Free Iraq

"Since 1967, we have been brutal conquerors, occupiers, suppressing another people," Yavin comments in the first segment after listening to settlers insist God gave them these lands. "We simply don't view the Palestinians as human beings."
Popular TV Anchor Chastises Israeli Policy May 31, 2005

"The Iraqi Resistance killed four rabbis near the gates of Baghdad International Airport on Tuesday morning (May 31, 2005) when a suicide bomber attacked their black GMC at 10:00 a.m. Baghdad time.
[Muffakirat al-Islam] Reporter quoted an Iraqi airport security guard, Nasir al-Dallawi, that the attack targeted four rabbis, who came to Iraq to visit British and American troops in Baghdad and southern Iraq, and their Greek driver. Their bodies were removed from near the airport gates after suspending all air travel for one hour.
The director of "Sindibad Travel Agency", which is affiliated with Iraqi Airways, confirmed the report: "The car was carrying four black robbed rabbis wearing yarmulkes who were heading for Al-Dallal US military base to the north of Baghdad. They were destined later to visit Al-Najjaf US military base and other nearby military bases.
He also confirmed that the suicider used a Nissan car that belonged to the Ministry of Transport."
Four rabbis are deceased near Baghdad International Airport (in Arabic, my translation) May 31, 2005 at 11:45 am

I wonder how will this story be 'flushed' in the corporate media? (if the next item serves as an example).
.........
Update on this particular 'Flushing':
Till now (Wednesday afternoon, June 1, 2005), the following items has been reported:

"suicide bomber attacked the main checkpoint to Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday, wounding at least seven Iraqis, police said.
The explosion, which occurred shortly after 9 a.m., sent a huge cloud of black smoke billowing into the sky, destroyed several vehicles and underscored the difficulties U.S. and Iraqi authorities are facing to curb the rampant insurgency. [No kidding]
The blast happened near the Abbas Ibn Firnas statue, commonly known as the "Flying Man," which depicts a winged medieval Arab astronomer. The statue is located between two car parks. "Me and some colleagues at Iraqi Airways were waiting in line when we saw a speeding car, then we heard a big explosion," said Ghassan Yassin, one of at least seven Iraqis wounded. "The next thing I realized is that my car was on fire, I got out thorough the window after the doors are jammed due to the explosion."
Suicide Bomber Attacks Baghdad Airport Checkpoint (Associated Press) June 1, 2005 (They even got their Day wrong. This posting will be further updated, if the true event is ever admitted).

Hmmm... Another corporate media 'source' (Reuters) again reports that the 'event' took place on Wednesday June 1, 2005 (and not Tuesday May 31, 2005).
"A suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives at a checkpoint leading to Baghdad airport on Wednesday injuring 15 civilians, the U.S. military said.
The al Qaeda wing in Iraq claimed responsibility for the blast, which occurred in a queue of cars waiting to pass through the checkpoint at the main entrance into the tightly controlled airport complex. Insurgents fired AK-47s and other small arms at the checkpoint immediately after the blast, the U.S. military said in a statement. The Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq said one of its suicide bombers "penetrated the security barriers and entered deep into the airport" and blew himself up in the midst of "25 crusader vehicles."
"Until the moment of the writing of this statement, the roads leading to the airport were closed. But ambulances and fire vehicles are still rushing to move their dead and put out the fires that consumed them," the statement said."

A car bomb amid 25 vehicles followed by an attack with AK-47s, and no one is dead? The cars' occupants must have been US soldiers, as is usual in reporting such survival rates.

Did they get their belated information (minus real details) from US CentCom?

Did the Resistance's report, which was translated and posted here yesterday morning (Baghdad is eight hours ahead), predict the event for Wednesday per se, then?

Maybe AP and Reuters should hire more efficient reporters, i.e. from the Resistance, no?
.........

Apparently, they have become an easy target due to their consistent routine:

"An officer at the airport, who declined to reveal his name, told Mafkarat al-Islam [March 9, 2005] that in February and now in March there has been a flood of more than 400 Christian clergymen and Jewish rabbis brought into Iraq via Saddam [Baghdad] International Airport – where the US has one of its main bases in the country. The clergymen are to give sermons and hold religious services for the US troops occupying the country.
The source said that all the clergymen have been brought in on US planes under heavy American protection. Over 150 of them went straight to al-Anbar Province, then to Mosul, Ba‘qubah, and Samarra’. Another group of them remained for 10 days in Baghdad where they held services for 330 American mercenaries who had been buried in Iraq or thrown into the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. (emphasis added)
They said services in the US base in the agricultural area near al-Fallujah and at the ‘Ayn al-Asad base in Hadithah, at the al-Layth base in at-Tarimiyah, and at the al-Ghazlani base in Mosul. The move followed complaints by the Vatican that prayers were not being said for US troops and their Asian and African service workers when they are killed on occupation duty in Iraq.
The source told Mafkarat al-Islam, “I wouldn’t have believed this if I hadn’t had to work in the airport where I saw the clergy as they landed in the airport wearing all their religious clothing. American personnel also informed me of the reason for their arrival and what they are doing here”, the source told the correspondent."
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Wednesday, 9 March 2005

Rabbi (praying) in Baghdad .. Oops ! I meant Him praying (not for forgiveness, surely)

"There is a carpet company in Switzerland that is owned by an Iraqi expatriate, Joseph Najib, who patented a prayer carpet that features an embedded compass which points to Mecca from any place in the world [as an aid to the Moslem when she/he prays].
Up to this point, this is a normal news item.
On May 26, 2005, this company received an order from the Pentagon to produce ten million such carpets:
- Five million of which are to portray two hands, shaking. On one hand, the American flag is embossed. On the other hand, the Afghani flag is shown, both under the caption: "A Gift from the American People".
- The other five million other carpets do also portray two shaking hands. However, while one hand does show the American flag, the other one is to portray the Iraqi flag, under the same caption: "A Gift from the American People".
These carpets are to be distributed to mosques and sacred pilgrimage sites to be delivered to the devout in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to embellish America's image to the Muslims in these two countries.
The Americans are trying to deceive the Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, with prayer carpets (in Arabic, my translation) May 30, 2005

These gifts follow previous friendly American carpet gifts that were greatly appreciated by their recipients, namely, carpet bombing distributed by your invited friend's air force.

They might as well have portrayed Bush's hand shaking Sharon's,
for the real message! .... While they both indulge in their Blood Flush

This, they deem worthy of 'reporting':
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Bickerstaff of Satellite Beach, Florida, uses a tent pole to bat a rock off the Haditha Dam where his unit is based, 220 kilometers (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Sunday, May 29, 2005. About 1,000 U.S. troops completed Operation New Market in Haditha earlier in the day, searching houses and businesses for insurgents. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)


Yet, for them, the carnage of Haditha is not.

The one week 'Operation New Market' has resulted in:

- Most mosques in the city were bombed during the first attack days, sometimes with people still praying in them,
- The only hospital in Haditha was bombed to ruins, on May 28, 2005, resulting in the death of many doctors, staff and patients.
- American war planes completely destroyed, on May 28, 2005, the main electrical substation that provided electricity for the whole city.
- On May 28, 2005, American war planes blew up the main water refinery station in Haditha, rendering it completely useless for providing fresh water for the city.
- Half of the schools in Haditha have been thoroughly destroyed, and the other half have been taken over by the Americans and their 'Iraqi mercenaries', just as the year's finals are approaching.
Do the Arabs know what is happening in Haditha? (in Arabic, my translation) May 29, 2005

You don't have to watch, or know of this.
Go back and enjoy your baseball game.
They are only about 1,700 dead and more than 15, 000 wounded, and counting.
Mind you. That is what they are telling you (Iran?, already?).

"It is hard to believe but there are commentators who are berating those who protested the desecration of the Qur'an, not those who did the desecrating.
.. The pundits are being even more bizarre than the Bush administration, which skewered Newsweek for reporting the sacrilege, not those who committed it. Even as the Bush administration continues its cover-up for presiding over one of the most shameful chapters in prisoner abuse, here is New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, reprinted in the Toronto Star no less, hectoring the Afghans and others for being stupid enough to take to the streets in dismay.
Here are their arguments, with one person's response:
- Political opportunists in Pakistan and elsewhere hijacked the Qur'an incidents to whip up public fury.
Don't our politicians exploit every chance to advance their agenda and themselves, often at the expense of the common good? Aren't George W. Bush and other Republicans particularly adept at using religious and moral wedge issues?
- Muslims should be up in arms about the killing of 17 fellow Muslims in the Qur'an protests.
Unlike the impression left of crowds lynching one another, most of those who died were killed in police shootings ordered by the pro-American governments of Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai.
There has been plenty of criticism of that, which is not what Messrs. Friedman and others, shedding crocodile tears, are looking for. What they want is for Muslims to berate Muslims for being Muslim in a way not acceptable to America. (emphasis added)Muslims must condemn "their culture of death," as demonstrated in the Qur'an protests and in suicide bombings, lately in Iraq.
Sure. But as a recent study by Robert Pape, professor at the University of Chicago, has shown, suicide bombings are not the exclusive preserve of Muslims. The Tamil Tigers, who happen to be Hindu, have been the leading user of that dastardly weapon.
... The protests over the Qur'an episodes have been presented as the utterly incomprehensible actions of illiterate and irrational mobs. They are at one level. But on another, they are understandable — not justifiable but understandable — given the scandalous mistreatment of Muslims in America, Iraq and in Afghanistan, day after day, for more than three years.
Human Rights Watch, joining the international chorus of condemnation, confirmed this week that religious humiliation of Muslims has been widespread in American-run jails.
And Amnesty International, in one of its toughest reports yet, called Guantanamo Bay "the gulag of our times."
Yet the media mostly ignored those reports. They were busy baiting Muslims.
One longs for the day in the future when we will be ready to look back at this dark period and hang our heads in shame."
Blaming the victim for Qur'an desecrations May 26, 2005

"Someone (thank you N.C.) emailed me Thomas L. Friedman's article in the New York Times 10 days ago about Quran desecration titled "Outrage and Silence".
In one paragraph he says,"Yet these mass murders - this desecration and dismemberment of real Muslims by other Muslims - have not prompted a single protest march anywhere in the Muslim world. And I have not read of a single fatwa issued by any Muslim cleric outside Iraq condemning these indiscriminate mass murders of Iraqi Shiites and Kurds by these jihadist suicide bombers, many of whom, according to a Washington Post report, are coming from Saudi Arabia."
First of all - it's not only Kurds or Shia who are dying due to car bombs. When a car detonates in the middle of a soug or near a mosque, it does not seek out only Shia or Kurdish people amongst the multitude. Bombs do not discriminate between the young and the old, male and female or ethnicities and religious sects- no matter what your government tells you about how smart they are. Furthermore, they are going off everywhere - not just in Shia or Kurdish provinces. They seem to be everywhere lately.
One thing I found particularly amusing about the article - and outrageous all at once - was in the following paragraph:"Religiously, if you want to know how the Sunni Arab world views a Shiite's being elected leader of Iraq, for the first time ever, think about how whites in Alabama would have felt about a black governor's being installed there in 1920. Some Sunnis do not think Shiites are authentic Muslims, and they are indifferent to their brutalization."
Now, it is always amusing to see a Jewish American journalist speak in the name of Sunni Arabs. When Sunni Arabs, at this point, hesitate to speak in a representative way about other Sunni Arabs, it is nice to know Thomas L. Friedman feels he can sum up the feelings of the "Sunni Arab world" in so many words. His arrogance is exceptional.
It is outrageous because for many people, this isn't about Sunnis and Shia or Arabs and Kurds. It's about an occupation and about people feeling that they do not have real representation. (emphasis added) We have a government that needs to hide behind kilometers of barbed wire and meters and meters of concrete- and it's not because they are Shia or Kurdish or Sunni Arab- it's because they blatantly supported, and continue to support, an occupation that has led to death and chaos.
Shia Leaders... by Riverbend, May 29, 2005

Forked tongue! .. It is the Occupation. Get it?


