Monday, January 28, 2008

VIOLENCE SPREADS ACROSS IRAQ AS BUSH PRESENTS "HAPPY TALK" SPEECH


President Bush delivered his last State of the Union Address Monday night and in typical fashion he praised how the "surge" was working in Iraq.

Bush apparently doesn't know how to read, or he has advisers who are shielding him from the true facts that are happening in Iraq.

On the very day Bush delivered his upbeat speech about Iraq, the following violent events took place in Baghdad and across Iraq and in Afghanistan. (see below).

Bush continues to LIE to the American public about what is taking place in Iraq, and his "happy talk" about Iraq is an insult to every woman and man serving in the United States military in Iraq who know things in Iraq are not what Bush says they are.

By Bill Corcoran, Chicago, editor of the blog http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the only blog devoted to telling the REAL truth about Iraq and Afghanistan.


DEATH AND CHAOS GRIP IRAQ DESPITE WHAT PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS


The DoD is reporting the death of a soldier in the Brooke Army Medical Center on Friday, January 25th. Pfc. Duncan Charles Crookston was wounded in an IED attack in Baghdad on some unnamed date.The Jerusalem Post is reporting the deaths of five soldiers in a roadside bomb attack in Ninevah province on Monday, January 28th. No other details were released.Security incidents:

Baghdad:#1: A roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying a coffin and mourners to a funeral in the predominantly Shiite southeastern neighborhood of New Baghdad, killing three passengers and wounding five, a police officer said. The bomb apparently was meant for a police patrol but missed its target and blew up near the bus instead, a police officer said.

#2: Elsewhere in Baghdad, a fire swept through the top four floors of Iraq's Central Bank building before dawn, engulfing the documents holding room as well as several offices of key officials, another police officer said. The blaze broke out about 4 a.m. in the central bank governor's office, and an investigation was under way to determine the cause and extent of the damage, the officer said. He said firefighters had the flames under control after about four hours.

#3: The leader of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood police patrol was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his car in northern Baghdad on Saturday, the U.S. military said.#4: Police found ( 2 ) unidentified dead bodies in Baghdad today : one was found in Doura ( south Baghdad) in Karkh bank .While the other one was found in Baladiyat ( east Baghdad) in Risafa bank.Basra:#1: At dawn , a roadside bomb targeted a foreign company’s convoy on Safwan road ( west of Basra) . Two security guards were killed in that incident who work for “ Heart” which is responsible for transferring generators from Kuwait to Iraq.Kirkuk:#1: Iraqi crude oil exports from northern Kirkuk oil fields to Turkey's Ceyhan port have been suspended since Friday, a shipping agent at the terminal said Monday. The agent said Kirkuk crude oil pumping to Ceyhan was suspended at 2000 local time Friday. Iraq only resumed the flow last Wednesday after a two-week suspension on a fault that occurred at one point of the export pipeline.

Mosul:#1: At least 60 people, mostly women and children, were killed and 280 wounded in a blast that rocked the northern Iraqi city of Mosul last week, the Iraqi Red Crescent said in a report.#2: The official spokesman for the Ninewa operations on Monday said that three civilians were wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen in southeastern Mosul."U.S. troops cordoned off Sumer neighborhood in southeastern Mosul, where clashes broke out in the region with gunmen, leaving three civilians wounded," Brigadier Khaled Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq#3: Five American soldiers were killed Monday in a complex attack in the northern city of Mosul, described as one of al-Qaida in Iraq's last strongholds, just days after a house explosion and suicide attack killed as many as 60 people there. Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a U.S. military spokeswoman in northern Iraq, said the soldiers came under small arms fire and were hit by a roadside bomb in the city, which is the capital of Ninevah province.

#4: Two policemen were killed and two others were injured by unidentified gunmen in southern Mosul, a police source said on Monday. "Unidentified gunmen opened fire at four policemen on the Baghdad road in southern Mosul while on their way back home, killing two and injuring two," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) under condition of anonymity.Al Anbar Prv:Fallujah:#1: The emergency police of Amiriyat AlFalluja ( west of Baghdad) had clashes with gunmen in the area from the afternoon till the sunset killing one of them ( Tariq Bdr Al-Deen ) the brain of the group which makes car and vest bombs .The police force asks for support from Aifan Sheik’s Sahwa in the area to control the situation.

Afghanistan:#1: One soldier was killed and nine were injured in Pakistan's tribal region by Afghanistan when security forces clashed on Monday with the militants loyal to a pro-Taliban commander blamed for the murder of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, the military said. 'Heavy fighting is being reported in the surrounding areas of Kot Kai (in South Waziristan tribal district). In exchange of fire with miscreants one soldier embraced shahadat (martyrdom) and 5 others got injured,' said a statement issued by the Pakistan Army. Four more soldiers were injured in a firefight on Sunday night in Nawazkot area of the same district.

#2: Rebels also damaged a railway bridge using explosives, suspending railway services between the North-West Frontier Province capital Peshawar and Rawalpindi.

WILL BUSH MENTION 5 GIS KILLED TODAY IN IRAQ DURING STATE OF UNION ADDRESS TONIGHT?

Will President Bush mention the five GIs killed on Monday, January 28 in Mosul, Iraq when he gives the State of the Union Address tonight?

In a pigs eye. No way.

President Bush, like the mainstream media, no longer talks about the death of Americans in Iraq. They are cannon fodder and that is all.

Bush will more than likely be singing the praises of the "surge" and never mentioning the death of the five soldiers on Monday in Iraq or the fact there is violence all over Iraq.

Just how long is the press going to allow this hoax to continue?

Bill Corcoran
, editor/host of the blog http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ dedicated to telling the truth about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because President Bush and media will not.

U.S. army says 5 soldiers killed in Iraq

http://tinyurl.com/2sy73a

Ninewa - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 28 /01 /2008 Time 9:05:45


Baghdad, Jan 28, (VOI) - The U.S. army said on Monday that five servicemen were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.


"Five U.S. servicemen were killed in Mosul this afternoon when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb," Abdellatif Rayan, media adviser for the Multi-National Force-Iraq, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) over the phone.

He did not add further details.

The official spokesman for the Ninewa operations had said earlier that three civilians were wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen in southeastern Mosul.

"U.S. troops cordoned off Sumer neighborhood in southeastern Mosul, where clashes broke out in the region with gunmen, leaving three civilians wounded," Brigadier Khaled Abdul Sattar said."They were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment," he added.

The deaths bring the number of the U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 3,940, according to statistics released by the U.S. army.

Of this number, 36 U.S. soldiers have been killed so far in January 2008.

November 2004, which witnessed fierce battles between U.S. forces and armed groups in Falluja city, Anbar province, remains the month that saw the highest U.S. death toll with 137.

April 2004 comes second with 135, followed by May 2007 during which 126 U.S. soldiers were killed.

UNTOLD FACTS OF CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN WARS

The Department of Veterans Affairs in conjunction with the Pentagon has released startling statistics regarding casualties from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The full report can be read here:

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/files/VFCS/VCS_VA_Fact_Sheet_01-17-2008.pdf

There have been 263,909 veterans treated and of those treated 100,580 patients (or 38% of patients) have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. 52,375 patients were diagnosed with PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Equally disturbing is the fact that 245,034 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (34% of veterans) have filed a disability claim. 38,693 of those veterans filing a claim with the VBA (Veterans Benefit Association) are still waiting for an answer.

And here is a statistic bound to blow the mind of any caring American. The average wait time for the VBA to process a claim is MORE THAN SIX MONTHS.