*IRAQ: latest news and developments
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Barking_Mad
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The poor bastards........
Iraqi teens kill U.S. soldiers wounded in ambush
MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi teenagers dragged two bloodied U.S. soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing the killings as a burst of savagery in a city once safe for Americans. Also Sunday, another soldier was killed by a bomb and a U.S.-allied police chief was assassinated. The U.S.-led coalition also said it grounded commercial flights after the military confirmed that a missile struck a DHL cargo plane that landed Saturday at Baghdad International Airport with its wing aflame.
Nevertheless, American officers insisted they were making progress in bringing stability to Iraq, and the U.S.-appointed Governing Council named an ambassador to Washington, D.C. - an Iraqi-American woman who spent the past decade lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote democracy in her homeland.
Witnesses to the Mosul attack said gunmen shot two soldiers driving through the city center, sending their vehicle crashing into a wall. The 101st Airborne Division said the soldiers were driving to another garrison. About a dozen swarming teenagers dragged the soldiers out of the wreckage and beat them with concrete blocks, the witnesses said.
"They lifted a block and hit them with it on the face," said Younis Mahmoud, 19.
It was unknown whether the soldiers were alive or dead when pulled from the wreckage. "They remained there for over an hour without the Americans knowing anything about it," he said. "I ... went and told other troops."
Television footage showed the soldiers' bodies splayed on the ground as U.S. troops secured the area. One victim's foot appeared to have been severed. The frenzy recalled the October 1993 scene in Somalia, when locals dragged the bodies of Marines killed in fighting with warlords through the streets.
In Baqouba, just north of Baghdad, insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as a 4th Infantry Division convoy passed, killing one soldier and wounding two others, the military said. In Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt confirmed the Mosul deaths but refused to provide details.
"We're not going to get ghoulish about it," he said
http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20031124/TopStories/165579.shtml
Iraqi teens kill U.S. soldiers wounded in ambush
MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi teenagers dragged two bloodied U.S. soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing the killings as a burst of savagery in a city once safe for Americans. Also Sunday, another soldier was killed by a bomb and a U.S.-allied police chief was assassinated. The U.S.-led coalition also said it grounded commercial flights after the military confirmed that a missile struck a DHL cargo plane that landed Saturday at Baghdad International Airport with its wing aflame.
Nevertheless, American officers insisted they were making progress in bringing stability to Iraq, and the U.S.-appointed Governing Council named an ambassador to Washington, D.C. - an Iraqi-American woman who spent the past decade lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote democracy in her homeland.
Witnesses to the Mosul attack said gunmen shot two soldiers driving through the city center, sending their vehicle crashing into a wall. The 101st Airborne Division said the soldiers were driving to another garrison. About a dozen swarming teenagers dragged the soldiers out of the wreckage and beat them with concrete blocks, the witnesses said.
"They lifted a block and hit them with it on the face," said Younis Mahmoud, 19.
It was unknown whether the soldiers were alive or dead when pulled from the wreckage. "They remained there for over an hour without the Americans knowing anything about it," he said. "I ... went and told other troops."
Television footage showed the soldiers' bodies splayed on the ground as U.S. troops secured the area. One victim's foot appeared to have been severed. The frenzy recalled the October 1993 scene in Somalia, when locals dragged the bodies of Marines killed in fighting with warlords through the streets.
In Baqouba, just north of Baghdad, insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as a 4th Infantry Division convoy passed, killing one soldier and wounding two others, the military said. In Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt confirmed the Mosul deaths but refused to provide details.
"We're not going to get ghoulish about it," he said
http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20031124/TopStories/165579.shtml
Barking_Mad
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Gas pipeline bombed in Iraq
An important gas pipeline in northern Iraq is on fire after it was bombed.
Company officials say the pipeline transports gas from the Jambur oil field to Iraq's largest refinery north of Baghdad. It was not immediately clear if it was the main oil export pipeline to Turkey.
Oil officials at the scene said the pipeline had been exposed by an explosion several months ago and they suspected spilled oil nearby had been set ablaze, causing the latest fire. Saboteurs have repeatedly blown up and set fire to Iraq's main oil export pipeline running north to Turkey in recent months in a show of defiance against the US military occupation and in an effort to disrupt Iraq's reconstruction.
The oilfields at Kirkuk, about 250 kilometres north of Baghdad, are a major economic lifeline for Iraq, but the US-led coalition is struggling to resume exports from the fields in the face of sabotage and old and decrepit infrastructure.
"This is an enemy that cannot defeat us militarily and in engagement after engagement we see the enemy breaking off, running away," he said. "Their attacks are becoming more and more insignificant to us."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s996222.htm
An important gas pipeline in northern Iraq is on fire after it was bombed.
Company officials say the pipeline transports gas from the Jambur oil field to Iraq's largest refinery north of Baghdad. It was not immediately clear if it was the main oil export pipeline to Turkey.
Oil officials at the scene said the pipeline had been exposed by an explosion several months ago and they suspected spilled oil nearby had been set ablaze, causing the latest fire. Saboteurs have repeatedly blown up and set fire to Iraq's main oil export pipeline running north to Turkey in recent months in a show of defiance against the US military occupation and in an effort to disrupt Iraq's reconstruction.
The oilfields at Kirkuk, about 250 kilometres north of Baghdad, are a major economic lifeline for Iraq, but the US-led coalition is struggling to resume exports from the fields in the face of sabotage and old and decrepit infrastructure.
"This is an enemy that cannot defeat us militarily and in engagement after engagement we see the enemy breaking off, running away," he said. "Their attacks are becoming more and more insignificant to us."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s996222.htm
Barking_Mad
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North Iraq hit by fresh violence
There have been regular attacks on Iraqi infrastructure
An important gas pipeline has been blown up in northern Iraq.
The resulting fire was so huge the glow could be seen in the night sky in the town of Kirkuk, 30 kilometres (20 miles) away, say reports.
The attack is expected to cause disruption to production at Iraq's largest oil refinery, officials say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3233320.stm
There have been regular attacks on Iraqi infrastructure
An important gas pipeline has been blown up in northern Iraq.
The resulting fire was so huge the glow could be seen in the night sky in the town of Kirkuk, 30 kilometres (20 miles) away, say reports.
