join armies to fight us... it is a Crusader-Zionist war against Muslims... "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4936490.stm
CIA WARNED BUSH - NO WMD IN IRAQ
"The CIA warned ... Bush before the Iraq war that it had reliable information the government of Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. But .., top White House officials simply brushed off the warning, saying they were "no longer interested" in intelligence and that the policy toward Iraq had been already set.... There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the latest charges."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0422-04.htm
"The CIA warned ... Bush before the Iraq war that it had reliable information the government of Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction. But .., top White House officials simply brushed off the warning, saying they were "no longer interested" in intelligence and that the policy toward Iraq had been already set.... There was no immediate reaction from the White House to the latest charges."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0422-04.htm
Saturday, April 22, 2006
DEMOCRATS TO BE LEFT WITH IRAQ
"... The United States will eventually have to leave Iraq... President Bush will likely hold firm and leave the painful decisions to a Democratic successor, who would then take the blame for not “finishing the job.”
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0422-20.htm
"... The United States will eventually have to leave Iraq... President Bush will likely hold firm and leave the painful decisions to a Democratic successor, who would then take the blame for not “finishing the job.”
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0422-20.htm
Friday, April 21, 2006
INDICATORS OF CIVIL WAR
"... four indicators... to conclude that the country is descending into civil war...
* collapse in the authority of the central government...
* accompanied by a rise in the power of local militias involved in sectarian violence...
* transfers of population or displacement...
* state institutions such as the police dividing along sectarian lines... "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4902888.stm
"... four indicators... to conclude that the country is descending into civil war...
* collapse in the authority of the central government...
* accompanied by a rise in the power of local militias involved in sectarian violence...
* transfers of population or displacement...
* state institutions such as the police dividing along sectarian lines... "
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4902888.stm
MASSIVE US EMBASSY IN IRAQ
The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water... 21 buildings on 104 acres... six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington's National Mall... (with) 5,500 Americans and Iraqis working at the embassy... Security will be extraordinary: setbacks and perimeter no-go areas that will be especially deep, structures reinforced to 2.5-times the standard, and five high-security entrances, plus an emergency entrance-exit..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0415-07.htm
The fortress-like compound rising beside the Tigris River here will be the largest of its kind in the world, the size of Vatican City, with the population of a small town, its own defense force, self-contained power and water... 21 buildings on 104 acres... six times larger than the United Nations compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of Washington's National Mall... (with) 5,500 Americans and Iraqis working at the embassy... Security will be extraordinary: setbacks and perimeter no-go areas that will be especially deep, structures reinforced to 2.5-times the standard, and five high-security entrances, plus an emergency entrance-exit..."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0415-07.htm
COST OF WAR
"... According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the United States spent $48 billion for Iraq in 2003, $59 billion in 2004, and $81 billion in 2005. The center predicts the figure will balloon to $94 billion for 2006. That equates to a $1,205 bill for each of America's 78 million families, on top of taxes they already pay... To fully reequip and upgrade the U.S. Army after the war ends will cost $36 billion over six years, and that figure assumes U.S. forces will start withdrawing from Iraq in July, and be completely out of the country by the end of 2008."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0421-09.htm
"... According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the United States spent $48 billion for Iraq in 2003, $59 billion in 2004, and $81 billion in 2005. The center predicts the figure will balloon to $94 billion for 2006. That equates to a $1,205 bill for each of America's 78 million families, on top of taxes they already pay... To fully reequip and upgrade the U.S. Army after the war ends will cost $36 billion over six years, and that figure assumes U.S. forces will start withdrawing from Iraq in July, and be completely out of the country by the end of 2008."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0421-09.htm
Thursday, April 20, 2006
PERMANANT U.S. BASES IN IRAQ IMMORAL
"... the American people should question both the morality and the policy implications of what this sort of U.S. military presence brings... (Freedom and democracy) can not be achieved with a permanent American military presence. The people have no true freedom of choice... no mastery over their economy... And U.S. involvement in Iraqi politics has disrupted the formation of a government.... Three years of occupation violate the very principles the U.S. espouses by preventing the natural evolution of democracy.... More importantly, the people of Iraq want us to leave.... our moral obligation is to uphold the spirit of democracy that our nation was built upon. Closing the permanent bases honors that proud tradition and extends it to the open hand of Iraqis."
http://www.minutemanmedia.org/SHAMOO%20041906.htm
"... the American people should question both the morality and the policy implications of what this sort of U.S. military presence brings... (Freedom and democracy) can not be achieved with a permanent American military presence. The people have no true freedom of choice... no mastery over their economy... And U.S. involvement in Iraqi politics has disrupted the formation of a government.... Three years of occupation violate the very principles the U.S. espouses by preventing the natural evolution of democracy.... More importantly, the people of Iraq want us to leave.... our moral obligation is to uphold the spirit of democracy that our nation was built upon. Closing the permanent bases honors that proud tradition and extends it to the open hand of Iraqis."
