*IRAQ: latest news and developments

[Barking_Mad]

Judging by the Afghanistan model, I wont be holding by breath for this one.

WASHINGTON - At an estimated cost next year of $2 billion, the United States plans to build, virtually from scratch, a new Iraqi army of 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers. In presenting a detailed outline of the plan, the senior adviser to the U.S. occupation authority in Iraq (news - web sites) said Wednesday that everything from guns and uniforms to trucks and toilets must be bought for an Iraqi army that will comprise mainly infantry, with little armor or artillery.

The training of the Iraqi infantry is being done by employees of the Vinnell Corp., a Fairfax, Va.-based subsidiary of defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. Overseeing their work is Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, who had been the commander in charge of training U.S. infantry.

At the time of the U.S. invasion, there were about 500,000 soldiers in the Iraqi army, Slocombe said.



http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...1&u=/ap/20030918/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_new_army

 

[Barking_Mad]

Dear oh dear ohdear........



Eight US soldiers killed in Iraqi ambush

Eight American soldiers are reported to have been killed in an ambush in the Iraqi town of Khadiyah.

Arab satellite TV station Al-Arabiya said the attack took place on a main road.

Two US tanks surrounded a smouldering transport truck and helicopters hovered above.

A reporter at the scene could not get close enough to verify the casualty reports and was fired on by one of the tanks with three rounds from its 50-calibre machine gun.

It appeared the Americans were trying to protect themselves until reinforcements arrived.

The Americans were taking fire from unknown positions. The town is about 18 miles from Fallujah.

**edited to add reports now saying 2 injured. US has sealed off the area.


http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_820553.html?menu=news.latestheadlines

 

[Barking_Mad]

US opinion poll tells us what we already knew......Bush hasnt a clue.

The poll also finds that a declining number of Americans think the U.S. is in control of the situation in Iraq, and only 22% think the Bush administration has a clear plan for rebuilding the former dictatorship

http://www.wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=22830

 

[Barking_Mad]

And still it unravels. Bush will be like the Emperor in his new clothes if he isnt careful.......

Top American scientists assigned to the weapons hunt in Iraq (news - web sites) found no evidence Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime was making or stockpiling smallpox, The Associated Press has learned from senior military officers involved in the search.

Smallpox fears were part of the case the Bush administration used to build support for invading Iraq — and they were raised again as recently as last weekend by Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites).


But a three-month search by "Team Pox" turned up only signs to the contrary: disabled equipment that had been rendered harmless by U.N. inspectors, Iraqi scientists deemed credible who gave no indication they had worked with smallpox and a laboratory thought to be back in use that was covered in cobwebs.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...5&u=/ap/20030918/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_smallpox

 

[bigfish]

10 US Soldiers Wounded, 1 US Soldier Killed Each Day in Iraq:

The count of US soldiers killed in Iraq nears 300 this week, with more than 1,500 confirmed wounded by the military, and 6,000 wounded reported by the Washington Post

full: http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/newsArticle.asp?id=1106

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Howard Zinn: An Occupied Country:

True, we liberated Iraq from Saddam Hussein, but not from us. Just as in 1898 we liberated Cuba from Spain, but not from us. Spanish tyranny was overthrown, but the United States established a military base in Cuba, as we are doing in Iraq. U.S. corporations moved in to Cuba, just as Bechtel and Halliburton and the oil corporations are moving into Iraq.

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4745.htm

===

Bush Admits: No Saddam Links To 9/11
President Bush said Wednesday there was no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4742.htm

===

This Is A Must Read

Making Terrorists:
That Bush subordinated the need to fight terrorism to his own Iraq obsession should appall American citizens across the spectrum. This Is A Must Read
http://www.progressive.org/oct03/comm1003.html

===

Senator Robert C. Byrd :

Losing Dollars and Sense in Iraq: I rise today to voice my concern about the disastrous turn which the fortunes of this nation have taken. The Bush Administration, in a scant 2 1/2 years, has imperiled our country in the gravest of ways, and set us up for a possible crisis of mammoth proportions.

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4746.htm

 

[whiterose]

Italy official: U.S. troops shot at envoy's car in Iraq, killed aide
ROME (AP) — American soldiers in northern Iraq fired on a car carrying the Italian official heading up U.S. efforts to recover Iraq's looted antiquities, killing the man's Iraqi interpreter, an official said Friday in Rome. The Italian, Pietro Cordone, was unhurt.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-09-19-iraq-envoy_x.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/3116344.stm


Send your questions to the Baghdad Blogger. He's doing a BBC interview thing at 2.30pm this afternoon (Friday 19th Sept)

 

[bigfish]

We are facing death in Iraq for no reason:
A serving US soldier calls for the end of an occupation based on lies.

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4759.htm

===

Kennedy Calls Case For War A "Fraud":
Senator also accuses Bush of bribing foreign leaders.