The attack is expected to cause disruption to production at Iraq's largest oil refinery, officials say.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3233320.stm
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MI6 ran 'dubious' Iraq campaign
British intelligence ran a campaign designed to exaggerate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, a former US intelligence officer has claimed. Former UN chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter said the disinformation drive in the late 1990s was designed to shift public opinion.
Mr Ritter has been a vocal critic of military action against Iraq since leaving the inspections team in 1998. A spokesman for MI6 said the allegations were "unfounded".
He told reporters in the House of Commons that he was involved personally with Operation Mass Appeal between the summer of 1997 until August 1998 when he resigned from the UN.
Mr Ritter said the MI6 operation was designed to "shake up public opinion" by passing dubious intelligence on Iraq to the media.
The so-called "non-actionable intelligence" dealt with Saddam Hussein's alleged campaign to possess and conceal weapons of mass destruction. He said the intelligence was "single source data of dubious quality". Mr Ritter claimed this was the first time the existence of Operation Mass Appeal had been revealed.
He urged MPs to hold a fresh inquiry in the use of intelligence in the run up to the war against Iraq. He declined to give specific examples of disinformation but said he was prepared to reveal details before a public inquiry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3227506.stm
British intelligence ran a campaign designed to exaggerate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, a former US intelligence officer has claimed. Former UN chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter said the disinformation drive in the late 1990s was designed to shift public opinion.
Mr Ritter has been a vocal critic of military action against Iraq since leaving the inspections team in 1998. A spokesman for MI6 said the allegations were "unfounded".
He told reporters in the House of Commons that he was involved personally with Operation Mass Appeal between the summer of 1997 until August 1998 when he resigned from the UN.
Mr Ritter said the MI6 operation was designed to "shake up public opinion" by passing dubious intelligence on Iraq to the media.
The so-called "non-actionable intelligence" dealt with Saddam Hussein's alleged campaign to possess and conceal weapons of mass destruction. He said the intelligence was "single source data of dubious quality". Mr Ritter claimed this was the first time the existence of Operation Mass Appeal had been revealed.
He urged MPs to hold a fresh inquiry in the use of intelligence in the run up to the war against Iraq. He declined to give specific examples of disinformation but said he was prepared to reveal details before a public inquiry.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3227506.stm
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Victims Pile Up in Violent Iraqi Capital
An Iraqi boy, Omar, is treated in the emergency room in Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital Sunday, Nov 23, 2003. Omar was rushed there by his father after being injured from an explosive device. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April that was followed by lootings and revenge attacks, dozens of people are taken to hospitals in Baghdad every day suffering from gunshot wounds or stabbings. Such cases were minor during the former leader's 23-year dictatorship.
The two young men were driving through the Baghdad night when a car passed by and automatic rifle fire rang out. Ali Saleh, 23, felt three bullets tear into his right thigh. Fahd Hamed, 17, was shot in the head.
The war in Iraq may be over, but peace has yet to reach the Iraqi capital. Violence has eased slightly since the summer, but seven months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's 23-year dictatorship, the city remains lawless and violent.
Nowhere is that more evident than at Yarmouk Hospital, one of Baghdad's biggest.
In the emergency room, Saleh lay on a bed, his thigh bandaged. A nurse used tweezers to pull pieces of the car's windshield from Hamed's face. His head wound was superficial, and he was expected to survive.
http://www.dailycomet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031125/API/311250586
An Iraqi boy, Omar, is treated in the emergency room in Baghdad's Yarmouk Hospital Sunday, Nov 23, 2003. Omar was rushed there by his father after being injured from an explosive device. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April that was followed by lootings and revenge attacks, dozens of people are taken to hospitals in Baghdad every day suffering from gunshot wounds or stabbings. Such cases were minor during the former leader's 23-year dictatorship.
The two young men were driving through the Baghdad night when a car passed by and automatic rifle fire rang out. Ali Saleh, 23, felt three bullets tear into his right thigh. Fahd Hamed, 17, was shot in the head.
The war in Iraq may be over, but peace has yet to reach the Iraqi capital. Violence has eased slightly since the summer, but seven months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's 23-year dictatorship, the city remains lawless and violent.
Nowhere is that more evident than at Yarmouk Hospital, one of Baghdad's biggest.
In the emergency room, Saleh lay on a bed, his thigh bandaged. A nurse used tweezers to pull pieces of the car's windshield from Hamed's face. His head wound was superficial, and he was expected to survive.
http://www.dailycomet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031125/API/311250586
Barking_Mad
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US targets opposition clerics in Mosul
The US military is acting to stem the rising tide of radical Islamism in Iraq's third largest city and rooting out preachers held to be using their sermons to incite attacks on Americans. Alarmed by a surge of deadly attacks in Mosul, a Sunni Muslim stronghold of 1.7 million Arabs and Kurds, coalition forces are running what the US commander, Major General David Petraeus, calls a "race to win over the hearts and minds of the people".
A team of US army chaplains is liaising with imams at the city's main mosques in an attempt to reassure the once dominant Sunni Arabs that they have not lost their stake in the new Iraq. The attacks, including one on Sunday in which two American soldiers were shot dead and then apparently mutilated, reveal a simmering resentment among sections of Mosul's Arab population, particularly the large number of unemployed and disaffected youth.
"Some mosques in Mosul are outlets for anti-American rhetoric," said Col Egert. "We do monitor what the imams say. "They are free to say what they want - provided they don't preach violence." He said the Iraqi authorities had removed one imamfor anti-US speeches.
Original article in the Guardian, reproduced here:
http://www.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=27204&lang=en
The US military is acting to stem the rising tide of radical Islamism in Iraq's third largest city and rooting out preachers held to be using their sermons to incite attacks on Americans. Alarmed by a surge of deadly attacks in Mosul, a Sunni Muslim stronghold of 1.7 million Arabs and Kurds, coalition forces are running what the US commander, Major General David Petraeus, calls a "race to win over the hearts and minds of the people".
A team of US army chaplains is liaising with imams at the city's main mosques in an attempt to reassure the once dominant Sunni Arabs that they have not lost their stake in the new Iraq. The attacks, including one on Sunday in which two American soldiers were shot dead and then apparently mutilated, reveal a simmering resentment among sections of Mosul's Arab population, particularly the large number of unemployed and disaffected youth.