http://www.minutemanmedia.org/SHAMOO%20041906.htm
IRAQ WOMEN BETTER TREATED UNDER SADDAM
"According to... local rights NGOs, women were treated better during the Saddam Hussein era – and their rights were more respected – than they are now... women’s basic rights under the Hussein regime were guaranteed in the constitution and – more importantly – respected, with women often occupying important government positions. Now... they have lost almost all of their rights..."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52776&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=IRAQ
"According to... local rights NGOs, women were treated better during the Saddam Hussein era – and their rights were more respected – than they are now... women’s basic rights under the Hussein regime were guaranteed in the constitution and – more importantly – respected, with women often occupying important government positions. Now... they have lost almost all of their rights..."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52776&SelectRegion=Middle_East&SelectCountry=IRAQ
Sunday, April 16, 2006
CONSEQUENCES OF IMPERIAL OVERREACH
"Our power, then, has the grave liability of rendering our theories about the world immune from failure. But by becoming deaf to easily discerned warning signs, we may ignore long-term costs that result from our actions and dismiss reverses that should lead to a re-examination of our goals and means.... A few brief years ago... our victory (was) engraved in unyielding stone, our pre-eminence garlanded with permanence. But... To allow our enormous power to delude us into seeing the world as a passive thing waiting for us to recreate it in an image of our choosing will hasten the day when we have little freedom to choose anything at all."
--Henry Hyde, Republican congressman, chairman of the House international relations committee
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/109/Statement%20-%20HJH.pdf
"Our power, then, has the grave liability of rendering our theories about the world immune from failure. But by becoming deaf to easily discerned warning signs, we may ignore long-term costs that result from our actions and dismiss reverses that should lead to a re-examination of our goals and means.... A few brief years ago... our victory (was) engraved in unyielding stone, our pre-eminence garlanded with permanence. But... To allow our enormous power to delude us into seeing the world as a passive thing waiting for us to recreate it in an image of our choosing will hasten the day when we have little freedom to choose anything at all."
--Henry Hyde, Republican congressman, chairman of the House international relations committee
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/109/Statement%20-%20HJH.pdf
Thursday, April 13, 2006
HADITHA RETALIATORY MASSACRE
"... the Los Angeles Times reported... (that) after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq... ... video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes... "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood"... this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=76825
"... 23 people were killed. Eight were from Younes' family. The only survivor, Younes' 13-year-old daughter, said her family wasn't shooting at Marines or harboring extremists that morning. They were sleeping when the bomb exploded. And when the Marines entered their house, she said, they shot at everyone inside.... the Marines relieved of duty three leaders of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment... They are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and two of his company commanders, Capt. James S. Kimber and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell. McConnell was commanding Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, the unit that struck the roadside bomb..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14298263.htm
"... the Los Angeles Times reported... (that) after a roadside bomb killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 15 Iraqi civilians – including seven women and three children – were allegedly shot and killed by a unit of US Marines operating in Haditha, Iraq... ... video evidence shows that women and children were shot in their homes while still wearing nightclothes... "inside the houses…the walls and ceilings are pockmarked with shrapnel and bullet holes as well as the telltale spray of blood"... this past Friday, a battalion commander and two company commanders from the same unit were relieved of their duties."
