*IRAQ: latest news and developments

[bigfish]

Iraq

'Pundits Paradise' by William Bowles 11/04/04

Press pundits who pimp for imperialism

Readers may well think I'm nitpicking but the opposite holds true, for what these pages reveal is the Western mindset at its own wits end when confronted with the unpalatable truth that in spite of writing endless pages of so-called analysis, it has no answer except the one it refuses to acknowledge: That the apologists for the imperium are bereft of answers simply because they refuse to face the reality that the population of Iraq want the invaders out of their land. These are the words of the pundits who pimp for imperialism.

http://www.williambowles.info

 

[freethepeeps]

What I can report from Falluja is that there is no ceasefire, and apparently there never was. Iraqi women and children are being shot by American snipers. Over 600 Iraqis have now been killed by American aggression, and the residents have turned two football fields into graveyards. Ambulances are being shot by the Americans. And now they are preparing to launch a full-scale invasion of the city.

All of which is occurring under the guise of catching the people who killed the four Blackwater Security personnel and hung two of their bodies from a bridge.

Dahr Jamail

For months the White House has been making ominous predictions of a civil war breaking out between the majority Shias, who believe it's their turn to rule Iraq, and the minority Sunnis, who want to hold on to the privileges they amassed under Saddam Hussein's regime. But this week the opposite appears to have taken place. Both Sunni and Shia have seen their neighbourhoods attacked and their religious sites desecrated. Up against a shared enemy, they are beginning to bury ancient rivalries and join forces against the occupation. Instead of a civil war, they are on the verge of building a common front.

You could see it at the mosques in Sadr City on Thursday: thousands of Shias lined up to donate blood, destined for Sunnis hurt in the attacks in Falluja. "We should thank Paul Bremer," Salih Ali told me. "He has finally united Iraq. Against him."

Naomi Klein

 

[Barking_Mad]

Piece from an Iraqi exile who went back to Iraq.....

There were two scrawny Iraqis protecting the gate and we asked them if we could have a word with an American soldier because we were interested to see what an average GI was like.

Then an American soldier in the distance cocked his gun, put on his helmet and came out to us - as if my friends and I were out to kill someone. Then another soldier came out, and before we knew it there were 10 or 15 soldiers standing in front of us.

We just wanted to say hello, but they were utterly disrespectful. We told them we were from London, but the first soldier said he did not know where London was.

We wanted to take a picture with him and I gave my camera to a friend. Then the soldier said: "He doesn't know how to use a camera - he's an Iraqi." They're just completely disrespectful. They have no knowledge about Iraq and Iraqi customs. All they know about is America.

http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=510709

 

[Barking_Mad]

Chalabi: Iraqi uprisings predictable

IGC’s acting president unrest happening now has been predicted before war, Shiite concerns must be addressed. LONDON - Ahmed Chalabi, acting president of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), said Monday that the uprisings in Iraq were predictable, and that real efforts must be made to address Shiite grievances.

"What is happening now is something we have spoken about and that we have predicted before the war," Chalabi, who also leads the Iraqi National Congress, told BBC radio from Baghdad.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=9609

 

[Barking_Mad]

GIs in Iraq escape sex-crime prosecution -Military records show soldiers receive light punishments

U.S. soldiers accused of rape and other sex crimes while serving in Iraq routinely dodged prosecution during the last year with the help of commanders who gave them light punishments such as reprimands and pay cuts, according to military records released to the Denver Post.

Troops facing sex offenses were given job-related punishments -- which offer no prospect of prison time -- nearly five times as often as those charged with a crime. Such leniency also was granted to soldiers accused of serial crimes. Though investigators compiled evidence to prosecute a Fort Stewart (Georgia) sergeant for sexually assaulting three subordinate battalion members, he was only given a reprimand, records show.

http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1968~2078434,00.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

US Dead - Update

The number of US dead this month has reached 73.

http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

 

[bigfish]

GI SPECIAL #2.57: Iraqi Battalion Mutinies 12/04/04
http://www.williambowles.info/gispecial/gi_257/gi_257.pdf

 

[Barking_Mad]

CNN showing more burnt out US convoys. One of which was carrying military vehicles.

Reuters reporting 6 more US dead that werent announced previously.

 

[freethepeeps]

I spoke earlier this afternoon with one of Gary Teeley's longstanding friends from his home town of Northampton who also happens to be a close personal friend of mine. He tells me that Teeley is not a mercenary, but rather a laundry contractor working for an American military base in Nassiriya.

He's now been released

Gary Teeley, 37, was snatched in Nasiriyah last Monday as clashes erupted between local Shi'ites supporting Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, and Italian troops.

