U.S. CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR HOW IT SPENT $2.6 BILLION OF IRAQI FUNDS
"... the Department of Defense cannot account for how it spent $2.6 billion that belonged to the Iraqi government... An audit of a $9.1 billion fund of Iraqi oil proceeds showed that most American military agencies entrusted with spending the money on reconstruction projects failed to adhere to U.S. rules on how such money must be tracked and spent... (Previously) The inspector general in 2005 criticized the CPA's management of an $8.8 billion fund that belonged to the Iraqi government. A criminal probe conducted by the inspector general then led to the conviction of eight U.S. officials on bribery, fraud and money-laundering charges..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/26/AR2010072605535.html?hpid=topnews
Saturday, July 24, 2010
TOXIC LEGACY IN FALLUJAH WORSE THAN HIROSHIMA
U.S. assaulted city in 2004 using depleted uranium and white phosphorous
"Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945... a four-fold increase in all cancers and a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in under-14s... a 38-fold increase in leukaemia, a ten-fold increase in female breast cancer and significant increases in lymphoma and brain tumours in adults. Infant mortality in the city is more than four times higher than in neighbouring Jordan and eight times higher than in Kuwait... overwhelmed by the number of babies with serious birth defects, ranging from a girl born with two heads to paralysis of the lower limbs..."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html
U.S. assaulted city in 2004 using depleted uranium and white phosphorous
"Dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukaemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004, exceed those reported by survivors of the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945... a four-fold increase in all cancers and a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in under-14s... a 38-fold increase in leukaemia, a ten-fold increase in female breast cancer and significant increases in lymphoma and brain tumours in adults. Infant mortality in the city is more than four times higher than in neighbouring Jordan and eight times higher than in Kuwait... overwhelmed by the number of babies with serious birth defects, ranging from a girl born with two heads to paralysis of the lower limbs..."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html
Monday, June 21, 2010
TIMES SQUARE BOMBER PLEADS GUILTY 100 TIMES
"... He said he wanted "to plead guilty and 100 times more" to let the U.S. know that if it did not get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, halt drone attacks and stop meddling in Muslim lands, "we will be attacking U.S."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_times_square_car_bomb
"... He said he wanted "to plead guilty and 100 times more" to let the U.S. know that if it did not get out of Iraq and Afghanistan, halt drone attacks and stop meddling in Muslim lands, "we will be attacking U.S."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_times_square_car_bomb
Monday, April 26, 2010
IRAQ ELECTION CHAOS: CANDIDATES DISQUALIFIED
May affect US withdrawal
"Iraq's election results have been thrown into further doubt after 52 candidates were disqualified... The US (is) concerned that the inconclusive result and power vacuum will hold up the withdrawal of its remaining combat forces... The US is expected to withdraw its remaining troops by the end of 2011 under the terms of a status of forces agreement signed by George Bush before he left the presidency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/26/iraq-election-candidates-disqualified
May affect US withdrawal
"Iraq's election results have been thrown into further doubt after 52 candidates were disqualified... The US (is) concerned that the inconclusive result and power vacuum will hold up the withdrawal of its remaining combat forces... The US is expected to withdraw its remaining troops by the end of 2011 under the terms of a status of forces agreement signed by George Bush before he left the presidency.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/26/iraq-election-candidates-disqualified
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
MALIKI HAS TORTURE PRISON FOR SUNNIS
Threat to forming a viable government
"Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office, where many were routinely tortured... the 431 prisoners had been subjected to appalling conditions... one of them, a former colonel in President Saddam Hussein's army, had died in January as a result of torture... "More than 100 were tortured. There were a lot of marks on their bodies. They beat people, they used electricity. They suffocated them with plastic bags, and different methods... they were handcuffed for three to four hours at a time in stress positions or sodomized".... (the revelation) would likely compromise the prime minister's ability to put together a viable government coalition.."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-prison19-2010apr19,0,5706408.story
Threat to forming a viable government
"Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office, where many were routinely tortured... the 431 prisoners had been subjected to appalling conditions... one of them, a former colonel in President Saddam Hussein's army, had died in January as a result of torture... "More than 100 were tortured. There were a lot of marks on their bodies. They beat people, they used electricity. They suffocated them with plastic bags, and different methods... they were handcuffed for three to four hours at a time in stress positions or sodomized".... (the revelation) would likely compromise the prime minister's ability to put together a viable government coalition.."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq-prison19-2010apr19,0,5706408.story