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?bid=7&pid=76825
"... 23 people were killed. Eight were from Younes' family. The only survivor, Younes' 13-year-old daughter, said her family wasn't shooting at Marines or harboring extremists that morning. They were sleeping when the bomb exploded. And when the Marines entered their house, she said, they shot at everyone inside.... the Marines relieved of duty three leaders of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment... They are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and two of his company commanders, Capt. James S. Kimber and Capt. Lucas M. McConnell. McConnell was commanding Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion, the unit that struck the roadside bomb..."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/iraq/14298263.htm
65,000 INTERNAL REFUGEES FROM SECTARIAN VIOLENCE
"... At least 65,000 Iraqis have fled their homes as a result of sectarian violence and intimidation, according to new figures from the Iraqi government. And the rate at which Iraqis are being displaced is increasing... (UN) officials in neighbouring Jordan say they are trying to secure emergency funds because of expectations this internal refugee problem will grow.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4905770.stm
"... At least 65,000 Iraqis have fled their homes as a result of sectarian violence and intimidation, according to new figures from the Iraqi government. And the rate at which Iraqis are being displaced is increasing... (UN) officials in neighbouring Jordan say they are trying to secure emergency funds because of expectations this internal refugee problem will grow.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4905770.stm
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
ITALY LATEST TO LEAVE CRUMBLING COALITION
"... The president makes few references to his "coalition of the willing" these days because the coalition has been crumbling. Among the countries that have exited the coalition are Singapore (in January 2004), Nicaragua (February 2004); Spain (April 2004); Dominican Republic (May 2004); Honduras (May 2004); Norway (June 2004), Philippines (July 2004); Thailand (August 2004); New Zealand (September 2004); Tonga (December 2004) Hungary (December 2004); Portugal (February 2005); Moldova (February 2005); Netherlands (June 2005), Ukraine (December 2005) and Bulgaria (January 2006)... The Italian exit is expected to come quickly..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0412-28.htm
"... The president makes few references to his "coalition of the willing" these days because the coalition has been crumbling. Among the countries that have exited the coalition are Singapore (in January 2004), Nicaragua (February 2004); Spain (April 2004); Dominican Republic (May 2004); Honduras (May 2004); Norway (June 2004), Philippines (July 2004); Thailand (August 2004); New Zealand (September 2004); Tonga (December 2004) Hungary (December 2004); Portugal (February 2005); Moldova (February 2005); Netherlands (June 2005), Ukraine (December 2005) and Bulgaria (January 2006)... The Italian exit is expected to come quickly..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0412-28.htm
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
BASRA CHILD MORTALITY UP 30% SINCE SADDAM ERA
"A European aid agency (Saving Children from War) has reported a rise in child mortality in the southern Iraqi city of Basra... One Basra doctor said child mortality had risen by 30% since the invasion. A US military internal report has described the overall situation in Basra as "serious"... "The mortality of children in Basra has increased by nearly 30% compared to the Saddam Hussein era," said Dr Haydar Salah, a paediatrician at the Basra Children's Hospital..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4900174.stm
"A European aid agency (Saving Children from War) has reported a rise in child mortality in the southern Iraqi city of Basra... One Basra doctor said child mortality had risen by 30% since the invasion. A US military internal report has described the overall situation in Basra as "serious"... "The mortality of children in Basra has increased by nearly 30% compared to the Saddam Hussein era," said Dr Haydar Salah, a paediatrician at the Basra Children's Hospital..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4900174.stm
Monday, April 10, 2006
U.S. MAGNIFIES ZARQAWI'S ROLE
"The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents... One internal briefing, produced by the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, said... "The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900890.html
"The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents... One internal briefing, produced by the U.S. military headquarters in Iraq, said... "The Zarqawi PSYOP program is the most successful information campaign to date..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900890.html
A GENERAL'S COMMENT
"... a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, Al Qaeda, became a secondary effort."
--Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, director of operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2000 through the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the war in Afghanistan, who left military service in late 2002, as the Defense Department was deep into planning for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0410-06.htm
"... a fundamentally flawed plan was executed for an invented war, while pursuing the real enemy, Al Qaeda, became a secondary effort."
--Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, director of operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2000 through the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the war in Afghanistan, who left military service in late 2002, as the Defense Department was deep into planning for the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0410-06.htm
Saturday, April 08, 2006
IRAQI OFFICIALS CALL IT CIVIL WAR
"... A senior government official has, for the first time, said Iraq is in a state of undeclared civil war. "Iraq has actually been in an undeclared civil war for the past 12 months," Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Ali Kamal told the BBC's Arabic Service... Similar views were expressed in March by Iraq's former interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4891008.stm
"... A senior government official has, for the first time, said Iraq is in a state of undeclared civil war. "Iraq has actually been in an undeclared civil war for the past 12 months," Deputy Interior Minister Hussein Ali Kamal told the BBC's Arabic Service... Similar views were expressed in March by Iraq's former interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4891008.stm
Thursday, April 06, 2006
EMBASSY REPORTS WORSENING SITUATION SINCE ELECTIONS
"Since the Iraqi elections in January, US foreign service officers at the Baghdad embassy have been writing a steady stream of disturbing cables describing drastically worsening conditions... Bush's strategy of training Iraqi police and army... is perversely and portentously accelerating the strife. State department officials in the field are reporting that Shia militias use training as cover to infiltrate key positions... So far, two top attaches at the embassy have been reassigned elsewhere for producing factual reports that are too upsetting..."
hehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1747665,00.htmlre
"Since the Iraqi elections in January, US foreign service officers at the Baghdad embassy have been writing a steady stream of disturbing cables describing drastically worsening conditions... Bush's strategy of training Iraqi police and army... is perversely and portentously accelerating the strife. State department officials in the field are reporting that Shia militias use training as cover to infiltrate key positions... So far, two top attaches at the embassy have been reassigned elsewhere for producing factual reports that are too upsetting..."
hehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1747665,00.htmlre
PROBLEMS WITH IRAQI GOVERNMENT
"... three points... about the current American scramble to put Humpty Dumpty back together again in Baghdad...