Mr Teeley, a father of five, was handed over to Italian special forces yesterday and was said last night to be in "very good condition" in an Italian field hospital.

Torygraph

 

[Gumbert]

Russians taken hostage in Baghdad

my own view on kidnapping is bad tactic, shows desperation...

Monday 12 April 2004, 23:32 Makka Time, 20:32 GMT

Eleven Russian workers have been abducted in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Aljazeera's correspondent in Moscow has reported.

An official from the Russian energy service company, Interenergoservice, told Aljazeera on Monday that two Iraqi company guards may have been killed during the confrontation with the armed captors.

A Russian engineer in Iraq told Jazeera the 11 worked at power plants.

Meanwhile seven Chinese hostages captured in Iraq have been released, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

The Chinese have been reported missing. They entered Iraq from Jordan early on Sunday and were abducted in Falluja, the Iraqi foreign ministry and a Chinese diplomat in Baghdad said on Monday.

China News Service identified the hostages as Xue Yougui, Lin
Jingbing, Lin Kongming, Li Guiwu, Li Guibing, Wei Weilong and Chen Xiaojin. The oldest is 49, the youngest 18.

The agency quoted a Chinese businessman in the city as saying the seven were being looked after by the Association of Muslim Scholars.

The men were from eastern Fujian province, which has a long tradition of being the source of illegal immigrants travelling overseas in search of work.

Chinese security sources in Fujian told Aljazeera the hostages went to Iraq on their own responsibility. "No Chinese organisation or company has sent them to Iraq," the sources added.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/82B928DF-E13A-4FFB-A33B-20DEEC583234.htm

 

[Gumbert]

Falluja toll tops 600

Yay for 'Liberation'...

More than 600 Iraqis have been killed in fighting in Falluja since US occupation forces launched an offensive against resistance fighters in the town a week ago, say hospital sources.

"I can say more than 600 have been killed, but the number may not be totally correct as many families have already buried their dead in their gardens", Dr Rafia Hayad al-Issawi, the director of Falluja's hospital, told Aljazeera.

As well as the dead, al-Issawi estimated that about 1200 people had been injured in the fighting, some of the fiercest that Iraq has seen since US-led forces invaded the country to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Aljazeera's correspondent in Falluja reported that 11 people were killed and about 50 others wounded by US gunfire, despite the ceasefire agreed upon between the US occupation forces and the Iraqi resistance.

NGO assessment

An assessment by five international non-governmental organisations on Friday said 470 people had been killed in Falluja.

Of 1200 injured, it said 243 were women and 200 children. The groups warned their estimate might be too low.

US marines maintain a strong
presence in the town

"Bodies are lying in the streets. Ambulances are being shot at by snipers. Medical aid and supplies have been stopped by US occupation forces," a statement from the NGOs said.

The marines conducting the week-long operation in Falluja have been accused of firing indiscriminately on people in the city, killing women and children.

US military spokesmen have strenuously denied those accusations, saying troops are trained to ensure all their actions are extremely precise and only combatants are killed.

Possible withdrawal

On Monday, witnesses on the outskirts of Falluja told Aljazeera they saw US military vehicles moving away from the city.

Aljazeera's correspondent in Falluja said it could not be confirmed whether a withdrawal of troops had taken place. He reported it might be a tactical move by the military to move to the outskirts of the city, particularly near al-Shuhada area and the northern highway.

The correspondent added that Falluja citizens insisted Iraqi police and defence forces should regain control over the city after the withdrawal of US forces.

Despite the ceasefire, an exchange of fire was heard in Golan area, the correspondent added. Explosions were also heard.

The correspondent reported that resistance fighters in Falluja said they were committed to the ceasefire, but would break it if US snipers continued to target civilians. He said more than 15 civilians had been killed and 70 others wounded by US sniper fire.

The snipers, he stressed, were even targeting ambulances transferring casualties to hospitals.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D334DDD4-F26F-483F-9AE4-E08BB9E53567.htm

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5668-2004Apr12.html

 

[pbman]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5668-2004Apr12.html

YOu need to register to view it, whe don't you put up a short cut and paste.

 

[Backatcha Bandit]

Finally, after a tense few days worrying that she had not written, something from Jo Wilding.

PLEASE consider printing this out and faxing it to whichever newspapers, radio stations and MPs etc you can think of.

Full text at http://www.wildfirejo.blogspot.com/

We wash the blood off our hands and get in the ambulance. There are people trapped in the other hospital who need to go to Baghdad. Siren screaming, lights flashing, we huddle on the floor of the ambulance, passports and ID cards held out the windows. We pack it with people, one with his chest taped together and a drip, one on a stretcher, legs jerking violently so I have to hold them down as we wheel him out, lifting him over steps.