Monday, April 05, 2010
VIDEO GAME: KILLING CIVILIANS
"... US air crew falsely claiming to have encountered a firefight in Baghdad and then laughing at the dead after launching an air strike that killed a dozen people... Among the dead were a 22-year-old Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40. When Saeed is crawling, clearly unable to do anything, their response is: come on buddy, we want to kill you, just pick up a weapon ... It appears to be a desire to get a higher score, or a higher number of kills...."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/05/wikileaks-us-army-iraq-attack
"... US air crew falsely claiming to have encountered a firefight in Baghdad and then laughing at the dead after launching an air strike that killed a dozen people... Among the dead were a 22-year-old Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40. When Saeed is crawling, clearly unable to do anything, their response is: come on buddy, we want to kill you, just pick up a weapon ... It appears to be a desire to get a higher score, or a higher number of kills...."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/05/wikileaks-us-army-iraq-attack
Friday, April 02, 2010
OF 800 CLAIMS FOR KILLED CIVILIANS, MANY NOT PAID
"More than 800 complaints have been filed by families of civilians killed in US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan... many of the claims were denied under the "combat exemption" clause to the Foreign Claims Act (FCA), "which provides that harm inflicted on residents of foreign countries by US soldiers during combat cannot be compensated under the FCA, even if the victims had no involvement whatsoever in the combat"... Due to the claim denials, many innocent civilians were not compensated for their harm or were referred to the Commander's Emergency Response Program for a discretionary condolence payment that is subject to an automatic 2,500-dollar limit per death..."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100402/twl-us-iraq-afghanistan-unrest-lawsuit-7e07afd.html
"More than 800 complaints have been filed by families of civilians killed in US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan... many of the claims were denied under the "combat exemption" clause to the Foreign Claims Act (FCA), "which provides that harm inflicted on residents of foreign countries by US soldiers during combat cannot be compensated under the FCA, even if the victims had no involvement whatsoever in the combat"... Due to the claim denials, many innocent civilians were not compensated for their harm or were referred to the Commander's Emergency Response Program for a discretionary condolence payment that is subject to an automatic 2,500-dollar limit per death..."
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100402/twl-us-iraq-afghanistan-unrest-lawsuit-7e07afd.html
Sunday, March 14, 2010
IRAQI WOMEN'S RIGHTS LOST
"Under the Personal Status Law in force since Jul. 14, 1958, when Iraqis overthrew the British-installed monarchy, Iraqi women had most of the rights that Western women do. Now they have Article 2 of the Constitution: "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation." Sub-head A says "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam." Under this Article the interpretation of women's rights is left to religious leaders... The U.S. occupation has decided to let go of women's rights... women lost their right to learn and their right to a free and normal life..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50642
"Under the Personal Status Law in force since Jul. 14, 1958, when Iraqis overthrew the British-installed monarchy, Iraqi women had most of the rights that Western women do. Now they have Article 2 of the Constitution: "Islam is the official religion of the state and is a basic source of legislation." Sub-head A says "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam." Under this Article the interpretation of women's rights is left to religious leaders... The U.S. occupation has decided to let go of women's rights... women lost their right to learn and their right to a free and normal life..."
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50642
Saturday, February 20, 2010
DEBATE OVER DEFINITION OF TERRORISM
"... confusion and doubt arose (after Joseph Stack's airplane attack on an IRS building) over whether a person who perpetrated a classic act of Terrorism should, in fact, be called a Terrorist: he's not a Muslim and isn't acting on behalf of standard Muslim grievances against the U.S. or Israel, and thus does not fit the "definition." It has really come to mean: "a Muslim who fights against or even expresses hostility towards the United States, Israel and their allies."
If an American Muslim argues that violence against the U.S. (particularly when aimed at military targets) is justified due to American violence aimed at the Muslim world, that person is a Terrorist who deserves assassination... if the U.S. military invades a Muslim country, Muslims who live in the invaded and occupied country and who fight back against the invading American army -- by attacking nothing but military targets -- are also Terrorists.... (And) large numbers of detainees at Guantanamo were accused of being Terrorists for nothing more than attacking members of an invading foreign army in their country..."
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/02/19/terrorism/index.html
"... Stratfor, an Austin-based global intelligence firm specializing in international risk management, said the rhetoric in Stack's rant clearly matches the USA Patriot Act's definition of terrorism: a criminal act that is intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping..."