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4753.htm

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The brainwashing of Americans:
Utter Lies First, Correct Later: Diplomacy, Neocon-Style

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4754.htm

 

[whiterose]

BAGHDAD - A woman member of Iraq's Governing Council, Akila al-Hashimi, was shot and seriously wounded on Saturday, US and Iraqi sources said.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=7072

 

[whiterose]

Iraqi council, U.S. begin to part ways
By Alissa J. Rubin
LOS ANGELES TIMES

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Cracks are emerging in the relationship between the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi Governing Council, suggesting that as the Iraqis gain more power they may well pursue policies that could undercut coalition efforts to install a democratic government here.
-----
For instance, last Sunday, the council approved a new law on de-Baathification and announced it publicly before reviewing the details with Bremer.
The measure would not only remove a number of Iraqis from their jobs because they formerly held positions in the Baath party -- the organization through which Saddam maintained tight control over the nation -- but also revoke exceptions made by Bremer in the de-Baathification order he issued last May.
The new rules were announced earlier this week by a spokesman for the council's current president, Ahmed Chalabi.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/6818536.htm

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Sounds like saddam wants to give up.

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/...E-SADDAM-OFFERS-AMERICANS-DEAL-name_page.html

 

[Abu Arak]

Originally posted by Johnny Canuck2
Sounds like saddam wants to give up.

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/...E-SADDAM-OFFERS-AMERICANS-DEAL-name_page.html

Somtheing odd with that link

Do you think it would stop the attacks on US troops if he was dead or captured?

 

[consumer135]

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said Sunday he would like to see the UN help write Iraq's new constitution and monitor future elections, but remained unapologetic about launching the war that toppled Saddam Hussein.
In an interview with Fox News Channel, the president said he was not certain it was necessary for the United States to seek larger UN participation in political efforts aimed at restoring Iraqi sovereignty.

"I'm not so sure we have to, for starters," he told the cable network, according to released excerpts of the conversation.

"But secondly, I do think it would be helpful to get the United Nations in to help write a constitution," the president continued. "I mean, they're good at that. Or, perhaps when an election starts, they'll oversee the election. That would be deemed a larger role."

The interview is due to be aired in full on Monday.

Bush is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, amid mounting concerns that after removing Saddam Hussein, the US military is getting bogged down in a widening guerrilla war, as the cost of securing and rebuilding Iraq spirals.

....Faced with diplomatic opposition, Bush said he saw participation of individual UN members in solving the problems of Iraq as an example of an expanding UN role in the area.

"You know when I think UN, I mean, I also think of member states within the UN," argued the US president. "And of course we would like a larger role for member states of the United Nations to participate in Iraq."

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Originally posted by Abu Arak
Somtheing odd with that link

Do you think it would stop the attacks on US troops if he was dead or captured?

Here it is; it's at sundaymirror.co.uk

DESPERATE SADDAM OFFERS AMERICANS DEAL

Sep 21 2003




From Paul Martin In Baghdad


SADDAM Hussein has been in secret negotiations with US forces in Iraq for the past nine days, we can reveal.

The Iraqi dictator is demanding safe passage to the former Soviet republic of Belarus. In exchange, he has vowed to provide information on weapons of mass destruction and disclose bank accounts where he siphoned off tens of millions of dollars in plundered cash.

President Bush is being kept abreast of the extraordinary talks by his National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice. She is co-ordinating negotiations in Baghdad which are led by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of American forces in Iraq.


http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/...E-SADDAM-OFFERS-AMERICANS-DEAL-name_page.html

 

[bigfish]

Robert Fisk: Another Day, Another Death-Trap For The US:

As usual, the American military spokesmen had "no information" on this extraordinary ambush. But Iraqis at the scene gave a chilling account of the attack.

full: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4783.htm

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White House Is 'Ambushed' By Criticism From America's Military Community:

One big rallying point for the critics is the Pentagon's budget plan, which proposes cutting $1.8 billion (£1.1bn) from veterans' health benefits.

full: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=445128

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Americans Know They Have Gone Well Past The Point Of No Return:

The American public is waking up to the fact that the country has got itself into a very deep hole in Iraq, from which it sees no obvious exit.

full: http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=97923

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

THE defence minister of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein surrendered to US forces overnight, as 55 Iraqis were captured following an ambush near the deposed leader's hometown that killed three American soldiers.

The surrender brought to 40 the number of most-wanted Iraqi officials killed or in US custody, and provided some bright news for US forces hit by a string of attacks since the release of a new purported resistance message from Saddam.

"Sultan Hashem Ahmad al-Jabburi al-Tai, number 27 on the coalition's list of (55) most wanted government officials, is now under custody of coalition forces," a US Central Command statement said.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7319724%5E1702,00.html

 

[whiterose]

Listening to the Wrong Iraqi
by David L. Phillips,
September 20th, 2003
Critics say the Bush administration had no plan for postwar Iraq. In fact, before the war, hundreds of Iraqis were involved in discussions with Washington about securing and stabilizing their country after military action. Today's difficulties are not the result of a lack of foresight, but rather of poor judgment by civilians at the Pentagon who counted too much on the advice of one exile — Ahmad Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress — and ignored the views of other, more reliable Iraqi leaders.
http://www.occupationwatch.org/article.php?id=1019

 

[jkmarx]

Governing Council considering asking Coalition to ban Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya from Iraq.
(Translation: US about to kick out independent media)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1047757,00.html

Incidentally, I think Saddam meted out similar treatment to Al-J during the war

 

[bigfish]

Sgt. Leanne Duffy: We are slowly becoming frantic.