An Update:
""If you go dark, the whole world goes dark."
The statement was quoted by our favorite columnist, Thomas L. Friedman, in yesterday's International Herald Tribune.
We always try to get our day off on the right foot by reading Friedman's column before breakfast. There is something so gloriously naïve and clumsy in the man's pensée, it never fails to brighten our mornings. We have never met the man, but we imagine him as a high school teacher, warping young minds with drippy thoughts. But to say his ideas are as sophomoric or juvenile merely libels young people, most of whom have far more cleverly nuanced opinions than the columnist. Or, you might criticize the man by saying his work is without merit, but that would be flattery. His work has negative merit. Every column subtracts from the sum of human knowledge in the way a broken pipe drains the town's water tower.
Not that Mr. Friedman's ideas are in anyway uniquely bad. Many people have similarly puerile, insipid notions in their heads. But Friedman expresses his hollow thoughts with such heavyhanded earnestness it often makes us laugh. He seems completely unaware that he is a simpleton. That of course is a charm; he is so dense you can laugh at him without hurting his feelings."
Imperial Conceits June 4, 2005

"The insurgency has eroded American support for Bush's war. A majority of Americans now believe Bush's invasion of Iraq was a mistake and that Bush's war is not worth the cost. The insurgency has proved the new Iraqi government to be impotent both as a unifying agent and source of order.
US frustration with a few hundred insurgents in Fallujah resulted in the destruction of two-thirds of the former city of 300,000 and in the deaths of many civilians. Are we now going to witness Baghdad reduced to rubble?
.... Neocon court historians of empire, such as Niall Ferguson, claim that the US cannot withdraw from Iraq because the result would be a civil war and bloodbath.
However, a bloodbath is what has been going on since the ill-fated "cakewalk" invasion.
Moreover, the planned Baghdad Offensive is itself the beginning of a civil war. The 50,000 troops represent a Shi'ite government. These troops will be hunting Sunnis. There is no better way to start a civil war.
.... The problem is that Bush wants "victory," not a workable solution, and he is prepared to pay any price for victory. The neocons, who are in effect Israeli agents, want to spread their war against Islam to Syria and Iran. For neocons, this is a single-minded pursuit. Their commitment to war is not shaken by reality or rationality."
From Cakewalk to Bloodbath: Bush Opts for Civil War in Iraq May 28-20, 2005

"The distortions of reality and lack of oppositional media leave people in the West, Americans in particular, ill informed.
The Western media diligently diverts public attention from the illegal Occupation of Iraq and the responsibility of the U.S./Western governments for the horrendous crimes committed against the people of Iraq.
Western journalists and pundits are the main agents of this distorted propaganda. The aims are to portray the Iraqi Resistance as violent "religious fanatics" isolated from the rest of the population and to advocate for ongoing occupation.
... portraying the Iraqi national Resistance movement as a collection of "religious fanatics" and "foreign" fighters "with nothing to lose" is the Occupation's way of discrediting the Iraqi Resistance and denying the Iraqi people their legitimate right to fight for freedom and national sovereignty.
Amply documented, the pretexts for the war and the Occupation were based on fake intelligence. Hence, the U.S. and its "allies" are in the process, through media disinformation, of not only legitimizing the Occupation, but also of creating new pretexts for the maintenance of continued US military presence.
The most common pretext in the media reports is that U.S. forces are invited to stay in Iraq to prevent civil war and "maintain stability".
But like the pretext of WMD, there is no evidence to support these U.S. sponsored lies.
There is a U.S-engineered stalemate with no one with a majority to govern effectively. The US installed "government" is powerless, dominated by the same groups of expatriates who lobbied for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The U.S. is pitting Iraqis against each other and creating a climate of fear.
In this regard, the creation, arming and financing of 'ethnic militias' and death squads by U.S. forces is designed to create ethnic divisions and provoke sectarian violence among Iraqis.
These US sponsored militia groups (see the Ruse below) are:
- The Kurdish Peshmerga whose leaders supported the U.S. invasion and Occupation.
- The Iranian-trained Badr Brigades,
- The armed wing of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) led by - Ibrahim Al-Jaaferi of the Da’wa party,
- The INC militia of Ahmed Chalabi, and the INA militia of Iyad Allawi.
All these groups are involved in terrorist activities against Iraqi civilians."
Media Disinformation and the Nature of the Iraqi Resistance May 2005

Neocons' infinite war on terrorism

"General Petraeus says a major aim of this offensive is to flush out the "facilitators" and "enablers." They run what Petraeus calls "an underground railroad of sorts" that funnels foreign fighters in place to execute suicide bombing attacks."
General says new Iraq offensive aimed at suicide bombers' "underground railroad" May 27, 2005

"The interior minister and defense minister yesterday announced the forces would set up checkpoints, raid houses and search vehicles to try to stop a wave of militant attacks that has killed hundreds of people in the last month."
Militants sneer at latest security measures in Iraq May 27, 2005

However, the Resistance warns:
.
"A Central Command Center, jointly run by the Interior and Defence ministries as well as the 'National Security' force [a CIA financed unit], is to supervise the formation of Special Units from the Shiite Badir Brigade, the Kurdish Besh Merga and other armed militias. These Special Units will participate in the 'searching' of the homes, residences and business quarters around Baghdad and surrounding districts. These Units have been trained and provided with special miniature hard to discover microchips to be planted in the premises that they do 'search'. The transmission of these microchips will be collated and monitored by pilotless drones as well as satellites to monitor what transpires in these 'searched premises', and for demolition targeting, if necessary. The residences of known patriotic personalities who oppose the occupation and Sunni religious persons will be especially targeted.
In the meantime, the Interior ministry, under the supervision of a special American Intelligence team, is carrying out a plan to recruit young Sunni men, with salaries up to $5,000 per month [the average salary is about $100/month], to be trained in Jordan and Bahrain to infiltrate the Iraqi Resistance and leading Sunni religious bodies and authorities, as well as the mosques in predominantly Sunni districts.
The main person of this enterprise is Baqir Solagh and an assistant called Hussain Mahud al-Jumaily (if that is his real name).
Hence, extreme caution and watch, if possible, is to be implemented upon the 'visit' of these teams, if they do occur, to be immediatly followed by a thorough inspection and removal of any suspicious materials that do not belong to the premise or residence, and throwing it at a far away distance.

"Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a small group of western reporters that next week's planned crackdown, dubbed Operation Lightning, was designed "to restore the initiative to the government."
"We will establish, with God's help, an impenetrable blockade surrounding Baghdad like a bracelet surrounds a wrist," Defence Minister Saadoun al-Duleimi said.
Al-Jaafari said all of Baghdad's 23 entry points would be controlled. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said there would be 675 checkpoints along with mobile checkpoints to try to deter assailants around the city and in areas where attacks are frequent.
The government said Baghdad would be divided into two sectors, Karkh on the west bank of the Tigris River that separates the city, and Risafa on the east. Karkh would be divided into 15 sub-districts and Risafa into seven sub-districts. Police and emergency personnel would operate in Baghdad 24 hours a day.
But it was unclear if the large concentration of security forces in the capital would cause a surge of violence in the rest of Iraq — where car bombs, kidnappings and shooting are a day-to-day occurrence."
Security 'Bracelet' planned for Baghdad May 26, 2005

If they are still wondering:
"But it was unclear if the large concentration of security forces in the capital would cause a surge of violence in the rest of Iraq".
Why don’t they ask Rumsfeld? He is sitting on top of a pile of data, a pointed one at that:

"On March 19, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discussed the "metrics" of measuring success in Iraq..
..Rumsfeld: Well, we've got literally dozens of ways we do it. We have a room here, the Iraq Room, where we track a whole series of metrics. Some of them are inputs and some of them are outputs, results, and obviously the inputs are easier to do and less important, and the outputs are vastly more important and more difficult to do. We track, for example, the numbers of attacks by area. We track the types of attacks by area. And what we're seeing, for example, and one metric is presented graphically and it shows that we had spiked up during the sovereignty pass to the Iraqi people and spiked up again during the election, and are now back down to the pre-sovereignty levels which are considerably lower ... We track a number of reports of intimidation, attempts at intimidation or assassination of government officials, for example. We track the extent to which people are supplying intelligence to our people so that they can go in and actually track down and capture or kill insurgents. We try to desegregate the people we've captured and look at what they are. Are they foreign fighters, jihadist types? Are they criminals who were paid money to go do something like that? Are they former regime elements, Ba'athists? And we try to keep track of what those numbers are in terms of detainees and people that are processed in that way ... No one number is determinative, and the answer is no. We probably look at 50, 60, 70 different types of metrics, and come away with them with an impression. It's impressionistic more than determinative."
The metrics of losing May 25, 2005

Rercalling Rumsfel's 'dead-enders'
and Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' (was this how He planned it?)

"More than 40,000 Iraqi soldiers are to be deployed in Baghdad in a massive operation to hunt down insurgents, the Iraqi defence minister has announced. "
Iraq to launch huge Baghdad raids May 26, 2005

Were we invited into Iraq?

Six insurgents were killed and two Marines were wounded in a gun battle at 4 a.m. local time, the military said. Residents identified one of the attackers as an imam, the U.S. said.
.... The attacker identified as an imam by locals in today's gun battle opened fire on the Marines and Iraqi Security Forces with an AK-47 Assault rifle, the military said.
Iraqi City Surrounded in U.S.-Led Hunt for Insurgents May 25, 2005

71 years old Sheikh Ismael Ashish, Imam of Saif al-Haq mosque in Haditha, was martyred on Tuesday. He took a direct hit in the chest as he ran like a twenty years old fighter wielding an anti armour RBKC. He was a leader in the Resistance. He marshalled Anbar Resistance fighters to join in the fight against the American assualt on Najjaf last year.

"The cat is out of the bag now.
It happened quite by accident, as most revelations do. And it is seen by most of the world as the most revolting of the American/Israeli atrocities in the past few years, although it's hard to prioritize that claim because of the level and frequency of barbaric acts that are committed on a regular basis by those affluent automatons who call themselves the good guys.
Yet everyone but the comatose American populace — blinded by its Orwellian media and stupefied by its demented diet of physical and mental poisons — can see it.
So permit me to spell it out for those cowardly people who say they're living in the freest country on Earth, but absolutely refuse in their silent ignorance to see the blood they're spilling. No country that condones deliberate torture for any reason can ever be trusted.
The first hint came in Imad Khadduri's "A warning to car drivers" written in Arabic and posted on http://www.albasrah.net/ on May 11. The dispatch was quickly picked up by two of the most realistic and reliable news sites on the Web, http://www.uruknet.info/ which I try to read every day, and http://www.globalresearch.ca/ which I try to read every week, since it offers less breaking and more analytical news. I consider these two sites essential to keeping up with the real news of the world, and highly recommend that you monitor them, too.