* the government of Iraq will remain weak, divided, and isolated inside Baghdad's well-fortified Green Zone. It is and, until the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, will remain a collection of charlatans and quislings, leavened with separatist warlords...
* the imperial treatment of Jaafari by the (US) ambassador has shocked and stunned Iraqis... His public humiliation has been a blatant exercise of sheer American muscle, and... makes a mockery of President Bush's alleged commitment to democracy...
* there is virtually no one in the ranks of the Shiite religious bloc who is any better than Jaafari..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0406-34.htm
"... three points... about the current American scramble to put Humpty Dumpty back together again in Baghdad...
* the government of Iraq will remain weak, divided, and isolated inside Baghdad's well-fortified Green Zone. It is and, until the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, will remain a collection of charlatans and quislings, leavened with separatist warlords...
* the imperial treatment of Jaafari by the (US) ambassador has shocked and stunned Iraqis... His public humiliation has been a blatant exercise of sheer American muscle, and... makes a mockery of President Bush's alleged commitment to democracy...
* there is virtually no one in the ranks of the Shiite religious bloc who is any better than Jaafari..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0406-34.htm
Monday, April 03, 2006
86 PERCENT OF CLINICS TO BE ABANDONNED UNCOMPLETED
"A reconstruction contract for the building of 142 primary health centers across Iraq is running out of money, after two years and roughly $200 million, with no more than 20 clinics now expected to be completed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says... the Corps will walk away from more than 120 clinics that on average are two-thirds finished... the 86 percent shortfall of completions dismayed the World Health Organization's representative for Iraq... Auditors say the project serves as a warning for other U.S. reconstruction efforts due to be completed this year..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/02/AR2006040201209.html
"A reconstruction contract for the building of 142 primary health centers across Iraq is running out of money, after two years and roughly $200 million, with no more than 20 clinics now expected to be completed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says... the Corps will walk away from more than 120 clinics that on average are two-thirds finished... the 86 percent shortfall of completions dismayed the World Health Organization's representative for Iraq... Auditors say the project serves as a warning for other U.S. reconstruction efforts due to be completed this year..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/02/AR2006040201209.html
ENDURING BASES FOR THE LONG TERM
"... The Pentagon says it has already reduced the number of US bases from 110 a year ago to a current total of around 75. But at the same time it is expanding a number of vast, highly defended bases... spending millions of dollars establishing at least six "enduring" bases in Iraq... four of which are US (and two British)... it has become increasingly clear that the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence are preparing to retain some forces in Iraq for the longer term.... "
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article355178.ece
"... The Pentagon says it has already reduced the number of US bases from 110 a year ago to a current total of around 75. But at the same time it is expanding a number of vast, highly defended bases... spending millions of dollars establishing at least six "enduring" bases in Iraq... four of which are US (and two British)... it has become increasingly clear that the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence are preparing to retain some forces in Iraq for the longer term.... "
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article355178.ece
Sunday, April 02, 2006
AL-ASAD SUPERBASE
"... the American air war against Iraqi cities quietly ratchets up and, amid the ruins, huge permanent American bases like the 19 square-mile Al-Asad airbase in Anwar Province -- with its 17,000 troops, Burger King, Pizza Hut, car dealership Yellow and Blue bus routes, and "PX jammed with customers" -- thrive. Only recently, the administration requested from Congress hundreds of millions more dollars to construct stronger perimeter defenses, better runways with permanent lighting, more permanent dining facilities and the like at the largest of these bases..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0402-27.htm
"... the American air war against Iraqi cities quietly ratchets up and, amid the ruins, huge permanent American bases like the 19 square-mile Al-Asad airbase in Anwar Province -- with its 17,000 troops, Burger King, Pizza Hut, car dealership Yellow and Blue bus routes, and "PX jammed with customers" -- thrive. Only recently, the administration requested from Congress hundreds of millions more dollars to construct stronger perimeter defenses, better runways with permanent lighting, more permanent dining facilities and the like at the largest of these bases..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0402-27.htm
Saturday, April 01, 2006
BASIC SERVICES WORSE NOW THAN BEFORE INVASION
"... virtually all basic services are in a worse state now than they were before the invasion. There is less clean water, less sewage control, less gas, less petrol, less power. Baghdad now has an average of only 5.8 hours of electricity a day. At present Iraq is producing 1.8 million barrels of oil a day; just before the invasion the figure was 2.5 million barrels a day... here is a real, abiding anger that the richest nation on Earth should have taken over their country and made them even worse off in so many ways than they were before."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4825200.stm
"... virtually all basic services are in a worse state now than they were before the invasion. There is less clean water, less sewage control, less gas, less petrol, less power. Baghdad now has an average of only 5.8 hours of electricity a day. At present Iraq is producing 1.8 million barrels of oil a day; just before the invasion the figure was 2.5 million barrels a day... here is a real, abiding anger that the richest nation on Earth should have taken over their country and made them even worse off in so many ways than they were before."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4825200.stm
Friday, March 31, 2006
LEGITIMACY OF ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS
"The United States (says) is not talking with terrorists, we will not talk to terrorists and we do not endorse or in any way support those who do."