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/nation-world-news/plane-attack-prompts-debate-over-terrorism-label-558975.html
"... confusion and doubt arose (after Joseph Stack's airplane attack on an IRS building) over whether a person who perpetrated a classic act of Terrorism should, in fact, be called a Terrorist: he's not a Muslim and isn't acting on behalf of standard Muslim grievances against the U.S. or Israel, and thus does not fit the "definition." It has really come to mean: "a Muslim who fights against or even expresses hostility towards the United States, Israel and their allies."
If an American Muslim argues that violence against the U.S. (particularly when aimed at military targets) is justified due to American violence aimed at the Muslim world, that person is a Terrorist who deserves assassination... if the U.S. military invades a Muslim country, Muslims who live in the invaded and occupied country and who fight back against the invading American army -- by attacking nothing but military targets -- are also Terrorists.... (And) large numbers of detainees at Guantanamo were accused of being Terrorists for nothing more than attacking members of an invading foreign army in their country..."
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/02/19/terrorism/index.html
"... Stratfor, an Austin-based global intelligence firm specializing in international risk management, said the rhetoric in Stack's rant clearly matches the USA Patriot Act's definition of terrorism: a criminal act that is intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping..."
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/nation-world-news/plane-attack-prompts-debate-over-terrorism-label-558975.html
Friday, February 05, 2010
U.S. TO TRIPLE DRONES
"The U.S. military plans to more than triple its inventory of high-altitude, armed and unarmed drones... The long-range aviation plan... calls for 800 high-altitude drones, up from 220 currently... The U.S. military currently flies about 39 combat-air patrols for 24 hours each over Iraq and Afghanistan... The Pentagon has said it would increase the patrols to 50 a day in the next two years and 65 by 2013... We can’t get enough drones,” (said) General David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, which includes the Afghanistan and Iraq war theaters..."
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-05/pentagon-to-increase-stock-of-high-altitude-drones-update1-.html
"The U.S. military plans to more than triple its inventory of high-altitude, armed and unarmed drones... The long-range aviation plan... calls for 800 high-altitude drones, up from 220 currently... The U.S. military currently flies about 39 combat-air patrols for 24 hours each over Iraq and Afghanistan... The Pentagon has said it would increase the patrols to 50 a day in the next two years and 65 by 2013... We can’t get enough drones,” (said) General David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, which includes the Afghanistan and Iraq war theaters..."
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-05/pentagon-to-increase-stock-of-high-altitude-drones-update1-.html
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
MALIKI GOT BUSH OUT OF IRAQ
"Maliki leveraged the Bush administration into signing a status of forces agreement (SOFA) in 2008 that included a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of 2011. Maliki even demanded -- and received -- a promise to vacate the five massive “enduring” military bases the Pentagon had constructed -- with their elaborate facilities, populations that reach into the tens of thousands..."
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175199/tomgram%3A_michael_schwartz%2C_will_iraq%27s_oil_ever_flow___/#more
"Maliki leveraged the Bush administration into signing a status of forces agreement (SOFA) in 2008 that included a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of 2011. Maliki even demanded -- and received -- a promise to vacate the five massive “enduring” military bases the Pentagon had constructed -- with their elaborate facilities, populations that reach into the tens of thousands..."
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175199/tomgram%3A_michael_schwartz%2C_will_iraq%27s_oil_ever_flow___/#more
Saturday, January 23, 2010
DUTCH PANEL RULES THAT IRAQ WAR WAS ILLEGAL
"The war in Iraq had "no basis in international law", a Dutch inquiry found... a seven-member panel in the Netherlands concluded that the war, which was supported by the Dutch government following intelligence from Britain and the US, had not been justified in law..."
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/12/iraq-war-illegal-dutch-tribunal
"... There are only two conditions under which war may be launched according to the United Nations Charter, which most countries have signed. One is self-defense. Iraq did not attack the US in 2003. The other is if the UN Security Council authorizes a war, as with the Gulf War where collective security was invoked to push back the aggression on Kuwait..."
http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/iraq-war-was-illegal-dutch-panel-rules.html
"The war in Iraq had "no basis in international law", a Dutch inquiry found... a seven-member panel in the Netherlands concluded that the war, which was supported by the Dutch government following intelligence from Britain and the US, had not been justified in law..."