..... There was also the sorry tale of the Iraqi man who saw American soldiers plant a bomb which shortly thereafter exploded, and when he said so out loud for all to hear, he was hauled away, never to be seen again. This story was reported on arguably the most authentic and riveting source of news from Iraq, the heart-rending "Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq," which is compiled by someone known only as Riverbend or Iraqi Girl. Again, recommended reading. She recounts, "the last two weeks have been violent ...."
Sick strategies for senseless slaughter May 24, 2004

You wanna know my answer to that?

Wire Queen Helen Thomas today ripped into White House spokesman Scott McClellan over his claims the United States is in Afghanistan and Iraq -- by invitation. Joined in progess...
Q The other day -- in fact, this week, you said that we, the United States, is in Afghanistan and Iraq by invitation. Would you like to correct that incredible distortion of American history -- MR. McCLELLAN: No, we are -- that's where we currently --
Q -- in view of your credibility is already mired? How can you say that?
MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, I think everyone in this room knows that you're taking that comment out of context. There are two democratically-elected governments in Iraq and --
Q Were we invited into Iraq?
MR. McCLELLAN: There are two democratically-elected governments now in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are there at their invitation. They are sovereign governments, and we are there today --
Q You mean if they had asked us out, that we would have left?
MR. McCLELLAN: No, Helen, I'm talking about today. We are there at their invitation. They are sovereign governments --
Q I'm talking about today, too.
MR. McCLELLAN: -- and we are doing all we can to train and equip their security forces so that they can provide for their own security as they move forward on a free and democratic future.
Q Did we invade those countries?
MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Steve.
Helen Thomas Rides White House Press Sec May 25, 2005

"The death rate in Iraq this month among members of the National Guard and Reserve is the highest since January and one of the highest of the entire war, Pentagon figures show.
At least 21 part-time soldiers and Marines have died in May, although the number may be higher since the Pentagon has not yet identified most of the 14 U.S. troops who have died since Sunday.
As of May 20, the Pentagon had identified 16 Guard and Reserve members among the month's dead.
... Prior to January, the highest monthly toll among Guard and Reserve members was 28 in November 2004, when many died in the assault on Fallujah and the total death toll for U.S. forces was 138.
Since the war began in March 2003, at least 163 members of the National Guard, plus 45 in the Army Reserve and 45 in the Marine Reserves had died in Iraq, according to an unofficial count as of Friday. The Pentagon does not release an official death toll for the Guard and Reserve." (emphasis added).
Death rate for reservists in Iraq rises May 24, 2005

Better order some more body bags

"....
When more than 180 nations met two weeks ago hoping to strengthen global protections against the spread of nuclear arms, they barely managed to surmount the paralysis centered on Israel's arsenal of atomic weapons and Egypt's demand that the issue of nuclear weapons in the Middle East be on the agenda.
A tenuous compromise was worked out by conference president, Sergio Duarte of Brazil, who added an asterisk to the proposed agenda. It referred to a separate piece of paper ensuring that the practice of previous NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) conferences, in which the Middle East had been discussed, would be "taken into account". Duarte hailed the reference as a "miracle of diplomacy".
The UN Security Council has long called for the Middle East to be transformed into a nuclear-free zone, and Egyptian UN Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said the United States and European powers had assured the Arab world that they would work to bring Israel into the NPT. "But this is not happening," Abdelaziz meekly complained.
When Israel belligerently attacked and destroyed Iraq's research reactors in 1981, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution equating such actions with a "nuclear attack" on a member state. That attack not only led to Iraq's political determination to pursue a covert nuclear weapons program, but the same UN resolution failed to deter America's attack on Iraq's (hot) nuclear sites in the 1991 war, as it followed Israel's example of ignoring any UN resolutions that do not suit its interests.
And Iran's nuclear program and facilities are next on the agenda of both.
Israel and the US, and in that order, are in effect telling the world a reformulation of an Iraqi proverb: "Dip the NPT in a glass of water, soak it, and then drink the water", for all the good it will do you. "
The dissonance of the NPT is getting louder by Imad Khadduri, May 19, 2005

This video was taken in Lattifiya (as written in Arabic on it) which is about 50 km South of Baghdad, on May 20, 2005.

Yet, the US authorities, on May 23, 2005, mentioned four American soldiers killed by IED attack near Haswa, which they claim to be 50 km South of Baghdad (in Babil).

As per Dakhil's comment below, I stand corrected for this comment, (which I now withdraw):
"The Haswa we know, is 50 km to the West of Baghdad (in Anbar), on the highway to Amman. Either a compass is needed, or they should turn their maps 90 degrees counter clockwise."

However, there still is a slight discrepancy, perhaps now it is just the Date of the 'incident'.

"Four other American soldiers were killed by a bomb on Monday [May 23, 2005], the military said. They were assigned to the 155th Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force. The explosive "detonated near their vehicle" in fighting in Haswa, south of Baghdad."
Eight American soldiers killed in Iraq May 24, 2005

Hence, the Resistance's 'embedded reporters' have in this case apparently out run the corporate media in the delivery of this news (at least by a few days before DoD announced it), aside from their far better positioning in being near the 'incident'.

Furthermore, and more to the point of this particular posting:

"Five US troops have also been killed in the past two days. But Americans almost never see photographs from Iraq showing U.S. troops killed in action. Images of thousands of dead U.S. soldiers helped to turn the tide of public opinion against the Vietnam War, but now photo-journalists are even banned from military funerals at Arlington national cemetery. A report this weekend in the Los Angeles Times documented the extremely rare publication of photos of American casualties in six major newspapers during a sixth month period. Readers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Washington Post never saw a single picture of a dead serviceman in their morning papers.
Unseen Pictures, Untold Stories: How The U.S. Press Has Sanitized The War in Iraq May 24, 2005

Would somebody kindly explain to me who the World is?
The World, Working Together, to Make a Difference May 9, 2005

Does the 'Multi-National Force-Iraq' consider the US not worthy of mention? (just show them the flag, eh, we are really humble). Maybe they are on to something, because if you click on Fallen Warriors under Military News, you see only American casualties. No need, apparently, to mention the casualties of the rest of the World! Hence, reading the title above backwards, would that 'make a difference in working together, World'?

Well, 'they' do get a dishonorable mention here -- Delivering Democracy



PS Meanwhile, in the Real World
"Iraq's insurgents are conducting increasingly sophisticated and lethal attacks on the private security companies that are crucial to the nation's reconstruction and the eventual departure of U.S. troops, contractors and U.S. officials say.
Twelve out of 18 Iraqi and international guards were killed in the attack, in which insurgents ambushed a convoy escorting cargo for the U.S. forces from Baghdad to a base in [US Military Camp at Ain-Al-Assad designated to be one of four 'permanent US bases'] al-Asat, about 90 miles west of the city.
Once resistance from the security team ended, the attackers moved in to finish off the wounded, then piled several of the bodies on top of a bomb so they could not be removed without setting off an explosion, sources said. The terrorists taped the event, presumably to develop a training and recruiting tool and to study to refine their techniques.
Security specialists said the terrorists appeared to have calibrated mortars in advance of the attack, permitting direct hits on the five-vehicle convoy just as it hit a series of hidden bombs laid out in a "daisy chain" along the road.The militants then managed to split up the convoy and systematically wipe out members of each smaller component.
...now they are very well organized, rehearsed, orchestrated, using a combination of rocket-propelled grenades, [roadside bombs] set in a daisy chain to get the wounded as they exit the vehicles, heavy machine guns, small arms and hand-thrown grenades," he said."
Attacks Hit Vital Security In Iraq May 23, 2005

"George W. Bush and his gang of neocon warmongers have destroyed America’s reputation. It is likely to stay destroyed, because at this point the only way to restore America’s reputation would be to impeach and convict President Bush for intentionally deceiving Congress and the American people in order to start a war of aggression against a country that posed no threat to the United States.
America can redeem itself only by holding Bush accountable. As intent as Republicans were to impeach President Bill Clinton for lying about a sexual affair, they have a blind eye for President Bush’s far more serious lies. Bush’s lies have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people, injured and maimed tens of thousands more, devastated a country, destroyed America’s reputation, caused 1 billion Muslims to hate America, ruined our alliances with Europe, created a police state at home, and squandered $300 billion dollars and counting."
A Reputation in Tatters May 18, 2005

"Iraq. Uzbekistan. The Qur'an. These issues in the news expose American double standards, hypocrisy and outright lies.
They also help explain how George W. Bush has turned the Muslim world into a tinderbox.
It is his policies, not a News- week item on the desecration of the holy book at Guantanamo Bay, that sparked the anti-U.S. protests that killed 17 people. What the magazine reported, albeit sloppily, is not new.
... The Qur'an episodes are but one part of a broad offensive of violating the religious sensibilities of Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Some had pork or alcohol forced down their throats; they had tape placed over their mouths for reciting the Qur'an; many Muslims were forced to be naked in front of each other, members of the opposite sex and sometimes their own families," said The Times of London.
Physicians for Human Rights also cited forced nudity, masturbation and other transgressions of religious and cultural norms.
The perversions recorded in the infamous Abu Ghraib photos, for which Lynndie England and eight others are being prosecuted, were not the work of an isolated few but part of a widespread program to break down the inmates. Yet here is the administration asking Newsweek to "repair the damage done by its reporting."
Who will fix the destruction unleashed by the administration when it sent the U.S. war machine abroad; killed, maimed or uprooted hundreds of thousands; violated the property, privacy, dignity and religious values of thousands picked up at random, including women and children; and psychologically tortured inmates and shipped others for physical torture to Egypt, Syria, Uzbekistan and other regimes it is in cahoots with?
... Whom are Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and others fooling, other than their pliant half of the American electorate, with phony pronouncements about how America would never tolerate such criminality?
Muslim world turned into a tinderbox May 22, 2005

T(h)rust US


PS Getting Bored? Eat some bullets.
"A 22-YEAR-OLD Afghan taxi driver whose only crime was driving past a US base at the wrong time was so badly beaten his legs could no longer bend and chained by the wrists to the ceiling of his cell where he eventually died. According to a report published yesterday, detainees in United States military custody in Afghanistan were the victims of widespread abuse by "young and poorly trained soldiers."
A 2,000-page confidential file obtained by the New York Times reveals brutal treatment of prisoners, apparently often born out of little more than boredom." (emphasis added)
'US jailers tortured innocent Afghan to death' May 21, 2005

The April, 2005 issue of the Weghat Nazar monthly periodical, published an excerpt from the "Disintegration and Escape" chapter in Iraq's Nuclear Mirage under the title "They wanted a "weapons free Iraq" .. now Iraq is empty from its scientists".
.