"Some mosques in Mosul are outlets for anti-American rhetoric," said Col Egert. "We do monitor what the imams say. "They are free to say what they want - provided they don't preach violence." He said the Iraqi authorities had removed one imamfor anti-US speeches.
Original article in the Guardian, reproduced here:
http://www.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=27204&lang=en
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Americans make an ass off Iraqi donkeys
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Since guerrillas used donkeys to outwit the high-tech defences of the U.S. military in Iraq, the life of the beast of burden has never been so miserable.
Attackers used donkey carts to launch Katyusha rockets at the Oil Ministry and two fortified Baghdad hotels on Friday. Two other donkey carts were stopped -- one carrying more rockets, the other a donkey-bomb wired up with explosives.
Every donkey in Baghdad is suddenly under suspicion as U.S. President George W. Bush wages a global war on terror. In a crackdown on an animal that already suffers multiple daily whippings, U.S. soldiers with automatic rifles regularly stop and search donkey carts for weapons.
"My friends said they saw the Americans take my donkey away," he said. "I have not been able to work for four days. I just sit around. I don't know if I will get the donkey back."
Donkeys are not alone. Horses also face new checks.
"The Americans always check our horse carriages. Every time we ride around they stop us and check our wooden boxes for weapons," said Ali Hassan, in the muddy streets of the Sadr City slum, as horse owners bought kerosene among piles of rotten garbage swarming with flies.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=408400§ion=news
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Since guerrillas used donkeys to outwit the high-tech defences of the U.S. military in Iraq, the life of the beast of burden has never been so miserable.
Attackers used donkey carts to launch Katyusha rockets at the Oil Ministry and two fortified Baghdad hotels on Friday. Two other donkey carts were stopped -- one carrying more rockets, the other a donkey-bomb wired up with explosives.
Every donkey in Baghdad is suddenly under suspicion as U.S. President George W. Bush wages a global war on terror. In a crackdown on an animal that already suffers multiple daily whippings, U.S. soldiers with automatic rifles regularly stop and search donkey carts for weapons.
"My friends said they saw the Americans take my donkey away," he said. "I have not been able to work for four days. I just sit around. I don't know if I will get the donkey back."
Donkeys are not alone. Horses also face new checks.
"The Americans always check our horse carriages. Every time we ride around they stop us and check our wooden boxes for weapons," said Ali Hassan, in the muddy streets of the Sadr City slum, as horse owners bought kerosene among piles of rotten garbage swarming with flies.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=408400§ion=news
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US to send extra marines to Iraq
The Pentagon has announced plans to send about 3,000 additional US marines to Iraq. They will form part of next year's massive rotation of US forces in Iraq.
The announcement comes amid continuing attacks on US-led coalition troops, but the Pentagon denies it is in response to a worsening security situation. In the latest attack on Wednesday, a rocket or mortar round was fired at the Italian embassy in the capital, Baghdad, but no one was injured.
The missile hit the second floor, causing structural damage, Italian news services reported. The attack comes two weeks after the loss of 19 Italian soldiers in a suicide bomb attack in the southern city of Nasiriya . The deployment will form part of the huge force rotation, when 100,000 replacement troops will take the places of those currently serving in Iraq.
This is estimated to be the largest movement of US troops of its kind since World War Two.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3242018.stm
The Pentagon has announced plans to send about 3,000 additional US marines to Iraq. They will form part of next year's massive rotation of US forces in Iraq.
The announcement comes amid continuing attacks on US-led coalition troops, but the Pentagon denies it is in response to a worsening security situation. In the latest attack on Wednesday, a rocket or mortar round was fired at the Italian embassy in the capital, Baghdad, but no one was injured.
The missile hit the second floor, causing structural damage, Italian news services reported. The attack comes two weeks after the loss of 19 Italian soldiers in a suicide bomb attack in the southern city of Nasiriya . The deployment will form part of the huge force rotation, when 100,000 replacement troops will take the places of those currently serving in Iraq.
This is estimated to be the largest movement of US troops of its kind since World War Two.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3242018.stm
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Iraq's top Shi'ite criticises US plans
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite religious authority has criticised U.S. plans for the transfer of power to Iraqis as incomplete and paying too little heed to Islam. Resistance from the cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, could lead to rejection by many of the Shi'ite Muslims who make up 60 percent of Iraq's population. But Sistani appeared to have stopped short of any outright dismissal of the programme.
In the holy city of Najaf, Abdul-Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) said Sistani, widely revered as Iraq's most influential Shi'ite leader, believed the new U.S.-backed roadmap was flawed.
Hakim told a news conference he had met Sistani, who rarely makes public pronouncements on politics, to discuss the plan. "He didn't find anything that assures Islamic identity," he said. "There should have been a stipulation which prevents legislating anything that contradicts Islam in the new Iraq." Hakim is a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and SCIRI has cooperated with the occupying powers in Iraq, drawing criticism from some Shi'ites. He said Sistani had several misgivings about the U.S. political timetable.
"He expressed concern about real gaps, which must be dealt with or the plan will lack the ability to meet the hopes of the Iraqi people. It diminishes the role of the Iraqi people in the process of transferring authority to Iraqis," Hakim said. He said Sistani also did not see any reason why elections should be delayed until 2005.
Reuters - reproduced here: http://www.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=27350&lang=en
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite religious authority has criticised U.S. plans for the transfer of power to Iraqis as incomplete and paying too little heed to Islam. Resistance from the cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, could lead to rejection by many of the Shi'ite Muslims who make up 60 percent of Iraq's population. But Sistani appeared to have stopped short of any outright dismissal of the programme.
In the holy city of Najaf, Abdul-Aziz Hakim of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) said Sistani, widely revered as Iraq's most influential Shi'ite leader, believed the new U.S.-backed roadmap was flawed.
Hakim told a news conference he had met Sistani, who rarely makes public pronouncements on politics, to discuss the plan. "He didn't find anything that assures Islamic identity," he said. "There should have been a stipulation which prevents legislating anything that contradicts Islam in the new Iraq." Hakim is a member of the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and SCIRI has cooperated with the occupying powers in Iraq, drawing criticism from some Shi'ites. He said Sistani had several misgivings about the U.S. political timetable.