>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/12/iraq-war-illegal-dutch-tribunal
"... There are only two conditions under which war may be launched according to the United Nations Charter, which most countries have signed. One is self-defense. Iraq did not attack the US in 2003. The other is if the UN Security Council authorizes a war, as with the Gulf War where collective security was invoked to push back the aggression on Kuwait..."
http://www.juancole.com/2010/01/iraq-war-was-illegal-dutch-panel-rules.html
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
DUTCH PROBE FINDS IRAQ INVASION ILLEGITIMATE
"The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq lacked legitimacy under international law, an independent commission probing Dutch political support for the still controversial war said... it said the Netherlands had wrongly interpreted UN Security Council resolution 1441, which gave Iraq a final chance to disarm, as authorising individual member states to use military force against that country..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100112/wl_mideast_afp/netherlandsiraqpoliticsusprobe3rdlead_20100112163834
"The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq lacked legitimacy under international law, an independent commission probing Dutch political support for the still controversial war said... it said the Netherlands had wrongly interpreted UN Security Council resolution 1441, which gave Iraq a final chance to disarm, as authorising individual member states to use military force against that country..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100112/wl_mideast_afp/netherlandsiraqpoliticsusprobe3rdlead_20100112163834
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
DEPLETED URANIUM BOMBS CAUSING CANCER EPIDEMIC
"... The real hazard for Iraqis these days is cancer. Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment... In Falluja, which was heavily bombarded by the US in 2004, as many as 25% of new- born infants have serious abnormalities, including congenital anomalies, brain tumors, and neural tube defects in the spinal cord... The cancer rate in the province of Babil, south of Baghdad has risen from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009... In Basra there were 1885 diagnosed cases of cancer in 2005.... the number increased to 2,302 in 2006 and 3,071 in 2007... about 1,250-1,500 patients visit the Oncology Center every month now... Iraqi doctors and some Western scholars say the massive quantities of depleted uranium used in U.S. and British bombs, and the sharp increase in cancer rates are not unconnected. ... the incubation period for depleted uranium is five to six years, which is consistent with the spike in cancer rates... The water, soil and air in large areas of Iraq, including Baghdad, are contaminated with depleted uranium that has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years..."
"There are also similar patterns of birth defects among... Afghan infants who were also born in areas that were subjected to depleted uranium bombardment... in infants in eastern and south- eastern Afghanistan... Many children are born with no eyes, no limbs, or tumors protruding from their mouths and eyes..."
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=80e260b3839daf2084fdeb0965ad31ab
"... The real hazard for Iraqis these days is cancer. Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment... In Falluja, which was heavily bombarded by the US in 2004, as many as 25% of new- born infants have serious abnormalities, including congenital anomalies, brain tumors, and neural tube defects in the spinal cord... The cancer rate in the province of Babil, south of Baghdad has risen from 500 diagnosed cases in 2004 to 9,082 in 2009... In Basra there were 1885 diagnosed cases of cancer in 2005.... the number increased to 2,302 in 2006 and 3,071 in 2007... about 1,250-1,500 patients visit the Oncology Center every month now... Iraqi doctors and some Western scholars say the massive quantities of depleted uranium used in U.S. and British bombs, and the sharp increase in cancer rates are not unconnected. ... the incubation period for depleted uranium is five to six years, which is consistent with the spike in cancer rates... The water, soil and air in large areas of Iraq, including Baghdad, are contaminated with depleted uranium that has a radioactive half-life of 4.5 billion years..."
"There are also similar patterns of birth defects among... Afghan infants who were also born in areas that were subjected to depleted uranium bombardment... in infants in eastern and south- eastern Afghanistan... Many children are born with no eyes, no limbs, or tumors protruding from their mouths and eyes..."