This is an update to the just below posting "The purveyors of hate - ..."

"The head of Iraq's largest Christian community denounced American evangelical missionaries in his country on Thursday for what he said were attempts to convert poor Muslims by flashing money and smart cars.
Patriarch Emmanuel Delly, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, told journalists that many Protestant activists had come to Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and set up what he called "boutiques" to attract converts.
... Violent Iraqi groups killed at least five evangelical missionaries last year.
... At least 20 Iraqis were killed in bombings of Christian churches last year as unknown attackers stepped up pressure on non-Muslims there.
... Delly said Iraq did not need missionaries as its Christian churches dated back long before Protestantism. As for trying to convert Muslims, he said: "You can't even talk about that here."
... Saying the evangelicals were not real missionaries, Delly said they attracted poor youths with displays of money and taking them "out riding in cars to have fun." "Then they take photos and send them here, to Germany, to the United States and say 'look how many Muslims have become Christian'," he said.
...The patriarch, who vigorously opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and met French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday, declined to comment on Washington's policy there or whether he had contacts with U.S. authorities.
"Frankly, I try to avoid meeting them as much as possible," he said. "They are the occupiers. The occupied don't want to be occupied. That's human nature."
Delly, 77, ranks as an archbishop in the Catholic Church and is tipped as a possible future cardinal.
Patriarch denounces U.S. evangelicals in Iraq May 19, 2005 (Note: This link to Reuters is not working correctly. This news item is the Second one under Related Articles).
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The following are two instances of needless incitements against Christianity and the Christians in Iraq.

"At dawn on Monday, May 16, 2005, more than 50 American soldiers barged into the mosque at Albu Firaj, south of Ramadi. They searched the whole mosque premises, tore up several Qurans and beat the worshippers.
The Mosque’s Imam told (Mufakirat al-Islam, Islam Memo) reporter: “The occupation soldiers barged into the mosques with their boots on, surrounded us as we prayed and herded us with their weapons into one corner of the mosque as they searched the whole place. Several of the soldiers, under the gaze of their commander, then kicked with their boots several Qurans among themselves (as if a ball) until the Qurans reached the door of the mosque. One of the soldiers, while pointing to the Quran on the floor, continued kicking it as he looked mockingly at us while laughing uncontrollably in an unusual manner. Another soldier held a spray can and sprayed seven black crosses (a picture below), on the praying pedestal that the Imam lectures from, three on the praying carpets in front of the pedestal and three on the inner mosque doors and columns. They left at seven am without arresting anybody.”
Occupation soldiers barged in one of Ramadi’s mosques, tore Qurans and painted crosses (in Arabic, my translation) May 16, 2005

"In a grave precedent, eye witnesses have confirmed that unknown Christian missionaries, protected by several American Hummers, have flung a large number of copies of the Bible in several areas of Baghdad, and the South, especially in Shi’a areas.
A (Mufakirat al-Islam, Islam Memo) reporter in the Shiite poor suburb of Shu’la, on the north west of Baghdad, reported that people then woke up on Wednesday morning to find a large number of these Bibles littering their streets.
The reporter pointed out that the first pages of these Bibles contained exhortations to the effect: “Now you can exalt and attain deeper meanings that will grant you eternal happiness on earth and in heaven. Join us in promoting peace and security in Iraq. The Bible has great spiritual powers on the people who believe in it. Contact us if you want to know more about the life of Jesus Christ”.
This page is followed by The Apostle's Creed (my reference) completely translated into Arabic (as in the original news item).
The Bibles are printed by the Saints Printing Press, without any indication of the country it is printed in.
.. An assembly of Sunni and Shiite Imams, with the assistance of the locals, collected all of these Bibles, put them in a pile and burned them. All the Bibles were burned by 10 in the morning. The reporter kept a copy of one of the Bibles (a picture below).
Dhafir Hiadi, a Shi’i from al-Shu’la district, who participated in the burning of the Bibles, claimed that to his knowledge, this is the first time that these Bibles are distributed in Baghdad, but it is not the first time, as such an event has already occurred several times in the southern Shiite provinces.
It is worth mentioning that more than 100,000 Bibles have recently arrived to Erbil (Kurdish ‘capital’) and are sold for 1,000 Iraqi Dinars (50 US cents) each, while a Quran in the bookstores would cost 50,000 Iraqi Dinars (about $40)."
Copies of the Bible are distributed in Baghdad under the protection of American Hummers (in Arabic, my translation) May 18, 2005

In the meantime,

"Web sites maintained by Iraqi insurgents and their supporters contain chilling instructions that tell recruits how to become snipers and how to inflict the maximum damage, ABC News has learned."
Insurgents Post Sniper Training Exercises Online May 17, 2005

and guess who might also be in their cross-hairs next.

1. Introduction: Iraqi public sentiments regarding the occupation
The occupation of Iraq is today less about rolling back Iraqi military power, dislodging a tyrant, or building a stable democracy than it is about fighting an insurgency -- an insurgency that is now driven substantially by the occupation, its practices, and policies. We can take a first step toward understanding the insurgency by locating it within the broader field of popular Iraqi opposition to the occupation, which is widespread. Iraqi public opinion has been polled repeatedly since the beginning of the occupation by a variety of firms. Their findings leave no doubt about the main contours of Iraqi sentiment regarding the occupation:

- On balance, Iraqis oppose the US presence in Iraq, and those who strongly oppose it greatly outnumber those who strongly support it.1
- US troops in Iraq are viewed broadly as an occupying force, not peacekeepers or liberators.2
- On balance, Iraqis do not trust US troops, think they have behaved badly, and -- one way or another -- hold them responsible for much of the violence in the nation.3
- There is significant popular support for attacks on US forces, and this support probably grew larger during the course of 2004, at least among Sunni Arabs.4
- A majority of Iraqis want coalition forces to leave within a year or less. Formation of a permanent government early in 2006 is the "tipping point" after which a very large majority of Iraqis may desire immediate withdrawal.5

Although disconcerting, these results provide the most reliable view of Iraqi attitudes available. The fact that they have played little role in the public discourse on the Iraqi mission imperils US policy and contributes to the present impasse.

See the whole report and the sources:
Vicious Circle: The Dynamics of Occupation and Resistance in Iraq 18 May 2005

Versus

"The Mystery of the Insurgency" was the headline on a Sunday New York Times article reporting on the consensus of U.S. guerrilla warfare experts that the insurgents' motives and actions are simply baffling. However, "it clearly makes sense to the people who are doing it," said defense analyst Loren B. Thompson. "And that more than anything else tells us how little we understand the region."
U.S. Is Its Own Worst Enemy in Iraq May 17, 2005

Galloway slams U.S. justice as he rejects charges May 17, 2005

Or the BBC's :

Galloway takes on US oil accusers and Explosive showdown in Senate May 17, 2005

..He came "not as the accused but as the accuser".
British MP Delivers Blistering War Critique May 18, 2005

The United States Senate has declined to make the transcript of Mr. Galloway's testimony available. Here it is. May 21, 2005

.

PS (Thanks to a comment by Evelyn)
"Indeed, the neo-con team is brazenly acting as if Saddam did something wrong in selling Iraqi oil in violation of the United Nations embargo that we insisted by kept on for a dozen years after the 1991 Gulf War. The U.N. resolution did not prohibit Baghdad's sale of oil! It prohibited its purchase by U.N. members. When it came to the problems associated with the embargo that affected Jordan and Turkey, both of which depend on Iraqi oil, by now every member of Congress knows that both the Clinton and Bush administrations turned a blind eye to the so-called "illegal sales," or they would have had to come up with the oil from other sources.
The Bayoil Indictment -- the Real Scandal April 17, 2005

"Family members gave a tearful send-off Saturday to 4,300 citizen soldiers who start leaving for Iraq on Sunday in the biggest wartime deployment of the Georgia National Guard since World War II."
Tears As Ga. Guard Deploys To Iraq May 14, 2005

The Iraqi proverb states: "As you depart, may you meet", (once one gets the gist of what it is intended to mean) مثل ما تودّعون ، تتلاقون

“We were getting ready to move up to Ramadi. That road had been traveled, and it had been swept. The rest of the convoy went over the device, then we did. That wasn’t our lucky day,” he said.
.. After hearing the news, they wondered what they could do to help. “Both he and I thought the same thing at the same time about holding a benefit,” she said. Firefighters and their spouses from Orion served the pancake meal."
Friends flip pancakes for injured Iraq war soldier May 15, 2005

While Iraqis flip coffin covers ….

"… Senior Corps leaders, meeting at an Executive Safety Board meeting held in March, debated how to make earplugs more widely used, noting that leathernecks in Iraq are suffering hearing loss amid the explosion of roadside bombs and other ordnance.
… The proposed mandatory plugs are more advanced than the “foamies” or plastic plugs most Marines now use. Called “Combat Arms and AOSafety Indoor/Outdoor Range” plugs, the earplugs allow users to hear normally until a loud noise occurs. In the event of a loud noise, a pressure-activated valve in the plug engages, blocking sound and protecting the wearer’s ear. The two-ended plastic plugs can also be reversed to offer continuous protection against ongoing noise."
Earplugs may become mandatory in Iraq May 12, 2005

How about inventing a ‘Brain Plug’ remover?

HINT: How about applying the Galloway screw driver, eh?

“A few days ago, an American manned check point confiscated the driver license of a driver and told him to report to an American military camp near Baghdad airport for interrogation and in order to retrieve his license. The next day, the driver did visit the camp and he was allowed in the camp with his car. He was admitted to a room for an interrogation that lasted half an hour. At the end of the session, the American interrogator told him: ‘OK, there is nothing against you, but you do know that Iraq is now sovereign and is in charge of its own affairs. Hence, we have forwarded your papers and license to al-Kadhimia police station for processing. Therefore, go there with this clearance to reclaim your license. At the police station, ask for Lt. Hussain Mohammed who is waiting for you now. Go there now quickly, before he leaves his shift work”.

The driver did leave in a hurry, but was soon alarmed with a feeling that his car was driving as if carrying a heavy load, and he also became suspicious of a low flying helicopter that kept hovering overhead, as if trailing him. He stopped the car and inspected it carefully. He found nearly 100 kilograms of explosives hidden in the back seat and along the two back doors.

The only feasible explanation for this incidence is that the car was indeed booby trapped by the Americans and intended for the al-Khadimiya Shiite district of Baghdad. The helicopter was monitoring his movement and witnessing the anticipated “hideous attack by foreign elements”.

The same scenario was repeated in Mosul, in the north of Iraq. A car was confiscated along with the driver’s license. He did follow up on the matter and finally reclaimed his car but was told to go to a police station to reclaim his license. Fortunately for him, the car broke down on the way to the police station. The inspecting car mechanic discovered that the spare tire was fully laden with explosives."
A warning to car drivers (in Arabic) May 11, 2005
And a Resistance warning to this effect May 14, 2005

A perhaps unrelated incident, but the circumstances are strangely similar.