"... (however)... the West has only three options in dealing with Islamist organizations: we can bomb them, we can ignore them, or we can talk to them... The question of legitimacy is important because for democracies, legitimacy is not conferred, but (has been) earned at the ballot box (by)...
* The Muslim Brotherhood (the most recognizable as well as the oldest pan-Islamic party in the region) is the most widely respected Islamist organization in the Middle East and the second-largest party in the Egyptian legislature...
* Jamaat e-Islami is the most powerful and respected elected opposition to the Pervez Musharraf government in Pakistan...
* Hezbollah forms the second-largest bloc in the Lebanese parliament...
* Hamas is now the majority party in the Palestinian Authority."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HD01Ak02.html
"The United States (says) is not talking with terrorists, we will not talk to terrorists and we do not endorse or in any way support those who do."
"... (however)... the West has only three options in dealing with Islamist organizations: we can bomb them, we can ignore them, or we can talk to them... The question of legitimacy is important because for democracies, legitimacy is not conferred, but (has been) earned at the ballot box (by)...
* The Muslim Brotherhood (the most recognizable as well as the oldest pan-Islamic party in the region) is the most widely respected Islamist organization in the Middle East and the second-largest party in the Egyptian legislature...
* Jamaat e-Islami is the most powerful and respected elected opposition to the Pervez Musharraf government in Pakistan...
* Hezbollah forms the second-largest bloc in the Lebanese parliament...
* Hamas is now the majority party in the Palestinian Authority."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HD01Ak02.html
U.S. WRECKING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ
"... the United States has started to take measures in Iraq that would wreck its most cherished goal there: democracy... campaigning to either dump the United Iraqi Alliance's (UIA) candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, or force him to withdraw... Bush is making it clear that his version of democracy in Iraq means having his preferred candidate at the helm..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC31Ak01.html
"... the United States has started to take measures in Iraq that would wreck its most cherished goal there: democracy... campaigning to either dump the United Iraqi Alliance's (UIA) candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, or force him to withdraw... Bush is making it clear that his version of democracy in Iraq means having his preferred candidate at the helm..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC31Ak01.html
Thursday, March 30, 2006
SADDAM BETTER FOR WOMEN
''Under the previous dictator regime, the basic rights for women were enshrined in the constitution... women could go out to work, university and get married or divorced in civil courts. But at the moment women have lost almost all their rights and are being pushed back into the corner of their house... (they) want to see security restored so at least they can go out freely without being attacked, kidnapped or having acid thrown on their face. In addition, women want equality, freedom and their rights to be recognised in the constitution, and above all to be treated as equal human beings.'''
--Houzan Mahmoud from the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0330-02.htm
''Under the previous dictator regime, the basic rights for women were enshrined in the constitution... women could go out to work, university and get married or divorced in civil courts. But at the moment women have lost almost all their rights and are being pushed back into the corner of their house... (they) want to see security restored so at least they can go out freely without being attacked, kidnapped or having acid thrown on their face. In addition, women want equality, freedom and their rights to be recognised in the constitution, and above all to be treated as equal human beings.'''
--Houzan Mahmoud from the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0330-02.htm
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
SHIAS UNITE AGAINST U.S. AFTER MOSQUE KILLINGS
"... the three main Shia factions united yesterday to denounce an American raid on a Baghdad mosque...
"At evening prayers, American soldiers accompanied by Iraqi troops raided the Mustafa mosque and killed 37 people," said Abd al-Karim al-Enzi, the security minister, who belongs to the Dawa party of the prime minister, Ibrahim al Jaafari. "They [the victims] were unarmed. They went in, tied up the people and shot them all. They did not leave any wounded."
"Baghdad's governor, Hussein Tahan, a member of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (Sciri), announced that local officials were ending their contacts with the Americans in protest at the killings."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1740904,00.html
"... the three main Shia factions united yesterday to denounce an American raid on a Baghdad mosque...