The hospital is better able to treat them than the clinic but hasn’t got enough of anything to sort them out properly and the only way to get them to Baghdad on our bus, which means they have to go to the clinic. We’re crammed on the floor of the ambulance in case it’s shot at. Nisareen, a woman doctor about my age, can’t stop a few tears once we’re out.

The doctor rushes out to meet me: “Can you go to fetch a lady, she is pregnant and she is delivering the baby too soon?”

Azzam is driving, Ahmed in the middle directing him and me by the window, the visible foreigner, the passport. Something scatters across my hand, simultaneous with the crashing of a bullet through the ambulance, some plastic part dislodged, flying through the window.

We stop, turn off the siren, keep the blue light flashing, wait, eyes on the silhouettes of men in US marine uniforms on the corners of the buildings. Several shots come. We duck, get as low as possible and I can see tiny red lights whipping past the window, past my head. Some, it’s hard to tell, are hitting the ambulance I start singing. What else do you do when someone’s shooting at you? A tyre bursts with an enormous noise and a jerk of the vehicle.

I’m outraged. We’re trying to get to a woman who’s giving birth without any medical attention, without electricity, in a city under siege, in a clearly marked ambulance, and you’re shooting at us. How dare you?

How dare you?

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraq plan flawed, says Army strategist

WASHINGTON — In a broadside fired at the conduct of the war in Iraq, a senior Army strategist has accused the Bush administration of seeking to win "quickly and on the cheap" while ignoring the more critical aim of creating a stable, democratic nation.

While the United States easily won the initial battles that toppled Saddam Hussein a year ago, the administration "either misunderstood or, worse, wished away" the difficulties of transforming that victory into the larger political goal, Army Lt. Col. Antulio J. Echevarria of the U.S. Army War College writes in a new paper.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/nation/8417171.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

General asks Pentagon to send 10,000 more troops

The US-led forces in Iraq have lost 70 soldiers this month and killed 10 times as many Iraqi insurgents in by far the bloodiest period since the end of the war, a spokesman said yesterday. Iraqi doctors say their dead are mostly civilians, the majority women and children.

The head of US Central Command in Iraq, General John Abizaid, called on the Pentagon to send 10,000 more troops to Iraq to quell the uprising, back-tracking on a year-long aim to reduce the US military presence. General Abizaid also said that some US-trained Iraqi policemen had defected to the insurgent forces of the radical Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr, while other Iraqi security forces had failed to fulfill their duties.

"These numbers are not large but they are troubling to us, and clearly we've got to work on the Iraqi security forces," he said. General Abizaid added that some troops from the Army's 1st Armoured Division would stay in Iraq for longer than anticipated. The entire division had been scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of next month but units had been sent to regain control of the southern city of Kut.

and from the same article this about US supply lines...

The extent to which the US military forces have lost control was half-admitted yesterday by Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the US military spokesman. He said more US troops were being sent "to open up those lines of communications so we can not only re-supply our forces in Fallujah, Ramadi and our forces down south, but also make those roads safe for travel".

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=511006

 

[Barking_Mad]

Surprse Surprise.....

U.S. General Denounces Arab TV Stations

WASHINGTON - The commander of U.S. forces in Iraq has accused two Arab television stations of lying about American attacks in the city of Fallujah.

Army Gen. John Abizaid denounced Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya for broadcasting what he said were false reports of American troops deliberately targeting civilians in Fallujah.

The predominantly Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad has been the site of fighting between insurgents and American troops after a mob mutilated the bodies of American security contractors killed in a March 30 ambush.

"They have not been truthful in their reporting," Abizaid said of the two television stations. "They haven't been accurate. And it is absolutely clear that American forces are doing their very best to protect civilians and at the same time get at the military targets there."

Al-Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout said the TV station had also interviewed American officials "to be as balanced as possible."

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/breaking_news/8419572.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

US copter crashes near Fallujah as American soldier killed north of Najaf

A US Apache helicopter was seen burning on the ground outside Fallujah on Tuesday, and witnesses said it was hit by a rocket from the ground. There was no immediate word on casualties. The helicopter was in flames on the ground some 20 kilometers east of Fallujah near the village of Zawbaa, according to The AP.