"A Canadian man who was killed in Iraq last week – possibly by U.S. troops – lived near Toronto for years and also held Iraqi citizenship, the CBC has learned.
Some media cited unidentified sources who said he may have died after U.S. forces "tracked" a target, using a helicopter gunship, but Foreign Affairs said it's still investigating conflicting reports of the death.
U.S. officials have denied any involvement.
Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs will only say assigning blame is premature. It's still trying to get a complete picture of what happened from authorities in Baghdad."
Canadian killed in Iraq was Toronto-area trucker April 28, 2005

They are still trying to 'get the complete picture', remotely, sitting in Amman, Jordan. May I humbly suggest they go check his car? (Kindly see PS below)

“… According to a classified document prepared for Rumsfeld by his Defense Science Board, the new organization--the "Proactive, Preemptive Operations Group (P2OG)"--would actually carry out secret missions designed to provoke terrorist groups into committing violent acts. The P2OG, a 100-member, so-called "counter-terrorist" organization with a $100-million-a-year budget, would ostensibly target "terrorist leaders," but according to P2OG documents procured by Arkin, would in fact carry out missions designed to "stimulate reactions" among "terrorist groups"--which, according to the Defense Secretary's logic, would subsequently expose them to "counter-attack" by the good guys. In other words, the plan is to execute secret military operations (assassinations, sabotage, "deception") which would intentionally result in terrorist attacks on innocent people, including Americans--essentially, to "combat terrorism" by causing it!
This notion is currently being applied to the problem of the Iraqi "insurgency," it seems. According to a May 1, 2005 report by Peter Maass in the New York Times Magazine, two of the top US advisers to Iraqi paramilitary commandos fighting the insurgents are veterans of US counterinsurgency operations in Latin America. Loaning credence to recent media speculation about the "Salvadorization" of Iraq, the report notes that one adviser currently in Iraq is James Steele (mentioned previously on this site), who led a team of 55 US Army Special Forces advisers in El Salvador in the 1980s. Maass writes that these advisors "trained front-line battalions that were accused of significant human rights abuses."
The Provocateur State - Is the CIA Behind the Iraqi "Insurgents"--and Global Terrorism? May 10, 2005

Sweet Condi donned a bullet proof vest and a combat helmet to visit Liberated Iraq


PS
While on the subject of American helicopters:

"In a new American attack on the Iraqi civilian population, a US helicopter gunship opened fire on two civilian cars, each carrying a family, in the Dumiz neighborhood of Mosul.
A statement issued by the Information Bureau of the Board of Muslim ‘Ulama’ [Scholars], the highest Sunni religious authority in occupied Iraq, a copy of which was obtained by Mafkarat al-Islam, said that the American attack killed the driver of one of the two cars along with all the members of his family except his aged mother who survived with burns.
In the other car, all the members of that family were also killed except for a little five-year-old girl.
The little girl survived the initial attack and tried to crawl out the back of the car. Some earnest people who happened to be on the scene rushed to try to rescue the girl but American troops who witnessed the crime committed by their helicopter thought only to outdo the fliers and opened fire on the rescuers and the little girl, killing all of them.
The US invader troops were thus able to relish the scene of the terrified little girl engulfed in flames before her death and afterwards they had the opportunity to survey the scene of their bloody “combined forces” massacre that left body parts of innocent people scattered everywhere."
Mosul May 15, 2005

"She stood in the crowded room as her drove of minions stood around her...…A huddling mass trying to draw closer to her aura of evil. The lights flashed against her fangs as her cruel lips curled into a grimace. It was meant to be a smile but it wouldn't reach her cold, lifeless eyes… It was a leer- the leer of the undead before a feeding...
The above was not a scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer- it was just Condi Rice in Iraq a day ago. At home, we fondly refer to her as The Vampire. She's such a contrast to Bush- he simply looks stupid. She, on the other hand, looks utterly evil."
The Dead and the Undead... May 18, 2005

"Nine U.S. Marines were killed and 40 injured during Operation Matador... More than 1,000 Marines, soldiers and sailors participated in the operation, killing more than 125 insurgents, wounding many others and detaining 39 "of intelligence value," the military said in a statement.
... The military denied resident reports that they had been without water and electricity in some areas since the offensive began. Throughout the course of the operation, Marines strove to ensure the well-being of the local Iraqi citizens," the statement said. "According to commanders in the area, the Marines were greeted with greater hospitality from local villagers than is normally encountered."
U.S. Calls Iraq Border Offensive a Success May 14, 2005

"Due to recent intense fighting in and around the western Iraqi city of Al-Qaim and the nearby villages along the Euphrates River, over one thousand families have already fled their homes to escape death, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent. The families are taking refuge in the nearby cities of Hadeetha, Rawa, Ana, and Akashat. Some have settled in soccer stadiums, while others are literally living out in the open desert. These displaced families are in desperate need of essential items like water and shelter." LIFE Mobilizes to Provide Drinking Water, Medicines & Tents for Fleeing Families in Iraq

"The U.S. military said Friday it was receiving intelligence from local residents, fed up with the presence of foreign fighters in the region.
But residents of a government-run housing complex on the outskirts of Obeidi, which saw some of the fiercest fighting in the first days of the offensive, insisted there were no foreigners among the fighters-- only Iraqi tribesmen protecting their homes against U.S. forces . "Those who are resisting are neither Arabs, nor foreigners," said Mohammed Abu Taha. "Let them (the Americans) close the border with Syria and see how the resistance will continue." (emphasis added).
Fighters remain in bomb-blasted border town May 13, 2005

"The [matador] campaign was aimed at allies of Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (AH'-boo MOO'-sahb ahl-zahr-KOW'-ee) (my comment - apparently, this is to help President Bush spell the name). It was the largest offensive since insurgents were forced out of Fallujah six months ago".
Coalition warplanes destroy insurgent command center near Fallujah May 14, 2005

"As Marines with Lima Company walked into a home in Ribat on Friday, the father of the house walked behind them to be their guide."
Sgt. Guy Zierk turned and violently pushed the man out of the house. The Iraqi smiled nervously as he retreated.
Another Marine gave him a backhanded slap to the face as he rushed past.
"He could've been wearing a suicide vest," a Marine said."
As the troops left, the man glared at them while puffing a cigarette across the street."
First the Insurgents, Then Marines May 14, 2005

9 dead, 40 wounded (so you claim). And how many budding 'insurgents' did they create?



An Update
"US military commanders were quick to declare victory after a massive, weeklong offensive that involved air and ground attacks against villages in Western Iraq, saying that marines had "neutralized" an important haven for insurgents in the region.
But local residents, doctors and relief agencies described something more akin to a humanitarian disaster, saying the campaign killed dozens of people, displaced thousands more -- leaving many without adequate food, shelter or water -- and flattened scores of buildings.
Dr. Hamid Al-Alousi, director of the main hospital in Al-Qa’im, the largest town in the region, told reporters that the fighting between US forces and suspected rebels had killed more than 42 Iraqis and wounded another 80. He also said it was impossible to differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The Al-Qa’im hospital was so badly damaged in the fighting that Al-Alousi said doctors have been treating the wounded in makeshift facilities set up in private homes.
Due to a lack of medical supplies, Al-Alousi told IRIN News that doctors had to perform more than eleven amputations without the use of anesthetics."
U.S. Offensive Causes Humanitarian Crisis, Nets Few Rebels May 19, 2005

.

As a result of the heavy fighting in Al-Qiam, Haditha, Ramadi and Fallujah, it is reported (in Arabic) that in the past three days, May 9 - 12, 2005, more than 36 large iPAC Trailers, each carrying two destroyed military vehicles (tanks, personnel carriers, Hummers, Humvees, …) have traveled the Western highway on their way to Camp Tariq, near Abu Ghraib, where the largest of the several American cemeteries for destroyed vehicles is situated.

For that whole week, May 7-12, 2005, the US army reported ONLY 11 dead casualties as a result of mine, IED, or suicide car bomb attack for the 72 destroyed army vehicles mentioned above in the Anbar province, each of which might carry on the average 4 or 5 soldiers.

There must have been many, many tens of casualties, no? as they were not on board.

An Update:

As the American 'withdrawal' from al-Qaim commenced on May 14, 2005, 83 destroyed military vehicles were counted being hauled away from that area alone.

See the American Tax Dollars at Work - - in Generating Jobs for the Americans -- and death to Iraqis. (Pictures of destroyed American military vehicles - More are ordered)

Referring to the previous posting of April 13, 2005, pointing out (amiss at the time from corporate media news) that The battle in and around Al-Qaim rages for the sixth day (4th paragraph):

“In an interview with an embedded correspondent of the American supported Al-Hurra Arabic TV channel, and after enquiring about the messages that are emanating from the mosques' loudspeakers, an American commander responded: "We will defeat them even if Mohammad and the God of Mohammad is with them".

Apparently, he is a general. His nick name was Drunk Wine.
He is now deceased, as his Apache helicopter was shot down over al-Rummana near al-Qaim. May 11, 2005.

Small details yet to reach the corporate media.
.
An Update: The Resistance there is getting so critical that, apparently, the Americans have asked for and have just been joined by 200 Kurdish Besh Merga and 300 Shia' Badir Brigade militia mercenaries (in Arabic) which arrived under the protection of American armor. May 12, 2005.
.
A comment (below) on this posting by Evelyn at 2:06 may shed some light on this development.
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"As to her experience as Secretary of State, Albright reflects, "We need every available voice spreading forth a simple but fundamental principle, and that principle is that every individual counts. This is the principal that is at the heart of our democracy."
Breaking Barriers with Madeleine Albright May 10, 2005

CBS Reporter Lesley Stahl (speaking of post-war economic sanctions against Iraq, 1996):
"We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima. And - and you know, is the price worth it?"
Madeleine Albright (at that time, US Ambassador to the UN): "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price - we think the price is worth it."
YOU DID IT May 11 2005

Not to be too facetious, is $200,000,000,000 enough? seeing that she can easily dispense with 500,000 civilians.

What UN economic sanctions have done .....

As more details emerge (and fail to emerge) to yesterday's posting "Aiming at spots that the Marines' body armor did not cover" concerning the Resistance's ambush in al-Ubaydi:

"Screaming "Allahu Akbar'' to the end, the foreign fighters lay on their backs in a narrow crawl space under a house and blasted their machine guns up through the concrete floor with bullets designed to penetrate tanks. They fired at U.S. Marines, driving back wave after wave as the Americans tried to retrieve a fallen comrade.

(Apparently, he is Cpl. Dustin A. Derga, 24, of Columbus, Ohio, died May 8 as the result of enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Ubaydi, Iraq. - my comment)

Through Sunday night and into Monday morning, the foreign fighters battled on, their screaming voices gradually fading to just one. In the end, it took five Marine assaults, grenades, a tank firing bunker-busting artillery rounds, 500-pound bombs unleashed by an F/A-18 attack plane and a point-blank attack by a rocket launcher to quell them.
The Marines got their fallen man, suffering one more dead and at least five wounded in the process. And according to survivors of the battle, the foreign fighters near the Syrian border proved to be everything their reputation had suggested: fierce, determined and lethal to the last.