"At evening prayers, American soldiers accompanied by Iraqi troops raided the Mustafa mosque and killed 37 people," said Abd al-Karim al-Enzi, the security minister, who belongs to the Dawa party of the prime minister, Ibrahim al Jaafari. "They [the victims] were unarmed. They went in, tied up the people and shot them all. They did not leave any wounded."
"Baghdad's governor, Hussein Tahan, a member of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (Sciri), announced that local officials were ending their contacts with the Americans in protest at the killings."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1740904,00.html
Friday, March 24, 2006
DEFINITION OF CIVIL WAR
"Sustained military combat, primarily internal, resulting in at least 1,000 battle-deaths per year, pitting central government forces against an insurgent force capable of effective resistance, determined by the latter's ability to inflict upon the government forces at least 5 percent of the fatalities that the insurgents sustain." (Errol A. Henderson and J. David Singer, "Civil War in the Post-Colonial World, 1946-92," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 37, No. 3, May 2000.) '
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/03/23/civil_war/index.html
"Sustained military combat, primarily internal, resulting in at least 1,000 battle-deaths per year, pitting central government forces against an insurgent force capable of effective resistance, determined by the latter's ability to inflict upon the government forces at least 5 percent of the fatalities that the insurgents sustain." (Errol A. Henderson and J. David Singer, "Civil War in the Post-Colonial World, 1946-92," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 37, No. 3, May 2000.) '
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/03/23/civil_war/index.html
OPERATION SWARMER
"... in Isshaqi, a small village near Samarra... the American troops, accompanied by helicopters , raided the modest rural home of a primary school teacher, Faiz Mratt. According to his neighbor Mohammad Al-Majma, the 27-year-old school teacher, his wife, their three children, his sister, her three children, his father and a woman who was visiting them were all arrested, tied, and beaten, and then the American troops opened fire on the family. “After they executed them, the troops put explosives in the house and blew it up,” said Mohammad, crying. “They killed even the farm animals” Faiz’s surviving sister was devastated. “They killed my mother, Torkiya Majid, who was 90 years old,” she cried. “They killed Faiz’s three children: Hawra, 4, Aysha 2, and Hussam, who was only 4 months old. They killed my sister Faiza, who was also a schoolteacher, and her children Osama 6, and Asmaa, 5.” Aziz Khalil, 30, and his fiancée Nidhal Mohammad, 23, who were to be married on Thursday, were also killed. All told, the operation to kill “insurgents” left six children and four women dead..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0324-20.htm
"... in Isshaqi, a small village near Samarra... the American troops, accompanied by helicopters , raided the modest rural home of a primary school teacher, Faiz Mratt. According to his neighbor Mohammad Al-Majma, the 27-year-old school teacher, his wife, their three children, his sister, her three children, his father and a woman who was visiting them were all arrested, tied, and beaten, and then the American troops opened fire on the family. “After they executed them, the troops put explosives in the house and blew it up,” said Mohammad, crying. “They killed even the farm animals” Faiz’s surviving sister was devastated. “They killed my mother, Torkiya Majid, who was 90 years old,” she cried. “They killed Faiz’s three children: Hawra, 4, Aysha 2, and Hussam, who was only 4 months old. They killed my sister Faiza, who was also a schoolteacher, and her children Osama 6, and Asmaa, 5.” Aziz Khalil, 30, and his fiancée Nidhal Mohammad, 23, who were to be married on Thursday, were also killed. All told, the operation to kill “insurgents” left six children and four women dead..."
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0324-20.htm
PERMANENT IRAQ BASES FUNDED
"... the Bush administration continues to request hundreds of millions of dollars for large bases there, raising concerns over whether they are intended as permanent sites for U.S. forces.
1. Al Asad air base -- By some accounts the second largest military air center in Iraq and the main supply base for troops in Al Anbar Province, which includes the insurgent strongholds of Fallouja and Ramadi. It houses about 17,000 troops, including a large contingent of Marines.
Spending: Unknown through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $46.3 million
2. Balad air base -- The U.S. military's main air transportation and supply hub in Iraq, with two giant runways. Also known as Camp Anaconda, it is the largest support base in the country, with about 22,500 troops and several thousand contractors.
Spending: $228.7 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $17.8 million.
3. Camp Taji -- One of the largest facilities for U.S. ground forces in Iraq, the base also serves as home to about 15,000 Iraqi security forces. It has the largest military shopping center (PX) in the country.
Spending: $49.6 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: None
4. Tallil air base -- An increasingly important air and transportation hub, with a growing population of coalition troops and contractors. It has become a key stopping point for supply convoys moving north from Kuwait and is close to one of the Iraqi army's main training facilities.