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=80e260b3839daf2084fdeb0965ad31ab
Sunday, January 03, 2010
IRAQ PURSUING ANY BLACKWATER EMPLOYEES LEFT IN IRAQ
"... Iraq said Friday it will file suit against five Blackwater security guards cleared of manslaughter charges in the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians, an act a government official called murder... Investigations carried out by specialized Iraqi authorities unequivocally found that the Blackwater guards committed murder... The Iraqi government is actively pursuing any former Blackwater personnel still working in the country... "
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/03/iraq.blackwater/
"... Iraq said Friday it will file suit against five Blackwater security guards cleared of manslaughter charges in the 2007 killings of 17 Iraqi civilians, an act a government official called murder... Investigations carried out by specialized Iraqi authorities unequivocally found that the Blackwater guards committed murder... The Iraqi government is actively pursuing any former Blackwater personnel still working in the country... "
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/03/iraq.blackwater/
Sunday, December 27, 2009
HUMAN TERRAIN WORKERS FEDERALIZED
"... Since the inception of the project in 2006... interpreters, researchers and managers, deployed overseas (in Iraq and Afghanistan) as part of the Army’s social science program, the Human Terrain System... have been generously-paid contractors, serving as cultural counselors to combat units... (Now) they’re all becoming government employees... Which means that Human Terrain pay is suddenly not all that generous. One linguist, previously pulling in an annual salary $270,000, will now make about $91,000 — if that person continues his warzone work for the Human Terrain project... The dollar amount reduction is more than 60%... the switch was ostensibly triggered by the American military’s new Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government. The pact, which went into effect in January, gives Baghdad officials broad new powers to control contractors on their soil (but not U.S. civil servants)..."
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/02/more-hts-mania
"... Since the inception of the project in 2006... interpreters, researchers and managers, deployed overseas (in Iraq and Afghanistan) as part of the Army’s social science program, the Human Terrain System... have been generously-paid contractors, serving as cultural counselors to combat units... (Now) they’re all becoming government employees... Which means that Human Terrain pay is suddenly not all that generous. One linguist, previously pulling in an annual salary $270,000, will now make about $91,000 — if that person continues his warzone work for the Human Terrain project... The dollar amount reduction is more than 60%... the switch was ostensibly triggered by the American military’s new Status of Forces Agreement with the Iraqi government. The pact, which went into effect in January, gives Baghdad officials broad new powers to control contractors on their soil (but not U.S. civil servants)..."
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/02/more-hts-mania
Saturday, December 19, 2009
ARMY AND SEX DISCIPLINE IN IRAQ
"Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo... oversees forces in northern Iraq, an area that includes the cities of Kirkuk, Tikrit and Mosul.... has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialed... The new policy... would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who impregnate them. Civilians reporting to Cucolo also could face criminal prosecution under the new guidelines... troops also are prohibited from "sexual contact of any kind" with Iraqi nationals. And, they cannot spend the night with a member of the opposite sex, unless married or expressly permitted to do so..."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-12-18-pregnant-soldiers_N.htm?csp=usat.me
"… Since November 4th, when the policy was first put in place, four women soldiers were redeployed because they had become pregnant "in violation of Cucolo's order." The four women and two male soldiers ostensibly responsible for two of the pregnancies received letters of reprimand… One of the pregnant soldiers refused to provide the name of her partner… this policy has exposed the lack of consistent access to contraceptive supplies on many bases, and the lack of access particularly to emergency contraception. The army does not pay for abortion services for female soldiers facing unintended pregnancies; instead soldiers must take leave to fly home and and pay out of their own funds..."
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/12/25/us-commander-iraq-rescind-policy-punishing-pregnant-soldiers
"Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo... oversees forces in northern Iraq, an area that includes the cities of Kirkuk, Tikrit and Mosul.... has added pregnancy to the list of reasons a soldier under his command could be court-martialed... The new policy... would apply to both female soldiers who become pregnant on the battlefield and the male soldiers who impregnate them. Civilians reporting to Cucolo also could face criminal prosecution under the new guidelines... troops also are prohibited from "sexual contact of any kind" with Iraqi nationals. And, they cannot spend the night with a member of the opposite sex, unless married or expressly permitted to do so..."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-12-18-pregnant-soldiers_N.htm?csp=usat.me
"… Since November 4th, when the policy was first put in place, four women soldiers were redeployed because they had become pregnant "in violation of Cucolo's order." The four women and two male soldiers ostensibly responsible for two of the pregnancies received letters of reprimand… One of the pregnant soldiers refused to provide the name of her partner… this policy has exposed the lack of consistent access to contraceptive supplies on many bases, and the lack of access particularly to emergency contraception. The army does not pay for abortion services for female soldiers facing unintended pregnancies; instead soldiers must take leave to fly home and and pay out of their own funds..."