(Where is the other one more dead? - my comment)

"They came here to die," said Gunnery Sgt. Chuck Hurley, commander of the team from the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, of the Marines' 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, that battled the insurgents in the one-story house in Ubaydi, about 15 miles east of the Syrian border.
… "No one's ever seen or heard of guys getting attacked from under a house," Hurley said Tuesday, as the exhausted young men under his command slept in other rooms of a house in Jarami. "And just the idea of a machine gun being able to fire through concrete, to get to us," Hurley said, without finishing his sentence.
'They Came Here to Die' May 11, 2005

May I repeat what I expressed six months ago on why the Resistance has, does and will defeat the Americans?

"U.S. troops marveled at the tenacity of insurgents in a cat-and-mouse pursuit in Fallujah"

... "He respected the insurgents, he said, for their willingness to fight to the death."

Just how many American soldiers are willing to do that, eh? What are they fighting for?

Take a pick:

Green Card, university education, death $$ compensation, Freedom (theirs, perhaps, just to finish their duty tour alive), Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, Oil, Halliburton, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Rapture, real-life Video simulations, Abu Ghraib pictures, etc...

An Update:

"The explosion enveloped the armored vehicle in flames, sending orange balls of fire bubbling above the trees along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border.
Marines in surrounding vehicles threw open their hatches and took off running across the plowed fields, toward the already blackening metal of the destroyed vehicle. Shouting, they pulled to safety those they could, as the flames ignited the bullets, mortar rounds, flares and grenades inside, rocketing them into the sky and across pastures.
Gunnery Sgt. Chuck Hurley emerged from the smoke and turmoil around the vehicle, circling toward the spot where helicopters would later land to pick up casualties. As he passed one group of Marines, he uttered just one sentence: "That was the same squad."
Among the four Marines killed and 10 wounded when a bomb exploded under their amtrac on Wednesday were the last battle-ready members of a squad that four days earlier had battled foreign fighters holed up in a house in the town of Ubaydi. In that fight, two squad members were killed and five wounded.
In 96 hours of fighting and ambushes in far western Iraq, the squad had just ceased to be.
Every member of the unit -- one of three squads that make up the 1st Platoon of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment -- had been killed or wounded, Marines here said. All told, the 1st Platoon, which Hurley commands, had sustained 60 percent casualties, demolishing it as a fighting force." Explosion effectively finishes off squad May 12, 2005

By the way, fighting still rages in Fallujah (in Arabic)

"As they pushed from house to house in early fighting, trying to flush out the insurgents who had attacked their column with mortar fire, the Marines ran into sandbagged emplacements behind garden walls. Commanders said Marines also found a house where insurgents were crouching in the basement, firing rifles and machine guns upward through holes at ankle height in the ground-floor walls, aiming at spots that the Marines' body armor did not cover.
The shock was that the enemy was not supposed to be in Ubaydi at all. Instead, American intelligence indicated that the insurgency had massed on the other side of the river. Marine commanders expressed surprise Monday not only at the insurgents' presence but also the extent of their preparations, as if they expected the Marines to come."
Marines surprised by insurgent's preparation for attack May 9, 2005

I say, President Clinton, any bright ideas on how to protect that part?

"The Marine Corps is recalling 5,277 combat vests issued to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti after a newspaper article raised concerns that they failed a test to determine whether they could stop a bullet.
"The vests are performing in the only test that matters - live combat. There have been no reported failures in the field." "
Marines Recall Combat Vests after Tests May 10, 2005

Well, now they do have some, um, failures. They will have to redesign these thousands of defective vests, now won't they. I do recommend that they hire President Clinton as a consultant, eh?

As for President Bush, well, he is already ...

Turkeyed

"The number of prisoners held in U.S. military detention centers in Iraq has risen without interruption since autumn, filling the centers to capacity and prompting commanders to embark on an unanticipated prison expansion plan.
As U.S. and Iraqi forces battle an entrenched insurgency, the detainee population surpassed 11,350 last week (added emphasis), a nearly 20 percent jump since Iraq's Jan. 30 elections. U.S. prisons now contain more than twice the number of people they did in early October, when aggressive raids began in a stepped-up effort to crush the insurgency before January's vote.Anticipating continued growth in the detainee population, U.S. commanders have decided to expand three existing facilities and open a fourth, at a total cost of about $50 million."
U.S. to Expand Prison Facilities in Iraq May 10, 2005

"The CIA has so far refused to hand over control of Iraq's intelligence service to the newly elected Iraqi government in a turf war that exposes serious doubts the Bush administration has over the ability of Iraqi leaders to fight the insurgency and worries about the new government's close ties to Iran. The director of Iraq's secret police, a general who took part in a failed coup attempt against ousted President Saddam Hussein, was handpicked and funded by the U.S. government, and he still reports directly to the CIA, Iraqi politicians and intelligence officials in Baghdad said last week.
.. Iraqi leaders complain that the arrangement violates their sovereignty, freezes them out of the war on insurgents and could lead to the formation of a rival, Iraqi-led spy agency. U.S. officials counter that the new leaders' connections to Iran have forced them to take measures that protect Iraq's secrets from the neighboring government.
.. The Iraqi intelligence service "is not working for the Iraqi government -- it's working for the CIA," said Hadi al-Ameri, an Iraqi lawmaker and commander of the Badr Brigade, formerly the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution, or the SCIRI, in Iraq. The SCIRI is the driving force behind the powerful Shi'ite coalition that swept parliamentary elections."
CIA still controls Iraq security service May 9, 2005

While we are on the subject of the CIA in Iraq, and their recently deceased Shadow Director in Iraq, Dale Stoffel, the full set of nine videos, their translation into English documents, and the pictures of all documents and evidences that are mentioned in the nine videos are now accumulated in one place in the previous April 2, 2005 posting of this Blog. The ninth video details the Memorandum of Understanding on the splitting of the profits, with Ahmad Chalabi's cousin, Ghazi Alawi, playing an active part with an extended palm. I had wondered why Ghazi returned to Iraq with Ahmad behind American tanks, having bidding them both farewell back in Septemeber 1958 when Ahmad's father spirited them (along with their other cousin Mahdi Al-Bassam) one morning from Baghdad College high school directly to London.

Rebuilding Iraq- Operation Iraqi Freedom ... with many Abu Ghraib Prison(s)

"Two years after "Mission Accomplished", whatever moral stature the United States could claim at the end of its invasion of Iraq has long ago been squandered in the torture and abuse and deaths at Abu Ghraib. That the symbol of Saddam Hussein's brutality should have been turned by his own enemies into the symbol of their own brutality is a singularly ironic epitaph for the whole Iraq adventure. We have all been contaminated by the cruelty of the interrogators and the guards and prison commanders.
... The trail of prisons that now lies across Iraq is a shameful symbol not only of our cruelty but of our failure to create the circumstances in which a new Iraq might take shape. You may hold elections and create a government, but when this military sickness is allowed to spread, the whole purpose of democracy is overturned. The "new" Iraq will learn from these interrogation centres how they should treat prisoners and, inevitably, the "new" Iraqis will take over Abu Ghraib and return it to the status it had under Saddam and the whole purpose of the invasion (or at least the official version) will be lost."
"Mission Accomplished" by Robert Fisk, May 9, 2005

"The death benefit to survivors of American troops killed in combat zones would jump nearly tenfold — from $12,000 to $100,000 — under an $82 billion (U.S.) spending package for Iraq and Afghanistan that is headed for final votes in Congress. "
U.S. war-death payout boosted to $100,000 May 5, 2005

"Iraqi civilians who have suffered from U.S. military operations face steep obstacles in obtaining compensation for the deaths of their loved ones or material damage, human rights analysts say.
... An investigation by the Dayton Daily News in October analyzed 4,611 civil claims in Iraq against the U.S. military and found that three out of four were denied. The average payment for a civilian death was $4,421. In some cases, Iraqis received $2,500 sympathy payments without going through the claims procedure.
... The claims process is "Kafkaesque" in complexity and designed to frustrate most Iraqis, said a joint report in early 2004 by Occupation Watch and the Defense of Human Rights in Iraq, two groups monitoring U.S. military operations.
"The U.S. military's definition of a 'combat situation' is elastic and ephemeral, and because the rules of engagement are secret, it is difficult to understand what legal space exists for people to have their cases heard and receive compensation," the report said.
"Because of the way the compensation system is structured and managed, the American troops have adopted an atmosphere of impunity. Arrogant and violent behavior goes unpunished and continues," they said.
U.S. seen as unaccountable in Iraqi civilian deaths May 3, 2005

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez - Cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in connection with prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib ..... and other Negatives

The following is the later half of the comments that accumulated under the April 30, 2005 posting in this Blog: “Not to miss the opportunity”.

I thought it would be of some value to post that exchange at this time, for what has become; and for posterity:

"Dr Imad,
I do not wish to cause offence, but you cannot justify any of the criticisms or endorsements that you make on this site.
"Not to miss an opportunity" you say; To do what exactly?
Kill an Iraqi woman? Kill an Iraqi child? Kill a female aid worker? Kill an 18 year old American boy merely having to serve his country without choice? Kill a female MP merely wanting to help her countrymen?
You tell me what opportunities they are not missing.
You accuse the Americans of using nerve and mustard gas in Fallujah and yet you have no evidence that this did not come from the insurgency.
If the insurgency is a genuine anti-occupation insurgency, why don't the insurgents move out of the heavily populated areas where civilians die in droves? Why not face their enemy where Iraqi women and children will not come under fire?
Also, why stoop to the levels of personal criticism of Iraq's governmental members? Is that all you can marshal by way of challenging them? In a few years time, if they have made no impact, fair enough, criticize them then. In the meantime, give them every chance to turn Iraq around.
I have read your past criticisms of Mr Chalabi and Mr al Shahristani and quite simply, they do not hold water. You have said one lacks charisma and the other lacks honesty. But you tell me, who has always been completely honest in their life or career?
As for Shahristani? He's a man that has earned respect globally for his resistance to Saddam's wishes. He is revered by many. Does he need so much charisma when he could have even the most hardened people eating from his hand? He is nothing but a good example to all Iraqis.
They have their sleeves rolled up, they get their hands dirty, they live beside the Iraqi people, they risk their lives, and they are helping to draft a new constitution.
Why criticize good men and advocate those that kill Iraqis?
# posted by Zeina : 10:58 AM

Zeina
There is, I believe, much confusion in what you say:
- "Not to miss an opportunity" is what the US soldiers were claiming, if you read the whole article.
- Where did you see my comment in this Blog on my colleague at the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission, al Shahristani? I have exchanged many emails with him, and did write about his experience (you may like to read my version of it in my book, English p 79-80, Arabic 101-103. He did go over it before publication, but I kept a few other reports intact).
- Both he and Chalabi spread misinformation on Iraq's wmd before the occupation.
- Aiding a criminal war crime of an occupation is not an honor. Terminating it is.
- "you cannot justify any of the criticisms or endorsements that you make on this site" is an interesting comment, which proves my opening sentence. How much of what I present is cited exactly as it is from published (with references attached) newspaper articles, reports, and real-life pictures? I am not sure what kind of justification you would otherwise need, unless you are able to refute all of these reports and evidences.
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 11:37 AM

Zeina
Allow me one final comment.
Perhaps you may have not read my "criticisms or endorsements" posted about two months ago: "On Iraqi People, Resistance and Oil versus American bases"
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 12:22 PM