Spending: $10.8 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $110.3 million
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usiraq24mar24,0,4786811.story?page=3&coll=la-home-headlines
"... the Bush administration continues to request hundreds of millions of dollars for large bases there, raising concerns over whether they are intended as permanent sites for U.S. forces.
1. Al Asad air base -- By some accounts the second largest military air center in Iraq and the main supply base for troops in Al Anbar Province, which includes the insurgent strongholds of Fallouja and Ramadi. It houses about 17,000 troops, including a large contingent of Marines.
Spending: Unknown through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $46.3 million
2. Balad air base -- The U.S. military's main air transportation and supply hub in Iraq, with two giant runways. Also known as Camp Anaconda, it is the largest support base in the country, with about 22,500 troops and several thousand contractors.
Spending: $228.7 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $17.8 million.
3. Camp Taji -- One of the largest facilities for U.S. ground forces in Iraq, the base also serves as home to about 15,000 Iraqi security forces. It has the largest military shopping center (PX) in the country.
Spending: $49.6 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: None
4. Tallil air base -- An increasingly important air and transportation hub, with a growing population of coalition troops and contractors. It has become a key stopping point for supply convoys moving north from Kuwait and is close to one of the Iraqi army's main training facilities.
Spending: $10.8 million through 2005
Bush 2006 request: $110.3 million
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usiraq24mar24,0,4786811.story?page=3&coll=la-home-headlines
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
BUSH ON IRAQ LINK TO 9-11 & AL-QAEDA
"First, just if I might correct a misperception, I don't think we ever said -- at least I know I didn't say that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein."
--President George W. Bush, Cleveland address, March 20, 2006
See video links to this part of his address at:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/03/20.html#a7595
"(The President) stands by saying that Saddam Hussein's regime had ties to... al Qaeda..."
--Scott McClellan, press briefing, June 17, 2004
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040617-5.html
"The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
--President George W. Bush, Letter to Congress, March 21, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030321-5.html
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda."
--President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
"First, just if I might correct a misperception, I don't think we ever said -- at least I know I didn't say that there was a direct connection between September the 11th and Saddam Hussein."
--President George W. Bush, Cleveland address, March 20, 2006
See video links to this part of his address at:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/03/20.html#a7595
"(The President) stands by saying that Saddam Hussein's regime had ties to... al Qaeda..."
--Scott McClellan, press briefing, June 17, 2004
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040617-5.html
"The use of armed forces against Iraq is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001."
--President George W. Bush, Letter to Congress, March 21, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/03/20030321-5.html
"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda."
--President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, January 28, 2003
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html
TROOPS TO REMAIN IN IRAQ FOR YEARS
"President Bush said Tuesday that U.S. troops will be in Iraq until after his presidency ends almost three years from now... (withdrawal) will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14153807.htm
FOUR SUPER BASES IN IRAQ
"Balad Air Base, Iraq - The concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 2 million cubic feet of it, a mile-long slab that’s now the home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters, a “heli-park” as good as any back in the States. At another giant base, al-Asad in Iraq’s western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they’re planning a new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for chow. “I think we’ll be here forever,” the 19-year-old airman from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., told a visitor to his base. Balad's “master plan"... is nearing completion, a possible model for al-Asad, Tallil and a fourth major base, al-Qayyarah in Iraq’s north."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0321-10.htm
"President Bush said Tuesday that U.S. troops will be in Iraq until after his presidency ends almost three years from now... (withdrawal) will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq."
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/14153807.htm
FOUR SUPER BASES IN IRAQ
"Balad Air Base, Iraq - The concrete goes on forever, vanishing into the noonday glare, 2 million cubic feet of it, a mile-long slab that’s now the home of up to 120 U.S. helicopters, a “heli-park” as good as any back in the States. At another giant base, al-Asad in Iraq’s western desert, the 17,000 troops and workers come and go in a kind of bustling American town, with a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a car dealership, stop signs, traffic regulations and young bikers clogging the roads.
At a third hub down south, Tallil, they’re planning a new mess hall, one that will seat 6,000 hungry airmen and soldiers for chow. “I think we’ll be here forever,” the 19-year-old airman from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., told a visitor to his base. Balad's “master plan"... is nearing completion, a possible model for al-Asad, Tallil and a fourth major base, al-Qayyarah in Iraq’s north."