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/12/25/us-commander-iraq-rescind-policy-punishing-pregnant-soldiers
Monday, December 14, 2009
MURDOCH IN 2003 FORSAW CHEAP OIL FROM IRAQ
"Rupert Murdoch has given his full backing to war, praising George Bush... (and) said the price of oil would be one of the war's main benefits. "The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy... would be $20 a barrel for oil. That's bigger than any tax cut in any country..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/feb/12/uk.iraqandthemedia
"Rupert Murdoch has given his full backing to war, praising George Bush... (and) said the price of oil would be one of the war's main benefits. "The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy... would be $20 a barrel for oil. That's bigger than any tax cut in any country..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/feb/12/uk.iraqandthemedia
Friday, December 11, 2009
IRAQ AUCTIONING RIGHTS TO DEVELOP OILFIELDS
"... (an alliance of) Shell and Malaysia's state-run oil company, Petronas... won the rights to develop the giant Majnoon oilfield... which has estimated reserves of almost 13bn barrels of oil... A group of oil companies led by China's CNPC struck a deal to develop the Halfaya field... with 4.1bn (barrels)... A total of 45 firms are vying for 20-year contracts to develop the 10 fields, spanning from northern Iraq to major fields in the Basra region in the south. Among the bidders are Britain's BP, America's Exxon Mobil and state-backed companies from Asia... Iraq... sorely needs international companies' help in boosting production and revamping its dilapidated oil sector..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/11/shell-petronas-majnoon-oilfield-iraq
"... In June (Round 1), Iraq held its first oil auction, offering foreign companies the chance to increase production at already-pumping fields... The latest auction (Round) 2 was the first time foreign firms could bid on untapped fields... After at least $2 trillion spent by Washington and arguably more than a million dead Iraqis... Instead of US Big Oil getting the lion's share, strategic competitors Russia and China turned out to be big winners... The bids, supervised by the Oil Ministry... forced 44 foreign Big Oil corporations to cut to the max the fee they collect on every barrel extracted in Iraq and submit to 20-year contracts. These multinationals were not given a share in Iraqi oil production; they will be paid a $2 fee per barrel for raising output above a mutually agreed level.."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL16Ak02.html
"... (an alliance of) Shell and Malaysia's state-run oil company, Petronas... won the rights to develop the giant Majnoon oilfield... which has estimated reserves of almost 13bn barrels of oil... A group of oil companies led by China's CNPC struck a deal to develop the Halfaya field... with 4.1bn (barrels)... A total of 45 firms are vying for 20-year contracts to develop the 10 fields, spanning from northern Iraq to major fields in the Basra region in the south. Among the bidders are Britain's BP, America's Exxon Mobil and state-backed companies from Asia... Iraq... sorely needs international companies' help in boosting production and revamping its dilapidated oil sector..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/11/shell-petronas-majnoon-oilfield-iraq
"... In June (Round 1), Iraq held its first oil auction, offering foreign companies the chance to increase production at already-pumping fields... The latest auction (Round) 2 was the first time foreign firms could bid on untapped fields... After at least $2 trillion spent by Washington and arguably more than a million dead Iraqis... Instead of US Big Oil getting the lion's share, strategic competitors Russia and China turned out to be big winners... The bids, supervised by the Oil Ministry... forced 44 foreign Big Oil corporations to cut to the max the fee they collect on every barrel extracted in Iraq and submit to 20-year contracts. These multinationals were not given a share in Iraqi oil production; they will be paid a $2 fee per barrel for raising output above a mutually agreed level.."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL16Ak02.html
Monday, December 07, 2009
FT. HOOD SHOOTER BOTHERED BY WAR CRIMES
"... In the weeks before the rampage, the accused gunman, Maj. Nidal M. Hassan, an Army psychiatrist, told colleagues and Army lawyers that he wanted to report soldiers who had admitted in counseling sessions that they witnessed or committed war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan. War crimes can include acts like torture, murder, sexual assault and cruel treatment. Though Major Hasan was discouraged from filing reports on his patients, military officials say, he would have been within his rights as an Army psychiatrist to have done so. Major Hasan’s efforts to report war crimes were first reported by ABC News..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/us/07therapists.html?_r=1&sudsredirect=true
"... In the weeks before the rampage, the accused gunman, Maj. Nidal M. Hassan, an Army psychiatrist, told colleagues and Army lawyers that he wanted to report soldiers who had admitted in counseling sessions that they witnessed or committed war crimes in Iraq or Afghanistan. War crimes can include acts like torture, murder, sexual assault and cruel treatment. Though Major Hasan was discouraged from filing reports on his patients, military officials say, he would have been within his rights as an Army psychiatrist to have done so. Major Hasan’s efforts to report war crimes were first reported by ABC News..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/07/us/07therapists.html?_r=1&sudsredirect=true