US troops who converged on the site were reportedly attacked by Iraqi fighters. Meanwhile, Iraqi fighters attacked a large convoy of US troops heading toward Najaf with gunfire and roadside bombs, killing one soldier and injuring two others and an American civilian contractor, officers in the convoy said Tuesday. The 80-vehicle convoy was hit late Monday, when a volley of fire erupted north of the city. A roadside bomb hit a truck. The convoy accelerated through the ambush and continued on its way toward Najaf, located some 160 kilometers south of Baghdad. The large US force was coming from the north to deploy at Najaf.

http://www.albawaba.com/news/index.php3?sid=274702&lang=e&dir=news

USA Today version of story here, originally from AP: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-04-13-iraq_x.htm

The US military has not commneted on this so far.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraqi police 're-take' holy city

Moqtada Sadr's militia are reported to be withdrawing from Najaf
Iraqi police are reappearing on the streets of the Shia holy city Najaf for the first time in days, say reports. Militia under radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, who had occupied government buildings and police stations, now appear to be withdrawing.

US forces have been seen grouping on the outskirts of the city in which Mr Sadr is still believed to be hiding. The US reportedly detained an aide of Mr Sadr. The arrest of another of his aides sparked the current Shia unrest.

Sheikh Hazem al-Aaraji was reportedly taken into custody in Baghdad on Tuesday. His supporters have condemned the move.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3621327.stm

 

[Barking_Mad]

I take it this means they will be wanting to bring back some of Saddam's hardmen to keep these troops in line....

Iraqi officers 'refused to fight'

Doubts hang over how Iraqis will take charge of security this year
Many newly-trained Iraqi police and army personnel refused to fight Shia and Sunni rebels in the recent unrest, the head of US Central Command says.
Gen John Abizaid said this was a "great disappointment" - and announced the coalition would draw top officers from the disbanded army of Saddam Hussein.

The creation of a new Iraqi army that can follow orders is seen as key to America's withdrawal plans from Iraq. The US had barred officers from Saddam Hussein's era serving in the military.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3621369.stm

 

[Barking_Mad]

U.S. Soldier Killed in Bombing of Convoy in Iraq

April 13 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb attack on a U.S. convoy killed a U.S. soldier on Tuesday and wounded another soldier and a civilian contractor, the U.S. army said. An army spokesman said the convoy, traveling from Baquba to Najaf, was hit just after midnight by a roadside bomb planted south of Baghdad.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040413_86.html?GMAad=true

 

[Barking_Mad]

US Casualties - 77 in April - US Total 678 - Coalition total 781

Ive mentioned this before but I thought it deserved another mention. The US have changed the way they do their casualty count as I mentioned in a post earlier. They now give casualty details every Friday. I suppose you can speculate that they simply have too many to keep track of and release information on every day - so they've change to once a week.

The US Coalition Casualty web site says,

The Department of Defense has changed their methodology for reporting
wounded casualties. They are now reporting the wounded in 2 categories:
Wounded In Action- returned to action within 72 hours
Wounded In Action- not returned to action within 72 hours

The totals will no longer be updated daily.
Instead, the DOD plans to update the numbers every Friday.

Date Reported WIA -RTD WIA - Not RTD
as 4/2/2004 1078 1910
Week ending 4/9/2004 59 222
Total 1137 2132

Please note:
At the time the methodology changed, the wounded totals
were significantly lowered from what had been previously reported.

http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

 

[Barking_Mad]

A little bit about the fighting around Baghdad.

In the heaviest battles seen in the capital since the fall of Saddam Hussein a year ago, U.S. troops battled Sunni insurgents on the western edge of Baghdad -- at one point for nearly 72 hours straight -- and fought rebellious Shiite militiamen in a densely populated neighborhood on the east side, Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling said.

The sustained gunbattles, ambushes targeting fuel supplies and a rash of kidnappings that coincided with the violence over the past week marked a dramatic departure from guerrillas' usual tactics of roadside bombs and mortar and rocket attacks. However, coordination between the Shiite and Sunni gunmen, seen most plainly in the northern neighborhood of Azamiyah, proved to be tactical and short-lived, Hertling said.

"I got to tell you, we've killed a lot of people carrying weapons and RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) this week," Hertling, a deputy commander of the Germany-based 1st Armored Division said Monday. "And when I say a lot, I am talking in the hundreds."

http://www.staugustine.com/stories/041304/wor_2258900.shtml

 

[Barking_Mad]

04/12/04 AP: Iraqi Cleric Pulls Back His Militia

Under pressure from the U.S. military, a Shiite Muslim cleric withdrew his militia Monday from police stations and government buildings in three key southern cities where they seized control last week.

http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

Pulled back - I take it this means they are melting into the population.......