"He expressed concern about real gaps, which must be dealt with or the plan will lack the ability to meet the hopes of the Iraqi people. It diminishes the role of the Iraqi people in the process of transferring authority to Iraqis," Hakim said. He said Sistani also did not see any reason why elections should be delayed until 2005.
Reuters - reproduced here: http://www.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=27350&lang=en
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Iraq Scientists: Lied About Nuke Weapons
Iraqi scientists never revived their long-dead nuclear bomb program, and in fact lied to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) about how much progress they were making before U.S.-led attacks shut the operation down for good in 1991, Iraqi physicists say. Before that first Gulf War , the chief of the weapons program resorted to "blatant exaggeration" in telling Iraq (news - web sites)'s president how much bomb material was being produced, key scientist Imad Khadduri writes in a new book.
Other leading physicists, in Baghdad interviews, said the hope for an Iraqi atomic bomb was never realistic. "It was all like building sand castles," said Abdel Mehdi Talib, Baghdad University's dean of sciences.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20031130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_bombmakers
Iraqi scientists never revived their long-dead nuclear bomb program, and in fact lied to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) about how much progress they were making before U.S.-led attacks shut the operation down for good in 1991, Iraqi physicists say. Before that first Gulf War , the chief of the weapons program resorted to "blatant exaggeration" in telling Iraq (news - web sites)'s president how much bomb material was being produced, key scientist Imad Khadduri writes in a new book.
Other leading physicists, in Baghdad interviews, said the hope for an Iraqi atomic bomb was never realistic. "It was all like building sand castles," said Abdel Mehdi Talib, Baghdad University's dean of sciences.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...u=/ap/20031130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_bombmakers
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Half of Army's tank corps crippled by war in Iraq
The Army's armoured regiments have been left crippled by the Iraq war with only half its battle tanks capable of undertaking operational service, the Telegraph can reveal.
The Ministry of Defence's figures show that none of the Royal Armoured Corps' regiments have a full complement of Challenger 2 tanks available for front-line duty. In two of the worst cases, only four tanks out of 86 in service with the Royal Dragoon Guards and the Queen's Royal Hussars - two of the Army's premier armoured regiments - are working.
It has also emerged that 40 Challenger 2 tanks, which cost £4 million each, had to be "cannibalised" so that they could be used to re-equip units which had run out of spare parts during and after the Iraq war.The Army has 386 Challenger 2 tanks dispersed among six armoured regiments. Of these, 259 tanks should be available, but only 135 are classed as fit for duty.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...0.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/11/30/ixportal.html
The Army's armoured regiments have been left crippled by the Iraq war with only half its battle tanks capable of undertaking operational service, the Telegraph can reveal.
The Ministry of Defence's figures show that none of the Royal Armoured Corps' regiments have a full complement of Challenger 2 tanks available for front-line duty. In two of the worst cases, only four tanks out of 86 in service with the Royal Dragoon Guards and the Queen's Royal Hussars - two of the Army's premier armoured regiments - are working.
It has also emerged that 40 Challenger 2 tanks, which cost £4 million each, had to be "cannibalised" so that they could be used to re-equip units which had run out of spare parts during and after the Iraq war.The Army has 386 Challenger 2 tanks dispersed among six armoured regiments. Of these, 259 tanks should be available, but only 135 are classed as fit for duty.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...0.xml&sSheet=/portal/2003/11/30/ixportal.html
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Originally there were 46 dead now its 54, including 8 civilians. Odd that they werent mentioned first time round......Another report suggests that a building was completely destroyed in the firefight. Wonder if Mears has finished getting off over this yet?
US military has raised the death toll in the clashes with insurgents in Samarra
Iraqi doctors said that eight civilians were killed by US fire in the exchanges. "The death toll is now 54 dead," said a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, without specifying whether they were insurgents or civilians and without volunteering his name.
The division's spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bill MacDonald had previously said that 46 had been killed in the clashes on Sunday afternoon and evening, all of them insurgents. Samarra hospital accident and emergency department anaesthetist Bassem Ibrahim said "we received the bodies of eight civilians, including a woman and a child".
Hospital director Abed Tawfiq said "more than 60 people wounded by gunfire and shrapnel from US rounds are being treated at the hospital." The town's police chief Colonel Ismail Mahmud Mohammed said around 20 of the wounded sustained their injuries while worshipping at a mosque during sunset prayers.
He said the insurgents who had attacked US forces had withdrawn when the Americans had returned fire, and charged that the troops had done so indiscriminately with all weapons in their arsenal. "There was an attack and a exchange of fire between the Americans and the resistance lasting half an hour. The resistance withdrew, then bombardments started using all manner of weapons in all directions and without any discrimination," said Mohammed.
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4809173&action=article
US military has raised the death toll in the clashes with insurgents in Samarra
Iraqi doctors said that eight civilians were killed by US fire in the exchanges. "The death toll is now 54 dead," said a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division, without specifying whether they were insurgents or civilians and without volunteering his name.
The division's spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bill MacDonald had previously said that 46 had been killed in the clashes on Sunday afternoon and evening, all of them insurgents. Samarra hospital accident and emergency department anaesthetist Bassem Ibrahim said "we received the bodies of eight civilians, including a woman and a child".
Hospital director Abed Tawfiq said "more than 60 people wounded by gunfire and shrapnel from US rounds are being treated at the hospital." The town's police chief Colonel Ismail Mahmud Mohammed said around 20 of the wounded sustained their injuries while worshipping at a mosque during sunset prayers.
He said the insurgents who had attacked US forces had withdrawn when the Americans had returned fire, and charged that the troops had done so indiscriminately with all weapons in their arsenal. "There was an attack and a exchange of fire between the Americans and the resistance lasting half an hour. The resistance withdrew, then bombardments started using all manner of weapons in all directions and without any discrimination," said Mohammed.
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4809173&action=article
Barking_Mad
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Locals dispute the number of dead and US say it was an attempt to steal Iraqi bank notes. Looks like they have good intelligence if they know which convoy is carrying money!
Big Iraq ambush 'was bank heist'
Local doctors say at least eight civilians have died. An ambush on US troops in Iraq's city of Samarra was an attempt to seize new Iraqi banknotes, the US military say. "It was a co-ordinated attack... on a convoy... delivering a significant amount of Iraqi currency," US Colonel Fredrick Rudesheim told reporters.