I hear people saying they are going to begin hurting themselves or others if they can't go home.

full http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/guest/57361.php

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Bush: 'I Don't Read Newspapers':

The president says he scans headlines -- but admits to rarely reading the stories.

full http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_detail.cfm?newsitemid=32219

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Senator Robert C. Byrd:

In his $87 billion request, the President asks future generations of Americans to pay for his war in Iraq. By refusing to pay for this war today and instead exacerbating the largest deficit in the nation's history, President Bush is forcing those young Americans who are now in kindergarten to pick up the tab for his war in Iraq.

full http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4809.htm

 

[bigfish]

Media Ignores Bush Admission That Saddam Not Involved In Sept. 11:

"Editor & Publisher," did some telling research and wrote, "Of America's 12 highest circulation daily papers, only the LA Times, Chicago Tribune and Dallas Morning News ran anything about it on the front page. In The New York Times, the story was relegated to page 22.

full http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4806.htm

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Hispanic Soldiers Die in Greater Numbers in Iraq

As U.S. casualties in Iraq continue to mount, so does the worry in the country's Latino community that its children are dying in unusually high numbers and are being lured into dangerous service with targeted recruiting by the Armed Forces.

full http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4804.htm

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Soft Economy Aids Army Recruiting Effort:

The Army has raised signing bonuses to as much as $20,000 for badly needed positions like intelligence analysts. It has also increased college aid. And it has nearly doubled its advertising budget, to $227 million, in the last four years.

full http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/22/national/22RECR.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/i...d5f79ea1726a0a&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

 

[nino_savatte]

Breaking news: Iraq Survey Group's interim report says there are no WMDs in Iraq. A source has passed this information to Andrew Neil. Source BBC News 24

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3135932.stm

 

[mears]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/24/sprj.nitop.iraq.poll.ap/index.html

Looks like a majority of Iraqi citizens supported Bush's war

 

[bigfish]

Originally posted by mears
Looks like a majority of Iraqi citizens supported Bush's war.

Well blow me down! you would never of guessed given the number of American grunts getting popped on a daily basis would you mears! Do you think gallup polled any of the inhabitants of those densely populated working class areas of Baghdad targeted by cruise missiles or do you think they stuck to the more selubrious environs down by the river?

 

[mears]

Originally posted by bigfish
Well blow me down! you would never of guessed given the number of American grunts getting popped on a daily basis would you mears! Do you think gallup polled any of the inhabitants of those densely populated working class areas of Baghdad targeted by cruise missiles or do you think they stuck to the more selubrious environs down by the river?

Polls don't lie sport. A mojority of Iraqi citizens in this poll approved of SH's ouster. They must have missed that memo from the UN.

 

[bigfish]

Would that be the same UN whose Baghdad headquarters received an explosive 'memo' from the Iraqi resistance just a few weeks ago blowing it to smithereens sport?

 

[mears]

Originally posted by bigfish
Would that be the same UN whose Baghdad headquarters received an explosive 'memo' from the Iraqi resistance just a few weeks ago blowing it to smithereens sport?

The Iraqi resistance may not like SH gone, but it seems a majority of Iraqis approve.

 

[bigfish]

Originally posted by mears
The Iraqi resistance may not like SH gone, but it seems a majority of Iraqis approve.

Equally, many of them may well be happy to see the back of him and now they want to see the back of you.

You say "polls don't lie", but forgot to add... unless they're conducted in Florida, of course!

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Originally posted by bigfish
Equally, many of them may well be happy to see the back of him and now they want to see the back of you.

You say "polls don't lie", but forgot to add... unless they're conducted in Florida, of course!

Whatever.

Two-thirds, 67 percent, say they think that Iraq will be in better condition five years from now than it was before the U.S.-led invasion. Only 8 percent say they think it will be worse off.



Sounds like they are more optimistic about their future, than you are. Here you are, sticking up for the average Iraqi, and fighting the US aggressor, and they think that they will be better off as a result of the war.

Anyone for The Man of La Mancha?

 

[Abu Arak]

Originally posted by Johnny Canuck2

Two-thirds, 67 percent, say they think that Iraq will be in better condition five years from now than it was before the U.S.-led invasion. Only 8 percent say they think it will be worse off.

Sounds like they are more optimistic about their future, than you are.

Judging by the CPA’s track record so far that optimism is misplaced. If the Yanks sod off back to where they belong tomorrow, that optimism would have a reason.

Lots of love

Abu Arak.