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0321-10.htm
Sunday, March 19, 2006
IRAQI CIVIL WAR
"Iraq is in the middle of civil war, the country's former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has told the BBC.... Mr Allawi suggested there was no other way to describe the sectarian violence..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4821618.stm
"... Bush administration officials today reiterated their upbeat assessment of the American military effort and political progress in the country, insisting that the violence plaguing Iraq did not amount to civil war..."
http://nytimes.com/2006/03/19/politics/19cnd-anniversary.html?hp&ex=1142830800&en=cb9ef26149404fdd&ei=5094&partner=homepage
"Iraq is in the middle of civil war, the country's former interim prime minister Iyad Allawi has told the BBC.... Mr Allawi suggested there was no other way to describe the sectarian violence..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4821618.stm
"... Bush administration officials today reiterated their upbeat assessment of the American military effort and political progress in the country, insisting that the violence plaguing Iraq did not amount to civil war..."
http://nytimes.com/2006/03/19/politics/19cnd-anniversary.html?hp&ex=1142830800&en=cb9ef26149404fdd&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Thursday, March 16, 2006
IRAQ TRYING TO CAPTURE AL-QAEDA AND ZARQAWI IN 2002
"Iraqi documents collected by US intelligence during the Iraq war... were released last night via a Pentagon website at the direction of National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. Many were in Arabic – with no English translation – including one the administration said showed that Iraqi intelligence officials suspected al Qaida members were inside Iraq in 2002. However, one of the documents, a letter from an Iraqi intelligence official, dated August 17, 2002, asked agents in the country to be on the lookout for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi... ."
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=176240192&p=y76z4x898
"Iraqi documents collected by US intelligence during the Iraq war... were released last night via a Pentagon website at the direction of National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. Many were in Arabic – with no English translation – including one the administration said showed that Iraqi intelligence officials suspected al Qaida members were inside Iraq in 2002. However, one of the documents, a letter from an Iraqi intelligence official, dated August 17, 2002, asked agents in the country to be on the lookout for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi... ."
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=176240192&p=y76z4x898
Monday, March 13, 2006
IRAQI GOVERNMENT HAS NO SOVEREIGNTY
"... Sovereignty is made up of four ingredients: ultimate control over the means of coercion; sufficient resources to deliver government services; an administrative apparatus capable of carrying out these functions; and the acquiescence of most people in the exercise of such power. The government in Baghdad has none of these, nor will any of them soon be available to it... the impotent isolation of the Iraqi government within its Green Zone sanctuary becomes more visible to all. In the meantime, the various contending parties - the occupation, the Sunni resistance, the Shi'ite fundamentalists and the Kurdish nationalists - frustrate each other's designs on power while destroying any group's ability to establish sovereignty..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC14Ak01.html
"... Sovereignty is made up of four ingredients: ultimate control over the means of coercion; sufficient resources to deliver government services; an administrative apparatus capable of carrying out these functions; and the acquiescence of most people in the exercise of such power. The government in Baghdad has none of these, nor will any of them soon be available to it... the impotent isolation of the Iraqi government within its Green Zone sanctuary becomes more visible to all. In the meantime, the various contending parties - the occupation, the Sunni resistance, the Shi'ite fundamentalists and the Kurdish nationalists - frustrate each other's designs on power while destroying any group's ability to establish sovereignty..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HC14Ak01.html
UK PLANNING TO WITHDRAW TRAINERS OF IRAQI ARMY
"Defence Secretary John Reid is to announce a reduction in the level of UK forces in Iraq, the BBC has learnt. The reduction will be "several hundred and probably around 800"... the forces to be withdrawn could comprise Army trainers of the Iraq security forces..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4801624.stm
"Defence Secretary John Reid is to announce a reduction in the level of UK forces in Iraq, the BBC has learnt. The reduction will be "several hundred and probably around 800"... the forces to be withdrawn could comprise Army trainers of the Iraq security forces..."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4801624.stm
Sunday, March 12, 2006
COMMENT ON RUMSFELD COMMENT ON CIVIL WAR
"The plan is to prevent a civil war [in Iraq], and to the extent one were to occur, to have the - from a security standpoint - have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to."
- US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to the Senate Appropriations Committee
"The Iraqi security forces will certainly be "dealing" with a civil war. Many members of the security forces will be combatants, on both sides. Many are already fighting a low intensity civil war. What does Rumsfeld think a civil war is? If he really doesn't know, how is he going to prevent one? But we think he does know - he's not that stupid. The mystery is why the US Congress and public swallow the stream of mumbo-jumbo emanating from the Bush administration."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East.html
"The plan is to prevent a civil war [in Iraq], and to the extent one were to occur, to have the - from a security standpoint - have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to."
- US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to the Senate Appropriations Committee
"The Iraqi security forces will certainly be "dealing" with a civil war. Many members of the security forces will be combatants, on both sides. Many are already fighting a low intensity civil war. What does Rumsfeld think a civil war is? If he really doesn't know, how is he going to prevent one? But we think he does know - he's not that stupid. The mystery is why the US Congress and public swallow the stream of mumbo-jumbo emanating from the Bush administration."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East.html