The number of Iraqis killed by US forces in Sunday's fighting had risen to 54 from 46, the US military says. Residents of the central Iraqi city disputed those figures, saying at most eight or nine people died.
Earlier, eyewitnesses said eight of the dead were civilians - caught in the worst battle involving US troops since major combat operations were declared over on 1 May.
NOVEMBER DEATHS IN IRAQ
US troops: 79
Non-US coalition forces: 26
Foreign civilians: 6
Iraqis killed by insurgents: At least 32*
Iraqis killed by coalition troops: At least 64*
*No official statistics are kept for Iraqi deaths
US commanders initially reported 46 dead and 18 wounded but later raised the death toll without explaining whether the additional victims were insurgents or civilians
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3253236.stm
Big Iraq ambush 'was bank heist'
Local doctors say at least eight civilians have died. An ambush on US troops in Iraq's city of Samarra was an attempt to seize new Iraqi banknotes, the US military say. "It was a co-ordinated attack... on a convoy... delivering a significant amount of Iraqi currency," US Colonel Fredrick Rudesheim told reporters.
The number of Iraqis killed by US forces in Sunday's fighting had risen to 54 from 46, the US military says. Residents of the central Iraqi city disputed those figures, saying at most eight or nine people died.
Earlier, eyewitnesses said eight of the dead were civilians - caught in the worst battle involving US troops since major combat operations were declared over on 1 May.
NOVEMBER DEATHS IN IRAQ
US troops: 79
Non-US coalition forces: 26
Foreign civilians: 6
Iraqis killed by insurgents: At least 32*
Iraqis killed by coalition troops: At least 64*
*No official statistics are kept for Iraqi deaths
US commanders initially reported 46 dead and 18 wounded but later raised the death toll without explaining whether the additional victims were insurgents or civilians
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3253236.stm
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Iraqis 'have no confidence in coalition troops'
The vast majority of Iraqis have no confidence in coalition troops, the first national survey of Iraq has shown.
In the poll of more than 3,000 homes across Iraq, 79% said they had no confidence in US and UK forces - and 73% had no faith in the Coalition Provision Authority. Just 8% said they trusted US and UK troops. But the seemingly contradictory results also reveal people's feelings of instability in post-war Iraq with 78% of those asked also saying they "mistrusted Iraqi political parties".
Researchers from Baghdad and Dohuk Universities carried out 3,244 interviews. The poll set out some of the hopes for peace and normality, the fears and aspirations of the Iraqi people. It was co-ordinated by Dr Christopher Sahm, of Oxford University.
When asked to report in their own words the best and worst experience of the past 12 months, Iraqis overwhelmingly agree on two answers; the best thing - the fall of Saddam's regime (42%); and the worst thing - the war, bombings and defeat (35%).
Asked about the future, 95% believe an Iraqi-run democracy is the way forward, but they are divided on how and with which party. Some 54% do not want a UN transition government but they are clear (64% against) they do not want any role played by Paul Bremer's Coalition Provision Authority.
The survey also found 70% believed religious and moral issues were down to the individual or the family. Top priorities highlighted were: desire for jobs, public security and a fight against crime (98%). Eight out of 10 people were against any form of violent struggle, and only one person in the 3,244 said they thought "dying for Islam" was important.
Most are also apathetic about politics with no interest in joining a political party (77%), while 91% are against pursuing former members of Saddam's government and just 4% want to increase oil production.
Foreign secretary Jack Straw said recently that life in Iraq had improved, and he may be heartened to see from the survey that Iraqis asked are not particularly unhappy - they score an average of 5.7 out of 10 (Moldova scored 3.7 in a recent survey and neighbouring Turkey 6.3).
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_843216.html?menu=news.latestheadlines
The vast majority of Iraqis have no confidence in coalition troops, the first national survey of Iraq has shown.
In the poll of more than 3,000 homes across Iraq, 79% said they had no confidence in US and UK forces - and 73% had no faith in the Coalition Provision Authority. Just 8% said they trusted US and UK troops. But the seemingly contradictory results also reveal people's feelings of instability in post-war Iraq with 78% of those asked also saying they "mistrusted Iraqi political parties".
Researchers from Baghdad and Dohuk Universities carried out 3,244 interviews. The poll set out some of the hopes for peace and normality, the fears and aspirations of the Iraqi people. It was co-ordinated by Dr Christopher Sahm, of Oxford University.
When asked to report in their own words the best and worst experience of the past 12 months, Iraqis overwhelmingly agree on two answers; the best thing - the fall of Saddam's regime (42%); and the worst thing - the war, bombings and defeat (35%).
Asked about the future, 95% believe an Iraqi-run democracy is the way forward, but they are divided on how and with which party. Some 54% do not want a UN transition government but they are clear (64% against) they do not want any role played by Paul Bremer's Coalition Provision Authority.
The survey also found 70% believed religious and moral issues were down to the individual or the family. Top priorities highlighted were: desire for jobs, public security and a fight against crime (98%). Eight out of 10 people were against any form of violent struggle, and only one person in the 3,244 said they thought "dying for Islam" was important.
Most are also apathetic about politics with no interest in joining a political party (77%), while 91% are against pursuing former members of Saddam's government and just 4% want to increase oil production.
Foreign secretary Jack Straw said recently that life in Iraq had improved, and he may be heartened to see from the survey that Iraqis asked are not particularly unhappy - they score an average of 5.7 out of 10 (Moldova scored 3.7 in a recent survey and neighbouring Turkey 6.3).
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_843216.html?menu=news.latestheadlines
Barking_Mad
Non sibi sed omnibus
Civilians fire on US troops
The aftermath of the weekend battle in Samarra, which the US has claimed was the deadliest since the war ended, today appeared murkier than first reports suggested, as residents of the central Iraqi city accused Washington of exaggerating its death toll. Initial US statements put the number of Iraqi dead at 46, with five American soldiers injured, but the US today put its figure up to 54 Iraqi fatalities.
It also said that many of the dead Iraqis were wearing the uniform of the Fedayeen, the militia most closely associated with Saddam Hussein and most loyal to him But the Associated Press reported that some in Samarra believed fatalities were much lower than the US's figures and that most of the dead were armed civilians.