Dr Imad, thank you for a reply at least.
How can you determine that the invasion/occupation is a war crime? By UN terms? Do you really trust the UN to make the appropriate decisions on such matters? The UN is corrupt as any organisation ever was. Who would you suggest makes decisions on which regimes to displace or whether they should be displaced? Surely you are not prepared to stand by and watch Saddam and his sons and grandchildren rape Iraq forever? The UN has done nothing for the Iraqi people, or the people of Burma, or the Sudan, or Palestine, or N. Korea or Uzbekistan, or DR Congo...the list is endless. How do you suggest we stop these corrupt leaders from mass murder?
Are you honestly saying that you would be happy for Saddam, Ali Hassan Majid etc to stay in power?
"Not to miss an opportunity" - I was referring to the insurgency and coalition.
I read your comments about Prof. al Shahristani in another source, not this site. If I can re-trace it for you, I will and send you the link.
Shahristani would not have mislead anyone deliberately. At least give him the benefit of the doubt. He could be a saving grace for the Iraqi people. But those monsters that you seemingly support would probably rather shoot him.
Shahristani is not exactly flattering about the occupation either, but he also has the guts to move back, criticize the former regime and explain things in an objective fashion. None of your other acquaintances has such guts or insight to do any of these things.
The links you provide don't always come across as the best links. For example, citing al Jazeera may well do more to harm than good to your cause. al Jazeera is a network that is profoundly biased and out to make trouble.
Anyway, I will go on no further, otherwise I feel an accusation of "hysterical woman" coming my way from your friends on this site. Hamudi has already had that privilege!
# posted by Zeina : 12:31 PM

Zeina
I appreciate your candor, but not your misguided extrapolations.

Take a look at the above Comment posted at 10:45 with the heading:
... "Hamid - When you do read the books (Iraq's Nuclear Mirage)::
English version: pages 10, 12, 80, 126, 153-192, 197, 223-226.
Arabic version: pages 12, 16, 104, 161, 191-233, 239, 277-279, 289-290." ...

I do hope that you do not close your eye blinders even tighter, as Hamid apparently does.
I also found this (in Arabic) an interesting exchange on open dialogue. Take a look at the Admin's comments at the end.
Mind you, I am mainly referring to the well explained spirit of dialogue.
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 1:14 PM

Zeina
As for "How can you determine that the invasion/occupation is a war crime?", here are two reports you may have the time to read:
- Aggressive War: Supreme International Crime
- THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ: WHAT INTERNATIONAL LAW REQUIRES NOW

Bearing in mind, if you have been reading the news lately, that Bush and Blair took the decision to invade/occupy Iraq a year before the event, and concocted/lied to their people and the world about their reasons for doing so. This has led to more than 100,000 dead Iraqis. If this does not convince you of the illegality of this occupation, then I am afraid that little else would.
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 1:37 PM

Zeina
I just saw this, after posting my previous comment:
Secret British Memo Shows Bush Tampered with Iraq Intelligence May 6, 2005.
مع السلامة
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 1:42 PM

Hmmm... Some people are waking up, finally.
"We need two exit strategies: one to get our forces out of that country as soon as humanly possible, and the other to get George W. Bush out of the White House and into a cellblock in The Hague. Save a bunk for Mr. Blair, too. Criminals belong in prison." Criminals Belong in Prison Friday 06 May 2005

Humbly speaking, I was saying the same thing two years ago, on March 13, 2003 when I wrote the following in response to those who were chiding me, as per "I think any Iraqi should never miss an opportunity to tell the world what Saddam has done to Iraq and the Iraqi people."

This is how I responded then:
Postscript to the five articles (kindly see below comment)
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 8:43 PM

Further to the immediate comment posted above, some friends have requested that I actually put the whole text of what I had written two years ago here, for posterity sake. Here it is (though I would prefer that the reader accesses the above link directly, as the text formatting is better there):

"Postscript to the five articles...

By Dr. Imad Khadduri, former Iraqi nuclear scientist - March 13, 2003
Please note - this is a completely serious article, one of the first of its kind on the Syndicate. This is not a parody, and all information within this and the other articles in this series come directly from Dr. Imad Khadduri.

Also please note: this postscript was written by Dr. Khadduri in response to some of his friends' reactions to his first few articles - it was published one week before the invasion, and is startlingly prophetic.

- Return to Dr. Khadduri's Index -

A required PostScript:

Apparently, an attitude has been wrongly developed in response to the five articles I have written on Iraq's nuclear non-capability.

There is the assumption that if one decries the coming slaughter of Iraqis by Americans, that one must also curse Saddam at the same time; otherwise, so the accusations go, you are defending Saddam. This self-imposed condition may be summarized in the anguished retort of an Iraqi friend:

"I watched the video of the whole interview. Very interesting, but what I also find interesting is the fact that you never said a word about Saddam and the horrors he caused the Iraqi people!! Not a single word!. . I think any Iraqi should never miss an opportunity to tell the world what Saddam has done to Iraq and the Iraqi people."

Both my Iraqi, and non-Iraqi, friends have made similar comments as above, and have attempted to coax me into denouncing Saddam each time I discuss Iraq's nuclear non-capability. However, this suggestion by my friends merely reflects the dead end of their own logic, as will become evident in the exchange below. (**)

I personally can touch and feel the pain of the Iraqi friends. They have suffered much more than my family and I at the hands of Saddam's security and intelligence apparatuses. We left Iraq without their knowledge, nor their approval and at the risk of our death. Many others have lost their relatives or families. I accept their narrow vision of the need to curse that reign of terror daily, to spend nearly every breath venting their deep anguish and anger; however, if they could cast their justified emotions aside for just one moment, I ask for them to realize that the Americans are utterly lacking a viable plan for Iraq and the Iraqi people after they drop their hundreds of bombs and fire their destructive missiles at Iraq. This will lead to at least tens of thousands of dead Iraqis and the easy defeat of the tattered remains of the Iraqi army. Iraq and the Iraqi people will be in a state of free fall, dropping into a deeper abyss, with Turkey, Iran and Israel (with agenda of its own against the Palestinians) all eyeing pieces of Iraqi flesh to bite off. The oil has already been marked.

I do not want to counter right now this same stance held by the non-Iraqis, whose selfish shortsightedness reveals deeper antagonisms.

In both cases, I reject their bankrupt final solution to their one-dimensional way of thinking, that "if you do not agree with us, why did you leave Iraq and why not return to Iraq."

The coming war was not launched in the spur of the moment. It is an opportunity seized upon after September of 1991. Its seeds have been planted since the early nineties by a clique of American neo-conservative right wing thinkers, with strong sympathies (and some, even ties) to Israeli interests. These thinkers engineered their plans for reshaping the Middle East through their work with the American Enterprise Institute, the Project for the New American Century, and other like-minded organizations.

They have managed to ascend to high ranks in the American State Department, the White House and especially the Pentagon. Among these neo-conservative thinkers are Richard Perle (Chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board), Paul Wolfowitz (Deputy Defense Secretary), William Kristol (Chairman of the Project for the New American Century), Douglas Feith (Under Secretary of Defense and Policy Advisor at the Pentagon), Lewis Libby (Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff), and others.

I have attached an article that describes some of their history and activities. A search on the Internet will reveal much more of their thinking, agenda and reports. Visit some of these organizations' websites, at http://www.aei.org/ and http://www.newamericancentury.org.

Despite fierce American media support, their arguments are being riddled with holes, yet the war crimes they plan on committing in Iraq will still take place. My five articles, and the numerous TV and radio interviews, are solely intended to shred even further their flimsy arguments and expose the extent of the misinformation that is beamed to the American people and others to blind their vision of what is actually being enacted.

These neo-conservatives will, sooner or later, be fully exposed and cast aside; hopefully they will appear in front of an international war tribunal along with Saddam

The Iraqi people will resurrect.