 

[Barking_Mad]

Update in Najaf

The sons of Iraq's three grand ayatollahs _ including the most powerful one, Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani _ met al-Sadr Monday night in his Najaf office and assured him of their opposition to any U.S. strike. "They agreed not to allow any hostile act against Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr and the city of Najaf," said a person who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The delegation from the grand ayatollahs was also reportedly trying to work out a compromise to prevent a U.S. attack. The grand ayatollahs _ older, moderate leaders with immense influence among Shiites _ have long kept the young, fiercely anti-American al-Sadr at arm's length. The sending of the delegation reflected the eagerness to avoid bloodshed in Najaf and the new influence that the al-Mahdi Army's militia's uprising has brought al-Sadr.

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/04/13/ap/Headlines/d81ttcsg0.txt

 

[Barking_Mad]

Bereaved father in plea to Pentagon

A grieving father, mourning the death in Baghdad of his soldier daughter, yesterday begged the Pentagon to send her two sisters home from the war, saying the family could not bear another loss.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1190669,00.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

More updates. The helicopter incident also led to the injures of several marines after they were attacked whilst trying to recover its crew members. These havent been commented on by the US and wont be added to casualty list until Friday update.

04/13/04 AP: US Chopper Crew Saved
A US military helicopter went down outside Fallujah today, and the crew was extracted without casualties, a Marine commander said.

04/13/04 AP: 4 Italian Guards Reported Missing
Four Italian security guards working for a U.S. company have gone missing in Iraq

04/13/04 AFP: Romanian security guard been killed
A Romanian security guard has been killed and another injured in an ambush in Hilla, south of Baghdad, the Romanian private security company Bidepa said in Bucharest on Monday.

04/13/04 AFP: Three Kurds killed in clash with Iraqi police in Mosul
Three Kurds were killed on Sunday during an exchange of fire with an Iraqi police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, according to the police

04/13/04 AFP: 2 Policemen Killed, 2 Wounded In Baquba Bomb
Two policemen were killed and two others wounded by a roadside bomb in Baquba, north of Baghdad

04/13/04 CNN: Unconfirmed - At least 2 Marines Killed Monday Evening
At least two U.S. Marines were killed and eight others wounded Monday evening in an intense exchange with insurgents in Fallujah,

http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

 

[Barking_Mad]

Update from CNN - Note near bottom it talks about people still leaving Fallujah. Another report I read said these people were living in bomb shelters in Iraq or with people who would give them somewhere to stay.

Iraqi clerics say coalition 'must pay' for crisis
U.S. general wants 10,000 more troops
Tuesday, April 13, 2004 Posted: 1346 GMT (2146 HKT)


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- As Iraq's most powerful Shiite clerics warned the U.S.-led coalition that it "must pay" for the current crisis in the country, the head of U.S. Central Command asked the Pentagon for roughly 10,000 more soldiers.

In a statement issued Monday after a meeting with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the clerics and members of the country's religious authority also cautioned the coalition against doing battle in the holy city of Najaf, and warned against any attempt to kill al-Sadr. "The current crisis in Iraq has risen to a level that is beyond any political groups, including the Governing Council, and it is now an issue that is between the religious authority and the coalition forces," the statement said.

"Those who have brought on this crisis must pay for what they have done."

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/2999477/detail.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

The report below says at least 561 US injured since April started. That's an average of 46 per day.

At least 78 U.S. troops were killed and 561 were wounded in Iraq in the first 12 days of April, a senior Army general said Tuesday. It is quickly becoming the deadliest month since the Iraq war began in March 2003. Since then, at least 674 U.S. troops have died, according to the Pentagon's figures.

http://www.ftimes.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=20980

Compare that with previous averages of 10 per day last month and nearly 14 during September and you get an idea of how brutal this must have been.

 

[bigfish]

Thousands dead and wounded US military seeks to crush Iraqi uprising

The indiscriminate bombardment of Fallujah by the US military has fueled the nation-wide opposition to the occupation. It has strengthened the Iraqi people’s sense that they are fighting a common struggle, against the attempts by the US authority to promote sectarian differences between Shiite and Sunni communities.


Across the country, Sunni and Shiite Iraqis have rallied to appeals for food and blood donations to assist the people of Fallujah and other cities under attack by coalition forces. A Shiite cleric collecting supplies at the Kadhimiya mosque in Baghdad told the Washington Post: “This is strong proof that the people of Iraq will end wars between Sunni and Shiite before they begin. And we welcome Iraqis of all religions—Jews, Christians, everyone—to come and help the people of Fallujah and Karbala and Mosul and Nasiriyah and Basra.”

Moqtada al-Sadr, who has fortified himself and thousands of his supporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, issued a statement on Friday: “I direct my speech to my enemy Bush and I tell him that if your excuse was that you are fighting Saddam, then this is past and now you are fighting the entire Iraqi people.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/apr2004/iraq-s13.shtml