It quoted one of the city residents claiming that civilians had grabbed their guns when the US soldiers fired on insurgents who had attempted to ambush their convoy. "Civilians shot back at the Americans," said 30-year-old Ali Hassan, who was wounded by shrapnel in the battle. "They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are terrorists."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1097338,00.html
The aftermath of the weekend battle in Samarra, which the US has claimed was the deadliest since the war ended, today appeared murkier than first reports suggested, as residents of the central Iraqi city accused Washington of exaggerating its death toll. Initial US statements put the number of Iraqi dead at 46, with five American soldiers injured, but the US today put its figure up to 54 Iraqi fatalities.
It also said that many of the dead Iraqis were wearing the uniform of the Fedayeen, the militia most closely associated with Saddam Hussein and most loyal to him But the Associated Press reported that some in Samarra believed fatalities were much lower than the US's figures and that most of the dead were armed civilians.
It quoted one of the city residents claiming that civilians had grabbed their guns when the US soldiers fired on insurgents who had attempted to ambush their convoy. "Civilians shot back at the Americans," said 30-year-old Ali Hassan, who was wounded by shrapnel in the battle. "They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are terrorists."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1097338,00.html
Barking_Mad
Non sibi sed omnibus
Wonder if this helicopter was one previously damaged or something that hasnt yet been spoken about?
At least 1 US soldier dead in Iraq in attacks on convoys near Samarra
RIGGA, Iraq (AFX) - At least one US soldier has been killed after two almost simultaneous bomb attacks hit convoys near Samarra, said a US officer who declined to give his name.
"There was one soldier killed," he said.
Reporters said the convoy was escorting a truck carrying a damaged Apache helicopter from Samarra, south to Baghdad. The aircraft had a large hole in its rear, but it was unclear whether it was accidental or through enemy action.Witness Kanaan Kanel Kanaani told reporters that the last vehicle in the dozen-strong convoy, a Humvee, was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade or a mine.
"The driver lost control and the vehicle veered across the road, crashing into a parked pickup loaded with oranges," said Kanaani. "One soldier was killed." Arafat Enab, 21, said that it was an improvised explosive device of the sort favoured by anti-US insurgents that hit the Humvee.
"Half of the vehicle was destroyed and the driver received fatal head injuries," said Enab. An Agence France-Presse correspondent on the scene saw a military air rescue helicopter land on the scene. A US military spokeswoman said she had no immediate report on the bombings but was checking with operational commanders.
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4810597&action=article
At least 1 US soldier dead in Iraq in attacks on convoys near Samarra
RIGGA, Iraq (AFX) - At least one US soldier has been killed after two almost simultaneous bomb attacks hit convoys near Samarra, said a US officer who declined to give his name.
"There was one soldier killed," he said.
Reporters said the convoy was escorting a truck carrying a damaged Apache helicopter from Samarra, south to Baghdad. The aircraft had a large hole in its rear, but it was unclear whether it was accidental or through enemy action.Witness Kanaan Kanel Kanaani told reporters that the last vehicle in the dozen-strong convoy, a Humvee, was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade or a mine.
"The driver lost control and the vehicle veered across the road, crashing into a parked pickup loaded with oranges," said Kanaani. "One soldier was killed." Arafat Enab, 21, said that it was an improvised explosive device of the sort favoured by anti-US insurgents that hit the Humvee.
"Half of the vehicle was destroyed and the driver received fatal head injuries," said Enab. An Agence France-Presse correspondent on the scene saw a military air rescue helicopter land on the scene. A US military spokeswoman said she had no immediate report on the bombings but was checking with operational commanders.
http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4810597&action=article
Barking_Mad
Non sibi sed omnibus
This goes to show that Baghdad still has massive fuel and electricity problems.
Gas shortages fuels long lines and frustration among Iraqis in Baghdad
Just ask Hadi Ali, a 58-year-old civil engineer and irate car owner. He had been waiting an hour on a recent morning to fill his gas tank by the time his car finally crept up to the pumps. The line behind him was 110 cars long, stretching down one of central Baghdad's wide boulevards. ''We were expecting the American forces to come here and provide us with things, to make everything better,'' he said as he stared out the windshield of his maroon Peugeot sedan. ''We are a rich country. We have oil. But nothing is happening.'' For the last two weeks, motorists in this traffic-choked city have had to wait up to half a day to fill their tanks after several months of more modest lines.
The problem, officials say, results from attacks on northern pipelines. Some taxi drivers have spent alternate days getting gas rather than working. What is more, the high-grade gas prized by owners of imports such as BMW's or Mercedes-Benzes suddenly disappeared from stations more than a week ago.
http://www.iht.com/articles/119866.html
Gas shortages fuels long lines and frustration among Iraqis in Baghdad
Just ask Hadi Ali, a 58-year-old civil engineer and irate car owner. He had been waiting an hour on a recent morning to fill his gas tank by the time his car finally crept up to the pumps. The line behind him was 110 cars long, stretching down one of central Baghdad's wide boulevards. ''We were expecting the American forces to come here and provide us with things, to make everything better,'' he said as he stared out the windshield of his maroon Peugeot sedan. ''We are a rich country. We have oil. But nothing is happening.'' For the last two weeks, motorists in this traffic-choked city have had to wait up to half a day to fill their tanks after several months of more modest lines.
The problem, officials say, results from attacks on northern pipelines. Some taxi drivers have spent alternate days getting gas rather than working. What is more, the high-grade gas prized by owners of imports such as BMW's or Mercedes-Benzes suddenly disappeared from stations more than a week ago.
http://www.iht.com/articles/119866.html
Barking_Mad
Non sibi sed omnibus
Samarra Massacre Will Haunt U.S. in Iraq
The firefight in Samarra, Iraq, will come to haunt U.S. troops in the country, the writer says. The attackers deliberately wore black to evoke symbolic battles from Iraqi history that resonate with Iraqi Sunni and Shi'a alike. Now, the fighters are being hailed as heroes.
Of all the places to incur a military attack in the area that has quixotically become known as the "Sunni triangle," Samarra was the worst. It is not only a Sunni Arab stronghold, it is also a shrine city sacred to the Shi'a population of Iraq. In its action, the U.S. military has thus offended almost everyone in Iraq at one fell swoop......
......Radio Free Europe, in reporting the battle claimed that the Fedayeen (whose name means sacrificers) were wearing their uniforms on purpose in order "to send a message to the local population that the Fedayeen remains a fighting force able to carry out complex operations."