=====

(**) A WARMONGER EXPLAINS WAR TO A PEACENIK

PN: Why did you say we are we invading Iraq?
WM: We are invading Iraq because it is in violation of security council resolution 1441. A country cannot be allowed to violate security council resolutions.
PN: But I thought many of our allies, including Israel, were in violation of more security council resolutions than Iraq.
WM: It's not just about UN resolutions. The main point is that Iraq could have weapons of mass destruction, and the first sign of a smoking gun could well be a mushroom cloud over NY.
PN: Mushroom cloud? But I thought the weapons inspectors said Iraq had no nuclear weapons.
WM: Yes, but biological and chemical weapons are the issue.
PN: But I thought Iraq did not have any long range missiles for attacking us or our allies with such weapons.
WM: The risk is not Iraq directly attacking us, but rather terrorists networks that Iraq could sell the weapons to.
PN: But couldn't virtually any country sell chemical or biological materials? We sold quite a bit to Iraq in the eighties ourselves, didn't we?
WM: That's ancient history. Look, Saddam Hussein is an evil man that has an undeniable track record of repressing his own people since the early eighties. He gasses his enemies. Everyone agrees that he is a power-hungry lunatic murderer.
PN: We sold chemical and biological materials to a power-hungry lunatic murderer?
WM: The issue is not what we sold, but rather what Saddam did. He is the one that launched a pre-emptive first strike on Kuwait.
PN: A pre-emptive first strike does sound bad. But didn't our ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, know about and green-light the invasion of Kuwait?
WM: Let's deal with the present, shall we? As of today, Iraq could sell its biological and chemical weapons to Al Qaida. Osama Bin Laden himself released an audio tape calling on Iraqis to suicide-attack us, proving a partnership between the two.
PN: Osama Bin Laden? Wasn't the point of invading Afghanistan to kill him?
WM: Actually, it's not 100% certain that it's really Osama Bin Laden on the tapes. But the lesson from the tape is the same: there could easily be a partnership between Al Qaida and Saddam Hussein unless we act.
PN: Is this the same audio tape where Osama Bin Laden labels Saddam a secular infidel?
WM: You're missing the point by just focusing on the tape. Powell presented a strong case against Iraq.
PN: He did?
WM: Yes, he showed satellite pictures of an Al Qaida poison factory in Iraq.
PN: But didn't that turn out to be a harmless shack in the part of Iraq controlled by the Kurdish opposition?
WM: And a British intelligence report...
PN: Didn't that turn out to be copied from an out-of-date graduate student paper?
WM: And reports of mobile weapons labs...
PN: Weren't those just artistic renderings?
WM: And reports of Iraqis scuttling and hiding evidence from inspectors...
PN: Wasn't that evidence contradicted by the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix?
WM: Yes, but there is plenty of other hard evidence that cannot be revealed because it would compromise our security.
PN: So there is no publicly available evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?
WM: The inspectors are not detectives; it's not their JOB to find evidence. You're missing the point.
PN: So what is the point?
WM: The main point is that we are invading Iraq because resolution 1441 threatened "severe consequences." If we do not act, the security council will become an irrelevant debating society.
PN: So the main point is to uphold the rulings of the security council?
WM: Absolutely. ...unless it rules against us.
PN: And what if it does rule against us?
WM: In that case, we must lead a coalition of the willing to invade Iraq.
PN: Coalition of the willing? Who's that?
WM: Britain, Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, and Italy, for starters.
PN: I thought Turkey refused to help us unless we gave them tens of billions of dollars
WM: Nevertheless, they may now be willing.
PN: I thought public opinion in all those countries was against war.
WM: Current public opinion is irrelevant. The majority expresses its will by electing leaders to make decisions.
PN: So it's the decisions of leaders elected by the majority that is important?
WM: Yes.
PN: But George Bush wasn't elected by voters. He was selected by the U.S. Supreme C...-
WM: I mean, we must support the decisions of our leaders, however they were elected, because they are acting in our best interest. This is about being a patriot. That's the bottom line.
PN: So if we do not support the decisions of the president, we are not patriotic?
WM: I never said that.
PN: So what are you saying? Why are we invading Iraq?
WM: As I said, because there is a chance that they have weapons of mass destruction that threaten us and our allies.
PN: But the inspectors have not been able to find any such weapons.
WM: Iraq is obviously hiding them.
PN: You know this? How?
WM: Because we know they had the weapons ten years ago, and they are still unaccounted for.
PN: The weapons we sold them, you mean?
WM: Precisely.
PN: But I thought those biological and chemical weapons would degrade to an unusable state over ten years.
WM: But there is a chance that some have not degraded.
PN: So as long as there is even a small chance that such weapons exist, we must invade?
WM: Exactly.
PN: But North Korea actually has large amounts of usable chemical, biological, AND nuclear weapons, AND long range missiles that can reach the west coast AND it has expelled nuclear weapons inspectors, AND threatened to turn America into a sea of fire.
WM: That's a diplomatic issue.
PN: So why are we invading Iraq instead of using diplomacy?
WM: Aren't you listening? We are invading Iraq because we cannot allow the inspections to drag on indefinitely. Iraq has been delaying, deceiving, and denying for over ten years, and inspections cost us tens of millions.
PN: But I thought war would cost us tens of billions.
WM: Yes, but this is not about money. This is about security.
PN: But wouldn't a pre-emptive war against Iraq ignite radical Muslim sentiments against us, and decrease our security?
WM: Possibly, but we must not allow the terrorists to change the way we live. Once we do that, the terrorists have already won.
PN: So what is the purpose of the Department of Homeland Security, color-coded terror alerts, and the Patriot Act? Don't these change the way we live?
WM: I thought you had questions about Iraq.
PN: I do. Why are we invading Iraq?
WM: For the last time, we are invading Iraq because the world has called on Saddam Hussein to disarm, and he has failed to do so. He must now face the consequences.
PN: So, likewise, if the world called on us to do something, such as find a peaceful solution, we would have an obligation to listen?
WM: By "world", I meant the United Nations.
PN: So, we have an obligation to listen to the United Nations?
WM: By "United Nations" I meant the Security Council.
PN: So, we have an obligation to listen to the Security Council?
WM: I meant the majority of the Security Council.
PN: So, we have an obligation to listen to the majority of the Security Council?
WM: Well... there could be an unreasonable veto.
PN: In which case?
WM: In which case, we have an obligation to ignore the veto.
PN: And if the majority of the Security Council does not support us at all?
WM: Then we have an obligation to ignore the Security Council.
PN: That makes no sense
(**) WM: If you love Iraq so much, you should move there. Or maybe France, with the all the other cheese-eating surrender monkeys. It's time to boycott their wine and cheese, no doubt about that.
PN: I give up.
=======
# posted by Imad Khadduri : 8:55 PM

This is a similar exchange between a father and his son in Arabic.

In the December 2004 Arabic version of my book, which was updated from its September 2003 English version, with relevant events during 2004, I wrote the following comment on the above stated position:

"The April 12 Washington Post reported that “Pentagon auditors have questioned $212.3 million — about 13 percent — of $1.69 billion that a Halliburton Co. subsidiary charged the government over the past few years, mostly for importing fuel to Iraq under a no-bid contract ...
.. A former US Army chaplain, deYoung produced documents detailing scamming even on routine services: $50,000 a month for soft drinks, at $45 a case; $1 million a month to clean clothes — or $100 for each seven-kilogram bag of laundry. “It’s just a gravy train”, she said.
.. The LA Times reported that it had obtained an “internal memo by coalition officials” stating that throughout Iraq renovated plants “deteriorate quickly to an alarming state of disrepair and inoperability”. One US official involved in reconstruction projects estimated that “hundreds of millions” had been squandered.
According to the LA Times report, “Bechtel has turned over 20 water treatment plants and 24 sewage treatment plants to the Iraqis for operation. None is running properly.”
IRAQ: Making a killing: the big business of war May 4, 2005

"U.S. government mismanagement of assets in Iraq, from the lack of proper documentation on nearly $100 million in cash to millions of dollars worth of unaccounted-for equipment, are setting back efforts to fight corruption in the fledgeling democracy, auditors and critics say.
... "The U.S. risks fostering a culture of corruption in Iraq," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis."
U.S. Can't Account for $100M Spent in Iraq May 5, 2005

"risks fostering a culture of corruption"? .. Enron? .. Never heard of it.

And to stolidly stem corruption in Iraq: (an article in Arabic)
May 6, 2005 .... مفوضية النزاهة في العراق تطلب من المسؤولين في الدولة الكشف عن ممتلكاتهم ومصالحهم المالية

Looting in Baghdad continues unchecked. Who - US ?

"The U.S. Army missed its April recruiting goal by a whopping 42 percent and the Army Reserve fell short by 37 percent, officials said on Tuesday, showing the depth of the military's wartime recruiting woes."
Army misses April recruiting goal by 42 percent May 3, 2005

"It was late September when the 21-year-old man, fresh from a three-week commitment in a psychiatric ward, showed up at an Army recruiting station in southern Ohio. The two recruiters there wasted no time signing him up, and even after the man's parents told them he had bipolar disorder - a diagnosis that would disqualify him - he was all set to be shipped to boot camp, and perhaps Iraq after that, before senior officers found out and canceled the enlistment.
.. Two hundred miles away, in northern Ohio, another recruiter said the incident hardly surprised him. He has been bending or breaking enlistment rules for months, he said, hiding police records and medical histories of potential recruits. His commanders have encouraged such deception, he said, because they know there is no other way to meet the Army's stiff recruitment quotas. "The problem is that no one wants to join," the recruiter said. "We have to play fast and loose with the rules just to get by."
Army Recruiters Say They Feel Pressure to Bend Rules May 3, 2005

In the meantime,

"… the insurgents will plant false bombs - sometimes even with real blasting caps - and then study how U.S. forces respond. That is a classic technique for developing countermeasures, or, as Rumsfeld described the insurgents' method, "going to school on us.'' "
Insurgents Counter U.S. Moves in Iraq May 3, 2005

The Un-Winning position

"[General] Myers' statements, mirroring his earlier pronouncements, as well as those of his fellow joint chiefs, represent a posturing for the public that is not matched by the reality on the ground in Iraq.
For every general who speaks of 'winning the war', there are hundreds of soldiers and marines, veterans of the harsh reality of ground truth in Iraq, who believe otherwise (emphasis added). A typical example is the experience of the third battalion, seventh marines, who are based in 29 Palms, California. This battalion was assigned the task of securing the area around the western Iraqi city of al-Qaim in April 2004. ... "we are actively engaged in establishing local governance, local Iraqi police forces, and improving schools".
one year later..
This time it was different. Rather than a sense of victory, the marines were struck by the futility, and tragedy, of what they had gone through. "I feel like I wasted my time, caring about something that doesn't have any meaning anymore", one marine was quoted as saying, speaking of his time in al-Qaim. "I felt like I was wasting time and the taxpayers' money."
Dereliction of Duty Regarding Iraq May 1, 2005

"Mr. Delgado confronted a sergeant who, he said, had fired on the detainees. "I asked him," said Mr. Delgado, "if he was proud that he had shot unarmed men behind barbed wire for throwing stones. He didn't get mad at all. He was, like, 'Well, I saw them bloody my buddy's nose, so I knelt down. I said a prayer. I stood up, and I shot them down.' "
From 'Gook' to 'Raghead' May 2, 2005

How winnable, indeed, can you get?

An Update - a sort of response to the above query: "... Gen. Richard B. Myers concluded that the American military is at greater risk this year than last year of being unable to properly execute the missions for which it must prepare around the globe.... "The assessment is that we would succeed, but there would be higher casualties and more collateral damage," said one senior Defense official. "We would have to win uglier." (emphasis added)
Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Preventing Proactive Moves May 2, 2005

And, according to an 'Iraqi' Gen. Myers:
"There is no shadow of doubt in my mind that by the end of the year, we would have achieved a lot," Mouwafak al-Rubaie [Iraq's national security adviser] said in an interview with CNN's "Late Edition." "Probably the back of the insurgency has already been broken." May 2, 2005

Iraq's democracy (US version)

This is an opinion, worthy of reading, of a very close Iraqi friend (since high school):

"I think that anyone truly interested in freedom and democracy for the Iraqi people should carefully read the following good article and absorb its implications. It elucidates the real reason for Rumsfeld's recent visit to Iraq. He wanted to ensure that these ‘elements’ are not removed by the new government in Baghdad.

The new emerging Iraq is a composite of:
1. Saddamist core of the American-supported fighting force that is the foundation of the ‘new’ Iraqi army whose primary mission is to ‘fight the insurgency’ and to protect the political organs established by the US.
2. A ‘Lebanon’ style political structure that is led principally by ‘expat’ politicians. These leaders, in spite of serious political differences among themselves, are committed to a very long-time US presence in Iraq; and on mass privatization of Iraq national assets, whether it makes economic sense or not.
3. An economic structure that is based on these war barons intending to owning every thing in Iraq including oil, water, and land.
4. A political process that is based on show elections that produce political organs that is supposed to do many things but resolve the real challenges: economic hardships of the people of Iraq; the return of sovereignty to Iraq; demand removal of foreign presence and control; or, bring social and political harmony to enable the Iraqi people to determine their future.

In spite of the tons of talk about ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’, the new Iraq is being reconstituted to be as repressive as the ‘old’ Iraq; and with even more corrupt political leadership."
S. Al-B.

The Way of the Commandos May 1, 2005

An Update: Iraqi commando battalion pulled out of Samarra May 5, 2005

General Adnan Thabit, center, and his American adviser,
James Steele, at a meeting with local sheiks near Samarra.

“At a ceremony on a Pentagon parade ground that overlooks the Potomac River, Wolfowitz reviewed a military honor guard and was presented with a Defense Department medal for distinguished public service which cited him as an ‘internationally recognized voice for freedom.’ Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld praised his top deputy for intellectual firepower and perseverance, noting that he was a leading force in Rumsfeld's drive to modernize the military.

‘The threatened, the oppressed and the persecuted around the world must know in their hearts that they had a friend in Paul Wolfowitz,’ Rumsfeld said. ‘You are one of those rare people who, as the Talmud puts it, would rather light candles than curse the darkness.’” (emphasis unhumorously added)

Paul Wolfowitz Gets Formal Sendoff April 29, 2005

With friends such as these, who needs enemies, eh?

Under attack in a Baghdad hotel ............................ Butt hauled to the IMF