The black uniforms of the Fedayeen have additional symbolic value. They are reminiscent of the Black Flags of the Abbassid Empire, the great Persian-Arab empire founded in 750 C.E. in Baghdad that ushered in the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. No one in Iraq can see the solid black color without having this association. Because the founders of the Abbassid Empire usurped the weaker Umayyids, conquerors from outside, the symbolic message is clear to the residents of the region.......
..... For the Shi'a population of Iraq an event such as this calls up images of martyrdom, such as that suffered by the central religious figure of Shiism, Hussein, grandson of the prophet Mohammad. Hussein was killed by illegitimate external forces in 680 C.E. Two of Hussein's most important descendants -- the 10th and 11th Shi'a Imams -- were martyred and buried in Samarra. The mystical, messianic 12th Imam disappeared there in 878 C.E. He will reappear at the Day of Judgment according to Shia tradition. Thus the Fedayeen become representatives of perfect heroes and perfect martyrs in one fell swoop.
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=68502c5eae5b193f0d75af16d5b0ce6b
The firefight in Samarra, Iraq, will come to haunt U.S. troops in the country, the writer says. The attackers deliberately wore black to evoke symbolic battles from Iraqi history that resonate with Iraqi Sunni and Shi'a alike. Now, the fighters are being hailed as heroes.
Of all the places to incur a military attack in the area that has quixotically become known as the "Sunni triangle," Samarra was the worst. It is not only a Sunni Arab stronghold, it is also a shrine city sacred to the Shi'a population of Iraq. In its action, the U.S. military has thus offended almost everyone in Iraq at one fell swoop......
......Radio Free Europe, in reporting the battle claimed that the Fedayeen (whose name means sacrificers) were wearing their uniforms on purpose in order "to send a message to the local population that the Fedayeen remains a fighting force able to carry out complex operations."
The black uniforms of the Fedayeen have additional symbolic value. They are reminiscent of the Black Flags of the Abbassid Empire, the great Persian-Arab empire founded in 750 C.E. in Baghdad that ushered in the Golden Age of Islamic civilization. No one in Iraq can see the solid black color without having this association. Because the founders of the Abbassid Empire usurped the weaker Umayyids, conquerors from outside, the symbolic message is clear to the residents of the region.......
..... For the Shi'a population of Iraq an event such as this calls up images of martyrdom, such as that suffered by the central religious figure of Shiism, Hussein, grandson of the prophet Mohammad. Hussein was killed by illegitimate external forces in 680 C.E. Two of Hussein's most important descendants -- the 10th and 11th Shi'a Imams -- were martyred and buried in Samarra. The mystical, messianic 12th Imam disappeared there in 878 C.E. He will reappear at the Day of Judgment according to Shia tradition. Thus the Fedayeen become representatives of perfect heroes and perfect martyrs in one fell swoop.
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=68502c5eae5b193f0d75af16d5b0ce6b
Barking_Mad
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At least three Iraqis killed, US and Iraqis wounded in Baghdad blast
BAGHDAD : At least three Iraqis were killed and 13 wounded in an explosion in a crowded shopping street near a mosque in south Baghdad, hospital staff told AFP.Witnesses said the blast Friday happened as a US convoy was passing and reported seeing at least one US soldier covered in blood and as many as three hurt before the convoy drove away.
"About 10 this morning we received three dead, who have not been identified, and 13 wounded," said Karim Abdullah Muslim, head of the emergency room at the al-Kindi hospital. "Two or three of them are seriously wounded. The rest are slight injuries."A woman was among the dead and three women were also wounded. Two children were lightly injured," he said.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/60623/1/.html
BAGHDAD : At least three Iraqis were killed and 13 wounded in an explosion in a crowded shopping street near a mosque in south Baghdad, hospital staff told AFP.Witnesses said the blast Friday happened as a US convoy was passing and reported seeing at least one US soldier covered in blood and as many as three hurt before the convoy drove away.
"About 10 this morning we received three dead, who have not been identified, and 13 wounded," said Karim Abdullah Muslim, head of the emergency room at the al-Kindi hospital. "Two or three of them are seriously wounded. The rest are slight injuries."A woman was among the dead and three women were also wounded. Two children were lightly injured," he said.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/60623/1/.html
Barking_Mad
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Indonesia criticises US over Iraq
The Indonesian foreign minister has levelled a broadside at the policy of the United States-led coalition in Iraq, saying it has angered Muslims and left the entire Middle East more insecure and vulnerable.
Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, has never been a supporter of the war in Iraq, but in recent weeks its criticism has become much more vocal.
Speaking to a security conference in Jakarta on Monday, the Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said that the invasion of Iraq had not been justified under international law and that subsequent events had demonstrated the dangers of going it alone without the approval of the United Nations.
Mr Wirajuda also raised questions about justifying the decision to go to war by using Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3299629.stm
The Indonesian foreign minister has levelled a broadside at the policy of the United States-led coalition in Iraq, saying it has angered Muslims and left the entire Middle East more insecure and vulnerable.
Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, has never been a supporter of the war in Iraq, but in recent weeks its criticism has become much more vocal.
Speaking to a security conference in Jakarta on Monday, the Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said that the invasion of Iraq had not been justified under international law and that subsequent events had demonstrated the dangers of going it alone without the approval of the United Nations.
Mr Wirajuda also raised questions about justifying the decision to go to war by using Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3299629.stm
Barking_Mad
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Iraq attacks 'likely to increase'
A top US military commander in Iraq has said he expects more attacks as the US prepares to hand over power to Iraqis.
"We expect to see an increase in violence as we move toward sovereignty at the end of June," General Ricardo Sanchez told reporters on Sunday.
He added the hunt for Saddam Hussein was continuing, but that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. His comments came shortly after a US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul.
General Sanchez said the US assumed that Saddam Hussein was still in Iraq. "Clearly we haven't found the right haystack. We're all focused on finding that needle," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3298709.stm
A top US military commander in Iraq has said he expects more attacks as the US prepares to hand over power to Iraqis.
"We expect to see an increase in violence as we move toward sovereignty at the end of June," General Ricardo Sanchez told reporters on Sunday.
He added the hunt for Saddam Hussein was continuing, but that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. His comments came shortly after a US soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul.
General Sanchez said the US assumed that Saddam Hussein was still in Iraq. "Clearly we haven't found the right haystack. We're all focused on finding that needle," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3298709.stm
Tough New Tactics by U.S. Tighten Grip on Iraq Towns
Saddam would be proud!
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/international/middleeast/07TACT.html
Saddam would be proud!
Barking_Mad
Non sibi sed omnibus
Basra revenge killings increase
The southern province has seen a sharp rise in the number of former Baath Party members being gunned down. Basra coalition forces have not been targeted to the same extent as in central Iraq, but the crime rate is high with murder a daily occurrence.
It seems the killings are targeting anyone from the previous regime, and not only senior figures connected with ousted leader Saddam Hussein.
While day to day life in Basra continues unhindered there is an undercurrent of fear with the daily news that another person has been killed or kidnapped. Coalition forces have been unable to halt the rising crime rate. Police officials say that in the past few weeks at least 20 former Baath Party members have been murdered.
In some instances the killers have left signs around the victim's neck denouncing him as a Baathist. The attacks have been blamed on tribal feuds and the jostling for power within the city.
Local people also accuse a number of Islamic organisations but no one is willing to openly point the finger. So far no one has been arrested.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3303051.stm
The southern province has seen a sharp rise in the number of former Baath Party members being gunned down. Basra coalition forces have not been targeted to the same extent as in central Iraq, but the crime rate is high with murder a daily occurrence.
It seems the killings are targeting anyone from the previous regime, and not only senior figures connected with ousted leader Saddam Hussein.
While day to day life in Basra continues unhindered there is an undercurrent of fear with the daily news that another person has been killed or kidnapped. Coalition forces have been unable to halt the rising crime rate. Police officials say that in the past few weeks at least 20 former Baath Party members have been murdered.
In some instances the killers have left signs around the victim's neck denouncing him as a Baathist. The attacks have been blamed on tribal feuds and the jostling for power within the city.
Local people also accuse a number of Islamic organisations but no one is willing to openly point the finger. So far no one has been arrested.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3303051.stm
Barking_Mad
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Paper names '45-minute source'
The Iraq dossier included the 45 minute claim about WMD
An Iraqi army officer has claimed it was he who told UK intelligence that weapons of mass destruction could be used within 45 minutes of an order from Saddam Hussein.
The officer, identified as Lt Col al-Dabbagh, told the London-based Sunday Telegraph newspaper he had provided several reports on the president's WMD plans from early 2002.
These included details of how frontline units were supplied with cases of WMD warheads towards the end of last year. Downing Street has so far refused to comment on the report.
However, a spokesman said anyone with relevant information should contact the Iraq Survey Group as it hunts for WMD. The 45-minute claim was a key component of the UK government's dossier on the threat posed by Iraq published in the run up to the invasion in March.
"I am the one responsible for providing this information," Lt Col al-Dabbagh is quoted by the newspaper as saying after he was shown the dossier. "It is 100% accurate."
He told the paper how he reported on the deployment of WMD warheads to units such as the air defence command he led in the western desert. "Forget 45 minutes, we could have fired these within half-an-hour," he was quoted as saying.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3297771.stm
The Iraq dossier included the 45 minute claim about WMD
An Iraqi army officer has claimed it was he who told UK intelligence that weapons of mass destruction could be used within 45 minutes of an order from Saddam Hussein.
The officer, identified as Lt Col al-Dabbagh, told the London-based Sunday Telegraph newspaper he had provided several reports on the president's WMD plans from early 2002.
These included details of how frontline units were supplied with cases of WMD warheads towards the end of last year. Downing Street has so far refused to comment on the report.
However, a spokesman said anyone with relevant information should contact the Iraq Survey Group as it hunts for WMD. The 45-minute claim was a key component of the UK government's dossier on the threat posed by Iraq published in the run up to the invasion in March.
"I am the one responsible for providing this information," Lt Col al-Dabbagh is quoted by the newspaper as saying after he was shown the dossier. "It is 100% accurate."
He told the paper how he reported on the deployment of WMD warheads to units such as the air defence command he led in the western desert. "Forget 45 minutes, we could have fired these within half-an-hour," he was quoted as saying.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3297771.stm
Barking_Mad
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Iraq tenders 'only for US allies'
Iraqi firms will be able to bid for contracts. Companies from countries opposed to the conflict in Iraq will be barred from bidding for new rebuilding contracts worth $18.6bn, the Pentagon has said. US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the policy was necessary to protect America's "essential security interests".
The 26 prime contracts cover areas such as oil, power, communications, water, housing and public works centres. The ban would exclude firms from countries such as France and Germany.
Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international co operation in Iraq
The Bush administration hinted - even before the conflict - that countries opposed to the war would pay a price when it came to a share in post-war reconstruction, says the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs. Now, the Pentagon has published formal guidelines from Mr Wolfowitz confirming that companies from those countries cannot bid for new reconstruction contracts.
"It is necessary for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States to limit competition for prime contracts of these procurements to companies from the US, Iraq, coalition partners and force contributing nations," he said. Mr Wolfowitz said he hoped that excluded firms would pressure their governments to join the post-war effort.
"Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international co-operation in Iraq and future efforts," he wrote in a notice on the website www.rebuilding-iraq.net.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3305501.stm
Iraqi firms will be able to bid for contracts. Companies from countries opposed to the conflict in Iraq will be barred from bidding for new rebuilding contracts worth $18.6bn, the Pentagon has said. US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the policy was necessary to protect America's "essential security interests".
The 26 prime contracts cover areas such as oil, power, communications, water, housing and public works centres. The ban would exclude firms from countries such as France and Germany.
Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international co operation in Iraq
The Bush administration hinted - even before the conflict - that countries opposed to the war would pay a price when it came to a share in post-war reconstruction, says the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs. Now, the Pentagon has published formal guidelines from Mr Wolfowitz confirming that companies from those countries cannot bid for new reconstruction contracts.
"It is necessary for the protection of the essential security interests of the United States to limit competition for prime contracts of these procurements to companies from the US, Iraq, coalition partners and force contributing nations," he said. Mr Wolfowitz said he hoped that excluded firms would pressure their governments to join the post-war effort.
"Limiting competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international co-operation in Iraq and future efforts," he wrote in a notice on the website www.rebuilding-iraq.net.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3305501.stm
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